Devil's offer

Somewhere in the substage 0'. In a dense forest.

Kai's grip tightened around his sword, his knuckles whitening. The woman—Meredith—stood there, her translucent eyes glinting in the moonlight, her smile too wide, too calm. Everything about her screamed danger, but she didn't move. She just watched them.

Behind him, the rustling of movement signaled the others had woken up. He didn't take his eyes off Meredith, but he heard them scrambling for their weapons. Tanyia was already on her feet, her spear in hand, while Ellie and Jade fumbled with their own weapon. Their breathing was ragged, their fear palpable.

Meredith didn't react to their fear. If anything, her smile grew as if their unease amused her.

Kai studied her again. Her white dress was pristine, untouched by the dirt and grime that covered all of them. Her long black hair swayed slightly, but it was those eyes that unsettled him the most. They were like glass marbles, the red veins running through them, making it look like they should be bleeding. Yet she didn't seem bothered. If anything, she was watching them with something close to amusement.

Kai frowned a bit. 'Her dress isn't normal. How can she possibly be so clean in this forest?' he thought as he watched his own dirty and ripped clothes. This forest had many burrs, and even he was covered in them. However, this wasn't the case for her. Her dress seems untouched.

"You said you have a camp," Kai said, keeping his voice level. He needed to buy time to figure out what she wanted.

Meredith clasped her hands together, her smile widening. "Yes. A proper one. With food, shelter, and—" she paused, tilting her head slightly, "safety."

Ellie swallowed hard. Kai saw her grip her weapon tighter. Tanyia was tense beside him, her expression unreadable, but Jade's breathing was uneven. Kai forced himself to remain steady.

"How many people?" he asked.

"Oh, well, only a few for now," Meredith said vaguely. "But we work together. Everyone contributes."

There was something in the way she said it that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Kai narrowed his eyes. "And yet you left at night. Alone? Moreover, you just called me by my name... So you must have observed us."

Meredith let out a soft laugh, her voice lilting with amusement. "Cautious and observant. You're the type that survives, aren't you?" She nodded approvingly before answering, "Yes, this place is actually pretty close to our own camp. Our party scout just happened to... Let's say, be in the area."

Kai didn't say anything but clearly noticed the fact that she didn't answer if she was alone."So someone was following us," Kai said, his voice flat.

Meredith didn't deny it. She just smiled.

"What do you want?" Kai asked, his gaze never wavering.

"First, I wanted to see you to see you guys worth" she said, her tone light, almost playful. "And I think you could truly help us build a better world."

"Why do you think that? What do you mean by our 'worth' ? And are you seriously asking high schooler to build a better world?" asked Tanyia with a frown.

"Yes. I believe you can help us build a better world. You can help us create a better humanity but we will talk about that later... And as for how I can see your worth, its is because of my eyes."

That caught Kai's attention. "Your eyes?" he asked, lowering his sword slightly. Her eyes were indeed strange, like two glass marbles.

"Is that... an Aspect?" asked Ellie with a bit of hesitation. "Aren't we supposed to get one only at the end of this Aspect selection thing?"

For the first time, Meredith's smile faltered. A brief silence stretched between them before she finally spoke.

"I have yet to see what those Aspects are capable of," she admitted, "But no. These are items." She touched her temple lightly. "They allow me to see the 'worth' of anything. From ordinary objects to star-ranked items... to people." Her fingers trailed down her cheek as she finished, "The price was only my original eyes."

Silence.

Jade's breath hitched. Ellie took an unconscious step back. Even Tanyia's expression darkened slightly.

"You plucked out your own eyes for that?" Ellie murmured, horrified.

Kai, however, didn't dwell on the horror. His mind was already moving, analyzing. "That means we're worth something, right?" he asked, his tone careful.

Meredith's smile returned. "Yes. You are worth something." Her gaze flickered briefly toward Tanyia. "Especially you."

Tanyia stiffened. A small, involuntary shudder ran through her body, but she said nothing.

A sudden noise broke the silence—someone's stomach growled. Loudly.

Meredith chuckled. "Seems like my timing is perfect," she mused. "Come. We have food."

She turned and began walking away as if it was already decided. But no one moved.

Meredith stopped a few paces ahead and let out a small sigh. "I see," she murmured. It wasn't disappointment—it was more like tired patience, as if she'd gone through this before. Without another word, she sighed.

Then Meredith moved. She lunged at them.

Jade let out a strangled gasp. Ellie stumbled back. Kai barely had time to react, but Tanyia did—she swung her weapon in an instant, aiming straight for Meredith's head.

Yet, It never connected.

Meredith's clothes suddenly shimmered, and Tanyia's spear passed through her body as if she were a ghost.

"Wha—" Tanyia gasped.

Meredith moved again, her hand darting out. Her fingers wrapped around Tanyia's throat, and she slammed the girl into the ground.

Tanyia let out a pained grunt, her grip on her spear loosening.

Kai rushed forward, swinging his sword. But Meredith was faster. She did not even bother dodging. Instead, she simply raised her hand, and his blade passed through her flesh as if she were made of smoke.

'What the hell is going on?'

Before Kai could recover, Meredith grabbed his wrist and twisted. Kai cried out, his fingers spasming. His sword fell from his grip. Then with a fluid motion, she kicked his legs out from under him.

Kai fell to the ground, and the wind knocked out of his lungs. He tried to push himself up, but Meredith placed her foot on his back, pinning him down.

Ellie tried to stab her with the knife, but Meredith simply ignored her, the blade passing harmlessly through her body.

"Don't resist," she warned, her voice cold as she suddenly kicked her away.

Kai struggled, trying to break free, but it was useless. He looked at Jade, but she seemed to have already lost all will to fight before doing anything.

Before they could process it, they were all on the ground—disarmed or pinned and completely defenseless.

Kai gasped, his sword now several feet away. Jade had landed hard on her back, her breathing shallow with panic. Ellie was frozen, gripping her arm where she had landed. Tanyia, the fastest among them, had fared the best—she was already pushing herself up, though she was clearly shaken.

Meredith let out a lighthearted laugh, stepping back."If I wanted you dead," she said cheerfully, "you wouldn't have even known how you died." Then, as if nothing had happened, she looked at them expectantly.

"Now, let's try this again," she said. "Will you guys come with me?"

The group looked at each other.

Tanyia's breath was steady, but her fingers twitched at her sides. She glanced at Kai, who was standing firm, his expression unreadable. The others weren't so composed. Jade had wrapped her arms around herself, eyes darting toward him and Meredith every few seconds. Ellie was not any better. She was still on the ground, her face pale and her hands shaking.

Kai met Tanyia's gaze. She was the only one who didn't show her emotions. He could tell she was wary, but her eyes were clear.

"Do you trust her?" Tanyia mouthed.

"No," Kai replied silently.

Tanyia didn't seem surprised. She simply nodded, her eyes flicking to the others. "What about them?"

Kai hesitated. Ellie seemed a bit lost, and as for Jade, she was terrified but seemed to trust his judgment. Even they knew their situation wasn't good. They were weak, helpless, and scared.

Without saying anything, he started to analyze their current situation.

They were in the middle of a forest with no supplies, no shelter, and no idea where to go. It has been about week since they entered the forest and yet, instead of progressing like in usual games, they were just running in circles and scrambling for food.

He then turned to his quest panel.

[QUEST: ESCAPE THE SUB-STAGE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!]

[REWARD: AN ASPECT.]

'Then there is this menacing quest. Our situation isn't good at all.' After a moment of silence, he finally said, "We have no choice."

Tanyia's lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn't argue. She also knew that their situation wasn't good at all.

"Alright," Kai said, turning back to Meredith. "But we have conditions."

Meredith raised an eyebrow, amused. "Go on."

"We won't be separated," Kai said firmly. "If one of us goes, the others go too."

Meredith only shrugged. "I don't care."

"And if we want to leave later, you won't stop us," he continued.

"That's two things. But I'm pretty sure you'll beg me to stay."

"I doubt it."

"We'll see," she replied, smiling.

Meredith turned and started walking in the dark forest, gesturing for them to follow. Kai glanced at the others. They were still shaken, but they seemed more relieved than anything else.

Ellie stepped closer to Kai, her voice barely above a whisper. "Do you really think this is a good idea?"

Kai didn't answer right away. He watched Meredith's back as she walked ahead, her white dress almost glowing in the moonlight. "I don't know," he admitted. "But we're out of options."

Tanyia fell into step beside him, her eyes never leaving Meredith. "If she tries anything, we'll handle it."

Kai nodded, though he wasn't sure what "handling it" would look like against someone like Meredith. All they could do for now was follow and hope they weren't walking into something worse than the forest.