Cassis stared at the fox locked in a desperate fight against the towering bear. At first glance, it had seemed like just another monster, one of the countless threats lurking in the forest. But there was something familiar about the creature, something that sent a prickle of memory down his spine.

It looked like the fox he had fought before. In the other timeline, back when he had lived alone in this forest, he had clashed with a fox monster more times than he could count. They had circled the same territory, challenged each other over resources, and sometimes just crossed paths with tense silence. It had never ended in death, never in a clear victory. That fox had been a pain to fight, not because of overwhelming strength, but because it had been smart. Crafty. Patient.

Cassis narrowed his eyes. The fox in front of him wasn't quite the same. The fur had the same flame-touched hue, but it was finer, sleeker. Smaller bones. More agile. Could be evolution. Could be coincidence. And then the cub squeaked. That sound cut through the noise like a blade, and the baby fox stepped into view. Cassis stiffened. That was the same fur color. The same eyes. The same breed.

He hadn't seen the mother back then, but now he knew where the cub came from. And now he knew that the fox' intelligence hadn't been a quirk of mutation. The mother had passed it on. Those creatures were already sentient, he could see it in the way the mother fought. She had used the distraction of the bear when it looked at Cassis' group. She had gone for the most vulnerable target and had timed her assault with precision, launching her flames only when close enough to burn the bear's eye. The rest of the time, she used flickering flames around her claws, subtle, conservative, not wasting mana. Tactical.

But it wasn't enough. Now, she was crumpled on the ground, bleeding heavily. Every time she tried to rise, she failed. The bear was lumbering forward, drawn to the cub's cries. Cassis knew the cub would survive. And it would become even more cunning than its mother.

He also knew he had never seen the mother fox in his previous life. So, this was where she died. Was it smarter to end the cub now, before it grew stronger? His instincts said yes. Then his eyes fell on Felicia and Matteo standing between the bear and the cub.

The bear was massive, probably as strong as the frogman chief they'd fought before. But back then Cassis knew about the frogman chief, how it fought and reacted. This monster he had no information about, no experience with it. And yet, the kids didn't move. Felicia was trembling but unmoving. Matteo stood beside her like a ghost, pale and shaking, but refusing to back down.

Cassis' stomach clenched. Nothing would happen to them because of the system's protection. But he saw their distress and wanted to make it better. Arianna looked at him, pleading in silence. He didn't understand why at first. Then a cry shattered everything.

"Mum!" Felicia screamed, voice raw and cracked and real.

Cassis flinched. He hadn't heard her speak before. Not once. Why now? Before he could think, Arianna's voice whispered into his mind via party chat. "We have to help them."

He looked at her sharply. She didn't mean the kids. She meant the foxes. Of course she did. Arianna always wanted to protect things. Even monsters. But Cassis had lived too long in an unforgiving future. Monsters in their situation didn't care. Monsters would kill you if you were weak. That fox cub? It might cry now, but someday it might, not it would, rip out someone's throat.

He stared back at her flatly. No. He wouldn't fight for monsters. Another plea. "It's for Felicia and Matteo." He frowned. Why? Then he looked at the children again—and understood. This wasn't just another fight. This was their nightmare, unfolding all over again. Their mother had stood between a monster and her children, and she'd died. Now the mother fox was fighting to protect her cub. Felicia and Matteo saw that and they stood with the fox. Crying. Protecting.

This moment would stay with them forever. Cassis knew what it was like to carry a moment that haunted you. A moment that you could never change. But they were trying to change a similar moment now.

He clenched his jaw. Fine. He wouldn't do it for the fox. He didn't care if it bled out or lived another day. But for them—for Felicia's scream, and Matteo's trembling courage—for the shattered look in their eyes, Cassis would fight. He signalled to the others, stepping out from behind the tree and drawing his weapon. His mana surged, wrapping around his fingers like smoke and heat.

"We go in," he said through party chat. "We take down the bear."

No one questioned it. Because this wasn't just a battle anymore, it was a choice. And Cassis chose them. He ran forward, fire flickering around his blade as Liam, his mother, and Camden flanked him. Together, they stood between the injured fox, its cub, the children and the furious bear.

The bear noticed. What had once been certain prey was now blocked by four new opponents. It roared in outrage, the sound echoing like a thunderclap through the trees, then hammered down with its massive paws.

Arianna let out a loud warcry. Cassis felt his strength increase. She hadn't used the buff often since she was still unfamiliar with her abilities. Now, though, it was useful. He could also see a blessing in his status. She'd remembered to give him Courage. No doubt, she'd given the bear some kind of curse. She was finally starting to use her full abilities.

Cassis slashed upward with his fire blade, his mother mirroring the motion beside him. Sparks danced across the bear's fur, searing some of it, but the beast's hide was strong – thick, coarse, and cruelly resistant to damage. Cassis hissed in frustration.

Not enough.

Helen appeared behind the beast, daggers still normal, as she couldn't infuse her blades with mana due to her class. Once she evolved, she would probably be able to, from what he remembered. She went for a blind spot, but the blade skidded off the bear's hide like a knife against stone. She cursed and danced away just as the bear sluggishly tried to swat her.

The bear was like a fortress: slow, methodical, and nearly indestructible.

From the edge of the battlefield, Cassis saw a burst of light. His father had reached the children and was standing protectively in front of them. A magic missile streaked from his hand and slammed into the bear's shoulder, distracting it just enough for Cassis to strike again.

Arianna still hadn't joined the fight. She was kneeling beside the mother fox, hands glowing faintly as she tried to stop the bleeding. She wasn't as fast as usual. Cassis didn't know why. Did it make a difference that she was healing a monster?

They pressed the attack. Cassis focused on one spot just above the bear's left knee. Again and again, he drove his fire blade into that joint. It was a slow process, like chopping into a living tree, but the repetition worked. Blood began to pour freely. The beast staggered.

Then, finally, Arianna and the mother fox joined the fight. Cassis immediately shifted his stance. His blade tilted slightly back, ready to parry. He never let his back face a monster. Though if the mother fox was as intelligent as he thought she wouldn't attack them right now. She'd use them to kill the bear, then either fight them afterwards or escape.

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And as he had thought, the fox didn't attack. In fact, when the bear's massive foot came crashing down toward his mother, the fox shoved her out of the way, taking a grazing blow to its flank in the process. Cassis couldn't believe it. He had nearly struck out, instinct driving him to retaliate. But he saw it in time—the trajectory, the angle of the shove. It had been intentional. Protective.

He pulled back. This fox…

He still didn't trust it. But for now, they had the same enemy. That was enough.

The bear's left leg was now heavily wounded. Cassis went in again, flame licking along the blade, carving into that same spot. This time, Helen was waiting. She leapt forward and jammed her dagger deep into the same gash before darting away.

The bear roared. The ground beneath their feet began to ripple and shift, like standing on a wave of earth. Cassis widened his stance instinctively, riding the motion. Around him, the others stumbled. Liam, Camden, and his mother lost their footing and fell hard. Only he, Arianna, and Helen remained upright. The fox did too. Four legs gave it the edge.

Then—movement. Beneath him. Arianna's voice cracked into his mind over the party chat: "Cas, dodge!" Without hesitation, he threw himself to the side. A massive earth spike erupted where he'd stood a heartbeat before. He rolled and came up cursing. A mutated bear using Earth Spike this soon into the apocalypse? That was new. And bad. Very bad.

He hadn't encountered this monster in the previous timeline. Not once. It had to have died since no monster this powerful would have remained unknown. Was it the little fox who had sought revenge for its mother? Or had something different happened to it?

He surged forward using a calculated dash, pouring more mana into his blade until it glowed like a sunbeam. Arianna and the mother fox ran for the bear too, but were a lot slower than him. Helen had vanished from view again, trying to backstab or distract their opponent. The bear loomed above them, rearing back for another slam. But Helen distracted it by shooting a fire arrow into its behind. It tried to turn around.

That was when Cassis struck—this time deep. The blade hissed as it carved into the bear's side, smoke rising from burning blood. The paw came down toward him, fast and brutal. Then Arianna was there, water mana flooding into her shield as she threw herself in front of him. The impact made her knees buckle, arms trembling, but she held. The shield cracked at the edges but didn't shatter. He knew he could count on her.

The fox leapt. It soared past Cassis and raked its claws across the bear's remaining eye, a burst of flame igniting from the tips. The bear screamed. Blinded. Staggering. Another magic missile from his father hit it in the face.

Cassis didn't hesitate. He plunged his blade into the wound he'd already carved and activated flame burst. The explosion rocked the bear's torso, and the scent of charred flesh filled the air. The bear shrieked and flailed. Still not dead. He kept going. Again. Flame burst. His mana was running out. He could feel it, the burn of it deep in his lungs, but he didn't stop. He had to finish it. They all did.

Arianna braced the shield again, barely keeping it up as the bear reeled back and hit against it again. Her arms trembled, but she kept protecting him. Cassis stood still, blade embedded in the bear's side, flames tearing through the wound.

The fox circled again, going for the neck. Her sharp teeth managed to get through the fur. She clamped down and shook her head. Cassis pushed more mana in, gritting his teeth. Come on, he thought. Just die already. He couldn't take much more. And the bear was still moving.

It roared, violent and furious, and managed to dislodge the fox, swatting her to the side with a clawed swipe that could have torn through steel. But this time, the fox landed on her feet. She staggered, visibly dazed, one leg shaking beneath her, shallow gauges on her side, but she held her ground.

The bear wasn't done. It turned its rage toward Arianna and slammed its fists again and again against her shimmering water shield. The water started wavering, getting thinner in some places. "I can't hold it much longer," she warned, panting, her voice strained. "We'll need to back away in a bit."

Cassis gritted his teeth. He understood. But damn it, he was so close. The bear was bleeding, the fire inside was raging, its strength clearly waning. He could feel it—just a bit longer. And then it surprised them again. It let out another bellow, this one deep and rumbling, and more earth spikes shot from the ground in all directions. A deadly field of stone teeth erupted from the forest floor.

Cassis saw his mother, Liam, and Camden out of the corner of his eye. They had just gotten back to their feet and were charging forward. The eruption scattered them. They dove and rolled, barely avoiding the deadly strikes.

Then—his turn. He was leaning forward, focus narrowed on his flame burst he was channelling along the sword still lodged in the bear's side, when a spike burst from the ground right beneath him. It came straight for his chest. There was no time to dodge. He knew it wouldn't kill him and Arianna could heal him immediately, but it would hurt. He had just enough thought to brace himself for the agony—

But it never came. Something slammed into him from the side. His breath left his lungs as he was launched backward, his sword yanked from his grip, still stuck in the bear. He tumbled, rolled, and landed hard on the ground with a crunch of leaves.

What—?

The fox. The fox had tackled him at a speed he hadn't even seen—fast, faster than he would have thought. Was she already able to use dash, or was it something similar? Arianna was suddenly at their side, already bathing them both in her heal spell. Her hands shook slightly, but her voice was calm. "You're okay. You're okay."

Cassis blinked. He turned his head. The fox was lying beside him, breathing hard. One of her flanks was bleeding again. Her intelligent eyes met his, steady and alert. No hostility. Just focus. Just understanding. He stared back. He had protected her earlier, fought for her, despite her being a monster, despite not wanting to protect her. Now she had returned the favor, throwing herself between him and certain death.

They understood each other.

That realization hit him harder than the earth spike would have. He had an understanding with a monster. He never thought such a thing was possible. Not after everything he'd endured. Not after all the times monsters had almost killed him in the other timeline. Not after the cruelties he had witnessed. But here they were. Still alive. Still fighting. This time side by side.

The ground trembled again beneath them. How much mana does this thing have? Cassis thought bitterly. It was unnatural. He glanced at the bear. His sword was still embedded in its side. He needed it to finish this.

The others had regrouped and were launching another assault. Helen stayed further back, raining down fire arrows with precision and speed, using the tree cover to avoid the spikes. His father's voice carried from near the children, more magic missiles exploding against the bear's hide. His mother, blade blazing, danced around its blind swings, trying to target the leg Cassis had wounded earlier.

Liam and Camden each attacked from different angles. Earth and wind clashed against hide and muscle, breaking open small cuts. And then Arianna left his side and charged in. She used her bludgeon skill, the mace crashing down on the bear's knee with shocking brutality. The impact echoed like thunder.

Cassis didn't wait. He pushed himself up and dashed across the battlefield, ducking low, weaving through the gaps between earth spikes and trees, nearly tripping twice. The fox ran with him, silent and sure-footed, circling the bear, eyes calculating. Together, they reached the bear's side. Cassis grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it out. Heat still pulsed faintly through it. He used every bit of the mastery he had trained for in the other timeline to stab at the bear again. This time he stabbed deep into its belly, far deeper than before. The bear roared, but with everything going on and being blinded, it couldn't retaliate.

Next, he closed his eyes and reached inward, concentrating on his mana pattern to suck in as much mana as possible. Then he pushed everything he got into another flame burst. Keeping this up hurt. His head felt like it was splitting open. But he forced the mana through, searing pain in his mind.

The fire erupted from his blade, deep inside the bear again. But this time it kept going. It burned brightly. Cassis gritted his teeth against the strain of keeping the pattern active in his head, torso and arms. He'd never managed to do it until now and he almost wished he hadn't managed at all. The mind-splitting headache was actually getting worse. Colour faded from his vision, not into black, but white. This didn't seem good. But he couldn't stop. Not until the bear was dead.

And finally, the beast gave a final, shuddering roar. Smoke poured from its mouth and nostrils, and flames licked out of its wounds. Its muscles convulsed and then slackened. The bear fell.

Cassis almost went down with it. His knees buckled. He stumbled, vision swimming, but full of colours again. Mana depletion. The headache from his advanced pattern flared, almost knocking him out. Everything tilted. He grabbed onto the sword still lodged in the corpse to stay upright. Breathing hard, he looked around, heart still racing. The fight was over.

Or… was it?

He froze. The fox. Where was the fox?

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