One swipe was all it took for this monster, with its traps laid out around its main body, and when it makes contact with someone, it causes a stinging pain difficult to brush off.
Nate's sword seemed to glow in response to the intent to defeat it at all costs. He and the monster were just only a meter apart, but it still felt like a wide distance to cover.
It was about to connect, but it somehow didn't.
The Faden immediately turned around to the boy and smacked him across almost his anterior section of his body. The impact itself knocked out the wind in Nate's lungs, and he flew a considerable distance away, right into some sticks and puffy long grass patches, which were thankfully there to cushion the arrival of a flying human body incoming, preventing even more grievous injuries from happening.
Nate coughed and grunted in pain from his body being hit by the monster, his arms containing noticeable bruises and cuts. His head was even more lightheaded, with him trying to connect his own mind to his body without fail.
This was all he could do, and this is what he got...
No, it can't end like this! Alone with nobody around or even someone who knew where I was, how pitiful am I to believe I can be strong enough to defeat this monster? Guess I should have just run away instead, maybe make Pallnem get targeted instead of myself.
Who knows what would have happened if things were somewhat different back then? I only hope that if I die, it would be in one fell swoop, as I really don't want to prolong my suffering. It would be saddening to make my family and friends learn of my eventual fate.
I just don't want to die...
Nate closed his eyes, eerily waiting for the Faden to attack and kill him. His body was rigid from fear and exhaustion as he braced for impact. The monster roared and charged towards him, the outstretched limbs torn from the ground, desperate to reach for the boy.
Concentrating mostly on closing his eyes, Nate couldn't help but feel a blip in his consciousness, like something was zipping around, but it wasn't inside his mind, but was freely moving around in a physical environment, somewhere in Vivid Forest.
A loud bang echoed from behind the Faden. Blood spurted out from one of its hands as it shrieked from the sudden damage it sustained. The Faden attempted to use its elongated arms to sweep up the potential hiding spots of whoever was doing those attacks.
Another blip seemed to pierce through multiple of its limbs. And another bounced off the protective membrane to its main body. The Faden probably wanted to leave before those projectiles could further damage the body to the point of actually being killed by them, because it shrieked and left in a hurry, leaving the injured Nate alone while he lay down in confusion.
I survived...? Somebody shot that thing, and it left, leaving me behind uneaten or killed. Wait, don't tell me that's probably an even deadlier monster than that Faden.
With one last chance granted to him, he tried to even stand up on his two feet to run away. To leave the forest and never come, with the city of the ordinary's memories flowing in his mind. But it was no use; his eyes failed him as they drooped down, and he could feel his sleep deprivation catching up to him to punish his time of waking up early to go to this accursed forest.
Seeing through the cracks of his eyes as he enters a state of unconsciousness, Nate could only make up a figure gradually growing in size, possibly walking towards him. The figure was then masked in by the sunlight of a new dawn, signaling the end of the chaotic night in the forest.
At this moment, Nate had no choice but to sleep.
It was black all over; that is all that Nate could see. This atmosphere gave a familiar feel and tone from before, but in a physical sense, he felt comforted like he was in a bag of exotic silk.
He also now had the strength to open his eyes to see where he was.
It was daytime, that much was obvious, but he was also outside next to a cliff, overlooking Vivid Forest and even some parts of Standart City. It was such a beautiful sight to witness, especially in the morning when it was basked in the morning sun's embrace and warmth.
Nate looked around to see a rather small, blue tent with noticeable patches on all sides, along with equipment stacked up in carry-on bags. The middle of this cliff is a campfire, with its embers still glowing between the sticks and stones.
It was a bit hot now that Nate was more aware of what his body was feeling. He decided to get up and find whoever set up this camp and ask questions.
"Hey, you done resting?"
A voice came behind Nate, making him slightly jump at it.
A man stood right next to him with firewood in his hands. He had spiky brown hair spread out towards his temples, and his green shirt and jacket were all dirtied up. His jeans are not much different from the rest of his overalls.
His face looked grave and stiff; it must not have been a lot of sleep as a factor.
However, the most interesting feature was his gun next to his hip holster; it was nothing Nate had never seen before. Nate cleared his throat and wiped off the dirt from sleeping on the floor.
"You gonna say anything or just stand there like an idiot, because please don't be the second one."
"Where are we? Are we still in Vivid Forest?"
"You're just almost outside of Vivid, only near the cliffside parts of it," the stranger replied. "You know, it was such a pain to drag you all the way up here early in the morning. We're lucky that no other creatures appeared while you were asleep. And you were out for several hours."
Nate could only stare at his bandaged wounds in shock. "Several hours I was asleep...?"
"Hang on, I remember now! I went to Vivid Forest at night time and it was just so creepy to be in. I tried to find something here that I lost, but it just turned into more trouble. There was this monster that attacked me, and this old guy named Pallnem was there too," Nate blurted out in remembrance.
"Old guy? Who are you talking about? All I am hearing is just a bunch of garbled nonsense."
"It's this person who is always near the streets of Standart City. I tried to tell him to drop the green crystal before it was too late, and then this monster appeared then—"
"So, a Faden attacked you and this old guy because you were holding this piece of Theomin..." the man said solemnly.
Nate stopped his explanation to understand what he said.
Fadens? He knows about those monsters, too. And he said "theomin", what is that? Is he talking about the green crystal? Does he know something about this, and if he was there during the attack that night?
"Listen, my name is Nate Elfirm. Sorry if I didn't introduce myself earlier, but can I ask who you are?" Nate asked.
"I'm Colten Marsnip, in the bounty hunter business, not like you would understand anything I am saying, but what the hell."
Nate could tell this man wasn't taking him seriously, along with a tone of being untrustworthy towards him.
"And did you save me from that monster just at the crack of dawn right..."
Colten scoffed. "Saved you? I barely even know you. All I did was save your ass when you looked like you got beaten up by a group of people."
"I know what I saw, and now that I think about it, it was definitely a bullet that attacked that Faden from before, and multiple shots that were fired before it ran away. It was definitely the bullets from the gun you were holding right now."
Nate pointed to Colten's gun near his hip; he covered it with his hands in response.
"Hey, listen. Why don't you go home and forget everything that happened here? It would make things a lot easier for both of us, right?"
"Wait, I only got a few more questions about what happened. I promise to leave after that," Nate pleaded to the man. "And besides, can I at least rest here for a bit while you have your comfy campsite still staying up in the morning? It can't hurt to wait for a few minutes."
Colten hesitated and thought about his decision before saying this:
"Fine, you can rest here for a little while, but heal more quickly in return! I don't want some brat clogging up my schedule, so leave if you are fully recovered!" the man demanded.
"You don't have to yell at someone to speed up their recovery, jeez," Nate murmured to himself, annoyed.
Nate then lay down on his back on the comfy dirt mound near the middle of the campground, hoping for a speedy recovery.
What was supposed to be several minutes turned into over an hour. Nate was still resting in the sleeping bag Colten offered, and the bounty hunter he said he was supposed to be was packing up very slowly while he intensely watched over the cliff's surroundings and then watched over Nate like a hawk.
After a little while, Colten rubbed his temples and walked away in a circle.
Nate followed him, unsure whether to ask anything that might offend him. But he was thankful to Colten for saving his life from that thing.
"I wanted to thank you for giving me a chance to stay and heal my wounds. I really appreciate it."
"You should've been more careful around these parts, you brat, always waltzing everywhere you go without a care in the world."
"I was definitely not just waltzing around, and I was looking for something."
"Oh yeah? You mean this?"
Colten pulled out a green crystal from his pocket. It has the same remarkable shine as the one that Pallnem took with him, only a little smaller, basically like the size of his palm.
Nate was bewildered that another one of those things existed in Standart.
"How did you get this? Let me see..."
He attempted to touch the crystal, feel the texture to see if it was legitimately the same as the one at the deposit, but Colten pulled away his hand containing it.
"No touching my personal stuff, kid, only look."
"Oh, sorry," Nate said as he lowered his arms. "Is that really the crystal like the one Pallnem had?"
"From what I saw, the old man back then was definitely one of them Theomin Crystals. I'm surprised there's one in this city at all."
So he does know about Pallnem, so what else does he know that Colten won't reveal?
"Theomin, so what is this called? Sounds weird to call it like that."
"Hey, I'm not the one who first discovered these. It was given to me by someone else who knows a lot more about this."
"Jeez..." Nate muttered to himself. A lot of this to process, especially with the Theomin that he calls it.
Colten threw his backpack into his small tent. It landed right on the blue sleeping bag, with some smaller items bouncing off and landing on the floor beside it.
The inside was also filled with what Nate expected to be a temporary spot with survival needs and supplies.
There were also some stains in the corner, a darkish shade akin to a spilled drink mess.
He pointed it out to Colten, who was currently checking his gun for any stains or chipped damage he had sustained from previous events.
"Uh, you used the bathroom inside here? Not like... outside at all."
"What?! Are you serious?" Colten said instantly with a bewildered expression. "Of course not, I only go do my business behind the tent."
"Right..." Nate murmured to himself.
Nate can only glance at the corner of the tent in disgust before asking the man what that really is. He thought of warning him, but if he said that he only points out things first and not second to anybody, then Nate wouldn't try to mention it, even when the smell is obvious to him.
"Listen, kid," Colten started to say. "It's best that you don't go to this part of Vivid Forest anymore until it's actually safe to do so. Whatever you are trying to do here, it is not worth all that for the trouble. So, go home and leave the people who are actually the ones who know what they are doing."
Colten's words were direct and serious. Nate was taken aback after hearing those words. He and his friends have known and visited Vivid Forest for a long time; practically, some of the best memories Quad Four had ever formed were in this very place. But for him to forget it all and leave the monsters potentially skulking around the areas not dealt with, it could be disastrous for him with the knowledge of these Fadens attacking people like the group he came across early in the morning in the Volanten River.
For them to lose a dear friend that they haven't even had the chance to say goodbye to, Nate wouldn't wish this on anyone at all, so that is why he made up his mind.
"Mr. Marsnip, I know we just met and all, but I have to say this..."
"Kid, you don't understand what is really going on here. These Fadens, for them to even leave a scratch on them, that there is something really complicated that you don't ha—"
Nate held out his palm and concentrated openly in his mind. As he closed his eyes, he felt the familiar texture and shape when he gripped the base. The base that held the sword of power and mystique he unlocked not long ago.
"That I have a power too, maybe similar to your own. It's a sword I can make when I really focus," Nate announced to him.
The sword appeared to be the same as ever, with its green segments being the main focus of the whole sword itself. Colten's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the weapon glistening in the rising sunrise. The sword radiated in its familiar glow as Nate continued to grasp the handle.
"Y-you got an ability too?" Colten asked, pointing his shaking finger towards Nate's weapon.
"I guess if that's what you call it, then... yeah, I do have one, kinda like your gun if it forms out of thin air."
He didn't know if telling him was a good idea or not, but the fact that he also has a power must meant that he knows a lot more about what's going on with the monsters suddenly being in Standart City as well as the Green crystal's mysterious powers, and not to mention the all the other phenomena happening before with the green aura-like fog appearing above in the distant skies with the city standing below.
Colten Marsnip was a man with much more power and knowledge than Nate.
Maybe there are some people with answers to what was really going on in Standart City, supposedly the home for ordinary citizens like Nate Elfirm.