Odyssey Of Survival

The dense jungle was thick with shadows, the canopy above barely allowing slivers of sunlight to pass through. Madison and Bella walked side by side, their boots crunching softly against the damp earth, the weight of their collected beast crystals resting in pouches at their waists.

Madison's grip tightened around the hilt of her sword—a weapon unlike any she had wielded before. It glowed with a faint purple hue, pulsing like a living entity, and every few moments, a thin radiation of deep violet mist would seep from its blade, corroding the ground wherever it touched. The power contained within the weapon was unsettling, yet mesmerizing. Ray had said it was a temporary enhancement, a test of the properties of beast crystals. But even in its unfinished state, Madison could feel its immense potential.

Beside her, Bella walked with a casual stride, though her fingers twitched slightly, a subtle indication that she was always prepared to use her telekinesis at a moment's notice. They had both seen enough of this world to know that letting their guard down, even for a second, could be a fatal mistake.

Then, a sudden rustling in the underbrush snapped them out of their thoughts. Both women stopped instantly, muscles tensing as their senses sharpened.

The noise had come from the left, just beyond a thicket of dense foliage.

Madison narrowed her eyes. "Who's there?"

Silence.

Bella took a cautious step forward. "We know you're there. Come out."

Still, no response.

Madison's eyes flickered with determination. Without hesitation, she disappeared from her spot in a blink, her teleportation ability activating instinctively. In the next instant, she reappeared in the middle of the dense brush where the sound had originated.

She had expected to find a lurking beast or perhaps even a person from camp stalking . But what she saw made her breath hitch.

The creature before her was unlike anything she had ever encountered.

Its body was humanoid, yet entirely alien. Its skin was a sickly, deep green, stretched tightly over its muscular frame. Its arms were long and sinewy, ending in sharp claws that twitched slightly as it studied her. But what caught Madison's attention the most were its eyes—completely black, devoid of any emotion, any soul. And behind it, swaying rhythmically, was a thick, scaled tail, its tip pointed like a spear.

Madison instinctively tightened her grip on her sword.

This wasn't a Keeper. It was something else entirely.

The creature turned its head slightly, its mouth parting to reveal jagged, gleaming fangs.

Bella arrived at Madison's side in an instant, her expression shifting from curiosity to concern as she took in the monstrous sight before them.

"What the hell is that?" Bella muttered.

Madison didn't answer. Her eyes remained locked on the creature's forehead. Something about it nagged at her, something familiar.

Bella noticed her hesitation and followed her gaze. Then, her own eyes widened. "Maddy... its forehead."

Madison's heart pounded as she focused on it.

There—etched onto the creature's skin—was a sigil.

A sigil she had seen before.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Zoro.

The last time she had seen that symbol was on the Keepers—the very people they had been fighting against, the ones who had tried to manipulate them, to control them. And now, here it was again, branded onto the forehead of this unfamiliar beast.

Her mind raced. If Zoro was back… then they were in trouble. Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire

They weren't ready. Not yet. Ray had only just begun developing magical weapons, and the survivors were still training, still learning how to properly use their abilities. If Zoro had returned, then their time was running out.

Bella, too, realized the weight of this discovery. "Shit. If this thing is connected to him, we need to know what else is out there."

Madison's grip on her sword tightened. "We need to capture it. Get it back to camp."

The creature suddenly tensed.

Then, without warning, it bent its legs and sprang upward like a frog, its leap unnatural, its body soaring high into the air.

Bella's eyes widened. "Maddy, don't let it escape!"

Bella's voice rang through the forest, sharp and commanding, but Madison was already moving before the words fully left her lips.

The creature had launched itself into the trees, moving with an eerie, unnatural grace, its elongated limbs propelling it forward as if it weighed nothing at all. Each leap carried it several meters ahead, its green body blending into the dense canopy, making it difficult to track. But Madison's eyes never left it.

Her teleportation ability activated in an instant, and in the blink of an eye, she vanished from the spot.

The creature barely had time to react before the air beside it shifted.

Madison appeared mid-air, right next to it, her glowing purple sword raised, ready to cleave straight through its torso. But just as she swung down, a blur of motion caught her off guard—

A kick.

The creature's leg shot out in an almost mechanical movement, its foot striking her stomach before she even realized it had anticipated her attack.

The impact was like getting hit by a sledgehammer.

Pain erupted through her abdomen as her breath was forced out of her lungs in a strangled gasp. The sheer force of the kick sent her flying backward like a broken doll, her body twisting in mid-air as she hurtled toward the nearest tree.

Her back slammed into the trunk with brutal force, the bark cracking from the impact, pain shooting up her spine like white-hot fire. For a brief moment, her vision blurred, the edges darkening as her brain struggled to process what had just happened.

How?

How had it known exactly where she was going to appear?

She hadn't even materialized for a full second before it countered. There was no way it could have reacted that fast unless it had sensed her arrival before she actually teleported.

Her body started falling toward the ground, but before she could hit, a familiar invisible force wrapped around her midair and stopped her descent.

Bella.

She had caught her with her telekinesis.

"Maddy! Are you okay?!" Bella's voice was loud, worried, but still laced with frustration. "What the hell was that? How did it hit you that fast?"

Madison sucked in a sharp breath, groaning as she straightened up. Her ribs ached from the impact, but she forced herself to stand properly.

"I'm fine," she muttered, even though she wasn't.

Bella's expression darkened. "Fine? You just got your ass kicked in one hit!"

Madison clenched her jaw. She hated this feeling. The pain, the helplessness, the way her mind had blanked for a second when her back hit that tree. She had always relied on her ability to teleport at any given moment, to escape, to reposition, to strike. But just now—just for that brief instant—she couldn't.

And if Bella hadn't been there?

She might've been dead.

Her grip on her sword tightened, the glowing purple light flickering slightly as she forced herself to focus. No. She wouldn't let this thing get away. She wouldn't let one hit make her back down.

Her eyes shot back to the creature, which was already increasing the distance.

It was escaping.

Not a chance.

She vanished.

The creature's movement faltered for just a split second—the briefest hesitation, almost as if it sensed something was about to happen—

And it was right.

Madison reappeared mid-air, directly in its path, but this time, she gave it space.

The moment she materialized, she twisted her wrist, her sword slicing through the air as she sent out a glowing crescent wave of purple energy, aiming directly for its chest. The attack surged forward like a blade of pure corruption, distorting the very air around it.

The creature reacted immediately.

Its body bent at an impossible angle, its spine twisting unnaturally as it dodged at the last second, the energy blade missing it by mere inches. The attack continued past it, hitting a thick tree trunk below. The instant the corrupted energy touched the bark, the entire tree began to rot from the inside out, decaying rapidly until it collapsed in on itself, crumbling into dust.

Madison's breath hitched.

It had dodged again.

It had known the attack was coming.

Her mind raced, trying to figure out how it was predicting her movements with such precision. Could it sense her energy? Could it see her before she teleported? No—if that were the case, it wouldn't have dodged so close to the attack. It would have moved sooner.

Which meant—

It could only sense her the moment she activated her ability.

A slow smirk curled Madison's lips.

Interesting.

She vanished again.

But this time, she wasn't reckless.

She didn't teleport directly behind it.

Instead, she appeared above it.

She was diving down fast, her sword aimed for its forehead.

The creature's black eyes widened slightly, and at the very last second, it moved its head, dodging the strike by a fraction of a second—

But it wasn't enough.

Madison expected the dodge.

She had planned for it.

The moment her blade missed its forehead, the creature instinctively grabbed the weapon with its bare hand to stop the attack from reaching its throat. It clenched its long, clawed fingers around the glowing blade, stopping it just in time—

And Madison grinned.

She whispered under her breath, her voice laced with amusement.

"You took the bait."