What.... Have you done?

Boom!

Pain ripped through me as I slammed against the rough, icy wall of the cave. My legs gave out, and I crumpled to the ground, every muscle in my body shaking with exhaustion. My breaths came in short, ragged gasps, each one burning my throat like fire. I wanted to stop—God, I needed to stop—but I couldn't. I forced my body to move, dragging my feet across the uneven floor, every step feeling like I was walking through quicksand.

Survival felt like a joke. Something distant and unreachable, slipping further away with every agonizing step.

How did I let it get this bad?

I should've known better. Should've spent my time finding a way out of that cursed forest instead of focusing on that stupid array. If I hadn't wasted so much time, I wouldn't be running for my life through this damned cave.

But I did. And now? Now I was paying the price. I'd made all the wrong choices, and it had finally caught up with me.

"ROAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The sound that echoed through the cave was more than just a roar—it was a death sentence. The sheer power of it sent vibrations through the ground, rattling my bones. My heart nearly stopped, panic flooding my body like ice. It was the kind of sound that made you forget how to breathe.

Move. I had to move.

I forced my legs into motion, stumbling deeper into the suffocating darkness. The air grew thick, oppressive, and it felt like the shadows were closing in around me, pressing down on my chest. I could barely tell if my eyes were open anymore. Everything had been swallowed by the blackness.

Then, out of nowhere, it hit.

*BOOM!*

Something massive crashed into my back, and suddenly I was airborne. Time seemed to stretch as I flew through the darkness, helpless against the force that had struck me. My scream filled the cavern, cutting through the silence before I slammed into the wall with a bone-shattering impact.

"AHHH!" I cried out as pain exploded through my body. My shoulder took the worst of it, sending a searing ache down my arm. I gasped for air, my lungs refusing to cooperate, as the agony consumed me.

"Ugh..." I groaned, clenching my teeth as I forced myself to my feet. Every part of me hurt, but I couldn't stop. I had to keep moving. But where? 

There was nothing around me, just an endless void of black. I pressed a hand to the cold, jagged wall, using it to steady myself as dizziness hit me like a wave. I had no sense of direction, no idea where I was going, just the overwhelming need to run—to escape whatever was chasing me.

I shouldn't have come here. I should've done things differently. There had to be another way out of this nightmare, some smarter plan I hadn't considered. But instead, I ran. And now I was trapped.

My shoulder throbbed in time with my heartbeat, the pain barely tolerable. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, the real terror came from the feeling that I wasn't alone in this cave. 

It wasn't just the darkness that suffocated me—it was the presence. Something was out there, hidden in the shadows, watching me, stalking me. My breath caught in my throat, my chest tight with fear.

I pressed my back to the wall, trying to disappear into the stone, praying that whatever was out there wouldn't find me. My heart pounded in my chest, every beat a thunderclap in the silence. 

I wasn't alone. I could feel it closing in, its presence thick and oppressive, the air around me growing colder, denser. My mana stirred uneasily, reacting to the malevolent force that was hunting me.

A Psykrophyte.

There is no mistaking it. Psykrophytes weren't just dangerous—they were death incarnate. Predators that could kill even high-level guardians without breaking a sweat.

I knew this because, before everything went to hell, I'd encountered one in the game. Back when I was Samael, I'd stumbled across them while exploring areas I shouldn't have. They were creatures that fed on fear, on mana, on the very essence of their prey.

And now, one of them was hunting me.

I could feel it—the numbness creeping up my limbs, the paralysis setting in. It was the Psykrophyte's ability. I'd seen it before, and I knew what was coming, but there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"Damn it," I muttered through gritted teeth, my voice barely a whisper in the oppressive dark.

My body started to stiffen, my muscles refusing to respond. The cold spread through me like ice in my veins. Panic clawed at me, but I couldn't move. I was trapped in my own body, helpless.

Not now. Not like this.

I struggled against the paralysis, trying to force my limbs to obey, but it was no use. The darkness pressed in around me, swallowing me whole. The last thing I saw was nothing but endless black.

Then, a voice—soft, familiar, and impossible—echoed in the silence.

"Mael…"

My heart stopped.

No. It couldn't be.

"What… have you done?"