Odyssey Of Survival-Chapter 143 - The Return

A sudden gust of wind swept through the trees, rustling the leaves violently as the entire clearing seemed to shift under the pressure of an unseen force. The moment stretched, heavy and suffocating, as if the very air around them had thickened. Then, without warning, the wind surged again, stronger this time, sending dust and debris spiraling into the air.

All eyes turned toward the source of the disturbance.

A small circular portal flickered into existence a few feet away, its edges shimmering like liquid light. It was unlike any portal they had seen before—there was no glow, no radiant energy, just an ominous black void at its center, as if it led to an abyss from which no light could escape. A chilling sensation spread across the battlefield, sinking into their bones, and for a brief moment, even the enemies—who had been moments away from slaughtering the powerless girls—froze in place.

Then, in the blink of an eye, a figure shot out from the portal, the air around him vibrating with sheer force. The portal snapped shut behind him with a low hum, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

Madison, Bella, and Alice stared in shock, their bruised and bloodied faces reflecting disbelief as they took in the sight before them.

It was Nate.

Standing tall, his breathing heavy, his body bearing fresh wounds that told the story of whatever hell he had just endured. Deep claw marks ran across his face, fresh blood staining his skin, and yet, despite the exhaustion that was evident in his posture, the aura around him remained unchanged—powerful, unwavering, and dangerous.

His eyes swept across the battlefield, taking in every detail, and in that instant, his fatigue was replaced by something else entirely.

Rage.

His jaw tightened, his fingers curling into fists as he processed the scene before him—Bella sitting on the floor, her face bloodied, struggling to breathe. Alice pinned beneath a man's boot, her body trembling from the pressure on her back. Madison lying on the dirt, her wrist trapped beneath another man's boot, her eyes filled with pain and frustration.

A dangerous glint flickered in Nate's eyes. His face twisted in pure, unfiltered anger.

Before anyone could react, he was gone.

A blur of motion, a force faster than their eyes could register.

The man standing over Madison barely had time to register what was happening before a devastating blow struck the side of his face. The sound of the impact echoed through the clearing like a gunshot, and his body was lifted off the ground as if he had been hit by a truck. Before he could even process the pain, another strike came—this time to his stomach—forcing the air from his lungs with a sickening wheeze.

But Nate wasn't done.

He appeared again where the man was about to land, delivering another vicious punch mid-air, sending him flying in the opposite direction. Then, as if toying with a ragdoll, he continued his assault—every time the man's body came close to hitting the ground, Nate was already there, sending him soaring with yet another brutal strike. The sickening cracks of breaking bones filled the air, the victim's limbs bending at unnatural angles.

The battle, if it could even be called that, was over before it began.

By the time Nate finally stopped, the man was nothing more than a crumpled, lifeless husk. His body lay motionless in the dirt, eyes wide open but void of life, blood pooling beneath his shattered skull.

The three remaining attackers stood frozen, their faces pale with horror.

Nate turned to them slowly, his gaze sharp and unforgiving.

Fear.

Pure, paralyzing fear overtook the remaining men as they unconsciously stepped back.

But there was nowhere to run.

Nate vanished again, disappearing from sight.

A second of silence followed—so brief yet so suffocating.

Then, a sharp whistle cut through the air.

One of the three remaining men turned toward the sound, confusion flickering across his face. But the moment his eyes landed on the source, all confusion was replaced by sheer terror.

His friend—one of the men who had been standing just beside him moments ago—now had a massive hole where his chest had once been.

There was no heart. No organs.

Just a gaping, ghastly void.

His body swayed for a second, as if his brain was still catching up to what had just happened. Then, without a sound, he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

The two remaining attackers finally broke.

Panic overtook them as they turned and ran in opposite directions, desperate to escape the monster before them.

But Nate was faster.

Standing in the middle of where they had split, his eyes followed them both, calculating. Then, with a single, effortless motion, he raised his hand and flicked his fingers.

A sudden bolt of lightning shot from his palm, striking one of the men square in the back.

A deafening scream tore through the air as electricity coursed through his body, searing his flesh, burning him from the inside out. His skin blackened, his screams turning into gurgled gasps before he finally collapsed, smoke rising from his corpse.

Now, only one remained.

Nate's foot cracked with lightning as he disappeared from sight once more.

The last survivor—breathing heavily, his body shaking—kept running, his only thought to put as much distance between himself and Nate as possible.

But it was useless.

In the next instant, Nate appeared directly behind him.

The man barely had time to scream before Nate grabbed him by the back of his head and slammed his face into the nearest tree with a force so violent that his skull exploded on impact.

Blood. Bone fragments. Pieces of flesh scattered across the bark like a grotesque painting.

Silence.

Nate finally stopped moving, standing still in the middle of the carnage, his breaths coming out heavy and slow.

His hands were stained with blood, his wounds still fresh from whatever battle he had escaped from. But right now, none of that mattered.

The enemies were dead.

Madison, Alice, and Bella slowly pushed themselves off the ground, their limbs aching from the brutal beatdown they had endured just moments ago. Their bodies protested with pain, but they barely noticed it. Their eyes remained fixed on Nate, who stood in the center of the battlefield, blood dripping from his hands, his body covered in deep wounds that looked fresh, yet his presence radiated an overwhelming power that sent chills down their spines.

They had not seen him in so long. He had vanished without a trace, and now, out of nowhere, he had returned—injured, exhausted, yet stronger than ever.

But something was wrong.

It wasn't just his wounds or the way he had annihilated their attackers without hesitation. It was something else, something far more disturbing.

His shadow.

It wasn't moving in sync with his body.

As Nate stood there, catching his breath, his shadow twisted unnaturally on the ground, shifting and writhing as if it had a mind of its own. It didn't follow his movements like a normal shadow should—it slithered, coiling like a serpent, stretching and contracting unnaturally, as if it was alive.

Bella took a cautious step forward, her heart pounding. "Nate...?"

But before she could say anything else, Nate exhaled sharply, finally relieved to see them safe. His lips parted, and he was about to speak—about to say something—but the words never came.

His mouth closed instantly.

His expression shifted so suddenly that it sent a wave of unease through all three girls.

His entire face tensed, his eyes widening, and his jaw clenched so tightly that the veins in his neck bulged. It was a look none of them had ever seen on him before.

Fear.

Alice's breath hitched in her throat.

Nate had fought countless battles. He had faced monsters, warriors, and enemies who wanted nothing more than to kill him. But in all that time, no matter how dangerous the situation, she had never seen him scared.

Never.

But right now, that was all she could see on his face.

Without a word, without a warning, Nate suddenly vanished from his spot.

He didn't just run. He disappeared so fast that their eyes couldn't track his movement.

The force of his departure sent a shockwave through the air, making the ground tremble slightly. A gust of wind followed in his wake, rustling the trees violently as if nature itself reacted to his desperation.

Madison and Bella barely had time to react, still dazed and trying to process what had just happened. But Alice—Alice moved.

Her body shot into the air, lifted by a burst of ice energy, and within an instant, she was soaring forward, her speed matching the wind itself.

Her eyes locked onto Nate, tracking him from above as he bolted through the dense forest like a ghost, moving faster than anything she had ever seen.

She had to catch up.

Something was wrong—terribly, terribly wrong.

Then, just as she was about to dive down to reach him, she saw it.

A portal.

A small, circular void of absolute blackness, identical to the one that had appeared when Nate arrived. But this time, something was coming out of it.

And it was horrifying.

The figure that emerged looked almost human, but only in the most disturbing way. Its body was skeletal, its flesh dry and gray, stretched so tightly over its bones that it looked mummified. Long, jagged claws extended from its fingers, glistening unnaturally as if they had been dipped in some dark, poisonous substance.

But the worst part was how it moved.

It had no legs—its torso ended in a jagged, diagonal cut, as if it had been severed in half. And yet, it floated effortlessly, gliding through the air as if the laws of physics meant nothing to it.

A chill ran down Alice's spine.

This thing... whatever it was... it wasn't natural.

She barely had time to react before it lunged forward.

It was fast.

Too fast.

Right before her eyes, the monster caught up to Nate in an instant, closing the distance between them as if space itself bent to its will. Its long, bony fingers reached out—and before Nate could react, before he could even attempt to fight back—its claws wrapped tightly around his throat.

Nate's body jerked mid-air, his momentum stopping instantly as the creature gripped him with terrifying strength. His fingers clawed at the creature's arm, but it was too late.

Another portal opened right in front of them.

A second black void, identical to the first.

Alice's eyes widened in horror as she realized what was happening.

"NATE!" she screamed, reaching out.

But she was too far.

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Too slow.

Before she could reach him, before she could do anything—

The creature dragged Nate into the portal.

And in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

The swirling black void closed instantly, leaving nothing behind but silence.

Alice hovered in the air, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her mind struggling to process what had just happened.

One second, he was there.

The next, he was gone.

And this time, she didn't know where he had been taken.

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