The Darkest Light: Rise of the Forgotten

Back on the hunt

The others caught up with me, they looked rather confused, and to be honest, I was too, I mean, who wouldn't after meeting the son of the worst titan you can think of. I was lost in thought and confusion about the words that emo wanna be said to me.

Then Noah's hand on my shoulder snapped me back into reality, not because of them calling my name like a bunch of seagulls, but just because I hate being touched, I don't know why, I just never been the touchy kind of guy.

"Geez stop yelling" I said as I gently shoved Noah's hand off my shoulder.

"What in Tartarus was that?!" Karl said, he looked at me like I just murdered is first born baby, like dude, chill out I just randomly ran into the forest because I thought I saw my sister.

"I just- I saw something, but I guess it was only the shadows playing tricks on my mind." I said trying to dodge the million questions I'm about to get.

"Dude you could have run into a monster that was not a smart move." Sophie said with her usually cold look. And if it was anyone else I would have argued back, but with her? she'd probably tie me up a tree with ivy, so no thank you.

"I'll warn you guys next time I decide to run off." I said as I started walking. Sky flew over me, looking down at me, things that I hated, and still do.

"You look more pale than usual Lex, did you see a ghost or something?" For one Sky wasn't completely wrong, I did see a ghost, but back then I was dumb enough to not explain the situation. Thing that, trust me, I will regret.

"yeah yeah, Im just tired, so leave me be" I said as I kept walking, noah next to me, he didn't say anything, maybe because he knew I wont answer any questions at the moment, or maybe he was sad I shoved his hand off earlier.

I just ruffled his hair in a really fast and dismissed way, that made his big smile come back. I was glad it did, because you do not want to deal with a grumpy Noah for a whole trip.

Anyway, we kept on walking, because, mind you, we had a monster to kill, what monster? no idea, could be anything to a hellhound to a hydra, only the gods know.

We kept on walking, I was still thinking about that dude from earlier, I didn't see his face, but his voice wasn't getting out of my head, which I was hating. 'my gods when is this monster going to show up?' I thought, I really wanted to leave that forest, It was just a bad feeling.

The tree seemed to get thicker and thicker, like not even the moonlight was passing through, which just had things to my reason on why I wanted to leave. But then, finally I heard something.

"my gods, took it long enough." Sky said while flying around us with a bored expression.

"Yeah, well, it's not like we were in a hurry to find it," I muttered under my breath, still scanning the dark forest. The trees were so thick now that the usual forest sounds-the rustling of leaves, the chirp of nocturnal creatures-had disappeared. Everything felt too... quiet. I didn't like it. At all.

Sophie, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, suddenly stopped, her head tilted as she listened intently. "Something's wrong," she said in her usual cold, matter-of-fact tone.

"No shit" I replied, rolling my eyes. The sarcasm was the only thing keeping me from losing my mind in this eerie silence. "We're in the middle of a creepy forest, about to face a monster we know absolutely nothing about. What's not wrong?"

"Shut up, Lex," Karl snapped, clearly getting annoyed with my endless complaining. "You can feel that too, right? Like the air's thick with... something."

Noah, still walking beside me, nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing as he looked around. "Yeah... I don't like this."

Sky, who had been flying above us like some sort of overgrown sparrow, swooped lower, looking around with exaggerated curiosity. "Okay, okay, it's getting way too quiet. This place is giving me the creeps."

I wasn't going to admit it out loud, but I was with him on that. Something was off, and it wasn't just the shadows in my head. My instincts were screaming at me to get out of here, but I knew it was too late. Whatever was coming was already here. I mean, looking back, we faced worse, but that forest and fight will always be one of my less favourites.

A rustling sound broke the silence, coming from the direction we were walking. Everyone tensed, hands ready on weapons. I took a step forward, my shadows swirling around me instinctively. There was no way I was walking into this blind. I'm unconsciously overprotective when it comes to my friends so that was kinda a no thinking reaction.

Then the rustling stopped, and the air grew even heavier, like something was holding its breath.

"Great, now we're just waiting for the monster to decide when it's ready to attack," I muttered, rolling my eyes, I hated this.

Sophie raised an eyebrow at me, but before she could say anything, the silence was broken-this time, by a low growl.

A sound that sent a chill straight down my spine.

The others stiffened, their eyes darting around in search of the source. And then, finally, I saw it. Or rather, I saw them. Shadows flickered in the moonlight, twisting and turning like living things. I couldn't make out much, but I could feel the weight of it. Something big was about to show itself.

"Well, there it is," Karl muttered, his voice tense as he took his wand out of his hair. "About time."

"Yeah, and it's about to make our time even worse," I said, my hand instinctively moving toward my hairclip-my makeshift sword. "Everyone, get ready."

Sky swooped down and hovered in front of me. "You sure you want to keep being the brave leader, Lex? Because I'm just saying, you don't look like you've had the best day."

I shot him a glare. "I'm not in the mood for your sarcasm right now, Sky."

The growl came again, closer this time. Something large shifted in the shadows. I could see the shape now-long, sleek, and unnervingly fast. My pulse picked up, and I knew whatever was coming, we weren't ready for it. But the alternative was worse. We had to face it, whatever it was.

And that's when the creature stepped into the clearing.

It was a massive, four-legged beast with glowing eyes and teeth sharp enough to rip through metal. It resembled a hellhound but was way too sleek, too fast-looking to be just that. It had dark, shadowy fur that shimmered like smoke, and as it snarled, I realized with a sinking feeling that this was no ordinary monster. It was a shadow beast.

"Oh, great," I muttered. "Just what we need: a nightmare straight out of a Tartarus. Thanks gods."

Sophie was the first to react. Without a word, she slammed her hand into the ground, sending vines and thorns sprouting up like wild fireworks. The ground shook as thick, green tendrils lashed out toward the beast. But it was fast. Way too fast.

The creature dodged with terrifying agility, leaping out of the way and snarling viciously.

"Okay, so not a fan of plants," Karl noted dryly, spinning his sword in his hand. "Guess it's my turn."

"Just don't get yourself killed, Karl," I warned, stepping back, my shadows swirling more tightly around me. I could feel the bracelet my dad gave me heating up again. I hated how it always felt like it was about to explode. I meanz I don't want my wrist to explode in the middle of a dark forest fighting a monster from Tartarus.

Noah notched an arrow, his fingers tight on the string. "This thing is fast, but it's not that fast. I'll take the shot when it makes a move."

I didn't need to say anything. We all knew what to do. We'd been in enough monster fights to know the drill.

The beast charged.

And for a split second, all I could think was: We're screwed.