The morning light bled slowly through the canopy, washing the forest in muted gold. Dew clung to the twisted vines overhead, dripping rhythmically onto the moss below.
Nhilly stirred awake to the sound of soft humming and the faint crackle of fire. His back ached from the makeshift bed of leaves and bark, but the smell of something warm cooking over the flames coaxed him to sit up.
Celeste looked up from the pot she was stirring, her smile bright and genuine. "Morning," she said. "You never gave me your name yesterday."
Nhilly rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Nihilus."
Celeste tilted her head, testing the sound. "Nee…hilus?"
He sighed. "Close enough. Just call me Nhilly."
Her smile widened. "Nhilly it is."
The morning light shimmered against the canopy as Celeste continued stirring. The gentle rhythm of her movements was almost calming.
Eli stood a few meters away, bare-chested, running through sword drills. Every swing sent embers from his weapon scattering like sparks. Each motion ended with a flourish, followed by him glancing over his shoulder to make sure someone was watching.
Of course he's the type to perform before breakfast, Nhilly thought, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Kael sat in the shade, sharpening a knife in near silence. Every motion was measured, efficient. He didn't speak, didn't even seem to breathe loudly. When Eli's sword whooshed too close to him, Kael didn't flinch he simply shifted the blade in his hand, angling it upward ever so slightly in warning. Eli noticed. He backed up.
Seris leaned against a nearby trunk, arms folded, gaze sweeping the treeline. Her hair glinted dark blue in the filtered sunlight, and her sword rested unsheathed at her side. She wasn't watching the others; she was watching everything else.
"Morning," Celeste said cheerfully again when she spotted Nhilly sitting up. "You look better. Not good, but better."
"Thanks," Nhilly muttered. "I try not to die twice before breakfast."
Eli laughed from across the camp. "Don't worry, stick with us and you might only almost die once a day."
"Comforting," Nhilly said dryly.
Celeste grinned. "Ignore him. He thinks humour makes him charming."
"It does," Eli called back.
Kael didn't look up from his blade. "It doesn't."
That earned the faintest smirk from Nhilly.
Celeste ladled some of the stew into a bowl and offered it to him. "Here. Eat. You'll need the energy."
Nhilly eyed the contents suspiciously. "What is it?"
Eli answered before she could. "Something with too many legs. You'll love it."
Celeste sighed. "It's safe, I promise. I purified it myself."
Nhilly accepted the bowl and took a small bite. To his surprise, it wasn't terrible. "Huh," he said. "Edible."
Celeste laughed. "That's high praise coming from you, I think."
Seris finally spoke, her voice even and quiet. "If you can eat, you can walk. We'll need to move soon. The forest isn't safe after sunrise."
Nhilly looked at her, then at the others. "You people really know how to do small talk."
Eli shrugged. "Talking's for when you're not being hunted."
Great, Nhilly thought. I'm surrounded by cheerful optimists.
Still, as the group began to pack their things, he found himself watching them with reluctant interest. They moved like a unit bickering, yes, but practiced. Even Eli's bravado had rhythm to it, like this was all part of a dance he knew by heart.
Celeste caught him looking and smiled. "You'll get used to us."
Nhilly frowned. "Doubt it."
Her smile didn't fade. "That's what they all say."
They? he thought but didn't ask. Instead, he stood and tightened the strap on Draco's Shroud. The weight of the blade felt familiar, grounding.
Celeste handed him a small waterskin. "Drink. We're moving west, deeper into the labyrinth. That's where the scenario gate lies."
"Wonderful," Nhilly muttered. "Deeper into the nightmare forest. What could possibly go wrong?"
Eli smirked. "See? He's fitting in already."
Nhilly ignored him, following as the group started down the path between the vines. Above, the sunlight fractured through the canopy like broken glass, scattering over them in fleeting patches of gold.
For a brief moment, he caught himself wondering if he'd finally stumbled into something that resembled purpose then dismissed the thought as quickly as it came.
Don't get attached, he reminded himself. People disappear here faster than light.
They walked for nearly an hour beneath the fractured canopy, the forest unfolding around them in vast arches of vine and moss. The sunlight broke through in pale streaks, scattering gold across the twisting greenery.
Celeste led the way, her confidence cutting through the labyrinth's eerie silence. Kael followed in her shadow sometimes literally. One moment he was beside her; the next, gone slipping into the dark shape beneath her boots only to reappear several paces ahead, emerging from Eli's shadow like smoke.
"Still weird every time you do that," Eli muttered.
Kael said nothing, only sheathed his blade and kept walking.
They were ambushed three times before the next hour passed. The monsters came quick, snarling, faceless things draped in bark and bone Stellar-rank beasts that might have shredded Nhilly days ago. But the group dispatched them with frightening efficiency.
When one lunged from a tree trunk, Eli inhaled sharply and exhaled a column of fire, the blast lighting the forest in brilliant orange. The creature's screech was cut short by Kael emerging from its own shadow, driving a dagger through its throat. Celeste lifted her hand, a faint shimmer surrounding the group just as another beast slammed into them its claws skittering uselessly off an invisible barrier.
Nhilly watched in quiet disbelief. So this is what teamwork looks like.
He barely needed to lift his sword.
By the time the last monster crumbled, Celeste had already dismissed her barrier, smiling as though she'd simply finished a morning chore. "All clear!" she said brightly.
"Stellar ranks only," Eli muttered, brushing ash from his shoulder. "Boring."
"Not every fight needs to feed your ego," Seris replied, her tone dry.
"I disagree," he shot back.
Nhilly lingered behind, taking slow steps as he adjusted the weight of Draco's Shroud. Seris fell in beside him still silent, still watchful.
"You've been staring at me since we left," Nhilly said finally.
"I don't trust you yet," Seris replied without hesitation. "You used a black mist to vanish an entire clearing. Until I know exactly what that was, I'll keep watching."
Nhilly shrugged. "Fair."
They walked in silence for a while, their boots crunching through layers of dry leaves. Eventually, Seris broke it.
"How old are you?" she asked.
"Twenty-two."
She nodded. "You look younger. Or maybe just tired."
"What about you?"
"Thirty-six."
Nhilly raised an eyebrow. "You don't look it."
"I know," she said simply. "The YR world preserves what it wants. Time doesn't pass here the same way."
He looked ahead, where Celeste and Eli were bickering again about cooking. "And the others?"
"Celeste's twenty," Seris said. "Been here eight months. Her Star gives her the kind of protection no one else has that's why I joined this attempt. With her Neutron Star shielding, we might actually survive the scenario."
"Kael?"
"Twenty-four. Two years and two months here. Stellar rank. He can move through shadows fifteen seconds at most. It's as useful as it is unnerving."
Nhilly nodded slowly. "And Eli?"
"Seventeen," she said, shaking her head faintly. "Seven months here. Fire breather. Brilliant power, terrible judgment."
A faint smirk tugged at Nhilly's lips. "Sounds about right."
They walked a few more steps before Seris spoke again. "As for me… this is my second time here."
Nhilly turned to her. "You're a Returnee?"
Seris nodded. "I cleared a scenario once."
"How?"
"Luck," she said and for the first time since he'd met her, she laughed. It wasn't loud or cruel, just quiet, worn, like someone remembering an old scar.
Nhilly studied her for a moment. "Lucky enough to leave, unlucky enough to come back."
Seris's smile faded, replaced by something distant. "Something like that."
She's hiding something.
They walked on, the path winding between massive, arching roots. The forest grew darker, denser, the air thick with the scent of moss and decay. Above them, the light dimmed to a fractured haze Seris's eyes faintly reflecting it, reading the forest in wavelengths Nhilly couldn't see.
He wanted to ask about her Star but decided against it. No point. Everyone here clings to their secrets.
Ahead, Celeste called back, "Come on, slowpokes! The scenario gate's not going to find itself!"
Eli's voice followed, full of laughter. "If we're lucky, it'll find us instead!"
"Knowing this world," Seris muttered, "that's exactly what I'm afraid of."
Nhilly couldn't help but agree.
The group pressed on, vanishing deeper into the emerald maze, the morning light fading behind them like the last glimpse of a forgotten world.