7:00 PM came as the sunlight filtering through the canopy grew noticeably fainter, taking on a golden-orange quality.

A rabbit burst from the bushes directly ahead, nearly colliding with Marie. She gasped before stepping back quickly so the rabbit didn't hurt itself.

But then she blinked when she saw the animal freezing in terror, and then noticed the roots wrapped its entire body except for its head.

Reinhard thought it looked like a cage of roots before the rabbit, then it bolted, hopping awkwardly into the undergrowth.

"How can it still move like that?" Marie asked as she furrowed her brows.

"We don't know either." Janus says softly.

"The roots really might be giving them energy to move, since normally it should be too painful or restrictive to move." Brunhidle says as she crosses her arms. "No wonder they call this place the world of too many questions and few answers."

"That's a pretty odd name." Joseph says with a blink.

"Well, the person had a crappy naming sense, but the meaning is the same." Brunhidle says with a giggle.

The group continued walking as they saw more animals, but to their slight relief. They saw more without the roots wrapped around them or digging into their bodies.

But then Janus paused as he was checking the clock before looking around with a frown.

The sunlight was streaming through the canopy still, but weaker now as it faded toward twilight.

He turned to the others, concern clear on his face.

"We need to find shelter or create it. It's 7:30 PM."

Reinhard frowned, turning to Marie. "Can you see through the sunlight to check the area again?"

Marie nodded immediately. "Give me a minute. Even though it's just some light around, I should be able to."

She closed her eyes, and her body began to glow with soft golden light. The illumination lasted only seconds before fading, leaving her standing perfectly still while her breathing slowed, becoming almost imperceptible.

Everyone fell silent as the seconds ticked by while Reinhard watched Marie's face for any sign of strain or discovery.

Her expression remained blank, focused entirely inward, and then, when a full minute passed.

Marie's eyes snapped open, and a grin appeared. "There's a ruined shack northeast of here, only four minutes away. We can use it, although we'll need to fix some of the holes-"

Janus nodded quickly, relief flooding his features. "That's fine, we can make do with it. I'll do the fixing, just lead the way."

Marie didn't waste time as she began running, her eyes closed again as she trusted Light Sense to guide her.

The others followed, boots pounding against root-covered ground as they navigated between trees, jumped over fallen logs, and ducked under low-hanging branches.

Marie led them without hesitation, and then four minutes of running brought them to a clearing. Reinhard saw a ruined shack in the center with walls made of weathered wood and a roof that sagged dangerously. A destroyed well sat beside it, its stone rim crumbled, and multiple fire pits surrounded the structure, all of them reduced to cold ash.

Janus surveyed the shack, then glanced around the clearing. "Help me gather wood and roots."

Everyone nodded, splitting up immediately.

Reinhard summoned Zenuken as he approached the nearest tree, a dead one with grey bark, and swung.

The tree groaned, tilting, then crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact, and then he chopped it into a manageable piece.

Marie was gathering roots, pulling them from the ground where they'd grown exposed.

Joseph used wind to drift the pieces close to the shack, and Brunhilde carried a large amount of branches over.

Janus took the materials and began working as His hands moved with practiced skill, fitting wood into holes, using roots to bind pieces together.

He worked the gaps in the walls first, then moved to shore up the roof structure.

Twenty minutes passed before everything was done, and then he checked the time to see it was 7:50 PM.

"Okay, we made it!" Janus announced, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Everyone inside!"

They rushed through the door, crowding into the small space. Joseph pulled the door shut, and darkness swallowed them until Janus turned on the lantern, which provided dim illumination that cast long shadows.

They sat down on the wooden floor, forming a rough circle.

The shack felt claustrophobic with five people inside, but secure and good for now.

"It will start in ten minutes." Janus said quietly. "Just ignore the screeching and the shaking of the shack."

Joseph frowned. "Then it goes on for the entire night?"

Janus took a deep breath, steadying himself. "It happens for four hours until midnight, but the type of Night Terrors is random. The only thing we can do is stay in the light, and wait."

"Is that really the only way to deal with them?" Reinhard asked.

Janus frowned. "I'm sure Brunhilde could destroy them, but..."

"I'd be swarmed by all of them." Brunhilde said with a frown. "Requiring me to put more effort in, and with my attention locked on them, they'd go after you."

Reinhard sighed. "Meaning even with Brunhilde, there's a high chance we'd be taken or killed."

Brunhilde sighed as well and nodded. "Either that, or you'd all be sent flying from me, unleashing more power. The problem with Beast Masters in second class and higher is that our power is very destructive and widespread."

Reinhard's lips twitched as the memories of the clash in Colin Forest resurfaced.

How the battle between high-level Phantasm Beasts and the Beast Masters had overturned the entire forest.

The way shockwaves had hurled him, Marie, and Joseph through the air.

Joseph had been seriously injured by wooden splinters from the destruction. And they hadn't even been close to the actual fight.

What if they had been?

Brunhilde smiled at them faintly. "I wish I could deal with them and keep you safe."

Marie shook her head quickly. "It's fine, Brun. We should apologize for being a burden-"

Brunhilde's hand blurred before lightly flicking Marie's forehead. Marie yelped in surprise while Brunhilde smiled warmly. "You're never a burden. Without Janus, we wouldn't be able to navigate the forest. Without you, I probably wouldn't have found this shack."

Marie giggled, rubbing her forehead while Janus smiled, some tension leaving his shoulders.

The clock hit 8:00 PM.

Everyone except Brunhilde felt a chill that was immediate, like cold water poured down their spines. The temperature hadn't changed, but it was their instincts as a Beast Master that were telling them something was wrong.

Silence descended.

Then the sound of faint footsteps could be heard. Not the pattern of walking, but countless things hitting the ground in chaotic patterns. Reinhard blinked as it sounded like hundreds of things moving through the area, all at once.

The footsteps got closer.

And closer.

Then they vanished.

Reinhard and the others furrowed their brows, wondering if it had stopped near the shack. But that was proven wrong when the shack began shaking.

It started as a tremor, like something was crawling across the roof. Then it intensified as if something was stomping on the entire structure and making it shake.

Again and again, the shack shook while the wood creaked in protest.

But then a high-pitched whine echoed through the night.

It sounded like a deer, which seemed to be crying out in pain.

The shaking stopped.

Then an ear-splitting screeching erupted, as if countless things were crying out together. Then countless footsteps thundered past the shack, shaking the ground itself. The deer's cries echoed out again, then cut off abruptly.

But more screeching filled the space it left, coming from all directions. As more footsteps continued moving on the ground outside, but none came back to the shack again.

And so the hours passed with more screeching, animals crying, and the ground shaking. Before midnight finally came, the sounds outside vanished as if they never existed or were just illusions before.

Brunhilde says softly. "They're gone now. I can't sense any of them. So everyone, take this time to sleep… I have a feeling tomorrow will be more pressing."

Everyone nodded, ignoring the end of Brunhilde's words as they began slowly closing their eyes, as sleep took them.

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