Part 2
The roar echoed again.
It wasn't coming from a single place.
It seemed to rise from every tree, every rock, and the earth itself beneath Kael's feet.
The forest, which had been completely still only moments ago, awakened violently.
The treetops began to sway as if an invisible hurricane were tearing through them.
Entire flocks of birds fled into the sky.
Deer, foxes, and rabbits ran in every direction.
Something was terrifying them.
Kael barely managed to sit up.
His left arm was still burning.
The strange Mark glowed with a bluish light that seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat.
"What... what did you do to me...?" he whispered, staring at the silver tree.
There was no answer.
The enormous tree remained motionless, but the radiance surrounding it was slowly beginning to fade, as if it had consumed all its energy.
Then...
A crack.
And another.
The trees in front of him began to fall one after another.
Not because someone was cutting them down.
Something gigantic was simply pushing them aside as it advanced.
Kael felt a knot form in his stomach.
It wasn't curiosity.
It was fear.
A fear so deep that his body ordered him to run.
And he obeyed.
He bolted down the path he had come by, dodging roots and branches while the rain continued to pour.
Behind him, the thunder grew louder.
The ground trembled.
He was breathing with difficulty.
He didn't dare look back.
Until he heard a growl directly above his head.
He looked up.
A gigantic shadow passed between the branches.
It had wings.
But they weren't bird wings.
They were dark membranes, torn by ancient scars.
Two enormous golden eyes appeared through the mist.
Kael froze.
The creature descended slowly.
Its body resembled a wolf's, though it was three times larger.
Immense black wings sprouted from its back.
Its skin was covered in plates resembling volcanic stone.
And fragments of broken chains hung from its neck.
The beast sniffed the air.
Then it slowly turned its head toward Kael.
Its pupils narrowed.
It had found what it was looking for.
"No... it can't be..."
The creature roared.
The sound made Kael's chest vibrate.
Without thinking, he ran again.
The beast leaped.
The impact with the ground opened a huge crater.
The shock wave hurled Kael several yards through the air.
He rolled through the mud until he slammed into a fallen trunk.
He could barely breathe.
Everything was spinning.
The creature advanced slowly.
Like a predator certain its prey could no longer escape.
Kael desperately searched for something to defend himself with.
He found only a thick branch.
He gripped it with both hands.
He knew it was useless.
Even so, he had no intention of simply waiting for death.
The beast opened its jaws.
Reddish energy gathered between its fangs.
The air began to grow hot.
"I'm going to die," he thought.
But just as the monster was about to attack...
An arrow shot through the forest.
It whistled through the air and embedded itself in the creature's neck.
The beast roared in pain.
A second arrow struck one of its eyes.
Then a third.
And a fourth.
Five figures emerged from among the trees.
They wore green cloaks covered in hand-sewn leaves that allowed them to blend into the forest.
Each carried a longbow made of white wood.
"Fall back!" shouted a silver-haired woman.
The archers fired at the same time.
A rain of arrows fell upon the creature.
However...
The arrows barely pierced its stony hide.
The monster roared furiously.
It swung one of its enormous paws.
Two archers were sent flying several yards.
One of them lay motionless.
The woman cursed under her breath.
"It's not an ordinary beast!"
Kael used the distraction to drag himself behind a rock.
He understood nothing.
Who were these people?
How had they gotten here?
The woman drew a short sword.
Its blade gave off a faint green radiance.
"Protect the boy!"
The others exchanged surprised glances.
"The boy?"
"Now!"
The creature opened its jaws again.
This time, a sphere of fire began to form in front of its mouth.
Kael felt the heat even from twenty yards away.
The woman ran straight at the monster.
She leaped.
She spun in midair.
Her sword traced a shining arc.
For an instant, the entire forest seemed to blaze emerald green.
The blade struck one of the chains hanging from the beast's neck.
CLANG!
The chain broke.
At that very moment, something impossible happened.
The monster let out a gut-wrenching cry.
As if that chain were far more than a mere ornament.
Its body began to lose stability.
The red energy vanished.
The creature staggered back several steps.
The woman seized the opportunity.
"Everyone! Now!"
The arrows rained down again.
This time, they were aimed at exactly the same spot.
The wound on its neck.
After more than twenty strikes...
The creature roared one last time.
It spread its wings.
And fled into the sky, shrouded in rain.
Silence returned to the forest.
Only the survivors' ragged breathing could be heard.
The woman wiped her sword clean.
Then she slowly turned toward Kael.
Her green eyes locked onto the young man's left arm.
The Mark was still glowing.
Her expression changed immediately.
It wasn't fear.
It was recognition.
As if she had been expecting to see that Mark for many years.
She approached slowly.
"What's your name?"
"Kael..."
She nodded.
"My name is Lyra."
"Guardian of Liria Forest."
She raised a hand toward the Mark.
But she didn't touch it.
"It's exactly as the ancient prophecies said..."
Kael frowned.
"What prophecies?"
Lyra slowly raised her gaze.
Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
"The prophecies of... the Last Aether Bearer."
Kael felt the world come to a stop again.
He didn't understand what that name meant.
But from the expression on Lyra's face, he realized something far more important.
His life had just changed forever.
And the worst part...
Was that this had only been the beginning.
End of Part 2.