The jungle air was thick with tension, the scent of damp leaves and distant blood soaking into Lucas's senses. Branches creaked under weight not his own. Somewhere above, birds scattered. Zephyra circled once, her body tense. Umbra, ever silent, slinked forward and lowered into a crouch.
White-furred shapes moved among the shadows.
"They're circling," Lucas murmured, hand tightening around the hilt of his Twin blades fusion weapon and a Black-gold gauntlet with claws streaked with emerald lightning and shadow veins. Beast Fusion had reshaped Umbra into the weapon's form while Zephyra infused its edge with storm essence. The gauntlets pulsed in his grip, alive, an extension of himself.
Across the clearing, Elira mounted Luna, her longbow already drawn. The lynx tensed, paws silent on the forest floor, the silver runes on its bracers faintly glowing.
Then, the apes emerged.
Seven feet tall. White skin stretched taut over rippling muscle. Their jaws gaped too wide, filled with jagged teeth. Eyes like molten bone. Six of them total.
Three rushed Lucas.
Three veered toward Elira.
"Now!" Lucas barked.
He dashed forward.
The first ape came at him like a battering ram. Lucas slid under the claw swipe and came up spinning. The blade hummed as it slashed upward, cleaving into the creature's side. Windblades surged into the wound, and the ape howled, stumbling.
Another leaped over its fallen comrade, arms raised to crush. Lucas caught the blow on the glaive's haft, the impact sending vibrations down his spine. He twisted, planting a foot against its chest and kicking off, vaulting back into the third's path.
He slashed sideways.
Umbra's shadow energy extended the blade's arc. It cut through the ape's thigh. The beast roared, stumbled, then lunged.
Lucas ducked under its swing, drove the glaive upward, and shouted, "Zephyra—Wind Pulse!"
A surge of Wind force exploded from the weapon's edge.
BOOM!
All three apes were hurled backward, twitching. Smoke curled from their wounds. Two didn't rise.
The third crawled, barely breathing.
Lucas finished it with a precise thrust to the heart.
Across the field, Elira rode like lightning.
Luna dashed in zigzags, arrows whistling through the air. One ape fell with a bolt through its eye. Another bled from a dozen feathered shafts, snarling and swiping as it staggered.
The final beast hurled a boulder.
Luna vaulted over it.
Elira spun mid-air, loosing two arrows in the same heartbeat.
Thud.
Thud.
The last two scouts fell.
Silence returned.
Lucas exhaled.
His gauntlet and blade dissolved back into light. Umbra reappeared beside him, breath steady. Zephyra swooped low, talons catching the breeze.
DING!
[Battle Complete: Enemy Scouts Defeated]
[Rewards Available]
One by one, the ape corpses shimmered.
DING!
[You have acquired: Silverblood Core x3, Beastbone Gauntlet (Uncommon), Jungle Pheromone Vial, Tide Scout Tooth (Rare)]
Elira dismounted, sweat lining her brow.
Lucas turned to her with a grin. "Not bad for a morning ambush."
She smirked. "Not bad for a lord with a talking weapon."
DING!
[Level Up! Lucas Carter: Level 11 → Level 13]
[+2 Stat Points. +1 Skill Point.]
[Beast Companion: Umbra → Level 12]
[Beast Companion: Zephyra → Level 12]
[New Beast Trait Unlocked: Shadow Echo (Umbra) – When striking from stealth, first attack deals double damage.]
[New Beast Trait Unlocked: Storm Step (Zephyra) – Can teleport short distances during flight.]
Lucas blinked. His muscles felt lighter, senses sharper.
Zephyra hovered at eye level. "That storm blast felt good. We should practice chaining our powers more."
Umbra dipped his head. "The fusion felt... natural."
Lucas nodded, a silent promise forming.
But then Elira swayed.
Lucas caught her. "Elira?"
Her lips parted, breath ragged. "Something's... wrong."
She clutched her side. Her armor was torn. Beneath it, a scratch oozed blackened blood.
Lucas's heart dropped. "Poison?"
Zephyra darted closer, eyes narrowed. "Tide venom. From their claws. Fast-acting."
Elira winced, her legs buckling. Lucas eased her to the ground.
"I have a tonic… in my pack..."
He fumbled through her satchel, pulling out a silver vial. It shimmered faintly, the seal of a healing salve etched into the lid.
"Hold on. This will help."
He tilted it to her lips. She drank, grimacing.
Zephyra landed, placing one wing gently over Elira's forehead. "It's slowing the spread. But she needs rest. And time."
Lucas's jaw tightened. He looked out toward the dark jungle path ahead, then back at Elira.
"We return to Greystone. Now."
Umbra took the lead. Luna gently nudged Elira with her muzzle, protective.
As they moved, Lucas tightened his grip on his glaive.
The Tide had drawn first blood.
He would repay it tenfold.