Vespera

Lucien heard Nas's words, but for a moment, he couldn't respond. His throat tightened, his chest rising and falling with the weight of an unspoken argument. The silence between them stretched, thick and suffocating, broken only by the distant rustling of unseen predators lurking in the darkness.

Nas's expression remained utterly unreadable—cold, unwavering, resolute. His fingers curled around the pitiful excuse of a blade, his thumb running along its jagged, rusted edge. A single glance told Lucien everything he needed to know: this was a weapon that had seen better days, perhaps once reliable but now reduced to a fragile remnant of what it used to be.

Yet, despite its sorry state, Nas knew that with an infusion of his electromagnetic field—the unique ability granted to him as a Beta Emitter—this fragile weapon could still be deadly. At least for a short while. If the blade broke, however, so would his chances of survival.

"Hah,"

Lucien scoffed under his breath, shaking his head as if trying to dismiss the words he had just heard.

"Clear the way, you say?" His voice was tinged with disbelief, yet beneath it was something else—a desperate refusal to accept what was unfolding.

Nas didn't reply. Instead, his gaze remained fixated on the blade, as though it held all the answers to the choices he had made. He knew the truth. He had always known it. The moment he set foot in this accursed forest with them, his fate had already been sealed. And in some small, twisted way, perhaps he was okay with that.

"As you can see," Nas finally spoke, his voice quiet yet firm, "it would be impossible for all three of us to escape together. Especially with the amount of Rift Hounds waiting to prey on us."

Lucien clenched his jaw, his fists tightening at his sides. He knew what Nas was implying. He knew exactly what was about to be said next.

"And," Nas continued, exhaling slowly, "I can't be sure my energy will last long enough to take down all the Rift Hounds. But I've noticed they lack their usual sensitivity to smell. While that seems like an advantage, they still track us by sound—either us or that damned horse. Once they know their prey is near, they won't stop until it's in their stomach."

He then looked at Lucien. " That's why i need to— "

"No."

The word left Lucien's lips with sharp finality, cutting through the air like a blade. Nas's expression finally cracked, if only slightly, as his sharp gaze met Lucien's unwavering blue eyes. There was no hesitation, no wavering, no fear—only a raw, defiant determination that made Nas pause for the first time.

"I will not let you sacrifice your life just for me and Elodie's sake." Lucien's voice was steady, but underneath it was an emotion so fierce that it almost felt tangible.

Nas tilted his head slightly, studying Lucien as if trying to understand the depth of his conviction. And then, he let out a quiet chuckle—one devoid of humor, but rich with something else. Resignation.

"You misunderstand something," Nas murmured, taking a slow step forward. "This isn't about you. It's not about that girl either."

Lucien frowned, his breath hitching slightly as Nas continued.

"I'm not doing this for you, a stranger to me." A small, wry smile touched Nas's lips. 

Lucien didn't know what Nas meant by that, but the unwavering deathly gaze of those blue eyes, dim in the darkness of the Rift, and the weary, almost sinister smile on Nas's face would be forever engraved in his mind. Those are the eyes of relief—in a strange, unsettling way.

"At last, I have authority over myself and the choice that i will make. And that, to me, is enough."

Lucien opened his mouth to argue, but the growl that rumbled from the shadows froze the words on his tongue.

The Rift Hound got closer. Too close.

A guttural, blood-curdling snarl echoed through the trees, vibrating through the very ground beneath them. The air grew thick with the scent of damp earth and something fouler—the stench of decay, of raw, primal hunger.

Lucien's grip on Elodie tightened as he instinctively took a step back. His heart pounded against his ribs, adrenaline surging through his veins. He knew that if they hesitated any longer, they wouldn't have the luxury of making a choice. The Rift Hounds would make it for them.

Nas inhaled deeply, his stance shifting as he turned slightly to the side, angling himself toward the unseen threat. His body was rigid, but his mind was clear. This was the moment. There was no turning back now.

"Lucien."

Lucien stiffened.

Nas's voice was calm, almost eerily so. "It's time for you to make your own choice—be selfish and let all three of us die here, or take that girl and get her out of this forest to safety."

Lucien swallowed hard, his fingers twitching against the fabric of Elodie's tattered clothing. 

But then he looked at Nas again.

The quiet acceptance in his eyes. The steeled resolve in his stance. The way his fingers curled around that broken dagger as though it was the only thing anchoring him to this world.

This was Nas's choice.

And Lucien hated it. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he had found a friend other than Elodie—and now, this was how it would end.

The world had always been cruel to people like him and Nas, casting them aside, forcing them to endure suffering with the empty promise that better days would come. But they never did. And deep down, Lucien knew they never would. Hope was a lie—one he had clung to for too long.

He clenched his teeth, his breath ragged with grief and fury. Nas was proof that no matter how hard they fought, no matter how much they bled, the world would always take everything from them.

The growls grew louder, closer. A second, then a third, joined in—a chorus of impending doom closing in around them.

Lucien's breath came in ragged gasps. His mind screamed at him to find another way, any other way. But he knew the truth. Nas was right. They couldn't escape together. If they tried, they would all die here.

For the first time, Lucien truly understood the weight of helplessness.

"Damn it…" he muttered under his breath, a trembling exhale escaping his lips. His grip on Elodie tightened. His body refused to move, even as the danger crept ever closer.

"I'll lure them east. Head north until you reach the mid-mine post—the gate to the outside world should be close."

Nas turned his back to him. "Don't look back."

Lucien bit his lip so hard he tasted blood.

" I won't. " 

"Good." A faint smirk tugged at the corner of Nas's mouth—so fleeting, so subtle, no one would have noticed.

Then, without another word, he bolted east, vanishing into the darkness.

Nas didn't look back.

So Lucien wouldn't either.

With a sharp breath, he turned and ran.

He ran with everything he had, Elodie's unconscious body cradled against him, his legs burning with each desperate step. Behind him, the night erupted with the clash of steel against flesh, with snarls, shouts, and the unyielding struggle of a man who had chosen his own fate.

Even as his heart shattered, Lucien never looked back.

***

As Nas sprinted through the dense forest, his hurried steps crashed against the underbrush, snapping twigs and rustling leaves in a deliberate attempt to draw attention. The chilling night air burned his lungs, but he didn't slow down. Not yet. Not until he was sure the Rift Hounds had their sights locked onto him.

Then, bursting through the last thicket of tangled vines, he saw them.

A pack of monstrous, wolf-like beasts loomed ahead, their hulking forms barely distinguishable in the thick darkness. But it wasn't their silhouettes that struck him—it was their eyes. Ten pairs of crimson-red orbs gleamed through the black void, staring, waiting, seething with hunger.

' Ten of them. Just as I thought.'

The realization sent a cold shiver down his spine, but there was no time to hesitate.

The Rift Hounds had been waiting, lurking, anticipating their moment to strike. The instant Nas's presence registered, their ears flicked, and their bodies tensed like coiled springs. Then, in a single breath, they lunged.

A guttural growl ripped through the air as the pack surged forward, a blur of snapping jaws and frenzied movement. The ground trembled beneath their collective charge, their claws raking against the dirt as they closed in.

Nas didn't need to think—his instincts screamed at him to move. Without wasting a second, he spun on his heel and bolted.

Branches whipped against his skin as he tore through the forest, dodging roots and leaping over fallen logs. He could hear them behind him—the rapid thudding of their paws, the snorts of hot breath against the night air, the chorus of low, menacing growls that sent ice through his veins.

' Faster... I need to go faster. '

Nas pushed himself harder, weaving between trees, his breath ragged but steady. He couldn't afford to stumble. One misstep, one wrong move, and this would be over.

But then—

A snarl, dangerously close.

Too close.

A Rift Hound lunged from the side, its massive frame crashing through the underbrush in a blur of teeth and muscle. Nas barely managed to twist his body, the beast's razor-sharp claws slicing through the air just inches from his back.

His heart pounded.

' Fuck! That's dangerous. '

His mind raced. He needed a plan, and fast. He couldn't outrun them forever.