Chapter 47: Chapter 48: Maybe I’m just talented
The Ape’s roar didn’t merely echo through the ancient forest... 11aqit shattered the air itself, a deafening explosion of raw agony and fury that rattled leaves from the canopy and sent birds exploding upward in blind panic. The sound vibrated deep in my chest, rattling my bones and making my teeth ache.
Its massive body convulsed violently, every sinew and muscle seizing in grotesque, uneven spasms. Something inside it had clearly broken loose, like a primal force had been unleashed and was now tearing the creature apart from within. Its claws lashed out blindly in wide, devastating arcs, slicing through thick tree trunks as if they were nothing more than brittle twigs. Deep trenches gouged the earth, sending showers of dirt, roots, and splintered wood flying in every direction. The once-still clearing transformed into pure, frenzied chaos within seconds.
For one heart-stopping split second, no one understood what was happening.
"What have you done?!" Kaden’s voice sliced through the madness, sharp with accusation and edged with fear. He leaped backward just in time as one of the Ape’s enormous claws slammed into the ground where he had stood moments earlier, the impact sending a shockwave that nearly knocked him off his feet.
"I just wanted to help!" I snapped back immediately, my heart hammering so violently against my ribs that I could barely hear my own words. My pulse thundered in my ears, a frantic drumbeat matching the creature’s destructive frenzy.
Because from where I stood, frozen in place, it really did look like I had just made everything exponentially worse.
The others didn’t voice the accusation aloud, but I could read it clearly in their expressions and postures. Theo hesitated mid-motion, his usual steady confidence fracturing for the first time. Lyra froze mid-step, her lithe frame tense as a drawn bowstring.
Even Ivy’s sharp features tightened, not with outright fear, but with rapid, cold calculation, as if she were mentally reassessing the entire situation... and me along with it.
Fantastic, I thought bitterly. I try to be useful for once and somehow manage to upgrade the monster. Love that for me. Truly.
"Did we tell you we needed your help?" Ivy asked, her voice cold and cutting as winter steel.
"I..." I blinked once, twice, glancing helplessly between the rampaging Ape and my now-empty hand. "...I didn’t mean..."
Kaden looked like he was physically wrestling with reality itself, his face flushed with frustration and disbelief. "You... what... no..." He jabbed a finger toward the Ape as if the beast had personally betrayed him. "It was already going crazy! You made it worse!"
The Ape staggered again, its movements growing more erratic. A strange, choking gurgle tore from its massive throat as its body jerked unnaturally, limbs flailing with decreasing coordination. It was as if its own body had turned against it, the powerful muscles no longer obeying whatever dark instinct had driven them before. Its claws scraped uselessly against the torn-up ground, carving shallow, pathetic furrows. Its thick legs buckled beneath its colossal weight.
And then....
It collapsed.
Hard.
The impact was cataclysmic. The ground trembled violently beneath our feet, a dull, resonant thud that reverberated through the forest floor like a dying heartbeat. A massive cloud of dust and debris billowed upward, swirling around the fallen giant’s body as it lay motionless, the embedded blade in its neck catching the faint dappled light like a grim trophy.
Silence followed.
Thick. Heavy. Confused. Almost reverent in its uncertainty.
For a long, breathless moment, no one moved. No one dared speak. We simply stared, at the monstrous corpse, at the blade buried deep in its thick neck, and then, inevitably, at me.
"And she really helped," Elion’s voice cut through the stunned quiet at last.
Calm now. Dangerously calm. Almost amused.
Everyone turned toward him.
He wasn’t looking at the Ape.
He was looking directly at me, his gaze steady and unreadable.
"...because now it’s dead."
The words landed differently than expected, carrying a weight that settled deep in my stomach.
A heavy pause stretched between us all, thick with unspoken questions.
Theo released a slow, measured breath, his shoulders finally relaxing. "It’s... actually dead."
Lyra nodded faintly, though her wide eyes remained fixed on the creature as if it might rise again at any moment just to spite us. Kaden blinked rapidly, processing the sudden shift in reality.
"...Wait."
And just like that, the entire question shifted in the air around us.
Not
What have you done?
But....
How did you do that?
I folded my arms across my chest instinctively, forcing my expression into something carefully neutral, even as my mind raced.
"Maybe I’m just talented," I said flatly, my voice steadier than I felt.
Inside, however, my thoughts churned like a storm-tossed sea.
That voice... clear, certain, almost knowing.... still echoed in the back of my mind. I didn’t like it. Not even a little. It felt foreign. Invasive. Like something ancient had brushed against my soul and left a mark I couldn’t scrub away.
Ivy stepped forward first, approaching the Ape’s massive carcass with cautious, measured steps. Her sharp eyes scanned every inch of the fallen beast, precise and analytical, confirming what the rest of us were still struggling to fully accept.
It was dead.
Completely. Irrevocably.
She glanced back at me over her shoulder. There was something new in her gaze now... still no warmth, never that... but a flicker of reluctant recognition. As if she had finally placed me in a different category than before.
"You got lucky," she said dismissively, brushing the entire event aside like it held no real significance. Then she straightened, brushing dirt from her hands. "Let’s move. We didn’t come out here to admire corpses. We need food if we’re going to survive another night in this gods-forsaken place."
We are back to cold, practical survival.
Good.
Less thinking about mysterious voices and impossible feats.
More focus on not dying.
Behind her, Thorne’s voice sliced through the fragile moment like a freshly sharpened blade, cold, controlled, and laced with unmistakable danger.
"You almost got us all killed."
The words weren’t directed at me.
They were aimed squarely at Ashriel.
I followed his gaze.
Ashriel stood a few measured steps away from the Ape’s body, his broad chest rising and falling with slightly heavier breaths than usual. My twin blade remained gripped firmly in his hand, though the one buried in the monster’s neck now claimed the grisly spotlight. He looked... worn. Not weak or broken by any means, Ashriel didn’t break easily.... but undeniably touched by the ordeal, as if the fight had extracted a heavier toll than he would ever admit.
And still, he said nothing.
No response. No acknowledgment. Not even a flicker of irritation crossed his stoic features. Thorne’s accusation seemed to slide off him like rain on oiled leather.
Thorne stepped closer, his posture radiating barely contained fury. "I’m talking to you."
The air around us shifted subtly yet perceptibly. That same strange, suffocating tension crept back in, crawling along my skin like invisible fingers of unseen power awakening once more. The forest itself seemed to hold its breath... the usual rustle of leaves fading into an unnatural hush.
Ashriel slowly lifted his head.
This time, he looked directly at Thorne.
No words. No verbal warning.
Just that piercing, unwavering look.
Something invisible tightened between them, thick and electric. The space separating the two men felt wrong.... heavy, distorted, as though the very fabric of the world had paused just long enough for something ancient and dangerous to slip through the cracks.
And for one chilling split second, I had the strangest, most unsettling feeling deep in my gut...
That if Ashriel truly wanted to...
Thorne wouldn’t walk away from this moment the same.
Perhaps not at all.
