The beasts fell one after another as Lue pressed deeper into the Midnight Forest. He had been fighting for hours, but the exhilaration never left his veins.
Each swing of his blade carved through the monstrous ranks as though they were nothing more than practice dummies.
Dark ichor sprayed the ground, the sound of their shrieks echoing between the looming trees.
Above him, no clouds could be seen. The forest sky was wrapped in such thick darkness that it felt eternal. Yet that same darkness did not deter him. In fact, it made him feel alive.
He thrived here, where danger was everywhere and hesitation meant death. Cosmic particles shimmered faintly in the air, drifting into him with every breath, feeding his power. He could feel his strength rise steadily, his rank pushing higher with every creature that collapsed at his feet.
The surge was intoxicating.
Then, just as he prepared to charge another pack of shadowy fiends, everything changed. A white fog rolled silently into the battlefield, curling around the corpses, the trees, and finally his own legs.
Lue froze. This fog was different. It was heavy, invasive, and carried with it a chill that pierced straight into his chest.
Before he could react, he heard a voice.
It was a voice he never thought he would hear again in this lifetime.
"Lue…"
His heart stopped. He knew that voice. He would recognize it anywhere, even if he lived a thousand years. It was his sister. Mary.
His eyes widened as he spun around, desperate to confirm what his ears insisted was true. And there she was. Standing before him.
Mary.
She wore the same familiar dress she had always cherished, the simple white one with little blue flowers along the hem. Her eyes locked onto his with a gaze so full of love and longing that his breath caught in his throat.
Tears welled in her eyes until they streamed freely down her cheeks.
"Oh, Lue," she sobbed, her voice trembling. "I have been so lonesome since you left. Why did you leave me all alone, big brother?"
His instincts screamed at him to run to her, to hold her, to tell her that she was not alone anymore. The urge to comfort her, to wipe away her tears, was unbearable. Everyone else in the world could cry for all he cared, but not her.
Not Mary.
Yet even as his heart ached, his mind fought back.
"No," he whispered, shaking his head violently. "I cannot be so stupid. That is not Mary. She is safe back on Earth, studying to become a lawyer, just like she promised me. This is the oldest trick in the book. I will not fall for it. Never."
He tried to tear his eyes away, but he could not. His vision clung to her as though chained. Some part of him wished, more than anything, that this was real. That she truly stood before him.
The fog thickened, seeping into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. With each breath, it filled him, sinking deeper, wrapping around his very soul.
Then Mary spoke again.
"I escaped thanks to you, but I underestimated the resources Mance had."
Lue stiffened at the name.
Mary's tears shimmered in the fog as she continued. "As soon as I reported him to the police, I discovered the department I had trusted was under his control. They delivered me right back to him."
A shock rippled through Lue's entire being. His thoughts tangled into knots. The story sounded so true, so painfully real. Could this have happened? Could she have suffered like this while he was away?
Mary's voice broke, quivering as she spoke. "The last thing I remember was being stabbed. He stood above me, laughing, saying I would go out just like my brother."
Lue winced as though the blade had pierced him instead. He wanted to deny it, to reject the entire tale, but his resolve faltered. Doubt sank into him like a toxin. What if she was real? What if she had truly been left behind while he forged ahead into another world? Could he forgive himself for abandoning her? He knew the answer.
He could not.
His voice cracked as he whispered, "If that is the case, then tell me… what are you doing here, in the Midnight Forest?"
Mary frowned, her tears pausing. She glanced around in confusion, as though only now noticing the twisted trees and infinite darkness. "The Midnight Forest? What is that?"
She looked back at him, her face a mask of innocence.
"I do not understand, brother. I was only at home. Then the stabbing. Then… nothing."
Her words wove around his heart, binding it tighter with every syllable.
Lue's knees felt weak. The fog pressed harder against his mind, his lungs, and his chest. His strength began to slip as though he were being hollowed out.
"It is really her," he whispered hoarsely. "My sister is back."
The certainty broke him. His feet moved on their own. Slowly at first, then faster. He bolted across the fog and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the ground in a wild spin.
She laughed softly, her voice sweet and familiar, and for a fleeting instant Lue felt whole again. He held her tighter, savoring the weight of her in his arms, the scent of her hair, and the warmth against his chest.
He hugged her like a drowning man clinging to a lifeline.
Mary smiled up at him, her tears gone. For a moment, her face radiated joy. Then her eyes shifted. The warm hazel drained away, leaving behind nothing but endless black pits.
The smile stretched unnaturally across her face until it twisted into something cold, sharp, and mocking.
Her mouth opened wide, far wider than any human mouth could, revealing jagged, uneven teeth that glistened in the pale fog.
Lue's eyes widened in horror. His sister's voice spoke again, but the words that spilled from her mouth shattered the illusion.
"See you in the afterlife, idiot."
Her tone was cruel. Mocking. Nothing like Mary at all.
The voice tore through him, pulling him back to reality. His heart convulsed as he realized what he held was no sister. It was a monster.
The fog had been some sort of toxin that fed his mind lies.
The creature's teeth descended toward his shoulder, ready to tear him to pieces.