"—has to be here!"
Are there more people outside at night?! I should hide just in case to avoid a situation going haywire like with Pallnem.
Nate crept towards the bushes, daring not to make even a single peep from whoever he heard. Although it was still dark, and the clouds blocked the moon's glimmering surface, he hoped that it was enough to conceal his presence from someone out there by the Volanten River.
"We can't just give up!"
The voice appeared yet again. The sound belonged to a young woman with a rough edge to her tone.
"I'm sorry, Eustelle. I really am, but you have to accept that maybe he's gone; nothing can change that, right, Moris?"
"Uh-huh..."
"Screw you guys! Both of you! There's no way I'm giving up on Phil!" Eustelle loudly at the other guy.
Nate peeked over the bush and saw three people looking for something in the river waters. They have brown leather coats with strange symbols etched on the backs and worn-out jeans that looked like they were bought 20 years ago.
The woman, who was slender and had light-colored hair, was angrily talking to the person next to her, who looked like a guy who could be at Nate's school. The third person had a slightly plump body and a worried-looking face.
"Zach! Moris! If you guys won't help, then I'll just find him myself!"
"Wait! Please, hold on for a minute! We don't even know why or how he was killed. If it's because of some rival gang or even some accident, we'll just be wasting our time!" Zach cried out, trying to reach out to Eustelle and make her listen.
"I don't care! Phil has to be alive. He has to be!"
Eustelle stomped off into the shallow water after she took off her shoes and socks, setting them aside on the ground. The water has to be still and cold in the autumn mood, especially at night.
"Don't be like that, doing this will not make you feel better, so let's go back to our hideout before someone finds us here, especially with the police hanging around here more often, right, Moris?" Zach turned towards his friend.
"Uh-huh..." Moris repeated the second time.
Zach placed his hand on the shoulders of Eustelle, apparently as a message for her to give up and go with the friends she still has right now.
The woman suddenly stopped in her tracks, and Nate swore he could see a glint in her eyes, before Eustelle swatted away the guy's hand like a persistent fly.
"Just go on ahead, Zach. Go leave like you always do. I'm not gonna do this anymore. I could have stopped him from going and tried to stop him from stealing from people... but it was just too late..." she cried out.
"Eustelle," Zach said, "this is why we should have gone to Primsept City! Standart may look like your typical peaceful city, but there's really something wrong with it, like some evil force and stuff is killing people like Phil, we saw the news before, and it's not some freak accident that killed him, but probably someone killed him."
"Even so, I have to—"
"We are the Snapcrack Gang, a group with strong people who developed grudges against many rival gangs! If we just randomly do these things and search throughout without a care in the world. Someone may retaliate for even doing that; we can't lose any more people here, especially not now!" Zach retorted. His eyes were full of fear, accompanied by the sweat he formed from talking nonstop without a break.
Even his friend beside him, Moris, gave him a look of concern, as if it was to mentally calm him down before something happened.
The contents to which the guy spoke stirred something in Nate's memory, and that realization suddenly hit him like a speeding car, but not a truck... a truck is heavier in topic. This group was talking about their friend, and it's the same person who died in the Volanten River.
Nate was terrified by what he learned from this.
So we weren't the first to be attacked by this Faden monster, and this thing actually killed people... If only we had dealt with this earlier, then nobody would've gotten hurt, and the city wouldn't be so afraid of this right now. But, I really don't dare to find this monster and stop him before it's too late.
Even if I wanted to fight the Faden, would I really stand a chance against it? The only reason Cloey and I were left alive is that something must've distracted it after I slashed it with my sword, and I don't think it would be another lucky situation if it appears again in the Volanten River.
Nate felt really bad for Eustelle and her friends. It was clear that they were affected by the loss of Phil Rackings, whether he was a friend new or old, their memories held deep within their minds.
"Phil and I both met at some concert, and I guess the two of us were really trying to waste away on anything other than what we are worrying right now in our lives. Then, after just talking to each other, we've sort of become friends, and we would often share what we like with each other, especially like that one moment where we both loved the Cuddly Jumbling TV show when we were kids, and the time we went to Buncha Burgers where he'd smash into the glass window after he slipped on a puddle, which was such a good time for me to remember."
Eustelle clenched her fist. "If only I could say something to him, a bit of time to tell Phil how much I appreciate him being there for me, but it's too late."
Zach looked worried and checked his watch. He looked at Eustelle with guilt before saying:
"O-okay, fine, we'll go, and you can continue, but call us if you really need some help. Don't forget, you're not the only one who's hurt by Phil's death. You can count on us, we've always been there for each other since day 1, right, Moris?"
"Uh-huh," Moris answered directly. That was the third time he repeated the same thing while Nate was eavesdropping the whole time.
Does that guy really say anything else besides the occasional 'uh-huh' that he lets out whenever he's questioned by his friends? He definitely needs to expand his vocabulary for everyday conversations.
I should wait a little longer until they leave. I definitely don't want to get caught by someone else again and have it be a big, annoying deal.
"Yeah..." Eustelle softly let out. "I have to do this, or else I would get crazy if I don't. The thought of just giving up without even trying to find something personally..."
She looked down into the water, her reflection gazed towards her real face from the moonlight bouncing off the water.
Zach momentarily lifted his hand, but set it down at the last second. He signaled Moris to leave her alone and go somewhere else. Moris, in turn, nodded and proceeded to follow him.
When the two of them were gone, Eustelle continued to search within the waters of the Volanten River.
"It's freezing here, but it doesn't matter. Phil, if someone really did murder you and leave you here in this place, then I will avenge you, and that would be a promise."
She turned and walked slowly alongside the sides of the river until she was gone in her search for not for her lost friend, but the clues of who was responsible.
Making sure that nobody else was present where Nate was hiding in the bushes, he cautiously came out and walked to the continuing path to Vivid Forest, after checking behind him to see if he had left anything. It was a thing that Nate always does, fearing that he won't be able to find something if he'd lost it in the first place. It could be said that it is a minor quirk.
Moving on from the choice of his hiding place, Nate thought about the Volanten River Faden and the Snapcrack Gang's friend called Phil. He definitely didn't think that they were victims of this monster, and that he was the only one who interacted with it.
Nate firmly reminded himself to steel his unfortunate resolve that if he ends up crossing paths with the same Faden, he would at least try to do something in order to make the Faden stop before it can harm or kill any more people.
It was like listening to the Snapcrack Gang's stories made him feel very sentimental and guilty, which somehow compelled Nate to do something about it before it was too late.
After a few slow movements towards the forest, he finally appeared before the entrance of the mysteries of what the Vivid Forest offered. Just as he thought, the night's lightless sky really highlights the terrifying view of the entrance more than the bright daytime, but it won't disturb Nate that badly to the point of turning back and never confronting what happened in the forest before.
The weapon I manifested against the Faden... My friends somehow lost their memories when that green crystal exploded in our faces... Maybe the green gases floating above the city from that one night previously...
Is it all connected? Who knows, really. But there has to be at least one piece of information that I can get from this place before it all fades away, leading to the potential dangers of the city growing out of control.
Trying to brace himself with whatever may happen if he entered without any light sources to highlight the potential things he may encounter, Nate stepped inside Vivid Forest, the mushy yet hardening ground from the autumn atmosphere contacting with his shoes.
The air was growing colder and more desolate. If Vivid Forest were a living person, then its personality would be distant to those who interacted with it without taking needed precautions. It would be hard to deal with someone as such.
At this moment, Nate was in Vivid Forest during the hours of the night.