The hard climb down the hill began in silence.

At first, Edge had assumed it was just a hill, but as she forced her way down, it became more like a small mountain. By the halfway point, her hands were cut and bleeding, legs aching, heart pounding.

Despite the struggle, the view was...breathtaking, in a way. The sky glowed a deep, ominous red, and the air was cool and sharp. Overhead, dragons swept by in endless circles. If they noticed the kids scrambling down the slope, they gave no sign of caring.

Occasionally, Edge felt the darkness stirring inside of her, trying to free itself. It wasn’t so hard to resist at first, but the longer they stirred, the more restless they became. At the same time, she also felt them pushing her upright when she stumbled, or nudging her away from a crumbling stone. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

Suddenly, a brutish shout echoed from below. Edge froze, pressing lower into the mountainside. One of the monsters turned its heavily armoured head and scanned the hillside. Its burning eyes swept over the group’s path, lingering for a heartbeat too long. Everyone held their breath, ducking low.

After what seemed like forever, the monster shrugged and lumbered away, motioning for the rest of the army to do the same.

Kalmar cleared his throat. “Someone remind me again why we’re heading towards the burning village? Shouldn’t we be going away from it? Just a thought.”

“And then what? Wait for the monsters to creep up on us?” Kilah answered. “At least in a village we’d have some hope of learning...something. Maybe someone knows how we can get home.”

“Right,” Liora said, dragging out the word. “But, oh, I don’t know, maybe the people will be too busy to help us while they’re fighting a war!”

“It’s too late. We can’t change plans now.” Edge decided to step in. Maybe it was true that going to the village would get them killed. But it was the only chance they had, even if it was a slim one.

“Let’s just...head down again, okay?” Elias suggested.

Nobody argued. That seemed like enough of an answer by itself.

Watching everyone exchange a few uncertain glances, Edge was the first to start down the rocky cliffside. She couldn’t let the others see that she was just as nervous as they were. Kilah mumbled something indistinct to Elias, and he nodded. Taking a deep breath, both of them started climbing down as well. With a shrug, Kalmar and Liora were the last to join.

And just like that, the group resumed their slow descent into the unknown.

Looking away from the group, Edge’s gaze dropped to her mangled hands. She grimaced with the pain. As the ache intensified, a sudden surge of energy coursed through her. Without warning, a dark mass of shadows formed around her hands, coiling tightly around her fingers.

She didn’t pull away.

Maybe because, for once, the shadows felt more like allies than enemies.

A tingling sensation spread through her hands. The chatter of the others faded into silence, and for a moment, time seemed to hold its breath. Shadows pulsed and shimmered, then slowly receded. When they vanished, Edge stared in disbelief.

Every cut and bruise was gone, the skin smooth and unmarked. Even the old scars from years past had disappeared.

As relieved as she was that the pain was gone, a weight pressed down on her shoulders. Her powers were only growing stronger. If she could do that now, what did that mean about what she was becoming?

“Edge?” Kilah whispered, leaning towards Edge. She blinked, tearing her gaze away from her hands. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Edge cleared her throat

Kilah didn’t seem convinced. “You’re sure? I mean, what happened earlier—with the shadows—was pretty creepy. And you’re sure nothing’s…happening with that?”

“No,” Edge said, struggling to keep calm.

Kilah’s gaze lingered for a second. She eventually just sighed and let the subject drop.

It finally came to an end. Edge jumped the last couple of feet and landed with a heavy thud at the bottom. Her team was close behind, all breathing heavily as they jumped down. Even Kilah looked exhausted as she plopped down onto the grass.

Edge glanced nervously at the endless open field. The army of monsters was uncomfortably close now, separated only by a thin line of trees. All it would take was one glance on their part, and the group’s secrecy would be blown.

“We need to move,” Edge whispered. She pointed towards the left, where a small forest was. It could hide them as they walked, at least a little. “Those trees could help us hide.”

Elias shifted his weight. “Can’t we…just stay for a bit? I’m, uhm, pretty tired.”

Sighing, Edge reluctantly agreed. “I guess.”

They all dropped to the ground, letting the exhaustion settle into their bones. Grass scratched at their ankles, and sweat cooled on their backs and foreheads. The air was still, but their nerves weren’t. Every sound, the creak of the trees, the whistle of the winds, the chirping of birds, made them jump.

Edge kept her eyes on the line of trees, just in case. The others seemed relaxed, but how could they be? When they were who-knows-where, ripped from everything they knew and loved? When just feet away were monsters who would rip them apart in an instant. Even their thoughts were peaceful, the exact opposite of Edge’s mind.

But…who knew? This could be their last break for a long time. Might as well take advantage.

“Well…” Kilah was the first to break the silence. “We should probably get going now, huh? It’ll be dark in a bit.”

She pointed towards the sun, which was already starting to dip lower. They probably had a few hours, five max, before it became pitch black.

Kalmar sighed. “Yeah, sure.”

Rolling her eyes, Edge pushed herself to her feet. Her muscles groaned in protest, but she ignored the pain. Without so much as a glance at the others, she turned away and started toward the trees. Whether anyone else followed was up to them; she’d made her choice.

Still, when she heard the crunch of footsteps behind her, a small tingle of relief crept in. Even if she wouldn’t admit it, she was grateful for the company.

At least for now.

“Does anybody have any water?” Elias asked.

Kalmar sighed. “No, you dumped it all on Edge’s head, remember? Complete waste.”

“I was trying to…” Elias didn’t finish the sentence.

“You were trying to make sure we all die of dehydration?” Kalmar guessed. “Very noble. Really.”

Edge sighed, dragging her feet along the dirt and trying to tune them out. With no path to follow, they had to follow the line of smoke filling the air and hope for the best. Her eyes narrowed as she heard a small sound from the woods.

“Shh,” Edge shushed, holding out her hand to stop them from walking any further. They all pressed behind separate trees, ready to climb at a moment’s notice. A loud squeal erupted from inches away, the bushes shaking as the creature moved. It slowly walked out, leaves fluttering onto the ground. The figure formed fully in the light. It was…

A…rabbit? Well, the shape of one, anyway.

The creature was mossy-green in colour, with leaves for fur and tiny antlers jetting out of its head. Instead of a fluffy tail like rabbits have, a small tree branch took its place.

The creature stared at them with light green eyes, looking so innocent and cute that most people would’ve immediately gone ‘Aww!’. In fact, Liora let out a delighted shriek and ran over, ready to throw her arms around the creature. If Edge hadn’t yelled out, she would’ve done just that.

“What?” Liora asked, grumpy. “It’s so cute!”

“You’re seconds away from being mauled. But, sure...” Edge said, eyes glinting darkly. “Go for it.”

Liora turned around in horror, tripping over a rock as she scrambled backwards. The rabbit-thing had its mouth open unnaturally wide, revealing rows of sharp, black thorns instead of teeth. It snarled and snapped, jaw clenching around the air where she had been only seconds before. The sound echoed throughout the field.

The creature made a sound like bubbling water, stomping its feet as if about to charge. Edge instinctively gripped onto a tree branch, preparing to climb. It lunged towards Kilah, tail whipping through the air. She screamed, frozen by fear. Right before it bit down on her leg, however, Kalmar jumped in front of it, waving his arms wildly.

“Get back!” He yelled, lowering his voice at least an octave. It froze, looking at Kilah, then back at Kalmar. Taking a step closer, he continued waving his arms. The creature squealed and darted back into the shrubbery.

For a moment, no one moved.

“That’s…not a normal rabbit,” Elias managed, voice shaky.

Kilah shot Kalmar a grateful look, cheeks flushed. However, despite how calm she appeared to be, Edge still felt her thoughts flood into her head.

I can’t believe I froze! What’s wrong with me?

Edge felt the embarrassment spike in Kilah’s thoughts, raw and stinging. Kilah tried to focus on steadying her breathing, but her mind kept circling back to that moment of helplessness. For a second, Edge almost reached out, wanting to offer some kind of reassurance, but the words caught in her throat. Instead, she just said, “Let’s go.”

They moved in tense silence, pausing every few minutes whenever a monster’s gaze swept in their direction. The closer they came to the village, the thicker the air became. The sound of swords clashing was almost deafening, but barely heard over the roar of the dragons. The number of enemies thickened as well, but there had not been even a glimpse of a townsperson or soldier.

Edge stopped abruptly, putting a finger to her mouth. The group followed suit, crouching behind a broken-down building. The stones were cracked and crumbling, and the wooden roof had collapsed. It seemed decently sturdy, but that could change at any second.

They were only a few feet from the village now, but monsters were patrolling the entrance. Probably fifty in total, they each carried crude swords by their sides. Their bodies were made purely out of bones bound together unevenly, like when you try to fit a wrong piece into a puzzle. Thankfully, most of their bodies were covered by a blood-red cloak, so only their faces and hands showed.

A few screams echoed in the distance, and Edge felt shivers crawling up her spine. They were really in it now. The battle was only a few steps away.

“This...isn’t good,” Kalmar groaned.

Liora rolled her eyes. “That’s the understatement of the year.”

“Soo...” Kilah whispered, drawing out the word. She glanced at the gate nervously. “What are we going to do now?”

Edge studied her, wondering the exact same thing. They couldn’t go out and fight; they didn’t even have weapons. Nor could they sneak inside without being noticed; there were too many. Kalmar’s eyes darted from the squad of monsters at the gate to the battered sword at a skeleton’s hip, his jaw clenching as if he could will a weapon into existence. Elias was picking at the edge of his sleeve, looking anywhere but at the army.

“We can’t just sit here,” Liora hissed.

“Well, I know that,” Kilah shot back, annoyed.

“I—I could try to make a distraction, maybe?” Elias offered. “If I run that way, I could…uhm, I don’t know. Make them chase me, and you guys—”

“No,” Edge cut in. “We’re not doing that.”

Edge felt the familiar coldness seeping up from her core from the darkness she carried. It wanted out. It wanted to help. But she was terrified of what it might do once she let it loose. What if she lost control again? What if she hurt her friends instead?

“There are too many,” Liora said bitterly.

Kilah’s eyes darted to Edge’s hands. “You could do it. You fought off Semposo. You could—”

“That was different.” Edge shook her head.

“Why?” Kilah pressed.

Edge looked away. “I just…can’t.”

Kalmar placed his hand on her shoulder, offering a small smile. “I’m not worried. We can fight off demon-Edge, no problem.”

“This isn’t a joke,” Edge was getting annoyed now. “Stop treating it like one.”

Silence.

Sighing, she met the group’s gaze. “If I try, you have to be ready to run. Don’t wait for anything. Just go.”

“We’re not leaving you behind,” Kalmar protested.

“You might have to.”

Kilah slowly nodded. She didn’t look worried. Neither did Liora or Elias.

Edge swallowed, heart pounding. The world seemed to shrink and focus on the monsters at the gate, her friends behind her, and the cold, writhing power at her fingertips. She braced herself, willing the shadows loose.

There was no turning back now.