....
The Noxian soldiers continued their march without rest.
Hour after hour passed beneath the thick canopy of the forest, yet no matter how far they pushed forward, the scenery around them never truly changed.
The same twisted roots.
The same crooked stones.
The same narrow path they were certain they had already crossed before.
By the time the sun began to sink toward the horizon, frustration had fully taken hold.
"Why haven't we arrived yet?!" Robert snapped, his voice sharp with rage as he turned toward the young girl guiding them.
The child could barely stand anymore. Her legs trembled, her breathing shallow and uneven. She hadn't been allowed to rest—not once—forced to keep moving no matter how exhausted she became.
"Answer me!" Robert barked.
He suddenly grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back, making her cry out in pain.
"A-ahhh—please! It hurts…!" she sobbed, tears streaming down her face.
Robert leaned closer, his grip tightening.
"Are you doing this on purpose?" he growled. "Leading us in circles?"
"N-no, sir! I—I don't know why we keep coming back!" the girl cried, clutching her head as he continued to pull at her hair. "I swear!"
Before Robert could say anything else, a voice cut in sharply.
"That's enough, Robert," said one of the soldiers behind him—a man named Peter. "She's just a child."
Robert scoffed, disgust evident on his face.
"Hmph. Useless."
Without warning, he shoved the girl aside with brutal force. She stumbled and slammed headfirst into a large stone nearby. A dull crack echoed through the trees.
"Ahh…!" she whimpered, collapsing to the ground, blood beginning to trickle down her forehead as she tried to push herself back up.
That was enough.
"Hey!" another soldier shouted angrily—Viktor. "What the hell are you doing?! She's just a kid!"
Robert turned on him instantly.
"Shut up," he snarled, grabbing Viktor by the throat and lifting him slightly off the ground. "Don't interfere. Or are you trying to defy your superior?"
"N—no, sir… I'm sorry…" Viktor gasped, struggling to breathe as he clawed at Robert's arm.
"Robert," Peter said firmly, stepping forward again. "We're on a mission. Not here to kill each other."
For a moment, the forest seemed to hold its breath.
Robert stared at Viktor's panicked face before finally releasing him with a shove.
"Fine," he muttered. "You're lucky this time."
Viktor collapsed to one knee, coughing violently as he caught his breath.
Robert then turned his gaze toward Peter. There was tension there—but also familiarity.
He respected Peter.
They had fought together countless times.
Rivals. Equals. Survivors.
Yet that respect was mixed with irritation.
Peter was too soft.
Too willing to spare the weak.
Robert clicked his tongue, turning away as the girl lay trembling near the stone, clutching her bleeding head.
Around them, the forest remained silent—unchanged, unmoved—yet the path ahead still refused to lead them forward.
As if something unseen had already decided they were not welcome.
"What are you doing?! Move already, you stupid girl!" Robert shouted, kicking the child again and forcing her forward.
Peter could only shake his head at the sight.
He deliberately chose not to step in this time. He knew Robert well enough—if he openly defended the girl again, Robert wouldn't hesitate to kill her on the spot. Worse, it would likely escalate into a challenge, a duel between soldiers in the middle of a mission.
That would be troublesome.
Dangerously troublesome.
In the end, they tried to move forward again, but this time they decided not to follow the established path. Instead, they began forcing their way through the forest, creating a new route by cutting through dense undergrowth and chopping down small trees and branches that blocked their way, believing it would lead them to their destination faster. However, this decision would prove to be a fatal mistake for the outsiders—especially when Viktor, who had been ordered to lead the way, prepared to cut down a small tree known as a guardian tree.
But before that—
As they continued walking, Peter's unease only grew stronger. Something about this mission felt wrong. One of their members—the quiet one—had barely spoken a word since they left the village. He walked behind them with calm, detached movements, showing no concern for the girl, the forest, or even Robert's outbursts.
Too calm.
Is this mission a trap? Peter thought.
He knew enough about Noxus to be wary. Whispers of hidden factions. Shadowed organizations pulling strings behind the throne. Orders within orders—missions designed not to succeed, but to quietly remove inconvenient pieces.
I really hope this isn't one of those, Peter thought as his eyes drifted once more toward the distant hill—the same hill that never seemed to draw any closer, no matter how far they walked.
Then—
CRASH!
The sound of stone breaking apart thundered through the forest.
Peter's head snapped upward just as chunks of rock and earth began to collapse from the cliff above them.
"Avalanche—!" someone shouted.
"Robert, look out!" Peter yelled.
He sprinted forward instinctively, leaping aside as massive stones crashed down where they had been standing moments earlier. Dust and debris filled the air, choking and blinding. Without hesitation, Peter lunged toward the girl, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her out of the falling rocks' path. He rolled with her across the forest floor, shielding her as dirt and stone rained down around them.
A scream echoed—Viktor.
Too slow.
A massive boulder slammed into him, crushing his body instantly. There was no time to react, no chance to help. One moment he was there—then gone.
Robert snarled as he raised the large shield he carried, bracing himself against the impact.
PANG!
A stone the size of a cart slammed into the shield, sending a violent shockwave through the ground. Robert staggered but held his ground, teeth clenched.
Meanwhile, the silent man finally moved.
With fluid, almost unnatural agility, he slipped between the falling rocks, his movements precise and controlled. But when one massive stone descended directly toward him—
A faint shimmer appeared.
The rock shattered against an invisible barrier, crumbling into fragments before it could touch him.
Peter's eyes widened.
"So… he's a mage," Peter muttered under his breath.
Suddenly, five fully grown guardian trees came to life. Their massive wooden bodies creaked as they uprooted themselves from the ground, slowly advancing toward them. Without warning, they attacked—charging straight toward Robert and the others.
"What the hell is that?!" Peter shouted as he held the terrified little girl tightly in his arms.
"Hey, Peter! What are you doing?! Hurry up and help me!" Robert yelled as he struggled to hold his ground.
Seeing the situation, Peter quickly set the girl down.
"Run. And don't come back," he said firmly.
The girl nodded, fear filling her eyes, and with the last of her strength she ran in the opposite direction.
Peter then turned and sprinted toward the advancing trees.
"AHHHHH!" he shouted as he leapt high into the air—jumping more than four meters—swinging his weapon to cut down one of the guardian trees that was about to strike his companion.
But suddenly, from his side, another tree moved.
A massive rock was hurled toward him.
CRASH!
The stone slammed directly into Peter's body.
"UGHHH!" Blood spilled from his mouth as his body was violently thrown toward the edge of the cliff.
"Peter!" Robert shouted in horror as he saw his friend being flung into the abyss.
"Damn you all—die!" Robert roared, swinging his axe with fury and severing one of the tree's massive arms.
But then—
Another guardian tree leapt toward him.
"Shit!" Robert cursed, squeezing his eyes shut.
BOOM!
His body was crushed instantly beneath the tree's enormous foot.
Meanwhile, the last remaining man—the mage—desperately began chanting, attempting to burn the guardian trees as they closed in on him.
But that was a fatal mistake.
Another massive stone was hurled toward him.
CRASH!
The mage tried to activate his barrier spell once more—but he was too late. His body was completely destroyed as the boulder smashed down upon him.
After that, silence returned to the forest.
The guardian trees slowly withdrew, returning to their original places, as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, as the forest slowly returned to silence, a raven descended and landed near the edge of the cliff—where Peter's body lay, barely clinging to life.
But from behind the nearby bushes, a woman stepped out, her gaze locking onto Robert's dying body.
Seeing her presence, the raven immediately spread its wings and flew away.
The woman had long black hair, fox ears atop her head, and a snow-white tail swaying gently behind her. She was a Vastaya.
Robert, noticing her figure through his fading vision, forced himself to speak with what little breath he had left.
"Please… help me… I beg you," Peter whispered.
The woman approached him, curiosity evident on her face as she examined his condition.
"You're going to die soon. I'm sorry—I can't help you," she said calmly. Then she smiled faintly and licked her lips.
"But you can help me. I'm a little hungry right now."
"What… wait, I—" Robert tried to speak again.
Before he could finish his words, the woman suddenly opened her mouth.
A thin stream of smoke began to rise from Robert's body. The smoke slowly gathered, forming a small, glowing orb in the air.
At the same time, Peter felt as if he had forgotten something important. His thoughts began to blur, his memories fading one by one as the smoke continued to pour from his mouth and nose.
When all the smoke had fully emerged and condensed into the orb, the fox woman swallowed it without hesitation.
"Ahhh… I want more. I want more," she murmured, still sounding hungry, as all of Peter's memories and life force were absorbed into her body.
The fox Vastaya then sifted through Peter's memories. Within them, she discovered the presence of another—
a young girl who had been traveling with the group of men.
Her ears twitched slightly.
Without wasting time, the fox began moving deeper into the forest, following the traces left behind. She needed to see whether the girl was still alive.
If she was safe… then there was nothing to gain.
But if she wasn't—
The Vastaya's lips curved into a faint smile.
She would become her meal.
Meanwhile, the young girl ran far deeper into the forest.
She didn't stop—not even once. Fear completely consumed her after everything that had happened.
No matter how hard she tried to run, the forest seemed to twist around her.
Again and again, she found herself going in circles, unable to escape.
Crying uncontrollably, the girl kept running—until suddenly her foot slipped.
"Ahhh—no, no, no! Help…!" she screamed as her body fell into a ravine.
She tumbled violently, crashing through branches and slamming into several trees as she fell.
Then—her body struck a large rock.
"AAAHH!" she cried out in pain.
A sharp, unbearable agony shot through her leg—it was broken.
Her vision began to blur, the world fading in and out.
Moments later, her consciousness slipped away, and she fell unconscious.
....
At the same time, Jill felt like she had heard something coming from the forest.
"Did you hear that just now? I'm sure there was something," Jill said, her expression uneasy.
Excella, Abigail, and Sarah simply shook their heads.
"We didn't hear a thing."
"What exactly did you hear, Jill?" Excella asked calmly, lounging in her seat as she continued reading her novel.
"I don't know... but I'm certain I heard something. It sounded like rocks falling—and screaming," Jill replied.
"Well, if you're that sure, why don't you ask Raviel?" Excella answered casually. "She'd definitely know something about it."
By now, Excella had started treating Raviel like a living archive—someone who seemed to know everything happening in the world.
"Ah, right... you're right," Jill said.
She stood up from her massage chair and headed toward Raviel's room, where Raviel was currently lying lazily on her bed, hugging a small doll she had just finished repairing.