City of Atrille, here I go!

  We go across the portal and what greets me is a bustling town, elves going to and from but that’s not the most important part. The streets are made of bricks perfectly aligned without a single missing piece or pothole to be found.

  This pce it’s pristine, with rge patches in the middle of the streets where grass and trees are pnted, even their leaves are perfectly trimmed. Not a single piece of trash was visible, and there’s tall ornate poles that caught my attention more than anything!

  They can’t have modern lighting systems can they? The housing and business around the street are impeccable as well, uniform paint in pastel colors, with some chiseled accents. I was simply awestruck. Not even modern architecture looks THIS good! This town is a piece of art come to life!

  “Hey grandpa, the town is amazing!”

  “...”

  The elves certainly live in opulence, then again...

  This is one town, and I doubt they let people see what the poor people live like to their visitors. Maybe this is a town that’s curated and that’s why it looks so good?

  “Hey, do all towns look like this Tim?”

  “...”

  He didn’t answer, just continued walking god knows where, but picking up pace as fast as he could for some reason. I’m just following him while every single elf that passes us by tries to dig a hole through me with their stares.

  “Err... Tim, where are we going?”

  The old man turned around and gave me a puzzled look.

  “Baby, are you lost? Why are you following me?”

  “...Uh...”

  Did he forget he was guiding me? Honestly I doubt the old man is reliable in the slightest, maybe this is the perfect opportunity! It would be kinda mean, but I can ditch this fossil here and go look for the forest myself! I’m finally in after all. Plus he’s a well respected member of the community no? I’m sure they won’t try to take advantage of him.

  I’ll just tell him that I got the wrong person, apologize and leave-

  ‘Wait!’

  Hmm? Other me? What’s wrong?

  ‘Are we really leaving him behind?’

  Well, it’s better than wandering aimlessly and lost with the old man.

  ‘I... I don’t want that!’

  I see, I feel your aversion, but why?

  ‘I... don’t know... I just want to tag for a little bit longer’

  Hmm, but we’re kinda in a hurry, we don’t know how long everyone back home can make do without us, more so after the underground exploded. Plus the more time we have the ring in our hands, the more we can try to piece things together, or maybe go back home to regroup and make a pn.

  ‘Right... you’re right, sorry...’

  Ugh! I know it as well as I do, but... you know as well!

  ‘yeah... sorry...’

  Don’t be, we share a body, feelings and emotions. Plus he’s technically our grandpa, the first living family member that didn’t have ulterior motives and was kind, I understand the feeling. Believe me.

  ‘Then, can we stay with him for a bit longer!?’

  Sure! But we can’t stay for TOO long, what says me, we come visit once we’re in less of a hurry?

  ‘Thanks me!’

  ...

  “Tim, I’m family remember? We were going to the sacred forest”

  “Ah! Right, sorry I tend to forget things Jun, let’s go home”

  “My name’s Marisa”

  “Ah! Right right, come, hold my hand so you don’t get lost baby”

  “...”

  Hmm... yeah, poor Tim is losing it in his old age...

  We walked, and walked, and walked some more. Wouldn’t it have been easier to go straight to his house? At least I got more sightseeing in town, from clothing stores to even a toy store. Maldi was not lying, the tube thing is really sold for children.

  Tom bought me a piece of sweet bread in a stall for some reason, I told him I didn’t need it. But he pretended to not hear me and got it anyway, then handed it to me afterwards. Maybe he really didn’t listen to me though...

  The bread is tasty, I’ll give it that. It has nothing on Elizabeth’s though. The gesture is appreciated however.

  It wasn’t until we turned a corner that I finally saw it. A rge sprawling forest right behind a wired fence! It’s still a bit ways away, but the signs that say ‘danger’ and ‘warning, risk of getting lost’ or even ‘entrance forbidden’ that I realized, we were closer than what it seems!

  “Make yourself at home baby”

  The old man opened the front door of the house closest to the wired fence, and as soon as we entered the voice of a woman could be heard yelling after noticing the sound of the front door opening.

  “Welcome back grandpa!”

  “I brought visitors, come say hi!”

  “Oh! Right away!”

  Someone is coming, I thought the old man lived alone, also whoever this is, called him grandpa, do I have more family that I need to be aware of?

  “Hello, pleasure to... make your acquaintance...”

  Who, or rather what the hell is this woman!? Her eyes are bck instead of the normal white, has two antennae that look like feathers coming out of her head, a pair of wings folded on her back and her skin is super weird!

  “Y-YOU’RE MARISA!!”

  “Y-yes, hi, nice to meet you!”

  I don’t think we’re blood reted, I doubt we’re part of the same species to begin with! The woman then came in front of me and held my hands, her skin feels silky now that I’m touching it.

  “I’ve waited so long! It’s so nice to finally meet you in person!”

  “I see, were you waiting for me?”

  “Un! It’s been a long time! Over 4000 years, do you have any idea how long that is?”

  “No, I guess not...”

  I simply looked at Tim, he’s giving me a warm smile in his wrinkled face.

  “Serenity baby, could you prepare tea and some treats, there’s much to talk about”

  “Of course! Right away!”

  “Ah, let me help you”

  I responded. I am a visitor and shouldn’t be rude, more so when they’re so friendly.

  “It’s ok, you’re our guest after all, please take a seat, I’ll have them prepared in a jiffy!”

  “Are you sure? I could-”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine! Take a seat with grandpa!”

  ...and she’s off, a weird girl, very much so given her appearance, I wonder who she is? Guess that’s what the whole tea party is for. The old man and I sat down in a vish table dead centered on a room. And not long after, the insect woman brought a tray with an amazing looking assortment of treats, some teacups, and what I’m guessing it’s a kettle. It's on top of a shining stone, so maybe it heats up by itself.

  “Here, a specialty from the sacred forest~”

  Random assortment of leaves into a filter, you know how tea works, it actually wasn’t that good, but I’m not gonna say that. All three of us were just having a chill moment.

  “Isn’t it nice to finally meet your sister?”

  “Sister?”

  “Oh, we’re not sisters, don’t make things confusing for her!”

  “Who are you by the way, I don’t think I catched your name before”

  “I’m Serenity, did I forget to mention my name?”

  Look, I’ll cut the idle chat from Serenity short, she was made by Hestia, but not like me where I’m her daughter, she’s closer to those homunculus Maldi creates. Which only helps to fuel my curiosity because...

  “What the hell was Hestia doing?”

  I understand Maldi wanting servants for, let’s just say, kinship reasons. But Hestia created some as well? For what reason?

  “Ahaha, your mother was an avid researcher in life! Bioengineering was one of a handful of topics she tackled!”

  “Errm, Tim, wasn’t that supposed to be a secret?”

  Serenity whispered to grandpa, not very quiet though, like she was trying to deliberately let me hear it.

  “It’s fine, she’s family after all!”

  “If you say so, at any rate, Hestia tasked me with guiding you through the sacred forest! So whenever you feel ready, give the word and we’ll go!”

  “She made you for something so mundane!? Wouldn’t just leaving the request to grandpa suffice!?”

  I can’t even imagine how cursed of an existence it is to create someone and then ask them to wait for millenia, just to guide someone through a forest! Speak of the ultimate NPC energy!

  “Well it’s complicated...”

  “Hestia probably thought I wouldn’t stay alive for so long!”

  Tim ughs about his demise a bit too easily if you ask me.

  “Animals born in the sacred forest are not affected by its magic, I was a wee lil’ moth when I met Hestia! She’s asked me to look over it since”

  “Ah, so it’s like that”

  Well, we’ll go eventually, for now I just want to indulge in this moment of rest that other me have asked for. I did tell her if she wanted to be the one present during the tea party, but she just asked me ‘How?’

  That’s a nice question, and curiously enough, I tend to be more conscious of body management, but it’s not like she doesn’t either. She can just move and speak out loud whenever she wants to. We’re not really a separate entity, we share feelings, thoughts, and emotions. So saying I’m in control, or she is, would be technically wrong. We both are, simultaneously.

  It’s just the fact that we’re both on the same wavelength almost all the time.

  ...

  ...

  We had a nice morning just talking, the stories were a bit choppy given that I’m not so sure how reliable Tim can narrate things. He seems to be struggling to remember some stuff, but in summary, he’s going over old nonsensical stories of the past, talking about an old family ranch and some festivals he remembers fondly.

  There’s... not much in terms of contents that could help me in my current situation, but for some reason I don’t really mind hearing him yap for long periods of time. This parade of lights sounds about as lovely as he describes it to be honest.

  Serenity is just telling me that he loves making people’s ears fall off from how much he enjoys talking of past stories, and barely pitches in.

  “I remember it vividly, Elise, Hilda, Matt and I got lost after following the parade, they used to transit across several towns! Then... oh right!...”

  The bbbering continues~

  Not that I mind that much, I even told him some of my own stories. Granted I don’t have as extensive of a repertoire since they’re all from the months I’ve been in this world, but he still listened to me happily.

  Before we knew it, the sun was directly overhead, the tea ran out, and the few treats that were still there were starting to go stale.

  Serenity stopped the ramblings of the old man. ‘He can go on for years’ she said, and insisted that we needed to go to the sacred forest.

  It took a moment for him to finally stop rambling and agreeing with Serenity. But eventually, we were on our merry way, now in front of the wired fence. There’s no entrance in sight though.

  “How are we gonna go in?”

  “We jump it!”

  Serenity spread her wings, and cleared the fence by fpping over it. So she can fly! Much like Celestial... wait a minute where the hell is Celestial? Didn’t she mention that she would catch up to me? She’s ok, I can feel her presence in town, nice and healthy. Maybe she’s just stuck arguing with that William guy. Poor Cel...

  I squatted down, and then made the jump as well. The wind caught the skirt of my dress, which fred up as I was going down. Instinctively covering my underwear and nding on the other side, Serenity simply responded with ‘pink, cute’.

  “I’m gonna charge you for the peepshot pervert! Isn’t this trespassing by the way?”

  “Not really, entrance is not allowed, not because they fear what’s hidden in it. The fence was pced ter after a bunch of people got lost after entering without notice”

  “Ah, rules due to stupidity, love those!”

  “...Ok? Let’s go then!”

  And so, Serenity and I both entered deeper into the forest...

  ...

  ...

  “What a weird forest this is”

  After the clearing, the canopy is so thick, light can barely enter the ground level, and the trees glimmer with a faint light in the almost perpetual dusk. Plus I can’t even see where some of the trees end, they go way, way up high!

  “You’ve never walked the sacred forest, so be mindful and don’t separate or you WILL get lost”

  “I mean, how hard can it be to escape the forest? We’ve been going in a straight line the whole time”

  Whether it’s big or not, if you go in a straight line in any direction, you’re bound to hit a clearing eventually. Or somewhere else.

  “The forest is never ending, you’ll be constantly dispced in your location as well. No one has ever been lost here forever as they exit eventually but. Teleportation doesn’t work inside it, and there’s tales of people getting lost for days or even weeks, so let’s not deviate and go straight to the royal garden”

  “Hmm? Where? I’m trying to get that stupid ring though, did I not mention that?”

  “The relic ring!? I mean I was gonna take you there afterwards but-”

  “I don’t have much time for sightseeing! What’s in this forest you’re taking me?”

  “Wait, you don’t know!? But...”

  Serenity started thinking, and then simply replied.

  “It’s... well, it’s a garden that’s been used for traditions in your family! But I didn’t know that you had no idea of its existence! Let’s go back with Elder Tim so he can fill you in! In fact he should come as well for the ceremony and-”

  “Nono! It’s fine like this, is there something that I need to get from there?”

  “I don’t know, only the royal family knows... but it’s just a garden”

  “Then leave it! Only to the ring pce please~”

  “Alright... maybe grandpa knew, which is why he didn’t tag along...”

  Hmm, odd but whatever, I promised myself to come back when it's less urgent, so I’ll ask next time I visit. Then again he was surprised when I mentioned coming to this forest only for the ring, was he also expecting something different?

  Why would they keep a garden in such an inconvenient pce though? Same with the ring. Sure the added protection is nice for obscuring where it’s hidden but...

  Let’s just not question it, and continue walking to where Serenity is taking me.

  ...

  ...

  “Why is the forest like this? Who enchanted it or something?”

  I doubt a forest that moves things around just exists for no reason at all. Although I wouldn’t put it past the fact it’s like this just ‘because’. There’s quite a few weird pces in this world.

  “Well, no one knows, Elder Tim mentioned that it wasn’t always like this, it just became one of the 5 sacred spots of the world, and the test addition apparently”

  “5 sacred spots? Sounds like a tourist attraction”

  “You’ve never heard of them? They’re pces where certain things keep happening, as if enchanted by nature”

  “First time I heard the term, you say there’s 5 in the world?”

  “Yes, It’s the sacred mountain of Dagdar where the dwarves live, the sacred pins that the church of light made their central building at, Frosthelm the inhospitable isnd far north where demons originate from, The sacred spring east from here in the southern gulf that’s deep on the ocean abyss, and this sacred forest we’re walking in right now!”

  “Oh I’ve heard of Dagdar and Frosthelm, I’ve been to those pces before! They didn’t strike me as odd as this forest however. Then again it's perpetual winter and blizzards in Frosthelm, so I guess I can see why it’s ‘sacred’”

  Although the distinctions between them are night and day, I wonder why they seem to be bundled together in the same group. Plus Dagdar didn’t exactly hit me as an important pce like this. Nor does it do anything magical in any way.

  I must admit that the forest is quite pretty however. It feels almost like it came straight out of a fairy tail, how does it work? Bioluminescent tree sap? There’s a certain ambiance I have never experienced in my life!

  Wouldn’t it be funny if a literal fairy came out of somewhere and just took me away?~

  Sometimes I wonder how different this world is from the folklore I know of.

  ...where did Serenity go?...

  She was next to me mere moments ago. So much for being immune to the forest! Dummy got lost already.

  Yes she got lost and not me. Shut up.

  “SERENITY!!”

  No response, in fact I can’t even hear anything in this forest, let alone catch Serenity’s presence anywhere. Should I cut my losses and head back? What if she’s looking for me as well though? Ah, no point in dwelling, I’ll just teleport back to the old man’s home!

  ...

  ...well it’s true that teleportation magic doesn’t work in this forest, for as hard as I try. Magic seems to be allowed though. What now?

  ...well, I guess it’s time to use Maldi’s advice and burn the forest to the ground!

  Sounds like a pn to me, but before that, maybe I should just climb a tree and try to see if I can find the town in the distance.

  I bear hugged a tree, and then started climbing.

  ...and climbing, and climbing...

  How tall is this tree!? When I was starting to think it’s eternal, I looked into the floor and I’m like, a couple meters off the floor tops...

  The hell!? Turbo climbing now, using all my strength to go up, but when I look down, I’m back on the height I was just before...

  ...

  ...

  Ok, this forest is just pin stupid! No wonder people got lost here! Fmethrowers here I go~

  ...hmm, I could’ve sworn that the tree in front of me was burning moments ago. What if I cut them down instead? Just make a wreck of this pce!

  ...

  ...Welp... this might be pointless. I’m guessing Maldi meant ‘going nuclear’ here, since I don’t think I’m managing to hurt the forest at all. I don’t want to get too destructive though, what if Serenity gets hurt in my reckless rampage?

  Now I’m kind of stuck.

  Let’s jog my memory, what can help me leave this pce or find Serenity? The elves didn’t mention much about this pce, and Maldi gave me closer to a mission briefing.

  He did say that entrance is only for those whose destiny allows it. That’s vague as fuck, and not exactly useful to my situation.

  Well, no point in dwelling and wasting time, it’s time for the ‘mad dash in a straight line’ approach! That’s bound to get me somewhere no?

  Run, run and run some more! And all I see are trees going past me, all the while yelling Serenity’s name in case she shows up somewhere!

  Hmm, there’s really nothing, or so I thought. After a very long while of running I saw light coming deep from this dark glowy forest. Natural light, so it’s probably the sun although very orange. Probably dusk already, I have been lost for quite a while.

  Eventually I reached an opening where the trees didn't cover the sky, and what greeted me was a small home made of stone bricks. It’s rather modest and looks quite home-y thanks to the sunset lighting. Not only that but the stone chimney is billowing smoke meaning there’s someone in there!

  I couldn’t take a step though. A weird sensation ran across my body. If I had to describe it, a mix of goosebumps and nostalgia would be the closest. I do not know this pce and yet... For a moment I felt a tear was about to fall through my cheek, but I was taken off this trance by Serenity’s voice.

  “MARISA!!”

  I turned around to the source of the voice, and saw Serenity in the far distance. So I shook my head and yelled back.

  “OOOOOIII!! I’M HERE!!”

  There comes the moth girl flying towards me. And when I turned back, the humble home was nowhere to be seen, back to an endless forest as far as the eye can see.

  “What did I say about getting lost!”

  “Sorry, I was gonna ask the person living here for directions, but I kinda got moved again...”

  “...what are you talking about Marisa?”

  “The house that was here moments ago!”

  I expined what I saw to serenity but she just looked at me like I’m insane.

  “No one lives in the sacred forest Marisa, I’ve combed this pce head to toe over the st couple of millenia, and I’ve never seen a home!”

  “I’m not crazy though, I swear I saw one!”

  “How could they even survive here? Besides, the forest kicks out everyone eventually, it can take from minutes to hours, but no one stays here forever!”

  “But they had a lit chimney! I’m not lying!”

  Something tells me this is gonna go nowhere...

  In the end I just accepted what Serenity insisted on, and chalked it up to a hallucination.

  ...although it was too vivid for that, but whatever.

  “Hold my hand”

  “Oh my, but we’re not dating yet~”

  “Don’t be silly! It's so that you don’t get lost again!”

  “Yes, yes~”

  Serenity’s hands are surprisingly warm, although the texture kinda makes me feel awkward. She doesn’t seem to sweat, so now I’m self conscious whether my hand is sweating.

  We walked through the forest while hand-holding. It would honestly be extremely romantic if Serenity wasn’t pissed off of her mind! She’s kinda cute when she’s angry though.

  I really miss everyone back home, and Serenity is making me feel a kind of way, I bme the white glowy atmosphere! This is important though, I need to get my mind off the gutter.

  “Hey, we’re here!”

  “Oh! Finally!”

  It was a rge dark stone building. Reminds me a lot of the dungeon I explored with Adele or the pce where I was apparently sealed. She would freak out in excitement if she saw this pce.

  The entrance is wide open though, so much for a ‘sealed’ chamber.

  “Let’s go”

  “Oh I can’t! Go ahead Marisa”

  “Don’t be silly come”

  “I mean that I literally can’t enter. Physically, look!”

  Serenity approached the building and then an invisible barrier made itself apparent, glowing faintly in blue. And stopping her as it looks to be solid enough.

  “Hmm, so it is sealed, let me try to break it!”

  “Don’t! You should be able to enter no problem!”

  “Ok?”

  ...yep, I phased right through the invisible barrier, funnily enough, immediately after I did a golden string came out of my chest and deeper into the ruins. Where have I seen this before? My hand goes straight through it.

  “Serenity, I’ll be going in for now, sorry for leaving you behind!”

  “It’s ok, go! I’ll wait outside”

  And so, I head inside, guided by the dim light of the golden string. All I can hear is the sound of my footsteps, but eventually, a giant room came into view. With an equally rge floating crystal in the middle.

  Moments after that, a holographic reflection appeared in front of me, with the same woman that greeted me first in this world. At least this time I know her name.

  I wonder what message Hestia left recorded for me this time...

  Joanne_carper