"Well...." she hesitated. "It's fine if you can't speak," Amarok saw her hesitation and quickly proposed. "I am Yuni. Call me if you need something," she said and left the duo. "What do you think of this place, Master?" Amarok turned to Neo, who had been silent. Neo was in deep thought. "It's very strange. We wouldn't stay here for long," he said before closing his eyes. The flight and fight had exhausted them.

...

The next day, Amarok and Neo went to meet Mist. Mist sat up on the bed, noticing their arrival. Wisdom dashed and jumped on the bed, wiggling its tail as it stared at Mist. "Finally up, sleeping princess?" Amarok asked, his brow returning to normal. "Princess? You have grown some guts," she replied, raising her brow.

He exhaled almost inaudibly. Mist's face flashed; her long hair was untied and hung on her shoulder. Her beautiful face was devoid of any pain. "I wouldn't stay here forever, you know," Mist smiled. Inwardly, she smiled, knowing Amarok had actually kneeled to beg for help in her favor. She was really grateful for that but would not say it out loud.

"You look amazing this morning," Amarok smiled awkwardly, sweat trickling down his face. "What? I don't usually look amazing?" Her eyes flashed with shock. "If you don't need me, I could leave you both," Neo coughed. Were they even thinking of him acting that way? "Senior Neo, good morning," she quickly greeted. "Can you walk already?" he asked directly. They were not exactly the most welcome here. They could not linger. "Yes, I can. We can leave now," she said, standing.

"So soon? We haven't even thanked our host."

"You already heard their position about us. It's better we stop bothering them," Neo added.

The duo waited outside, and once Mist was dressed, they left the building. They already knew the exit. Amarok felt a little bad. He thought it was ungrateful for them to just leave that way, but neither Mist nor Neo listened to him. He could only sigh. As they exited the building, cries could be heard coming from one part of the town. The group exchanged glances, rushing without hesitation.

A row of buildings appeared in their view. There was a huge fountain at the center. The people were in a hurry. A huge monster was currently fighting several people. They were using runes to try to defeat the monster, but it was useless. The monster had three blue eyes shining vividly. Its body was like boiling with gray fog. Its limbs were furiously striking. Many were sent flying, hitting the ground. What was strange was they were not using their spears even after getting wounded. Amarok unsheathed his sword. Without a second thought, he sprinted forward. The monster roared, its limbs extended, charging towards them. Amarok sidestepped, evading the first strike; the air whistled near his face. He then rushed even faster, flipping to evade the second limb; the winds whistled as it flew past him. He pounced forward, the grip on his sword tightened. Just as he was about to strike, a figure appeared before him. It was Folk; instantly, First Order was activated. The rune shone brightly, and Amarok halted in midair.

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"Why?" he was perplexed.

"Who are you to interfere with Freud matters? Leave."

Before he could even react, the limbs came whipping at them. Both were flung like vulgar pieces of paper to the side. Amarok's body rolled to the ground several meters before coming to a halt.

"Don't be so impulsive," Neo glared as he slashed with his sword, a dazzling arc deflecting the monster's limbs charging at him. The limbs charged, smashing the building to pieces. "I can't let you harm it," Folk glared at them. The monster roared and turned to flee back into the fog.

"Your friend seems in perfect form. Yuni will see you off," Folk said without emotion.

"Sorry for my disciple. He never had any bad intentions."

"This way, please," Folk said, not hinting at their words.

"Good job," Mist said as she stared at Amarok. Now they were even less appreciated. The group followed Yuni as they left the area. Many were staring at them with anger.

"Why protect it? Many more people could have been wounded," Amarok was startled.

"You..." Neo was speechless. "Just accept your fault and forget about it. It doesn't concern us."

Amarok wanted to say something but just kept moving silently before the group. Once they were at the town exit, Yuni suddenly stopped, turning to look around, checking if no one was there.

"I need your help, please," Yuni suddenly bent while speaking. "My brother has disappeared for several days already and has not yet returned. I don't even know if he's still alive. Please help me."

"Yuni, get up. What happened exactly?" Amarok quickly helped her up. Mist and Neo both exchanged glances. They knew problems were coming their way.

"Tell us what happened," Neo said. "A month ago, strangers arrived in Freud. They said they wanted to rest before continuing their journey to Alden. But immediately after they left, monsters around the town became wild. They started attacking the town unrestrained. At the same moment, my brother disappeared, and no one has seen or heard about him," Yuni spoke, slightly trembling. Her eyes unfocused and almost teary.

"You think it's all connected to those people?" Mist asked. They finally understood why they were so unwelcome here.

"Why have you not gone out of the forest to look for him?" Amarok was perplexed. The forest was dangerous indeed, but with First Order, they could certainly go out to find him.

"None of us can leave this forest. So I am certain my brother is still somewhere inside," she said, looking into their eyes. They were startled, to say the least.

"Why?" Neo questioned. He was willing to help, but they had to know exactly what they were jumping into.

"Yuni, you have said enough," a stern voice suddenly interrupted them. Yuni smiled with an apologetic smile. "Please help me find him. He is called Gian."