The tree beneath him cracked and withered in an instant, struck by a large orb of condensed aura. It decayed from the center outward, and Zay felt the bark crumble beneath his boots as he plummeted toward the ground.
Instinct took over.
He hurled the line of his aura-infused fishing rod forward, the hook catching a high branch just in time. The line wrapped tightly around it, and he swung through the air, narrowly avoiding the rot creeping beneath him. He landed hard on a distant tree branch—knees buckling from the impact—as the fishing rod's line went slack. Behind him, the tree it had latched onto decayed completely. The rod snapped into pieces and dropped to the forest floor with a soft thud.
Zay didn't stop.
He sprinted from branch to branch, moving on adrenaline and habit. A quick glance back—no sign of the creatures.
'Shit… Guess taking the fishing rod was the right move after all... though I don't have a weapon at all… which is a problem. But hey—at least I'm alive.'
He kept running, vaulting from one tree to another, branches bending beneath his weight. Then, he muttered under his breath:
"Arbiter: Resonance Lens: Aura Reserves."
[Aura Reserves: 40%]
'Still got a bit left… not enough to feel comfortable, but enough to keep running for now. Just gotta get as far away as possible—then figure out whatever the hell to do next.'
He grabbed another branch, pulled himself up, and leapt forward again, breath shallow, muscles burning.
"Fuck, I'm lucky this is a jungle," he whispered.
He narrowed his eyes and focused ahead, vanishing deeper into the forest shadows.
After running for three straight hours without pause, Zay finally came to a stop atop a massive tree branch—easily twice his size in width. He collapsed onto his back, limbs heavy, chest rising and falling as he gasped for air.
"Arbiter: Resonance Lens: Aura Reserves."
[Aura Reserves: 2%]
Warning: Continuing to use aura until depletion will trigger Aura Overuse. You will fall unconscious for 48 hours. Rest is advised.
Zay clicked his tongue and let out a long, weary yawn. His whole body ached from fatigue, the day's strain weighing down on him like lead.
"Damn it… If those bastard creatures find me like this… I'm dead," he muttered, forcing himself upright despite the screaming protests of his muscles.
He staggered to the spot where the thick branch connected to the tree's trunk and leaned back against the rough bark. A slow exhale escaped his lips, followed by a low, humorless chuckle.
'How many times have I brushed death in just…? I don't even know how long it's been since I got here…'
With that fading thought, his body finally gave in. His eyes slipped shut, and he drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
An unknown amount of time had passed. Zay jolted awake at the faint sound of movement below.
His eyes snapped open. Night had fallen completely, casting the jungle in a dark silence broken only by the chirping of unseen insects and the occasional rustle of leaves. Above him, three moons loomed in the sky, glowing with an eerie white light that washed over the treetops like a cold spotlight.
He stayed still, barely breathing, then slowly shifted his body and peered over the edge of the thick branch he had been resting on.
Below, three figures stood amidst the underbrush.
Zay narrowed his eyes.
He couldn't make out their faces, nor hear the conversation that seemed to be taking place between them. Shadows danced across their forms, obscured by the tree canopy and moonlight. Still, something about their presence set him on edge.
'How long have I been out for? Jeez…' he thought.
"Arbiter: Resonance Lens: Aura Reserves."
[Aura Reserves: 100%]
He exhaled slowly.
'Since it's fully replenished… it has to have been over 24 hours. But without a time reading in the Lens…'
'There's really no way to know. Could've been a day. Could've been a week.'
He sighed quietly.
His amethyst eyes tracked the trio beneath him as they suddenly broke apart, sprinting off in different directions under the pale glow of the moons.
He remained motionless, watching until they disappeared into the forest.
Then, under his breath:
"…Who the hell were they? More importantly, what the hell are three other people doing in a damn Shattered Sequence?"
Zay stayed atop the branch for several minutes, unmoving. Each second dragged like an eternity.
His mind raced with conflict.
Curiosity gnawed at him. It didn't make sense. The Shattered Sequence wasn't supposed to be a shared experience… right? From his memories, he had never heard—or read in any book he could recall—that it was meant to be a shared experience. Then again, he couldn't remember it ever being described as a solo one either.
But wariness dug in even deeper.
'Direct contact could be a death sentence.'
And then there was the third option. The one he wanted to do the most.
Run, and get as far away from this jungle hell as possible. Decrease the chances of running into those rotting, tree-shaped bastards ever again.
He clenched his jaw, fingers tightening on the bark beneath him.
Each path came with its own weight.
Stay hidden and risk missing something important.
Approach and risk being killed.
Run—and live, maybe.
He closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling deeply.
Zay decided to keep moving, continuing in the same direction he'd been heading before he fell asleep. Aura flared in a thin layer around his body as he leapt from tree to tree. After about an hour, he emerged into an open clearing in the jungle—and there, in the center, stood a hut.
It looked abandoned, halfway off its foundation, the roof sagging inward.
"Damn, I feel bad for whoever used to live here…" he thought as he jumped down from the trees, landing lightly on the soft, crunching grass below.
He approached the half-broken door, curiosity getting the better of him. Inside, the place was barren—just a stone floor, a small wooden table, and a bed made of brown bark that matched the surrounding trees.
There was a scent in the air, too—lavender, with a strange cherry undertone.
"Odd… why does it smell so nice in a place like this?" he muttered.
He took a few cautious steps back toward the door, only to freeze when something sharp pressed against his back.
"Don't move. Don't speak. Don't do a damn thing," a voice warned from behind him. It carried a soft pitch, but the authority in it was undeniable. The blade pressed a little harder into his skin. "Tell me who the hell you are, why you're here, and where you're from."
Zay swallowed hard, instinctively starting to turn his head.
"Do not fucking move," the voice snapped, and the blade pricked his skin.
"D-Damn, okay! My name is… Runnado Minizomo. I'm here because… I got curious and wanted to check out the hut. I'm from… Ruvy, continent of Mivor!"
The blade paused, then shifted downward.
"Enter the house. Sit. If you try to leave, I will track you down and kill you. We'll deal with you in a bit."
Zay exhaled slowly and nodded, walking into the hut and sitting on the cold stone floor. Behind him, the footsteps faded into the distance.
'Damn, am I grateful for those improv classes I took... they've saved me more times than I can count. Who the hell has the name Runnado Minizomo? It sounds fake as hell, but it might get me out of here alive,' Zay thought as he sat around, waiting.
Suddenly, a thought struck him—one so important, he actually laughed under his breath.
'How the hell did I forget something that important?'
'I still haven't chosen my fifth Seal… Maybe now's the time. If I pick the right one, it could be exactly what I need to survive this place. Something to help me escape.'
But the excitement faded almost as quickly as it came.
'I've never tried re-entering the Seal Realm. What if I can't go back? Did I mess up by waiting too long?'
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, the weight of regret pressing down on him.
"Damn my life," he muttered.
After several minutes of sitting in silence, lost in thought about whether returning to the Seal Realm was even possible within a Shattered Sequence, Zay's focus snapped back as he heard footsteps approaching the hut. His eyes narrowed, locking onto the door, waiting to get a look at whoever—or whatever—was about to enter.
He could tell it was more than one person. The crunching of the grass came in mismatched rhythms—several footsteps, out of sync.
A hand suddenly appeared, gripping the doorframe. Then, a woman stepped into the hut. Alone.
Zay's eyes widened.
'Was I… wrong?'
He thought, keeping his gaze on the doorway, half-expecting others to follow.
The woman let out a soft sigh. "So, Runnado... interesting name," she said, her tone unreadable.
She sat on the wooden table, facing him directly.
She wore a silver-colored coat that reached her knees. Beneath it, some kind of silver garment shimmered faintly, though Zay couldn't place what exactly it was. Loose silver pants covered her legs down to a pair of short, black boots, and an insignia of a claw was etched into the silk near her ankles.
Her skin of her face was pale, nearly porcelain. dimples in her cheeks. Long azure-blue hair framed her face, and her sapphire eyes glowed faintly—surrounded by a soft aura of the same brilliant hue.
"Tell me the truth," she said, her eyes narrowing.
"There's no place called Mivor in this world. Are you a spy? An assassin? Some discarded prince from a far-off land? Where are you really from? And don't lie to me—I doubt your name is even Runnado."
Her stare cut deep, as if her eyes could pierce through his soul and drag the truth out of it.