“Lines That Shift”

The group followed the river as it twisted and turned through the thick forest, its current whispering a path forward. Morning had faded into midday, and golden light filtered through the canopy in dancing beams. The air was warm and damp, filled with the steady hum of insects and the soft splash of boots in the shallow water.

Sai walked near the front, the faint yellowed map open in his hands again. He squinted down at it, eyes darting over ghostly lines that redrew themselves every so often as they moved. New areas appeared around the river, as though the map updated in real time, tracking their journey.

Behind him, Corvin leaned over his shoulder, brow furrowed. “You’re seriously still seeing something on that paper?”

Sai didn’t look up. “Yes. And it’s changing. Look— the mountain’s gone now.”

Corvin sighed as Sai tilted the map toward him. “Dude. There’s nothing there. Just an old piece of paper with water stains. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head too hard when that creature clocked you?”

Sai glanced at him sideways. “Maybe it’s reacting to something. A perception thing. Or it’s… enchanted?”

“Right. Of course. Magic paper,” Corvin muttered, stepping away and shaking his head. “I liked it better when we were just fighting monsters and nearly dying. At least that made sense.”

Further down the riverbank, Reith knelt in the water. Blood trickled from a bite mark on his shoulder, trailing down his arm. He dipped his old, torn shirt into the cold stream and dabbed at the wound. His scythe leaned nearby, half-cleaned and drying in the sun.

Mira stood behind him, holding his tattered jacket, her gaze turned away. She’d been quiet all morning—not out of mood, but because nothing she wanted to say felt worth saying aloud.

“I don’t think that’s a good way to clean that,” she said finally.

Reith smirked faintly without turning. “Yeah, well, I don’t see a doctor’s office around here.”

Mira tilted her head. “True. But maybe don’t use the rivers mud water.”

He shrugged, but the concern seemed to land. As he cleaned more carefully, Reith let out a slow breath and stood, stepping out of the water.

“I meant what I said yesterday,” he murmured. “People need an outlet. Otherwise, it eats them.”

Mira didn’t answer. She just tossed his jacket at him as he was done—maybe a little harder than necessary.

Upstream, Eira dragged her naginata through the shallows, the blade clinking loudly against river stones.

Every few steps, she smacked a rock harder—clink. CLANG. Again. And again.

She sighed and looked around. “This is boring.”

Corvin turned to her. “Would you rather fight wolves? Or another chimera?”

Eira shook her head. “Never mind. Boring is fine.”

Sai remained focused on the map, but even he felt it—the subtle shift in the air. The heat that wasn’t just from the sun. A low, rhythmic buzzing began to build, barely audible at first, but enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Further back, Reith froze, already reaching for his scythe.

Eira noticed the others reacting and quickly raised her naginata, moving closer to Sai and Corvin.

Sai looked up sharply. “You hear that?”

“Yeah,” Corvin said, narrowing his eyes toward the trees. “That’s not just bugs.”

A branch cracked loudly overhead, followed by a heavy whump. Leaves trembled as something large moved above. The buzzing intensified—like a chorus of broken engines.

The group instinctively drew together, backs low, weapons ready.

And then it dropped.

From the canopy, a massive wasp-like creature descended—easily the size of a horse. Its translucent wings beat with a furious blur, and its long black legs clicked against the earth. Its abdomen, striped with deep yellow and burnt orange, pulsed. A barbed stinger twitched, ready to strike.

Its eyes locked onto them.

With a guttural screech, it charged.

“MOVE!” Reith barked.

The group scattered—Corvin grabbed Eira and dove into the river just as the insect shot past them, heading straight for Reith and Mira.

Sai dropped to the ground, the map fluttering from his hands and landing in a bush.

Mira had already drawn her bow. She loosed an arrow, striking one of the creature’s bulbous eyes. It screeched—not in pain exactly, but in sheer fury—and swerved toward her.

Reith intercepted, slamming the blunt end of his scythe into the creature’s head, knocking it off course. Mira followed up with two more arrows, one sinking into its flank.

Corvin and Eira clambered back onto land, Eira coughing up water.

“I bet you miss the boring walk now, huh?” Corvin said, flashing a smug grin.

“Shut up,” Eira coughed.

“Hit the wings!” Sai shouted, scrambling to his feet. “If it can’t fly, it’s done!”

Corvin grabbed his axe, and Eira gripped her naginata tight. Together, they approached the creature slowly, Mira continuing to fire from behind.

“Hey—I’m borrowing these,” Reith said as he snatched two arrows from Mira’s quiver and took off running with his scythe on his back

“What for?!”

Reith didn’t answer. He stabbed one arrow into a tree trunk, then another above it, placing his boots on them like steps. With a grunt, he climbed up to a thick branch.

“Bring it over here!” Reith shouted as he equipped his scythe again

Corvin and Eira struck at the insect, swinging in wide, aggressive arcs. They didn’t land any clean hits, but their combined movement forced the creature to dodge and drift closer to Reith’s tree.

Reith jumped.

He landed on the beast’s back and brought his scythe down in a brutal arc. The blade sank deep into its head. The creature thrashed wildly, trying to throw him off.

Sai rushed in from the side and, with a quick slash at the wing it tore clean off.

The insect dropped like a stone, crashing to the earth.

Reith staggered slightly as the creature hit the ground but quickly stepped back and drove his boot against the scythe’s shaft, kicking it deeper.

Silence.

Only the sound of rushing water remained.

Corvin exhaled deeply and slumped against a boulder. “Well… that woke me up.”

Eira passed the body and picked up Sai’s map, now half-open and wet. “You dropped your magic map.”

“Thanks,” Sai muttered,

“Oh so now its magical uh?”

Sai ignor Corvins humor and started to inspecting the paper. To his surprise, the ink hadn’t bled. In fact… new lines had appeared.

He sat down on a nearby rock, staring at it. A thin smear of insect blood lined the blade he placed in the ground, but he barely noticed.

“We’re getting closer to something,” he said quietly as he saw something in the corner of the map. “I just don’t know what.”

Mira helped Reith sit again, his shoulder wound reopened during the fight.

Corvin leaned back, staring up at the leafs with a groan. “I’m really starting to miss the boring part.”