Nate Elfirm looked over to the weird-looking Faden. Its gills were from its swordfish-like body, and the most noticeable part was the razor-sharp nose that could pierce through pure, refined stone.
And that wasn't the only sharp thing. Four swords were attached to both sides of the body. As it walked, the swordfish creature carefully placed the ends of the swords' points firmly on the ground to maintain balance.
Since the creature was in a specific place in Vivid Forest, like the Lilac Pond, Nate decided to call it the Lilac Pond Faden, since it was found by Nate next to the pond. It was stupid to call it that, but that doesn't mean there wasn't anything else he would use, like some sort of scanning device that would tell him the type or species.
Nate held tightly onto Rupture's grip, trying to be hidden from its sight to prevent it from noticing it first. From his experiences with the other Fadens, he should wait and see what its primary abilities were before making a move, as it would provide advantages with certain openings.
The leaves around the area flowed into the rhythm of the wind, making it as though the plants were alive, because... they were, as Nate previously noted to himself.
Apparently there was a lot of shuffling of leaves in this part of the forest, but Nate thought that he should excuse it since almost anything can make the leaves move. It could just move by itself, since it was probably the bushes being alive, and that was how living beings show that.
The Lilac Pond Faden turned its attention towards whatever it was looking at in the leaves. Nate wasn't sure if some Fadens were actually herbivores, and that not all of them were carnivores who eat meat. There weren't any online articles or encyclopedias that were around the city of Standart, since nobody wants to be associated with those monsters at all, a sentiment that Nate slightly understood.
But who cared about the useless biology? Nate prepared his intent to remove its life, where the body would disappear into what he thought was another plane of existence. He pointed his feet towards the Faden, making a starting position, getting him the stance for leaping instantly for the blade to achieve maximum efficiency for a one-hit kill.
The Lilac Pond Faden whirled its nose through the air, sensing something. Then its eyes widened as a light-green mushy orb struck forcefully into its sides, immediately making the creature explode into gibs and into dust. Some of the body parts went into the shrubs and grass, and a few landed in the pond, making the dark green blood cloud inside the liquid.
"Oh, crap!"
Nate jumped back into his hiding spot, trying to avoid this new threat that completely evaporated the old threat. He only saw it for a moment, but there was some green fuzz that flew right through the area. He could be wrong about it, but Nate was certain it was like moss. Some sort of planty mush ball with intense speed.
It wasn't anything he'd ever seen, and the way he felt that light-green orb was even more planty than the back of his neighbor, Ollie Lisjurbule's, garden full of daisies and chrysanthemums.
He looked around the area, and upon squinting his eyes, a cloaked figure came out of the foliage with something in their hand. And that was the same planty orb that devastated the Faden a moment ago.
"Seriously? What power is this?" he whispered to himself.
Nate continued to gaze at the emptiness next to the unmoving waters of Lilac Pond, as if only water wasn't affected by the flow of time. From having someone go to this place, the plants around the pond looked like they bowed to this person in particular.
Their cloak was horizontally spotted with darkish gray spots, with red-violet as the main overall scheme for the dress-like overalls. There was then the mask that covered their face, and the green in the middle was surrounded by the red-Violet color, making the mask the most vibrant and noticeable part of the appearance. Then the long black hair drooping in front of her shoulders.
Her light, skinny legs were paired with thin shorts in the same color as the light red-violet cloak around her. Then there were the traditional slippers and white socks. Overall, it gives off a historical look to those who saw the outfit firsthand.
Guessing without looking at her face because of the mask, Nate estimates early college age at most and freshman level of high school at least. Though he could be wrong, so to speak.
Nate couldn't believe what he was seeing. He thought they were someone into fantasy fiction, like Layla Pess and Manson Allert, or probably some crazy person like Pallnem. But he had heard of caretakers of shrines who would get some time for fresh air outside, and typically softly march into natural places, just like Vivid Forest's Lilac Pond here. Maybe something magical is within the pond itself. Nate's heartbeat elevated in fear of getting caught by anyone, so he remained motionless.
The individual grabbed the floating orb and shrunk it down into nothingness and said, "Seems like that was the only Faden here. Maybe I didn't have to overdo it with my Theomic ability?"
"... Hey now, a girl here...?" Nate muttered to himself. He was surprised to hear what he was hearing. Another person who could use Theomic abilities like him, and probably someone who was in contact with a green crystal. Furthermore, her voice was light and young, a sound rightfully placed in the background of Vivid Forest, no less.
The person pulled out something from her clothes' attached pouch and grabbed her flip phone, notably covered with an assortment of stickers of shapes and sizes. She opened it and dialed the numbers, and held the phone right next to her ear. After a ringtone that consisted of puppy barking autotuned to a random famous pop song. It was quite a choice for that to be a sound, but Nate didn't think he would last much longer if it was prolonged.
The girl finally spoke into her phone. "Hello, Resonator? You wanted to call me?"
"ARE YOU THERE, KAN-!" boomed the other side of the call. Her voice was so loud that Nate had to put his hands over his ears to remove the stinging pain.
"IT'S KATSUMI! KATSUMI METSU! Don't forget we have to use alternate names when we're in unknown locations. Also, we really need the money to upgrade our phones, because mine is broken; the speaker mode is always permanent whenever I turn it on."
She distanced her phone away from her face, fully caught off guard by the sudden loud voice reaching her ears.
"I know that; I was just testing you to make sure," the voice from the call said. It was a womanly tone of both drama and determination. The way the voice was quite moderately heavy, as though they were behind a normally thin wall.
The masked girl, Katsumi, sighed with a note of stress. "Resonator, I went to Vivid Forest just as you said, and all I found was a couple of garbage-tier Fadens around... It was slightly more than usual, if I have to say...
So they do know what these monsters are too. They seem to be knowledgeable about them, and the girl looks confident with her power.
Even so, Nate stood still, not wanting anyone to know he was here. He still can't show himself just like that, as he couldn't go up to them and say stupid stuff like, "Hey, you should totally trust me, and I have powers. Please don't think of me as a bad guy who will backstab you at all, trusties."
Even if it worked on Colten since Nate spouted it out of the blue, he wasn't sure things would be different this time around.
The two people continued their conversation while on the phone.
"Excuse me if I'm stepping over lines, but are you sure Fadens are appearing everywhere in Standart City because of many people getting powers from a rogue carrying a green theomin crystal? Are we really up to the task?"
"I am certain. Several months ago, someone I knew just had to lose the sole item from our trip from Manoco Valley to Standart. The item was a large theomin crystal clump stored in armored trucks," stated Resonator from the call.
Nate heard about Manoco Valley. It was an empty desert-like land far north of Standart City without human civilization for miles. And further north were the wastelands that led to the Mountains of Siphence, the area where the first-ever Green Catastrophe was formed. Nate shuddered when he thought about the first-ever big Green Catastrophe, known as the Verdant Flaring.
Some say Siphence was a mega cluster of volcanoes activating during that time, while others thought the tectonic plates were drastically shifting. Some even theorized space aliens were a part of the mountains' history. Additionally, specific people point out evidence that a religious institution was battling against monsters out of this world, though many would turn the claims away.
The woman, Resonator, continued speaking. But as Nate put more thought into it, her name did sound weird. It was probably a codename, though.
"The theomin crystal was then somehow lost when our whole team got crushed by enemies. Hunters or thieves trying to get valuable things from the truck; the mountainside roads leading to Standart are always dangerous, and the truck itself, containing that highly valuable item, went over the railing and into the bottom of the mountain. Tons of gunfire rang from both sides, and only me and a few people were left alive by the encounter."
"That sounds like a rough situation to be in. I'm sorry about what you experienced," Katsumi responded with sympathy.
"Don't be... I... pretty much got over it, and it was a long time ago."
A short pause followed before Resonator spoke again.
"Moving on to the Straventer Barriers, and like the name implies, they specifically block Fadens from entering through Standart. They were planted by the government of each city of Green Country by using their own theomin crystal somewhere, and because our theomin crystals weren't refined, the impurities caused those nearby to unknowingly get powers and abilities, and in turn attracted the Fadens and even materialized out of thin air by themselves."
Straventer Barriers? What exactly are those? I wonder if they really cover the whole city and actually block Fadens from entering. If that is the case, then it must have been both really big and invisible if no one seems to comment on it.
"These abilities, they are kind of like mine... these chlorophyll orbs," Katsumi said, as she held out her orb.
Chlorophyll Orbs? So like... it is related to plant stuff? An ability to carry around a mossy soccer ball. That doesn't sound menacing to me... But it did destroy that Lilac Pond Faden into nothingness.
"Don't forget the time when you first got your powers," Resonator replied to her. "You were attacked by Fadens as soon as you got your abilities."
"I know," Katsumi firmly stated. "It caught me off guard, but you saved me before it was too late. I definitely owe you my life."
"Lucky timing too," the other person said, "since I was just walking by before I heard shouts."
Katsumi looked into the sky, her eyes expressing deep worry. "Do you think we're making a difference with the whole thing...?"
"You should let me worry about the hard parts first before you get overwhelmed," Resonator quickly exclaimed.
"I guess you're right, Resonator..."
"Are you done with your search in Vivid Forest yet? Making baked brie underground isn't exactly the ideal place to cook. With the smoke having nowhere to go and the dirt falling from the ceiling..."
"Yeah, I'm going back. I'm not too far from where you are, so I'm gonna check out a couple of areas before I leave..."
While trying to listen to the conversation and piece together the gained information, a sudden clench on Nate's wrist was felt through the stinging pain. He yelped quietly and saw that the Itsy Faden was back after a couple of minutes and used its snapping chomps to attack him.
Agghhh... I know these things are weak, but it still feels weird to get bitten by one. I should try to make it go away, since it only makes sounds like soft beeps of an old computer.
"G-get off me, shoo, go away..." he whispered to it, unsure if it would even listen to him.
With no time to focus on the creature in front of him, Nate got blasted with a heavy air projectile as he landed back in front of the bush he was hiding within. At the last second, Nate witnessed the other Faden, the Bitsy one with the turret head, also alive and well. The timing could not be more perfect than it already was. He wished they would have appeared a bit later.
On his back from getting hit by the projectile from the Bitsy Faden, he groaned in discomfort as the Itsy Faden continued to gnaw at his arm, hoping for the flesh to rip off from the bone.
"No way... I thought nobody goes to this part of the forest. Why are you he—"
Nate held his head up to see the masked girl in front of him, her chlorophyll orbs placed in front of her.
"What?! Is something wrong? What's happening on your end?" said the voice from the call.
No response was made from Katsumi. She stared at Nate for a bit and ran off into the forest, almost in the blink of an eye. Seeing this, Nate scrambled to his feet, shaking off Itsy and running towards the girl's direction.
"Wait. I'm not an enemy, stop! Don't go!" he tried to call out, but it was really too late. No matter where he looked, no signs of Katsumi were shown, not even tracks on the ground to signal the way.
Nate stopped to catch his breath, his hands on his knees to stop himself from completely collapsing on the ground. He noted to himself that he wasn't so weak that he almost passed out every time he did light physical work.
He silently stared at the woods, hoping for them to give him an answer to questions he'd never asked. "Who was she? And why was she here in the forest? The woman on the other side of the call, she seemed to be knowledgeable about these sorts of things. Are they enemies or not? I have no clue, and my mind is hurting from thinking about all this!"
He clutched his hair, trying to stretch it to its limits. Nate swiftly turned around to see Itsy and Bitsy crawling slowly behind him. Noticing the two, he walked over to them without much thought.
"You know, it's because of both of you that I got caught in the first place," Nate nonchalantly said to the Fadens, saying it as though he was talking to a brick wall.
He kicked them both into the trees, and a noticeable thud was heard twice before a flurry of leaves was heard.
Nate learned so much, but felt there was still not enough information he should know about right now.