Eden stepped out of the portal and landed in a shadowy forest.
Not ordinary shadow—living darkness.
> [Zone: Umbravale Woods]
> [Danger Level: B+]
> [Stealth Required: High]
> [Warning: Entity Presence Detected]
A thick mist coiled around his legs like smoke, cold and sentient. Every step forward made the trees shift. Eyes blinked open on the bark. Whispers tickled his ears.
Then—
**CLANG!**
A dagger shot past his cheek, slicing a strand of hair.
He rolled backward, drawing his crystal blade.
From the mist, a figure emerged. Cloaked in black and violet, a crescent-shaped scar over one eye. Female. Fast. Lethal.
"Your footsteps were loud," she said, spinning a blade between her fingers. "You're either brave… or stupid."
"I'm Eden," he said, "I'm not here to fight."
"You're always here to fight," she snapped, lunging.
Eden barely deflected her strike. She moved like liquid shadow—vanishing mid-air, then appearing behind him. He turned too late.
The blade stopped at his throat.
"I'm Kira," she whispered. "Third Fang of the Silent Moon Clan. You're trespassing."
Eden raised his hands. "Then let me leave."
"You can't." She pulled her dagger back. "The forest won't let you. Not unless you kill what it's hiding."
> [New Objective: Defeat the Forest Guardian – 'Gravemaw, the Hollow Fang']
> [Optional: Gain Kira's trust to fight beside you.]
He sighed. "Let me guess—it's immune to normal attacks."
"And breathes poison," she added, smirking.
Eden looked into the mist. Shapes slithered between the trees. Growls echoed.
Kira tossed him a black charm. "This lets you breathe down there… for three minutes."
"Why help me?" he asked.
"I hate Gravemaw more than I hate intruders," she said, slipping back into shadow. "Follow my steps… or die."
He grinned. "I've done both."
They descended.
The deeper they went, the more the forest screamed. Gravemaw burst from the earth—twenty feet tall, bone-mask face, twin fangs dripping acid.
Kira leapt first, dancing across its back.
Eden charged in, dodging swipe after swipe. He activated *Mirrorstep*, blinked past a tail strike