The ashes before Strife

Episode 2 : Forest Trauma ; 5

Cayde Barbaten POV:

I entered the dark green forests landscape and took a deep breath in realizing just how much I missed the clean, fresh air here. "I've not been to the traps in a few days. Best I check and see if they got broken during the storm."

I got nudged by Lupra who clearly wanted to go home immediately as I looked at her "Why don't you head off first Lupra? That way Dendra will know I'm on my way." She barked happily and quickly ran through the shrubbery leaving a frosted trail on her way as I headed deeper, along a different muddy path into the forest.

When I arrived at my net trap I was happy to see that it was still intact but was surprised when I saw several angry black foxes all struggling almost trying to bite and claw at each other, they must have been strung up for days.

It wasn't until I lowered the net and got a closer look at the now-dead black fur foxes to see that they were actually forest scavengers, an animal that lives further east in the forest and eats eggs or small animals like my current self. I wondered why they were here and figured their habitat or nests must have been flooded.

I gouged out their hearts putting their bodies in my void ring and reset the trap. As I jumped down from the branch I then realized with mana sense, I was surrounded by several of the scavengers and looked to see their green eyes piercing me with killing intent.

I was heavily outnumbered 8 to 1 and didn't know how my current strength compared to them despite fighting several slimes and other creatures on a daily basis 1 to 1, so I unleashed an even stronger killing intent on them and 5 ran away in fear while three bravely stood strong still closing in on me.

"That's annoying." One leaped down from a large tree branch, its jaw wide and thin white claws stretched out from its muddy paws as it reached for me, I covered my arms in gauntlets of ice with several sharp juts and punched the creature into the dirt, and quickly stabbed it with blades of darkness as it fell into my shadow.

The other two then began quickly circling around me while enshrouding themselves in a poison mist, I stood my ground waiting for them to attack keeping my eyes on them spreading my shadow around in a 5-meter radius.

They both then jumped at me doing a pincer attack, I waited until they entered the black circle and then several black spikes emerged from the black shadow covering the ground piercing them multiple times, splattering blood all across my face and body as their momentum suddenly stopped.

I then sucked all three bodies into my void ring "I should tell Dendra about this..." A piercing scream from a little girl then echoed throughout the forest not far away.

I recognized the voice but had no clue who it was until I finally remembered that I left my poncho at Lumines house "Lumine!"

I darted through the forest coursing mana to my legs igniting the silver runes and patterns on my body to fasten me, trailing the screams as they got louder taking out any scavengers that tried to ambush me with black spikes from the shadows. "Get out of my way!"

I then arrived at a high ledge standing on top of a tree's trunk that extended from the ground and saw Lumine getting chased by three scavengers not looking back carrying my white poncho. It was all my fault. If I had just remembered... this was no time to wallow in self-pity, I immediately jumped down and blasted myself forward with a bolt of golden lightning crushing a fox into the dirt as I landed atop it finishing it with an icicle through the skull that sprouted from my hand's palm.

The one right in front of it sensed me and immediately charged at me, unable to react fast enough it tackled me off its dead friend clasping its jaw around my frozen gauntlet barely biting into my ice-covered arm, I blasted it away with an explosion of fire thrusting it into a tree trunk dazing it, I leaped at it slicing its head clean off with a black blade and continued my pursuit after Lumine.