The three of them stepped beneath the bamboo canopy, the sharp green leaves clattering softly above their heads like thin chimes. The forest air grew cooler as the path sloped downward, and the shadows stretched long across the earth.
Elias inhaled the crisp scent and lifted his chin.
"Alright," he said, trying to brighten the mood, "we just keep going straight downhill and we'll reach the village. Easy enough, right?"
Lyra yawned exaggeratedly.
"Finally. I'm starving. And tired. And cold. And annoyed."
Daren snorted.
"You're always annoyed."
"Exactly," she said proudly.
They walked in silence after that—an unusually peaceful silence. The sound of the bamboo was everywhere: xì xào, xào xạc, lách cách—as though the forest was whispering secrets to itself. The long golden shafts of sunset cut through the bamboo trunks, painting stripes of warm light on their clothes.
Elias moved a little slower because of his injured leg, but he didn't complain. He just listened to the rustling branches… until something caught the corner of his eye.
A soft glow.
Small. Gentle. Drifting toward him.
He blinked, startled.
A butterfly—its wings translucent, shimmering with faint blue light—hovered in the air like something from a fairy tale. Embedded in its tiny body was a crystal, shaped like a miniature diamond, glowing as if it contained a heartbeat.
The butterfly circled once, twice… then landed right on Elias's hand.
Elias froze.
His breath caught.
His heart skipped.
Lyra and Daren had walked several steps ahead, still talking about food. Neither of them noticed.
"What… what is this?" Elias whispered to himself.
The butterfly's wings fluttered softly, sending out a faint trail of glowing dust that spiraled upward like a tiny galaxy. For a moment, the entire forest around him seemed to blur—the bamboo, the worn path, even the distant voices of Lyra and Daren.
Then—
The butterfly's glow intensified.
Its body shimmered.
And it dispersed—breaking apart into sparkling particles that drifted away on the breeze.
Elias stared at his now-empty hand.
"…This world of magic really has no rules, does it?" he muttered.
He hurried to catch up with the others, still staring at his palm, half expecting the glow to return.
As they continued down the mountain, the daylight slowly died. The sky dimmed into a muted violet; the forest shadows deepened, and the air grew colder. Not the ordinary evening chill—but a creeping, biting cold that slid under the skin.
The wind began to pick up.
First a whisper.
Then a push.
Then a roar.
WHOOOOOOSH—
A violent gust smashed through the bamboo, bending the stalks and ripping loose leaves into the air. Lyra grabbed her hood. Daren shielded his face. Elias hunched down and braced himself—
But the wind didn't just hit him.
It lifted him.
"H–Huh?!"
Before he could react, the gale wrapped around him like invisible hands and yanked him off the ground, pulling him sideways through the trees.
His feet left the earth.
His arms flailed.
His voice tore from his throat.
"Daren! Lyra! HELP ME!!"
Lyra spun around instantly, eyes wide.
"Elias!?"
Daren lunged forward, trying to grab him, but the wind shoved them back as if the forest itself had turned against them.
"Hold on!" Daren shouted—but his voice was swallowed by the howling air.
Elias was carried farther, tumbling like a rag doll. Branches whipped past; leaves stung his skin; the world blurred in a whirlwind of green and white.
Lyra reached out her hand desperately.
"ELIAS!!"
But the wind didn't care.
It surged again—stronger, colder—and slammed into both Lyra and Daren, forcing them to crouch with their arms over their heads as if shielding themselves from an unseen attack.
They could barely breathe, barely move.
Lyra gritted her teeth.
Daren shouted something lost in the wind.
Through the roaring chaos, Elias heard only one thing clearly:
"We're sorry!!"
Their voices distant. Fading.
The cold deepened.
The sky darkened.
And then—snow.
Small flakes at first.
Then thicker.
Then a sudden blizzard.
The wind screamed. The snow slashed his skin like needles. The world dimmed into freezing blue shadows.
Elias twisted helplessly in the air, pain shooting through his leg, his ears filled with the roar of the storm.
"What is happening—?!"
But there was no answer.
Only the wind.
Only the cold.
Only darkness closing in.