Another few minutes passed. Suddenly, Haloma felt a cold shiver running down her spine. Her steps faltered for a moment, and she quickly turned her head to look around, her wide eyes trying to pierce the surrounding darkness.
Kaeric immediately noticed her change and stopped walking. "{What's wrong? Are you alright?}" he asked, concerned.
She looked at him, her eyes trembling slightly before she whispered, "{We're being watched…}"
He froze and put his senses on high alert. He took a step closer to her until their shoulders touched. "{Do you think it's… them? Are they… strong?}"
She shook her head slowly, her eyes still watching the surrounding darkness.
"{I can't be sure… I just feel like we're being watched from all directions… and I don't know if they're strong. I can't tell.}"
The wind whispered things they couldn't understand.
Kaeric stared into the darkness around them. The mysterious chill creeping deep into his bones wasn't enough to instill fear in his heart, but he felt the growing weight. Still, he turned toward Haloma, frozen in place, scanning the surroundings.
"{Even if we're being watched, there's no other choice but to keep going… turning back isn't an option.}"
She looked into his determined eyes and nodded in reassurance. "{You're right… but we shouldn't underestimate this. We need to stay alert.}"
"{We won't… and that's part of the adventure, isn't it?}"
"{Damn… an adventure without full preparation… it was my lousy plan,}" she said with frustration.
"{I get it… for the thrill!}" he replied cheerfully.
"{This dilemma…}"
Kaeric gently patted her head, saying, "{We're together,}" and they decided to move forward at a slower pace, towards the unknown and the hidden eyes they sensed watching intently. But Haloma, trying to maintain her composure, suddenly stopped. Her hair, tied up in a bun at the top of her head, shook slightly as her body tensed slightly.
"{There's something… not just ahead of us, but also behind us.}"
Kaeric sensed the fear in her tone. He exhaled slowly, trying to gather his thoughts and project strength.
"{If they're surrounding us...}" he looked around, scanning the surroundings. "{It means they don't want us to move forward… but they haven't attacked yet. Something is holding them back.}"
"{Maybe they're waiting… or maybe they're testing us. But if we stop now, we may already be in their trap.}"
"{We're surrounded, but why… test us?}"
"{Let's change direction suddenly, so they won't sense we're onto them.}"
"{Good plan... let's see how they respond.}"
They moved together in a new direction, all their senses honed to pick up any small detail around them.
But within moments, a shift occurred, foiling their plan.
"{We're here for a reason... we can't turn back now. We can't let ourselves down.}" Kaeric whispered to steady himself as well as her.
But Haloma didn't answer, her attention fully on her surroundings. She muttered, "{They're everywhere… not just in front of us. They're behind us too,}" tilting her head slightly, listening to the faint whispers coming from all directions.
Still, they didn't stop. Kaeric thought deeply, concentrating, trying to devise a plan that might get them out of this predicament.
"{If they're surrounding us…}" he spoke slowly, looking around. "{But as long as you're unharmed, I think their power isn't formidable.}"
"{You're right, their energy is faint… but I don't think we should rely only on assumptions…}" Haloma couldn't ignore the perplexing reality after analyzing what was happening, "{I don't know who or what they are, but one thing is certain, they're not coming closer. They're content just watching.}"
"{Let's not rely on them staying distant forever… do you have a plan?}"
As Haloma scanned for any movement around them, she suggested, "{They're surrounding us… can you use the Skigori skill to figure out who or what they are or if they get closer?}"
"{Skigori... using it might be a bad move if it drains my energy prematurely.}" He thought deeply before proposing, "{Let's proceed cautiously and see if we can lure them out to learn their true nature.}"
Haloma grew more tense now. "{Where do we go? We're trapped on all sides… do you have a plan?}"
Kaeric pondered, then smiled faintly as if a solution had dawned on him: "{We're not waiting for them to come to us.}" He grasped her waist firmly, pulling her close. "{Hold on tight, I'm going to jump.}"
Haloma didn't resist but couldn't help but ask, "{Suddenly? What kind of crazy idea is this?}"
Kaeric explained quickly, "{It's not sudden... it's like that time when we were attacked by those hounds… we'll travel concealed among the branches, or run along them if they get close... this is our chance to get out before things get worse.}"
She looked at him with a mix of amazement and admiration. "{That's… a good idea. This is exciting!}" she said as she braced herself to jump with him.
"{Here we go!}" He smiled, tightened his grip around her, and then leaped powerfully upward, leaving the ground behind as they soared together above the thick mist. She clung to him tightly, feeling the rush of air against her face as they ascended. She stretched out her hand, trying in vain to part the dense fog, but nothing changed.
She shouted, "{This is a horrible idea!}" and tried to shield her face from the branches obstructing their path.
Suddenly, in an unexpected moment, they burst through the fog. The clear sky spread out above them.
"{What? Why did you jump so high?}" Haloma turned to Kaeric, her expression a mix of anger and confusion, but when she looked at him, she didn't see his familiar face. How…? Kaeric?
Instead, she found herself staring at a misty figure, indistinct, with ghostly white eyes glowing ominously. It was holding her by the waist instead of him, and she received no response from this "thing."
A wave of emptiness swept over her emotions.
Her mouth opened without sound, but her mind struggled to process the shock she was experiencing. Something like this had never happened to them.
She reached out to touch his face, or what she had thought was Kyric, but her arm passed through him, dissolving into the mist.
Kaeric!
The world resumed motion in an instant.
But it was too late.
Her body plummeted downwards at a terrifying speed.
Is that Kaeric...?
She stared at her hand, trying to comprehend what had happened, but her body was falling at an incredible speed, unable to will herself to act.
And when she hit the ground, she felt a jarring blow, but no sound escaped.
Her spirit trembled for a moment as her world grew darker, little by little.