Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces.Faces—
—I smashed my hands together and pressed on my head.
Think.
The endless onslaught of words rattling my brain ceased.
"Hah. I'm… back?"
Somethings wrong.
Jacob looked at me like I was a weirdo in public. No that wasn't right.
Jacob… where?
He raised his eyebrow, and put his hand on my shoulder. "Paul, are you good?"
"No," I replied honestly. "I feel like I woke up from a long dream…"
"Have you been crying?"
"Huh?" I realized there was one tear stream streaking down from my left eye, while my right eye remained completely dry. "I guess I was."
"Paul, this forest is fucked, seriously," he said, his face getting more pale as he scanned the perimeter of the clearing with his eyes.
"That dream… what was it about?" I muttered quietly. I hung my head down, trying to spark up a thought in my brain. But there was nothing, like a void existed between the memory of the dream and now.
Speaking of. How did I get here? We were outside the forest, me and Jake were talking and then next thing I remember is Terry waking me… But what was I just doing?
"I think," he whispered to me, breaking my trance-like state, "Maybe we should stick close to Charlotte and Maria," he said.
"Charlotte… and Maria? Why?"
He just shrugged. "I'm not sure, just a hunch," then he smiled, "Maybe the Heavens are telling me so."
Probably, so I'll take your advice, I thought. For some reason I was also inclined to stick close to Charlotte, but I had a subtle aversion to Maria. It was ever so slight, and yet, even when I glanced in her direction, I felt uncomfortable.
"Sure, let's do that," I finally said, realizing that Jacob was waiting for my response. I gave him a half-hearted smile, and watched as he called everyone over to us. As Jacob and everyone else conversed, wondering what to do, I began to think about our resources.
Terry has his spear, Charlotte her switchblade. I've got a few Gale techniques at my disposal, and Jacob probably won't die due to his Aberration. But… that leaves Leah and Maria vulnerable.
My eyes drifted towards the most vulnerable two, watching them closely. They seemed to have become good friends, despite maybe Maria herself not being aware of it. Although she still carried her sketchbook everywhere, she no longer gripped it as tightly when around others, more comfortably able to speak to them maybe.
Leah and Maria smiled, talking about little things like good memories. How Leah had crashed her mom's car into a mailbox. How Maria almost fainted while bungee jumping. And other things like classes in the past, or even favorite foods. I was a bit jealous of how care free these people around me could be in such a situation, even while supposedly figuring out what to do.
On the other hand, Jacob was comfortably talking to Terry and Charlotte, though the latter two didn't seem to have much to say to each other. And thus, that singled me out as the only worried one. But why was I so worried?
A light mist hung around the forest like a blanket of gray draped around a child. It was warm and cozy, a bit unlike most of my experiences with mists and fog. It felt like I was being tucked in tightly despite the ominous contrast of the rest of the forest, with its trees and faces. But something tugged at my heart. Calling for me to go deeper, deeper into the forest. But I ignored it, shaking my head.
Surely nothing good can come from that.
Instead my eyes swept through the forestry around us. Calm. Quiet. Yet the forest still had sounds, unlike what I had expected. I had thought it would be deadly silent. Instead despite being hushed, the forest was plentiful with noise. The chirping of crickets, the rustling of leaves, the howls of foxes or wolves, occasionally even the thumping of a woodpecker against tree trunks. Everything felt alive.
And that was the problem.
Fundamentally, there's something odd I noticed a while ago. It's not quite natural. Like the sounds are following a cycle.
Pondering it, I noticed something odd, something shifting betwixt the trees. Dancing. In the glimpses of movement, I saw long, frail limbs that seemed woven together like straw. Dark green joints that held the body together. It thrashed around the trees some more and I saw it's face, or rather lack thereof. A tear drop shaped head, with indentations where its orifices would be. It was terrifying; reminiscent of a man with a bag fastened to his head tightly. The next second, I blinked, and it was gone.
No movement between the trees, no circling, no dancing, no straw man. Though I did note, it looked like it's body was being guided by its neck, as if it were being reeled in or dragged around.
Just what was that?
The urge to go into the forest was now amplified. I was curious. I wasn't sure what such a creature was, or what it could do, but for some reason it was fascinating. It seemed harmless. Like it wasn't meant to fight, and yet something ticked that thought off as wrong. It's limbs, frail as they were, seemed… refined. Not sharp in the typical sense, but it felt like the sort that could end you in an instant. Like a super coiled spring, as long as it had the element of surprise— and as far as I was concerned it did— it would have no qualms with attacking or killing every one of us in this group. Such thoughts made me shudder.
My gaze focused on the forest, a path out of the clearing revealing itself to me. For some reason I felt inexplicably warm. I reached out to touch my face, and realized I was sweating. The sweat was ice cold. Would have been an amazing contrast if not for the fact that I only felt my body temperature rising.
Should I go into the forest?
Yes.
Abruptly, I seemed to have decided. And thus, I slowly walked toward the path revealed to me, exiting the clearing and leaving my friends behind recklessly. At the very least, I dug deep into the earth with each step, ensuring I'd leave a track behind. I knew for some reason, that I'd need it later.
While on my little trek, I came across strange findings. Of course there were the trees with faces, quite grotesque, but I paid them little mind, as if they were inconsequential. Though their facial expressions varied, there was their eyes. Their eyes told another story, one of peace, no matter if the lips of the tree curved in a cruel smile, nor a mocking one, or even one of fear. The eyes said peace, and that it was.
More importantly, I came across a large tree, easily over a hundred meters in height, and wide enough for twenty mes to stand side-by-side and maybe still not reach the end. Though, this one struck me as particularly odd, the reason being it lacked a face. Unlike all the other trees of this forest which were adorned with a unique face, sometimes two or three per tree but usually only one, this large hundred meter tree had no faces carved onto it. It should've evoked normalcy but in this vast forest where the normal was irregular, it was a spectacle really.
Then, I spotted something about twenty or thirty feet to the left, past the large faceless tree. There was a sort of encirclement of smaller trees, each only about seven to ten feet in length, with darker green leaves blocking out sunlight in a dome. And in the midst of it was an object, barely visible within the underbrush. I decided to go check it out, because despite the vibe of the forest indicating ominous terror, it was surprisingly peaceful. It was like there were two opposing natures within me.
Besides. If I see such a subject it may please the Lord of the forest.
Hm? What?
…
It took me about thirty seconds to arrive, and I pushed past the branches and shrubbery. There in the middle, was a human-like figure. Judging by it's slender proportions, it seemed to have been fashioned after a woman. If it had been fashioned. It was reaching out with one arm to the top of the trees that blocked out the sunlight, where only a few rays beamed down and touched it's finger tips.
Her finger tips, I subconsciously corrected myself. It was a sort of melancholy statue that had been erected. As if it represented a woman, who wanted nothing more than to be free, bound in isolation. My gaze lowered, and I noticed then that there were roots that wrapped around the statue's legs, and thorns around her feet like anklets. It looked as if the forest was reclaiming her, and only then, did I realize that she was made entirely out of wood.
I wasn't sure if I found the sight soothing and hopeful, or dreary and despairing. One could say it was both.
"It's about time to go back." I felt that if I didn't return then, I would never see my friends again. So I parted ways with the odd statue and retraced my steps.
I arrived back in the clearing some thirty minutes later, heart thumping against my chest and head hanging low. My hand leaned against a tree, enabling me to stay standing. I raised my head to check if my friends were still in the clearing, and surely enough there they were.
The first thing I noticed was the fire. Everyone on was sitting around a fire that they probably lit while I was gone. Some weren't particularly chatty, like Terry or Maria. However Jacob was apparently having the time of his life as he recounted some story to Leah and Charlotte. As I approached, I sat myself down next to Charlotte in my exhaustion, subtly avoiding Maria.
Although I prefer Leah, I practically collapsed.
"Look who decided to show their face," mocked Charlotte. Normally I'd have retorted aggressively or with something witty, but I only gave her a small smile. For some reason it was comforting. Yet, a question rooted itself in me, and I was compelled to ask.
"Say, Charlotte, you're good at fishing, right?"
"Hm? I wouldn't really say so. It's the one form of hunting I'm least efficient in," she said, her eyes sparkling with something between nostalgia and admiration. "But, what's with that sort of question just out of the blue?"
"Not sure myself," I shrugged. It was the truth. Looking a bit past Leah, I noticed as Jacob flashed me a questioning look. Relax man, that girl is all yours. I remarked inwardly. "I guess I just wanted to know more about you. Despite all of us being here for… two? Three weeks now? I wouldn't say we know all that much about each other before we came here. Or at least I don't," I followed up, clearing up any misunderstanding between me and Jacob.
Really though, why did I ask?
"Then, let me ask you a question Paul," she began, "You look Caribbean. Are you Grenadian? Or Puerto Rican?"
"Quite presumptuous of you to assume my nationality," I joked. "I'm Dominican." I knew what she was going to ask next.
"Well, why's your last name sound so, uh, english nobley?"
"Well if you must know," my tone changes to match a noble demeanor, "My father was the descendant of some distinguished english bloodline. My mother however was a traitor to her nationality," I feigned distaste. "She was a Dominican woman who eloped with an Englishman and left her family behind, and thus I was born. Hence the surname Scarlett." I finished speaking and for some reason, I realized my heart was aching.
Mom and dad. I wonder how they reacted to my disappearance. Now that I'm no longer on Earth will they have finally paid attention to their only son? I thought bitterly. Instead of thinking of a lost cause, I decided to ask Jacob about his life before transmigration.
"Say, Jake, what were you doing before all this?" I asked. He doesn't reply immediately, his expression telling me he was thinking deeply about it. After about thirty seconds, he answered.
"Nothing," he said in a rather defeated tone. "I was doing absolutely nothing." This was the first time I had ever heard Jacob so defeated, no, this was the only time I'd ever heard Jacob defeated. Unexpectedly, Charlotte seemed bothered by this, though if you weren't very attentive you wouldn't have noticed it.
"Really now? So this world was your perfect escape fantasy, am I right?" Her question stabbed at Jacob like a knife. I think I even saw him visibly wince. But even for me it was hard to think Jacob could've spent his life doing nothing, considering how productive he has been in the past few weeks. Then again, maybe that's why.
"It's not escapism, if that's what you're thinking," he leaned back a bit, yawning, "I just don't care much for that world we came from. Plain boring." He spoke with finality, indicating he wanted the conversation to end there. But Charlotte didn't let up.
"If it's not escapism, what is it? Some sort of trial you're putting yourself through? A game to you, though we're all staking our lives out here?" She pried. Jacob clenched his jaw.
"Ah, man, just bite your tongue already. Don't you ever just shut up?" He said, bits and pieces of anger present in his voice. Charlotte smirked.
"Unfortunately, no."
But Jacob only smiled. "Even if I explained it, it's not like you'd get it."
"Who knows, maybe Terry would," with those words, the meaning behind Charlotte's nonchalance finally seemed to get through to Jacob.
"Maybe," he said, looking over at Terry. "But I think that's enough about me for one day."
"What!?" I suddenly exclaimed. Jacob and Charlotte turned to look at me. "… What? It's just I was wondering if you were sick or something, Jake. You never stop talking about yourself," I said rather carelessly. Jacob laughed, knowing I meant well.
"Who knows, I guess I could be."
"Well, you'll have to forgive me for doing this to a sick man," I said as I rose. "Terry, Jacob, cone with me. We're going to cultivate."
"The ambient Ardor here is pretty dangerous," I informed them. We were secluded from the rest of the group, about thirty feet away. So close enough to regroup in case of danger, far enough to not get distracted. Picking at the leaves of a tree in front of me, I realized the face on the trunk began to shift and shudder at my action.
"Creepy," I muttered. Jacob's complexion paled, but Terry's quiet resolve only seemed to get more serious as he gripped his spear tightly.
"What do you mean by dangerous?"
"It's poison. And I don't mean metaphorically or esoterically or whatever. The Ardor element literally corresponds to poison. Probably though the Potus Will." I responded not thinking much of it, only for Terry to state at me in confusion.
"Potus? Will? You haven't mentioned those terms before."
"Simply pit, a Will is an element, or rather a group of elements that unify under a certain purpose which can be manipulated by honing that purpose, understood?"
"Not really," Jacob clutched at his temples as if his head were hurting. "You know this because of the voice, I'm guessing?"
"About that, yeah. But we probably shouldn't rely on it so much, I mean, originally, when I first arrived, it told me not to trust anyone, despite that, we've only been able to survive because we trusted each other." I quickly made something up. Recently, I had been trying to move away from using the voice I had fabricated, trying to naturally find ways to explain things without its apparent supernatural knowledge.
I was too hasty in trying to utilize past life knowledge back then, so I made a huge blunder. Thankfully, only Charlotte caught onto the fact it's fake but, it doesn't sit right with me that I'd have to lie to them like this. Come to think of it, why don't I just tell them about Immortal Essence?
No. I definitely don't want that.
Initially, I was contemplating telling the group about my Aberration, however I immediately shot that idea down. For some reason, even thinking about mentioning my Aberration instilled a foreboding sense of dread in me. Additionally, unlike with the mysterious gaze which had tried to kill me weeks ago, I could tell the decision to keep quiet about Immortal Essence came from me, or at least from something within me. Which means it was safe enough not to reveal it.
"You're right, we shouldn't completely rely on something like that, even if it's your transmigration perk," Terry's serious words brought me back to reality. I smiled at them and remembered a question I originally wanted to ask him long ago.
"You like books right?"
"I do."
"Oh, did you ever read any Xianxa, Terry?"
At my question, his dark skin became a little redder. He was blushing. Embarrassing topic maybe?
"I… I have."
"Great, then I take it I won't have to teach you as diligently as I have to for Jake, right?"
He just grunted in confirmation, and I felt a weight come off my shoulders on that moment. My loads been made lighter it seems.
"Then let's start!" I exclaimed, looking at the hopeful Jacob and determined Terry. "Oh but first, Terry, focus on earth or rocks for your element. I can say without a doubt that's your thing, at least mainly."
"The voice?" He inquired. "Nah," I said. "Just a wise junior's intuition." He nodded, the corners of his lips curving upward, stoic mask slipping.
"Alright then let's—"
"—Do this!" Jacob stole my line before I could finish. Good grief, was all I could think during that.
Just as we were about to begin to cultivate, an amazing idea struck me. I took out the shard of the Narwhal Sprite horn I had claimed sometime before being sucked into the forest, then I tossed it to Terry.
"What's this for?"
"It will help you channel Ardor."
"Why don't I get one?" Jacob asked. I waved him off, explaining to him, "At this point in time it's more useful to Terry than you if we want to 'level' ourselves up evenly. You're talented enough to the point where you don't need it."
"How do you know I'm talented?"
"Just believe in yourself."
"It's not that easy."
"Think about last night. You figured out your element much quicker than me."
"That Prisma stuff you talked about?"
"Just tap into that, trust me, you'll be fine."
He nodded sullenly. "I'll trust you. But," he closed his eyes, beginning to get in his meditative position. "Is it really okay to leave those three alone?"
"No," I confirmed his suspicion. "No, it's really not. That's why we've gotta be quick."
From then on, we started cultivating. I had planned to reach the Tuner stage right there and then. From what I knew, there were three basic stages to becoming an Ardent. First, Dissonant, the stage I was in, the starting point right after having formed your Prana. Then, Tuner, obtained by realizing yourself within your Will or element, in other words; what I was currently chasing. The last stage to becoming an Ardent, is the Resonant stage, where nations and governments would officially recognize you as an Ardent, this world's equivalent to a cultivator, internationally. Naturally, your strength would increase as you kept ascending through stages and reaching new enlightenment, but for now what was important was the effort I was putting in.
Cultivating as a Dissonant in my past life was difficult. That was because I managed to brute force a Gale Prana into its shape, unlike letting it form a vortex which is what I have, after understanding how Gale truly operates. Considering that, I should be able to 'tune' myself with Gale now without issue, advancing me to the Tuner stage rather easily.
On the inside, my Prana hummed, the winds making up the vortex picking up speed and growing in force and intensity. They began to refine, condensing together ever so slightly, creating a more focused ring of a vortex spiraling around the empty plane. On the outside, without relying on vision, I honed my perception by perceiving the world around me using my other four senses. The air smelled of thick greenery, the shade of the leaves allowed a cool breeze to raise goosebumps on my forearms. The sounds of creaking branches pervaded the world around me, alongside the texture of leaves leaving a sour taste in my mouth.
Yes, I did actually put leaves in my mouth, attempting to integrate the Potus Will and change it into Gale Will Ardor within me in order to boost my cultivation speed and efficiency. This was because the leaves and presumably the trees within this forest were the source of the ambient Ardor which pervaded the air so thickly. Though, I also advised Terry and Jacob not to do it, knowing the outcome for them would be infinitely worse as they had not yet known how to manipulate Ardor.
Around some ten, fifteen minutes into cultivating, I noticed something weird. My hands were laying peacefully my lap, my fingertips touching, when I felt an electric shock. Jacob? I thought, as my eyes shot open. Surely enough, around Jacob, yellow sparks of electricity were sparking, forming a weird sort of net around his body. Jacob slowly opened his eyes at the realization, meaning that without a doubt, he had finally formed his Prana. Unfortunately, after glancing at Terry deep in meditation, I realized the case was not the same for him. Though he gripped his spear tightly in one hand and the Demon horn shard in the other, he seemed to be making progress at a slower, albeit steadier rate than either me or Jacob.
Well, I wasn't expecting it to be in the first place. Jacob and I both have a head start because of our Aberrations, after all.
I stood from my position, going over to Jacob to congratulate him, until I went to speak and realized something was wrong. "———————." Despite the fact my vocal chords were vibrating, no sound came out of my mouth. Jacob looked at me as if something were wrong.
"——-,——,——. —-?"
I couldn't hear him. Actually, I couldn't hear anything at all. I seemed to have noticed it too late, and I panicked, eyes darting towards Terry. I ran over to him, about to shake him out of his meditation when I observed his spear. One moment it was there, in the same place still held tightly in Terry's grasp. The next, it was gone. As if it had never existed in that space in the first place. The only thing that suggested it ever did was the fact Terry's hands now closed over empty space, and a mark the butt of the spear left on the dirt beside him.
My mind raced to find any answer, and one conclusion resounded within it like a revelation. Charlotte! Though I didn't know why I came to that conclusion, it made the most sense. I swerved, turning away from Terry and instead running towards the direction of Charlotte, Leah, and Maria. Before bursting through the shrubbery separating us from the clearing I motioned for Jacob to get Terry and follow me.
Then, as I ran through shrub and thorn bush, I finally emerged into the clearing, witnessing a horrifying sight that made my heart drop.