"What's that?" Kira thought, surprise coursing through her as the mysterious creature gracefully glided from one shadow to another, seamlessly merging with the darkness beneath a tree.'A shadow creature.' she concluded
Kira, intrigued by the mysterious dim light in the Enigma Grove, decided to put the mysterious shadow creature's abilities to the test. She sent one of her shadow blades into the dim light where the shadow seemed to stop. However, before the blade could reach the designated spot, the shadow creature emerged, revealing itself.
The unknown shadow body seemed to be composed of flowing shadow, possessing luminescent eyes that pierced the darkness with an eerie glow. Long tendril-like appendages trailed behind it, resembling wisps of shadow smoke.
Having never explored into the Enigma Grove before, Kira was unfamiliar with this particular creature. While she had read about various creatures in academy books, this one eluded her memory.
Uncertain about the nature of the creature, Kira conjured her blade, ready for action. She wasn't willing to take any risks, unsure if the creature was real or merely a shadow illusion.
'Just to be sure, I don't want to fall for another trick. Plus, I might discover if that shadow creature controls these shadow illusions.' Kira thought, in her mind sharp and focused.
With a swift motion, she swiped her hand, sending two shadow blades toward the ThronViper that just came out of the bushes. One of the blades passed through it, revealing it to be an illusion. However, the other blade surprised Kira as it made contact with a second ThronViper, slamming into it and ending its life instantly.
'An illusion and a real,' Kira contemplated, attempting to piece together the complex situation. The interplay of illusions and reality posed a challenge, and the possibility of deception added an extra layer of complexity. 'If one is an illusion and the other is real, there's a possibility that it's a trick, but whatever is creating these illusions has to have some intellect' she surmised, her analytical mind working to what was happening.
As Kira moved forward, she decided to lower her guard, But she maintained a straight gaze forward, not scanning her surroundings but remaining alert for any potential attacks. If there was intelligence from whoever are behind these illusions, it can cause an ambush with her guard being down.
After a few seemingly uneventful steps, Kira felt a sudden movement behind her. Two shadowy tentacles lunged towards her, poised to strike. Just in time, two blades materialized and slammed into the tentacles, dragging them into the ground and destroying them into wisps of shadows.
Turning around to face her unseen adversary, Kira addressed the same shaodw creature directly, acknowledging its role in creating the illusions. "So it's really you creating these illusions, but you also have a bit of intelligence," she stated, her curiosity evident. 'What are you?' she wondered silently.
The reason Kira managed to thwart the tentacle attack was her preemptive preparation. Before lowering her guard, she had secretly conjured two blades high above her, ensuring she had a defensive strategy in place without revealing her awareness as she was sure whatever was watching her it would never notice them.
In response, the shadowy creature, without moving or verbally responding, transformed it hands into lifelike claws, reflecting the dim light. It swayed forward at Kira, maintaining a mysterious demeanor. Simultaneously, whispers echoed faintly behind it, adding to the mystique of the encounter.
"No introduction, huh?" Kira remarked with a touch of humor, maintaining her composure.
Kira slowly backed away as the shadow creature continued its advance. With a quick conjuration, she unleashed multiple shadow blades, sending them at the creature. However, it effortlessly swiped its claw at the blades, repelling them and creating small sparks as the metal met the shadowy claw.
Thinking on her feet, Kira sent a set of shadow blades towards the creature again, attempting to learn its movements. The creature floated forward at a slow pace, its piercing black eyes shifting to a deep red, indicating a change in emotional state.
"Roar!" The shadow creature emitted an eerie scream that echoed through the forest. Though the roar wasn't loud, it felt like an invasive melody, attempting to creep into Kira's mind. She had to cover her ears because of it, to resist the haunting effects of the creature's scream.
Continuing to back away, Kira remembered the creature from her studies. "You're an Echo Whisper," she realized. These creatures filled the forest with haunting echoes, attempting to corrupt the minds of anyone who crossed their path.
Unable to approach the Echo Whisper directly, Kira decided to employ one of her advanced skills 'Shadow Spike'. Her eyes gleamed with focus as she extended her hand toward the ground, summoning shadows with a commanding gesture. A dark sphere materialized throwing it at the echo whisper but, instead of going directly at the creature, it collided with the ground.
The impact transformed the ground from beneath it. Malevolent black sharp spikes of shadow erupted, shooting upwards with lethal precision into the Echo Whisper's body. Causing the echo whisper to scream out, but the onslaught of spikes weakened it until it finally succumbed, flowing back into the shadows of the forest.
Kira observed the shadow wisps of the defeated Echo Whisper dissipating, realizing that if it had screamed directly at her, its whispers could have invaded her mind. However, she knew she had various skills to defend against such mental attacks if the need arose.
Looking around Kira noticed that enough time had passed as the light in the forest had started to become less as a sign of the day becoming later as she had spent about three to four hours in the grove so far.
"There it is!" Kira heard a boy exclaimed, her attention captured by it.
"Quickly surround it this time, don't let it get away again." she heard someone order, urging a sense of urgency in their actions.
Curiosity piqued, Kira moved forward to investigate the source of the noise. She carefully peeked through some of the bushes, keeping herself hidden, unsure whether the group of boys intentions were meant for good or ill.
As she observed, she spotted four boys armed with various weapons and elements, encircling something in the center. However, her view was partially obstructed by one of the boys, leaving her unable to identify the nature of the creature they were excited about.
It was not unusual for a group to venture into the Enigma Grove together. The dangers within were well-known, and it was common knowledge that staying in a group offered greater protection against the unknown creatures that roamed the forest.
"Quickly catch it!" one boy ordered another, and with enthusiasm, a boy leaped into the center to capture the unknown creature.
"I got it, I got it!" he triumphantly declared, feeling something beneath him as he landed.
However, as he looked under him to inspect his hand, all he found was soft dirt compressed into a ball. "Dammit, it escaped again!" he frustratedly exclaimed.
As the boy looked up to the other boy his face was filled with surprise "Hey, there's someone watching us!" the boy on the ground alerted the others, pointing toward Kira.
Kira, realizing she had been spotted, thought, 'I was spotted.' feeling a twinge of annoyance she didn't want it to be known that she was there.
"Whoever you are, get out. We know you're there." another boy demanded, their attention now shifted to Kira hidden in the bushes.
Kira decided to exit the bushes, knowing it was possible for her to run away but equally possible for the boys to pursue her through the dense forest. As she exited, one of the boys noted her presence.
"Oh, it's a girl." he remarked in a neutral tone.
Kira was relieved that the boys didn't seem to harbor any ill intentions, but at that moment Kira sensed a shift in the atmosphere. The boys' eyes, once neutral, now gleamed with greed.
"Heh... That's a nice bow you've got there. Why don't you let me borrow it?" one boy said, his tone dripping with greed.
"Yeah, we just want to borrow it." another added sarcastically.
As the boys approached, Kira noticed a ghostly creature on the side as she instantly knew what happened, the creature is an ethereal wisp capable of manipulating emotions, of calm, fear, and anger. Since it had greed in the boys to capture the ethereal wisp it manipulated the greed in them, so that it reached a point where they were willing to do anything for what they desired.
"I guess I have no choice but to immobilize you," Kira declared.
"Immobilize us?" a boy scoffed with an eye roll.
Kira, not wanting to cause serious harm to the boy but needing to stop them, conjured her shadow blades. One boy sent a cloud of dust her way, while another attempted to entangle her foot with vines. However, the boys were weaker than they seemed, because lack of coordination was weakened due to their overwhelming greed.
"This probably won't hurt, but brace yourselves." Kira warned.
She sent out multiple blades, stabbing into both boys' legs. Despite immobilizing them, their tenacity persisted, by still crawling towards her.
"I just hope some evil creature doesn't come and kill you." Kira remarked, walking away and leaving them as she couldn't really help them. But thankfully the Spectral Wisp, is limited to manipulating emotions rather than inflicting harm so they might be safe.
As Kira walked forward, she noticed a couple of boys moving in a straight line, as if their lifeless corpses. Suddenly an eerie, dim blue light emanated from the path they were following, capturing her attention. Intrigued and concerned, Kira decided to follow them up the dirt hill toward the source of the light.
Upon reaching the crest of the hill and looking over, her eyes widened in disbelief. Why is this happening? Kira was in shock. The scene before her defied explanation, leaving her questioning the reality of what she was witnessing. This can't be real. How is this happening?