Illusions

Kael's knuckles whitened as his grip tightened on Ignis.

His gaze locked on the glowing eyes of the wolves before him, they were now barely visible through the fog. Each pair of eyes felt like it was looking into his soul, assessing him, mocking him, ready to feast on it's prey.

"Alright," Kael muttered under his breath, lowering his stance and raising Ignis. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you—"

He stopped mid-sentence, his confident tone trailing off as his instincts screamed at him to reconsider. The fog thickened, and the faint outlines of the wolves' bodies began to fade and the surroundings became hard to see again. 

"Nope. Nope. Not doing this."

He turned on his heels and sprinted in the opposite direction, the heavy thuds of his boots echoing in the eerie silence of the white world around him.

Kael didn't dare look back. His imagination did enough work for him, showing him the vivid images of fangs and claws reaching out for him.

Just as he dared a glance over his shoulder to confirm that the wolves weren't following, his momentum abruptly ended with a solid thunk.

Kael's face slammed into something hard and rough. Stars danced in his vision as he stumbled back, rubbing his forehead from the pain.

"What the hell?" he groaned, blinking through the pain. His eyes opened to find himself staring into the glowing yellow eyes of one of the wolves.

Kael's heart dropped. "You've got to be kidding me."

The realization hit him like a slap. He had been looped again, this damned forest had sent him back to where he was running away from. This time, there was no time and nowhere to run.

The wolves surrounded him, their massive forms emerging from the mist as if the forest itself had created them them. Kael slowly backed up, keeping his blade raised. His heart was beating hard.

The wolf in front of him let out a low and menacing growl that sent a shiver down his spine. Kael swallowed hard, his grip on Ignis tightening.

"Fine," he muttered. "You want me? Come and get me!"

With a shout, Kael dashed forward, ready to attack with a slash of Ignis.

The creature lunged, it's jaws snapping as it tried to crush him in one bite.

Kael ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding the deadly bite. He slashed Ignis across the wolf's neck, feeling the blade bite into flesh.

Blood sprayed, it was hot and had a metallic scent. Kael's stomach stirred as he felt nauseous from the sight, and the feeling of the blood that splattered on his face.

He wiped the sticky liquid off his face with his sleeve, trying not to gag.

But there was no time to rest. Four more wolves darted toward him from all sides.

Kael froze, his mind racing. He wasn't fast enough to take them all on. But then, what could be considered instinct or the fragments influence took over him.

He dashed towards the beast as they came towards him. When a few meters a way, he raised Ignis and slashed in a wide arc, channeling the fragment's energy. Flames roared from the blade, a flame slash was formed, carving through the mist. The fiery slash tore into the wolves.

Or at least, it should have.

Kael watched in confusion as three of the wolves silently faded into nothingness, their forms vanishing like smoke in the wind. Only one collapsed, its body falling to the ground as blood poured from a gaping wound.

"Illusions," Kael realized aloud. His breath quickened as the implications sank in. "Only one was real. And that's probably the caster's limit"

The remaining wolves growled, circling him. Kael steadied himself, something was coursing through his veins. Maybe it was adrenaline, maybe fragment energy. Whatever it was he didn't care, he only sought to survive.

He charged two of them, Ignis blazing with another flame slash. This time, neither bled. Both vanished into the mist.

"Damn it," Kael cursed, realizing what this meant, he spun around around.

A giant wolf was lunging at him from behind, its massive claws swiping toward his chest.

The pack had tricked him. While he focused on what he thought was the real wolf, the real one had circled behind him for a surprise attack. 

Kael threw himself backward, narrowly escaping the full brunt of the attack. Even so, the claws grazed him, ripping through his shirt and leaving a shallow wound on his stomach. Blood seeped from the wound, staining his clothes.

Kael stumbled back, holding his side from the immense pain he felt.

His mind raced as he tried to piece together what was happening. The fog seemed lighter now, it was no longer blinding him, he had been too distracted to notice it earlier.

"The fog," he murmured. "It's lifting. But why?"

He thought back to his earlier encounter with the wolves. The illusions had been relentless then, never ending, and the fog had been just as dense and the wolf chasing the three of them before was as real as they got.

But now… 'could it be that the fog and the illusions were linked?' He wondered.

Kael's eyes widened as a realization struck him. "It's the numbers. They can't keep this many illusions up and maintain the fog at the same time."

His thoughts shifted to Rell and Selina. "If they're stuck in illusions too, then whoever's behind this can't focus on all of us at once. They're spread too thin and it's abilities seem to have it's limits"

Kael's grip on Ignis tightened, a scary determination settled over him. "Alright," in a serious voice he muttered, raising his blade. "Let's end this."

The wolves snarled, their glowing eyes narrowing as they prepared to pounce on him. Ten of them leapt at him simultaneously, their large fangs were bared out and its claws outstretched, ready to slice through anything.

Kael's heart raced, but he didn't flinch. He met their charge head-on, Ignis blazing with fire on it's edges in his hands as the battle reached its peak.

Or rather... as the battle reached its end.