“Wait, so you know the way out? Fuck, yeah, let’s beat it already! We don’t even need that washed up dog anymore.” Ralph said, practically hopping with excitement, but Urn shook his head.
“I don’t. My new magic skill allows me to break down the components of magic skills and the effects produced by them, understand them, and replicate them in model form.” He traced a finger along the lines crisscrossing the cube that helped distinguish the hundreds of thousands of small cubes the model was made up of. “This model represents the exterior of the barrier. When you try to go beyond the parameters set by the barrier, you aren’t barred off, but instead transported.”
“Of all the magic skills you just had to go and get the dorkiest one possible.” Ralph said with a smile, and Urn slammed his head into the model with a groan.
“Goddamn it.” Urn groaned, once again reminded that even though he gained two magic skills, both of them were the lamest powers he could ever think of. Why the hell are they so specific? Why can’t I have a cool wind sword like that guy, or teleportation, or-or even transforming into a fish would be cool!
“Aw, don’t beat yourself up too much! You have a…decent chance of getting another magic skill. But if you get another lame power, chances are, you’re just gonna have to live with it.” Ralph chuckled nervously, and Urn whipped his head towards Ralph.
“WAIT, what? Is the limit three?” Urn said, practically forgetting about the model in his shock. NO WAY! I’ve already achieved 2/3rds of my potential! What a rip-off! That’s crazy!
“Well, I don’t think it’s too common for people to earn more than three magic skills! After they gain three, everytime they awaken, their already existing magical skills either gain more power, or unlock new mechanics. So, if you’re lucky, you might still have a long way to go before you reach your limit! But in the case that you’re really untalented…” Ralph trailed off after seeing the look on Urn’s face, rubbing the back of his head while nervously laughing. “Hey, but don’t worry about it too much! We still have to get out of the forest before you worry about stuff like that!”
“...I guess.” The image of his mangled torn body crept out from the corners of his mind once again, and Urn was reminded of his talk with the shadow. It spoke of a power, one so great it managed to bring me back to life like it was nothing. It’s entirely possible I don’t have to stake all my hopes on chance; if I could just learn to master whatever that power was. But there was a fat chance of that happening, and Urn knew it. He didn’t even understand what it was, only the power it held. Maybe if he sought out the shadow, he’d be able to gain answers, but it didn’t seem too willing to clue him in. In fact, he didn’t even know what the shadow was either!
Could it be a figment of my mind? An associate of my grandfather? Or perhaps one of the entities within my locket? Urn’s eyes widened as his mind reached the conclusion that was most likely; the power had to be connected to his locket! There was no reason not to believe so; after all, he still didn’t even fully understand all of the locket’s capabilities. Maybe if I-
“Urn, buddy, we need to wrap this up! I haven’t sensed any energy signatures coming toward us, but we can’t rule out the fact they might be preparing an attack.” Ralph said, pulling Urn right out of his storm of thoughts. “Even if you did manage to get a bunch of magical beasts in your debt, a prepared group of Epe Warriors would easily be able to defeat them. You get it?”
“Right, right, we aren’t safe here.” Urn tried to push away any lingering thoughts about his death, turning his concentration to the model before him, and began to trace the arrows along the cube with his finger. “You see, the thing is, when you try to leave the parameters, you aren’t stopped from passing through the barrier, but instead transported to a different part of the forest.” Urn traced an arrow that branched off from a cube at the top of the model and ended at a cube at the bottom of the model.
“So, brute forcing it is impossible. No wonder the Epe Clan’s been trapped here for so long.” Ralph remarked.
“Yes. And, somewhere, one of these tiny units making up the barrier will transport the one who passes through it out the forest. But the thing about the cubes is that they’re constantly shifting and moving; one moment, the way out could be to the northmost point of the barrier, and the next, it’d be at the southmost point of the forest.” Urn explained. “Which is why I want to ask you something.”
“Damn it, so that’s why we couldn’t find the way out, no matter how hard we looked! 48 hours wasted out in the woods when I could have been sleeping!” Ralph complained, and then raised a brow at Urn. “Wait, a question? Look, I don’t know anything more about this stuff than you do.”
“I think you know more than you think.” Urn said, stepping away from the model and dusting off his hands. “You told me that the space in which our mansion existed was created by my grandfather, and that my sister was interfering with us by using her own magic energy to alter the space. You also said that even though she could alter the space to a small extent, she couldn’t outright make it her own, which is why the traps were not as efficient as they could have been.”
“Oh, I did say that, huh?” Ralph said, a touch of pride in his voice. “Yes, I know that with advanced magical energy control, you can create a unique space using your energy. That’s probably how the barrier surrounding the forest works; but that doesn’t really help us, huh?”
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“No, it does.” Urn said with a grin. “If we can use our own magic energy to alter the rules of the space, then we can change the conditions of the exit so that magical beasts would be able to leave as well!”
Ralph blinked down at Urn; somehow that had made so much sense and yet none at all. This kid’s a genius! Even with his sucky magic skills, he’s as sharp as a knife! “Wait, you’re right! If she could do it, then we should be able to too. But how do we do that?” Ralph asked.
“If we head to the barrier, we could try directly infusing our magic energy into the barrier. It might not work, but it’ll be a good start in helping us get out of here!” Urn said with a grin. After spending nearly, the entire week completely lost, they finally had a lead! Now we just have to put my theory to the test!
“You’re a fucking genius, have I ever told you that, kid?” Ralph grinned down at Urn, and then turned his gaze to the forest, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Let’s do this.”
“Right.”
~~~
“Father.”
“Father?”
“Father?!”
Drowning in a crowd of dozens of children, Naadi frantically stuck his hand into the air, trying to get the attention of his father, who sat on a throne high above the crowd, his legs crossed, and his eyes narrowed. Waving his hand through the air in a desperate attempt to get the attention of his father, Naadi began to push through the crowd, muttering apologies as he edged closer to his father.
“Sorr-” Naadi was about to apologize to a boy who he bumped into while trying to get through the crowd but was dumbfounded by the revelation that the boy who had bumped into…. was wearing a mask of Naadi. All at once, the other children in the crowd turned towards Naadi in unison, every single one of them donning a mask that resembled the royal’s face. Closing in on him, the children began to mutter apologies under their breaths.
“...Sorry…”
“...My bad...”
“I didn’t want to do this…”
“Apologies…”
“Forgive me…”
The children closest to Naadi began to grab at his arms, pulling him to the ground as more and more of the kids swarmed around him, climbing onto his back and pushing him further into the ground. Naadi wanted to scream, yet the sound was trapped in his chest, and air was the only thing leaving his body. The children now seemed more like an angry mob as they pinned Naadi down into the ground mercilessly, and just when Naadi felt like he was going to pass out….
They vanished.
Slowly pulling himself off the floor, he glanced around the dark room he now found himself in; before him, his father sat on a floating throne, staring down at him coldly.
“Father!” Naadi called out, dashing towards his father, yet the throne he sat on floated backwards, his father moving just out of reach. “What-what’s going on? Father?”
The eyes of his father narrowed until they were almost slits, and Naadi broke into a sprint, trying to reach for his father, yet he continued to move backwards into the darkness, until he completely vanished, leaving Naadi alone, panicked, and exhausted. “...”
“Naadi.” A sweet voice called from behind him, and Naadi whipped around to find the source of his voice…and nearly tripped. His hands dropping to his side, Naadi slowly began to walk towards the woman standing before him; she had long, thick black hair like Naadi and warm golden eyes. Her smile was genuine, and yet slightly sad, and a paper crown sat at the side of her head, barely managing to stay on her head. Naadi felt like his body was moving on autopilot mode as he shot across the darkness and ran into her arms.
His mother’s arms.
“Mother!” Naadi said, his eyes watering at the sight of her. She smiled down sadly at him, stroking his hair and resting her chin on his head.
“Everything is alright now.” She whispered.
“Is it?” Naadi asked.
“Dear, what are you talking a-about?” Her voice cracked at the last word, her voice suddenly dropping and turned deep and gruff. “I am here to protect you now.” Her hands on his head suddenly felt coarse and rough. “Everything is alright.”
“Mother? What-” Naadi’s eyes drifted up, and he felt a chill pass through his body, one so cold it felt like it had turned his entire body into a statue of ice. Standing in the place of his mother was Banjoko, smiling down at him unpleasantly and shifting his hands from Naadi’s side to his throat. Lifting Naadi into the air slowly, Banjoko began to strangle Naadi, who felt all the strength leave his body.
“And that’s the last of them.” Banjoko said with an eerie grin, and the locket dangling from his neck swung open, the eye within bloodshot and frantic. The eye homing onto Naadi, its gaze forcefully captured Naadi’s own, like it was burning a hole through his very soul with its glare. Naadi began to struggle in Banjoko’s grasp as the eye of the locket dilated, and within the locket’s eye, he saw the destruction of the Northern Palace reflected. Dozens of his siblings were murdered in cold blood, azure flames coating the courtyard in an infernal blanket, his mother hanging from a noose, and his father, patting him goodbye as he confronted Banjoko in a hopeless final battle.
~~~
Naadi jolted out of his bed with a bloodcurdling scream, holding the sides of his head in terror as he rolled around the pile of leaves in horror. “Stop.” The image of the Orian Locket’s eye flashed in his mind, staring at him emptily.
“Stop it!” He said, digging his fingers into his head desperately at the image of the terrible eye flashed into his brain over and over again.
“Just die already!” Naadi burst out of the tent he’d been sleeping in, materializing his blade in his hands, and swinging his blade mercilessly towards his nearest target, a wildcat; but was promptly stopped by a mysterious woman who grabbed him by the wrist before he could cut the poor cat in half. She squeezed his wrist gently, the blade vanishing from his hands, and rubbed his hands comfortingly. A calm breeze passed through the forest, and Naadi felt his anxiousness and fears pass with the wind, his unsteady breathing slowly settling.