"Haa... do we have much longer?"
"Of course, Nathan. It's a damn forest."
They kept walking, weaving through thick trees and overgrown roots. They had already reached the middle of the forest where the other nymphs lived, but for some reason, it still felt endless.
"We already covered so much ground... We reached the middle yesterday, and today we've done just as much again."
After pushing further past the midpoint, they decided to rest for the night. For safety, Nathan climbed a tree and did his best to sleep. It wasn't a good sleep, but he needed the rest.
"Yeah... it's strange. Let- Nathan, CLIMB!"
"!!!"
Nathan rushed to the nearest tree and scrambled up without hesitation. He climbed as high as he could while footsteps rustled through the bushes below.
"Hssssss..."
"That's... huge."
A massive snake appeared out from the bushes. Its yellow eyes glowed, and dark green scales. Both Nathan and Lilo hoped it would pass by ... but it didn't.
"Ssssssssss!"
"F*ck!!"
"Oh, dammit!"
The snake saw them and began climbing. A fight was coming, and Nathan gripped his sword handle tight, muscles still aching from the long trek. He didn't know how he'd manage in his condition ... until Lilo placed a hand on his back.
A warm, sunlike aura surrounded his body. The exhaustion faded, replaced with lightness and strength.
"It's all I can do for now!"
"Thanks! It's enough!"
Nathan's chest pounded like it would burst. He steadied himself on the thick branch, one hand gripping it, the other ready to draw his sword. Behind him, Lilo clung to his neck, her face pale, eyes fixed on the monster below.
"Don't wait for it to reach you!"
Nathan didn't.
As the snake's head rose into view, he yanked his sword free and slashed downward. The blade scraped across thick armored scales, barely a scratch.
The snake hissed and lunged.
Nathan leapt sideways. Branches snapped beneath his feet as he fell. He barely caught a lower limb, body swinging, one hand on the branch, the other clutching his sword.
The snake struck again. Its jaws opened wide, venom dripping from its fangs.
"Go for the eyes!"
Nathan grunted, pulled himself up, and climbed higher. The snake wrapped tighter around the trunk. Bark cracked. The tree groaned under the pressure.
Its glowing yellow eyes found him.
Nathan moved fast. He climbed up to the next branch, then jumped. His boots hit the trunk just above the snake's head, and he kicked off, diving down with his sword pointed straight.
The blade sank deep into one of its eyes.
The snake let out a horrible, screeching hiss. It thrashed violently. The tree shook beneath them. Nathan slipped again and dropped, but this time, he landed hard on another branch. The breath was knocked clean from his lungs.
"HSsssssss!"
Above, the snake writhed in pain, blood pouring from its ruined eye.
"Nathan! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine! But it's not dead!"
The snake turned, slower now. Wounded. Blood streaked its head. It stared up at him, still dangerous, still furious.
It hissed again, low and angry... but didn't strike.
Instead, it began backing down the tree, its huge body unwinding from the trunk.
Nathan didn't wait. He slid down, hit the ground, and ran. Lilo landed beside him, and together they sprinted through the trees.
"That was incredible, Nathan! Hahaha!"
"Hey! We almost died! And I... I really did that?!"
"Yeah, you did!"
Retreating like the snake, they rushed through the forest. Lilo was grinning from the thrill of their first fight together. Nathan, on the other hand, was stunned.
Something inside him had shifted. Ever since the black entity had taken over, he felt different.
Seeing blood didn't bother him. Killing didn't either. And that was what scared him most.
"Are we headed in the right direction, Lilo?"
"Yeah! Let's hope we're out before nightfall."
Nathan glanced ahead, but the trees never seemed to thin. Even after all they had walked, twice the distance from yesterday, they were still trapped.
Night fell again.
"F*ck, Lilo. I'm not trusting you anymore."
"Hey, it's not my fault!"
"Haaa..."
Nathan climbed another tree, already dreading the second worst sleep of his life. He settled in, sword nearby, eyes scanning the darkness.
Maybe tomorrow, they'd finally figure out how to leave this cursed forest.