When they arrived back at their shared lodgings, it was obvious that something was not right. Even from afar, they could hear crying and yelling from within. They both exchanged glances, before rushing towards the house and bursting through the door.

The people inside turned at their arrival. Moira, upon seeing Yurika, pointed at her accusingly. "It's all your fault!" she screamed through her tears, her hate-filled gaze directed at the blonde.

Yurika froze in place, lost and confused at the sudden turn of events. Wenona stepped in front of Yurika in defense of her friend, glaring at the distraught girl. "Hey, what are you pointing fingers at Yurika for? We just got back."

Zig stepped in-between them all, a tired look on his face. "Everyone, calm down." Despite how exhausted he looked, his voice was still stern and commanded authority, cutting through the tension before it could escalate further. "This is neither the time nor the place to start blaming people. That includes you, Moira."

Moira's arm dropped back to her side, her face twisted in grief. Even so, she still continued to glare at the blonde.

Yurika finally found her voice. "What's going on...?"

A grim look crossed Zig's face. "Taft went missing during our last dungeon run."

"Wait, what?!" Wenona exclaimed. "But I thought you guys were just doing a run through the Azurlite Forest dungeon! And Taft knows the place like the back of his hand - how could he have gotten lost there?"

At this, Moira looked uncomfortable. "Umm... things happened..."

Wenona’s sapphire eyes narrowed suspiciously in Moira's direction. "What 'things'?"

"D-do we have to discuss this here and now?!" Moira finally barked out. "Shouldn't we be forming search parties for him or something along those lines?"

"Everyone, please, calm down." A calm, gentle voice interjected. A girl stepped out from the crowd, her blue ponytail swishing behind her. "Moira, don't you have Taft's True Name? Try locating him via telepathy."

"Riddelle..." Moira turned to the blue-haired girl, her face tinged with obvious despair. Upon hearing the other girl's suggestion, she blanched, her hands gripping the cloth of her skirt almost to the point of tearing.

"...Moira?" Zig touched the paling girl's shoulder in concern. "You do have his True Name, don't you?"

"I... I don't!" Moira confessed, tears streaming down her face. She shook her head, "I-I don't know his True Name. He never gave it to me... Even though I gave him mine, he never..." she trailed off, and silence fell over the assembled group.

"...Alright," Zig finally spoke. He clapped his hands, catching everyone's attention. "We'll be splitting up into several small parties so that we can cover more ground. Oh, and make sure there's someone who knows the area around Azurlite in your group! We don't want more people getting lost instead." Having said that, he moved around helping divide the people into groups, giving each of them a section of the woods to search.

It was a while before he realized that he hadn't seen Yurika for awhile. An uneasy feeling settled in his gut. He looked around, trying to spot Wenona. The girl was standing to the side, seemingly waiting for something - or someone. "Hey, Wenona, have you seen Yurika?"

The uneasy feeling doubled when the purple-haired girl frowned in response. "She said she was heading up to her room to grab something, but it's been a while since I've actually seen her..." Her sapphire eyes narrowed dangerously. "Hey, you don't think she..." she didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Zig's fist clenched around the map in his hand. "Oh, she damn well did." He tossed it to the ground in dismay. "DANGIT, YURIKA!"

---***---

Dimly, the moonlight shone down from above, filtering through the dense trees and illuminating the area with an ethereal blue sheen. It was a beautiful sight, yet it felt eerie at the same time. There was the saying that the more beautiful, the more dangerous something was - and she felt that this was no more appropriate than right now.

Yurika had ventured into Azurlite multiple times during the course of her training but never had she come to the area after the sun had set. It had always been dim, huge trees shading most of the area, blocking much light from shining through. But at night, it was a different story. Darkness seemed to have overtaken the whole area. There were areas, so devoid of light, that looking at them felt akin to staring into an abyss. She could barely see the way ahead. It was only thanks to the light of the moon and the various luminescent plant life that she could see where she was going.

She knew it had been reckless of her, coming to the woods all on her own. It might just be the worst decision she had ever made in her short, remembered life. But after hearing Moira's confession that she didn't have Taft's True Name, she just couldn't wait anymore. She owed Taft too much to leave him lost within this woods. With each minute that passed, the chances of finding him safe and sound went down.

She shivered again, wrapping her arms around herself to ward off the chill. The night air was colder than she'd thought, and briefly, she wondered if she should have put on more layers before leaving the house. But time was ticking. Her own discomfort took a backseat to Taft's situation.

She continued on determined steps, towards the place he usually trained in. It was close to Azurlite Grotto, the dungeon area, where the strongest monsters within the woods resided. He'd brought her there before, not long after she had started her own training. Chances were that the group had been there before they'd lost him. Perhaps she could pick up his trail from there. She could see the entrance of the Grotto looming ahead of her. In the low light, it looked grim and ominous. She felt her steps start to falter as she drew closer.

She sucked in her breath and slapped her trembling hands onto her pale cheeks. "No, Yurika, focus!" she reprimanded herself. She tried to ignore how her trembling voice echoed throughout the woods around her. "You can do this. You know the way around. You've been in this area many times before. Just keep your guard up, and your eyes open."

The more she spoke, the more her voice grew calmer and steadier. She let her now-still hands fall back to her side and stepped forward into the familiar clearing.

It was then that she realized that she had no idea how to start looking for him. Once again, she regretted her impulsiveness. She had only brought her normal equipment and a few potions - nothing that could help her find Taft.

Wait, she thought, as an idea occurred to her. Telepathy. She could try calling out to him via telepathy. If he was anywhere nearby, he would be able to hear her and reply.

'Taft! Can you hear me? If you can, please respond!'

She repeated that thought as she walked around the clearing. But the only response she got was the chirping of nocturnal creatures and the rustling wind. She started moving outwards, circling around the area, calling out to him all the while.

'Taft, where are you? Everyone is worried about you!'

She had no idea how long she continued to walk for - it could have been for minutes, or for hours. The darkness of the woods combined with her own anxiety made her lose track of time. She focused on looking around, searching for anything, anyone that could help her in her quest to find him. At the same time, she stayed alert, in case anything tried to ambush her.

In fact, it was strange that she hadn't met any monsters so far. The night usually made them more hostile, and stronger than their daytime counterparts. Perhaps she'd just gotten lucky so far, but it only seemed to add to the overall wrongness of the whole situation.

'Taft, please, answer m-!'

Her next telepathic message was cut off when she rounded a tree and spotted a familiar figure in the distance. He was turned away from her, blocking her view of his face, but she recognized that silhouette. A gasp escaped her lips. "Taft!" she called out as she jogged towards him. "Taft... I'm so glad, I've found you!"

Yet, Taft didn't reply, or even react, as she moved closer towards him. "Taft...?" she called out, doubt entering her voice. Something was wrong. She reached out to grab his shoulder to turn him around, but before she made contact, the person turned towards her instead.