After a while of complete disconnect, Syllis felt the first semblance of self return to her.

One by one, her senses gradually recovered. First was her taste, the saliva in her mouth tasted slightly minty. Next was sound, the faint breeze could be heard, bellowing through a hundred different leaves. A series of light whistling sounds also rang out as a result of this breeze.

Syllis could curl the tips of her fingers now, able to feel the pain that arrived with pulling on them a little too hard. She wiggled her toes as much as she could in her black boots that Dalea had given to her after Anahita’s ascension.

After a couple more minutes, she could smell the cool air. It was not cold, nor particularly warm. It could be said that this was the perfect temperature. This was not accurate though, it only felt so perfect because of Syllis’ black winter coat. The fur that lined the interior surely turned this cold environment’s frost-biting temperature into one easily withstood.

Her vision took the longest to return. It went from entirely dark, to incredibly blurred. Over the course of nearly ten minutes—or what felt like it—her vision continued in this same pattern, though the blurring lessened.

Nothing was discernible at first. Syllis could feel herself instinctually smile when she could finally make out rough colors. In her vision, she could see a majority of purple mixed in with splotches of yellow and black.

Vague shapes then formed, gradually coalescing from what was a fractured scene into something somewhat sensible. The yellow splotches were hundreds of floating circular shapes. Massive yellow sheets were also strung across her vision. The black spots were patches of what seemed like fur lining the ground. A deep purple hue seeped into everything she saw. It tainted the yellow shapes and combatted the black patches.

‘This is probably the sky.’ She thought rationally.

Syllis was furious. She was angry at Clyde for forcing her into this fable rift, without preparations. She was angry at Aura for going along with it, and apologizing to her when that witch would do the same thing again in a heartbeat. She was angry at Korman for always following Aura’s lead, like an obedient mutt.

Though, she could not act on these thoughts, nor could she speak them. Fable rifts were a dangerous and illogical phenomena. They often bent the rules of reality and twisted them into whatever they pleased. This was the result of ill perpetuators of such fables.

This was no place to argue, they needed to band together. Any distrust between any of the four of them would greatly hinder them. This was the difference between life and death. Bonds between people are tested on the line between life and death.

Syllis’ vision finally completely returned to her. An almost absurd sight awaited her.

The ground was covered in patches of black grass, it was fine which gave the appearance of fur. Trees had purple bases with yellow leaves that bellowed in the wind. The dark purple sky that swirled cast shadows on everything, though they were not the dark, black shadows from Ethrailia. In this fable, all shadows were a pastel yellow color.

Syllis looked down at the shadows of her own hands. These yellow shadows danced below her fingers as she held them up to the…

‘What? Isn’t this a little too absurd? Is there truly a world out there with four suns? Each of them are so bright.’

Syllis almost laughed upon examining the four suns. They shone almost like the four points that comprised a diamond. The last sun was hard to see through the brief clearing in the forest. It was partially shrouded, half covered underneath the purple horizon. She felt there needed to be a reason for their particular arrangement.

She swung her gaze like a spear, sweeping over the environment. Far away, hundreds of pastel shadows danced around in the breeze. Closer though… Aura, Clyde, Korman. Each of them seemed to be in a different state of recovery from walking through the fable rift.

Korman was the furthest, still grappling with the idea of curling his fingers. Clyde shifted his head slightly as he scanned the environment, likely making out the various shades and shapes. Aura was already starting to stand up several meters away.

None of them spoke throughout their awakening process. Each of them had thought they were completely isolated. They thought their screams would not be heard, and the threat of alerting creatures or monsters was not too charming.

Aura turned around as she got her bearings.

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“Syllis…” Her voice trailed out, like she wanted to say something but it just would not come out.

Korman and Clyde turned around at this sudden word. It shattered the impenetrable silence that had lasted near twenty minutes, or somewhere close to that.

The former could not see anything, he reacted purely on sound. Clyde on the other hand saw the vague colors and shapes that made up his companions. Namely, Syllis’ cerulean blue hair and Aura’s tan skin were stark contrasts to the surrounding environment.

“You can see?” Clyde responded, somewhat shocked. He knew that he himself would be able to take in the land in a few minutes, but his allies already taking in the view felt slightly isolating.

“Syllis and I can both see…” Aura’s words once again trailed out, like an afterthought not fully formulated.

“How’s your progress? And Korman’s as well.” Syllis inquired, eager to know when they could begin moving.

It felt eerie to be in the middle of the bizarre forest. Syllis could feel the hairs standing up on her arms and back. Normally, forests were crawling with monsters and dangerous fauna. This one though, was entirely normal. There was not a single threat to them in sight. This quietness was perhaps even scarier than a hundred monsters surrounding them.

Syllis thought it unlikely that this fable lacked horrific abominations to hunt them down. ‘It’s much more likely that they were driven out by some greater, more terrifying creature.’

Syllis ran through a couple of scenarios. A grand creature that lies dormant for a thousand years, scaring away monsters with an occasional snore. An alien civilization that hunted these creatures down. Ultimately, she had no way of confirming, or even growing closer to the truth. This was the most unsettling part of the entire situation.

“I can make out most shapes and colors, the blurriness is fading. At most a couple of minutes.”

“I am just beginning to make out colors, probably ten minutes to go.”

Both of them gave concise answers, outlining a clear timeline. All four of them would be able to start moving in ten minutes.

It was important to move fast, and especially important due to their complete absence of supplies. Ordinarily, cured meats would hopefully last expedition groups for the entire length of the fable rift. They would only hunt after nearly all of their rations were gone. The same applied with water.

In the forest, there were no creatures. No creatures that any of them could detect at least. Perhaps things would change once Korman could see. He was an adept tracker, trained by his father and augmented by a complimentary bond.

At least for now, they needed to operate under the assumption that there was no food or water nearby. It was essential to begin moving as soon as possible. Though, they would not run, that would burn unnecessary fat. One needed to maximize efficiency by utilizing the least energy and moving the furthest distance possible.

Syllis and Aura shared an understanding look and approached each other. They leaned over each others’ shoulders, getting in position to secretly whisper. There was no need to inform Clyde and Korman of potential issues. Once they were confirmed, it would be fair game.

“This is strange right, the lack of animals?” Aura quietly spoke to Syllis.

“It is, we have to quickly find out the reason behind it. Or else, we might be next.” Syllis secare mused. It was a joke, but only partially. They could truly become prey if they lingered without unraveling the forest's mystery before long.

“Why did you two move closer? What’s going on?” Clyde sounded slightly panicked, fearful that he missed out on some important information.

“Worry not my traitorous partner.” Syllis joked in a passive-aggressive tone. Clearly conveying her anger, but also her restraint to act on it. “I was merely wiping some dirt from her face and clothes.”

The secare nymph stepped back towards Aura, turning away from Clyde. She softly swept her hand across the shoulders of the tan human’s black coat.

All four of them had matching coats. They were bought with the intention of being versatile in a fable rift. The fur lining within was detachable making them suitable for not only cold environments, but for hot ones as well.

Clyde finally turned, gleaning the contents of the environment. He could not fully see. He went through the same realizations and distinctions that Aura and Syllis both had. His expression fell as he realized the dire scenario that they were in. The consequences of entering a fable without preparations seemed much more dire after stepping through and taking in the environment.

The three of them conversed, a couple of meters away from Korman. Aura had left an ephemeral guard to watch over him. As they talked, Korman did not fret like Clyde, or perhaps was just not vocal about it.

Syllis thought about it. If she had been the very last of the four of them, she would be panicking. She would wonder if they were going to leave her, if they would abandon her just like her mother and father.

“I can see.” Korman spoke plainly, as if it held no difference to him whether he could see or not. He stepped over to the three of his companions after once again looking over the environment.

“Alright, now that we can all see and are adjusted… Which direction should we head in?” Clyde questioned, glancing at everyone around him.

A crackling sound suddenly began to emit from the air, causing the four of them to jump.

The four suns had ignited, bursting into pale white flames that seemed to sear the very sky. This purple cosmic sky swirled with the pastel yellow flames that rode alongside it like the wick of a candle. Even louder crackling hollered as they spread and converged. Tens of thousands of raging lines of white flame flickered and burned the sky itself, leaving visible burn marks behind.

There was no time to decide what direction to pick. The only certainty in this situation was that if they stayed still, then they would die.