The forest had become quieter.
Too quiet.
The mist moved slowly between the trees like living smoke, wrapping around branches and roots, hiding everything beyond a few meters. After reuniting, Mary and Daniel stood carefully in the clearing, watching every direction.
Neither of them lowered their weapons.
Neither trusted the silence.
Daniel's breathing slowly became normal again, but Mary could still see it—his hands shaking slightly.
Not from fear.
From control.
Or the lack of it.
Mary glanced at him quietly.
"You okay now?"
Daniel nodded once.
"Yeah… a little."
But even he knew that was not fully true.
Inside his mind, Thrones had gone silent again.
That silence itself felt dangerous.
🌫️ Searching for the Team
"We need to find everyone else first," Mary said.
Daniel agreed immediately.
"If the ghosts separated all of us intentionally, then this whole thing was planned."
Mary looked around the forest carefully.
"And someone is controlling them."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
He remembered how the ghosts fought.
Not wildly.
Not like monsters.
Like soldiers.
That thought alone sent chills through him.
The two of them began moving through the forest together. This time, carefully. No rushing. No reckless fighting.
As they walked deeper into the mist, they noticed signs of battle everywhere.
Broken branches.
Deep marks on trees.
Ghost energy lingering in the air.
"Looks like Felix fought here," Daniel muttered after noticing burn marks on the ground.
Mary crouched near one of the marks.
"And Lucy too."
Daniel looked at her.
"How can you tell?"
Mary smiled slightly.
"Felix attacks directly. Lucy moves more carefully."
Daniel stared at her for a second before laughing softly.
"You notice a lot."
Mary crossed her arms proudly.
"Someone in this team has to use their brain."
Daniel sighed dramatically.
"Wow. Betrayed by my own girlfriend."
For the first time in hours, both of them smiled a little.
A small moment of peace inside chaos.
⚔️ Felix & Lucy
Far away from them—
Felix and Lucy were still fighting.
The shadow ghosts kept multiplying again and again.
Lucy jumped backward, breathing heavily.
"This is getting annoying!"
Felix blocked another attack and smirked.
"Annoying? I'm having fun."
"You're insane."
"Probably."
Another shadow rushed toward Lucy from behind—
—but before it could attack, Felix immediately pulled her aside and destroyed the ghost with one strike.
Lucy looked at him for a second.
"…Thanks."
Felix grinned.
"Careful. You almost sounded nice."
Lucy rolled her eyes, though a tiny smile appeared on her face.
But then—
The shadows suddenly stopped moving.
Both of them froze.
The ghosts…
were retreating.
"That's not normal," Lucy whispered.
Felix's smile disappeared.
"No… something bigger is coming."
David & Noah
Meanwhile, David and Noah were moving carefully through another side of the forest.
David looked distracted.
Still thinking.
Still trying to understand why he couldn't read the ghosts' minds.
Noah noticed.
"You've been quiet."
David hesitated before speaking.
"These ghosts… they don't feel normal."
Noah sighed.
"Nothing here feels normal anymore."
David stopped walking.
"No, you don't understand. Even ghosts have thoughts. Instincts. Emotions. But these ones…"
He looked toward the mist.
"…feel empty."
Before Noah could answer—
Something moved.
A long arm suddenly stretched out of the darkness toward them.
Noah reacted instantly.
"DOWN!"
Both dodged barely in time as the stretched arm smashed into a tree, breaking it apart.
The same strange ghost appeared again.
Tall.
Thin.
Smiling unnaturally.
Its arms twisted and stretched like rubber.
David stepped back slowly.
"Why do all these ghosts look creepier every hour?"
Noah tightened his grip on his weapon.
"No idea. But let's kill this one fast."
The Watching Presence
Back with Daniel and Mary—
The deeper they went, the stranger the forest became.
The trees looked darker.
The mist thicker.
And the air colder.
Then suddenly—
Daniel stopped walking.
Mary immediately noticed.
"What happened?"
Daniel slowly looked around.
"…We're being watched."
The moment he said that—
A whisper echoed through the forest.
Soft.
Cold.
Mocking.
"Well done…"
Mary and Daniel instantly turned toward the voice.
But nobody was there.
Then another whisper came.
"You survived longer than expected."
Daniel's expression hardened immediately.
"Kaden…"
A low laugh echoed.
"So you remember me."
Mary stepped slightly in front of Daniel instinctively.
"Show yourself."
The voice laughed again.
"Not yet."
Suddenly—
The mist around them began moving unnaturally.
Like something inside it was alive.
Daniel gritted his teeth.
"What do you want?"
The answer came slowly.
"To see… how much darkness you can survive."
The New Threat
Without warning—
Several ghosts emerged from the mist at once.
But these ghosts were different.
Their bodies looked cracked, almost broken, with dark energy leaking from inside them.
Mary's eyes widened slightly.
"These aren't the same ghosts from before."
Daniel could feel it too.
Their presence—
was stronger.
Much stronger.
The first ghost attacked instantly.
Mary blocked it, but the force pushed her backward several steps.
Daniel attacked another one directly, but even after striking it—
the ghost kept moving.
"What the hell…?"
The ghost smiled unnaturally.
Then—
Its body suddenly regenerated.
Mary's expression turned serious.
"They're regenerating."
Daniel clenched his fists.
"This just keeps getting better."
Fighting Together
The battle exploded instantly.
Mary and Daniel fought side by side, covering each other naturally.
Mary focused on precision and speed.
Daniel focused on power.
Whenever one ghost attacked Mary from behind, Daniel stopped it.
Whenever Daniel lost focus for even a second, Mary brought him back.
Their teamwork wasn't perfect yet—
But it was real.
Built from trust.
Thrones Speaks Again
Inside Daniel's mind—
Thrones whispered.
"Careful…"
Daniel attacked another ghost.
"Their energy is different."
Daniel responded mentally.
"What do you mean?"
For the first time—
Thrones sounded serious.
"Something here… is evolving them."
Daniel's eyes widened slightly.
Evolving?
Then suddenly—
One ghost's body began changing in front of them.
Dark spikes grew from its arms.
Its aura doubled instantly.
Mary stepped back carefully.
"…That can't be good."
The ghost looked directly at Daniel.
And smiled
Far away—
Hidden somewhere deep inside the forest—
A shadowy figure sat calmly on a tree branch, watching everything.
Watching every fight.
Watching Daniel.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"The game is finally becoming interesting…"
His glowing eyes slowly narrowed.
"Let's see how long you survive… Daniel Williams."
Meanwhile—
Back in the forest—
The evolved ghost slowly stepped forward.
And behind it—
Dozens of glowing eyes suddenly opened inside the mist.