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Be wary of wishes, lone traveler, for the forest holds fathomless secrets.
The wind tasted of rain - a hint of moisture tickling the nose, a sign that winter was on its way to bloom. Only the howling gusts could declare the seasons within the dark and dank of the Inverted Forest. Year by year, an endless cycle, dry drafts and damp tempest without the cover of clouds. The very breath of the Abyss, some had called it, one which permeated the first five Layers, spewing from the Great Fault in rumbling groans.
The sound had once terrified her little apprentice. Now, it was as much backdrop as the chittering of forest creatures.
When the word of a whistle-less traveler reached her ears, she’d thought nothing of it. This was routine. Don the armor. Descend from Camp. Seek out the foreign straggler, and unleash upon them a fraction of her wrath, just enough to leave them a stain on the forest floor. Sometimes, she’d even let her Raider team take care of the task. Holed up in a gloomy forest, humans needed an outlet lest they succumbed to madness.
However, never in this lifetime nor the next did Ozen expect the sight that greeted her eyes. Maruruk was right - there was no whistle to be seen, despite the familiar style of dress that was nearly a decade out of fashion. She couldn’t blame the boy, who’d never seen this person in the flesh. She couldn’t fault an ignorant child for deeming a foreign raider out of an apparition.
Ice seeped into her bones. Her breath stalled. She gaped at the figure standing before her, one that smiled as though not a singe moment had passed since their parting ten years prior.
“...What are you?” Ozen whispered, hands trembling by her sides. “You are not her, so what are you? How did a ghost of hallucination escape the confines of the Great Fault?”
@annihilyza