A giant dome of fog can be seen on the horizon. A complex forest spreads inside. Trees are planted at even distances, making every step a mirror of the last. The fog's thickness makes breathing feel like your mouth is stuffed with cotton.
Kaia, a girl with wide eyes, leans her back against a tree, waiting. A symbol of a cat's eyes is stitched onto her oversized dress. She looks around for a moment. Nothing in sight.
Her breaths are slow. Her only weapon is her companion, a tiny spirit of light that flies around her body in the shape of a hummingbird. It can release a powerful flash. Not enough to kill, though it can startle someone. Yet it's better than nothing in a world filled with…
With a long inhale, she closes her eyes. A part of her consciousness jumps beyond her physical body, taking a glimpse of the world through the senses of any living creature close to her.
She sees through Lex's eyes. Up the tree she leans on, his breaths are slow and controlled. He holds an old axe eaten by rust, yet it can still cleave through bones. There is a faint sound of hissing fire coming from within him. He can't see or sense anything useful.
Her vision jumps; she sees through the eyes of a bird. It looks around and notices Kaia. She can see through it, not control it. When it looks aside, it's only dark. it barely registers the crunch of its own bones before it finds itself being eaten, its vision blurring before it dies.
Her vision jumps again.
She sees through the eyes of an entity watching her from behind. Its vision is low, almost touching the ground beneath it. She can't even hear its breaths. Only hunger she can sense—an uncontrollable desire for blood and raw flesh. Although she hasn't put perfume on her clothes for days, her faint scent burns through the creature's nose.
She swallows, breathing deeply as she walks around the tree. She now stands before the thing. It's not the first time she has been the bait, yet she still can't stop her heart from fighting to break her chest. Her sharp eyes pierce through the fog, tracing its exact features.
Its head is blood red, covered by the skull of a deceased animal. Its sharp eyes scan her silhouette. Its body is void black, limbs sharp, long, and thin, extending from its sides like a spider's. The silence stretches until the monster moves first.
The monster lunges forward, ripping through the fog like thin cloth. Its limbs extend outward, making it grow taller with every silent step it takes.
She can only hear its terrorizing scream mixed with the sound of its chin brushing against the grass as its mouth stretches wide enough to swallow her whole.
She doesn't move, only her hand shaking. She's not brave, but one wrong step would seal her fate. She can only hope that Lex will attack at the right moment.
The monster's height reaches three meters, bracing to eat her, but the spirit attacks it with a bright flash that blinds it for a moment—yet doesn't stop it.
Kaia jumps to the side before the monster, still blind, crashes its face against the hard tree. It shrieks in pain before Lex attacks from above and splits its head from the skull down to the lower jaw in half.
The monster collapses, blood spilling from the cut, its cheeks folding onto the ground like a large plastic bag. The skull it wore as armor falls off its head. Lex can see the face behind it. Its features are familiar.
*I know him. It was the person who disappeared days ago searching for an exit by himself.* Lex thinks, and Kaia hears it.
His hand clenches tightly around the hilt of the axe, pulling it from the ground as his inner voice whimpers sadly, *another life I was too slow to save.*
"It's not your fault," Kaia says, feeling the guilt in his mind.
"It's fine," he lies. "I'm already past this point. I can't save everyone, but I can protect many."
Lex presses his fist against his chest, adding, "If I cling to my mistakes, my dream of becoming a knight is no use." It is truthful.
She smiles…
But she hears a whisper, a hunger… this can't be!!
Before her mind can process it, she grabs Lex's clothes with all her strength and pulls him toward her, barely saving him from the monster, which was playing dead. The smash of its jaws breaks teeth inside its mouth.
Before the monster can continue, three heavy metallic arrows launch from the side. One penetrates both halves of its head, pinning them to the tree. The other two pin its lower jaw and torso.
Lex pulls Kaia back as the monster's limbs extend toward them, slowly morphing into sharp claws. He punches his chest, the sound of the impact echoing through his ribs, awakening the spirit of fire.
The spirit bursts through his chest and clothes without damaging them. In the shape of a phoenix, it flies like a dart toward the pinned monster. It shifts direction just enough for only the tip of its feather to touch the creature—but that is enough to make the entire entity burst into flames. Its shriek echoes through the forest as it burns alive.
"Well, well, love birds," Mia says, her voice loud, with no fear of what watches behind the fog as she walks toward them. She continues, a mix of mockery and lecture, "didn't even hesitate to be romantic before checking that thing stays dead."
She wears a green hood. The quiver on her back is stuffed with used arrows, yet she has no bow. She walks with loud stomps, each step shaking her quiver and making it rattle.
The spirit lands on the ground, watching. It glows like a campfire—warm and safe, yet ready to destroy when necessary.
The monster's black body melts onto the ground as its flesh turns to ashes.
"We never saw a monster stand after its head was split like this," Kaia answers with a frown.
Mia exhales, rolling her eyes. *First the corruption traps us in this forest, and now monsters can return after death. Such a great day to be alive,* Tsk.
Mia looks back at the monster. The black of its body pools where the tree meets the ground… before it moves.
"Watch out!" Mia warns.
The dark, syrup-like liquid crawls across the ground. Kaia and Lex avoid it like a plague as it slithers away from them.
Mia pulls an arrow and points it at the moving liquid. The air compresses around the arrow, turning her hand into a cannon. The arrow lunges like a bullet, impaling the syrup. But it keeps moving, leaving the arrow discarded on the ground as if she had tried to strike a small pool of water.
The spirit throws fire bullets at the syrup from its place, but it's useless—just like Mia's arrow.
Kaia watches as the syrup joins the rest of the corruption, turning into vine-like shapes that suck the life from the forest. The void-black vines spread along the ground and trees. And they grow—slowly, almost unnoticeably—but they grow.
The spirit absorbs the embers like a vacuum, preventing them from spreading into a fire.
"The ring is so close now," Kaia notes. But they have no way to stop it.
Mia squints toward where the syrup ran. She can barely see it.
"Let's go back. I discovered something while looking around," Mia announces.
Mia takes the lead, walking with unmatched confidence and complete trust in her mental map as they traverse the forest. Every step looks like the last and the fog breaks any sense of direction. Being lost here is inevitable.
They come across monsters… dead monsters. Some hang from branches. Some have holes in their chests. Others are shredded to pieces. But all have something in common—the corruption, the black morphing syrup that usually coats them, is missing.
Every time they see a new one, Mia thinks, *this wasn't here before.* Yet she ignores it and keeps going.
The fog grows thinner as they reach the center of the forest, where a village lies protected by the confusing woods and the mist spirits that roam around it in the shape of thick clouds.
Fences surround the village in all directions. A man stands before the gate—not a guard, but a trapped traveler like them who refused to wait for death's embrace. He stands with his hands clenched around his spear, not with confidence but with the faint hope that his next blow will kill any monster that attacks. The tip of the spear is covered in a thin coat of ice.
Lex stays at the gate, joining the guard on duty. The guard stares at him for a moment before sitting down and closing his eyes, finally taking a bit of rest.
Next to the guard are the fractured pieces of a frozen monster—a statue of ice and meat broken into countless fragments. Inside, the village is filled with silent whimpers.
*I wanna go home*
*They didn't return, then they must be…*
*I guess I'll just end it all. Somewhere far so they don't stop me.*
Mia kicks the door open as if it personally offended her, startling the chief and the others inside. "Louis is dead. We found him corrupted," she announces.
*Damn it, I should've stopped him.*
*Another one lost.*
*Can't she, for once, enter like a normal person?*
They move in, every step drawing a creak from the wooden floor, gathering around the table.
"Lucky," she adds, "he didn't die for nothing."
The others look up at her, eager for good news. They haven't heard any in a while.
She explains, "I traced his steps and discovered he found the heart. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to come back."
Their eyes light up for a brief moment with faint hope.
"Where is it?" one asks.
Mia casually points to her left. "Keep going east and you will find it."
He moves quickly, taking his sword with him. His companion spirit follows, releasing small explosive sparks in shared rage.
"Where are you going?" she asks.
"Destroy the heart," he answers.
"Believe me," she replies, gesturing for him to return. "You can't reach it. I just took a glimpse of it and almost ended up like Louis."
He groans and returns to his place as Mia takes a brush and extends the black ring surrounding the village inward on the map. Her quick mark makes the chief breathe heavily—the ring is becoming tighter every day.
"Does anyone have a plan? I would like to hear it," the chief says in forced hope. He is old, yet he still feels responsible for giving others strength.
"My friend could burn the whole forest," Mia suggests.
"No!" the chief replies angrily. "The forest is the home of the mist spirits before us. It's only because of their aid that we haven't fallen."
"Does anyone have a better idea?" Mia asks. She already knows the answer.
Silence… until—
"Excuse me," a foreign male voice, soft like silk, startles everyone. They look toward the dark room and barely make out the stranger's silhouette standing before the closed door. No one heard it open. Kaia closes her fist, then opens it, allowing the light spirit to emerge from her palm. The spirit illuminates the room.
"I would like to suggest a solution," the stranger offers. He is a short boy, his eyes staring directly at the chief with a soft smile that doesn't reach them. Yet no one fears him as much as the two figures standing at his sides, wearing hoods black as pitch. The only thing distinguishing them from their shadows are the white masks they wear.
*Mashanicro, canra vnsai*—the boy's voice, sounding like an impatient whimper.
*Tanna shon, larada sonrai?* The first guard sounds like a woman.
*Nesveiris, lam tora* The second also sounds like a woman.
Kaia understands nothing in their minds. They are thinking in the southern tongue she never learned.
The figures stand like statues. One holds a staff with a bell at its head. *How did that not make a sound when they entered?* Mia thinks. The other has a sword hooked to her shoulder with a leather strap.
"Um… please continue," the chief allows, nervous.
The stranger's smile looks like a mask until his lips part. "Thank you. We're here to suggest a solution that will make everyone happy."
Mia looks back at them over her shoulder, not underestimating them—only acknowledging the chief's decision to listen. Otherwise, she would have ended them.
His eyes move left and right, as if looking at nothing, before settling back on the chief. Everyone feels the urge to grab their weapons, but each time a hand stretches too far, the first guard lightly shakes her staff—a wordless threat that makes their hearts sink, forcing them to stop. It wasn't magic, it's just fear what stops them.
Once… the man sitting next to the chief returns his hand to the table. Twice… another flinches and begins to sweat.
"Can your servant stop that?" Mia commands, frustrated. "It annoying."
The guard almost rings her bell again, but he stops her. She complies and takes a full step back, her black hood making her seem merged with her shadow. Her hand moves with deliberate precision, the bell making no sound.
When everyone settles, he continues, "It's heartbreaking when you ask the kingdom for help and they don't reply, right? The one hero you looked up to and trusted—only to realize it won't care about what lies beyond its land."
Mia agrees silently with a smile, she can't afford problems with ideology.
The chief gives a slow, sad nod, yet defends them inside with desperate murmurs. *The forest is big… corruption is strong…*
"But we will help," he announces. "And it will only take one day to clear it all." His voice is coated in a sweet promise and impossible confidence.
Kaia can't believe it. Her psychic abilities can sense lies even when thoughts are unclear. He is telling the truth—but that promise… even a madman would struggle to believe it.
The sound of two metallic objects hitting the floor echoes. A dagger and a sword fall from trembling hands. They had planned to attack when the strangers looked away, but the promise hits them like a boulder falling from the sky.
After a long silence… Mia laughs, loud and breathless.
"Oh great heavens *laugh* for a moment I really thought you were dangerous, but I never expected you're here to throw jokes! *Gasp* You really made my day."
Others begin laughing nervously, trying to convince themselves the same—that they are just clowns trying to cheer everyone up. Only Kaia and the chief do not laugh.
The stranger blinks twice, confused, but doesn't stop them. His smile only widens at Mia.
Mia nudges Kaia. "Don't be scared. They're just… friends with a bad sense of fashion."
Kaia swallows and announces, "He's saying the truth… or at least believes what he says is true."
The room falls silent again.
Mia looks intrigued. "How?"
The stranger chuckles. "It can't be explained in mere words, but let's say we studied *corruption* more than we fought it."
Mia hums thoughtfully and glances at the chief. Clearly, he will accept anyway. If he doesn't want to burn the forest, they seem like the only option.
But something feels wrong to him. He has heard of this before—the way fallen kingdoms once expanded their lands. "What does it cost?" he asks.
The stranger exhales. "I know," he begins, "the way we approached, the way we look. You're not the only ones who fear us." He glances at a man whose heart is pounding like a hammer, his hand shaking as it reaches for the dagger he dropped earlier. "Most people confuse us with the Eternals who worship the devil."
He looks aside and continues in a sad tone. "We're just people whose island home burned and withered. Our Council is doing its best to restore it, but people will starve before it's finished, and we're sending them out desperately so we can fix the island and bring them back."
His words are a confusing mix of truth and lies, and Kaia can't tell which is which.
The chief hesitates, waiting for the real cost.
"We're not asking for much," the stranger says. "A family of five or six will live alongside you. No need to prepare anything more than food for a few days until they build a new house. They will be no less guardians of your home than you are."
The chief looks at Kaia, silently asking for her help. She steps closer and whispers in his ear the blunt truth. "His sad story doesn't seem entirely true, but the family cost is." Then she adds, "I just need you to ask this—"
The chief looks up at the strangers. "You're not planning to conquer us, right?"
They all hear it—the small burst of air from his nose, like an aborted chuckle. His mouth flickers with a smile as if resisting laughter. "No?" he answers.
"What's so funny?" Kaia asks, her tone sharp, though she is the weakest in the room.
He coughs apologetically. "I'm sorry…" he took a long breath, eyes staring down "we can kill everyone here in no time. If all we want is land-" Then look in Kaia's eyes "why bargain?"
She looked away, sensing no lie.
Mia takes a short inhale, raises her finger to object, pauses… then says, "That's a good point, actually."
Silence fills the room. The stranger's smile widens. Kaia's plans have run out. The chief makes his decision, knowing time is not on their side. He imagines the village filled with corpses—some starved, others devoured by monsters.
"Please save us," the chief begs, his hands clenched into desperate fists.
The stranger steps closer like a ghost, his movements silent against the old wood that creaks under the weight of a feather. He takes the chief's fists between his hands. The chief is surprised—the stranger's hands are cold, not corpse-cold, but as if dipped in snow. He looks down at him.
The stranger smiles softly. "What's your name, chief?"
"D… Dan," he answers hesitantly.
"Mr. Dan. I'm Kin Xallorph. You have made the right choice. Your home is in good hands. Our tribe, Salvira, won't forget your kindness." The stranger's voice is a promise.
The chief's hand shivers within his as he hears the name. Something inside him snaps; his eyes hide a tear as his heart floods with relief.
Kaia doesn't understand. Why does the chief suddenly trust him so completely? It feels as if he would throw himself into death if the stranger asked.
The stranger releases his hand and walks away as his guards open the door and leave before him.
Once he steps into the doorway, he turns back, bowing lightly with his palm pressed against his chest. "You better wake up early tomorrow, because we always move with dawn."
He closes the door.