Birdsong drifted through the trees. A single ray of sunlight slipped through the canopy, landing on the boy's face. He stirred, groaning as consciousness returned. He lay in the same place where the dark entity had once felled the monstrous beast.
"Hahh... I'm back..."
It wasn't an exaggeration to say he had clawed his way back from death. Checking his body, he felt the toll it had taken.
"Arghh..."
Pain screamed through every muscle. Fever pulsed beneath his skin. For someone who had never held a sword before, pushing his body that far had come at a brutal cost.
"Lilo?"
He called out. The nymph had said they'd meet again on the other side... but she was nowhere to be seen.
"…"
Uncertainty rooted him in place. Forward meant the unknown. Backward meant returning to the prison he'd escaped. A cleanup squad had probably already swept the area. If they caught him again...
"Fck... fck."
Torn clothes. Bloodstains. Dried mud caked onto his skin. A sword clutched in his right hand. He looked more like a bandit than a survivor. And yet, where was he supposed to go?
"Lilo? Lilo!"
No answer. Panic clawed at the edges of his mind. No memories. No home to return to. Just a nameless boy abandoned in a cursed forest. But he refused to sink into that darkness. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to stand, limping forward past the carcass of the beast.
"Crazy work..."
That thing had haunted his nightmares. Now, its lifeless form lay twisted and broken played with until death. He almost felt sorry for it... until he remembered the children it had slaughtered.
"Haa..."
He sighed and pushed on, dragging himself through the forest. The signs of destruction faded the further he got from the summoning site. Eventually, he reached a small lake surrounded by towering trees.
He collapsed near the edge, catching his breath just in time for something behind him to crash through the trees.
"!!!"
A heavy branch dropped from above, likely shaken loose by the storm's aftermath. His heart jumped into his throat.
"Damn…"
No breaks. Not in this cursed place.
"Damn it, Lilo, where are you?!"
Frustrated, he picked up a rock and hurled it into the lake, watching it splash and vanish. He dropped to the ground, cupped water in his hands, and drank deeply. He made a decision right then.
He wasn't going to die here.
He was going to survive.
"Now... food."
He moved stiffly, each step a battle. Fever still clung to him like a second skin. Scouring the underbrush, he eventually found a patch of bluish berries. Poisonous? Maybe. But starvation wasn't any better. He popped a few into his mouth and waited. No pain. No burning. So he ate more, stomach growling in agreement.
Back at the lake, he reasoned it was smart to stay near water atleast for now. Maybe Lilo would return.
"I'm here!"
The voice rang out suddenly.
"Lilo!"
From his chest, a warm, golden light spiraled into the air, coalescing into the familiar form of the nymph.
"Sorry! It took a while before I could manifest my form again."
"It's fine... but help me out here. Which way should I go?"
"Hmm~ … Go forward, toward the forest's heart."
"You want to go through the whole forest?"
"We should be fine. Most of the weaker demonic beasts were killed by the stronger ones."
"Alright…"
"Then let's go!"
Lilo seized his hands and tugged him forward, laughing as she spun around him midair.
"You're really excited."
"Of course! It's my first time leaving the forest!"
"Is that so?"
"We nymphs are born to protect it. We're not meant to leave."
Born with purpose. Unlike humans, who could wander, nymphs were tied to duty.
"Quite noble."
"Of course we are!"
"And narcissistic."
"Hey! That's rude! Oh ... by the way, you still don't remember your name, do you?"
"I don't."
"Then let's pick one."
He thought for a moment.
"How about Nathan?"
"Hmm… a bit plain. But fitting, given your status."
"You don't have to be that honest, you know."
They laughed. The forest around them thickened, but they kept walking until the trees suddenly opened into a radiant circle bathed in golden light. Shafts of sun energy floated like fireflies in the air.
"We're home!" Lilo announced.
"Huh?"
More lights drifted toward the ruined summoning site.
"They're nymphs, just like me," she said.
"But... I don't see trees flying around."
"That's because my home was near the storm."
"What?"
"This may be the home of the others, but… I'm not welcome here anymore."
"You moved?"
"Exiled ... actually."
"…"
Nathan didn't push. Her tone had changed wistful, wounded. Instead, they moved on. The golden light faded behind them as the forest shifted back to quiet greens and browns.
They didn't stop. There was no turning back.
The journey had just begun.