BEYOND THE NORTHERN FOREST

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE HUNT BEGINS

THE HUNT BEGINS

The fortress stood beyond the northern mountains, surrounded by snow-covered cliffs and endless stretches of forest.

It had once been a stronghold.

Now it was little more than a ruin.

Broken towers rose into the gray sky. Cracks ran through the ancient walls. Snow had gathered along the stone steps, and several sections of the roof had collapsed completely.

Yet two people had made the ruined fortress their home.

Darius stood near a broken window, looking down at the valley.

Elena sat on the edge of an old stone table, quietly sharpening a short blade.

They had spent years moving from battlefield to battlefield.

They had fought beside kings.

They had fought against kings.

They had fought for rebels, nobles, soldiers, and anyone else willing to pay.

But they had never belonged to anyone.

They had never called themselves heroes.

They had never called themselves villains.

They simply chose the side that looked most likely to win.

Survival was their only loyalty.

Darius glanced at Elena.

"How long do you think this peace will last?"

Elena continued sharpening the blade.

"Not long."

Darius smiled.

"It never does."

A sound came from the corridor.

Footsteps.

Slow.

Calm.

Darius immediately stopped smiling.

Elena lowered her blade.

The footsteps grew closer.

Then the doors opened.

The Entity entered.

Neither Darius nor Elena moved.

The Entity walked toward them without hurry.

Darius folded his arms.

"You've come a long way."

"I have."

"What do you want?"

The Entity looked at both of them.

"You."

Darius laughed.

"That's not an answer."

The Entity placed a black parchment on the stone table.

Symbols covered its surface.

Elena looked at it.

Her expression changed slightly.

"A contract."

"Yes."

Darius walked closer.

"What kind?"

"One that binds you to me."

Darius's smile disappeared.

"No."

The Entity didn't react.

Elena looked at the parchment.

"What does it require?"

"Obedience."

Darius laughed again.

"You really came all this way just to ask us to become servants?"

"I came because your abilities are useful."

"We've survived without masters."

"Until now."

Darius stared at him.

The Entity continued.

"You have spent your lives choosing the winning side."

Darius's eyes narrowed.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing."

The Entity looked toward the broken window.

"But eventually, you will choose incorrectly."

Elena stood.

"And you believe your side will win?"

"I know it will."

Darius shook his head.

"Then find someone else."

The Entity looked at him.

"Sign the contract."

"No."

Elena stepped beside Darius.

"No."

Silence filled the room.

The Entity nodded.

"Very well."

The contract disappeared.

Darius's Curse mark began glowing.

Elena's did the same.

Darius smiled.

"That's more like it."

The Entity raised his hand.

"Then prove yourselves."

Darius attacked.

---

Decay erupted from his palm.

The stone floor cracked beneath his feet as the destructive energy rushed forward.

The Entity stepped aside.

The attack struck the wall.

Stone crumbled instantly.

Elena moved.

Cold swept through the chamber.

Ice spread across the floor toward the Entity.

He jumped over it.

Darius was already behind him.

His hand swung forward.

"Decay Touch."

The Entity moved.

Darius's fingers missed him by inches.

The stone behind the Entity began deteriorating.

Elena raised her hand.

Several ice spears formed around her.

"Frost Spear."

They shot forward.

The Entity twisted between them.

The final spear struck a pillar.

The pillar cracked.

Darius attacked again.

"Withering Wave."

A wave of Decay surged across the floor.

Elena followed.

"Winter's Grasp."

Ice wrapped around the wave.

The combined attack grew larger.

The Entity raised one hand.

Void swallowed it.

Darius's expression hardened.

Elena moved to the left.

Darius moved to the right.

They attacked simultaneously.

Decay tore through the floor.

Frost covered the walls.

The Entity disappeared.

Darius turned.

A black force struck his chest.

He flew backward and crashed through an old wooden table.

Elena raised an ice barrier.

The attack shattered it.

She was thrown across the room.

Darius rose.

His eyes hardened.

He slammed his palm against the ground.

"Ruin Grip."

The stone beneath the Entity broke apart.

The Entity jumped.

Elena raised both hands.

"Frozen Prison."

Ice erupted from the ground.

It surrounded the Entity.

Darius attacked the prison.

"Ruin Field."

Decay spread through the ice.

The prison began collapsing inward.

For a moment, the Entity disappeared beneath the destruction.

Darius breathed heavily.

Elena lowered her hands.

Then the entire structure exploded.

Black energy tore through the chamber.

Darius was thrown against the wall.

Elena hit the floor.

The Entity stepped out of the destruction.

Unharmed.

Darius pushed himself up.

He attacked again.

Decay covered his entire arm.

The Entity caught his wrist.

The destructive energy disappeared.

Darius's eyes widened.

The Entity struck him once.

Darius crashed onto the floor.

Elena stood.

Frost spread around her feet.

She attacked.

The Entity moved through the ice.

Elena changed direction.

She formed a blade of frost.

The Entity blocked.

The collision shattered the blade.

Elena stepped backward.

The Entity raised his hand.

Void surrounded her.

She tried to escape.

The force struck.

She fell.

The fortress became silent.

Darius tried to stand.

His body refused.

Elena slowly lifted her head.

The Entity walked toward them.

"You were given a choice."

Darius looked up.

"Go to hell."

The Entity didn't react.

The contract appeared again.

It floated before them.

Darius stared at it.

Elena stared too.

They both understood.

They couldn't defeat him.

Not today.

Elena reached toward the contract.

Darius looked at her.

She gave him a small nod.

Survival.

Darius slowly reached out.

Their hands touched the parchment.

The contract vanished.

Black symbols appeared on their arms.

Darius looked at the mark.

His expression darkened.

"You forced us."

The Entity turned toward the doorway.

"I didn't ask for loyalty."

He paused.

Then looked back at them.

"Loyalty is not what I asked for. Obedience is enough."

He walked away.

Darius watched him leave.

Elena stared at the mark.

Neither said anything.

They had not become loyal.

They had simply survived.

---

The Training

Far from the ruined fortress, Lucan stood in the middle of a forest clearing.

His breathing was heavy.

Sweat ran down his face.

His clothes were covered in dirt.

His arms shook from exhaustion.

Across from him stood Vaeron.

Seris watched from the side.

Lyris sat beneath a tree.

"Again," Vaeron said.

Lucan looked at him.

"I've been doing this since sunrise."

"Then you should be better by now."

Lucan frowned.

Vaeron raised his hand.

Dominion pressed against Lucan.

Lucan immediately stepped backward.

"Don't run."

Lucan gritted his teeth.

He raised his hand.

Thunder sparked.

Vaeron attacked.

Lucan moved.

The Dominion pressure followed him.

Lucan ducked.

A blast struck the ground beside him.

He rolled away.

His heart raced.

Fear entered his chest.

Lightning exploded across his arms.

Thunder.

Vaeron stopped.

"Good."

Lucan breathed heavily.

"I didn't choose it."

"You weren't supposed to."

Lucan looked at his hands.

Vaeron approached.

"Your Curses respond to emotion."

Lucan nodded.

"You've told me."

"Then remember."

Vaeron pointed toward him.

"Fear."

Thunder.

"Confidence."

Dominion.

"Hatred."

Decay.

"Desperation."

Blood.

"Confusion."

Frost.

Lucan's expression became serious.

"And overwhelming anger and resentment?"

Vaeron's gaze hardened.

"Void."

Lucan didn't respond.

"And protection?"

Vaeron paused.

"That's different."

Lucan waited.

Vaeron stepped away.

"Again."

Lucan sighed.

He raised his hands.

Thunder appeared.

Vaeron attacked.

Lucan dodged.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Every time Lucan slowed, Vaeron attacked.

Every time he lost concentration, he was knocked down.

He kept getting up.

His knees hurt.

His arms hurt.

His chest burned.

But he refused to stop.

Seris watched quietly.

After another attack, Lucan fell onto his back.

Vaeron waited.

Lucan stared at the sky.

"I hate you."

Vaeron nodded.

"Good."

Lucan sat up.

"How is that good?"

"Because you're still standing."

Lucan stood.

"Again."

The training continued.

Hours passed.

Lucan learned to move with Thunder.

He learned to direct lightning instead of allowing it to explode randomly.

He learned to control how much power entered his legs.

He learned to use fear without allowing fear to control him.

But Frost remained different.

Every attempt ended badly.

"Frost."

Nothing.

Lucan tried again.

Nothing.

Again.

Still nothing.

He became frustrated.

The frustration became confusion.

The moment he stopped understanding what to do, frost appeared.

Lucan looked down.

Ice covered his fingers.

He froze.

Vaeron noticed.

"Don't move."

Lucan stared.

The ice spread across his hand.

Then his wrist.

Then his arm.

Lucan panicked.

The Frost exploded outward.

Vaeron stepped away.

Lucan struggled to stop it.

The ice covered the ground.

Trees froze.

The air became cold.

"Lucan!"

Seris shouted.

Lucan pulled his hand toward himself.

The Frost stopped.

He dropped to one knee.

His breathing was fast.

"I can't control it."

Vaeron approached.

"Not yet."

"Thunder listens."

"Thunder responds to fear."

"Frost doesn't."

"It does."

Lucan looked at him.

"You just don't understand it yet."

Lucan stared at the ice.

He hated that answer.

But he knew Vaeron was right.

---

The next attempt was worse.

Lucan stood in the clearing.

He tried to reproduce the emotion.

He confused himself intentionally.

He thought about his brother.

He thought about the estate.

He thought about the Entity.

He thought about the Seven.

His thoughts became tangled.

Frost appeared.

Lucan tried to shape it.

The ice formed around his hand.

Then it shattered.

Again.

He tried.

Again.

It broke.

Again.

A thin layer formed.

He moved his hand.

The frost followed.

Lucan smiled.

Then Thunder appeared.

Lightning moved through his fingers.

The two powers touched.

Lucan froze.

The lightning traveled through the ice.

A pale glow appeared around his arm.

Seris stepped forward.

"Lucan."

He didn't answer.

He stared at his hand.

Thunder and Frost were combining.

The energy grew stronger.

The ground cracked.

Vaeron moved backward.

"Don't force it."

Lucan tried to separate them.

He couldn't.

The lightning became brighter.

The Frost became colder.

Lucan's arms began shaking.

He felt the power slipping away from him.

"Lucan!"

He pushed both hands forward.

The combined energy exploded.

Lightning tore across the clearing.

Ice followed it.

Trees bent under the force.

The ground froze.

A shockwave sent Lucan flying backward.

He crashed into the ground.

Silence.

Then Lucan slowly lifted his head.

The clearing was covered in frost.

Thin bolts of lightning still moved across the frozen ground.

Lucan stared.

"I did that."

Vaeron looked at the destruction.

"You combined Thunder and Frost."

Lucan looked at his hands.

"But I couldn't control it."

"Not completely."

Seris approached.

"But you did it."

Lucan smiled.

For the first time, he understood that the Curses didn't have to remain separate.

They could become something more.

But he also understood how dangerous that power could become.

---

Lyris

That evening, Lyris sat alone.

The others were near the fire.

She wasn't.

Her hands were trembling.

Seris noticed.

She walked over.

"Lyris."

Lyris looked up.

Seris sat beside her.

For a while, neither spoke.

Then Lyris whispered:

"I'm afraid."

Seris didn't ask why.

She already knew.

"The Entity."

Lyris nodded.

"He brought me back."

Her voice shook.

"He can take me away again."

Seris remained silent.

Lyris looked down.

"He told me what would happen if I betrayed him."

Seris reached for her hand.

"You don't have to face him alone."

"What if he comes?"

"Then we'll face him."

"What if he kills me?"

Seris looked directly into her eyes.

"He won't."

"You don't know that."

"No."

Seris tightened her grip.

"But I know this."

Lyris waited.

Seris spoke firmly.

"I won't let you die."

Lyris stared at her.

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend."

Lyris looked away.

A tear fell from her eye.

Seris remained beside her.

"You don't have to be afraid tonight."

Lyris nodded.

For the first time since the Entity had brought her back, she felt like someone was standing beside her because they wanted to.

Not because they were ordered to.

---

Later that night, Lucan lay awake.

Everyone else was asleep.

He stared at the ceiling.

His body was exhausted.

His muscles hurt.

But his mind was still awake.

He thought about the training.

Thunder.

Frost.

The strange combination.

He wondered what would happen if another Curse awakened.

Would he be able to control it?

Or would it control him?

His thoughts drifted toward Levi.

Lucan closed his eyes.

He remembered his brother teaching him how to survive.

How to track.

How to listen.

How to stay calm.

He remembered waiting for him to return.

Three months.

Still nothing.

Lucan turned onto his side.

"I'll find you."

His voice was barely a whisper.

"I don't care how long it takes."

He closed his eyes.

For the first time that night, sleep finally came.

---

Far away, Darius and Elena stood beneath the moon.

The contract marks on their arms remained visible.

Darius stared toward the mountains.

"We have an order."

Elena nodded.

"Find Lucan."

Darius sighed.

"I hate being ordered around."

"You always hated being ordered around."

"True."

Elena looked at the mark.

"We have no choice."

Darius smiled faintly.

"There is always a choice."

Elena looked at him.

"Not this time."

Darius looked toward the distant mountains.

For years, they had chosen their own battles.

They had switched sides whenever survival demanded it.

But now they had been forced onto a path they hadn't chosen.

Somewhere ahead was Lucan.

A boy carrying something neither of them fully understood.

A boy whose emotions could awaken powers capable of changing the balance between the Seven.

Darius's expression became serious.

"Let's see which side wins."

Elena looked toward the mountains.

Neither of them knew that the answer would eventually change everything.

They began walking.

Behind them, the fortress disappeared into the darkness.

Ahead of them waited the unknown.

And somewhere beyond the mountains, the Entity watched the beginning of a new chapter in his plan.

The hunt had begun.