-{First day after Hannah's escape, dawn in dark wood.}-

Hannah woke up feeling nauseous, a single look at the creature beneath her made the already troubling morning even worse.

The hog was still there, though it slept at that moment.

Quickly, she packed up her hammock, fighting back the bile brewing inside.

She took a look at her map, guessing where the road she was heading for was situated.

Once the day's preparations were done, she descended from the thick oak that saved her life the day before, beginning a brisk jog right after hitting the ground.

Anything that survived in Darkwood was sure to have keen senses, a sentiment that was proven correct when the sound of heavy steps came from behind her.

The next few minutes were a struggle, she procured a knife from her belt, hoping to incapacitate her foe should it manage to catch up with her.

And then it happened, the boar dashed at her from behind like a comet of fur, muscles and unyielding rage she was not quite sure about the origin of.

She had a split second to evade, throwing herself to her left as the beast dashed past her, a smell like rotten eggs making her head spin even faster.

As the hog turned around and Hannah got to her feet again, they locked eyes.

An instant that felt like a lifetime, the nausea growing stronger as she felt herself hunger for the creature's flesh.

The amulet her aunt had given her began to burn against her skin, something about it revolting against the very nature of her situation.

The sheer malice in her opponent's eyes alone was enough for her heritage to stir, but it wasn't elven blood that called to her.

Her opponent was Cambionic in nature, a beast infused with Infernal essence, forever yearning to become a full Demon or be cleansed to return to its natural state.

Normally, this knowledge would have scared her, but driven by adrenalin and guided by a strange hunger, she lunged for it.

To her, the world faded to shades of red as her blade failed to penetrate the monstrosities hide, a failure she was immediately punished for as the boar began thrusting with its tusks.

She was not nimble enough to actually fight, and the amulet weakened her as it seemed to sear itself into her flesh.

As the hog pushed her in the ground, and many pounds of pure muscle began shattering her bones, she grabbed onto the amulet with her left hand and one of its tusks with her right hand, and pushed it right into its maw, before she utilized its temporary confusion to pull its head into the dirt right next to her head, forcing it shut as the sound of cooking meat escaped from its mouth.

How the fight proceeded, she wouldn't remember, but when she came to, her head was neck deep in its stomach, and her hands had a wild tangle with its intestines.

Immediately, she fell back, staring at the hollowed out corpse and the bulge in her own stomach, which was quickly burned through as her Nausea calmed for the first time, remaining that way for the remaining day.

Quickly, she began cutting any pieces she could use from the boar, even taking its tusks as trophies before she continued her travels.

After the encounter, the normally quiet forest turned completely silent, even the insects hiding as she came within hearing range. She was still on the wood's outer rim, but the wind took on a more ominous hum normally associated with its depths as she passed by.

It soon made her look in every direction, growing anxious as even her own steps were swallowed by the now knee-high grass.

Her anxiety reached its peak as she looked into a pond, the animals within freezing at her approach, and even she herself could see it now.

She was covered in bubbling blood and twisted gore, something about her eyes shocking her.

Hannah quickly undressed and cleaned herself, as a realization dawned upon her.

She liked being feared.

They were afraid.

She had defeated a Cambion, and while they were the second weakest among the Monsters, they were stronger than any Dires, the limit of most people's power.

A smile grew upon her face, the small pouch containing the amulet sitting next to her, tied together with sinews and boar hide.

"So long as I don't go deeper, everything will be ok."

She scrubbed a piece of stomach from her forehead before she gave her black hair a quick cut, shortening what once reached her lower back to strands that stopped just beneath her shoulders. She smiled as she looked into her familiar purple eyes, resting in the cool water for a few seconds before heading up the next tree. It would take her three days to reach the road, her path chosen because it would be hard to track for most, ensuring her freedom from a place that meant nothing but death and loss for her.

As she rested in the evening breeze, the birds slowly began to chirp, and the insects resumed their humming. Her spanned hammock would keep her safe, and the pond provided water when she awoke the next day.

But despite the lightness of it all, she had a bad feeling about going to sleep, something a few particularly annoying mosquitos seemed to relish in.

Once again, she was sleeping close to demon kin, the lowliest of Hemos kin still a great stain upon the blood lord, if any of her books on religion were true.

~{Esotorikum}~

A small crystal continues growing, more of its mycel digging beneath the ground, drawing upon the nether to fuel its growth, and the Nether happily obliging as the once pure diamond was filled with more of the swirling purple, ancient screams only a muffled cough that disturbs the Esoterikum's eternal silence.

And yet, nothing acts upon the disturbance, for a break in monotony is not supposed to happen.