UNCANNY SIGHT.

Hours had passed. Aizzy and I were still conversing, but Sulivan hadn't returned. I know he's tough and all but we're in an unknown land. Besides recent events have proven to me that I need to get stronger if we want to keep moving.

I adjusted my position on the log, only to grimace as a sharp pain shot through my arm. Right… it's still healing. I flexed my fingers, testing the mobility—it stung, but at least I could move them. My legs weren't much better, the cuts and strain from the last fight making every movement feel sluggish.

My uneasiness grew heavier. "Hey Aizzy, do you have the ability to search for Sulivan?"

"Y-Yeah... but I am not proficient with it yet, so it might not be potent enough to search for him."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"You see, I can transfer my sight to other animals, thus I see what they see. But for now it is limited by distance and stamina."

"Ah gotcha." I calmly replied, though I tried to mask my frustration as I slowly exhaled.

"But don't worry about it he'll return safely. Have some faith." She gave a warm smile, and for some reason, it felt nostalgic.

That was when I realized—I had been walking this lonely road for far too long...

After reassuring me, she tidied up the place—reorganizing the leftovers, clearing up the place and placing the equipments we didn't need at the moment back into her space.

Aizzy returned to the tent to get some rest but I remained seated outside. Just then, I heard the crunch of dead leaves.

I thought it was Sulivan, but when I turned to confirm, it was deer. I sighed. Is it even possible? I muttered to myself, as I wondered if there was a possibility of him being captured.

But my worries soon evaporated when I caught a glimpse of a figure at the corner of my eye—this time, it truly was him. He was carrying four fat boars on his back as he approached. Yet something was off. His facial expression was distant and hollow almost as if he had come face-to-face with death.

He finally got closer, placed the meat down then he sat down. Without wasting time, I asked "Would you eat now or...? Aizzy left your portion here." Placing the plate before him.

"Yeah. And when I'm done go wake Aizzy up we need to talk."

"Err... yeah—okay." I replied, my mind racing with questions. What on God's green earth happened out there?

A few minutes later he was done with his meal, so I made my way to the tent to wake Aizzy up.

She sleeps like the dead... I don't know if she was just really tired or that's how she normally sleeps. Anyway, after a few tries and errors I finally woke her up and man I felt fulfilled.

"Better make this quick." Aizzy mumbled, rubbing the blurriness off her eyes.

"Yeah, I hear you." Sulivan mocked.

"So," Sulivan spoke, his voice firm and straightforward, "While hunting the boars I–"

"You brought boars!" Aizzy interjected, glancing at both Sulivan and I as if she had never eaten meat before.

"...Yeah, can you allow me to continue now?"

"Yeah, yeah... go on I was just elated is all. Sorry for interrupting." Aizzy replied mellowing down like a puppy being patted.

Ehem!

"So like I was saying, while hunting I saw sixteen cloaked men sitting on fallen trees with their horses tied around a pole. The cloaked men reminded me of the people that once attacked Gairo back then. Honestly, I wanted to attack—my rage at the moment shot through the roof–but then I caught a glimpse of red glowing eyes in one of the men's shadows."

"Eldwyn, remember the night in the dungeon?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Back then, I was lost in thought... I saw the same eerie orbs in Pelas' shadow before everything went black."

"Go figure. Actually, the reason I also didn't hear you calling out to me during that fight... was because I saw it slithering through the guards' shadows."

At that moment I noticed Aizzy's expression. It was a mixture of subtle anger...

"It's Chronos," she said, her hands tightening into fists.

"Chronos... They're obsessed with recreating the power of the 'Forgotten Era'. And to do that, they conduct human experiments."

"That explains it. So, that's why they captured most of our people huh." Sulivan added, his tone thick with realization.

The tension in the atmosphere grew stronger, the trees swayed wilder than before, as if the very forest quaked at the mention of their name. The calmness dissipated.

"They seek to bring back the might of the Pure Blooded Redmen. We've been following their trail for quite a while now... Those men might know something.

"One more thing—I overheard them. They're heading to Uleneria. So what's the plan? Do we strike now...or let them reach the town first?"

For a while, no one spoke, the weight of the situation hang heavy over us. If we allowed them to reach Uleneria, people would die. If we faced them now, we risked exposing ourselves to something we didn't fully comprehend yet.

At the moment I had a funny idea... It sounded goofy and unique in my head, but hey—as the saying goes, half a loaf is better than none.

"Aizzy, can you make a portal which would lead to the basement of our hideout?"

"Err... yeah I can. Why ask?" Aizzy replied, her eye brows lifted.

"I see where you're going with this," Sulivan chimed, smirking. "You want her to create a portal which would lead back to our basement."

I deadpanned "Yes Sulivan, yes. It was literally in the question."

Aizzy burst into laughter, tears of laughter streaming down.. "Haha! You guys are a joke."

Sulivan and I exchange glances—a faint smile. I knew for sure. For now, we no longer held a grudge against her.