Thirstfall - Memory of a Returnee-Chapter 37: Leap of Faith

Plan? What plan? There is no time for plans.

My mind races, clawing for a tactical advantage, a hidden variable, anything I can use. But there is no time. If I wait here mapping out the perfect strategy, Rhayne is going to die. I have to throw myself into the trap and improvise.

"Damn Chaos Theory," I curse under my breath.

I turn to the others. "Follow me, Veric. Lola, stay put. You are our sniper today. Please, do not miss."

I step out of cover. I tighten my gloves, adjust the straps on my utility belt, and take a few steps back to build momentum. My Rank-F body isn’t built for heroics. It’s built to shatter. I quickly calculate the drop—a three, maybe four-second freefall into the ravine.

I break into a sprint. At the very edge of the ridge, right before my final step, I glance back over my shoulder. I know Veric isn’t going to follow me. Why would he?

I push off the rock, launching myself into the empty air.

A pure leap of faith.

For a split second, the world is weightless. No jungle, no screams, no cicadas. Just the rush of air and the drop in my stomach.

My body remembers this feeling. Not from training. From the first timeline, when I fell off the Blackspine Ridge running from a Trench Worm. I broke both legs and crawled for six hours before anyone found me.

No one is going to help me this time.

I grit my teeth. Good. I work better alone.

The wind roars in my ears as I plummet like a diving eagle. I keep my eyes dead-locked on the monster below. It has to be precise. If I mess up this landing, my legs will snap like dry twigs.

In the final second of the descent, I tuck my chin and execute a tight front flip, drawing the hilt of Eventide mid-air. I come down hard, landing squarely on the Reef Stalker’s broad back.

The massive beast staggers, its dense muscles buckling under the sudden, heavy impact.

I grip Eventide, trying to drive the hilt down and activate the blade before the Stalker can even process what is happening. But my body is just too damn slow.

The Stalker recovers its balance in a fraction of a second. It thrashes wildly, bucking like a mad horse. The violent motion throws me off completely. I lose my footing, forced into a messy backflip off its scales, and land hard on my knees in the shallow, rushing water of the pool.

Well, I’m screwed.

My mind instantly shifts into overdrive, calculating any possible tactic to keep myself alive while I scan the cliff faces for the invisible team that set this trap.

The Reef Stalker turns to face me. It completely ignores Rhayne hanging above. It drops into a low, predatory crouch, moving with cautious, calculated steps. It’s gauging me. Trying to figure out the strength of the lunatic who just body-slammed it from the sky. Even the monster can’t quite believe what I just did.

Then, from the heavens above, a roar shatters the tension.

"GERONIMOOOOOO—"

My eyes shoot upward.

Veric. He actually jumped.

Something shifts in my chest. I strangle it before it becomes respect.

But unlike me, he doesn’t dive. He falls like a literal stone, zero grace, completely weighed down by his massive armor. He hits the shallow pool with a catastrophic, unceremonious CRASH, sending a tidal wave of water over both of us.

"Dammit, Veric, what the hell are you doing?" I grumble, wiping water from my eyes. He probably took fall damage, assuming he didn’t just break his own spine.

The Stalker flinches at the noise, baring its teeth and preparing to lunge.

I don’t hesitate. I squeeze the hilt of Eventide, activating the shadow blade for exactly two seconds.

SHIIING.

[OXI: 1,039/1,200]

The pure killer intent radiating from the black blade washes over the ravine. The Stalker immediately takes two steps back, hissing defensively. It worked. I bought us time.

Veric groans, pulling himself up from the water. By some absolute miracle, he is alive and unbroken, though he immediately starts complaining, coughing up water and cursing my sheer madness.

"Shut up," I snap, not taking my eyes off the beast. "Cut the rope and free Rhayne when you get the chance. And brace yourself. We aren’t alone here."

Veric stops complaining. He catches his breath, his expression hardening. He draws his sword and raises his heavy shield, stepping up beside me.

"I will be your shield," he says, his voice steady. "Let’s kill this thing."

The water covers our boots, rushing past our ankles. It’s shallow, but it creates enough drag to compromise our footwork.

"On my mark, I go first," I tell him, keeping my voice low. "When it charges me, you jump in front and surprise it. Understood?"

"Understood," Veric replies.

At that exact moment, the clouds above the canopy part. A single, brilliant ray of midday sun pierces the ravine.

When Veric crashed into the pool, the impact washed away every ounce of mud and ash from his Vanguard armor. Now, he is back to being a polished, stainless-steel lighthouse. The sunlight hits his breastplate and reflects a blinding, concentrated beam straight into the Reef Stalker’s eyes.

The beast squints, its bifurcated jaw parting in a low hiss, completely pissed off at the shining human.

Fuck my life...

The Stalker’s attention shifts entirely from me to Veric.

Every ounce of predatory focus locks onto the gleaming metal. Its muscles coil, the chromatophores along its spine flaring from stone-grey to arterial red—a threat display I’ve only seen once before, right before a Stalker ripped off my arm and almost killed three of my teammates in the Trench.

It’s going to charge him.

And somewhere in the cliffs above us, the real hunters are watching. Waiting for the exact moment we’re all tangled up with the beast.

We didn’t walk into a trap. We literally dove into one.