Chapter 4: The Edge of Hope

The journey was slow, each step aching deeper than the last. Arin's body had borne the brunt of too much — too many hunts, too much desperation, and now the aftershocks of the lightning strike. Every motion felt like dragging a dead weight behind him. But he couldn't stop. Not yet.

The thick canopy of trees started to thin out, the shadowy veil lifting bit by bit. As the forest opened up, Arin could see the distant glimmer of light. The edge. The Gates of the Forest.

The gates were nothing more than a boundary between the wild and what lay beyond. Yet, in his mind, it was the boundary between survival and collapse. Between hope and despair.

"I can't stay in the forest much longer. But if I don't find work soon… I'll be back here again, looking for food like an animal."

The thought gnawed at him. The once-proud hunter who had ventured into the wilderness to make a name for himself had been reduced to this — surviving by the skin of his teeth, always on the brink of death. Every day was a battle. A battle that felt increasingly futile.

But he had no choice. He'd never had a choice.

As he trudged through the thinning trees, his thoughts drifted back to his family. His parents. They had given everything for him. They were the reason he kept moving forward, despite the constant pain.

"If they hadn't been hurt… maybe this wouldn't be so hard. I wouldn't have to do this…"

His mind flashed back to that day, to the moment everything changed. The day they were ambushed, left broken and crippled by forces unknown. The mysterious injury that had rendered his parents bedridden, unable to even move from their room.

"Who did this to them? And why? What could they possibly want with us?"

But the answers, if they existed, remained hidden, buried beneath layers of mystery.

As he neared the gates, the thought of his parents' condition haunted him, reminding him of the struggle that lay beyond the forest. He had given up his university seat — the very thing that could have lifted him from this life — to pay for their treatment. Every coin he earned, every scrap of food he found, was a sacrifice for them.

His parents were his only reason for existing now.

The edge of the forest grew closer, and Arin felt a mixture of relief and uncertainty. He didn't know what awaited him beyond, but it had to be better than the wilds.

But as he reached the gates, the stark contrast of the world beyond hit him. The bustling city was alive, far different from the silence of the forest. The air was thick with the scent of metal and oil. People walked past him in a blur, indifferent to his presence.

He couldn't even remember the last time he had interacted with someone, except for the few trades he'd made in the market for sustenance. He had become a ghost in the city, one who lived on the edges, unnoticed by most.

"I need a job… Any job…"

Arin paused at the edge of the gate, his legs shaking, mind racing. He had to find some way to survive here. He had to find a way to help his parents, even if it meant sacrificing his soul.

But first, he needed to find food. And shelter. Everything else could wait. The streets were full of opportunities, but they were just as full of dangers.

Arin stepped through the gates and into the chaotic world beyond, the bustling city streets unfolding before him.

"This city… is it any better than the wilds? Or will it just chew me up and spit me out?"

He didn't know. But he had no other choice.