Chương 197: [41.6] That Which Hides in the Fog
In the end, we had no choice but to let the fog completely cover us. It went eerily quiet inside of the fog and any noise from birds or animals ceased to exist. It was so dense I could barely make out Cyrus beside me.
I felt my heart rate start to pick up.
I forced myself to take a deep breath and saw a vibrant red string shine through the fog and to the person beside me.
At least I know it's really him.
Suddenly, lights erupted in the fog, but it was so diffuse you couldn't tell where it came from.
Cyrus muttered beside me, "Those are the emergency beacons. I guess everyone is stuck in the fog."
I spoke up as I watched the colorful lights explode above, "So what's the plan?"
"I don't want to use the emergency beacon and give up. Not only may this be part of the test, but I also don't want to risk not being able to rank."
I nodded, "I agree. So let's start marching forward."
"We can't see anything. We could run into a trap."
I took the lead confidently, "Not when you have me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
I started sniffing as I led him through the island, passing by traps with ease.
Cyrus pursed his lips, "Are you actually a dog?"
I ignored him as I continued walking. Eventually, he tugged on my arm.
"Wait. Stop. I think I heard something."
I stopped with him and looked around. Sure enough, there sounded like footsteps walking towards us…
However, they definitely weren't human.
Orange eyes suddenly peered through the darkness.
Soon, there wasn't just one pair, but dozens.
We were completely surrounded.
I gulped, "Please tell me you see that."
Cyrus let go of my hand and put his back against mine. He summoned his sword, "I see them."
"Are they real?"
Low growls echoed around us.
I felt my confidence wane, "T-That sounds pretty real."
I planned for magic!
Not for an animal attack!!
Cyrus spoke to me in a low voice, "On the count of three, you start running to the left where that opening is."
"And what about you?!"
"I will be right behind you."
I shook my head quickly, "No way! What if you get lost!? We can't get separated! I should follow you!"
"How is that any different?" He clicked his tongue and changed the subject, "It's not important. We don't have time to debate this. If we wait any longer there will be no chance for escape."
I took a deep breath, "Fine! But you better promise you'll be right behind me!"
"I promise." He gripped his sword tighter, "One… Two… Three!"
I started sprinting in the direction he said and could hear yelps from behind me. I sprinted faster, tripping over branches and nearly running into trees. Eventually, I couldn't run any longer and turned around. To my horror, Cyrus wasn't behind me.
In fact, I couldn't even hear any footsteps or noises.
My breathing quickened as I panicked.
On instinct, I rubbed my hand along my earring.
I took a deep breath.
Relax, Reika. He's safe. He's fine.
I just have to retrace my steps to find him…
But where did I come from?
I can't see anything!
I took a deep breath and spoke aloud, "Okay, red string. I don't understand how I can see you, or why it's connected to Goldilocks, but I really need you to show up and bring me to him."
I slowly opened my eyes and could see a vibrant red string leading from my chest and out into the fog.
I cheered, "Ah! Thank you, red string! I won't ever complain about you again!"
I ran in the direction it pointed, pausing only to take a deep breath to see it once more. I finally made it back to where I came from and could hear the sounds of fighting.
Cyrus was still fighting off the pack of wolves while trying to figure out how to escape. However, they weren't normal wolves. They appeared to be made out of shadows and it was hard to tell if that was from an illusion with the fog or if the wolves were actually shadows.
Either way, seeing the wolves jump at him made something inside of me snap. I let out a scream and blasted two large fireballs at the attacking wolves.
I summoned my ice chunk and flew towards Cyrus, catching him before he could even turn around to face me. As we soared in the air at a much too fast speed, Cyrus cried out, "Reika! Be careful!!"
I ignored him and started hitting his chest as I shouted tearfully, "You jerk! You said you were going to follow me!"
"I was going to, but- TREE!"
I grabbed the ice chunk and swerved, narrowly avoiding the tree. However, I didn't see another tree come into view until it was too late to avoid it.
Cyrus grabbed me and protected me with his body as we fell off.
Oh no! Now he's going to be hurt because of me!
I panicked and closed my eyes, producing a snow bank to cushion our fall. We rolled among the leaves before slowly coming to a stop.
I sat up quickly, "Are you okay?!"
He groaned as he sat up, "I'm fine. But why did you do that?! You could have gotten killed!"
"And what about you?!" I tried to bite down my panic, "What if you were hurt?!"
He let out a sigh and pushed back his hair, "Why does that matter? You would have been safe."
"Safe?! You die, I die! We are in this together!"
Before he could say anything, we were interrupted by the sounds of wolves sprinting toward us.
He jumped up and grabbed my hand, "We don't have time to argue!"
We both started sprinting, but this time I was determined not to let go. As we ran, I could see the unmistakable shape of a house. I cheered, "There's a house!"
Cyrus saw it as well, "It could be a trap!"
"Well, would you rather take a chance with a trap or the shadow wolves?!"
"...Good point. Let's go inside."
I ripped open the door and ran inside while Cyrus followed closely behind me. The door slammed shut behind us, leaving us in pure darkness. I pulled out my wand and created a light at the top. I looked around and realized that the door had disappeared, leaving us in an enclosed concrete room.
I forced a smile, "Well at least there's no fog inside."
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Nekoru
Nekoru Yeah, you probably saw that coming.
Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực