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“Ahhhh…!”
Her scream echoed through the forest as she watched the shaman who had been helping her fly backward with such force, like a ragdoll yanked by an unseen hand.
She stared in that direction, frozen in shock.
Seconds passed.
Or maybe it was a whole minute.
That was when she felt it.
A presence.
Behind her.
Something… standing there.
Slowly, she turned.
Nothing.
Not even the wind moved.
Her breath trembled as she looked back toward where the shaman had been thrown.
Empty.
Gone.
She turned again.
There it was.
That feeling.
Closer.
Heavier.
But when she looked—
There was nothing in front of her.
Her heart pounded against her ribs. She forced her eyes downward.
That’s when she saw it.
The dry leaves on the ground were sinking inward… pressed down as if someone was standing right there.
Right in front of her.
Not even eight inches away.
The space between them felt suffocating.
Her throat tightened.
Slowly…
She lifted her gaze.
And this time—
She saw him.
“Gambare… gambare.”
That was the last thing she heard before her world went black.
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