"You're getting used to the forest terrain quickly." Odina said as she leapt from a branch to the next. The scorpion ornament in her hair glinted in what little light broke through the canopy.

  I landed just behind her, testing the wood beneath my shoes before springing forward again. She was right—I could feel myself adjusting to the rhythm of this place. At first, every creak of bark and every shifting branch felt foreign. But the longer I stayed, the clearer it became. Skills like this—balance, timing, rhythm—they weren’t impossible for a transcended. They just took time.

  "I need every advantage I can get." I replied, scanning ahead.

  "We’re going to pass right to the side of the frontline." Odina said, her bow already half-drawn out of habit. "Those things should be distracted."

  Kaiguya, trailing a few paces behind us, had his arms crossed tight. He wasn’t keeping his balance as effortlessly as Odina, but he was better than I expected. His jaw was locked as though he had been chewing on his thoughts the entire time. Finally, he broke his silence.

  "How is my brother doing?" His voice was quieter than I anticipated, almost careful.

  I glanced back. "He’s doing fine on all accounts." I said, not letting my tone slip. "We’ll go into more detail later." That was the truth. Kaiguro was alive, still leading, but telling his brother more in the middle of this wouldn't be good.

  Odina landed on a branch, crouched, and motioned with her hand. "This is it. There should be fighting to our left."

  And she was right. I didn’t even have to extend my senses too far to hear it: the clash of wood, the groans of distorted voices, the thrum of arrows splitting air, and the guttural cries of something that no longer sounded human. Some of it came from the branches, but most of the violence was earthbound.

  "They’ve been holding them off?" I asked.

  "For now." Odina confirmed, grimacing. "They’ve always had more people than us."

  Kaiguya’s voice cracked as he muttered, "It’s all so rotten. A war like this, fought like this..." His arms tightened over his chest, as if trying to hold himself together.

  Odina shook her head sharply. "I don’t blame them. This is a witch’s doing, not their fault. Vellin incapacitated some, but we’re not strong enough to have that luxury. If we hesitate, we die."

  I didn’t reply. My stomach knotted at the thought of people twisted into beasts, used like tools for some greater scheme. I frowned. "Let’s just get to the camp."

  Fifteen minutes later..

  "Stop." Kaiguya whispered. His body stiffened as his hand rose to halt us. "This is it."

  We crouched low at the edge of a clearing. I let my eyes adjust, studying the scene. The Hatchahuk camp sprawled before us, built in the same style as the Sinsik’s. Some treehouses strung high, tents scattered like patchwork, torches standing guard. But where the Sinsik had order, this place reeked of collapse. Many of the tents had collapsed inward, ripped as if clawed.

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  I narrowed my eyes. Movement. A flicker in a treehouse window.

  Kaiguya pointed, voice low. "There’s somebody in that treehouse."

  I gave a sharp nod. "Search the area. Look for clues about what happened here." My eyes stayed locked on the treehouse. "I’ll take care of whoever’s in there."

  Odina didn’t argue—though her expression said she wanted to—and she and Kaiguya dropped silently into the clearing, splitting off toward the tents.

  I blitzed across the clearing, appearing at the base of the treehouse ladder before anyone could react. The wood creaked beneath my weight as I climbed. At the door, I raised my voice just enough to be heard. "I’m friendly, and I’m coming in."

  Normally, I’d never announce myself like this, but if there was even a sliver of a chance it was a survivor, I couldn’t risk them panicking.

  The faint scuffle inside stilled. Whoever was there had frozen at my words.

  I pushed the door open slowly.

  And then—impact. A blur struck me in the face with enough force to blast me back through the doorway. My body cracked against a tree trunk outside, bark splintering beneath the force. Pain flared, and before I could fully recover, another blow slammed into my stomach, stealing my air.

  A hand clamped over my face, fingers reminiscent, dragging me down into the dirt.

  A voice, harsh and venomous, growled, "This is retribution."

  The sound of it froze me for a half-second.

  As my vision cleared, I saw him.

  Lucas. From the Burnout Tournament. The man I had beaten, maimed—ruined. He wore the same fighting garb as before, though now scarred and worn, and over his shoulders draped a red cape that snapped with each motion. His eyes burned with something close to madness.

  I smiled despite the grip crushing my jaw. "So you did this, Lucas?"

  He hoisted me up with surprising ease. He was taller now, bulkier, his body rebuilt into the form of a heavyweight fighter. The stoic fighter across from me in the ring was gone—what replaced him was fury.

  "You did this to me!" he roared.

  That’s when I saw it—his left arm. Gone. The shoulder ended in an ugly scar, old but deep. I had cut it from him in that tournament, when I was in Unconscious God. I had heard rumors afterward that he’d left Mas Kuli, vanishing with his shame before I could ever find him to apologize.

  I grabbed at his wrist, steadying myself. "I don’t remember you being this strong."

  He hurled me aside like nothing, my body skidding through dirt and grass. "I abandoned everything for this moment!" he spat, chest heaving. "I didn’t know it’d come so quickly!"

  I steadied my footing, one hand brushing the dirt. He hadn’t known I would be here. This was coincidence. He has other goals.

  I rose, brushing dust from my face. "I get it," I said. "I ruined your life by taking your arm. Now you want to take revenge on me. Whatever. But why do this to the Hatchahuk?"

  He didn’t answer. His lips curled, but no denial came. He was responsible.

  Kaiguya’s voice cut across the clearing. "Hey! What’s going on?!"

  He had emerged from one of the gutted tents, eyes widening as he saw me facing off against Lucas.

  I didn’t break my focus. "I found the culprit."

  Lucas’s gaze slid toward Kaiguya, recognition dawning. "You escaped...?"

  Kaiguya stiffened but stepped forward anyway, fists balled.

  I shot him a glare. "Stay back. He’s stronger than you. I’ll handle this."

  Before Kaiguya could argue, the hum of Odina’s bowstring filled the air. An arrow sliced forward, whistling toward Lucas’s chest.

  Lucas’s hand snapped out, catching it mid-flight. His lip curled. "A cheap trick."

  He snapped the shaft in half easily.

  That speed... that precision. His power was on par with Caleb’s. With his blessed body, the speed wasn't affected either.

  Despite the danger, despite the rage boiling off him, something stirred inside me.

  It wasn’t fear.

  It was excitement.

  It had been too long since I faced someone who could really test me, someone who forced my blood to race and my senses to sharpen to their limit.

  Even though I knew I should feel guilt, that I should regret this man’s suffering, that I should be afraid of what he had become...

  I was smiling.