Out of Time and Out of luck

Kael's chest heaved as he stared into the foggy area, squinting his eyes and trying hard to see through it.

His hands tightened around Ignis, not sure what was around them or where they were. He turned in circles, scanning his surroundings for any trace of Rell or Selina. But the forest was only filled with silence and fog.

"Rell! Selina!" he shouted, his voice echoing until finally disappearing.

There was no reply, only the sound of the rustling of leaves in the distance.

Kael's mind raced with possibilities. Had Selina tricked them? Had she lured Rell away while he wasn't looking? He shook his head, forcing the doubt aside. Rell wasn't that gullible, and Kael knew it.

"Focus," he muttered to himself, taking a deep breath. Panic wasn't going to help.

He glanced down at the ground and pulled out one of Lira's damaged daggers from his belt. Kneeling, he dug it into the dirt.

It wasn't much, but it would serve as a indicator in case he ended up walking in circles again.

With that done, Kael turned back toward the direction they'd come from. He hoped Rell was still somewhere nearby, but as he started moving, a worrying feeling crept up his spine.

After a few minutes of running, Kael's hope crumbled. The forest was unrelenting in its tricks.

He skidded to a stop, staring in disbelief at the very spot where he'd left the dagger. It was still there, stuck in the dirt, meaning it was as he expected, he had run in circles again.

"Damn it!" he cursed, his frustration boiling over. He kicked a nearby tree in anger, but the pain shooting through his toes reminded him to stay calm.

There was only one direction left to take now—the path of the giant footsteps.

As much as Kael hated the idea of walking into what was clearly a trap, he had no better option. He yanked Lira's dagger from the ground and set off.

The further he ventured into the forest, the thicker the fog became. Soon, it was so dense that Kael could barely see his own hands.

The giant footprints became less visible, leaving him no choice but to use his feet to feel for the shallow holes it left in the ground.

"Please don't let anything attack me now," he murmured under his breath.

His fragment had warned him before when danger was imminent, but this situation left him uneasy. The projectiles earlier and the giant wolf's refusal to fully attack made him wonder if whatever was orchestrating this had other plans.

Kael's musings were interrupted when he bumped into something hard. He stumbled back, squinting eyes, trying to see through the mist. Before him stood a massive boulder, twice his height. He ran his fingers along its rough surface, puzzled by its presence.

"Why didn't the fragment warn me?" he muttered. Then it clicked. Neo had once explained that his fragment only reacted to intentional threats—things that meant to harm him directly. This boulder, wasn't one of them.

Shaking his head, Kael continued forward, but without the footprints to guide him, he felt like a blind man with no walking stick. He searched for the indentations of the giant's steps, but he lost them, when he bumped into the boulder. Frustrated, he circled behind the boulder to catch his breath.

That was when he noticed something peculiar. The fog was lifting. Slowly but surely, allowing him to see further into the forest.

Kael blinked in disbelief, the sight of his surroundings feeling almost unreal after so much time in near blindness, he never knew being able to see would be so liberating.

"Finally," he breathed, relief washing over him. His eyes caught sight of the giant footprints which were clear as day now, and he bolted towards them.

The clarity didn't last though. As he sprinted forward, the fog began to creep back in, covering the world around him once more. Kael cursed under his breath, feeling incredibly frustrated.

Realizing he only had minutes or seconds of visibility left, he pushed himself harder, covering as much ground as possible before the mist enveloped him again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a massive tree, its trunk unusually wide. As he passed it, something caught his attention. There, carved crudely into the bark of the tree, were words: Get out of my forest!

Kael stopped dead in his tracks, his heart hammering in his chest. "Get out?" he said aloud, his voice tinged with disbelief, he couldn't believe the nerves of this thing.

He turned toward the path of the footsteps and barked angrily, "You think I want to be here? Do you think I want anything else other than that?"

He stepped closer to the tree, running his fingers over the carving. His eyes looked around it for more messages, hoping for a clue, a direction or anything that might help.

Moving to the back of the tree, he noticed something strange. The fog began to clear again. Kael stared in surprise, his mind racing, trying to figure out why this was happening.

If memory served right, fog was a cloud that somehow got to the ground, usually showing up in cold places or near water. But this fog... the way it kept vanishing and coming back made no sense. Then again, what did he know about weather?

Then it hit him like one of his father's punches during combat training.

Testing his theory, he stepped away from the tree, only for the fog to return in full force. He moved back behind the trunk, and once again, the mist began to lift.

"Hiding?" Kael muttered, realization dawning on him. "This is ridiculous, but if it works..."

He began moving strategically, darting between trees large enough to fully cover his whole body. Each time he hid behind one, the fog would begin to fade, granting him moments to see what's ahead of him. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was progress.

As Kael moved through the forest, he became more cautious.

The clearing fog revealed figures in the distance, dark figures with glowing yellow eyes that sent chills down his spine. Then, he froze. Ahead of him, in a clearing, stood the giant wolf that had chase them around

Unlike last time, he could see its full body and not just the shadow. Also unlike last time...

He could not see one, but dozens of them.

Kael's breathing became faster and more erratic as he took in the sight. The creatures were massive, their fur dark as night and their eyes glowing with an eerie, unnatural light.

They stood still, their bodies tense, ready to pounce. All of them were staring directly at him.

Kael ducked behind a large, fallen tree, his heart pounding in his chest.

Despite his whole body being covered by the fallen tree's trunk, the fog began to creep back, but this time, it didn't matter. He knew what lay beyond it.

The wolves were waiting, ready to feast.

And Kael was out of time and out of luck.