AuE:「y'Z The ErRor's Imbragea」

Chapter 8: Threads of Chaos

The forest had grown darker, its skeletal branches weaving into an almost solid canopy above. The air was thick now, heavy with the kind of silence that begged to be broken. Aru trudged along with Erynn behind him, her hand never straying far from her blade.

The wound in his side burned—not with pain, exactly, but with something else. Something off. Aru pressed his hand against it, his smirk still lingering despite the faint wince that crossed his face.

"You're bleeding," Erynn said, her voice sharp with concern.

"Noticed that, thanks," he replied, lifting his hand to glance at the crimson smear on his palm.

A single drop of blood fell from his fingers, and the world rippled.

The First Ripple

The drop hit the ground with an almost imperceptible hiss. Where it landed, the earth darkened, as though it had been scorched. A faint shimmer spread outward, distorting the air like heatwaves.

Erynn froze, her gaze locked on the spot. "What… is that?"

Aru tilted his head, watching as the shimmer grew, bending the light around it. The distortion deepened, and for a fleeting moment, something flickered into view—a jagged, impossible shape that dissolved into ash as quickly as it appeared.

"Neat," he muttered, stepping back.

Erynn didn't share his amusement. "Neat? That's not neat. That's—"

Another drop fell, and the shimmer flared again, this time creating a sound—a low, mournful hum that sent chills up her spine.

"We should move," she said, her hand tightening on her blade.

"Probably," Aru said, though he didn't look away from the rippling distortion.

The Living Echo

They moved deeper into the forest, the tension between them as thick as the shadows around them. But the bleeding didn't stop, and with every step, Aru's blood dripped onto the ground, each drop creating a new ripple.

At first, the effects were subtle—distorted patches of air, faint flickers of light. But then, one of the drops did something different.

A figure appeared.

It wasn't Aru, not exactly, but it moved like him, its translucent form mimicking his stride with eerie precision. The echo lasted only seconds before dissolving into mist, but it left behind an unmistakable unease.

Erynn's breath caught. "What the hell was that?"

Aru glanced over his shoulder, his smirk faint. "An improvement?"

"Stop joking!" she snapped. "This isn't normal."

"Normal's boring."

The Temporal Snarl

The next drop of blood didn't create a ripple. It created a fracture.

The ground beneath them shimmered violently, and the world around them seemed to split for a brief moment. Erynn gasped as the trees warped, their skeletal branches regrowing leaves in fast-forward before withering and dying again.

Aru stumbled, his footing lost as the ground shifted. For a moment, it felt as though time itself had come undone, the world around them replaying fragments of itself in chaotic bursts.

Then, just as suddenly as it started, the fracture sealed itself, leaving only a faint, pulsing scar in the earth.

Aru straightened, brushing ash off his coat. "Well, that was fun."

Erynn glared at him. "Fun? You're bleeding holes in reality!"

"Better than bleeding normally," he replied with a shrug.

The Watchers Arrive

The effects didn't go unnoticed.

From the shadows of the forest came a low, guttural growl. It wasn't the Rift Stalker—it was something else, something drawn to the chaotic energy bleeding from Aru's wound.

Erynn drew her blade, her stance tense as the growl grew louder. "We've got company."

Aru tilted his head. "Let me guess. More of those Veil guys?"

"No," Erynn said, her voice tight. "Worse."

The creature emerged slowly, its form flickering like a mirage. It was massive, its body an amalgamation of shifting shapes and jagged edges, its eyes glowing with a faint, sickly green.

Aru's smirk widened faintly. "And here I thought this walk was getting dull."

The Fight

The creature lunged, its speed blinding. Aru stepped to the side, but the world around him shifted unexpectedly, and he found himself too close to its claws. The strike grazed him, tearing through his coat and leaving a fresh gash along his arm.

He winced, his smirk faltering for the first time.

The creature turned toward him again, its movements jerky and erratic. It wasn't attacking blindly—it was drawn to the blood dripping from his wounds, its glowing eyes locked onto him like a predator sensing prey.

Erynn moved to intercept, her blade flashing in a wide arc. She struck the creature's flank, her blade biting deep, but the wound closed almost instantly, the creature's form shifting to compensate.

"Great," she muttered. "It heals."

"Figures," Aru said, taking a step back.

Another drop of blood fell, and the air around the creature rippled violently. Its movements faltered for a moment, its form flickering as though caught in a loop.

Aru noticed. "Huh. That's new."

He raised his hand, letting another drop fall deliberately. The ripple grew, spreading outward in chaotic waves that distorted the creature's form further.

It howled, its body twisting unnaturally as the ripples tore through it.

The Blood's Answer

The creature lunged again, but this time, the ripples intensified, and the ground beneath it shifted violently. The creature stumbled, its legs sinking into a fissure that hadn't been there moments before.

Aru stepped forward, his smirk returning. "Guess you're not so scary after all."

The creature roared, its form unraveling as the chaotic energy consumed it. Within moments, it dissolved into ash, leaving only a faint echo of its growl lingering in the air.

Erynn lowered her blade, her breathing heavy. "What just happened?"

"Not sure," Aru said, glancing at the fresh blood dripping from his arm. "But I think I like it."

The Aftermath

The forest fell silent again, but the tension didn't fade. Erynn sheathed her blade, her gaze fixed on Aru.

"You're dangerous," she said finally.

Aru chuckled. "Only if you're paying attention."

"This isn't a joke," she snapped. "That thing came for you. Whatever's in your blood, it's not normal."

"Nothing about me is," he said, his tone light.

Erynn stared at him, her frustration giving way to something colder. "If you're going to keep bleeding reality apart, you'd better figure out how to control it. Or it'll kill us both."

Aru tilted his head, his smirk widening faintly. "Guess we'll find out."