"Are you alright man?" He asked his friend that was now heavily panting. They had obviously followed the invitation together. They had been friends for years, so it was understandable that he was worried about his friend.
"I don't know. I-I have never felt this exhausted for the longest time." He uttered out with difficulties. "It also isn't the same exhaustion that comes from exercise. It feels more complex than that. I feel it in my bones as if they become more brittle with every additional step I take."
His friend looked at the other participants, more specifically the old man, but it seemed like he wasn't slowing down for them.
"Our destination is only five minutes away, but I would advise you to stop here otherwise your friend will have to carry you out. You won't want to be burden to your friend, will you?" The old man said with a mischievous smile on his face as he looked at their struggle.
"Don't worry about me. I will rest for a moment before continuing." The swordsman finally said. "Go ahead and mark the way so I will know the way." He ushered his friend to continue without him as he sat down leaning against a tree.
"You know what? I need the rest myself. Might as well take it now." The swordsman only answered with a bitter smile on his face. He wouldn't have imagined being a burden for his friend.
"Oh, that reminds me! Don't fall back too much or you might get lost. This jungle can be quite treacherous." The old man seemingly told the whole group, but it was clear that he was trying to incite some conflict between the two friends.
The rogue snarled at the old man as he clenched his hands that are holding his knives. His knuckles became white, and it looked like he was about to attack the old man before he was grabbed at the wrist by his friend.
"It is obvious that this whole situation is more than what it seemed. This might be a way to reach heights we didn't even know existed! I will never forgive you if you discard this chance just because I was holding you back! Go with them now!" The swordsman said sternly which almost turned into a scream at the end of his little speech.
His friend looked unsure and was hesitating to leave him behind. "Geez, why make this more difficult than it need to be. If I won't last any step further after resting, I will just make my way back. So, just go!" He shouted while shoving his friend to follow the group.
After hesitating for a second, he left his friend with a shout over his shoulder, "I better not die on me you idiot."
After he made his way back to the group Sarah couldn't help but ask him, "Are you sure that he will find his way back, we have been walking for a while."
"He made a trail with his sword the moment we stepped out the tunnel and into the jungle" The rouge said as maintained a cold visage, although he would glare at the old man from time to time, who just waved back at him intentionally provoking him.
"Even if he didn't, he would be back at the tunnel after walking for two minutes." Leo said carefree as he patted Sarah on the shoulder to calm her. It was obvious that she was still comparatively tense. Although, he had taught her to meditate, it still made a difference in the mind if you know you can defend yourself or not. Which was also a reason why people who knew that they could fight were unlikelier to get into a fight compared to those that could not fight.
It had to do with the fact that they would stay calm when faced with aggression and held their distance when approached in order to prevent any sucker punches from landing. Such a composed attitude would usually deescalate a situation.
Of course, there are those that would use their skills to get into fights, but exceptions prove the rule.
"What do you mean in two minutes, we were walking for half an hour already!" Sarah exclaimed confused. The others looked at him with an equally confused look.
"Oh? When did you notice?" The old man confirmed his words.
Leo shrugged his shoulders, "After the first two minutes. I felt like we haven't moved, although we have walked for almost 200 meters."
"Are you saying we are walking in a circle? Even though jungles tend to look the same wherever you go, I am sure that we haven't been here." The Japanese girl exclaimed.
"Indeed, the sights, the smell, everything seems like a normal jungle, well of course with the exception of the lack of sounds." Leo explained.
After he finished the group didn't say anything and tried to listen. They heard the breeze rustling the leaves of the bushes and trees but there was no sound of any animal.
No chirping of birds, or humming of flies, no insects made any sounds. Only when no one said anything did they notice how weird this supposedly normal jungle was.
Shunlei and Laura frowned at that. They had been aware of their surroundings the moment they entered foot into the jungle but completely missed the lack of sounds.
"Only if you isolate your senses for sound will you notice it. If you try to be aware of it while keeping your attention on something else, even I wouldn't have noticed this illusion. Besides that, wasn't the reason why I felt we didn't move. It was just my gut telling me that we didn't advance forward. Not really."
"Truly exceptional. Who would have thought that the rumors about you are true?" The old man praised him as he showed an impressed expression to the young Leo.
The old man continued speaking after getting his bearings in order, "Young man, it is as you say, but it is by no means an illusion. Every section we traverse is real. Every tree and every bush are real. Space itself is the only weird thing around here, well it has to be if we want to cross the gap between worlds."
"The gap between worlds??" Someone exclaimed. To say that the group was baffled would be an understatement. In fact, most doubted his words. As for Leo he got even more excited after hearing his words.
Of course, he didn't take his words at face value, but his anticipation grew, nonetheless. He had expected the tour through the jungle to be some sort of hypnosis or illusion, not a pathway to another world.
"If you don't want to believe me you will have to see it for yourself." The old man smirked, clearly enjoying the fact that he knew more than the newcomers.
It wasn't long until they seemed to have stepped out of the jungle into a clearing. The jungle stopped at an invisible line and from there a clear grass field extended for a few meters before the void began.
Pure blackness greeted them. The grass just in front of it swayed and blurred as space seemed to warp around it. It was like the hot air from a fire making it seem as if the surroundings were wavy.
The Japanese girl gulped. Previously it seemed like she was barely holding on, but now color was returning to her as she recuperates.
"Good luck." With those words the old man started walking towards the black void with his mute companion following him. He took one step at a time as if he were balancing and trying to remain on his feet.
He slowly but surely made his way across the grass field, while the others hesitated. Not doubt about it, they were all weirded out by the current situation. The companion of the old man took a deep breath before taking his steps.
The moment he took his fourth step, he already started sweating and with every additional step he took, his breath grew more raggedly. He occasionally looked back, and his eyes darted around the jungle as if he were searching for something.
He also looked at the others as if he suspected them to do something. After he traversed another meter, he had tears in his eyes and his expression was frightful. His glances back grew more hysterical with every second before he started wailing and begging for forgiveness.
The buff Chinese seemed terrified out of his mind as he suddenly bolted back towards the jungle and quickly disappeared in the thicket.
"Wasn't he terrified of something in the jungle, why is he running into it now." Leo muttered as he held his chin in thought.
"See you on the other side, Shunlei" The Japanese girl suddenly spat out as she ran towards the void.
She wanted to reach the blackness before the fear started to kick in, Leo figured. Barely 4 meters in, she passed the old man before falling down. She didn't trip over anything, she just seemed to have fallen unconscious midst sprint.
Leo could see blood leaking out of her mouth, eyes, ears, and nostrils. "Is she dead?" Leo asked aloud. Barely finishing his sentence, Shunlei took a step towards her. Leo should have guessed that she wanted to help the girl.
He didn't try to dissuade her as they would have to cross it either way, might as well do a good deed as we do so, he thought.
"Shall we?" He asked Sarah and Laura, making Sarah nod hesitantly, while Laura was solemnly looking at the blackness. Leo waited for them to take the lead, not wanting to leave them behind alone.
The two slowly started to walk across the grass field, while Leo kept waiting. Shunlei at that point had already reached the Japanese girl and started to carry her towards Leo, who patiently waited for her. Shunlei sat her down against a tree and started to check her vitals.
She sighed out in relief after confirming that she was still alive. Leo took out ammonia inhalants and waved it under her nose, making her wake up in a start. She was confused at first as she looked around in panic before focusing on the two in front of her.
She frowned as she looked at Shunlei's bloody clothes before mumbling a thank you. She then stood up and bowed towards the two before giving the blackness a reluctant glance. She left into the jungle directly after.
Leo and Shunlei could only shrug it off as they prepared to traverse the grass field. Laura and Sarah had already caught up to the old man, who seemed to be standing still albeit wonkily. Since the start, he had ignored the others and even his companion in favor of walking across the field.
Leo looked at the rogue who was struggling to take his steps, but he slowly made his way across. Certainly, fueled by his friends trust in him.
Leo finally made his first step and what felt like a breath down his neck instantly made itself known. His body shuddered for a moment, but he could ignore it as he walked forwards with surprising ease. He felt fear or panic rising inside his body like something's bad is about to happen but with his mind clear he was easily able to ignore it.
He and Shunlei quickly caught up to the others and therefore passed the old man, who pretended to be their superior just a few minutes ago. The old man glanced at them for a second with jealousy in his eyes but quickly brought his attention towards walking again.
His face was grimaced, and fear sipped into his gaze, Leo had noticed when he looked, but he would hardly wait for the old man.
The four didn't seem to struggle as much as the others but the girls too seemed to be afraid of something as they glanced back from time to time. Leo gave them reassured look which calmed them down somewhat as they continued until they were only an armlength away from the pure darkness.