Chapter 25: Echoes of the Wilds

The morning mist hung low over the forest floor, curling like silent whispers between the roots and underbrush. Damp leaves rustled underfoot as Aren and his team moved in cautious formation. The deeper they went into the forest, the more the air changed—thicker, heavier, and laced with something almost... watchful.

"Sharu," Aren murmured, glancing at the small silver beast perched quietly on his shoulder. "Do you feel that?"

Sharu gave no reply, as usual, but his ears twitched and his blue eyes narrowed, scanning the thick canopy above. Though silent, his presence was tense—a signal that Aren had come to trust.

"We should slow down," Lyra suggested from the rear. Her Shadow Falcon was gliding above them, occasionally disappearing between trees and reappearing like a ghost. "Something's not right. Even the corrupted beasts don't make this kind of silence."

"Maybe they're scared of something worse," Dorian said with a scoff, though his grip tightened on his spear. His Shockwave Lion padded beside him, alert.

Liora frowned, her Ice Wolf letting out a quiet growl. "There's a trail up ahead. Faint... but recent."

"Let's move," Aren said, taking the lead with quiet authority.

They followed the trail deeper until they came across the remnants of a shattered campsite. Scorched grass, blood splatters, and half-burnt supplies lay strewn about. But no bodies.

"Another team?" Aric asked, kneeling near a broken compass.

"No sign of struggle. No beast tracks either," Liora muttered. "It's like they vanished."

"Or were taken," Lyra added darkly.

A flicker of silver light caught Aren's attention—Sharu had jumped from his shoulder and was inspecting something near the base of a tree. Aren followed and saw deep claw marks carved into the bark. The gouges pulsed faintly, laced with dark energy.

"Corrupted magic," Aren said grimly.

"Not just corrupted," Lyra said, stepping beside him. "This is old. Deep. Like it's been buried... and something woke it up."

As they pressed onward, the forest began to change. Vines grew thicker, the trees older and more gnarled. The air vibrated with tension. Every few steps, they found signs—discarded gear, shattered weapons, scorch marks in unnatural patterns.

But no people.

"Should we call for the judges?" Aric asked, finally breaking the growing silence.

"No," Dorian replied. "This is part of the trial. Whatever's happening... it's meant to test us."

"It's testing something, alright," Liora murmured, then froze. "Wait. Hear that?"

They all fell silent. Then they heard it—soft chanting, faint, rhythmic.

"Who would be chanting in a forest like this?" Aren asked, stepping forward carefully.

The source became clear moments later. They came upon an ancient stone arch covered in moss and vines. Beyond it lay what seemed like another ruined temple—this one half-sunken into the earth. The chanting was coming from within.

"I don't like this," Lyra said.

"We need to check it out," Aren insisted. "That could be the missing team... or whatever took them."

With beasts ready and nerves taut, they stepped into the overgrown ruins.

Inside, the chanting stopped.

"Hello?" Aric called. "Is anyone there?"

A low growl answered.

From the shadows emerged a corrupted beast unlike any they had seen—a fusion of stone and flesh, moss growing from its spine, its face cracked like a mask. Its eyes burned crimson.

"Formation!" Aren barked.

The fight exploded into motion.

Dorian's Shockwave Lion lunged first, sending a pulse that shattered parts of the stone beast's outer shell. But it barely flinched, swinging a massive limb at Aric's Fire Salamander, which narrowly rolled aside, scorching it with flame.

Liora's Ice Wolf moved next, coating the ground in frost to slow the creature's movements. Lyra's Shadow Falcon swept in from above, pecking at weak points with deadly precision.

Aren stepped forward, eyes fixed on the corrupted creature. "Sharu—now!"

Sharu leapt from his shoulder, silver fur flaring with soft light. In a blur, he landed atop the beast's cracked mask and let out a flash of energy—a pulse of purification.

The beast screamed, a sound not of pain but of something deeper—like a curse being pulled from the roots of the earth. It staggered back, its limbs turning brittle.

"Now! Hit it!" Aren shouted.

All at once, fire, frost, lightning, and shadow rained down in a synchronized assault. The corrupted beast howled once more before crumbling into ash and stone.

Silence.

Breaths were heavy. Hands trembled.

"What was that thing?" Aric asked.

"Not just corrupted," Lyra said again, "but awakened. It was guarding this place."

Aren looked around. At the center of the ruin was another altar—this one cracked and inactive. Something had been here... and was now gone.

"We should leave," Liora said. "Before more of those show up."

They exited the ruins and returned to the main trail, shaken but intact. Just as the treeline opened into a clearing, a horn sounded—deep and clear.

From the sky descended one of the academy's judges, riding atop a flying beast resembling a massive hawk.

"All remaining participants," he announced, "return to the central clearing. The results of the first round shall now be revealed."

Aren looked at his teammates. Their faces were tired, scratched, yet burning with anticipation.

The trial was far from over. But the

forest had revealed a fraction of its secrets—and not all of them were ready to sleep again.

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