Sakura walked through the dense forest, lost in thought. Everything that had happened up to this point weighed on her mind.
"No. I need to focus. Now isn't the time." She mumbled, clapping her hands against her cheeks to snap herself out of it.
Each step felt different.
The forest, once full of life, was dying before her eyes. Flowers withered, trees darkened, and the air grew thick with decay. It was as if the very essence of the land was being drained away.
A chill ran down her spine. "What the hell is happening?"
She knelt beside a cluster of plants, hesitant to touch them.
'Sensei called this place the Eternal Nightmare… and the creature within it must be the cause.'
Then—footsteps.
Somewhere in the distance.
Her body tensed. Her ears perked up, scanning the area, but she saw nothing.
'Am I imagining things?'
And yet… her instincts screamed in warning.
[Analyzing]
[Starting detection]
[Captain, I detected a creature near you, but somehow-]
"It doesn't appear," Sakura added as she looked around. "A camouflage ability?"
[Done]
Axis presented a small map and Sakura could see a red dot moving towards her.
"It's getting closer-"
*Whoosh*
[Captain, dodge! ]
Sakura barely moved in time. A thin cut appeared on her neck, but she didn't flinch.
With incredible speed, she struck back.
She didn't know exactly where the enemy was, but she aimed for the head.
*BAM*
A sickening crack echoed through the air. A monstrous screech followed, ending with a loud thud as something slammed into a nearby tree.
Sakura's breathing was heavy as she turned toward the sound.
Her eyes widened. The thing that had attacked her was not human.
It resembled a spider—yet enormous, nearly her size.
Its body was completely black, its red eyes glowing like embers in the darkness. Its legs were long and jagged, ending in razor-sharp blades that could slice through flesh with ease.
Sakura stepped closer, examining it.
[It's dead, but I doubt that's the creature your sensei talked about]
"Hmm." Sakura nodded. She stopped and watched the creature for a while.
...
"But somehow I don't feel right around these things, it's as if..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Sakura fell to the ground with her hands on her head.
"Ahhh!" "Ahhh!" Her head suddenly began to hurt a lot. She desperately closed her eyes. But then, a bunch of voices pop into her mind.
Her fears.
...
[Captain, wake up]
A distant, faint voice called to her, but the fear was louder.
"No… No…"
She forced herself to her feet, desperation taking over.
[Captain, wake up!]Once again.
"I need to get out of here!" She ran—blindly, aimlessly.
[Sakura!]
*heavy sigh*
Sakura looked around with a confused expression. Her body was shaking, and she was no longer near that monstrous creature.
"What happened... Axis?"
[Good that you've regained consciousness. Suddenly, you started mumbling incomprehensible words and ran off]
[That creature seems to cause hallucinations, and it affected you]
She sat down, taking a moment to steady herself.
Her Sensei's words echoed in her mind.
"I think I understand why this forest is called the Eternal Nightmare," she murmured. "Thank you, Axis. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made it."
[No need to thank me]
Sakura gave a weak smile. "I guess you're someone I can call... friend?"
[I don't understand. My purpose is to assist you, but I am not human-]
"But you look like one. You seem more human than they do..." She said as she lowered her head.
[...]
Shaking off the moment, she refocused.
"Anyway, that creature caused hallucinations… but how?" Her fingers brushed against the cut on her neck.
Her eyes widened.
"Is that it…?"
-
-
*Slash* *Slash*
Rael's blade cut through the undead, severing limbs as he ducked and weaved between attacks.
"Tsk. Are these things going to regenerate infinitely?"
*Clank*
He blocked the attack coming towards his neck while thinking of ways to win the fight.
"I can't win an endurance battle against them."
[Rael, the head]
Rael reacted instantly.
He slashed toward a creature's neck.
The undead recoiled, retreating in desperation, even sacrificing its arm to survive.
But it wasn't enough.
Rael lunged forward, delivering the final strike.
*Slash*
The creature's head fell to the ground. And even after a few seconds, it didn't regenerate.
[It worked, but you're being surrounded]
Axis commented, and Rael realized that.
More of the undead emerged, forming a tight circle around him. Their hollow, glowing eyes burned into him.
There was no escape
"Shit!"
In a split-second decision, Rael leaped into the air, using all the strength in his legs.
He soared higher than he expected.
For a brief moment, he marveled. "My body has changed so much in just a month and a half.".
As he descended, he gripped his sword and spun mid-air.
A single and fluid motion.
The undead heads hit the floor before their bodies.
"Well, it looks like it's over." He put his sword away as he thought. "Let's keep climbing."
[I noticed something strange about these creatures]
"Huh? What do you mean?" Rael asked, confused.
[In that last attack… They moved with coordination. Almost as if they were following orders]
"You're saying..."
[Maybe someone was controlling them at that last moment]
Rael showed a thoughtful expression as he listened to Axis' resolution.
"Sensei said there was a creature I should kill in this castle. Maybe that creature is controlling everything else. And if that's true... it means it already knows I'm here." Rael exclaimed with a serious expression.
[Detecting...]
[I couldn't find anyone in this part of the castle]
"Then it must be waiting… at the top." He took a step forward.
'I'll get through, no matter what.' He clenched the hilt of his sword.
-
-
Sakura continued walking, this time more aware of everything around her. The beautiful forest was no more, just dry branches and destruction. On some trees, she could see claw marks.
And then, suddenly, a gray mist spread through the air. Thick. Unnatural. Suffocating.
She tried to observe her surroundings, but the mist was impairing her vision.
Then, a voice.
Soft. Familiar. Wrong.
"Sakura... this way."
'What?!' A familiar voice. It was the voice of her older sister, Naomi.
[It's an illusion. Don't fall for it]
But she froze.
Ahead, through the mist, a bluish figure emerged.
Naomi's face. Naomi's smile.
"Sakura; come. Everyone is waiting for you."
Sakura almost stepped forward. For a moment, she could see the life she had always longed for, while she was inside this mist.
[A perfect world is no use if it's only in your imagination]
Sakura stared at her sister's ghost and then clenched her fists.
"Don't you dare impersonate my sister, you bastard! I won't fall for your tricks."
[Generating map...]
[Done]
Sakura's gaze flicked to the map Axis had provided.
Without hesitation, she took a different path than the one the illusion had urged her toward.
The moment she did, a thunderous roar erupted from the mist, a roar of hatred.
[Dodge]
*Whoosh*
A blade flashed past her face; it was the creature she had killed earlier.
[Turn right in 3 seconds]
Sakura twisted mid-step and delivered a brutal kick into the air.
She didn't need to see her enemy—She felt it.
Her heel connected with something solid, sending the invisible creature crashing into the ground.
"Sakura... stop."
Fragments of memories, fractured voices, and warped faces flooded her mind.
"You'll never be strong enough."
"You will always be a shadow."
"You don't deserve power."
"Shut up!" She screamed.
[Concentrate. Here comes one more of them]
*Whoosh*
She dodged and prepared to strike, but heard another sound coming.
'Damn!'
She twisted her body unnaturally, her movements almost inhumanly flexible.
The creatures missed. And They killed themselves.
*Another roar*
.
"I'm going to find you and make you pay for using my sister against me!"
[Jump]
Sakura jumped into the sky. Her body passed through a "barrier" and she saw a gigantic creature on the other side.
It looked like a giant spider, with a deformed face and crimson eyes.
"There you are."