Roots Of Ruin (Monster Hunter Fanfiction)

Alden had seen death before. He had seen hunters crushed beneath talons the size of tree trunks, watched friends torn apart by monsters too fast to stop. But this—this was different.

Jorren wasn't dying.

Not in the way he should have.

He convulsed on the jungle floor, limbs seizing as something coiled beneath his skin. Dark veins spiderwebbed across his exposed flesh, pulsing as though something inside him was trying to break free. His eyes—glass-like, unfocused—darted between them, his mouth opening as if to speak.

Alden grabbed him by the shoulders. "Jorren! Stay with me!"

Jorren's lips moved.

The sound that came out wasn't his voice.

It was wet, garbled—wrong.

Mara staggered back, her breath coming in short, panicked gasps. "No. No, no, no—"

Alden's grip tightened. "Mara, get it together!"

Jorren twitched violently. His mouth opened wider, as though he was gasping for air—then he stopped.

Too still.

Then—he moved.

Not like a man in pain. Not like someone writhing from venom.

But with purpose.

His head tilted slightly. His fingers twitched, curling against the dirt—testing.

Alden felt his stomach drop.

Jorren wasn't looking at them.

He was watching them.

The jungle erupted.

The Pukei-Pukei shrieked, its unnatural cry echoing through the trees. From the undergrowth, twisted Jagras lunged forward, their warped bodies writhing with unnatural growths. The hunters barely had time to react before the first one struck.

Alden tore his glaive free, spinning to meet the charge. His blade met flesh, severing a Jagras in two—but the pieces kept moving.

Mara loosed an arrow, striking another through the eye. It dropped, twitching, only for something inside it to keep pushing forward.

"We have to go!" she screamed.

Alden turned back to Jorren—but Jorren was already standing.

He wasn't attacking.

He was watching.

And the Pukei-Pukei was watching him.

The realization hit like a hammer.

They had been tracking the monster. Now the monster was tracking them.

Jorren's mouth moved again, but the sound wasn't human.

It was a mimicry.

A fractured, garbled attempt at speech. The infection wasn't just spreading. It was learning.

Mara grabbed Alden's arm. "We have to move. Now."

He hesitated—just a second.

Jorren twitched.

That second was almost too long.

Jorren lunged.

Alden barely managed to twist away, but Mara wasn't as lucky.

Jorren's hand snapped out, too fast, too precise. Fingers locked around her wrist, digging in with unnatural strength.

Mara screamed.

Alden didn't think. He acted.

His glaive swung.

The blade cut deep.

Jorren fell.

Mara stumbled back, clutching her arm. Her wrist was bleeding.

Not deep—but deep enough.

Alden grabbed her, yanking her toward the trees. "Move!"

They ran.

Behind them, the jungle shifted.

Jorren's body twitched again. His fingers curled against the dirt.

And then, slowly—he rose.

The infection had taken root.