I’d made my way downstream in an effort to get back into the mist. If I recalled correctly, although not following it directly, we’d stayed near this stream to get back up to Peak’s place. Therefore, it fell into reason that following it back should lead me into the mists in which the Rapiter supposedly lurked.

It was dark out, but not so dark that I couldn’t watch my step. The bright blue moon never seemed to wax or wane, giving off an ample, full light no matter the night.

After only a while of walking, however, I quickly realized the true impact that Peak’s presence had on the forest.

Where Peak’s house was a sanctuary, safe from harm and attack, the rest of the woods wasn’t so fortunate. Frankly, I’d been sheltered… and naive.

I’d never once questioned why I was safe to be tied upside down for nights on end or thrown into open waters, but as the stalking eyes of the night crept their ways in and out of vision, it became clear.

The Rapiter wasn’t the only creature that lurked in this forest.

It was like visiting a jungle. The Rapiter was merely the lion—a figurehead of all the dangers that made the vast wilderness their home—but so many more, less infamous, threats still existed.

Jungles have frenzied piranhas, deadly insects, and equally dangerous jaguars, too. Yet, when I think of a jungle, I fear the king—the lion.

I was met with a similar conflict now. I was aiming for what I’d heard so much about—my king—the Rapiter, and I’d failed to assess the possibility of other threats emerging.

“Whoa! You are not what I’m looking for!” And thus I was caught off guard as I was attacked by some sort of yard tall, spiked frog with coils for legs, bounding towards me with a mace-like barbed tongue.

I hadn’t even had the time to draw my daggers as its tongue grazed my arm. A shallow cut was left in its wake.

For a sneak attack, the damage was rather minimal.

“Hey, you dumb frog, don’t you know it’s rude to sneak up on people! If you wanna fight, announce yourself first!” For some reason, my intrinsic response to getting injured by a wild animal was to chastise it. Not to prepare for a fight or run away.

Nope. I stayed perfectly planted in place, pointing and yelling at a frog.

The frog recovered from whatever cooldown its previous attack may or may not have had, then unleashed its tongue once more. This time, I was prepared, so I weaved out of the way of its tongue and…

“Screw it…! Fly you dumb frog!” Without using any weapons or any other conventional method for dealing with pests, my reflexes kicked in and I was punting the frog like it was some big kickball.

The frog spiralled through the air, landing back in the stream from whence it came. With my abrupt victory, I silently and excitedly congratulated myself. Yet, just as abruptly, more enemies showed up to take the last one’s place. Out of the water hopped 5 more frogs, all pissed off and ready to get a piece of me.

I didn’t have enough to go around, so I cut my positivity party short and fled the scene, as barbed tongue upon barbed tongue launched towards me. As satisfying as it’d be to teach them all a lesson, 5 was a bit too much for me. It’d suck if I got wiped out before the final hoorah.

The night continued to grow wilder, and quieter, and wilder once more. With the crescendos of the night, I met an ensemble of other monsters ready to try and take a piece of me, but for better or for worse, they were all fleeable. I was perfectly fine to keep pursuing the Rapiter.

After some more time of following the river, the moon started to transition into its twilight hues, spelling out the eminent arrival of dawn. But, thanks to the added light, I could finally see it.

A way over through the woods, there was a clearing by the stream in which thick mists were present. That would be my target destination.

So, naturally, I charged straight into the mist, full of my signature reckless abandon. There wasn’t anything good that’d come from me just sitting around and thinking about going, I just had to get up and do it.

And then… I did it. I breached the mist.

It wasn’t a climactic moment, it was actually quite the opposite. No different than opening the door to a new room, one second I was very clearly standing out in the middle of the wilderness, the next I was in the mist shrouded territory of the Rapiter.

Trying to find some familiar ground on which to begin my plan, I followed the now much larger stream further until I reached the cliff face on which I’d first woke up. Then, I waded over to the little isle where I’d met Peak to use as a waiting point, and plopped myself down on the ground, mildly worn out by my walk.

“Sigh… it’s a pain enough just getting here, but now I really do have to fight something, don’t I? No running away this time.” A second of rest later, I opened the container full of nectar I had on me and started to spread it around the perimeter of my isle.

Believe it or not, I had some semblance of an idea of a thought for what a plan could potentially be. Although, “plan” may be the wrong way to describe it. Basically, I had a theory that staying on this isle, in the middle of two forking streams, surrounded by either shallow water or open air would be safest.

It gave me two advantages I wouldn’t otherwise have. One, I’d be able to see where and when the Rapiter was coming, no exceptions. It could only come from either side of the stream, and I was looking hard for it.

And two, it was familiar territory. I could rely on it to give me some comfort in a fight.

Once the area was sufficiently baited, I simply drew my daggers and stood there, in the center of the isle, waiting for the Rapiter to draw near.

…

…

…

“...What the heck, man?! Hurry up already you big stupid snake, what’s taking you so long?!” It felt like I’d been there forever without any sign of the Rapiter. I couldn’t exactly tell the time, because of the mist surrounding me, but It had to be nearing the end of twilight soon. If twilight came to pass, I’d be all out of luck with finding the Rapiter.

Either that, or I’d have to track down the hole it lived in to give it a little surprise welcoming…

“Peak’s probably waking up around now, isn’t he?” My mind was all over the place. It was early in the morning and I’d been without any decent sleep for more than a day. “Poor dude’s probably freaking out that I’m not there, I’ll have to apologize to him later.”

An image of Peak being distressed at my disappearance popped into my mind, filling me with a pang of guilt. I didn’t know why, but I felt like Peak might’ve had issues with abandonment. While he didn’t seem necessarily clingy, the lengths he’d went through to try and help me might’ve indicated that he was really starved for social interaction.

At least, that was my take.

“Stupid early morning April, thinking about stupid serious stuff. Stupid snake. Stupid mist. Stupid everything…” I was finally about to release my guard and drop down on my knees to get some R & R when I noticed something out of the peripherals of my visions.

There was a light. No, two lights. Two unmoving lights across the stream on my left.

And they were tracking my movement.

I’d move left, the lights would shift left. I’d move right, the lights would shift right. I’d jump, the lights would jolt upwards. It was like watching a cat lazily follow a laser pointer. Wherever I went, the lights would follow.

The question was: Why?

I edged my way closer to the lights, caution in each step, when it happened.

Out of nowhere, something crashed into the ground beside me. No, not just something, a distinctly large needle.

Pebble after pebble pelted me as the needle lodged and dislodged itself from the ground, and dirt was kicked up, stinging my eyes.

Wait… eyes?

Taking a moment to waver my attention from the threat in front of me, I scanned my surroundings once more only to realize that the red lights were growing larger with added proximity.

They weren’t just lights, they were predatory eyes. Eyes that had been watching me, waiting for my guard to drop. Odds are, if I hadn’t noticed them, that needle shot wouldn’t have been merely a warning to get my butt into gear.

The needle returned to its sender and was fired once more, this time with more precision. It was heading straight for me, but I was fast enough to evade it. Still, just barely, and countless pebbles bruised my body once more.

I watched the needle, preparing for its return when another needle came breaking through the mist right at me. No, not just one, but two other needles. Each aimed at my weak points, my wings.

Whatever my enemy was, it had a higher level of intellectual processing than I’d initially expected. Each of its moves were calculated beyond even my capabilities.

First a shot to test my vulnerabilities. Second a shot to lower my guard. Then two shots aimed directly at my weak points.

My mind could hardly process the speed things were going, and my wings were as insubordinate as ever, so I was only able to dodge out of the path of one of the needles. The other would have to take one for the team.

Things played out in slow motion as a football sized needle clipped my left wing. It’d disturbed my feathers and took a very minute chunk of wing-flesh with it, but other than that, I was fine. It wasn’t anything that’d cause any permanent damage. It just hurt like hell.

I’d just have to adapt to the situation and quickly. I was fine with the pain—I’d broken more bones than I could count throughout my life—but if this kept up, I’d be buried before I knew it. All to an enemy that I couldn’t see.

I had to not only stay on my toes, but derive a plan at the same time. It was a bullet hell of boomerang needles. I’d have to dodge each of them twice. Once on their way to me, and once on their way back to my foe.

Normally, when under fire, I’d heard that you’d want to lay flat on the ground, but in this scenario, that tactic didn’t exactly apply too well, unless I wanted to become a skewer.

No, I needed to get the upper hand somehow, as running was no longer an option. Turning my back would only end with me flat against the ground, pinned like a voodoo doll.

I’d have to run at it.

Running away from it wasn’t an option, hiding was an impossibility, and evading could only last me so long. I’d have to run at the shooter.

So, following another volley of needles, I took off. My legs—along with the rest of me—were already raw with bruises, but it was my only choice.

I’d just have to remember where the needles landed, otherwise I’d be screwed on the return.

Unless…

“That’s so crazy, that it probably won’t work… But I’ll do it anyways!” For some reason, despite the pain in my left wing. Despite this being a literal life or death situation. I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t take it seriously.

I was freaked out. Scared out of my mind. But more than that, I was… I was excited, gleeful, and fulfilled. A long standing craving was finally being satiated, and put simply, I loved it.

I kept dashing forward, as another volley of needles came, once more, aimed at my wings. Predicting this, I spun to my side, avoiding both needles, and stopped my advance.

Then, as the needles flew back towards my enemy, I did the most idiotic thing I could think of in the moment. I grabbed onto one.

My hands were protected by Peak’s gloves, and the needle’s momentum was ceaseless. For the first time since having my wings, I was properly flying.

My opponent’s figure soon seeped into my vision, and I was met with an additional swell of satisfaction.

Aquamarine in its long, slender body. A split end tail from where the needles were launched. Two red, mocking eyes. And a head flat as a plate. My opponent was a giant viper. It truly was, the Rapiter.

However, I hadn’t the time to bask in my satisfaction, as I was bucked off the needle by its reentry into the viper, and my continued kinetic energy sent me careening headfirst across the river, faceplanting into the dirt. At that moment, an overwhelming sense of deja vu flooded through me.

The battle was laid out with me now across the stream, and the Rapiter in the middle of the stream. My progress was reverted. I was now just as far away from it as I had been, and I was gradually becoming worse for the wear.

There was only so much pain tolerance could do. Sooner or later my body would give out and when that happened, I’d be done for. So, I’d just have to find a way to stop that from happening.

I’d have to keep going on the offensive. Or I would’ve if my opponent hadn’t first.

When I’d recollected myself and turned to face my opponent, it was directly in front of me, body extended no less than fourteen feet high. It was ready to strike, and done playing with its food.

It started with launching its needles, as per the routine, I skitted out of the way, but that wasn’t a guarantee of safety anymore. Its tail crashed into my stomach, sending me flying in a coughing fit, and causing me to drop my daggers.

“Dang it, Peak. I never even got a chance to use your daggers…” My ability to stay on the offensive was immediately stripped from me.

No, I was never truly on the offensive. I’d never even gotten close enough to land a blow.

Even still, I staggered into a standing position. I’d have to either hold it off until it gave up and left, or I’d have to find an outlet to escape. I wasn’t smart enough to derive some intricate scheme like protagonists from action flicks, nor was I strong enough to kill a ginormous snake with my bare hands.

I was no more than an average girl who’d been thrown into a bizarre and complex scenario, the likes of which were only seen in movies, novels, and anime. Although, I might’ve tried to believe I was something more than I was.

Wait, no. That wasn’t right. I never believed I was something more than I was. I just wanted to be something more. I wanted to be like those protagonists. I wanted to overcome adversity. Not just those premeditated ones that Peak made for me... I wanted to triumph.

—I wanted to abide by my motto. Because that was who I was. I lived by the second. Because of that, I never thought about the future or what was ahead of me. That stuff didn’t matter. It didn’t matter whatsoever!

“Ahaha!” I did my best to imitate Peak’s hearty laugh. “Give me your all, Rapiter! Right now, I’ve got no choice! No choice but to live life and take chances! And I’m gonna take a chance, right now!”

I knew it myself, I was being a fool. Out of my two remaining options: run away or wear out the Rapiter, I’d gathered the scraps of my previous one and chose it. I’d go on the offensive.

And so, I braced myself for the Rapiter’s next attack, which came in the form of a ridiculously fast, headfirst lunge towards my wings. It wasn’t the type of attack I could just flitter my way out of, either. It was undodgeable, no matter which direction I jumped, one of my wings would get hit.

Yet, I wouldn’t let it. and as if it was accepting my steeled resolve, I finally broke through the last hurdle of my new body, and used up an immense amount of strength to bring the wing under my control for the first time ever.

And then, I moved it out of the way.

The Rapiter, expecting the last attack to be the last attack, smashed into the ground where my wing once was.

While it was temporarily disoriented, I seized the moment to give the Rapiter one fair kick to the gullet, before it retracted its head and sneakily launched more spikes my way.

The Rapiter, though confused as to why it missed, didn’t look any worse off than it was before.

I’d landed something that could be considered a blow, but it did nothing to it. Other than maybe—no certainly—pissing it off more.

From that point on, the frequency of the Rapiter’s attacks picked up to a lethal haste. Needles were being fired without an interval of time between them arriving back to the Rapiter and being launched. When it wasn’t sending needles my way, the tail was being swung at me, knocking me around, and further bruising my stomach.

The only thing that wasn’t out for blood was, surprisingly, the Rapiter’s head, which was now retreated back with the rest of its body. After all, it wanted to beat me down. It was upset that I’d gotten the better of it, even once.

I tried my best to avoid its attacks, but it was at the point where it was a game of give and take. I’d have to take any blows that were nonlethal that way I could give myself the time to avoid the lethal ones. That meant getting smacked into the air by the Rapiter’s tail more often than not, and allowing the needles to graze me where they’d otherwise pierce me.

I was completely outmatched in every facet but one. Both the Rapiter and I had an equal amount of stubbornness which prolonged the battle. Even through near zero stamina reserves, I continued to dodge and fight for my life, and the Rapiter continued sporadically flailing its weapons at me.

It was about grit. Whoever had more, would be the victor. No matter the outcome. The Rapiter likely had more than one way to end me once and for all, but it enjoyed toying with me, and in return, I enjoyed playing with the incredibly smug snake—I wasn’t gonna let some smirking, slithering, reptile get the better of my will.

In a way, there was a sort of rivalrous camaraderie between the two of us. Sure, it wanted to consume me, as I smelled of the nectar it craved so much, but hey, I’d heard of worse rivals.

The battle continued on for about another fifteen or so minutes before we were finally starting to tire out. I was rather impressed with myself. I wasn’t typically so dedicated of a person. For some reason, in this situation that should’ve been the scariest, most painful, and insurmountably dreadful experience of my life, I was satisfied.

To signify the battles end, the Rapiter and I both stared at each other for awhile out of pure respect for one another. For a giant man-eating snake, it was rather chill. And then, I plopped back onto the ground and accepted my fate.

“That was fun, Mr. Piter. Fun, for sure.” I was trying not to think about what came next, that wasn’t my forte, but despite that, remorse plagued my body. I’d just came to another world, and it was over so soon.

I was probably a bit too hasty in my decision making. It wasn’t like I really thought this whole plan through, but it was too late now. I just had to accept it. So, I closed my eyes, and waited for the end. More accurately, I was wiped and fell asleep.

I hadn’t expected to come to again, but when I did, I was met with an unfamiliar voice beckoning me to wake up, and I felt someone yanking on my collar.

“Is that an angel?” I struggled out the question, before opening my eyes. I was exactly where I was before, the exact same spot. I hadn’t moved a bit. I guess, I just had a bad habit of thinking I was in heaven around this place.

“I ain’t no angel. Now c’mon, you’ve got shit to explain to me.” There was a girl in front of me who spoke as curtly as she did rude.

I took the time to get an eyeful of her. She looked as though she was around my age or older. Her hair was a blazen red with a spiky motif to it, and tied back in a jagged ponytail. Additionally, her body was even more lithe and built than the one I’d been transported into, and her clothes were like Peak’s—a mixture of armor and cloths. Her most distinguishing feature, however, wasn’t her dark blue eyes or chokingly strong grip, but rather it was the giant metal sword that rested on her back, freshly coated in the red goo of life.

Then, I looked over the girl’s shoulder to see that my rival was no more. Or more accurately, he was fileted into delicately cut little pieces, as though someone was about to feast on him. He wasn’t even recognizable anymore.

“Hey, thanks for the save, miss!” Even I could tell what happened. This girl must’ve heard my struggle and came to save me at the last second. “You got here in the knick of time, y’know that?”

Despite having been about to die only a few minutes prior, I was in a good mood. I really felt as though I’d had my first adventure.

“Nah, I didn’t. I was pretty much watching that whole thing happen.” As if there was nothing wrong with what she’d just said, the girl just brushed off my sincere thanks, and went on with her agenda. “Now, let’s go. Okay?”

“Uh… yeah, sure… but might I ask something?” I wasn’t easily perturbed, but the lack of care in the stranger’s voice was really starting to tilt me. It was like the opposite impression I’d first had with Peak.

“Sigh… If you must. It’s not like I’m in any rush.” The girl waved her hand in a signal for me to speak, and my face temporarily broke its composure at her blunt attitude. My poor snake friend, might’ve been killed by the fire in her words alone.

“So, where exactly are we going?” My question was about what would be expected, but it needed to be answered nonetheless.

“Oh, we’re heading over to see Elklin. Now, are you ready? We’re going.” She didn’t give me the time to respond before heading forward towards Peak’s house. For what reason she was heading there, I didn’t know. There was a certain aura to the girl in front of me that screamed not to mess with her, and yet, I was stuck following her.

The day was still young, and I’d experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, but right now, all I was experiencing was annoyance and pity.

Annoyance at the girl’s attitude and pity towards my Rapiter rival. He died to her hands, and probably swiftly, too.

It was a day of adversity, and at the end of it. I’d came out bruised, broken, and cut open. But even then, life kept moving. So, I mustered the energy to stay on my feet, and limped after the girl, who didn’t once slow down her pace to consider my injuries.