The forest looked like it had been waiting centuries just to scare someone.
Branches crooked like arms
Vines drooped dramatically
Wind blowing like a classic comedic song from a movie
Raen stared at it, clutching his pendant
"….Why does it look angry?"
Shirobane cracked a bite of apple in her teeth
"Forests don't get angry, people get angry. Forests just snitch."
Raen blinked
"Forests snitches?"
"Oh yeah," Shirobane nodded sagely, "Trees gossip, grass snitches, moss spies on everyone."
Kaien gave them both a slow, disappointed stare
"Could you two please take this seriously? We are entering a Domain."
Raen paused
"Right.… what is a Domain again?"
Shirobane answered before Kaien could deliver the lecture
"Think of it like walking into someone's bedroom without knocking."
Kaien "It is trespassing"
Raen paled
"So the giant monster that kidnapped the Chief...."
"....is very aware we're barging in," Shirobane finished
"…Great"
They stepped toward the forest
The forest exhaled
Leaves rustled like it was whispering- turn back
Raen took one step in anyway
The forest inhaled sharply
Raen stepped back out
"Okay," he said quietly, "the forest just sighed at me."
Kaien rubbed his forehead
"It's reacting to your presence,y ou must stay in Mushin. Empty your mind."
Raen nodded, inhaling deeply
Empty… empty… empty…
Shirobane whispered to Kaien, "Does he always look constipated when he tries that?"
"Unfortunately," Kaien sighed, "yes."
Raen snapped, "I heard that!"
"Good," Shirobane said, "Means you're not empty enough."
Raen groaned "arghh"
Why was he born with Void powers but zero dignity?
Still, he managed a decent state of Mushin, enough that the forest's whispering quieted.
Birds didn't chirp
Even the trees seemed to be holding their breath dramatically
Shirobane elbowed Raen
"If a squirrel jumps out screaming, you're dealing with it."
"I'm not scared of squirrels," Raen protested
"…usually."
Kaien stopped suddenly
"Quiet"
Raen whispered loudly
"WE ARE LITERALLY IN A FOREST OF QUIET."
Kaien ignored him and knelt by a set of footprints sunk deep into the soil.
"Beast tracks, large,heavy,leading...."
Raen had already sprinted past him
"RAEN!" Kaien shouted
Shirobane sighed
"I swear, if he dies before I get paid...."
They chased after Raen, who stopped at a half-collapsed stone ruin overgrown with vines .
"What is this place?" Raen whispered
"A shrine," Kaien murmured
Shirobane kicked a chunk of broken stone
"A very old shrine. The kind of shrine you see in bedtime stories where the idiot kid touches the forbidden relic and...."
Raen's pendant suddenly glowed
Raen froze
".…I didnt even touch anything !"
The stones glowed briefly in the same pattern as his pendant.
Kaien stared
"Impossible…."
Shirobane poked one of the glowing stones
"It's reacting to the kid's pendant," she said. "Meaning whatever beast took the Chief…."
She pointed ahead where trees were bent in a perfect straight line.
"....went that way."
Raen swallowed.
"Chief… I'm coming"
"Wait," Kaien warned, "We must be cau...."
Raen sprinted
".….tious," Kaien finished to no one
Shirobane cracked her knuckles
"Let's go before he gets adopted by a tree"
They ran
Branches slapped Raen in the face like the forest had a personal grudge
After a painful minute of sprinting, Raen burst into a wide hollow.… and immediately wished he hadn't.
A massive beast stood over the Chief's unconscious body
Horned
Fanged
Glowing veins
Built like a grumpy karen who lived on pure anger
Raen whispered, "Kaien, what is that?"
Kaien.... "trouble"
Shirobane, "bad for the hairs"
The beast turned towards them, nostrils flaring
Its voice rumbled through the forest, echoing
"RETURN"
Raen blinked
".…return what? My sanity? Because that's gone"
Shirobane whispered, "It's talking to your spirit, genius"
Raen leaned toward her
"Maybe tell it to speak normally. It's very rude."
Kaien grabbed him
"Raen, empty your mind NOW."
"I'm TRYING! But there is a very SCARY MONSTER STARING AT ME!"
The beast roared
Trees bent backward
The ground cracked
Raen's ears rang
Shirobane shouted, "Kid! Stop thinking and EMPTY IT!"
"I AM TRYING"
The beast lunged
Kaien shoved Raen back
"MOVE!"
Raen closed his eyes
EMPTY, EMPTY, EMPTY YOU RAEN
His mind emptied
The pendant exploded with black-gold light
Time froze
Shirobane froze mid way
Kaien froze mid-step
Even the forest froze like it had hit pause button
Only Raen could move
And behind him…. a warm, deep voice whispered
"Raen.… you always were terrible at breathing exercises."
Raen turned around slowly
A glowing figure stood there, tall, wrapped in swirling black flame and gold
A familiar posture
A familiar warmth
A familiar smile
Raen's eyes widened, a single tear drop falling from his eyes
"….Dad?"