The next morning dawned unusually still.
Yuki stirred first, sensing the odd tension in the air. The usual gentle rustling of leaves, the forest's ambient hum—gone. It was as if the forest itself held its breath.
Sylvaeria appeared beside him moments later, gliding down on a breeze. "The spirits are agitated. Something below us… moved."
"Below?" Yuki asked, narrowing his eyes. "We're not near any leyline faults or monster dens."
"That's what worries me."
---
### **Meanwhile – Training Begins**
"Alright, rookie!" Lumi's voice rang across the clearing, hands on her hips and a wild grin plastered across her face. "Lesson one in 'not dying 101': dodge!"
Aeris blinked. "Wait, what?"
"*DODGE!*" Lumi yelled as she lunged with a wooden practice sword.
Aeris yelped and barely ducked, stumbling sideways.
From the camp's edge, Elira sighed into her tea. "And there she goes. Training via aggressive chaos."
"She's not actually going to hit her, right?" Yuki asked, sitting nearby with Sylvaeria.
"That depends on how much coffee Lumi's had," Elira said blandly.
"I HAD THREE CUPS!" Lumi shouted mid-swing.
"…She's doomed," Sylvaeria muttered.
Despite the chaos, Aeris moved better than expected. Her reflexes had sharpened since her rescue, and now she moved more like a predator than a victim. There was grace, hesitation, and flashes of raw power crackling beneath the surface. On one dodge, her foot hit a loose stone—and she instinctively flipped into a spin to land safely on her feet.
Lumi blinked. "Okay, now that was cool. Are you secretly a ninja?"
Aeris panted, flushed from the effort. "I… I think I used to be part of the scouting division. My body remembers what I don't."
Elira set her tea down. "That memory could be tied to the soul seed. You're remembering past techniques, or they're being restored by the lingering fragment inside you."
"So… what happens if it finishes 'restoring'?" Aeris asked.
Yuki's gaze darkened. "Then we find out what it turned you into."
---
### **The Ground Beneath**
The training ended just as a rumble shook the ground. Everyone froze.
The forest groaned as a crack split open near the edge of the clearing. A spiral of black roots erupted from the earth, writhing unnaturally.
A portal.
"Nope!" Lumi shouted, pulling Aeris back. "That's not normal. I vote we nuke it!"
Yuki stepped forward, eyes glowing. "Wait. I sense something in there. Familiar."
A voice echoed from the pit. Ancient. Mocking.
**"Come, Kindred Flame. Come see what your soul touched."**
Yuki growled. "It's him. The one who corrupted Aeris. He's back."
Elira's hands sparked with arcane sigils. "And he's baiting us."
Sylvaeria narrowed her eyes. "Then we bring the storm to his doorstep."
---
### **Descent**
They stood before the jagged portal, wind howling from within like cries from forgotten depths.
Lumi clapped her hands. "Welp, into the creepy murder hole we go. This is officially a bad idea."
"Agreed," Elira said.
"Then let's make it worse," Yuki said, leaping in with a flash of crimson light.
The others followed—Elira with arcane shields swirling, Sylvaeria soaring in windsong, Lumi clutching her blades, and Aeris last, a strange fire flickering faintly behind her eyes.
As they fell into the dark, they didn't yet know what awaited them.
But Yuki could feel it.
The real enemy was near.
And this time, it wasn't just survival they were fighting for—but freedom from an ancient force older than memory.
---