In the pitch black forest, one could hear the whistle of the water flow accompanied by the chirps of insects. Ceris was awakened from the discomfort many hours later. Ceris didn't give it much thought before she jumped from the cliff, but she was overcome with regret, guilt, and annoyance afterward. She was breathing so heavily that she was afraid she would die. She didn't release Ivy despite this. Her life, her suffering, and her sacrifices were all on repeat in her head.
"It would be wonderful if I could pass away," she thought to herself. She could no longer perceive anything as she sank deeper.
The first thing Ceris did was to reach out for Eri as she was awake. Ce panicked when she got no response. She calmed herself and discovered Eri was unconscious in her consciousness. Eri had spent her energy and turned weak as the energy ran out when she grew larger or used her animal instinct. No one knew when she would wake up and fell into a deep sleep.
Ceris, uneasy, opened her eyes slowly and discovered she was hooked on a gigantic tree's limb. She quickly turned to see that Ivy was also stuck to a different branch of the same tree. Ceris checked Ivy's respiration and found that it was light, so she attempted to relax and recharge. For now, at least, they were alive.
She was still unaware that she has placed herself in very grave danger.
Still stuck, she sought to assess the situation out of the corner of her eye.
There was leaf litter all over the verdant, moist forest beneath the abyss. It seems that nobody had been to this area of the forest. Aside from the chirps, the woodland was so quiet that Ceris thought something unnatural must be happening. Most of the time, the truth is not what it looks. She was not a native, thus she had no knowledge of the forest or rumors.
Who knows what her choice would have been earlier if she had known?
The forest was used as a prison ground, no one came alive roaming it. Only one handful people came out alive in the history of Moon Kingdom. Out of which half were no more with only two remaining. Those who came out alive were the best warriors so some used the outer region of the woodland as a training ground. Not all parts of the forest were accessible such as the area where Ceris had landed was prohibited and no one had dared to enter that area. All those people in Moon kingdom knew its existence. It was somehow similar to the enchanted getaway forest but not entirely. The forest before could be said to be alive on special occasions but the later was dangerous due to its environment and creatures present so it was named- Venenum Abode Forest.
After giving it some thought, she broke off a branch and dropped to the ground.
Nothing did transpired. After lowering Ivy and placing her beside the tree, Ceris assessed the little witch's overall condition.
Ceris's attention was drawn to a ruffling sound. The noise was getting closer. Ceris hurried out with Ivy on her back while keeping vigilant. The sound of rustling was coming from more directions. Running, she saw that the leaf litter was thick and that beneath the leaves were animal and human skulls as well as bones.
Despite being afraid, she kept running and managed to find a gigantic block to hide behind. There was a growl over her head, like a ferocious beast.
She was trying to relax herself when she saw that the leaves were shifting beneath her. While staring for a while, she saw that the ground was covered in deadly bugs like centipedes, spiders, and scorpions. Before her head could even register, her instinct took action. By the time she realized the jungle was unsafe she was on the run. Running until daybreak, arrived at a water's edge at sunset. There was a lot of animal movement during the hour, so with Ivy, Ceris had trouble choosing a tree to climb. She was soon in a haze, feeling hungry and exhausted.
"Ahh…" a loud painful reverted in the forest.
Ceris, left hand was swollen. Biting her lips, she tried to be used to the pain but it was uncontrollable.
"F**k…f**k…what the hell–"
Ceris started cursing at herself. She dashed from one den to the next. She attempted to doze off without realizing that the tree served as an habitat for creatures like bullet ants. She was in pain as a result of her negligence. Ceris took Ivy in her arms and hurried outside without further delay.
It was getting dark, and the path became invisible. She ran all night just on instinct, occasionally running against trees and getting scratched in the process. Ivy was in the same state. She became more aware and awake due to the discomfort caused by the bullet ant sting.
The noises of rustling and growling lingered throughout the night.
The smell of their flesh or the blood on their bodies ought to have drawn the wild beasts to them.
Without proper rest, food or water, carrying Ivy on back Ceris roamed the forest. Luckily, the young witch was light with only a few pounds of meat. Running here and there for few days, Ceris tried her best to shake off those wild beast and poisonous creatures but still got sting, bitten. She has the ability to resist venom so wasn't poisoned. Trying to save Ivy from those venom, her arms or thigh or butt swell, couldn't function as a result. Her body was so exhausted that, her every steps were shaking unable to lift her weight along with Ivy's. If she was alone, Ceris had the confidence that she could escape from this place but with the additional burden of unconscious Ivy, her speed and escape plan slowed. The condition of Ivy wasn't good either.
Exhausted, Ceris couldn't walk and the beasts were closer. Her vision began to blur so to support herself she reached a tree to hold. Beast jumped out and tried to pounce her, to save she took steps round the tree. Unknown to her, a pit was formed nearby the tree and she along with Ivy once again fell down.