Gordon wore a disgruntled look on his face as he stood up, eyes alert, already looking around for signs of danger.
Rephan slowly sat up, rubbing his sore back.
The daemon's corpse sat before them, engulfing Rephan's entire field of view.
Quietly studying its body, he wondered if it had any valuable parts, like the scales of the serpentine daemon.
Moving away from that train of thought, Rephan retrieved the revolver that lay a few feet from the colossal daemon's corpse.
'This is my first daemon kill, and a large one at that,' he thought
He felt a pulse of excitement run through his veins at that thought.
Gordon, certain of no other daemon activity, unsummoned his rifle and moved closer to the enormous tree carpeted in vines.
He motioned to Rephan to follow him.
Rephan advanced cautiously towards the tree.
'Who knows what other kinds of daemon could be hiding among its branches.'
'This place is just full of surprises.'
Gordon pointed to a spot in the canopy where a little structure resembling a tree house had been built.
"That's going to be our new hideout for the meantime."
"But before we can get there, we need to climb."
Rephan just nodded in response as he craned his neck to get a better view.
Gordon tugged on a few vines, testing if they were strong enough to hold his weight.
Finding a strong enough vine, he turned to Rephan.
"Hey, you should go up first while I keep an eye out for daemons."
Rephan, knowing Gordon was the better man for this kind of task, nodded in response and held onto the vine.
Taking a moment to place the revolver in its holster, he began hoisting himself up the vine.
Halfway up the vine, his arms were burning, and he was slightly out of breath.
Ignoring the pain, he kept scaling the vine.
Eventually reaching a platform that led to the tree house, he set his feet on the platform and released his hold on the vine.
Looking down from the great height, he called out to Gordon.
"Hey! I made it, you can come up now!"
After giving the signal, he turned his gaze to the front of the tree house.
Sunlight filtered through the canopy, illuminating the structure.
It had a door flanked with two windows on each side of it with the leaves of the magnificent tree draped over its roof.
Planks of wood connected the tree house to the square platform where Rephan stood.
Sitting cross-legged on the platform, Rephan decided to wait for Gordon to climb up the vine before he made any moves.
Closing his eyes, he breathed in the cool air of the tree canopy.
Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps on the platform.
'Huh, so fast.'
Sighing, he opened his eyes.
Gordon was already walking on the planks of wood heading towards the tree house.
Standing up reluctantly, Rephan followed Gordon.
Gordon arrived at the door and opened it with a push.
Rephan peeked into the doorway before stepping into the room, shutting the door behind him.
He looked around and was surprised to find the place in pristine condition.
A round table and some chairs sat in the room's center, facing a map pinned to the wall.
Gordon sat on one chair as he manifested a bottle of water and took a sip.
Rephan sat on the opposite end of the round table as Gordon handed him the bottle of water.
Taking a sip, Rephan leaned back in his chair.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Gordon shrugged.
"Ask away."
Rephan took another sip.
"How did you find me in the forest that day?"
Gordon chuckled.
"There was a lot of screaming, it was easy enough to find you with all that noise."
Rephan scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
'I don't remember screaming though.'
Rephan placed the bottle on the table.
"Gordon, I don't want to pry into your secrets."
"But I can't help but wonder how you arrived at Mirror Earth."
"Was it by accident? Did a rift in space transport you here? Are you indigenous?"
Gordon did not answer right away, contemplating as he rubbed his chin.
Sighing, he broke the silence.
"Because you've been exposed to mana, Rephan, it will inevitably involve you."
"So I suppose I should come out with the truth; it will be better for both of us."
Rephan's ears perked at that statement.
'Was there something deeper going on here?'
'Something he couldn't discern at first glance.'
Gordon's tone turned serious as he spoke.
"I come from Earth just like you, and no, I did not come here by accident."
"I came here because I am on a simple yet dangerous mission."
"The mission was to scout and survey certain areas of Mirror Earth."
"Mirror Earth is a place shrouded in great mystery and holds great promise."
"You are experiencing the benefits of this place already."
"Improved senses, greater physical strength and even supernatural powers like your healing."
"Many factions in society's upper rings send teams to explore Mirror Earth."
"A handful of these teams persevere, thrive and eventually gain access to powers like mine."
"I came here with a team myself; we split up to cover more ground some time ago."
"But that's beside the point."
"What I want you to know is that if you ever get out of here alive."
"The organization that sent me here will come looking for you."
"Mirror Earth exploration is a dangerous gig, as a result, we are always short on manpower."
"The reason I am giving you all of this information is simply because from now onwards, even if you don't know you it, have become one of us, the Order of Rebirth."