Hayase rubbed the back of his neck.
"So… that's basically it."
Amber's sharp glare could have burned a hole straight through him.
"You let yourself get tricked by shadows, Hayase! Were you seriously flirting with something that didn't even have a pulse?"
Hayase's face turned bright red.
"H-Hey! I didn't know she was a shadow monster, okay!? She looked real! You would've believed it too if you saw how—"
Amber folded her arms and stepped closer.
"Don't. Finish. That. Sentence." Her fiery aura flickered like a warning flame. "I swear, the moment I save your life, you're already thinking with your—"
"Wha—No! I was just being nice!" Hayase protested, raising his hands defensively. "It's called being polite, Amber. You should try it sometime."
"Polite?" Amber scoffed, her eyes narrowing.
"Polite doesn't mean 'let me fall in love with a literal demon in disguise.'"
Hayase groaned, rubbing his face.
"It's not like I knew! And besides…" He mumbled under his breath, "…she was cute…"
Amber's hand shot out and smacked the back of his head.
"OW! What was that for!?"
"For being stupid!" she snapped. "You're lucky I got here when I did. You'd be monster chow by now."
Hayase looked away, embarrassed.
"Yeah, well… I could've handled it."
Amber raised a brow.
"Oh? You, the boy who almost got eaten by a shadow pretending to be his girlfriend?
Please, enlighten me on your brilliant plan."
Hayase clenched his fists.
"I… would've figured something out…"
Amber stared at him flatly, then sighed.
"You're hopeless."
He glanced at her, and for a moment, her fiery scowl softened just slightly.
"…But I'm glad you're alive," she said, almost too quietly for him to hear.
Hayase blinked.
"Wait—what did you say?"
Amber's cheeks flushed.
"I SAID you're lucky I saved you, idiot! Don't push your luck." She spun around, her hair swishing like flames.
"Come on. We need to find Yusuke before you wander into another trap."
Hayase smirked behind her back.
"Heh… fiery as always."
Amber whirled around, eyes blazing.
"WHAT was that?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Hayase stammered, jogging to catch up with her.
The two of them walked carefully through the forest, their only light source being the flame in Amber's hand.
They both came to a halt as more shadows suddenly ambushed them.
Amber reacted instantly, her fire surging and burning them to a crisp.
"I don't think we're going to be worrying about anything else for a while…" she said with a smirk.
The faint winds howled through the trees as Amber led the way.
Usually, Hayase was the one organizing plans back in Eldina, but to his surprise, Amber was acting on her own…
Hayase began to question if Amber even needed his help to get through this nightmare.
Tension grew as Hayase stumbled on a tree root.
Amber turned around, her expression softening.
"You alright?"
Hayase looked up and nodded.
"For someone with such a big brain, you really don't have much focus…"
Hayase's pride shattered.
Hours passed as they continued trekking through the darkened forest. Amber took care of both of them, cutting down shadows that attacked from all directions.
They were no match for her flames.
Amber suddenly stopped and waved
Hayase over.
"Come look at this."
A giant rune stood in front of them, its gates wide open.
They stepped inside and scouted the surroundings, finding it completely empty except for a single bulletin board with distinctive writing.
"If you've made it this far, then you have survived the darkened forest. If you manage to get through this trial, you will ascend to the real forest…"
Amber and Hayase stared at each other, wide-eyed.
"Whatever could be the real forest?" Hayase muttered.
"I'm not sure what it's referring to but… is it really possible there's another forest beyond this one?"
Amber frowned, recalling stories she had read about the darkened forest.
"I didn't know there was anything like this beyond here… all we've ever been told is that there's a forest that appears out of nowhere, leading you to a whole new place or something…"
Hayase's eyes moved to the second part of the inscription.
"To pass this trial, you will be tested by a challenge tailored to you—or to your group, if you've come with others. When you are ready, state that you are ready to begin the trial."
Hayase turned to Amber, uncertainty flashing across his face.
"What do you think we should do?"
Amber exhaled and crossed her arms.
"Welp… I guess there's no other choice."
Hayase's heart began to pound. He didn't know what they were walking into.
The small world of just the three of them—him, Amber, and Yusuke—had now led to this moment. He wondered if his brother had already faced his own trial, and if so… had he already ascended?
Hayase let out a loud sigh.
"I accept the trial!" he shouted with determination.
The rune began to collapse, and darkness swallowed the atmosphere in an instant.
When Hayase awoke, he and Amber were surrounded by freezing snow.
The frigid wind cut through their clothes, making it impossible to stay warm. Snow whirled through the air, and the towering white mountains loomed like silent giants.
They had no equipment to survive the harsh cold.
Hayase stumbled through the snow and nearly collapsed, but Amber acted quickly, summoning a bright flame around him. The warmth gave him enough strength to stand.
"This is certainly a dangerous and… interesting place, Hayase!" Amber said, shivering.
Hayase gritted his teeth and started toward her.
The powerful snowstorm blurred his vision, crashing down in heavy sheets. Once again, he tumbled face-first into the snow.
"How the hell are we going to survive out here?" Hayase thought.
Amber tried to light another flame, but the harsh winds blew it away instantly.
The darkness vanished in a flash of blinding white.
When Hayase opened his eyes, a biting chill clawed at his skin. The ground beneath him was frozen solid, and a storm of snow swirled violently, reducing his vision to mere feet ahead.
"Wh-What… the hell…?" Hayase's teeth chattered as he pushed himself up, snow clinging to his clothes.
Amber was already on her feet, fire flickering faintly in her palm. The flame looked weak against the fierce winds.
"This… is our trial?" she muttered, hugging herself for warmth. "If we don't figure something out fast, this place will kill us before anything else does."
A sharp gust blew, nearly snuffing out her flame. Hayase's hands shot up to shield it.
"Wait—don't let it go out! That's the only heat we've got!"
Amber nodded, focusing her energy. Her fire flared brighter for a moment, but the cold quickly ate away at its strength.
"We can't just stand here. We need to find shelter."
Hayase squinted into the blizzard, trying to make sense of the white void around them.
"There's… nothing. Just snow. We'll freeze out here…" He stumbled forward, his legs heavy as if the snow itself was pulling him down.
Amber grabbed his arm. "Don't you dare pass out on me. If you fall now, I'm not carrying you through this storm."
Her voice was sharp, but her grip tightened like she meant it.
Hayase forced a shaky smile. "Heh… always so caring, huh?"
Amber glared, though her cheeks turned pink—partly from the cold, partly from irritation. "Shut up and walk."
The snowstorm howled louder, and the wind pushed against them with every step. After what felt like hours, Hayase collapsed to his knees. His breath came out in ragged clouds.
"I… I can't… it's so cold…"
Amber cursed under her breath, kneeling beside him. She gathered every ounce of her energy and summoned a blazing dome of fire around them, melting the snow for a few feet in every direction. The warmth spread, but it was draining her fast.
"Hayase…" Her voice was quieter now, softer. "You need to think. You're the brain here, right? Come on. I can burn through anything, but I can't keep this up forever."
Hayase forced himself to focus, even as the cold tried to lull him to sleep. His eyes darted around the snow-filled horizon. Then he noticed something—tiny shadows dancing in the distance, too rhythmic to be random.
"Wait… over there! See that?" He pointed, his hand trembling. "The snow's moving differently in that direction. It might be shelter—a cave or something blocking the wind."
Amber glanced where he pointed and nodded. "Then let's go."
She grabbed him by the arm, hoisting him up. He leaned on her for balance, their bodies pressing close for warmth as they trudged through knee-deep snow.
When they finally reached the spot, Amber's flames revealed the dark mouth of a cave hidden under a jagged ice overhang.
"Good call, genius," she said with a smirk, dragging him inside.
They collapsed onto the cold stone floor. Amber immediately lit a larger fire, filling the cave with light and heat.
Hayase groaned, lying flat on his back. "I swear… this trial's trying to kill us."
Amber sat beside him, her fiery hair glowing softly in the firelight. "If it is, it'll have to try harder. We're not going down that easy."
Hayase turned his head to look at her, a tired smile forming. "You know… for someone who calls me an idiot every five minutes, you're pretty good at keeping me alive."
Amber rolled her eyes but smiled faintly.
"Yeah, well… someone has to make sure you don't die before we find Yusuke."
The warmth of the fire spread through the cave, but outside, the storm raged on, howling like an angry beast.