Meanwhile, in an area of the mushroom forest, about 6 minutes earlier...
Pov of Lux:
Lux was hiding behind a mushroom tree about 6 meters tall. An arrow was lodged near his shoulder, leaving a trail of blood that ran down his forearm.
Lux placed his hand on the wound and briefly peeked out.
His dawn-colored eyes scanned the immense darkness. Lux had been using his aura for some time, employing it for his night vision ability.
Merlin and Sunday had also hidden themselves, as the hidden archer gave no respite with those damned, razor-sharp steel arrows.
Shit, shit, shit... Where the hell did those idiots go? This situation is very... Black.
For Lux, the word "Black" was associated with feelings of danger, anguish, and loneliness.
Gulping hard, he peeked a little further from the tree, careful not to be struck by another arrow. Seeing that nothing happened, Lux fled toward another patch of mushroom. His night vision was a huge help, since without it he would have died long ago after tripping over something.
Lux slithered through some bushes and peered out from behind them...
Suddenly, Lux felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and raised a fist at the person behind him.
After Lux got a good look at the man behind him, he relaxed, lowered his fists, and said in relief:
"Wizard..."
Merlin sighed softly.
"You wanted to hit me?... you're a bastard."
Lux threw up his hands, laughing quietly.
"Hey, hey, don't get angry or blame me. It's your fault for appearing like a ghost and scaring me."
Lux and Merlin crawled through the bushes, careful not to be spotted by an arrow.
They didn't know where Sunday was. Merlin focused on attracting the archer's attention, while Lux and Merlin searched for her. But after a while, Sunday disappeared while fulfilling his mission.
"Hey Merlin..."
Merlin stopped crawling and turned slightly toward Lux.
"What do you want now?"
"I have a question about your powers..."
Merlin raised an eyebrow, looking at Lux. The wizard's mind raced with questions like: "What does he want to know?", "Why now?", or "Would answering his be dangerous?"
Lux glanced at one of the phosphorescent bushes around him, then met Merlin's eyes with a spark of intrigue.
"You have two Paths, right?"
Merlin inwardly screamed, "How does he know?!" Then, he calmed down a bit and reflected on how Lux knew that. After all, Lux had always acted like an idiot, and this new mask of intelligence had never been his.
Merlin thought for a moment, unsure how to respond.
After a few seconds of silence, he said, laughing:
"No, idiot, I only have one Path, one and no more."
Lux looked at Merlin with renewed intensity, a gaze so intense that it made him look away from the wizard.
"Are you lying to me?" Lux asked.
"No."
"Well, let me tell you, besides being a wizard, you're a liar."
Merlin looked offended, though he was sweating inside.
"Don't blaspheme against me."
The corners of Lux's mouth curled upward.
"I can give you two compelling reasons why you have two Paths."
Merlin sighed, "Well, go ahead, seer, I await your divination."
"First reason, in my short life as a Sinner, I've learned a lot and observed a very exciting but little-known detail... which is that a Rank 11 always has two abilities..."
Merlin crossed his arms and wore a face of uncertainty and resolve.
"For example," Lux continued, "my night vision and distraction abilities, which are abilities from the Path of Happiness, or also, Kōri's abilities to create ice objects and freeze the ground."
"And you possess three abilities: blue smoke that causes immense pain, the creation of golden objects, and if I remember correctly, you mentioned at the Nevue restaurant about 18 or 19 days ago that you also possessed a green smoke that induces sleep."
Merlin's lips curled at being caught, and he asked with intrigue: "And what's the second reason?"
"Second reason, Everyone I know with two Paths always, or almost always, avoids talking about their Paths, ranks, or Sinner powers."
Merlin sighed heavily.
"Ugh... you got me. My Paths are Sloth, Rank 11: Effectist, and Greed, Rank 11: Goldsmith."
What strange names... Lux thought.
"Effectist allows me to create two types of smoke: blue smoke that causes extreme pain and green smoke that induces sleep."
Then Merlin clicked his tongue and continued:
"Goldsmith allows me to create golden objects. Furthermore, I can eat these objects and digest the gold in my stomach to strengthen my body, increase my strength, and give me wider vision."
And all I can do is see in the dark and distract people... Lux clenched his fists, somewhat frustrated.
Merlin noticed Lux's behavior.
"Don't worry, when you rank up you'll gain more power."
"But I don't even know the name of my Rank 10..."
Merlin stopped abruptly and looked at Lux.
"Your path is the path of happiness, isn't it? Well, I know about Rank 10, but not the abilities. Well, Rank 10 of the path of happiness is called 'Comedian.' From what I understand, that rank is one of the most powerful Rank 10s, but I can't give you any more information."
Lux opened his mouth, his eyes watering, as if tears were searching for the next bus to his cheeks. Then, he tried to hug Merlin, but Merlin raised his fists, ready to strike him if he tried anything.
"How cold you are."
Merlin sighed as he looked at the arrow embedded in Lux's shoulder.
"Um... Do you want me to heal your shoulder?"
"No thanks, I consider myself quite tough and resilient."
After a pleasant moment of silence, the two continued walking. Their footsteps echoed rhythmically in the soft silence of the mushroom forest.
They were walking toward a large mushroom tree, about 20 meters long and 6 meters wide, a darker green than the other trees. The tree had long, thick roots, so long they emerged from the ground and tangled around the mushroom.
When they arrived, they stood a few meters from the natural monument. Merlin observed it for a few seconds before looking away, while Lux studied it intently.
"Merlin... What are those words carved into the tree trunk?"
Merlin turned to Lux and scanned the tree trunk with devotion.
He spotted some words on Unma, but from a distance, he couldn't make out their meaning.
"Lux, help me climb the roots."
"Pfft... whatever."
The two young men approached the roots and began to climb them. This was no easy feat; on the contrary, it was a complete ordeal. The roots of the underworld had 5-centimeter-long thorns, as sharp as, or even sharper than, a needle.
This was made more difficult by the arrow in Lux's shoulder, which hampered his movement and grip.
After a tremendous effort, the two managed to reach the trunk, using a root without thorns for support. But they were clearly not unscathed; their hands were stained with blood, and their faces were contorted with pain.
"Damn, Merlin... this hurts." Lux licked both hands desperately.
Merlin ignored the pain and began to read aloud the words on the tree trunk:
"If you read this... Don't take it as a joke".
"I'm Reirh, from Vault 1. Our leader sent me and four others to explore a red zone... red, I know, exploring red or blue zones is practically suicide."
Lux leaned toward Merlin, almost slipping on the roots.
"Reirh... he's Abigail's son, isn't he?"
Merlin nodded without turning around and continued reading:
"My team and I were exploring the area, looking for food and water. Until... a 10-foot monster, with an ethereal body, made of black and white energy, with a kind of saliva that melted everything in its way."
"Everyone died... except me, who managed to return to Vault 1. I'm writing this to warn you not to even think about going through a red zone, because an immortal and powerful being dwells in one of those zones."
Lux and Merlin exchanged glances.
Neither of them dared to say anything, so they simply threw themselves to the ground, one after the other, and then moved away from the thorns.
"Well..." Lux began, trying to start a conversation, "at least we know Reirh is alive."
Merlin opened his mouth, trying to say something, but suddenly...
A small whistling sound began to echo where Lux and Merlin were standing. It was low, but incomprehensibly unsettling.
With surprising speed, the small whistling sound became a deafening roar. So loud that it almost made Merlin's ears bleed.
After a minute, the whistling finally stopped.
Lux gasped briefly, "What was that, Wizard?"
Merlin looked at him in confusion. Then, scanning his surroundings, he said with a hint of fear in his eyes,
"I don't know."
Suddenly, a loud scream erupted about 10 meters away from Lux and Merlin.
Argh!