Staring Contest.

"Behind...?" Purple eyes muttered as she turned around, her gaze meeting with the glowing red eyes of the creature, causing her to jolt and shoot back a couple of meters instinctively.

'What the hell... Is that thing?'

A chill ran through Aldric's spine as he stared at it, a form of pure terror. It had a body at least two times taller than muscle, yet far more slender; its skin was as black as the night itself, causing it to blend with the darkness so terrifyingly well that at a glance, only its red eyes could be seen. It was a mismatched mess of disjointed and seemingly broken limbs attached to its body with no regard for order.

Arms could be seen sticking out from its back, and a pair of legs from its side, all curving in ways sturdy bones would not have permitted. Each breath it took was gravelly and loud; a mist wisped escaping its maw each time it exhaled, exposing a row of black razor-sharp teeth.

This creature, simply put, was a complete depiction of terror and a potent induction of fear. However, of its many horrific features, they all seemed to pale in comparison to its smile—lips stained with blood, curved in an eerie manner—perhaps in sickening delight or hunger certain to be appeased.

Aldric didn't need to know what this amalgamation of horrors was for him to know what it wanted; anyone could tell, it wanted their blood, their flesh, their life.

Fight or flight, strong and persuasive, had already begun their struggle within Aldric. However, running was not an option. Aside from the fact he could still not show weakness, from the sounds he had heard from the forest, it seemed going off alone was more of a death sentence than remaining put. So with flight out of the way, that left only one option—patience.

He simply needed to silently wait for them to handle it. Why fight if others can do it for you? His involvement was unnecessary and could possibly expose him for the weakling he truly was.

In such unfamiliar territory, Aldric knew recklessness would be his demise. Instead, he'd simply watch and observe, learn... Adapt.

'Alright then, you all fight it while I watch,' his gaze not leaving the terrifying creature.

[The Trial has begun. You may leave the forest.]

"Huh."

"Great, there's no need remaining here at night. I'll be leaving first... Let's meet straight north on the outskirts of the forest."

Following Blindfold's announcement, they all began to disperse. Robes and Blindfold moved together, while Muscles, purple eyes, and the Elf took another route. They all just began leaving, completely ignoring the abominable freak of nature before them. It's as if they were not worried by it, and likewise, it seemed the creature didn't care for them either—its gaze just locked with Aldric.

'What the hell is going on?'

Aldric stepped back, peeling his eyes away from the creature with considerable difficulty as he surveyed his surroundings. Soon enough, the rest had disappeared into the forest, leaving Aldric and the creature that approached him with an eerie slowness and evil grace.

Aldric shifted his gaze back to the eyes of the creature, and only then did he finally notice. He wasn't standing still and not following the rest because he's stupid, nor was he staring into the creature's crimson eyes of his own accord. It was as if he were compelled, as if he couldn't move or look away. Moments later, Aldric noticed as he stared at the glowing eyes of the nightmarish beast, it no longer stared back at him.

Then, with what felt even more difficult than before, Aldric turned away from the creature to see what it looked at. As he traced its gaze, his eyes fell on the golden-haired girl, sitting and staring directly into the monster's crimson eyes.

The creature seemed to ignore Aldric and began to move towards the golden-haired girl, its eyes locked as it approached her with a deathly slowness and suffocating silence, while Aldric was left forced to watch, with no ability to move.

"This is a dark stalker, you should know that... But I'm guessing you don't," Aldric heard the voice of Golden Hair for the first time—a soothing sound, as smooth as wine aged over many moons.

"The moment you look into their eyes for a certain amount of time, you fall under their hypnosis, and you can only stand still and motionless as they tear off your flesh to eat and peel off your skin to lick your blood—or at least that's what's said. I'm yet to see it myself."

Chills ran down Aldric's spine at the calmness the girl's voice carried while speaking such horrific facts about the creature, as it approached her. For Aldric, it didn't make sense. Could she be stupid or a psychopath?

"If you know all of this already, why didn't you look away?"

Aldric's question held genuine curiosity as he watched the creature reach the girl, its face now mere inches from hers, its misty breath ruffling the golden loose streaks of her hair in sequence, its teeth slowly revealing as it opened its maw.

"I'm just curious," she began, her gold eyes staring deeply into the crimson orbs of the creature. "What it'll do if I don't."