The white blossom path stretched ahead like a ribbon of light between the ancient crystal trees. Sunlight shimmered through the silver-green canopy, painting dappled reflections across the ground. The air was oddly still, as though the forest itself held its breath.
Yun Lan walked a few steps ahead of the others, her pendant still glowing faintly against her chest. She didn't speak much. Her thoughts were far away, weighed down by everything they had endured so far—the near-deaths, betrayals, secrets… and the looming truth that not all of them might make it to the end.
Arin watched her carefully from behind, his hand resting instinctively on the hilt of his blade, eyes scanning the path. Leon, unusually quiet, followed next to Xi Mei, who still clutched the flower she had picked from the grove as a token. They hadn't spoken much since the Mirror Grove. The illusions they'd seen had shaken them more deeply than any of them wanted to admit.
"Do you think the relic is close?" Xi Mei asked in a hushed voice, as if afraid the forest might overhear.
Leon shook his head. "I don't know. But this place doesn't feel right anymore."
The quietness was growing. No birds. No insects. Just the whisper of wind against glassy leaves and the faint sound of hooves—
Hooves?
Yun Lan stopped.
From between the trees, a strange creature emerged.
It was a horse—at least at first glance. But its fur gleamed like starlight, white with faint silver markings. Its mane shimmered like threads of moonlight, and at the center of its forehead stood a spiraled horn, crystalline and faintly glowing.
"A unicorn," Yun Lan whispered in awe, stepping toward it slowly.
The creature didn't flinch. It tilted its head, large dark eyes calm and ancient. It looked at Yun Lan as though it had been waiting for her.
Leon reached out. "Yun Lan, don't—"
But before he could stop her, she had stepped forward, her hand brushing against the creature's mane. A soft glow spread from her fingers to the unicorn's body.
It lowered itself slightly, inviting her onto its back.
Yun Lan looked back at the others, her expression unreadable. A strange calm had settled over her.
"Don't!" Arin shouted, stepping forward. "Yun Lan, wait!"
But she had already swung one leg over, her pendant flaring to life the moment she mounted.
The unicorn reared back, letting out a hauntingly beautiful cry—half-song, half-call—and bolted into the forest, galloping at impossible speed.
"YUN LAN!" Leon screamed, taking off after her.
Arin ran beside him, heart racing, branches slapping across his face as they followed the fading glimmer of light through the trees.
Xi Mei struggled to keep up, fear gripping her chest. "Where is it taking her?!"
They ran for what felt like hours, but the unicorn was faster than any creature they'd ever encountered. Soon, even the shimmer of its trail vanished, swallowed by the dense forest.
Leon finally stumbled to a stop, breath ragged, fists clenched. "Damn it!"
Arin stood beside him, his chest heaving. "We lost her…"
Xi Mei arrived moments later, her cheeks flushed and eyes wide with panic. "We have to go after her! We can't just leave her!"
"She's not just lost…" Leon said, looking around.
Arin turned in a slow circle. "No broken branches. No hoof prints. Nothing."
The forest was perfectly still again.
As if Yun Lan had never been there at all.
A suffocating silence fell over them.
Xi Mei looked like she might cry. "What if something happened to her? What if she's hurt?"
"She was calm when she left," Arin said, but his voice betrayed his doubt.
"She looked… entranced," Leon muttered. "Like something was calling her."
Xi Mei shivered. "Do unicorns… do that?"
Arin shook his head. "They're rare and tied to relic energy. But they don't usually take people—especially not like that."
Arin glanced toward the trees. "Unless the relic itself summoned it."
They stood there for a long moment, the weight of Yun Lan's absence heavy in the air. Each of them felt it differently—fear, guilt, frustration—but all three were united by the hollow ache of losing her.
"She saved me," Xi Mei said quietly. "She's the one who saved me."
Leon turned away, jaw clenched. "We'll find her."
Arin looked down at his hands. "But what if she doesn't want to be found?"
Xi Mei looked at him sharply. "Don't say that."
"I'm serious. What if the relic is choosing her for something else? Separating her from us?"
Leon remained quiet. He had seen too much in Yun Lan's eyes during their journey—pain she tried to hide, weight she refused to share. What if this was her destiny all along—to be taken, to face something alone?
But he wasn't ready to accept that.
None of them were.
"We camp here for the night," Leon finally said. "We'll try tracking again at dawn."
"I'll take first watch," Arin offered, already unslinging his pack.
Xi Mei began collecting wood for a small fire, her motions mechanical. Her gaze flicked toward the trees every few seconds, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of silver fur or glowing eyes.
Night fell quickly, wrapping the forest in velvet shadows. The fire crackled softly, casting long flickering silhouettes on the trees around them.
Arin sat on a rock, staring into the flames. He hadn't said much since Yun Lan disappeared. His thoughts were loud, chaotic. He remembered how she had laughed once, under the stars, when they shared bread near the mountains. How fiercely she protected Xi Mei. How she trusted him, even when he didn't trust himself.
And now… she was gone.
Xi Mei sat quietly beside the fire, holding Yun Lan's discarded cloak. She had found it snagged on a branch not far from where the unicorn had appeared. She hadn't said a word when she picked it up, but she hadn't let it go since.
Leon stood at the edge of the camp, watching the shadows between the trees. His jaw tightened with every sound in the dark. He felt powerless—and he hated it.
Somewhere out there, Yun Lan rode alone—guided by something none of them could see, understand, or fight.
Far Away – A Hidden Grove
Yun Lan opened her eyes.
She was no longer on the unicorn's back.
She stood in a glade of light—moonbeams falling like rain, the grass soft beneath her bare feet. The unicorn was gone. In its place stood a pool of crystal-clear water, still and silent. Surrounding it were ancient stones carved with runes she couldn't read.
The pendant at her chest pulsed steadily, like a heartbeat.
She took a step forward, drawn to the pool.
The water began to shimmer—then ripple—and then, slowly, images appeared on its surface. Faces. Places. People.
Her past.
Her future.
And something else.
A voice echoed through the glade—soft, neither male nor female.
"To claim the final relic, one must walk alone."
Yun Lan stood there, frozen.
"To protect those you love, you must vanish from them."
A tear slid down her cheek.
"Are you ready to bear that burden?"
She didn't answer.
But she didn't walk away either.
Back at the camp, the fire crackled softly as wind stirred the trees. The three companions sat in silence, each lost in their own storm of thoughts.
And somewhere, far beyond their reach, Yun Lan disappeared deeper into the heart of destiny.
To Be Continued…