Eris promised she would always be here to protect me… that she would never let anything happen to me. But… where is she now?

I’m alone, wandering down this dark, endless path. The air bites at my skin, cold and suffocating, and I have no idea where to go or what might be lurking in the shadows or hiding within the bushes. The fog has thickened so much that even my catgirl eyes are nearly useless—I can’t see my own feet, and everything around me has twisted into dark, shifting silhouettes.

The trees seem almost alive, their gnarled branches stretching out like skeletal arms, grasping and clawing at the sky. The wind whistles through them, a mournful, ghostly wail that sounds like a chorus of banshees mourning the dead. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig, every distant caw of a crow sends icy shivers racing up my spine. My skin prickles with goosebumps, and my breath catches in my throat, trapped and shallow.

“Eris… Eris… please… where… where are you?” I whisper, my voice trembling as fear coils around my neck like a merciless, invisible serpent, tightening and squeezing. My throat burns from calling out for her over and over, and my heart pounds so hard that each beat feels like a hammer against my ribs. My breath comes in short, frantic gasps, ragged and uneven. No matter how much I try, I can’t calm down.

Sure, I’ve had panic attacks before—plenty, actually—but nothing as terrifying as this. My ears droop, and my tail fluffs up like a bristling brush, trembling uncontrollably. My whole body shakes, every muscle locked tight with panic, every nerve on fire.

Just minutes ago, this garden trail felt serene and peaceful with Eris by my side. But now, without her, it’s transformed into a landscape of pure dread.

What did I do to deserve this? Why would Eris leave me like this? I don’t understand… I’m so confused!

Wait…

Could it be…?

A horrible thought slithers into my mind:

Because I’m useless… Eris abandoned me?

No… nooo! That can’t be true! That can’t be!!!

Eris is not like that!!!

I shake my head desperately, trying to banish the thought, but it lingers, gnawing at me, making my chest ache. The fact that I can’t entirely deny it makes my heart break. Hot tears well up and spill down my cheeks, and before I know it, I’m sobbing, my shoulders shaking.

But!

That being said, I have to calm down, I have to!

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If I can’t even stand up and keep walking…

Then I really am useless!

So I have to keep going!

And I have to believe in Eris!

Thus, I grit my teeth and force myself to move, determined to put one foot in front of the other.

The plan is simple: keep heading forward, keep following the moonlight, and eventually, I’ll find the main road. From there, I can find help… or maybe even Eris.

Earlier, it hadn’t taken us more than twenty minutes to get from the Adventurer’s Guild to the clock tower, and that included stopping to buy snacks. So, it shouldn’t take me long to get back, right?

Right!

That’s the logic I cling to, desperately.

So, I walk. One foot in front of the other, I keep moving. The fog presses around me like a suffocating blanket, and I start counting my steps out loud to keep my focus.

“One… two… three…”

…

“Nine hundred and… what… the hell is happening?!”

I come to a stop, dread creeping up my spine like icy fingers. No… this can’t be right. No matter how far I go, the scenery remains the same. It’s as if I’m trapped, stuck in this endless, foggy path. Like some twisted horror game, the world loops on and on, and there isn’t a single soul in sight.

My chest tightens painfully. Why is there no end to this place? What kind of hellish trap have I stumbled into?

“No, no, no… this isn’t happening,” I whisper, clutching my Messer sword so tightly that my knuckles ache. My mind scrambles for answers. How? How is this possible?

One explanation rises to the surface:

Could it be… Magic.

But… what kind of magic?

Think, Felicia…

THINK!!!

I bite my lip hard, trying to think.

Was it a teleportation trap? Something that activated when I stepped on a specific leaf or crossed some invisible threshold? That would explain why Eris and I got separated.

Yes… that has to be it.

If that’s true, then Eris didn’t abandon me. Maybe she’s even looking for me right now—or worse, she could be in danger herself!

But even knowing this, I still don’t have a plan. I still don’t know what to do.

“Damn it!”

I curse under my breath, my frustration and fear pressing in from all sides. The darkness feels like it’s closing in, suffocating me, and I’m slowly swallowed whole by the terror that I might never escape.

—————————

Even so, moments later…

I’m still trudging forward, even though I know deep down it’s probably pointless.

Each step feels heavier, my exhaustion pressing down on me, made worse by my utterly abysmal stamina.

“Do I really have to wait until morning for this nightmare to end?” I mutter, frustration bubbling up alongside my fatigue. My voice sounds small, swallowed up by the oppressive mist.

Then—

Something shifts in the fog. A shadow slinks through the thick, swirling gray.

“Shit! What now?” I whisper, my pulse quickening.

The movement sends a jolt of adrenaline through me, my breath catching in my throat. My heart slams against my ribs, each beat loud and desperate, like it’s trying to break free from my chest. I tighten my grip around my sword, the blade quivering in my trembling hands. Moonlight dances off the steel, casting fleeting flashes of light as I brace myself, every muscle coiled, every nerve on high alert.

It’s just a tree, right?

Yeah, it’s probably just a tree swaying in the wind, I tell myself.

But no, the shadow moves again, and then comes the rustling, closer and closer!

The dread crawling up my spine deepens, each vertebra freezing in place. My mind races, desperately trying to rationalize what I’m seeing.

No… it’s not a tree. It’s moving too deliberately, too alive.

It’s a creature!

A freaking creature!

Icy fear wraps around me like a suffocating blanket. My knees threaten to give out as I watch the creature’s form slowly take shape. Its silhouette grows clearer—a round body, long ears twitching as it bounds ever closer through the fog.