Jis and Mith went back to SGN asking for help . To their Surprise Master Zoh was not there . They told Akhand about Tuk .
Mith cries emotionally .
Akhand : We are busy right now . Guys i wilI listen to it later . I know its a hard time but you guys have to go to a mission now . You guys have to find the mystery of a tree . Go quick . SGN is not very safe now . Go away now . After this situation ks resolved i will listen to you guys . I promise .
Jis and Mith agrees .
Title: Through the Twisted Branches
In the land of Dikonia, where shadows danced and whispers of the ancients lingered, Jis and Mith trudged through the dense underbrush of Berenthiel Forest. As the sky dimmed to an ominous gray, thick mist snaked around their ankles, swelling with a presence that felt both uncanny and foreboding. The air reeked of decay, a scent they had come to associate with the monolithic tree that loomed at the heart of the forest—a tree that was the embodiment of despair, its gnarled branches stretching towards the heavens like the skeletal fingers of the damned.
"Do you think Tuka would have laughed at us if he could see us now?" Jis mused, breaking the oppressive silence that surrounded them. A wry smile tugged at her lips, but the humor felt brittle, cracking under the weight of grief.
"I don't know," Mith replied, his voice barely above a whisper as his weary eyes scanned their surroundings. "He might have made a joke about how we turned this mission into a walk through a haunted park instead of an epic quest."
They both chuckled, but the laughter quickly faded, replaced by the haunting scene around them. Khaya's absence gnawed at their hearts. The three of them had once been an unbreakable force—fearless, cheeky, and utterly unstoppable. But the fates had dealt them a cruel hand, their friend lost to the darkness that now shrouded the forest. Jis adjusted the grip on her staff, the worn wood now felt like a lifeline against her encroaching despair.
"Let's stay focused," Mith suggested as they walked deeper, the trees pressing in on them. "This tree is the key to finding out what happened to him."
The ancient tree rose like a cursed monument before them, bark blackened by evil, twisting like a living serpent. The sheer size of it was overwhelming; its canopy seemed to swallow the twilight, trapping them in a twilight nightmare. Jis gritted her teeth, drawing power from the remembrances of Tuka's laughter as they approached the monstrous trunk.
As they neared, a sudden wind howled through the branches, the leaves rustling with sinister whispers that curled around them, tugging at their minds. And then it began—the confusion attack. The ground beneath them shuddered, and visions warped and twisted, distorting reality into a haunting ballet of shadows.
Mith staggered as the world around him splintered into two. One moment, he stood next to Jis, and the next, he was on a sunlit beach, waves lapping at his feet. "What the—?"
"Mith!" Jis's voice sliced through the haze. "Focus! It's just an illusion!" She reached out, grabbing his arm, but the sight of him standing there, so serene against the backdrop of chaos, faltered her resolve.
The scene shifted again. He was sitting with Tuka, laughing as the sun set behind the mountains. Jis's heart clenched at the sight, memories flooding back, each one tinged with vibrant colors, each moment infused with the joy of friendship.
"Tuk—" Mith began, but then darkness leached into view, closing around the memories, dragging him deeper. "No! Jis— come with me! We can save him!"
"No! This is a trick!" Jis shouted, rooting herself to the ground as she fought against the ravaging confusion. "Mith, don't let it take you!"
Realizing that they were under siege from the tree's relentless attack, she completed an incantation she had studied long ago, calling forth a barrier of light. The shimmer appeared, pushing against the encroaching darkness. Eagerly, Jis grabbed Mith's free hand and pulled him into the barrier's embrace, attempting to shield him.
As the chaotic visions receded, Mith blinked as if waking from a dream. "Jis...? What happened? I—"
"No time!" she urged. "This thing is feeding off our memories, our sorrow. We have to reach the heart of the tree and end this!"
They pressed forward, the atmosphere growing denser, thick with the scent of rot and despair. The ground pulsed like a heartbeat, urging them to turn back, but they refused. Shadows whispered their deepest fears, echoing Tuk's last moments, but amidst it all, Jis felt the warmth of anger swell within her—an unyielding flame that pushed back against the confusion.
In the depth of their despair, they stumbled upon the gnarled roots of the tree. At the core, they found a pulsating orb of darkness. It twisted and morphed, the very embodiment of fear. Silvery tendrils snaked out, reaching for them, but Jis and Mith stood their ground, standing shoulder to shoulder.
"We end this here!" Jis cried, gathering her magic, a bright, fierce light radiating from her core.
Mith clenched his fists, sparks of energy crackling in the air around him. "For the world!" he shouted, focusing everything he had into the communal power they created.
In that moment, grief and remembrance coalesced into raw strength. Together, they unleashed a torrent of energy—brilliant, blinding—aimed squarely at the heart of the malignant entity. The bond forged in friendship and loss surged through them, igniting a powerful beam of hope that pierced the gnarled shadows.
With a crushing roar, the tree trembled as the light surged through its roots, uprooting centuries of confusion and despair. The orb exploded, showering them with fragments of darkness that turned to shimmering dust.
As the echoes of the shadows clamored for attention faded, Jis and Mith stood panting, the forest enveloped in an otherworldly silence. The monstrous tree began to wither, its bark cracking and falling away.
"We did it," Mith whispered, awe mingling with exhilaration as they watched the horror they'd faced dissolve into the wind.
But as the shadows receded, so too did the burden in their hearts. Jis and Mith turned to each other, a newfound resolve shining in their eyes, yet an ache for their lost companion remained.
"Wherever Khaya is, he'll be proud of us," Jis said softly, wiping away tears that glimmered like stars against her cheeks.
Mith nodded, a fragile smile on his lips. "Yeah. And as annoying as it might be, I think he'll find a way to make fun of our 'epic quest' success."
With a shared laugh, emerging from the depths of sorrow, Jis and Mith took their first steps toward the sun emerging through the treetops, ready to embrace whatever the future held for them. The road ahead was uncertain, but they would face it together, no longer alone in their grief.