Another morning broke beneath the veil of mist. The sun's rays pierced the canopy in thin, hesitant lines, painting silver halos on the forest floor. The fire from last night's camp had long since gone cold, replaced by the aroma of Fuhiken's warm breakfast soup, thick with root vegetables and a hint of forest herbs.
Steam rose gently from the pot atop the magic stove. Sakura, though not yet back to full appetite, quietly accepted a bowl from Gabyola. Across from her, Fahleena twirled a strand of hair and muttered half-finished incantations under her breath, still too sleepy for full chuunibyou declarations. Jessica sat near the fire with a pudding cup in hand, though no one could confirm where she had pulled it from. The boys finished packing the last of the gear, stuffing bedrolls and leftover supplies into their respective magic bags.
Once breakfast concluded, Fuhiken stood and stretched, glancing over the party with quiet pride. They had survived yet another strange day in the Mist Forest, and they were almost free.
Viqce, already standing at the edge of the clearing, gave a brief nod. "Route's open. Time to move, nyan."
As everyone began forming a loose line behind Viqce, checking their gear and stretching their legs for the journey ahead, Fuhiken's sharp eyes swept over the group. He noticed two figures lagging behind, the familiar duo moving just a little too casually. Kyle was pretending to admire the trees with exaggerated interest, and Sinryo was busy adjusting the strap of his magic bag with suspicious focus. Fuhiken stepped forward, boots crunching softly over moss, and intercepted them with the calm precision of a seasoned older brother who had seen this routine far too many times. His presence alone halted both boys in their tracks.
"You two," he said, folding his arms. His tone was not angry, but heavy enough to draw attention.
Kyle, already slinging his rifle onto his back, froze. "Yes, O big brother of judgment?"
Sinryo instinctively shifted behind Kyle.
Fuhiken exhaled. "No touching. No picking. No pocketing. I don't want to repeat this. Understand?"
Kyle and Sinryo exchanged a glance.
"Yes, sir," they chorused with mock formality.
Adiw appeared silently behind them, arms crossed, eyes narrowing like a hawk targeting prey. Jessica followed, resting her hand lightly on her katana. Neither said a word, but their presence alone was enough to reinforce the point.
Kyle raised his hands. "Fine, fine. I get it. No shiny rocks. No shiny pebbles. No shiny anything."
"I like shiny things," Sinryo muttered under his breath, but wilted beneath Jessica's unblinking stare.
Satisfied, Fuhiken turned away. "Let's go."
With Viqce leading the path, the party moved into single file. The deeper parts of the forest were a web of thick trees and uneven terrain, crisscrossed with hidden paths no outsider could decipher. Yet Viqce moved effortlessly, guiding them between thorny bushes and silent groves with feline grace.
Yuuna, walking second behind her, finally voiced the curiosity that had simmered since the night before. "Viqce. You mentioned someone survived this forest before. A human."
"Mmhmm," Viqce replied without turning. "You want the long version, nyan?"
"Yes."
"I charge extra for stories," she said, tail flicking. "But you've already paid in full with the chaos yesterday."
"Wasn't chaos. Just… minor magical dislocation." Kyle coughed loudly.
Sinryo added, "It was educational!"
Adiw's stare turned into a full-blown glare as he took a deliberate step closer, rolling his shoulder and raising one fist just enough to make a point. Beside him, Jessica's fingers slid to her katana's hilt, thumb gently lifting the guard with a quiet click. The silent message was clear: one wrong word, and they'd both regret it. Kyle and Sinryo froze instantly, eyes wide, mouths snapping shut like trapdoors.
Viqce chuckled. "Alright, then. Lend me your ears."
---
Viqce's voice carried lightly through the mist. She narrated a history lesson.
"Long ago, so long even my grandmother would call it old news, people from all over tried to cross this forest. Adventurers, traders, mercenaries, monsters… goblins, ogres, even centaurs. Some walked in with pride. Others with desperation. None came back. The forest didn't care who you were. Everyone was equal in the Mist's eyes. Lost, and forgotten.
But then came one man. A human."
She paused to leap lightly over a tangle of vines, the others stepping carefully behind her.
"He started young, barely more than a teenager, they say. But when he finally emerged from the forest, years later, he was a man well into his thirties. Not a hero. Just… persistent. He entered alone. No companions. No glory seekers. Just a journal, a pack, and the will to understand.
He started small. Mapping edges. Noting weather. Writing about the sounds at night. Every step was trial and error. One wrong turn meant losing a month of progress. Sometimes, he vanished for weeks before re-emerging at the forest's edge."
"Sounds exhausting," said Yetsan, adjusting his heavy armor.
"It was," Viqce said. "But he didn't stop. Days turned to months. Months into years. His hair went gray, his body thinner. But he figured it out. Slowly, he unraveled the forest's rhythm. The hidden paths. The pockets of magic. The rules."
Jessica's brows furrowed. "So he escaped?"
"Not exactly. When he finally emerged, it wasn't to return home. He didn't go back to Machinia, the human region. He went southeast, to Verdastra. To us beastfolk."
"Why?" Yuuna asked.
"No one knows for sure," Viqce said, her voice softer. "Maybe he didn't want to go back. Maybe he couldn't. Maybe whatever happened in here changed him. But one thing's certain, he didn't trust humans anymore. He warned the beastfolk to avoid them."
There was a pause. Even the wind seemed to listen.
"He called himself End of Misteri. Not his real name. But it stuck. We call him Sir End."
Gabyola tilted her head. "A rather poetic name for an adventurer."
"He earned it," Viqce replied. "Sir End shared everything he'd uncovered, his notes, his paths, his warnings. He entrusted them to the beastfolk elders and taught some of our scouts how to read the forest's breath. He even passed that knowledge to the rat beastfolk, who eventually chose to live here."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "The same rat beastfolk you said we're not supposed to mess with?"
Viqce nodded, eyes scanning the dense trees. "Exactly. Rule number one, don't harm the forest's residents. They've been here longer than us. The rat beastfolk migrated deep into the Mist long ago. No one's seen them in generations. But that doesn't mean they're gone. They know how to stay hidden."
Kyle tightened his scarf. "Great. So now we're being watched by invisible rats?"
Viqce gave a nonchalant shrug. "This is the Mist Forest. You never walk alone, nyan."
---
The trees ahead began to thin.
The twisting, choking branches opened up to reveal a spread of bright green, the forest's end. The air felt lighter, the mist no longer suffocating, just trailing behind them like a fading memory. In the distance, a wide grassy plain stretched out, leading to the blurred shimmer of sea on the horizon.
Viqce stepped forward and exhaled, her cat ears twitching. "Welcome back to the world. We've exited the forest."
A collective sigh echoed behind her.
"Finally," Gigih muttered. "If I had to listen to one more suspicious tree creak, I'd have self-combusted."
Fuhiken gave a small nod. "Let's ride the rest of the way."
Yuuna stepped up, slipping a small cube from her magic bag. She knelt and placed it gently on the grass. A ring of light flared beneath it as she tapped her wand against its top.
"Unfold: Stormrider Supreme Express IV!"
With a hum, the cube glowed and unfolded, panels spinning and reshaping with mechanical precision. In mere seconds, the Stormrider Supreme Express IV stood complete, six-wheeled and gleaming in the sun. Fahleena's golden crest, Keyblade and Mana Tree entwined, shone proudly on its side.
Gigih nearly wept. "Wheels. Sweet, sweet wheels."
"Cabin for the girls," Fuhiken announced. "Wagon for the rest."
The girls filed into the enclosed cabin, grateful for padded seats and soft cushions. Yetsan climbed into the back wagon and immediately began dusting off the floorboards. Adiw, Sinryo, Kyle, and Gigih followed, flopping into their respective corners. Kyle started to reach for a pebble, then noticed Adiw watching him and froze.
"I wasn't going to take it," Kyle mumbled.
"Better not," Adiw replied.
Viqce joined Fuhiken on the driver's seat, sitting cross-legged with a relaxed sigh. Her tail flicked once, then settled.
As the carriage started forward with a gentle hum, powered by the fire stone-fed mana engine, the forest disappeared behind them. The wheels rolled smoothly over the grassy plain, leaving the shadows of the Mist behind.
"See that?" Viqce pointed ahead. The ocean glinted beneath the late morning sun. "Leviathan Coastline. You'll be in beach territory by sunset."
Gabyola leaned out the window, taking in the breeze. "It's hard to believe we were still in that forest this morning."
"Let's not go back," Sinryo muttered, hiding behind his bag.
"We will go back one day," Yuuna said, still writing in her notebook. "There's still too much left unexplored."
"No thanks," Kyle said. "I'm developing a mushroom allergy."
"Too late," said Gigih. "I already diagnosed you with trauma-induced forestophobia."
The laughter that followed wasn't wild, or rowdy, it was gentle, worn, but sincere. This day, surprisingly, passed without chaos.
No chaos. For once, that was enough.
---