In The Forest

The forest stretched endlessly ahead, a wall of shadow and muted greens. Morgana walked with her scythe resting lazily across her shoulders, her eyes flicking warily between the thick trees. The wolf corpses were long behind her, but the scent of blood and the memory of their snarls still clung to her mind.

"Well… that was a fun welcome party," she muttered under her breath, wincing as her shirt rubbed against the fresh tear in her side. It wasn’t bleeding anymore—her regeneration had already handled it—but it still ached, a dull phantom pain reminding her she was far from invincible.

The path—if it could even be called that—was nothing but tangled roots and damp earth. Above, the sky barely peeked through the canopy, slivers of light turning the mist into faint silver streaks. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear the slow drip of water and the occasional snap of a twig.

She remembered the smoke she’d seen before, the only sign of civilization in this endless wilderness. That was her goal. She could already picture it—a village, maybe a market, maybe a hot meal… and most importantly, clothes that didn’t smell like old corpses.

But her mind kept circling back to something else. Those strange glowing orbs from the wolves, the way they had shot into her chest. And the skills she somehow… knew now.

Her gaze dropped to her right arm, the one etched with the dark runes that had burned into her skin back in the ruins.

"Alright, magic tattoo thing," she said aloud. "How the hell do I check what I can do now?"

The runes pulsed faintly, like they had heard her. A ripple of black smoke swirled up from her arm, curling into the air before collapsing inward, condensing. In seconds, the familiar black tome materialized in her hand, its cover cold and smooth beneath her fingers.

"…Huh. Okay. That’s cool. Creepy as hell, but cool."

She opened it, flipping through until her eyes caught on the glowing text that hadn’t been there before. Her lips curled into a grin.

[Skill Gained: Moonfang Dash] – Short burst of supernatural speed.
[Skill Gained: Night Prowl] – Enhanced night vision.
[Skill Gained: Dread Howl] – Instills fear in beasts and lesser creatures.

Her eyes skimmed the descriptions, excitement bubbling up despite herself.

"A dash? Oh, hell yes. That’s gonna be useful. Night vision—makes sense. And… Dread Howl." She tilted her head. "So, basically… a magical 'piss yourself' button. Nice."

Closing the book with a soft thunk, she smirked. "Alright, wolves. You were assholes, but at least you left me something nice."

The tome dissolved back into black smoke, seeping into her runes. She flexed her fingers, glancing around the dim forest. "Guess I’ve got some testing to do later. Preferably on something that doesn’t have giant teeth."

Her stomach gave a low, stubborn growl.

"Right. Food. That’s a thing."

She kept walking, scanning the undergrowth until a splash of color caught her eye—a cluster of bright, orange-like fruits hanging from a twisted tree. The bark was pale and peeling, but the fruits looked… edible. Probably.

"Hmm, you don’t look poisonous," she said, narrowing her eyes at them like they might answer back.

She tugged one free, rolling it in her palm before taking a cautious bite. Sweet, but with a tang that made her lips tingle.

"…Okay, not bad." She took another bite, juice running down her chin. "If I drop dead in five minutes, I’m gonna haunt this tree."

She grabbed two more, stuffing them into the folds of her cloak. The weight felt reassuring—at least she wouldn’t starve for a while.

The walk stretched on, her boots crunching softly over leaves and twigs. The quiet of the forest was… unsettling. Every sound she made seemed too loud, and every shadow seemed just a bit too interested in her.

She found herself talking just to fill the silence. "Alright, so… get to the village, buy proper clothes, maybe some food that isn’t mystery fruit, then figure out how this world works before something tries to eat me again. Simple plan. Totally doable."

Her eyes swept the trees again, sharp and suspicious. "And if another pack of wolves shows up, I’m testing that Dread Howl. Just saying." She stopped to think before mumbling, "Which reminds me, I should test out these skills..."

The forest offered no reply, only the steady creak of branches in the wind.

A while later, the path widened enough for her to stretch her arms without smacking a tree. She stopped and tapped her chin.

"Alright… skill test time."

She took a deep breath and whispered, Moonfang Dash.

The world blurred. Her body jolted forward in a blink, boots skidding in the dirt as she overshot and almost collided with a tree.

"Shit!" She caught herself on the trunk, laughing breathlessly. "Okay, that’s… way faster than I thought. Note to self—don’t use that near cliffs."

Next was Dread Howl. She wasn’t sure if it would even work without a target, but curiosity won out. She set her scythe down, squared her stance, and let the word roll through her chest.

The sound that tore out of her wasn’t human—it was low, rumbling, almost primal. The air itself seemed to shiver, and a murder of crows exploded from a nearby tree, cawing madly as they vanished into the distance.

"Holy crap," she muttered, blinking. Her throat tingled, not in pain, but like something deep inside her had stirred awake.

Finally, she tried Night Prowl. Her vision shifted instantly—the dim forest brightened, shadows stretching into clear detail. She could see every leaf vein, every insect crawling on bark.

A slow grin spread over her lips. "Oh yeah… this is gonna make things way easier at night."

She picked up her scythe and resumed walking, still chewing on the fruit.

"Alright, Morgana," she told herself between bites. "When you get to this village, keep it together. No creepy magic book unless absolutely necessary. No 'Dread Howl' unless someone tries to stab you. And for the love of all that’s unholy, don’t mention the giant wolf fight. Normal. Totally normal."

She imagined herself greeting the first person she met.

"Hello, I’m Morgana, recently mauled by supernatural wolves, thanks for asking."

Another imaginary version popped into her head.

"Greetings, fellow mortals. I’m definitely not carrying a cursed scythe or talking to a demonic tattoo."

By the time she finally saw the faintest hint of smoke again through the trees, she was grinning to herself like an idiot. The village was close. Finally.