They moved in a loose formation through the trees, boots crunching softly on moss and fallen leaves.
The forest wasn't silent, but its sounds weren't natural either.
The echoes between the towering trunks felt rehearsed, like the world was trying to remember what birds were supposed to sound like, or what rustling leaves truly meant.
Kael kept his eyes forward, ears twitching with every unusual rustle.
"Do you know exactly where we're going, or are we just walking randomly?" Niko's voice cut through the air from the back of the group, smooth and pointed.
Kael sighed.
Here we go…
"They said find a gate and beat the thing guarding it," he replied flatly, not bothering to turn around. "So we're looking for a gate."
"We don't even know what the gate looks like," Niko countered, his tone dripping with implied criticism.
Kael stopped, turned halfway, and replied without blinking.
"We? I definitely know what a gate looks like, Niko. And I'm pretty sure everyone else does too." He then muttered under his breath, "I was expecting they taught something that basic in those noble houses of yours."
Outwardly, Niko didn't seem to take offense.
He just offered a polite smile and moved to the rear of the group.
But Rylen, walking a few paces away, let out a slow, strangely creepy chuckle.
Kael turned towards the sound and regretted it instantly.
Rylen's smile had somehow tripled in size, stretching too wide.
'Is this guy mentally stable?'
Kael quickly gave him a few extra feet of personal space and caught up to Theo at the front.
"You've been oddly quiet since we got here."
Theo turned, giving him a neutral look. "I'm normally quiet. Like I said, I'm not this nice to everyone."
Kael groaned. "Well, I need that oversized brain of yours now, because I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing."
Theo chuckled under his breath. "You'll figure it out. Just trust your instincts."
Kael gave him a deadpan look. "You're telling me to trust something I've never used before?"
Theo paused for a moment, a thoughtful look crossing his face, then he extended a hand slightly. "Take my hand."
Kael blinked, then looked around. "Dude. I'm not into that kind of—"
"Just shut up and take it."
Kael hesitated, then, after scanning the rest of the team to make sure no one was watching, he reluctantly took Theo's hand.
"Okay, now what?"
"Close your eyes."
"…I… wait, wha—"
"Kael."
With a long sigh that could have fueled a wind spell, Kael slowly closed his eyes.
"I swear, if I open them and we're in some kind of soul-bond, I'm stabbing you."
Theo ignored him.
After a few seconds, Kael felt something strange.
A soft current of energy moved through their linked hands.
It ran through his arm, across his chest, then settled in his head… behind his eyes. He gasped lightly.
Then the feeling faded.
Theo pulled his hand back. "Open them."
Kael opened his eyes slowly, and immediately a translucent Archive notification popped into view.
[Temporary Buff Activated: Eye of the Spirits]
[Effect: Mana Perception Enhanced]
[Duration: 24 hours]
"So…" Theo asked. "What do you see now?"
Kael blinked and looked around.
At first, he saw nothing, but when he really concentrated, he saw it.
Tiny glowing particles, like fireflies dancing in daylight.
Thousands of them, drifting in flowing currents like streams of light. They twisted and coiled through the air, all following the same direction, forming a glowing path through the forest.
"What are those?" Kael asked, awestruck.
"Mana residue," Theo said. "Left behind wherever a massive concentration of energy was used. The Vault's full of it. And those trails?" He pointed toward the direction they were flowing. "That's where it's strongest. That's where the path is."
"So… we just follow them?"
"That's the easy part."
Kael raised a brow. "And the hard part?"
Theo smirked faintly. "We'll find out when we get there."
✦✦✦✦✦✦
"You know," Theo said a few minutes later, eyes still fixed forward on the glowing mana trails, "you should really make an effort to understand the other members of your team."
Kael glanced at him, clearly uninterested. "Why?"
"Because a good leader knows the strengths and weaknesses of their people."
"But I'm not a good leader," Kael replied flatly.
Theo gave him a dry look, one that spoke volumes without a single word.
Kael sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll go."
He turned to scan his available options.
Seraphina was walking on the far right, a blade at her hip and the social energy of a brick wall.
'She'll probably cut me down if I ask her what her favorite color is.'
Then there was Rylen, still smiling like he'd just stepped out of a padded cell.
'Absolutely not.'
Niko kept to the rear, maintaining his calm, noble composure, probably still seething internally.
'Even worse.'
That left Liri, quietly walking in the center, muttering something under her breath.
'Guess we have a winner.'
Kael slowed his pace until he lined up beside her.
"Hi," he said casually.
She jumped slightly, her eyes wide as if she'd just been caught committing a crime.
"Oh… Kael! It's you. Do you need something? Are you hurt? Are you feeling fatigued? I can—"
"Whoa, whoa. Calm down," Kael cut in, raising both hands in a placating gesture. "I'm fine. No emergency, relax. I just came to talk."
She blinked at him, stunned. "You… came to talk to me?"
"Yeah. That okay?"
She seemed dazed for a moment before she nodded rapidly, almost like it was a test she didn't want to fail. "Of course! What do you want to talk about?"
Huh
Kael blinked.
'Talk about? I didn't think this far.'
He scratched the back of his head. "Honestly, I don't know. I don't really feel like talking."
Now she looked genuinely confused.
"Then… why did you come over here?"
"..."
She was quiet for a moment, then... smiled, just a little.
"You know what? I also don't feel like talking."
It was Kael's own turn to be stunned.
'Oh, finally. Someone who gets it.'
And so they continued their walk in quiet silence.
There was no pressure, no awkwardness.
Just two people walking in a strange forest, sharing the rarest kind of connection.
Quiet understanding.