After seeing the woman who had been sitting just moments before now standing before him, Lixs asked sharply, his tone serious. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
A cold wind nipped at his skin as silence settled over the land—the night had fully arrived. At that moment, Lixs realized he'd been the target of the woman's attack.
Lixs nodded slowly. "Hmph… this attack again. It won't work this time… Wait, could she be the one who attacked me this afternoon?"
Shortly after, Claude arrived at the front of the house. She looked surprised to see Lixs standing lost in thought, talking to himself in the yard.
Claude, who had spent years studying countless unexplained phenomena, stepped closer. She gently placed a hand on her younger brother's shoulder, channeling her Zensh energy into her palm—ready to jolt him back to reality.
Boom!
Lixs flew backward, slamming into the wall of the neighboring house.
"Are you alright?" Claude asked anxiously.
Claude quickly drew the Zensh from her core—the source of the illusion clouding Lixs's mind—and dispelled it.
"Come on, get up. I apologize for my actions…" Claude said regretfully.
Before Claude could finish her sentence, Lixs interrupted. "Yes, I forgive you for what you've done."
Claude offered a small smile. "Then let's go inside. It's time for dinner."
The two went inside. They cleaned themselves, tidied the house, prepared dinner, and got ready to rest before morning.
At that moment, Lixs felt the need to discuss the events he had just experienced, including the strange incident that had occurred earlier that day, in order to figure out what he had actually witnessed.
After dinner, they headed to their respective rooms. But before Claude entered hers, Lixs called her in a serious tone.
"There's something important I want to tell you. Please take the time to listen."
Claude paused for a moment, then replied calmly, "Let's talk about it tomorrow when we visit the village chief's house. I also have something I need to tell you."
"Alright then... good night."
"Good night, Lixs," Claude said softly, offering a small nod before closing her door.
They both went to their beds, while Lixs continued to ponder the mysterious events he had just experienced.
He began to wonder why these strange occurrences had suddenly befallen him.
The following afternoon…
Zaresha and Lixs strolled leisurely, enjoying the beautiful scenery. The clouds were bright, leaves fell with the wind, and birdsong accompanied their steps.
Suddenly, Zaresha stopped and called out, "Lixs, look here. There are so many beautiful plants."
Lixs looked at Zaresha picking the plants, sensing nothing unusual, and approached her.
"Zaresha! Don't just pick them. Let's continue our journey," Lixs scolded gently.
Zaresha pouted. "But I just wanted to take care of them…"
Lixs considered leaving her behind if she continued to be disobedient and didn't follow his instructions.
Zaresha, engrossed in the beauty of the plants, began to wonder why she no longer heard Lixs's voice. When she looked around, she realized she was alone in the middle of the forest.
She stood up and ran, trying to catch up with Lixs. "Lixs! Where are you? Can you hear me? Please, answer me if you hear me!"
Zaresha then called on Zyxion to find Lixs.
Three minutes passed. Information from Zyxion led her to a tree where someone appeared to be resting. Zaresha approached, hoping it was Lixs.
Lixs noticed Zaresha's presence. "Finally, you found me," he muttered.
After that, Lixs received a long scolding from Zaresha. After her anger subsided, she stood up and continued their journey.
"Ah… it's tiring to be scolded by a woman like that," he thought.
"Let's continue our journey," he urged.
As evening approached, Lixs recalled the incident, and he began to suspect that the plants were the cause of all the strange events that had befallen him that day.
He muttered to himself, "If it's true that those plants caused me to get hurt like this… Ah, I'd better think about it tomorrow. I'll find out more later."
Night had fallen. Lixs decided to rest immediately to maintain his condition, considering the events of the day.
He fell asleep, but the night wind began to cause his bedroom window to open and close with a rather disturbing creaking sound.
On the other hand, Lixs awoke from his sleep. The noisy window prevented him from falling back asleep. Annoyed, he opened his eyes and looked towards the window. When his gaze fell upon the yard, he was again startled by the figure of the woman he had previously seen standing in front of the house.
Lixs muttered softly in a worried tone, "Her again... Who is she? And why am I the only one who can see her? Should I approach?"
With his curiosity growing stronger, Lixs got out of bed, put on his clothes, and prepared to go outside to find out who the mysterious woman really was.
He took his favorite sword, which he always carried with him. As he stepped outside, a gentle night breeze blew, presenting a breathtaking view of the sky—the moon shone brightly and the stars were beautifully scattered.
The sight momentarily silenced him, reminding him how calming this quiet night was.
After calming his mind, he continued towards the figure of the woman he had seen earlier. The woman seemed to notice Lixs's presence. She stood up and began to walk towards him, saying something in an unknown language.
"Is she also coming towards me?" Lixs muttered softly.
However, the moment he heard the strange sound coming from the woman's mouth, his body began to fade, then disappear, just as it had before.
Soon, the sound of footsteps accompanied by a soft whisper was heard. A man appeared with a fairly tall physique. He had black eyes, purple hair, and wore a head covering. He was a casual conversation partner of Lixs.
Lixs immediately turned. "Ah, so it's you, Rivenn. Back so late?"
Rivenn replied casually, "Yes, I just arrived. But I just saw you talking to someone?"
The statement surprised Lixs. He didn't expect Rivenn to be able to see the woman who had been invisible to others. He immediately asked to make sure.
"Did you really see her? Do you know who that woman really is?" Lixs asked seriously.
Rivenn looked at Lixs, who seemed lost in thought. Feeling he wasn't getting a response, he prepared to leave.
However, as Rivenn started to walk away, Lixs's voice called out quite loudly, accompanied by hurried footsteps.
"Rivenn! Wait, there's something I want to talk about!" Lixs shouted.
Rivenn stopped. "What's going on? Why are you shouting like that?"
Lixs took a deep breath. "So… did you really see me talking to someone earlier?"
"A woman?" Rivenn looked confused. "I didn't see a woman. In fact… what I saw was a man talking to you."
Lixs fell silent, his mind in turmoil. He began to question the reality he had just heard. Could there be two mysterious figures watching him? He recalled the incident earlier that day, suspecting that the strange plants were the cause of all this.
But a new question arose—why was he the only one affected? Why didn't Zaresha, who also saw the plants, experience the same thing?
Rivenn watched Lixs, who was lost in thought again, and tried to call out to him, but he was ignored. Finally, Rivenn decided to use his Zensh and hit Lixs quite hard.
Duarr! Plokk! Lixs was thrown backward.
"Ouch! Damn it! My body hurts so much!" Lixs shouted angrily.
"Yes, that's your own fault. Ignoring my call and daydreaming while talking to yourself. Therefore, I decided to wake you up with Zensh," Rivenn explained without hesitation.
"Well then, I'll go home," Rivenn muttered, turning away.
Lixs's mind was now filled with th
ese strange events. He returned to the house, hoping to rest and recover from the exhaustion and confusion that had befallen him.