> “I thought it might cross through, but… it doesn’t.”

For the first time after Eddie entered the forest, he felt safer. The ground below crunch as he made through his way along the Traveller’s Path. Torrie and Markus was up ahead, marvelling the surroundings beyond the Traveller’s Path. They are at the heart of the Deep Glaive now, they are at the deep end, as Catherine puts it, it’s like the depth of the oceans, and it shows.

Catherine walks behind Torrie and Markus, but in front of Eddie, she doesn’t seem to be marvelled by the sight of the enormous forest, she just strolled through the Travellers Path as if it was a walk in the park.

As they walk deeper and deeper. The trees grew thicker and taller as they go. Their trunks now as thick as a castle’s tower, the barks gnarled and ancient.

Eddie looked up, following the bark’s reach above, only to find that the clouds had swallowed them before it could reach the heavens.

The thick canopy above had sealed them from the skylight, occasionally streams of moonlight passes through the heavy canopy, only to be swallowed by the darkness below.

“Alright, folks. We will be stopping here.” Catherine said, stretching her arms, “We should arrive at the Heart of the Deep Glaive—the deepest, most ancient part of the Illusory Forest itself. We can rest here for now.”

“Yay!” Torrie exclaimed, “Can I go exploring now, Aunt Catherine?”

“You may,” Catherine said, “But don’t go over the Eden Flowers, Torrie. You don’t want to be snatched up by whatever creatures in here don’t you?”

Torrie nodded, then went off.

“You too can go on explore too, you know?” Catherine glanced to Eddie and Markus with a teasing expression, “Adventures are not just for sightseeing.”

Eddie and Markus exchanged a glance

“Alright then,” Eddie said, “Let’s go Mark, We can get something for the apothecary.”

Eddie and Markus then off wandering, keeping close enough to stay within sight of the glowing Eden Flowers. They marvelled at the unique vegetation that thrived on the massive tree trunks.

Vivid green mosses with faint silver veins, delicate flowers that shimmered with an iridescent glow, and clusters of mushrooms that emitted soft blue light.

“Whoa… this is incredible…” Eddie said to himself. “These are Everglow Mushrooms. And that moss… it’s Silverweave. These are rare—used for potent healing potions and wounds regenerations.”

Markus then leaned closer. “You’re right, this is worth a fortune.”

“Catherine?” Eddie called, “Can we pick these? Please tell me we can pick these.”

Catherine though, seemed distracted, she is looking at the paths ahead, then to the dark abyss on the sides, as if looking for something.

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“Catherine?”

“Yeah?” Catherine jolted

“I was asking whether can we pick the plants here, just making sure it’s not cursed or something.”

“Of course not, it’s not cursed,” Catherine chuckled, “Take as much as you like! As long as it’s withing the paths of course, just don’t stray over it.”

That was all the confirmation Eddie needed. He and Markus began gathering the rare ingredients, their earlier fatigue forgotten in their excitement.

As Eddie and Markus gathered ingredients, Torrie sat cross-legged on the side of the path, her attention captured by the Eden Flowers. She plucked a few blooms, weaving them together into a delicate crown. The golden light of the flowers reflected onto her face as she placed the crown on her head.

“How do I look?” she asked, turning to show Eddie, and Markus.

Markus chuckled. “Like the queen of the forest.”

“Don’t let it go to your head, Torrie.” Eddie added, “The queen shall never let go of her crown!”

Torrie responded with a laugh, The party seemed to relax for the first time since their journey began. The forest, once so foreboding, now felt welcoming, even protective.

For now, all seemed well.

After filling their satchels with rare Ingredients, Eddie, and Markus settled back to the Traveller’s Path, joining Torrie.

When Eddie and Markus joined her at the side of the Traveller’s Path, Torrie puts two of the Eden Flower crowns on top of Markus and Eddie, he could see to that Catherine also had one in her head, and Torrie didn’t seem to be stopping making the crowns.

“And now I shall pronounce you King of the Deep Glaive!” Torrie said with a fluorish.

“Don’t you hear that, Ed? We’re kings now!” Markus joked.

“A kingdom doesn’t have two kings, Torrie.” Eddie said back, “If me and Markus are Kings, and you are the Queen, that what you make of Catherine then?”

Torrie then stopped and thinks, and then her face lit up with mischief.

“Aunt Catherine would be the irresponsible Princess!”

Eddie and Markus then burst into a laugh, The air seemed to lighten.

Eddie’s gaze lingered on Catherine thinking she would make witty response to Torrie’s joke, it is weird that she seemed very occupied. She stood apart from the group, her hand clutching something—a map, Eddie realised her frustrated expression.

Shouldn’t she be pleased? Happy? The fact that they made it safely to the heart of the Deep Glaive? They conquered the Illusory, after all. Shouldn’t that be a reason to be happy in this scenario?

Then, out of the blue, Eddie recalled something…

It hit him like a blast of cold air. The conversation they’d had a few nights ago, outside the Swordfish Pub, rushed back to him.

She isn’t here for rare ingredients.

She isn’t here for adventures.

She is here for an ancient artefact.

Eddie swallowed, watching her as she folded the map, the parchment old and weathered, its edges frayed and stained with dirt. She folded it, then unfolded it again and again, once in a while looking over the abyss beyond the Traveller’s Path.

Catherine then walked to the edge of the Traveller’s Path just next to Eddie. Her gaze was overlooking the abyss in front of her, the seeming darkness that enveloped the Illusory forest, as if searching something beyond its darkness.

Looking at her, Eddie stood up and looked to the direction Catherine is gazing.

“Catherine?…” Eddie began, “You alright? You seemed really occupied.”

“We didn’t arrive where I thought we would…” Catherine said almost whispering, “We were off a couple metres… this can’t be good.”

“What do you mean?” Eddie frowned, glancing at the map. “We are at the Heart of the Deep Glaive isn’t it? Isn’t this… where you wanted to be?”

Catherine lets out a frustrated sigh. She tapped a spot on the map, near a series of intricate symbols. “The Traveler’s Path doesn’t lead directly to the ruins I was hoping to explore.

“I thought it might cross through, but… it doesn’t.” Catherine continued, turning her gaze toward the abyss beyond the glowing Eden Flowers. “The ruins are only a few meters off the path. Not far.”

“I’m going over.”

Eddie stared at her, his pupils dilating in panic, did he heard her correctly? Didn’t she just said a few moments ago to Not go beyond the safety of the Eden Flowers? Is this the same person who just gave that advice?

“Catherine…” Eddie said, his eyes piercing towards Catherine, “Are you fucking crazy?”