Took us a while, but we managed to finally get in range so Il wouldn’t have to be constantly checking her position with that sonar-mana-tentacle.

We could finally rely on For and Kon. Well, mostly on Kon, his ability being a bit better than hers.

But, that was not the end of our problems.

The moment we got in range, she started wildly changing direction, trying to throw us off the trail. That was not going to work, we were tracking her mana, not her physical features.

Not like that was going to stop her.

It was already well into the day when Kon stopped suddenly.

-What’s up?

-There’s… something wrong. Her trail is… getting weird.

-Weird how?

-I mean… it exists - he said. - I was just tracking her mana, but now it feels like she’s leaving behind a trail of it…?

-Huh…?

-Yeah. I don’t know what to think of it.

-Is she bleeding…? - asked Il. - That would explain it…

-I guess that could be it… - agreed Kon.

-But why now? She wasn’t wounded before, right?

-No. Or at least I wasn’t feeling something like that - confirmed Kon.

-Couldn’t she just cut herself on some foliage or something…? - asked For. - It’s not like this forest is easy to traverse.

-That’s not it - shook his head Kon. - If it was that little of a bleed, it wouldn't have looked like that… If that’s blood, she’s literally gushing from some kind of wound.

-Some monster got her? - asked For, but almost immediately denied herself. - No, can’t be. This area, being so mana dense, is so devoid of creatures…

-And besides, if there was anything dangerous nearby, we would’ve picked it up already - I agreed.

-Then I don’t know…

-If she’s really hurt, then we need to hurry - said Il. - While I doubt that, we are not going to accomplish anything just standing here.

-Right. Let’s go.

Easier said than done.

Besides picking up the pace, I planned on at least trying to move a bit quieter, but soon realized that it was pointless.

Besides it being impossible in the forest so dense, my body was not really built for stealth. Nor really was the fact that both of us, me and Il, were beacons of mana. She probably already knew that we were following her…

She probably thought that she was being followed by some monster. Well, she wouldn’t be that wrong, considering how each of us looked…

That also explained the attempt at losing us.

As to confirm my words, she also now started backtracking her own steps.

A good attempt, but pointless nonetheless.

We still were outpacing her, and soon were already so close that even For was able to tell.

Getting For in range gave us another bonus: she was able to actually confirm that we weren’t wrong. She was indeed bleeding, and managed to point us to the direct spots where we should find blood, but…

-There’s nothing here… - mumbled For. - Why… I can tell that… There should be a pool of blood here… Am I wrong…?

-Let me… - I said, inspecting the spot she pointed out. - I was wondering what exactly was going on…

Ha. Interesting.

-Well, you aren’t wrong per se… - I said, carefully picking up a leaf so I won’t drain it by accident. - Look.

Kon had to squint to actually see. Same with her.

On the bottom of it, there were about a handful of red drops, barely visible.

-Just that…?! - yelped For, not being able to hide her surprise. - What is she?!

-I can’t believe it - said Kon. - For that little blood to have that much mana… I mean, if we didn’t know it before, we are sure now that you are related to her. That would explain the mana capacity…

-That’s more to say about the Crystal, not us, but sure…

-Shh! - silenced us Il.

-Doesn’t matter - I simply said. - If she can hear us, so be it. We are here to talk anyway, so it does not change a thing.

-Still… Don’t you think it’d be a shock to learn it that way…

-Well, sure… - I agreed. - My bad. I guess just popping out of the bush going “Hi, I am your father that fucked off for hell knows how long, but I am back now. How’s things?”...

For chuckled quietly, but along with that, there was another noise that grabbed my attention.

A yelp?

Something like that. It was hard to tell, because it was far away, but I knew where it came from. We all did.

I groaned, annoyed.

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-Eh… I guess the farce is over now… come on, come out. I know you can hear us, and we definitely can hear you.

I didn’t get an answer.

-I guess that’s a no. We know you are there. Just come out and let’s have a talk.

Her mana didn’t even move a bit.

But, that doesn’t mean that she was calm. I could tell that there was a mixture of every single emotion surging inside her.

I can’t blame her for that.

-If you are not going to, I will come to you. I mean you no harm. You heard me… us, already, right?

As I didn’t get an answer again, I started slowly walking forward.

But, the moment I moved, my companions wanted to follow me suit.

-Stop. I am coming alone. You know that’s for the better.

Kon and For didn’t have much to offer and they knew that they would just be a liability if a fight was to break out, so they nodded and stepped backwards.

Il, on the other hand..

-I am coming with you. I am not just letting her…

-Her what? You know that I’ll be fine. But we don’t know that about you.

-Still!

-Please.

She hesitated, but finally nodded.

-I will let you lead. But I will follow you at a distance. If worse comes to worse… I can trap her, so we can talk - she finished inside my head.

-It won’t come to that. Besides, if we were to do that, it would only hurt what we are trying to accomplish here. We need to… I need to do this.

She gave me a stern look, but finally stepped back.

-Thanks.

-See? Or, well, rather hear? I am coming alone. You’ll be absolutely fine.

I started approaching her location.

At this point, we already have been well inside the range of feeling her mana. And that included her.

Hell, she had to notice us a lot earlier. You know, the evasive maneuvers had to come from somewhere.

She was hidden on top of a tree, about fifty meters in front of me, and maybe ten up high. Considering the fact that the trees here weren’t exactly made for climbing, her being able to get there was a feat in itself.

As I reached the tree she hid on, I took a better look at it.

There were no signs of spells, that is no physical signs. No marks on the bark, no distorted branches that would help to climb. The foliage wasn’t moved either, meaning that there were no flashy magicks used.

Nor was there any residue from the spell. Or it could’ve just been hidden by the overall infusion of the whole forest.

In any case, it meant she was clever.

I gazed up.

Besides the canopy, I couldn’t see shit.

I could always get up there myself, or straight up break up the forest to get a glimpse of her physical form, but decided against it.

Besides it being too aggressive and too risky in the current situation: she could’ve fallen down if I was to destroy some branches; it was also not a good way to mend our relations.

So I just started talking.

-So, hello up there - I said, looking straight at where she was supposed to be, using my mana sense. - I know you’re here. And I’d like to introduce myself again. My name is Mor Griza.

No reply.

-I know, I look quite different. That is if you even remember me, time is not really on my side with this one…

-...

-Nothing? We are going to just talk like this? Come on, I know you can hear me, there’s no need for some weird hide and seek.

-What do you want?

A quiet voice, that very much tried to sound calm and collected, but was failing.

Anyone would be able to tell that she was terrified.

-Just as you heard. To talk.

-I don’t think so.

I sighed.

-Eh… Fine. I am done with it anyway. I am going to repeat: hello, your family has come to visit. A bit late, but still. Can we stop?

She gave me a hostile look.

-I heard that. That does not change a thing.

-You can’t even get down from a tree when your father asks you?

-My father is dead - she said without even a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

And, to be honest, neither in her mana.

-Yeah, well, Axelrod… I mean Mike was not really what I had in mind, but that I also am not completely certain of. If you won’t believe me, then at least your mother…

-My mother is also dead.

I groaned.

-Again. That is up to debate. That’s why we are here.

-...

-Again silent treatment. Eh, fuck it. Can you at least not attack when she arrives here?

-...

-Whatever. I am not good at this anyway…

I honestly started wondering why was I even trying…

-Il, come here. It’s going to be problematic otherwise, maybe at least you can make her believe what you say…

I didn’t even have to wait for long. She was already behind a tree, waiting for a sign from me.

I mean, I did expect that, but still, that was not painting us in a good light.

Ambushing much?

-Take a listen. She believes that…

-I heard her… - replied Il, also looking up. - Il… I know it’s hard to believe, but that is me… The form aside, it’s…

She immediately cut her off.

-And now you bring here a magical construct of her? And want me to believe that… what…? What are you trying to do here?

-I am… well, I might be a construct, but…

-I’d say it’s more of a crystal remnant than a construct, but yeah….

-Remnant. Ah. Of course. A mythical, non-existing creature. Sure.

-That your parents worked on - I added.

She stopped, realizing that I knew more than I should, but quickly continued again.

-I don’t know what Axelrod told you, but…

-Sure, Axelrod. While I did have a talk with him, I believe I have a bit more first-hand experience…

-Your body… you are a revenant too? I guess I should’ve expected… this magic…

The last words were trailing out into the silence of the forest.

-Ah. So you can see. I mean, if you weren’t blinded, you probably would be able to tell that the three of us are a bit similar… almost the same, you know.

-And now he’s lying - she pointed out. - I know there’s more than three of you.

-I didn’t mean… - I sighed heavily. - Eh. Okay then, again. If you weren’t blinded, you probably would be able to tell that the five of us are similar, but the three of us, as in me, you and her - I pointed towards Il - have more similarities. - Please, at least hear us out.

-I am doing exactly that, but you don’t seem to have anything interesting to say to me. You just want me to get down… for what? To devour me? Wouldn’t be the first time, last time I managed to fend myself off quite well…

-You mean Mike? - I picked up. - I wouldn’t say that was “well”, I’d rather say that it was “lucky” and “barely safe”.

-That’s why we are here. To prevent the worst scenario.

-And what is that scenario exactly, hm?

-That you are going to be absorbed by the crystal you have now.