A glowing cyan lake sat in the center of a large forest. The dark oaks' leaves illuminated with the same color as the lake. Its light weakened the further you were from the lake, while the closer oaks had thin glowing lines crawling from the roots upward.
"I heard the lake has a great amount of spiritual power," Lex said. The fire spirit in the shape of a phoenix flapped its wings, excited to test this myth.
"Oh really?" Mia asked. "I heard those trees are harder than steel." They continued exchanging myths they had heard about the lake.
Kin was at the head of the group, his mind seemingly elsewhere. Kaia stared at him for a while. She thought: Sometimes, the best of people might hide in the darkest shadows; it's not too late to see.
She stepped closer and said, "My mentor once said that the lake can grant immortality."
Kin's eyes turned to her for a moment, then looked away. "It's not that—kind of immortality," Kin replied.
"R–really?" she said nervously, never expecting an answer.
"It can help with the lack of soul energy in a person's body, but after like 200 years, it will just be a husk moving by instincts," he explained.
The group stood at the edge of the forest; it was really dark inside. The trees grew wide and tall, racing to steal the most sunlight, blocking almost all of it before reaching the ground. Mushroom spores floated around, giving a dim light in the darkness.
"Help!" A sound of a young girl emerged from inside.
The group paused in shock.
"Help!" Again. It wasn't a hallucination.
Lex stepped forward, ready to deploy his axe, but Kin kicked his foot, making him fall. He turned, staring at Kin in rage.
"Hold it, perfect hero. Unless you want to meet a mimic," Kin said.
Lex's eyes widened in shock.
"Mimics can't do that!" Mia exclaimed.
"Not the lesser ones," Kin replied.
"Ow." Mia stared at the forest for a moment and said, "This will be fun!" and ran toward the forest.
Kin deployed his secret weapon: his other foot, putting her near her friend on the ground.
After settling the differences, Kin put some simple rules:
One, don't separate.
Two, never answer a stranger.
Three, don't touch animals.
Four, the less sound you make, the better.
Now all they needed to do was follow the glow to the center of the forest.
After a few steps in, a deer started to follow them. Every time Kaia looked back, the deer lowered its head and brushed its lips over the grass, pretending to eat. Its eyes felt out of place.
A couple of rabbits hopped around, white and fluffy. Mia really wanted to go and play with them, but Kin held her shoulder firmly.
In the corner of their sight, a man waved at them with a wide smile; his hand was loose. Kaia's sharp eyes traced a creature holding him from behind, using the corpse as a hook.
"Hey, dreamer."
Kaia heard Kin, but the voice was inside her head. Words were stuck in her throat.
"Don't play fool now, I know you can hear me,"
"I can," Kaia replied silently.
"Just for this bit, I'll let my mind open. Those tricky hunters copy sounds, not thoughts," Kin continued.
"G–got it," Kaia answered.
"Now link us together; talking will be better through minds," Kin ordered.
"Just a moment," Kaia submitted.
Kaia linked their minds together; now the communication was telepathic.
"He is so me~an I want to pet them so bad," Mia thought, unaware of the link.
"Uh, Mia. We can hear you," Kaia noted.
"Hah?! Kaia, get your psychic shit out of my mind! I have a lot to hide," Mia exclaimed.
"You're an open book before I read you, hehe," Kaia replied.
Looking at Lex, he was weirdly quiet.
"Something in your mind?" Kaia asked. "Still angry at Kin maybe?"
Lex answered, "Not really. He could've said it earlier, but I also should…" Lex paused, then asked, "Was that hind always behind us?"
"It was following us for a while," Kaia answered but panicked when she turned behind. "Oh my!"
The deer was much closer than before.
Kaia turned to Kin for help. "Kin! That thing is so close, we should kill it before it kills us."
Kin glared at the deer. It ran away.
"I think I got it," Mia said.
Mia tried to copy him. She held an arrow and pointed it at the rabbits. They all ran in fear. "Hah, cowards!"
They continued. Kaia kept noticing more and more mimics. A moth crept near; Kaia raised her hand for it to land. It was impossible—a mimic disguised as a… "Ow," Kaia almost screamed. It took a bite of her and escaped.
"Why are there so many? Higher mimics are supposed to be rare," Kaia said.
"A holocaust, at most," Kin answered, hesitant.
"That's awful!" Kaia replied.
Kin continued, "It won't be if they're targeting Redhorn, but Arcana on the other hand… I should send word to my fellows to reach there before it's too late."
A quiet, sky-blue light snuck between the trees.
"Oh, there already," Kin said and locked his mind.
They squeezed their bodies between the intertwined trees and reached the lake. The small lake glowed brightly, and the area around it was coated in white flowers, all leaning toward the lake while the trees spread away, letting the sun have a good view. The group prepared for a quick rest.
Fay landed from above after seeing the group, bringing a wooden box with her.
Kin told her, "Take this to any familiar face, especially around Arcana." And Fay took off to deliver the message.
Kaia stepped closer. Kin examined the box carefully. No signs of the sender. He opened it, and his face shifted into an unreadable expression. Kaia silently stepped closer and saw what was inside: a doll of a tall girl with silver hair, black cloak, and red eyes, with a shape drawn of her face, almost like a wound.
She stepped back a bit but stepped on a stick. Kin looked at her; his eyes were empty, almost dead. He ignored her and went for Mia.
"Hey," Kin said.
"Hey," Mia replied, noticing the box and jokingly asked, "…what's that? A gift for me?"
"No, I… just want you to destroy it. I can't do it myself," Kin asked.
"Alright," she replied.
She took the box and didn't bother opening it. After a quick scan in her pack, she found nothing useful. So she took a better approach. She picked an arrow and impaled the box all the way through.
Kin's finger flickered.
She stepped closer to the lake and turned for a moment; the look in Kin's eyes was weird.
Mia asked, "Are you sure you want this?"
His empty and hesitant eyes started darting around, sometimes at Mia, sometimes at the box, sometimes at the lake.
"Yes," he answered.
The arrow flew, lifting the box with it, and went to the center of the lake, taking a good position before diving deep; it became impossible to see it.
"So deep," Mia commented.
Kin didn't say a word, just stared at the lake.
Mia offered, concerned, "I'll be around if you need someone to—talk to."
"Thanks," that was the only thing he said for a while.
Two hours… three… the sun was already down. The group watched Kin with concern, unsure what to do. He never moved from his place.
"Go talk to him," Lex said.
"Don't look at me, I'm not good at comforting people," Mia refused.
"You two seem so close. It's not like Kaia can do something," Lex insisted.
"Ugh, fine," Mia replied.
Mia went closer. Kin didn't acknowledge her.
"Yo-ho, hey, are you alive there?" Mia tried her best to drag his attention, and she succeeded.
Kin looked at her for a moment, then up at the sky, seeming confused.
"Night already?" He sighed. "Time works really weird here."
"Ye–No," Mia wanted to agree, but changed her mind. "You were there longer than you think."
"Sorry about this," Kin replied.
"Now, what?" Mia asked.
"We will stay," Kin answered.
"What?!" Mia exclaimed, but Kin calmed her.
"I'll set up the area so they won't get near. You can trust me. Now, just get some sleep because we'll leave as soon as the sun appears," Kin explained, and walked away.
They had no choice but to comply.
…
It was late in the night. Kaia could hear mimics' steps approaching, but every time one got too close, it went silent after a trap activated.
She panicked when she heard something emerging out of the water. When she opened her eyes, it was just Kin.
There was something in his hand: the doll. He sat near a tree, water dripping off his face while he stared deeply at the pierced doll. He pulled out a knitting kit and started fixing it before shoving it deep into his bag.
He turned around and looked at Kaia. She closed her eyes; it was clearly something she wasn't supposed to see.