Dense fog coiled around the group like living mist.
Kris brushed a branch aside, muttering, "This forest feels cursed."
Jessica stayed close behind him, holding her staff tight. "I've studied many regions of Solareth… but this place isn't in any of the archives."
Zagan, walking slightly ahead, spoke without turning around. "That's because it wasn't meant to be found."
Kris frowned. "Then why are we here?"
Zagan's voice remained steady. "Because this forest hides knowledge even the gods fear. The book we're searching for—it isn't just ancient. It's forbidden."
Jessica's eyes widened. "The king didn't say anything about that."
Zagan smirked faintly. "The king told you what he wanted you to know. Not everything he knows."
They walked in silence for a while, the only sound being the crunch of their boots over the moss-covered ground. The sky above had vanished, swallowed by twisted tree limbs overhead. Light barely pierced through.
"Zagan," Kris said suddenly, "you've been quiet ever since we left the gates. What's really in this forest?"
Zagan finally stopped. He turned to look at both of them. His red and violet eyes shimmered in the fog.
"This forest is a place of echoes," he said. "It remembers everything. Magic cast here lingers… emotions, blood, loss—it all stays. It twists things."
Jessica swallowed. "What kind of things?"
Zagan looked past them, deeper into the trees.
"Your memories. Your fears. Your regrets."
A heavy silence followed.
Kris broke it with a question. "Then how do we move forward?"
Zagan nodded toward a rocky clearing up ahead. "By proving we deserve to. Come—both of you. Time for a lesson."
---
They stopped in the clearing.
Zagan stepped back and crossed his arms. "You both have power. But raw strength means nothing without control."
Kris raised an eyebrow. "You want to train here? In the middle of this haunted forest?"
Zagan smiled faintly. "Better to bleed in training than to die in battle. Let's begin."
Jessica blinked. "What are we doing exactly?"
"Survival drill," Zagan said. "No magic. No special weapons. Just instincts and teamwork."
He tossed them each a wooden training stick.
Kris held his and narrowed his eyes. "This again?"
Zagan's eyes flashed. "You still hesitate before your strikes. That hesitation will get people killed."
Jessica looked at Zagan, unsure. "But—what if something finds us while we're distracted?"
Zagan stepped forward slowly, circling them like a predator. "That's part of the test."
---
The training began.
Kris lunged at Jessica—half-heartedly. She blocked, unsteady. Their movements were stiff, uncertain.
Zagan barked, "You're holding back! Again!"
Kris's grip tightened. "I'm not going to really hit her."
"She won't survive the battlefield if your enemies show her that kindness," Zagan snapped.
Jessica surprised them both by swinging at Kris's shoulder. He stumbled back, shocked.
"Ow—okay, that's more like it," he muttered.
She smirked. "Don't go easy on me."
Zagan watched them spar, quietly analyzing.
"Better," he said. "But you're still thinking like individuals."
Kris wiped sweat from his brow. "Then what do we do?"
Zagan stepped in, taking both sticks with one swift movement.
"Watch."
In a blur of motion, he demonstrated. Footwork fluid, strikes precise. Then he handed the sticks back.
"Flow like water. Think like shadows. Your enemy is chaos—you must move as one."
Jessica looked at Kris and nodded. "Let's try again."
This time, their movements were faster. Coordinated. The rhythm between them started to build. They blocked, dodged, countered.
Zagan's voice rang through the fog. "Now you're fighting like a team."
---
Hours passed.
The fog grew thicker, and the air heavier. Birds no longer chirped. Even the wind had gone silent.
Zagan raised a hand.
"Stop."
Kris and Jessica halted, panting.
Zagan's eyes narrowed as he scanned the darkness around them.
"…Something's watching."
Kris drew his real sword this time. Jessica raised her staff.
"Beasts?" she whispered.
Zagan didn't respond immediately.
"No," he said after a moment. "Not beasts. Something more patient."
Kris stepped closer. "Do we fight?"
Zagan looked up at the trees. "…No. We move. Quietly."
Jessica looked over her shoulder. "It's gone quiet. Too quiet."
Zagan's voice was calm but firm. "Stay together. And don't trust what you hear in this forest."
---
The chapter ends with the trio disappearing into the mist—shadows stretching around them like fingers.
Far above them, atop a gnarled branch, an unseen entity watched with glowing violet eyes.
Unknown Voice (softly):
"Three flames walking into the storm… One day, only one may walk out."
---