"Take a look at this." Alira spread a map across the table.
"Where did you get that?" Kael asked, startled.
"I stole it from Terasvari's library."
Lumino's eyes narrowed at the parchment. It was the first time he had seen a full map of this world.
"We're here." Alira pointed to a small mark. "And the place we're heading… is here."
"Isn't that near the Autumn Forest?" Lumino muttered.
"You're right, Lumino. It's right next to the autumn forest, where I showed up in a Letruish for the first time."
Kael's expression turned grim as he examined the map. "You're telling me I have to go back there? No offense, but the last time I was there, I felt a cursed aura, reeking of death and dread."
"I don't want to go back either," Lumino admitted, his voice trembling.
"What exactly are the two of you so afraid of?" Alira slapped the map flat, her patience thinning. "If anything, I'm not scared—just annoyed. Look at this! From here to there, it's practically edge to edge!"
She groaned dramatically, clutching her head. "That's going to be one exhausting trip!"
"Can't we just teleport?" Kael asked. "You can teleport us, can't you, Lumino?"
"Not that far. Impossible. But if we walk close enough, then maybe I can manage it."
"What about a warp gate, Alira?"
"We don't have the materials. And even if we did, I can only warp to places I've already visited."
The three of them sighed heavily.
Lumino's thoughts spiraled. Was heading there truly the right choice? He couldn't shake the memory of Seraphine's mocking voice in his dream.
'There's a chance the place we're going is her dwelling. If I walk into it, everything will fall neatly into her hands. What about Kael and Alira? If they're dragged in… no. I won't let anything happen to them.'
"Lumino… do you have a suggestion?"
Kael's voice snapped him back.
"Ah… maybe it's best if we just take the journey slowly. When we're close enough, then… I'll teleport us the rest of the way."
Alira tapped her chin, then nodded. "You're right. In that case, let's start walking. The sun will rise soon."
They rose together.
Kael's eyes lingered on Lumino with a strange weight. After a while, he nudged Lumino's arm.
"If there's something on your mind, don't hold back."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"My instincts tell me you're hiding something. Don't lie to me this time."
Lumino hesitated, his eyes darting toward Alira. "…To be honest, I've been wondering. Why am I still alive?"
Kael froze.
"Can you explain it to me?"
––––––
Silence clamped down on Kael's tongue. Lumino's question hit him like a blade, leaving him completely off guard.
'Of course he'd want to know.'
From the beginning, both he and Alira had agreed never to touch that subject with Lumino—diverting the topic whenever it came up.
'But even I want the truth…'
Alira had done something. That much was clear. Some trick at that critical moment, though what it was, Kael couldn't grasp. Still, Lumino had risen, alive as ever, moving and breathing as though nothing had happened.
'At least he doesn't look like some walking corpse…'
"Kael… can you answer me this time?" Lumino's voice cracked with plea, his eyes downcast and trembling.
"…That's something you should ask Alira."
"I knew it…" Lumino's voice sharpened. "You're both hiding something from me. Is this your punishment for what I did that day? I already explained myself! My sudden shift into that 'villain' act—it must've scarred you, but that was all it was. An act! I wasn't betraying you for real. I only did it because I needed to clear my head… My move to Clementine—you probably wondered why, but I swear, it wasn't out of malice!"
Alira turned her head, eyebrows raised. "Why are you suddenly shouting like that, Lumino?"
Kael blinked, caught between words.
"Forget it. Do what you want. I don't care anymore." Lumino stormed ahead, his pace quickening, leaving them behind.
"…What did you do this time?" Alira whispered sharply to Kael.
"I didn't do anything. How long are we going to keep this from him?"
"Huft… I already told you. If I tell him, he'll barrage me with questions—how I did it, where I got it. I don't want him wasting his thoughts on it."
"But even I'm curious… Where did you get something like that? You shoved it into the hole in his chest, and suddenly he was alive again. You claimed he was only in a near-death state, and you just 'helped.' But to me…"
Kael's breath caught. His fists tightened.
"At that time, he was dead. His body was cold. I held his hand for hours—it was no different from a corpse."
Alira smacked him on the head.
"Stop thinking of him like he's just 'someone.' To me, Lumino isn't that simple. So don't trouble yourself over how he survived. Maybe he's immortal."
"That's impossible!"
"Can you prove that? We've only been with him for barely a month. We know nothing of where he came from, or what kind of world he lived in before! Can you really say my speculation is baseless?"
"…"
"Enough, Kael. Don't overthink. It doesn't suit you." She clapped his back, quickening her steps.
'Am I overthinking this?' Kael wondered, eyes trailing after their silhouettes.
He followed them in silence, weighed down by thoughts he couldn't shake.
From the start, he had never truly known them. Not Lumino, not Alira. Not at all.
The realization stung—that maybe he should never have grown attached to either of them.
His mind replayed an older conversation; words flung like daggers.
"Cold-blooded bastard."
"What was I supposed to do? They were already devoured by Shadows. Better to destroy the Shadow mid-consumption than let it grow stronger afterward."
"Cold-blooded bastard! One of them was our training corps member, a fellow hunter. You didn't hesitate for even a second!"
"My only purpose is to annihilate the Shadows. That's how I live. If you don't like it, Yurim, tell Chairman Gose to transfer you. That way, you won't have to be involved with me."
"Damn you!" Yurim's voice cracked, fury spilling as she kicked a cabinet hard enough to rattle the room.
That memory dulled, fading like ash in the wind. Perhaps this world's rhythm had eroded him. Perhaps because Shadows were scarce here, his edge had dulled, leaving him… vulnerable.
Slowly, inevitably, he was changing.
----------------------
"Did you guys see that?"
Alira and Kael followed Lumino's finger.
"Wait—that's the waterfall we stopped by last time."
"Didn't expect we'd get here this fast. Honestly, I'm impressed, Alira—you didn't even complain once about being tired."
"Hey! Don't underestimate me. I've been exercising lately, so I've got way more stamina than when you last saw me at the Midway Library!"
Alira puffed her cheeks, sulking.
"But… was that always there?" Lumino pointed again. Two trees near the waterfall leaned into each other, thick with leaves, curved just enough to form a giant heart shape.
"It looks like a heart," Alira said, shaping a heart with her hands.
"Yeah, but doesn't it look… suspicious? Like it's literally telling us to walk through."
"Given the thornbushes everywhere else, I'd say that's our only option."
Lumino narrowed his eyes. "Guess we don't have a choice."
"I've got a bad feeling about this. Are we really gonna walk in there?" Kael muttered, still uneasy. For a second, he swore the trees twitched.
"Did you see that!?" Kael barked.
Both Alira and Lumino whipped their heads toward the trees. "What? What?"
"The tree… it moved."
Alira gave him a deadpan look, drained of energy. "Are you insane? Trees don't just move. You're imagining things. Probably the wind."
"You're doubting my eyesight?" Kael snapped.
"Um, guys…" Lumino wedged himself between them. "Forget the tree. I see something else. Eyes. Watching us."
They all turned to the hollow opening formed by the heart-shaped trees.
"Nothing there. How about you, Alira?"
"It's too dark. Even with my sight, I can't make out what's inside… or any way out."
"So what do we do? Still go in?" Lumino asked.
Kael huffed. "Only one way to find out." He marched in first, Alira followed, and Lumino trailed behind.
Inside, it was suffocatingly dark—trees and thickets swallowing the light.
"Let's not go too deep."
Branches scraped against one another, filling the silence with eerie creaks.
"Lumino, can you make some light?" Kael asked.
He tried, but nothing came. Oddly, his own shadow looked… smaller.
'Wait… why do I feel shorter?'
"What about you, Alira? Can you cast anything?"
"I'll try—"
"Why are you answering me, Kael?" Lumino blinked.
Light flared. In front of him… his own face.
"…what?" He was stunned.
"WHAT THE—my body's standing right there!" Kael shrieked beside him.
"Kael?"
"I'm not Kael—you're the impostor! Why are you pretending to be me?"
"Both of you, calm down." The voice came from Lumino's body.
"…huh?"
"It seems… we've switched bodies."
"Excuse me, WHAT?"
"I'm Kael," the Lumino-body said stiffly. "And it is very awkward hearing myself talk to me with a noisy voice."
"I'm Lumino…" said Alira-body, raising her hand hesitantly.
"Which means—ugh. I'm stuck in Kael's sweaty, muscle-head body?" Alira groaned, clutching her temples.
"Who are you calling sweaty, you brat!?" Kael in Lumino's-body snapped.
"Kael, please. Don't curse using my mouth."
Together, the three of them exhaled after staring.
"Seriously, how did this even happen?" Kael grumbled, punching the tree. "Alira, do you know something? You're a witch—fix it."
"Sorry, but I'm not Alira. I'm Lumino—well, Kael."
"This feels like an old curse," Alira mused from Kael's body, "but there's no trace of a caster. More importantly, shouldn't we get out of here first? It's pitch black."
"Never thought I'd see you cast light, Kael."
"It just popped out on its own. Guess your power's got a mind of its own, Lumino."
"Figures." Lumino sighed. "But at least we can see—"
"I see light!" Alira (in Kael's body) pointed ahead.
They hurried toward it, stepping into a clearing.
And froze.
"…Is that… candy?"
'You've got to be kidding me.' Lumino rubbed his eyes.
Candy trees, gumdrop bushes, and a cotton-candy oak swaying in the wind filled the forest.
"This makes no sense!" Kael in Lumino's body barked. "Why is there a freaking dessert wonderland here?!"
"Kyaa ̴ look at that giant cake! It's so pretty!" Kael-Alira sparkled like a kid.
"Guys—can we please focus on fixing our bodies?"
But Kael was already nibbling on a strawberry shortcake. "Mmm ̴ delicious. There're chocolate cake, strawberry cake and macaroons—"
"HEY! Don't just use my body to binge sugar!"
"Come on, Lumino, join us!"
"I'm Kael, dammit! And I don't eat sweets."
'These two… why are they having fun?!'
Lumino shook his head. But then Alira (in Kael's body) tugged his hand.
"Try it, Lumino. Ever had this before?"
"Uh… n-no."
Suddenly, she crammed the cake with a creamy swirl of frosting into his mouth. As a result, a burst of sunshine-like sweetness exploded on his tongue.
"This is… good. Sweet and fluffy, Alira."
"See? Told you!" she beamed, her voice bright with pride.
Meanwhile, Lumino—no, Kael trapped in Lumino's body—crossed his arms, sulking.
< Red Orb – 100% Completed >
And what the hell is this floating text above my head supposed to mean…?