Morning sunlight crept through Riley's curtains before he was fully awake.
For a moment, he lay still, floating in that half-dream space where the forest's glow still lingered behind his eyes. The Blossom Wolf. The Strider fight. Les choosing Sofia. Hayes and Hayley bonding with their new spirits. Lumi glowing at the hidden alcove…
Everything felt so unreal.
Then—
SLAM.
His bedroom door burst open.
"RISE AND SHINE, GAMER BOY!" Aria yelled as she marched in like a military drill sergeant. "The forest awaits! The loot awaits! My destiny awaits!"
Riley groaned into his pillow.
"Aria. Get out."
"No," she said cheerfully. "You have ten seconds before I pull the covers off."
"Don't you dare—"
"Ten!"
Sofia shuffled down the hallway, still in pajama bottoms with cartoon Echo puppies printed on them.
"Aria… please don't attack him before breakfast…"
Aria smirked.
"No promises."
Their mum stuck her head into the hallway.
"Kids, breakfast is ready! And nobody is allowed to fight until after cereal."
Aria looked offended.
"I don't fight. I engage in strategic physical dialogue."
"Aria," Mum said in warning.
"…Okay, okay. Coming."
Riley dragged himself out of bed and followed them downstairs.
The smell of toast and eggs filled the kitchen.
Mum had set out plates, mugs of tea, and a bowl of cereal big enough to feed a minor god for Aria.
"Eat up," Mum said. "I need you three coherent before disappearing into that VR thing again."
Aria inhaled cereal like a vacuum cleaner.
Sofia ate politely, Echo-pattern pajamas somehow radiating wholesomeness.
Riley sipped tea, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.
Sofia noticed first.
"You're quiet," she said gently. "More than usual."
Riley hesitated.
"…I'm thinking."
"About what?" Aria asked with her mouth full. "EXP? Loot? Lunch?"
"No," Riley muttered. "A spirit."
Both sisters stopped eating.
"Oh?" Sofia leaned closer. "You want another one already?"
"Today's the right time," Riley said. "There's a… creature in the forest. Rare. Early-game. Hard to find later."
Aria gasped.
"IS IT HUGE?"
"No."
"Does it explode?"
"No."
"Is it forbidden?"
"…No."
Aria sagged dramatically. "Boring."
Sofia giggled.
Mum sat down with her tea.
"So… spirits. Are they like pets? Or… I don't know… magical pok—"
"NO," all three shouted at once.
Mum blinked.
"Right. Magical… digital… gremlins. Got it."
She clearly didn't get it.
Riley smiled faintly.
"It's fine, Mum. They're… friends. Kind of. We help them grow. They help us grow."
Mum nodded slowly.
"Well… as long as you don't bully people online."
Aria puffed her chest.
"We ARE the—"
Riley slammed his foot down on hers under the table.
"OW! WHY?!"
"We are not bullies," Riley said through clenched teeth.
Mum nodded approvingly.
Breakfast finished with Aria declaring herself "Official Forest Empress," Sofia laughing at nothing in particular, and Riley already planning the routes they'd need to take.
He checked the clock.
Time to go.
The three raced upstairs to their VR headsets.
Riley's heart thumped a little faster as he lowered the Nexus helmet over his eyes.
START.
Darkness.
Then—
BOOM—
Light flooded his vision.
Particles swirled.
A sensation like floating pulled him upward—
And the forest materialized beneath him.
The Gathering Woods shimmered in full morning glow.
Riley landed lightly on the familiar mossy ground, right beside the Blossom Wolf clearing where they'd logged out yesterday.
Aria appeared next, spinning in a full circle with Dot perched on her shoulder.
"YES. BACK. ALIVE. READY FOR CHAOS."
Sofia formed quietly beside Echo and Les—both spirits giving soft, happy chirps at the morning light.
Then Hayes and Hayley appeared.
Moggy and the Stone Golem Cub circled Hayes's feet, practicing tiny headbutts.
Hayley proudly held her Bear Cub in her arms; the fuzzy creature snored softly against her chest.
Riley felt a strange warmth in his chest.
They weren't just a party anymore.
They were starting to feel like a team.
Hayes adjusted his shield.
"Everyone ready?"
Aria cracked her knuckles.
"I was born ready. I will die ready. I will resurrect ready."
Dot made an unimpressed clicking sound.
Hayley hugged her Bear Cub.
"Look at him! Look how cute he is! Look how—"
The Bear Cub sneezed.
Hayley melted into a puddle on the ground.
Sofia laughed.
"Echo likes him. Les is… um… shy though."
Les peeked from behind Sofia's ankle, glowing thorns trembling.
Riley crouched next to Lumi, who shimmered happily.
"Okay," Riley said, straightening. "Before we move out—there's something I want to do today."
Five faces turned toward him.
Hayes raised an eyebrow. "You mean the 'rare spirit' you hinted at?"
Riley nodded.
"I want to get my second spirit today. There's a creature that spawns deeper in the forest—in the Upper Ridge. Extremely rare early on. But if we're quick… we might find it before anyone else."
Aria gasped.
"WHAT IS IT? DOES IT SET THINGS ON FIRE?"
"No."
"Does it fly?"
Riley paused.
Aria narrowed her eyes.
"…It flies, doesn't it?"
"A little."
"A LITTLE?!"
Sofia giggled. "Aria, calm down."
Riley tried not to smile.
"It's called a Wyldlet. A Starling Wyldlet. Small, fast, light-type. Perfect synergy with my bow and Lumi. If we find one… it's going to define my build."
Hayley grinned.
"That sounds amazing."
Hayes nodded.
"Then we're going with you."
Riley blinked.
"You don't have to. I don't want to drag—"
Aria punched his arm lightly.
"HELLO? We are literally your team. Of course we're coming, idiot."
Sofia smiled brightly.
"I want to see it. And… I want to help."
Hayes nodded once.
"Let's hunt a rare."
Riley swallowed.
He didn't expect them to be this supportive.
But he was grateful.
They moved into the deeper forest, where the air thickened with drifting petals and roots twisted into natural pathways.
Riley guided them with quiet confidence.
"Upper Ridge is ahead. Wyldlets only appear when the light shifts through the canopy in a certain way. Too early and they hide. Too late and they vanish."
Aria whispered dramatically:
"So they're divas."
Lumi glowed in agreement.
As they walked, Les hopped atop Sofia's shoulder, doing his best Echo impression.
Echo wagged her tail proudly.
The Bear Cub tried to climb Hayley's back.
The Stone Golem Cub got stuck under a root.
Moggy judged everyone.
Aria filmed it all with the in-game camera system like a wildlife documentary.
They climbed a root-covered slope, squeezing through a narrow gap between two stone ridges.
The light changed.
Soft golden beams pierced the canopy.
Birdsong echoed, high and melodic.
Riley's heart thumped.
"We're close."
Just as they stepped into a clearing of glowing leaf-litter, a soft ping appeared on Riley's interface.
He opened the message.
> KIPP:
Riley!! Amazing news!!
I managed to brew THREE MIRAGE DRAUGHTS!
And—um—
I hit ALCHEMY LEVEL 2!!
Your recipe is incredible!!
Also… Mossling mixed the herbs with its roots and I think it's trying to take credit??
I'll keep crafting, but…
I'm out of ingredients.
Here's my wishlist:
• Glowcap ×5
• Vine Thread ×2
• Streamwater Flask ×3
• Hollow Bloom Spores ×1
If you can bring these,
I can make at least a dozen more before the dungeon opens!"
Riley grinned.
Aria leaned over his shoulder.
"KIPP IS A MACHINE. A CRAFTING GREMLIN. I LOVE HIM."
Sofia covered her mouth.
"I'm so proud of him."
Hayes nodded.
"That potion will be essential."
Hayley hugged her Bear Cub.
"We'll gather everything he needs."
Riley closed the message.
"Alright," he whispered.
"We help Kipp… and we find my Wyldlet."
The sunlight shifted across the clearing—
And a faint, musical trill echoed through the trees.
Aria's eyes widened.
"What… was THAT?"
Riley smiled slowly.
"That… is the sound of what I'm looking for."