— « Wait… what? Is that even possible? » Naty asked, her voice still tight from what Ophelia had just revealed. « Are you saying the fog itself is alive? Kenzo, did you sense its heart? »
Kenzo remained silent a fraction too long. His eyes drifted into the distance as his mind struggled to force together pieces that simply refused to fit. At last, he gave a faint shake of his head.
— « Uh… no. I didn't feel anything like that. Its heart might be too far away… or beyond the range of what I can sense. »
The truth was, he had no idea.
And that was exactly the problem.
Since entering the unstable Fragment, Kenzo had learned to trust his instincts and the strange awareness that allowed him to perceive the hearts of Void Creatures. It had become his compass, a quiet certainty he could rely on when everything else was unknown. But against the fog—against what Ophelia had just described—that certainty meant nothing.
He felt blind.
Worse, he felt ignorant of things others could see in his place.
His thoughts spiraled. How were they supposed to cross the fog if what lay inside it was far beyond anything they had faced so far? How could they complete this unstable Fragment without willingly throwing themselves into what increasingly resembled a death sentence?
And above all…
What did Ophelia see when she looked at him?
The thought disturbed him more than he wanted to admit. He hated the idea that someone might be able to perceive something inside him that he did not even understand himself.
He drew in a deep breath, then forced the discussion forward. They could not remain paralyzed forever.
— « We'll have to head south, toward the treeless region. »
There was no real alternative left. Staying here would give them no answers, and returning to the fog in their current state of mind would be a fatal mistake.
Lucian, who had barely spoken until now, hesitated before asking:
— « Did you refuse to go because you saw… some overwhelming will inside it? » His voice was cautious, as though he feared the answer. « So we're going to have to choose between two dangers? »
Ophelia slowly shook her head.
— « No. It wasn't like that. It was more instinctive. »
She paused, then spoke more firmly, as though addressing herself as much as the others.
— « But if it happened again today, I don't think I would retreat. »
The words carried a strange weight. Kenzo could tell they were not meant only for the group. They were a promise Ophelia was making to herself.
— « Alright… then that's what we'll do, » Naty replied after a moment of thought.
She frowned slightly, as though another idea had just occurred to her.
— « Before that, there's something I'd like to add, » Kenzo said.
Naty looked up.
— « When I was on this trunk before, I saw a spider similar to Madame, only smaller, obviously. Their name suggests they come from the mist… but I never got the impression that they were Unstable rank. »
Ophelia responded almost immediately.
— « You saw a dead spider, Kenzo. There was no way for you to judge its strength in that state. And Lucian only happened to find a dying Deviant spider outside the mist. »
Naty nodded.
— « Void Creatures often fight among themselves. We have no idea what's happening inside that fog. »
A heavy silence settled over them.
Eventually, Naty brought the discussion to an end.
— « We should sleep. I won't light the lantern tonight. There's no reason to draw attention to ourselves. »
The night was long.
Far too long.
None of them fell asleep easily. Even Lucian, who was usually more physically exhausted than mentally troubled, lay motionless with his eyes open, staring at the invisible sky above the top of the trunk.
Kenzo kept turning from one side to the other as his thoughts circled endlessly.
The Fragment suddenly felt much larger than before.
Far more hostile.
And for the first time since they had come together, a poisonous thought began creeping into their minds:
What if they never completed this Fragment?
One by one, they eventually fell asleep, not because they had found peace, but because exhaustion finally overwhelmed them.
There was no training the next morning.
No one suggested warming up, sparring, or even repeating the basic movements. Silence ruled over the group. They descended the trunk without speaking, with Lucian summoning Madame to make the journey easier. The massive spider appeared in her usual silence, and they climbed onto her back almost mechanically.
Then they set off.
Madame carried them between the trees like a hurried shadow, but none of their usual energy remained. Conversation had vanished. Even Ophelia's sharp remarks were absent. Each of them was trapped inside their own thoughts, crushed beneath the weight of uncertainty.
They still had to fight.
Four Young Shoots emerged along their path, too close to avoid. The battle was swift and brutal. There was no heroic charge, no carefully constructed strategy. They struck because they had no choice.
Kenzo felt the weariness in every movement. Ophelia cut through the creatures without any desire to prove herself. Naty restrained them, and Lucian offered what support he could. The creatures fell, leaving behind their hearts and prana fragments, but no one felt even the slightest satisfaction.
They resumed their journey without comment.
The deeper they traveled, the more the forest began to change. The trees grew less dense, and the air became drier, as though life itself were gradually withdrawing from the land.
After a while, Ophelia naturally took over as their guide, pointing them toward the treeless region, while Kenzo supplemented her directions by sensing nearby hearts and steering them away from unnecessary encounters. They worked well together, almost instinctively.
But there was no spark in it.
When the sky turned gray, announcing the rise of the fog somewhere behind them, they increased their pace. Madame moved faster, her legs striking the ground in a steady rhythm.
None of them looked back.
The fog could no longer reach them.
They were still afraid of it.
They finally arrived in the early evening.
Their mental exhaustion weighed more heavily than an entire day of hunting. When they climbed down from Madame's back, their shoulders seemed burdened by something heavier than their weapons.
The silence lasted a few moments longer before Ophelia finally spoke, her voice harsher than usual.
— « Listen. Today was a pitiful display. »
Kenzo raised his head slightly.
— « Tomorrow, we're going to find out how far this treeless region extends, » she continued. « And I expect your minds to be ready for it. »
She did not look at anyone in particular.
Yet every one of them felt targeted.
They did not have the luxury of falling apart. There were several possible ways to complete a Fragment, after all. They had not lost yet.
But for the first time, they understood something essential.
It was not only their strength that would be tested.
It was their ability to keep moving despite the fear. Despite the unknown. Despite the crushing awareness of how insignificant they were compared to what waited ahead.
And more than the fog itself, it was that realization that made the coming night so difficult to endure.