***
In the mysterious forest, Hinata, Kert, and Zerath continued their progression along the winding paths.
Since they had regained their powers, their advance had become much faster. Kert sometimes leapt from one branch to another with enthusiasm, while Zerath used small magical bursts to overcome the obstacles blocking their way.
Yet, despite this improvement, a concern persisted in Hinata's mind.
Time.
This forest had its own rhythm.
Its own flow.
Sakolomeh had been clear.
Time passed much faster here than in the real world.
Every hour spent here was a risk.
If their wandering continued for too long, they might come out far older than they should be.
That thought haunted her.
She already imagined returning home with several extra years, while only a few days would have passed outside.
The idea sent chills down her spine.
Fortunately, Shaï-Thaêl discreetly guided their progress.
Since residing within her mind, her perceptions seemed capable of piercing through the invisible layers of this forest.
And according to her, they were indeed heading toward an exit.
So they kept moving forward.
Deeper and deeper.
Faster and faster.
The trees passed by.
The giant roots disappeared behind them.
The foliage sometimes formed strange natural tunnels that seemed intent on swallowing them.
Then suddenly...
— Stop!!!
Shaï-Thaêl's voice burst into Hinata's mind.
So abruptly that she froze instantly.
Her boots slid on the damp ground.
A few leaves scattered around her.
Kert nearly ran into her.
— Huh?!
Zerath stopped as well.
— What is it?
Hinata remained still.
Her gaze scanned the trees.
Yet she saw nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
She replied mentally:
— Why stop?
A silence followed.
As if Shaï-Thaêl was observing something.
Something no one else could perceive.
Then her voice returned.
Lower.
More cautious.
— Since you crossed a certain boundary... about five hundred meters behind us... I sense a presence.
Hinata felt her stomach tighten.
— A presence?
— Yes.
At first I thought it was simply an observer.
Someone watching us from afar.
But...
Shaï-Thaêl's tone hardened.
— This thing is following us.
Hinata's eyes widened.
— What?
— And that is not normal.
Not at all.
Hinata scanned the forest.
Nothing.
No movement.
No silhouette.
Only the wind.
— Who is it?
she asked.
Shaï-Thaêl remained silent for a few seconds.
Then she replied:
— I don't know.
But this presence resembles none of the transcendent beings I have encountered.
Its energy is... unstable.
As if several contradictory things coexist within it.
Hinata felt a shiver run down her spine.
Something in the way Shaï-Thaêl had spoken those words deeply unsettled her.
Zerath frowned.
— Hinata?
She slowly turned her head toward him.
— Someone is watching us.
Kert almost burst out laughing.
— Again?
Zerath, however, was not laughing.
He was already scanning the surroundings.
His expression had darkened.
— That's strange...
He briefly closed his eyes.
— If someone were really following us, we would have sensed it.
Kert crossed his arms.
— Or she's playing a joke on us.
He had barely finished speaking when something changed.
Brutally.
Without warning.
The air itself seemed to grow heavier.
A monstrous chill ran through the three companions.
As if an invisible hand had just gripped their hearts.
Their bodies froze.
Instantly.
Kert felt his legs lock up.
— What the...
Zerath tried to move his arm.
Impossible.
— Ghh...
Even breathing was becoming difficult.
A presence.
A real presence.
Not an illusion.
Not imagination.
Something was there.
Somewhere in the forest.
And that thing was watching them.
Hinata felt her heart racing.
Each beat echoed in her ears.
The pressure crushing her body was monstrous.
A wave of malice.
A nearly physical heaviness.
As if space itself wanted to force them to kneel.
Even Shaï-Thaêl was surprised.
For the first time since they had met.
— Hinata!
Use your mana!
— I... I'm trying...
Her voice trembled.
— I can't!
It was like trying to move at the bottom of an ocean.
Her energy refused to flow.
Her own body no longer seemed to belong to her.
Shaï-Thaêl understood immediately.
This thing was acting directly on something deeper than simple magic.
Deeper than the mind.
Even deeper than the soul.
An unusual concern crossed the Myophore's mind.
Without further hesitation, she released a portion of her own essence.
A black mist burst through Hinata's magical circuits.
Shaï-Thaêl's abyssal mana gradually covered her body.
Hinata regained a bit of mobility.
Her fingers moved.
Then her arms.
Then her legs.
With difficulty.
Very difficultly.
But she could still resist.
However...
At the very moment she released more of her power...
Shaï-Thaêl felt something.
And what she felt chilled her.
A silence.
Then an even greater pressure.
As if the presence had finally noticed her existence.
For the first time in centuries...
Shaï-Thaêl felt real danger.
And what frightened her most...
Was that this thing did not even seem to be trying.
It was simply there.
Watching them.
From the depths of the forest.
Like a predator observing prey that still did not realize how deeply it was already caught within its territory.
***
Hinata immediately turned her head toward Kert and Zerath.
The two boys had literally collapsed onto the ground.
Their bodies were trembling.
Their breathing was ragged.
As if something were crushing both their lungs and their souls at the same time.
— Damn!
She knelt beside them.
— Shaï-Thaêl! Can't you help them?
The Myophore's voice immediately echoed in her mind.
Despite the tension, she tried to remain calm.
— Get closer to them and touch them.
— Huh?
— Do it quickly.
Hinata did not argue.
She rushed to Kert and placed her hand on his back.
Instantly, Shaï-Thaêl's black mist spread through the boy's body.
The Myophore analyzed what she felt.
Then she understood.
And what she understood did not please her at all.
— I see...
Her voice had darkened.
— This pressure acts directly on their essence.
Hinata's face paled.
— Their essence?
— Yes.
This is not simple spiritual pressure.
This thing is crushing what constitutes their very existence.
If we do nothing...
A silence.
Then:
— Your friends are going to die.
Hinata felt her heart skip a beat.
— What?!
— Calm down.
— Then do something! I beg you!
For a few seconds, Shaï-Thaêl did not respond.
Then her abyssal mana flowed more intensely.
A black mist completely enveloped Kert.
Then it moved toward Zerath.
Like a protective wave.
Almost immediately, the two boys regained their breath.
Kert inhaled sharply.
— HAAAA...
He rolled to the side before pushing himself up with difficulty.
— I thought I was going to die...
Then he turned his head toward Hinata.
A huge smile appeared on his face.
— You really are an amazing girl among girls!
Hinata blinked.
— Huh?
— You clearly don't belong in the kitchen!
A silence followed.
Even in this situation.
Even after nearly dying.
Kert was still Kert.
— Was that supposed to be a compliment?
Hinata asked.
— Of course!
— You're hopeless...
Meanwhile, Zerath silently observed his hands.
A thin black mist still lingered there.
His brows furrowed.
He knew Hinata's mana well.
Since they met, he had seen it dozens of times.
An emerald green mana.
Alive.
Fluid.
Like liquid flames.
But this...
Had nothing to do with it.
This energy was dark.
Dense.
Ancient.
Like a starless night.
Zerath slowly raised his eyes toward the trees.
He said nothing.
But he already understood one thing.
Hinata clearly possessed far more secrets than she showed.
For her part, Hinata had stood up.
She was now staring at the forest.
Her fists were clenched.
— Wherever you're hiding...
Her voice echoed between the trees.
— Show yourself!
The wind blew.
No response.
— I don't know who you are...
But you're clearly terrible at staying hidden!
Kert and Zerath immediately took their stances again.
Silence fell once more.
A few seconds.
Then...
Rustle.
The three companions turned their heads simultaneously.
Something had just moved in the bushes.
The leaves slowly parted.
And a silhouette appeared.
Humanoid.
But only from afar.
Because the more they looked at it...
The less it resembled anything human.
A thick mist made up its body.
A living mist.
Agitated.
Tormented.
Within it, countless shapes seemed to float.
Faces.
Silhouettes.
Specters.
Souls.
As if thousands of dead had been imprisoned together within a single vessel.
The entity's face changed constantly.
Every second.
A new face appeared.
Then disappeared.
Men.
Women.
Elders.
Children.
All distorted by indescribable suffering.
As if each had been torn from the depths of a forgotten hell.
And the sounds...
The sounds were even worse.
Muffled screams.
Crying.
Pleading.
Howls.
Thousands of voices echoed simultaneously within that misty mass.
Simply looking at it made one want to avert their gaze.
Even Kert fell silent.
Even Zerath felt his blood run cold.
Inside Hinata's mind, Shaï-Thaêl immediately understood what stood before her.
— I knew something was wrong...
Her voice had become extremely serious.
— That thing is a demon.
A real one.
And not an ordinary demon.
Hinata felt the tension in her words.
— A demon?
— Yes.
And extremely dangerous.
Shaï-Thaêl observed the creature for a few moments.
Then she understood something else.
Something far more troubling.
— It's a good thing I covered your essences with my mana.
— Why?
— Because without that...
She paused.
— You would probably have already gone mad.
A chill ran down Hinata's spine.
Meanwhile, the entity had gone still.
It seemed to be observing the group.
Or rather...
Studying them.
Then all the voices composing its body spoke at once.
Thousands of voices.
Deep.
High-pitched.
Old.
Young.
Blended into a single impossible sentence.
— We are Legion.
Even the trees themselves seemed to tremble.
— And we know...
That you know the former servant of the Original Gods.
Silence fell immediately.
But this time...
No one dared to speak first.