Upon Ciana and Kaha’s return, Corin and the rest prepared to set out for the second leg of their trip for the day.

  “After we are done with our march today, we will be two days from our destination.” Ciana told them.

  Corin and Nanaua looked at each other. They were close to Zhi and Livia now. A mix of hope and dread swirled within Corin.

  “Onwards.” Nanaua said, and the group set off.

  The terrain they covered was thick with trees. They had seen no signs of Titan activity around them for several days now. Gone were the signs of destroyed forests, of scarred landscapes. But the trees were still silent. If an enemy lurked nearby, it would be hard for them to be spotted, but the reverse was also true.

  “There are little to no signs of Titan activity around here.” Ciana mentioned.

  “Isn’t that good?” Zaire asked.

  “Is it?” Ciana asked him.

  None in the group had any response. They continued, focused on reaching their target.

  As Corin walked, he heard the sounds of leaves rustling behind him. It was nothing out of the usual. There were still animals in this forest, and he had heard the same sound many times through their walk recently.

  “Co- Corin.” A voice whimpered behind him.

  Corin turned around with no urgency. What he saw jolted him instantly. From the ground where mere moments before there had been nothing, a muddy creature had arisen.

  The creature stood next to Natwar, arms raised and ready to strike.

  “Natwar!” Corin cried out and grabbed his blade.

  He wouldn’t make it; he was too far. The others were too far ahead to reach Natwar. Corin reached for his waist and pulled his pistol. As he swung it ahead, he shot.

  The shot echoed through the forest. The loud bang stirred many creatures into motion. Animals all over the forest dashed around.

  The shot hit the creature, and it stumbled sideways, but Corin knew he had missed its heart. Corin had faced enough golems to know what it took to put one down.

  The creature twisted awkwardly and launched itself at Natwar. Corin shot once again; this time he did not miss. The mud sprayed in all directions. Natwar shook as he saw the creature burst in front of him.

  Corin ran to Natwar, who could not take his eyes off the space in front of him.

  “Are you hurt?” Corin asked the boy as he shook him.

  Natwar was nonresponsive, still staring at the space in front of him.

  “Behind you, Corin!” Nanaua shouted from a distance.

  Corin turned around. Just as suddenly as there had been nothing around him mere moments ago, a multitude of golems had arisen from the ground.

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  Corin grasped his blade, ready to fight the oncoming horde. He began counting them in his head.

  Five, ten… twenty!

  He stopped counting. There was no point. They had to fight through the horde; they had no choice.

  “Find cover!” Zaire shouted.

  Corin looked beyond, and Zaire held two lit devices.

  “Come!” Corin yelled to Natwar as he dragged him behind some trees.

  Within mere instants of reaching the tree, Corin heard two loud bangs, one after the other.

  “Aaargh!” Corin heard Nanaua yell. He knew she was about to join in earnest. This was his sign.

  “Wait here! If another one comes for you, run!” Corin shouted at Natwar and peeled off the tree.

  Nanaua waded into the mass of golems, guided by the bladed edge of her pike as she carved a path of destruction. Each of her swings was meticulous. Each swing destroyed another golem.

  “She is amazing!” Corin heard Natwar proclaim from behind the tree.

  Corin could only acknowledge the fact. He knew that the Nanaua that fought in front of him was even stronger than the one he had encountered in the dragon temple. From the moment they had met, she had never stopped honing her technique.

  But the number of opponents was still too great, even for her. Corin waded in with his blade and began hacking and slashing at his opponents. The mass of golems were focused on Nanaua and Corin cut down a sizable portion of the golems before they realized what occurred. As Corin cut through his opponents, he neared Nanaua. Behind her, Corin saw a golem ready to strike at her, a sharpened limb coming down furiously.

  Corin pushed through the opponents and cut down the would-be assailant. He now stood back-to-back with Nanaua. Around them, a large circle of the golems still stood.

  “You finally joined in?” Nanaua asked with a sarcastic tone as she caught her breath.

  “You know I just saved your life!” he shot back.

  “Of course you did. I expect no less from you. Just as I trust you to guard my blind spots, I do the same for you.”

  Corin smiled. Much as in physical sparring, Nanaua often had the upper hand over Corin in verbal exchanges.

  “Now shall we?” Nanaua said as the golems held their ground.

  “Let’s.”

  Corin and Nanaua shot out from the center, slashing and cutting down the rest of the golems with ease. After an intense fight, they stood alone amidst the clearing of the forest, with the only sign of their former enemies visible being the small gemstones that they left once defeated.

  “Are there any more?” Nanaua asked aloud.

  “I don’t believe so,” Zaire said as he approached the two. Ciana studied the surrounding ground.

  “This high number of golems can only mean we’re near a giant.” She said as she looked at the debris.

  “A giant?” Zaire said with concern rising in his voice.

  “Yes, Ciana is correct.” Corin interjected. “But we are heading towards the furtive army. They are probably headed towards giants, so coming across golems was a foregone conclusion.”

  Corin turned and saw Natwar still peering out from behind a tree.

  “It’s safe to come out now.” He told the boy.

  Natwar walked over to Corin with his head held down.

  “Are you hurt?” Ciana asked.

  “No,” Natwar replied. “I… just. I was so scared. There was nothing I could do.”

  Corin felt guilt eat away at him. He should have been right next to Natwar. He should have been more careful. He should never have left an opening for an opponent.

  “Natwar,” Corin said as he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You have us; you don’t have to worry.”

  “But you won’t always be there!” Natwar shouted. “What about when we come across the furtive army? I have to learn to fight for myself, don’t I?”

  Corin was at a loss for words. He looked at Natwar. He thought of himself standing next to Natwar, facing hordes of incoming golems, helping the fight against the Titans.

  “Next time don’t panic.” Nanaua chimed in.

  “That’s it?” Natwar asked her with a shocked face.

  “You can only strive to be better than you were before. You could not react this time, and it nearly cost you your life. Take this lesson to heart and make sure next time you are face to face with an opponent you act.” She replied.

  Natwar looked down at the ground.

  “I will be better.” He muttered.

  “So we can expect to see more golems as we near the army?” Zaire asked.

  “It is a possibility,” Ciana replied.

  “Then we should rest now.” He responded. “There is little time before the day ends, and I don’t think encountering golems in the dark would be beneficial to us.”

  “Agreed,” Nanaua concurred.