SHADOWS OF SOULS (IMMORTAL WORLD)

Blood on the road chapter 4

The sun was already dipping when Selene left the schoolyard. Mira had run ahead with friends, laughing, but Selene walked alone, clutching her books to her chest. The coin in her apron pocket was still hot, as though it carried its own heartbeat.

The road home wound between the woods. Tall trees leaned close, their branches whispering in the wind. Shadows stretched long across the path.

Halfway through the trees, the air changed.

The forest went silent. No birds. No crickets. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

Selene slowed, her stomach twisting. Her skin prickled. She could feel it — the same cold weight she had felt near the well, near the alley, near the watcher.

A branch snapped.

Selene spun. The path behind her was empty.

Then the shadows moved.

Something crawled out from between the trees. Its body was twisted smoke and bone, with claws long enough to carve stone. Its eyes glowed red like embers in the dark. It dragged itself forward with a sound like tearing flesh.

Selene’s heart thundered. Her legs wanted to run, but her body froze.

The demon’s mouth stretched wide, rows of jagged teeth gleaming. It sniffed the air.

It was hungry. For her.

Selene stumbled back. “No… no…”

The demon lunged.

She screamed—

And her hand burned.

The mark. Glowing, alive.

She felt something burst inside her chest, a heat and light she had never known. Words rose unbidden to her lips, the same ancient words from the dream.

“Rest… go to the light!”

The air cracked. A flash of silver shot from her hand, striking the demon’s face. It shrieked, recoiling as smoke burned from its skin.

Selene staggered, clutching her chest. The power left her shaking, weak, but alive. The demon hissed, crawling forward again, slower this time, wary.

Her knees buckled. She couldn’t fight it again. She had no blade, no strength.

The demon raised its claw.

A shadow moved faster than sight.

Steel flashed. The demon screamed. A silver blade cut through its form, slicing smoke from bone. In a blink, the creature scattered into ash, fading into nothing.

Silence.

Selene gasped, staring at the empty space where the demon had been. Her ears rang. Her hands trembled.

Someone had been there. Someone had saved her.

She looked wildly into the trees. “Who’s there?” Her voice cracked. “Show yourself!”

Nothing. Only branches swaying. Only shadows deep and still.

But she felt it. The presence. Watching. Protecting. Waiting.

Her knees gave way, and she sank onto the path, clutching her chest. The mark on her hand still glowed faintly, as if whispering to her.

Her first battle. Her first taste of power.

And a stranger’s blade in the dark.

As she stumbled home, every step heavy, one thought pulsed in her mind:

She was no longer safe.

Not in dreams. Not in daylight. Not even in her own skin.

And whoever had saved her —

was already tangled in her fate.