Part II – Foxwind
The path grew narrower, wilder. The rocks seemed arranged with the wrong geometry, and the air was thick with strange scents: night-blooming flowers, resin, moss, and… sugar?
Yuu walked ahead with a proud stride, tail swaying like a metronome. Every so often he paused, sniffed the air, and turned his head toward Yuri.
"The wind has spoken. They're already watching."
"Who?" she asked.
"The spirits of the forest. Children of illusion."
Kayla watched in silence, though her eyes moved constantly. She knew this part of the world. It wasn't dangerous… but it could become so.
Yuu stopped beneath a gnarled tree, its roots exposed like clawed fingers.
"Here begins the first boundary. Don't trust what you see."
Yuri nodded, though she wasn't quite sure what it meant. She took another step forward… and was suddenly surrounded by a sudden breeze. The branches shifted, and for a moment, everything changed.
The path was gone.
Her mother was there.
Sitting on a bench beneath the cherry tree in their garden. Sewing, as she always did on spring evenings. The sound of thread. Birds chirping. Warmth.
"Mama…?"
Yuri took a step. Then another. Her eyes welled up.
"YURI! IT'S NOT REAL!"
Kayla's voice cracked like lightning. Yuri froze. Her breath caught.
The scene vanished like mist in the sun.
Yuu bounded back, hopping lightly. "Oops! Usually the first illusion is gentler! The forest was just… testing you."
"Testing?" Kayla growled. "That was an emotional trap. One more step and it would've swallowed her whole."
Yuu crouched down, tail between his paws. "I'm sorry. But actually, that's a good sign! It means the Queen wants to test her personally."
Yuri wiped her face, trying to catch her breath. Her heart pounded like a wild drum.
"It felt so real…"
Kayla stepped closer and placed a hand on Yuri's shoulder.
"It always will. Your heart is a bridge. But now you have to learn to walk even when the edges tremble."
Yuu leapt onto his usual spot on Yuri's shoulder.
"On the bright side, we're almost at the meeting point. Someone's waiting up ahead."
Yuri looked at him. "Another spirit?"
Yuu grinned. "Nope. A human. Very human. And he smells like trouble."