Chapter 16: The Crimson Forest

The wind howled through the Crimson Forest just outside Shinzai's protective borders—a place where beasts hadn't been seen in nearly five years. But recently, something stirred.

Renzo had volunteered to investigate after reports came in about a Wielder patrol unit going dark.

Kael, cautious but trusting Renzo's growth, allowed him to go—with a stealth drone trailing him just in case.

As Renzo moved through the misty red trees, his instincts flared.

He dropped into a crouch.

Crunch.

A single snap of a branch.

Then, silence.

Renzo slowly turned.

And that's when he saw it—twenty feet tall, with bone-like armor and glowing purple veins streaking through its muscular frame. Its face was obscured by a jagged helm, and its aura felt… fractured.

"That's not just a beast…" Renzo whispered. "That thing's been touched by something else."

It roared, shaking the forest.

Renzo activated Voidstep, vanishing just as the creature lunged. He reappeared behind it mid-air, slamming a Will-infused kick to the back of its neck—but it barely flinched.

The battle began.

For nearly fifteen minutes, Renzo used every technique Kael had taught him—movement, misdirection, precision. But the creature adapted with every strike.

"This isn't a normal mutation," he said, panting. "It's learning."

With one last surge of energy, Renzo unleashed his newly developed move—Void Vortex—a spiraling blast of Willforce that compressed and then erupted outward.

It tore through the beast's midsection.

The creature stumbled back, shrieked, and then dissolved into black mist.

But instead of disappearing fully… the mist floated upward, spiraling into the sky like a signal.

Renzo fell to one knee, exhausted, as the drone above buzzed in concern.