It had only been five seconds since Kaelvren drifted into the sweet embrace of sleep...
He didn't mean to. His body simply gave out. That moment his damn body totally collapsed on the muddy shore, his entire body began to shut down from inside to outside. His muscles went limp. His eyes drifted to sleep. His mind completely blackout.
Kael's face was a mess of shallow cuts and bruises like a painting created by a child. There were countless tiny splinters of the shattered branch embedded into his face. There was also a layer of blood mixed with mud on his cheek to give him an additional layer of skin.
But five seconds was all the time he allowed himself to waste in this forsaken world.
Then—his eyes snapped open.
It was not a tranquil awakening, but a survival awakening.
His hand shook as he wiped his mouth, only to spread more mud on his face. He coughed again, harder this time, and in his mouth there was a nasty taste of fish.
"Not good, it's not the time for luxurious sleep ," he muttered in a voice hoarse.
Pain was waves throughout his body. Every part of his body was on fire of pain. His ribs aching from every single breath. His left arm became weak, trembling beneath him as he tried to sit up. He was cold, wet, and in desperation to find a way to end this trial.
But there was a satisfactory smile on the muddy face which was saying that nothing matters because—he was alive.
While sitting he looked around, washing away the blood that had run into his eye. Saw that there were trees in his surroundings. They were tall in size, their shapes varied from one another. These trees reached toward the sky like skeletal fingers. The fading sunlight cast long shadows across the forest floor. One thing was certain: the trees in the forest had thick trunks and sky-touching heights. It looked quiet.
But Kael knew better.
There was no such quiet place in this forsaken world.
Every part of his body wanted to collapse again and fall into the embrace of sweet dreams. He just wanted to lie back down, close his eyes, and forget everything.
But his mind was screaming at him. It was a scream filled with fear and desperation.
"This place is dangerous. So let's move and run from this open shore."
Kael's left hand was trembling but he manifested his dagger and his fingers wrapping around the hilt of his dagger give him a feeling that he is holding something very fragile that might fall from his hand. Just the feel of the dagger was giving him a sense of protection.
He gritted his teeth and pulled himself up into a crouch. His legs protested against his motion, but they held. Barely.
He glanced at the shadows that was stretching across the forest floor. Making it look like night was almost here but in fact it was noon And even if it was night in this world, night didn't mean rest. It meant death.
The reason he manifested his dagger even though it was hard for him to hold was for the effect of the dagger that would help him in the stretching shadow in the forest was
"Veil of Shadows."
When held, the user's presence becomes harder to detect in low-light conditions.
The air didn't shift around him. The edges of his body didn't seem to blur even in the slightest way. He wasn't invisible—but from the moment he holded his dagger in his hand he was having a feeling that his presence seemed to be dim, that he had become much harder to notice. Like a shadow at the corner of someone's eye. There was one moment. Gone the next.
It was enough for him.
With that Kael began to move.
---
His steps were light, with careful motions. He moved between the trees like he was a child raised in the forest. He was avoiding dry branches or loose stones that could cause sound when he stepped on them . Every single step was filled with agony, but he didn't stop because he couldn't. He didn't know what kind of monsters were lurking behind.
Behind him in a distance, was the life taking river that was still roared and it's faint that was falling into his ear was reminding him of the memories of the river and the monster that had dragged him into the gateway of hell. But the river monster was the only predator in river and what kind of predator will be in these woods and how many of them will lunged at him. Thinking about it was sending a cold Shiver in spine.
As he entered deep into the woods light began to fade, in his mind he started to create a hunter facade that gave him a look of appearance of a real hunter.
After walking for sometime his breath started came in short gasps. Each inhale was burning him. But he pressed on. He had no idea where he was going. He just knew he needed find a cover. A place where he can hide.
"It seems that evening was coming." He muttered in a soft voice.
Then heard—a sound.
Soft. Subtle. But there was a sound not a mistake of his ears.
Then he began to look around him and discovered that a bush was rustling.
He froze, dashed quietly, and concealed himself behind a toppled log. His heart raced in his chest, like a drum of anxiety.
He held his breath.
The rustling of the bush began to grow closer.
Then the rustling stopped.
With that silence of that creature began to fade.
Kael crouched behind the toppled log, he stayed there motionless as a dead log, he was trying to blend into the forest floor. He tightly clenched the dagger in his hand, his knuckles were already pale. He stared at the bushes, patiently waiting. Watching out for any danger.
Minute passed.
The presence of whatever there was seems to have moved on.
He exhaled his breath. It was shaky and controlled without any noise.
He couldn't maintain his consciousness for much longer. His body was at its limit of exhaustion. I have to find a shelter quickly.
With that he started to move.
Time flew. Maybe it was twenty minutes. Maybe an hour. The trees all looked the same. But finally, finally, he saw something useful as a shelter.
A massive old tree. It was thickly twisted. Its trunk had a small entry hole but from inside there was a large hollow at the base. Just big enough for him to crawl into.
A perfect hiding spot.
Without any hesitation, he dropped to his knees and started to crawl forward inside the small entry hole. With a lot of struggle he slid himself into the hollow space, pressing himself against the cool bark. It has the smell of old leaves and mud. It was dark. Cramped. But it was a place that he was desperately trying to find.
He reached for the leaves scattered around the entrance and covered himself as best as he could, making a layer of a blanket. The rough edges scratched at his skin making it itching, but he didn't care.
Here, at least, he was able to hide.
He let his back rest against the floor of the tree trunk.
His breath slowed. His muscles started to relax. The pain was still there, in his body constantly, but now he could stop pretending to be strong and brave.
His right shoulder was the most aching part in his body,that was blown away due the monster step that fellen on the colossal skull.
A phantom pain was walking him.
But exhaustion had closed his eyes.
Just for a moment.
He needed it.
Just a moment.
With that he fall into deep embrace of pain and exhaustion.