The weight of the forest's darkness pressed down on me.

Adrenaline pumped through me as I watched my opponent fall. I listened for the thud as their body collided with the ground.

Deep crimson painted a nearby tree, sliding down through bark and seeping into sapwood, the excess pooling on the ground to soak in the dead pine needles.

I don't remember who it was or why I had chosen to slay them.

In the past, I had seen my fair share of bloodshed. Killed indiscriminately. If you saw another day on my lands, it was because I willed it.

But this felt different.

Up ahead, shadows shifted in the sea of trees. I braced myself, sword held steady. Shivers traveled up my fingertips, electrified my arms, and settled as a chill on the back of my neck.

"Who's there?"

I could hear whispers all around me, from behind every tree. It was overwhelming, all-encompassing, indecipherable.

The shadow swiftly closed the distance between us until it towered over me.

It reached for me, and I stepped back.

I remember the sinister laugh, the way it touched a primal fear deep within me.

I was paralyzed. My mind flooded with whispers.

Its wispy body lurched forward and slammed through me. I felt myself fall. The wind left my lungs, and for a moment, there was nothing… an emptiness the likes of which I had never felt before.