The forest did not relax.
Even after the battle had ended—
Even after the last beast had fallen—
Nothing changed.
No wind returned to stir the leaves.
No distant sounds crept back into the silence.
It remained as it was.
Still.
Watching.
Waiting.
The bodies of the beasts lay scattered across the clearing.
Unmoving.
But something about that stillness felt wrong.
It wasn't the quiet of death that came after struggle.
There had been no final twitch.
No fading resistance.
No lingering breath.
Just… absence.
Duryodhana stepped closer to one of the fallen creatures, his mace now lowered but not abandoned.
His posture remained guarded, instincts refusing to relax even after victory.
He studied the beast carefully before nudging it with the end of his weapon.
No response.
No reaction.
It didn't even feel like something that had been alive moments ago.
From behind him, one of the students spoke, his voice uncertain.
"Are they… dead?"
