A traveling caravan was kind enough to let Sache hop along. In exchange, she lightened up the mood, at times making jokes, and at others just singing really good songs.

“It’s been fun but this is where I’ll be off! Take care.” Sache hopped off and landed on her feet. She waved her hand rapidly.

“Be careful of strangers now, you hear? This place is a little dangerous after all.” One of the merchants warned her. He grew to like Sache’s uplifting personality, it would be a shame if something happened to her.

“I know someone here, he’s supposed to come pick me up.” Sache turned around, skipping deeper into this dark forest, like an unsuspecting person walking into the darkness.

The caravan couldn’t just come with Sache no matter how much the majority wanted to. A job’s still a job, they needed to finish it.

A young adventurer felt his heart tighten. Just how could Sache enter such a scary-looking place without any form of safety?

“Boss, I don’t need payment anymore. My mind just can’t ignore someone like her traveling inside a place as dangerous as this. Even if she does say there’s someone she knows there.” Wearing a gladius by his side and a will to do what’s right, he ignored the benefits for his future.

“I thought the same, here.” The head merchant gave out half the agreed-upon amount despite only traveling a quarter of the way. Losing a soldier like him wasn’t that detrimental but having the thought of someone helping out Sache eased his mind.

“Thanks.” The young adventurer ran off, catching up to Sache as fast as he could.

The caravan moved on. There was nothing else holding them back anymore.

“Hmm~ mmmmm~” Humming all on her own, she heard something rapidly approaching behind her. She knew that this place wasn’t safe but to encounter trouble this early on was just her luck.

“Hiyah! Back off foul beast! I have learned many a form of martial arts!” Sache lowered her body and raised her two hands, forming her hands into something knife-like. She moved her hands in a circular motion, it did not look menacing in the slightest.

The rustling in the bushes finally signaled the approach of this mysterious beast.

“Close enough, Firebomb!” A bottle of liquor suddenly appeared on her hand with a wick attached to it. It sparkled. She threw it at the rustling bush without hesitation.

Sache took this opportunity to run in the direct opposite direction.

By her side, the young adventurer appeared. “Lady Sache, why are you running?”

“There’s a big monster behind me! We gotta run! Run!” Sache held her cap tightly, making sure it didn’t fly off.

The young adventurer wasted no time, picking Sache up and running forward. He didn’t question just what monster was lurking there but he trusted Sache’s decisions.

“Alright stop! Don’t move a muscle.” Sache looked up at the skies. The previous morning sky had just turned an ominous red. Crimson sights that would even make the hardened individuals afraid.

The crimson sky slowly formed itself back to normalcy. It was the day’s sky once again.

“Okay, now we run! And we run fast! Hop to it, Grayson!”

“Lady Sache, what was that?” He didn’t know what he was running from but the eerie sky was enough of a threat to him.

“This is the Forest of Suppressed Motion. A lot of really bad monsters hide around inside here for their prey.”

Title {Forest of Suppressed Motion}

Name {Brouchen Forest}

Reputation {866 Cities}

Honor {Neutral}

Gravitas {100%}

Affiliation {None}

Blessings

Inscribement {Visual Suppression}

[Everything in the forest must adhere to a constant state of no motion. This only applies if one creature sees one another move. The crimson sky will signify when the one should not move.]

Engravement {Rebellious Subjugation}

[Creatures that do not follow the rules will have shadows behind them. These shadows will grow until it become big enough to swallow the creature. The shadows will then steal the creature’s body for the betterment of the forest. Shadow Monster is free from {Visual Suppression}]

[Each Shadow Monster feeds and grows the forest’s landscape.]

“It's not as scary once you know how to deal with it.”

“That monster back there was a really big one, Grayson. It’s really big! Other than light, nothing else can really do anything against it.” Sache turned her head, hoping that her makeshift light source would delay the Shadow Monster long enough for them to leave the forest.

He was immediately sucked into a whirlpool of danger and horror. But he didn’t despair. It turned out that his decision to come and aid Sache was the correct one.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Here, turn left. We’re almost out-” Sache guided Grayson to the correct path. She knew the truth behind all lies and deception. Even the confusing monotony of this forest wasn’t enough to delude her of where the exit was.

Yet as always, something dangerous just had to occur. The Shadow Monster that was held back by the flame was now rushing right at them. Even worse, the skies were turning redder with each waking second.

Grayson gritted his teeth, he could hear the trees rushing out and destroying everything in its wake. The pressure was on, he had to push further than he ever did. He ran faster, straining his body so that they could get away safely.

Yet an unexpected occurrence happened. Grayson was tripped by an overgrown root. Sache fell head first, rolling across the ground, staining her clothes with mud and dirt.

Grayson fared better as he immediately got back up. His instincts had been refined to never let himself be on the ground, no matter what. Though, it came at the cost of Sache’s well-being.

“Lady Sache, I apologize. Are you fine?” Grayson came over to Sache. She was a little out of it, as her head was scratched, blood dripping down her face. Grayson held her shoulders tightly, he knew that this was his fault.

The sky turned crimson once again, he was no longer allowed to move yet the Shadow Monster before him could. He had to make a stand, at the very least, until the crimson sky disappeared.

The Shadow Monster finally showed itself. It was a bear more than ten times the size of a normal one. The power behind those claws superseded what Grayson could enforce on himself.

Yet he had to stay his ground. The Shadow Monster raised its hand, aiming to flatten Grayson in full. To remove the stain within its wonderful home.

It was sudden.

By the time Grayson had noticed, his body had jumped back. Before him, only mere inches away, was the overencompassing threat of death. If he didn’t jump back then he could only be a puddle of blood by now.

He felt it, the suffocating grasp of the shadows weighing down on him. He had only moved a short distance yet his body was heavy, unbelievably so. The soul-crushing pressure on his body made even taking a step forward difficult.

Even still he had to. It had been going so well yet due to his careless mistake, Sache got injured. For a person who aimed to protect Sache, he was doing a terrible job.

Once again, the Shadow Monster moved around. Suddenly, its mouth reached out, aiming to rip Grayson’s body apart to nothingness. With how heavy Grayson’s body was, it was nearly impossible to move around.

It seemed as if all hope was lost. He would fall here and after that, Sache would be taken as well.

A hand touched his back, it felt so warm. It had taken the weight off his back, removing all the overwhelming sense of dread from him. He had just enough time to barely dodge the Shadow Monster’s bite. The very tip of his armor was bitten off but his body was unharmed.

The crimson sky turned back to light.

“Hey… we survived?” Sache’s voice was low. Barely audible to anyone who could hear it. “Open my bag…”

Grayson didn’t ask questions, just following along with Sache’s voice. The person who removed all the burden from him was her.

As he did so, he felt a covered item call to him. He took it out and opened its contents. It was actually a Day Stone. He didn’t even hesitate to know what he needed to do next. He threw the Day Stone into the Shadow Monster’s mouth.

The morning sky wasn’t enough to make the Shadow Monster stationary but the Day Stone was. It was stuck in place, glowing a warm light for everyone to see.

Sache closed her eyes. She was tired.

Grayson brought her out of this dark forest. What welcomed him was a mystical scene. A settlement filled with wondrous creatures and whimsical treats. If the dark forest was considered to be hell, then this was heaven.

Among these creatures was a normal man, seemingly far too old to be alive. He was bald but his beard was great and vast. He had been enjoying the company of these wondrous creatures, conversing with them as he wrote down a few items in his notepad.

He turned his head, seeing Grayson and Sache weakly limping. He dropped his notes and wasted no time, rushing towards him.

“Sache… Call for the Miraculous Doctor! Sache’s hurt! She’s bleeding!” His voice was filled with trepidation and anxiety. Sache was far too important for everyone here to lose.

Every single Tale inside here turned their attention on Grayson, rage swelling up within their hearts. Sache has always managed to get here safely but now that another person came here, it was clear what had just happened.

The old man took Sache away from Grayson’s hands, letting her rest on the ground. She was taking deep breaths, a series of ominous dark shadows filled her body. It weighed on her heavily.

At this moment, only then did Grayson realize why he suddenly felt so light back then. Sache covered for him. She took the shadows looming over him and bared the burden.

“Leave. I may be able to contain myself but I don’t think those Tales predisposed to cruelty could.”

A man with a cross as a face appeared before everyone. He came to Sache’s side. He took out a syringe from his backpack and inserted it directly into Sache’s chest. Oddly enough, this syringe had no contents.

But it didn’t need to. He pulled the back, taking a mysterious red and black liquid from Sache. As he did so, the cut on her head healed up and the ominous shadows surrounding her body were similarly sucked up. By the time the doctor finished, he had taken out an immense amount from her body.

Sache’s deep breathing turned much less strained now. She even started mumbling about alcohol. She returned back to normal.

“It’s much more than last time.” The Miraculous Doctor then proceeded to inject himself with the red and black liquid, filling his body with an immense amount of power. He felt elated, a surge of strength filled his body. To take others’ and turn it into strength, was his specialty.

The old man sighed, this wasn’t what he liked to do but the current situation wasn’t something that allowed for much leeway. The delicate balance set in place but be kept otherwise disastrous results could unfold.

Sache was sleeping soundly, even giggling in her sleep. The old man took out his hand and flicked her forehead.

“Ouch! Who does that?!” Sache was wildly woken up by this sudden pain. She moved her shoulders and felt relieved. She touched her forehead, other than the blood that had already escaped, there was no longer a cut there.

“I knew I could count on you, Steward!” Sache stuck her tongue out with a smile. Alongside this thumbs up she gave out, it seemed that she was ready to move on to the next adventure.

“This should last us for a while. You should stay around for a bit longer now. It’s been a while before we heard a new Tale. Would you mind entertaining us for a little while?” Steward, the old bald man, welcomed Sache back.

“Oh, before you do that, could you help my friend, Grayson, here? He’s been a big help.” Sache took Grayson’s hand and pulled him over to the Miraculous Doctor.

Steward was about to deny the request but Sache’s whim were always impossible to not go along with. He allowed the Miraculous Doctor to help Grayson up.

A syringe was taken, small, even smaller than the one that was used on Sache. The Miraculous Doctor entered it through his heart but it didn’t even hurt Grayson one bit. As the syringe was pulled, a few droplets were taken away.

It was only a slightly muddy color. It was essentially clear.

The effect was immediately clear for Grayson to feel, everything that had been slightly paining him was now gone. It was as if his body returned to perfection.

The Miraculous Doctor didn’t even bother with this amount, throwing it away. The festivities quickly settled in place. Everyone took out a special blend that Sache always liked.

Sache immediately filled her bag with as much as she could yet oddly enough, she never took a single sip. She was happily storing everything for the future despite having so much to drink.

Steward came up to right beside Sache. “You came back, that only means one thing. Are you sure you really want to go through with it one more time?”

“I’m The Fool Who Dreams Of Immortality after all. Why wouldn’t I follow through?” Sache giggled and gave Steward a big hug. It was going to be a long while before they would meet again.

“And if you can do me a favor, can you help Grayson achieve his dreams as well? He could help everyone out in… unexpected ways.” Sache quickly traveled off, disappearing back into the dark forest on her own.

“And just like that, she leaves everyone behind to pursue their own happiness.” Steward held the glass drink in his hand. He gripped it tightly, so hard that it shattered into numerous pieces. “For someone who can see so much, you’re too easily blinded yourself.”