Aeloria

The feeling of killing the goblin lingered, refusing to leave me. I had never felt more alive. My heart still pounded, adrenaline coursing through me like fire. I kept replaying the moment in my head: the fight, the struggle, the kill. It was exhilarating. For the first time, I felt a connection to the combat I had spent so much of my life studying and practicing.

My father had introduced me to wrestling when I was young. It became my main sport, but I didn't stop there. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai—I threw myself into all of it. I'd spent countless hours on the mats, in the gym, sparring and training. And then, there were the weekends, sitting in front of the TV, glued to every UFC card, watching my favorite fighters step into the cage.

Fighting was my passion. But it was always just that—a passion, a sport. I never stepped into the cage myself, never fought for real. But this? This felt real. And as twisted as it sounded, it was addicting.

But the euphoria didn't last. As I looked down at the lifeless goblin, its blood staining my hands and tunic, another feeling crept in. *What does this make me?* A killer, sure. But something deeper. Something darker.

The thought was a dangerous one, and I forced myself to focus. We still didn't have water, food, or shelter. There was no time for self-reflection. Not now.

I adjusted my grip on the spear, settling it in my right hand. The knife was already tied to my side with the goblin's crude rope belt. The tools were primitive, but they were weapons, and they were mine now. More monsters would come. I knew it. We were far from the edge of the forest, and this place wasn't going to let us leave easily.

I turned to Emery. She stood a few feet away, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her eyes lingered on the goblin's body, her expression unreadable.

"We should get going," I said, trying to sound calm. "We need to cover more ground."

She glanced at me, her brows furrowed. "Logan… there's going to be more of them. What are we going to do? And what about at night?"

I hesitated, taking a moment to steady myself. "I have weapons now," I said, forcing a confident tone. "If more come, I'll kill them. I'll protect us. We'll get out of this forest." I paused, glancing up at the dense canopy. "As for tonight, I think we climb a tree and sleep up there. It'll keep us off the ground, out of sight. But that's hours away. It's probably just noon right now. We can still cover a lot of ground today."

Emery didn't respond right away. She looked down at her feet, then back at me, her blue eyes filled with uncertainty. "I trust you," she said quietly, her voice softer than usual.

Without another word, we turned and continued walking, leaving the goblin's body behind. It felt like a marker of this alien world—a testament to the fact that we weren't just here. We were surviving. Changing.

I killed it.The thought repeated in my head as we walked. I'd killed something. And I'd enjoyed it. That was the part that scared me the most. What did that say about me? Was I a monster too? Or maybe becoming one wasn't so bad. Maybe it was what I needed to do to protect Emery.

---

We walked for the rest of the day. The forest stretched endlessly around us, the trees towering and ancient, their trunks gnarled and twisted. The light filtering through the canopy shifted as the sun—or whatever this world's star was—began to set.

We hadn't seen any more goblins. In fact, we hadn't seen anything at all. Just trees, endless trees. It was eerily quiet, the only sounds the crunch of leaves beneath our feet and the occasional rustle of the wind.

I kept glancing at Emery as we walked. She was trying to be tough, but I could tell she was tired. Her steps had slowed, and every so often, she winced, as if her feet were hurting. I knew her too well to miss the signs.

As the sky began to darken, I stopped and turned to her. "I think we should stop here for the day," I said.

She nodded, her voice quiet. "If that's what you think, Logan."

Right then, her stomach growled loudly. The sound made my chest tighten. I hated seeing her like this—exhausted, hungry, struggling. "I'm going to find us food tomorrow," I said, trying to sound confident. "And water. Don't worry."

She gave me a weak smile. "It's okay. I'm not even hungry."

It was a lie, but I didn't call her on it.

"Let's get up this tree," she said. "We should sleep while we can. We'll get up at dawn and use every hour of daylight."

"Great idea," I said.

We found a tree with low branches, one that was easy enough to climb. I boosted Emery up first, her small hands gripping the rough bark as she pulled herself onto the branch. She turned and reached for me, and I ran forward, kicking off the trunk and grabbing her hand. She pulled me up, and together we climbed another twenty feet until we were far from the ground.

I untied the rope belt from my knife and used it to secure Emery's legs to the branch. It wasn't much, but it would keep her from falling if she rolled in her sleep. "Get some rest," I said. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

She nodded, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. Her eyes fluttered closed, her exhaustion finally catching up to her.

I climbed higher, making my way to the top of the tree. The view took my breath away. The mountain range we'd seen before was gone, swallowed by the distance. We had covered a lot of ground, but the forest still stretched endlessly in every direction.

Above me, the night sky was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Two large moons hung overhead, one with a bluish tint, the other a faint red. Stars blanketed the sky, their light undimmed by pollution. It was beautiful, but it was also a stark reminder: we weren't on Earth anymore.

I sat at the top of the tree for a long time, staring at the moons and thinking about what lay ahead. If we didn't find water soon, things would get bad. And food? As gross as it sounded, we might need to eat a goblin if it came to that. The thought made my stomach turn, but survival didn't care about comfort.

Eventually, I climbed back down to the branch where Emery slept. Her breathing was soft and steady, her face peaceful despite everything. I leaned back against the trunk, gripping the spear tightly as I tried to let myself rest. But sleep didn't come easily.

My mind raced with thoughts of the day. The kill. The goblin's blood on my hands. The way I'd felt in that moment. Was it wrong to feel alive? Or was it necessary? I didn't have the answers, but one thing was clear: I couldn't let my guard down. Not again.

---

When the sun—or what we thought was the sun—rose in the east, its bright light pierced through the branches and woke me. It wasn't the kind of light you could sleep through, even if you wanted to.

I glanced at Emery. She was still sleeping soundly, her small frame curled up on the branch above me. I decided to let her rest a little longer. We had a long day ahead of us, and she needed her strength.

My own thoughts, however, wouldn't let me sit still. Water. We needed to find water today, or things would start getting really bad. The trees had kept us safe through the night, but that wouldn't matter if we couldn't drink.

When I felt the time was right, I gently woke Emery. Together, we climbed down the tree and set off on the second day of our journey in this strange, alien world.