|Location: Wasteland, center.|
-NUK-
I pressed deeper into the restricted forest, a part of the wasteland so desolate and treacherous that few dared to venture here. The ground was uneven and cracked, with patches of brittle earth that seemed like they could crumble beneath my feet at any moment. Gnarled roots jutted out like skeletal fingers, and the trees themselves loomed tall and twisted, their branches clawing at the darkening sky. The air was thick and heavy, almost suffocating, carrying with it a faint, unsettling silence that made every small sound—my footsteps, the rustling leaves—echo unnaturally loud. This place felt like a trap, a forgotten corner of the world where nature itself seemed hostile.
The oppressive atmosphere gnawed at my nerves, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Each breath tasted stale, as if the forest was holding its breath, waiting. My heart beat faster, a dull thrum of anxiety echoing in my chest. The uneasy feeling that had settled over me was more than just caution—it was a deep-seated dread that something far worse than unstable ground lurked beneath the surface.
I tried to shake it off, focusing on the task at hand. "Where the hell did those two disappear to?" I muttered under my breath, my voice barely carrying through the thick air. My steps were steady but tense, scanning the shadows between the twisted trunks for any sign of Zero or Dia. The thought of them lost in this forsaken place, vulnerable to whatever dangers hid here, tightened the knot of worry in my stomach.
Memories flashed uninvited through my mind—snippets of the ruins, the confrontation, the words of that bastard who'd poisoned my thoughts not long ago.
[We need him, Nuk.] The weak voice she mustered echoed faintly, intertwined with my uncle's skeptical tone. [You can't trust.]
Why now? Why were these doubts clouding my mind when all I wanted was to find them and end this madness? The fight for my place, for my siblings, had always been clear. But now, with that hypocrite's words ringing in my ears, I felt torn. Conflicted. Was I making a mistake trusting my instincts? Or was I just scared of what the truth might reveal?
A bitter laugh escaped me—a harsh, humorless sound. "Zero… if I find you, you better watch out," I said aloud, voice rough with frustration and something darker beneath it. "Strong or not, I'm not afraid to knock some sense into you."
But even as I spoke, I forced myself to rein in the flood of raw emotion. Anger and doubt could cloud my judgment out here. I needed to stay sharp, keep my head clear. One wrong step, one fatal slip, and this forest might be the last thing I ever saw.
I scoured every possible area where Zero and Dia might have gone, but no matter how far I pushed myself, each path led only to dead ends. Frustration gnawed at me, but worse than that was the gnawing dread growing in the pit of my stomach. I was running out of options. At this point, all I could do was hope—hope that they hadn't ventured toward the one place I dreaded most.
That place was etched into my memory: the center of the wasteland, where a colossal, ancient tree stood lifeless and skeletal against the sky. Years ago, it was the site of a terrible accident—where my mother had given her life to save me from scavengers. The thought tightened my throat. Please… please don't be there.
Without hesitation, I broke into a sprint toward the dead tree's looming silhouette. I leapt over jagged boulders and slid down slick trunks, pushing my body to its limits. The darkness clung to everything, trying to swallow me whole, but I relied on my seismic senses to navigate the shadows. It wasn't much—just the faintest tremors beneath my feet—but it was enough to keep me moving steadily forward.
I bounded from one towering tree to the next, using every ounce of my enhanced strength. Usually, tapping into my abilities would drain me fast, but the regulator Hansel had fixed up after the ruins expedition was working miracles. I could feel the difference immediately. My stamina barely wavered even as I pushed my body harder than ever before.
"Damn Hansel this regulator…" I murmured through gritted teeth, breath somewhat composed and ragged at the same time. "His tinkering really paid off. I can't believe I'm barely getting tired."
Still, no matter how much I tried to stay focused, anxiety clawed its way back in. Halfway to the center, I realized I hadn't found a single trace of Zero or Dia. My heart hammered painfully against my ribs, echoing in my ears like a drumbeat of warning. My hands shook uncontrollably, and a cold sweat broke out across my skin. The memory of that creature—the thing that haunted my nightmares—sent a sharp, icy chill down my spine.
No. I refused to let my mind spiral. Dia had to be okay. But what if something had happened? What if they'd already fallen prey to the dangers lurking in this cursed wasteland? I couldn't even begin to imagine what I would do if the worst came true.
I pushed the fear down and pressed on, moving faster now, every sense alert for any sign of them.
Then, just as hope began to flicker faintly in my chest, something caught my eye—a sudden ray of light piercing through the gloom, something I was certain hadn't been there before. My breath hitched, and my heart surged in my chest, pounding louder than ever as a wave of unease washed over me.
I didn't want to believe what my instincts were warning me, but the chill crawling up my back told another story.
I could only pray this feeling was wrong.
I finally reached the scene, and though it bore the marks of the past, something was unmistakably different. The barren land stretched before me as it had years ago—a massive crater scarred the earth, and at its center stood the colossal tree. But this time, the tree was vibrant, alive with an almost unnatural vitality. My memories screamed at me that this tree had long since been dead, its lifeless branches a hollow skeleton against the sky. And the god who once sat solemnly beside it, guarding it? Nowhere to be seen.
The tree's majestic glow bathed the crater in an eerie light, but instead of awe, it sent a cold shiver down my spine. There was something deeply sinister about it, something wrong beneath its radiant exterior.
Without hesitation, I rushed down into the crater, my boots crunching against the cracked earth as I made my way toward the tree. What awaited me there was a sight I could never have hoped for—and yet, one I feared.
Dia stood before the tree, her figure bathed in the glowing light. Zero's body was slowly merging into the bark, his form dissolving, becoming part of the living wood. My heart slammed against my ribs as I took in the scene, every instinct screaming that something was horribly wrong.
Dia turned toward me, a slight grin curling on her lips. It wasn't the warm, fiery smile of my sister—it was cold, almost cruel. My unease deepened when her eyes shifted from their familiar emerald green to a piercing, almost blinding gold. A warning bell rang inside me: I needed to be cautious.
"Look who finally showed up," Dia said, her voice smooth but laced with something I couldn't place. She took a step toward me, but the sister I knew—the hot-tempered, fiercely loyal Dia—was nowhere to be found.
A cold sweat slicked down my back, and I stumbled back a step, swallowing hard to steady my voice. I forced myself to stay alert, to keep my wits despite the dread knotting in my stomach.
It wasn't hard to suspect she had something to do with Zero's fate. Summoning what courage I had left, I asked, my voice trembling slightly, "Dia... what's going on? What did you do to Zero?"
She gasped, clutching her chest dramatically. "I'm offended, brother!" Her eyes narrowed, filled with a strange pity, her brows knitting in disbelief. The sudden shift in her demeanor stunned me, but before I could react, her expression shifted again—this time darker, more sinister.
"I guess there's no point in pretending," she whispered, a chilling smile spreading across her lips.
Golden markings began to crawl across her skin like living tattoos, glowing and twisting along her arms and neck. Her pupils shrank to narrow slits, and that unnerving grin widened as a soft, almost childlike giggle escaped her lips—a sound so out of place it sent a jolt of fear through me.
Is this really Dia? No, it can't be. This isn't the sister I grew up with. Something has taken hold of her—something that shouldn't be. The tree… it must have done this. Or worse, something else is possessing her body.
I clenched my fists, refusing to believe what my eyes were showing me. There was still a chance—just a sliver—that this was my sister trapped inside, struggling to break free. But there was also the terrifying possibility that the person before me was a hollow shell, twisted by whatever dark force had overtaken her.
I had to find out which it was—before it was too late.
"You… who are you?!" I demanded, my voice sharp and shaking with a mix of fear and anger.
The thing before me—this twisted mockery of my sister—erupted into loud, cruel laughter. It dropped to its knees, slamming its fists against the hard ground with a metallic clang that echoed like a death knell throughout the crater. The deafening banging continued for what felt like an eternity, each strike reverberating through my bones. Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped.
Slowly, it lifted its head and locked eyes with me. Using Dia's voice, but with a warmth that felt chillingly false, it spoke softly, "Is it really so hard to believe that I'm your sister?"
A sharp pain stabbed through my chest, like a cold blade piercing my heart. The voice, the face—it was all Dia, yet it wasn't. "Dia would never do this… never," I whispered, barely able to hold back the flood of doubt and sorrow.
"Right," it said, voice twisting with cruel amusement, fluctuating unpredictably. "The Dia you know would never do such horrendous things." Then, almost theatrically, it closed its eyes and feigned sorrow. "But brother, what horrendous thing? Did I do something bad?"
Each time it spoke with Dia's voice, it felt like a cruel mockery, a twisted game meant to torment me. I could feel my blood boiling with rage.
"Stop it!" I shouted, struggling to keep control. "You—no, you're not her! You're not my sister!"
I summoned my seismic power, manifesting a jagged earthen knife hidden behind my back. Slowly, I advanced toward the creature, every muscle tense, ready to strike the moment I saw an opening.
"But brother," it sneered, "that's where you're wrong." Suddenly it writhed in exaggerated agony. "Argh! Ah! Ough!" A spray of blood burst from its mouth, and I knew my chance had come.
Without hesitation, I lunged forward, aiming my blade straight for its neck. "Brother? What's happening to me?" it whispered, voice faltering.
Then, in an instant, Dia's true face flickered through the impostor's twisted mask. Her eyes, filled with pain, met mine. She collapsed, coughing violently, her body trembling on the ground.
"Dia!" I rushed to her side, heart pounding. Her skin was cold, and her breath shallow and uneven. The weight of nearly striking my own sister crashed down on me like a boulder. "We need to free Zero. Something's messing with our minds."
I was certain now: something was possessing Dia. But what? Was there a moment of resistance? A battle inside her? I didn't know, but it all had to be connected to that cursed tree. We had to get out of here—fast.
I hoisted Dia onto my back, careful despite my racing thoughts, and headed to the tree where Zero was slowly being swallowed by the bark. I set Dia down for a moment, and immediately she groaned, clutching her head.
"Ah… brother, my head…" she murmured, trying to pull me closer.
"Don't worry," I said, voice steady despite my fear. "Once I get Zero free, we'll find a safe place. This place… it's driving us mad."
I grasped the bark around Zero's form, pulling with all my might, but the tree's grip was relentless. I glanced down at Zero's face—so peaceful, almost asleep. I couldn't help but feel a surge of frustration. If only I could shake him for dragging Dia into this mess.
Suddenly, Dia yanked me hard to her side. I tried to resist, but her grip was like iron. I stumbled, falling to the ground beside her.
"But brother," she said, voice steady but eyes wild, "I'm sane!"
"What?" I barely had time to react before she punched the air near my face and kicked out, sending me sprawling.
"Sike!" she laughed wildly, the sound manic and unsettling.
I rolled roughly across the ground, pain exploding through my ribs as I hit the earth hard. "Ah! Ugh!" I tried to push myself up, but the sharp sting told me some ribs were broken.
Watching her, I felt a cold certainty settle over me—this was not Dia. The strength she'd shown, the ease with which she overpowered me, none of it belonged to the sister I knew.
Only an apostle or a powerful sightseer could wield such power.
"HAHAHAHA!" The thing's eyes gleamed with madness, its mouth grinding as if savoring the chaos. "I can't believe you fell for that, you stupid fool!"
I seethed with fury at being tricked, but there was no remorse. If I managed to land a hit on this creature, it wouldn't be mercy I'd show.
"Ugh! Now I'm sure you're not Dia," I growled, struggling to steady my breath.
The brutal kick had made it clear—I was hopeless against it in my current state. But I couldn't stop fighting.
"Still going on about how I'm not Dia, huh? Fine, how about a story to convince you I am your sister? Interested?"
What twisted lies was this creature spinning? Dia had no such power—she was just a girl I grew up with. Why did it keep insisting it was her?
No, I had to focus. Zero needed saving. And Dia—I had to find the real Dia, wherever she was, safe from this nightmare.
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