Marcus stayed inside the tunnel like thing.

Dust swirled around him in thick, choking clouds.

He shielded his eyes and peered into the gloom.

He could not see the sky.

Something massive blocked the moonlight.

Huge, pillar-like structures stood just outside the gate. They looked like tree trunks covered in grey moss.

But they weren't trees. They were legs.

Marcus craned his neck, but the cave ceiling obscured the rest of the creature.

He only saw the legs. And they were colossal.

His heart hammered against his ribs.

'What is this now?' Marcus thought frantically. 'Reinforcements?'

He looked at the two guards.

They had stopped their advance. They had forgotten about Marcus entirely.

Their swords lowered. Their hands trembled.

Slowly, terrifyingly, the guards turned their heads.

They looked away from Marcus. They looked up at the titan standing behind them.

Their faces went pale. Their eyes widened until the whites showed all around.

A low, guttural sound escaped the second guard's throat. It was the sound of a man realizing he was prey.

Then, movement flashed from the right.

It was... a paw and it was the size of a carriage.

It moved with terrifying speed for something so large. The air screamed as it displaced the atmosphere.

Whoosh.

CRACK.

The paw swiped sideways. It hit the guards.

There was no fight. There was no resistance.

They were simply erased from the path.

Their bodies flew through the air like ragdolls. They vanished into the dark forest with a sickening thud.

Marcus stared at the empty space where the men had stood a second ago.

He felt a cold pit open in his stomach.

Dead. They were definitely dead.

The force of that blow would have shattered every bone in their bodies.

Marcus unconsciously took a step back. His boots scuffed on the stone floor.

He gripped the dragon girl's hand tighter.

She was shaking. She pressed her face into his leg to hide her eyes.

'We are next,' Marcus thought. His mind raced. 'We escaped the dungeon just to be eaten by a monster.'

It felt like a cruel joke.

He looked around for a weapon. A rock. Anything.

But he knew it was pointless.

Whatever stood outside was stronger than anything he had ever seen.

It was stronger than the bandits. Stronger than Elowen. Maybe even the little girl herself

Is this the end?

Is this how the story ends? Not with a hero's sacrifice, but as a snack for a forest titan?

The ground shook again.

Thoom.

The titan was moving. It was lowering itself.

Marcus held his breath. He backed away further into the tunnel.

A massive shape descended into view.

The creature got on its knees. It lowered its head to peer into the cave.

Marcus braced himself for teeth. He braced himself for scales or slime.

Instead, he saw an eye.

It was black. It was shiny. It reflected the torchlight from the tunnel.

It was... plastic?

Marcus blinked. His brain stuttered.

He looked closer.

The eye was a giant button. It was stitched onto the face with thick, black thread.

Marcus stared. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

'A button?' he thought. 'Why does a monster have a button eye?'

He looked at the face around the eye.

It was covered in grey fur. It was patchy and worn.

It wasn't skin. It was fabric.

'Is this...' Marcus thought, his mind rejecting the reality. 'Is this a teddy bear?'

It was absurd. It was impossible.

A fifteen-foot-tall teddy bear was kneeling outside the dungeon.

Marcus felt reality fraying at the edges.

He had accepted magic. He had accepted dragons.

But a siege-weapon-sized plush toy? That was too much.

Just as he questioned his sanity, a voice spoke.

"Hey, you two!"

The voice was childish. It sounded like a young boy, maybe eleven or twelve years old.

It was bright and energetic. It completely contradicted the terrifying size of the creature.

"What are you waiting for?" the voice asked. "Come out quick!"

Marcus looked around wildly.

"Who said that?" he whispered.

He looked back at the giant bear.

The bear's mouth didn't move. It was just a stitched line.

But the voice definitely came from it.

"Don't just stand there gaping," the bear said.

Marcus squinted. He stepped a tiny bit closer.

He looked at the other side of the bear's face.

The left eye was missing.

There was no button there. Just a few loose threads hanging from the fabric.

A spark of recognition flared in Marcus's mind.

He remembered the carriage ride. The terrible journey with the bandits.

He remembered the silent little girl in the white dress.

She had held a toy. A worn, grey bear.

With one missing eye.

"Wait," Marcus whispered.

The pieces clicked together.

The mysterious little girl. Her magic. Her strange companion.

"That's the toy," Marcus realized aloud. "The one from the carriage."

But why was it here? Why was it the size of a house?

And why was it talking like a pre-teen boy?

Marcus felt a headache building behind his eyes.

"Are you..." Marcus started. He pointed a shaking finger at the titan. "Are you the stuffed toy? The one the girl had?"

The giant bear shifted. It leaned closer.

"Whoa!" the bear exclaimed. Its voice was full of surprise.

"You have a good memory! And a sharp eye!"

The bear raised a massive paw. It waved. The wind from the movement ruffled Marcus's hair.

"Yeah, it's me!" the bear confirmed cheerfully.

Barnaby gestured to the forest.

"You can come out now," he said. "It is safe. I squashed the bad guys."

Marcus stared at the bear.

Safe.

A giant, talking, animated construct just claimed it was safe.

Marcus let out a long, tired sigh. His shoulders slumped.

"This world," Marcus muttered. "It is absolute chaos."

He felt numb. The fear had burned itself out, leaving only exhaustion.

"First a dragon," Marcus listed to himself. "Then a psychotic noble. Now a giant teddy bear."

He looked at the dragon girl clinging to his leg.

"What is left?" he wondered. "Flying pigs? A demon lord who runs a bakery?"

He wouldn't be surprised anymore. Nothing could surprise him now.

"Coming," Marcus called out. His voice sounded flat.

He looked down at the dragon girl.

She was trembling again. She was staring at the giant bear with pure terror.

To her, it was just another monster. Another thing that could hurt her.

Marcus needed to be the adult. He needed to be the calm one.

Even if he was currently hallucinating a giant toy.

He took a deep breath.

"It is okay," he said to the girl.

He squeezed her hand gently.

"Let's go say hi to the bear."

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