The Jinn's Ten-Year Oath

Liora didn't answer immediately.

Then she saw it.

It moved with uncanny silence—swinging between branches like a shadow stitched into the leaves. A monkey. But not ordinary. No, this one stood taller than a man, with black fur matted in patches and glowing silver stripes etched into its arms like tattoos. Its eyes gleamed white-blue—cold and unnatural.

An awakened beast.

"Monkey," Liora muttered. "One of them."

Before Corven could speak, a branch cracked to the left.

Another shape dropped—another monkey. Smaller, but just as fast. Then another. And another.

Within seconds, they were surrounded. Seven smaller awakened monkeys fanned out around the first, perched on trees, crouching on boulders, knuckles twitching with excitement. Their breath steamed like mist in the cold air. They didn't attack. Not yet.

They were waiting.

"Seven… no, eight," Haris said grimly, tightening his grip. "Pack behavior. They're coordinating."

Liora raised her bow, eyes narrowing. "The big one's the leader."

Corven barked orders. "Circle up. Defend the healer!"

Lina and Hessa ducked into the middle. The rest raised their weapons. The tension in the clearing was palpable—every breath too loud, every shift of leaves too sharp.

Kale pulsed in Liora's fingertips again.

> "Aim high. They jump."

She listened.

As the alpha monkey shrieked and lunged, Liora's arrow flew—fast and true. It struck the beast mid-leap, slicing across its cheek. Blood sprayed, and the creature howled in rage.

Then chaos erupted.

The pack attacked all at once.

Kallen intercepted the first monkey with his spear, impaling it through the thigh. It didn't stop. It howled, clawing at his armor as he drove it into the ground.

Corven blocked two simultaneous strikes, his shield vibrating from the impact. Haris rolled beneath a leaping attacker and sliced its belly open mid-spin.

Liora turned sharply, loosing another arrow. It pierced a monkey's shoulder just as it reached Lina.

"Watch your side!" she shouted.

"I'm trying!" Lina screamed, wind magic blasting a monkey from a tree. It crashed into the underbrush but climbed up again with terrifying speed.

Another jumped at Hessa. Liora's body moved before she thought—Kale's influence guiding her. She ducked, spun, and slammed her bow sideways into the monkey's ribs, knocking it off-balance. A clean kick sent it tumbling.

One of the smaller beasts leapt from above, claws outstretched—aimed for her face.

Kale moved her hand. A talisman flared.

BOOM!

The monkey burst into sparks midair, the force blasting leaves off nearby trees.

Haris whistled, panting. "Remind me if I do something wrong."

"Shut up and keep fighting," Liora snapped.

---

But the alpha wasn't done.

Bleeding and enraged, it beat its chest and let out a scream so loud it cracked the air. The smaller monkeys froze, eyes gleaming white.

Liora stared.

> "That's a signal," Kale murmured. "They're calling something else."

The earth shuddered.

Far off, something growled.

Liora turned to Corven, eyes sharp. "We need to kill the alpha now or we'll face a second wave."

Corven nodded once. "Do it."

Liora didn't hesitate. She activated a second talisman on her bowstring. The string glowed red.

She drew.

The arrow lit like flame, humming with power.

She loosed.

The arrow struck the alpha in the heart. It screamed, reeled back—

And exploded.

Fire bloomed through its chest, and the beast crashed to the ground, twitching once, then going still.

The others faltered.

Kallen took the moment. His spear flashed.

Three monkeys fell.

Corven crushed another against a tree. Haris cleaved the last one from shoulder to hip.

Silence returned.

This time, heavy with blood.

The camp stood in the aftermath, panting, blood-splattered, eyes wide.

Liora didn't speak.

She walked to the alpha's corpse, yanked her arrow free, and stared down at it.

Burnt fur. White blood.

"They weren't here to feed," she whispered. "They were sent."

Corven looked at her. "What do you mean?"

She held up her arrow, still sizzling with talisman energy.

"They weren't hunting," she said. "They were testing us."

Here is the rewritten and expanded version of your scene, cleaned up for clarity and emotion, while preserving the action, danger, and tension of the situation. This version brings out Kale's cold experience, the group's fear and distrust, and Liora's growing internal conflict—all written in a clear, immersive, fantasy tone.

---

They stood around the blood-soaked clearing, panting, their breath curling in the chill air. The forest was eerily silent again, save for the occasional creak of trees and the faint rustle of leaves stirred by distant winds.

Haris wiped blood from his cheek. "Eight beast cores," he muttered, looking down at the twitching corpse beneath his boots. "Not bad."

Corven, the leader, narrowed his eyes and looked around. "You remember which direction wasn't too dense?"

Liora didn't reply immediately.

Her hand twitched.

Kale stirred.

Without a word, her right arm lifted and pointed, steady and certain, toward the eastern edge of the clearing.

"That way," she said, her voice calm but flat. "It's thinner there."

The others exchanged glances. No one questioned her.

They trusted her now.

They moved quickly. Every step was cautious. They stepped over roots, ducked under branches, blades drawn, eyes sharp. But Kale's voice came again, this time deeper in her mind, like thunder wrapped in velvet.

> "Stop here. Don't move."

Liora halted.

Corven looked back. "Something wrong?"

She nodded slowly. "Give me a moment."

> "Liora," Kale said gently, "give me control. Please. You can shoot, yes—but not like this. These aren't beasts. These are assassins in fur. Fast. Unpredictable. You don't have teleportation anymore. And we can't afford to miss. Not here."

She hesitated.

But only for a second.

Liora closed her eyes—and let go.

Her body straightened. Her fingers flexed once. The bow lifted before the others even realized what was happening.

Then they came.

The trees exploded with motion.

Monkeys—awakened and brutal—burst from every direction. Their eyes gleamed with wild light, and their claws were already red from some unseen kill. They carried sharpened bone, shards of rock, and jagged metal strapped to sticks—like savage mockeries of weapons.

The shield-bearer Corven roared and stepped forward, his barrier catching a flurry of sharp bones meant for the girls behind him. Two pierced his arm, but he didn't flinch. Lina screamed as a rock nearly hit her temple. Hessa was already unconscious from the impact of a flying femur shard.

"AMBUSH!" Haris shouted.

But Kale had already moved.

Liora's hands blurred. Bow. Arrow. Release. Bow. Arrow. Release.

Fwish. Fwish. Fwish.

Each arrow went straight into an eye socket, a throat, a heart. The monkeys dropped mid-leap, collapsing into the dirt with shrieks of surprise. Some managed to scream—only to be silenced by a follow-up shot.

Forty-six fell in seconds.

Then the big one came.

A beast the size of a cart. Its arms dragged low, its back hunched and rippling with thick muscle. Covered in blackened fur and old scars, its eyes gleamed red with hatred.

It rushed Corven like a battering ram.

Corven braced, gritting his teeth as the massive creature slammed into him. His shield cracked down the middle but held. Dust exploded around him. His boots dug trenches in the mud.

More monkeys leapt from the trees. Smaller, quicker. Throwing bones from the shadows.

Liora—no, Kale—didn't flinch.

Arrow. Arrow. Arrow.

They fell like flies.

Kallen killed four with his spear, his movements quick and precise. Haris cut down two more. Lina flung bursts of compressed wind at the boss beast, trying to slow its rampage, her hair whipping around her like a storm cloud. But her mana was draining fast.

Hessa lay limp beside a tree, blood dripping from her forehead.

Kale noticed.

His voice in Liora's mind was cold. Calculating.

> "We can't waste magic arrows. Normal ones are enough for the small fry."

Another dozen arrows flew.Another dozen dead.Soon magic arrow finished.

The boss shrieked and charged again.

This time Kale didn't fire.

He waited. Measured. Calculated wind, distance, blood flow.

The massive ape leapt for Lina.

And Kale fired.

Three arrows. One into its chest. One into its throat. One between its eyes.

The creature landed.But miss her. Three man blocked the monkey and kale fire 17 arrow to the beast.

And it didn't rise again.

Kale was already running.

He knelt beside the fallen beast, pulled out a dagger, and without hesitation, carved through the thick fur and cracked skulls.He dug into the steaming flesh and retrieved a glowing beast core—dark red and humming with residual rage.

Then, before anyone could speak—

He ate it.

Silence fell.

Everyone stared.

Corven's voice was the first to return.

"You… ate the core?"

No response.

Liora's body sat down calmly on a rock. She looked at them with empty calm.

"Start digging cores from the others," Kale said. "We're not leaving this many valuable corpses behind."

Lina collapsed beside a tree, completely drained.

Haris glared. "You could've asked."

Kale turned her head toward Lina.

"She's dying."

He crushed another core between Liora's fingers, and the energy surged into the air like mist. He pushed it into Lina's chest, and her breathing steadied.

"Water," he said flatly.

Kallen handed him a waterskin. Kale poured it on Hessa's face.

She stirred, coughing.

"Get up," he ordered. "Heal the girl."

Weakly, Hessa crawled toward Lina and began casting. Light shimmered over the broken leg and fractured ribs.

Corven watched Liora—watched Kale—with suspicion.

"You used two beast cores for yourself."

"I did," Kale said. "Because I'm the only reason any of you are alive right now."

The others looked around.

The blood.

The bodies.

Their own wounds—bruises, cuts, broken bones. Each had been hit at least six times. Some had shattered armor. Some had bleeding scalps. Some couldn't stand.

And Liora?

She didn't have a scratch.But her body injured badly.

Only… it wasn't Liora.

Inside her own body, Liora watched in silence, floating behind her eyes.

Her hands.

Her voice.

Not hers anymore.

She didn't speak. She couldn't. But inside, her heart was heavy with shame. Guilt burned behind her ribs like fire.

She hadn't agreed to eat cores.

She hadn't agreed to speak like that.

And now… now they looked at her with fear.

Not trust.

Fear.

The forest creaked with strange noises. The scent of blood filled the air like perfume for ppredatorpred"We'll be hunted soon," Corven said, sharpening a broken blade. "This much blood… this many bodies… it'll draw sosomethsKale leaned Liora's body back against a tree. He pulled her hood low. WaWat> "They're lucky I'm here," he mmurmAnd she didn't know when—or if—he would gigiv