Chapter 99 - Attracting Attention

“The woods have changed.”

Yuzu didn’t say these words out loud, but rather let them linger on her thoughts knowing that Argus would hear her. The shorter boy with curly blond hair lifted up his lantern, holding it aloft to illuminate the small clearing that the path had taken them towards.

The previously calm and serene woods had turned into a dense, heavy jungle since Yuzu last visited. The air was humid and ripe with sweet and musty fragrances. Vines thick with leaves and flowers hung down from the trees. Strange chirping and clacking noises rippled through the underbrush from all directions.

The golden threads here were vibrant and plentiful. There were even plants that seemed to be entwined with the fate threads, glowing brightly in her spiritual vision. Yuzu hovered her hands over several of the threads and found that they belonged to strange animals and insects rich in spirituality.

“The Domain of Life has claimed these lands.” Argus said after a while, his eyes glimmering under the oversized hood of his coat.

“What caused this to happen?” Yuzu asked.

“That is a question I’d like to know the answer to as well.” Argus said, “Though I have my suspicions...”

They continued down the path, which remained clear and unobstructed despite the overgrowth on all sides. Yuzu kept a careful eye on the threads, noting that amidst the myriad golden threads there were also a handful of black, white and silver strings around them.

Yuzu’s spiritual intuition triggered as she noticed one black thread in particular starting to converge on her and Argus. It was particularly vibrant in energy, and had a distinct feeling to it that Yuzu could not nail down. It felt like this string had ‘purpose’, or ‘consciousness’, in a way that the other strings in the forest lacked.

This quality also existed in Yuzu and Argus’ strings, and, contemplating further, it was similar to the strings of the people in the city. In a moment of epiphany Yuzu realized that this quality signified that it belonged to a person, an Exalted.

Not wanting to meet any strange people, Yuzu gently guided the string away using her powers, and it drifted away into the woods. They continued along for another ten minutes when she noticed the black string approaching again. She felt a strain in her body as she pulled the string away. A sharp, prickling jolt ran through her arm and she winced.

“What is it?” Argus asked, looking up at her.

“Someone is trying to find us.” She said softly, “An Exalted from the Domain of Life.”

“I see.” Argus nodded, “If they are closely connected to this unnatural forest, then it is likely they can sense our presence. We are intruders entering someone else’s territory. Without your interference we likely wouldn’t be able to evade them for long.”

“What should we do?”

“Keep heading towards the shrine... I’ll think of something.” Argus said. He then fell silent, concern tightening his lips.

They continued deeper into the woods until they came across a giant tree, its branches heavy with vines. At this point Yuzu pointed off the path into the brush, “We have to head that way.”

The light of the lantern revealed that the once open and spacious forest floor was now densely packed with large bushes and ferns. They walked back and forth along the path, searching for a way off of the path, but could not find any openings in the underbrush.

“What of the Exalted of Life?” Argus asked presently.

“I barely have the energy to keep her away.” Yuzu admitted, “I’m starting to feel faint.”

“You can drink from the porcelain bottle I gave to you.” Argus suggested.

Yuzu nodded. She pulled out the small white jar from her pocket and uncapped the cork. Her spiritual intuition triggered immediately after this action.

“If I take this, the Exalted of Life will find us.” Yuzu said, interpreting the feelings from her intuition, “I won’t be able to keep her away.”

“Can you discern whether it be dangerous?”

Yuzu frowned, trying to examine the strings of fate. At the moment the black string was still well away from them, searching for them but unable to lock down their location. Since she hadn’t yet taken a drink of the bottle, the thread had not reacted to the future action, so she could not read the future in the string.

She could only go by her gut instinct.

“There is danger.” Yuzu said hesitantly, “If it were just one of us, we might not survive. However together we will likely survive.”

Argus rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes lowering in thought.

“Should I not drink from the bottle?” Yuzu asked.

“I would have preferred if we remained unnoticed, but it was unlikely to happen. No, it would not be wise to strain your body more in your weakened state.” Argus shook his head, “Better to revitalize yourself and face the entity at full strength. Just drink a sip. A small amount should be enough.”

Yuzu nodded, raising the bottle to her lips. The liquid was cool, light and smoother than any drink Yuzu had ever had. As the liquid touched her tongue a refreshing mint-like flavour blossomed in her mouth. She swallowed and the cold liquid ran down her throat and into her stomach where she felt a cool, refreshing sensation spread out through her body.

Almost immediately she felt stronger and more energetic. Her posture straightened and her eyes brightened with life. The change was so dramatic that she held the bottle out for a moment to look at it in shock. The taste lingered on her tongue, pleasant and intoxicating.

Without thinking she brought the bottle back to her lips and was about to take another sip.

“Careful.” Argus said, “Don’t drink too much.”

“Ah. I nearly took another sip without thinking.” Yuzu snapped out of the trance as she lowered the bottle and stoppered the top. She frowned a little as she examined the bottle again with a more critical eye. “I’ve never felt so light and energetic. It makes me want to drink more.”

Argus was about to reply when his eyes suddenly narrowed and he looked around. Yuzu followed suit, putting the bottle away in her pocket as she suddenly felt like the shadows of the forest had begun to press in towards them.

The forest canopy began to flutter as a chill wind picked up around them. The rustling of leaves and creaking of tree trunks filled the air.

Yuzu’s body tensed up as she activated her spiritual vision. The spirited black thread from before had suddenly returned and was coiling around Argus and Yuzu’s white threads like a snake, binding them all together. She instinctively tried to grab onto the thread and pull it away, but it immediately noticed her attempt and wrapped even tighter in response.

The image of a woman with thick, vine-like braids of hair and leather clothing flashed in her mind.

“We’ve caught someone’s attention.” Yuzu said, “I can’t keep her away.”

“How close is she?” Argus asked calmly, raising his lantern. The dim orange light suddenly burned bright blue as the darkness in his eyes deepened and reflected a galaxy of stars.

“She’s nearly here.” Yuzu looked off to her left into the underbrush. “Less than a minute.”

A sudden flare in the blue light caused Yuzu to look towards Argus, where a light grey fog had started billowing out of the glass lantern in a silent waterfall. It began to quickly engulf Argus, turning his form translucent and shadowy. Simultaneously the fog also drifted over to Yuzu, cloaking her in a translucent mist. She tensed up in panic as her body began to disappear before her eyes.

“Don’t be concerned. This is Cloak of Concealment, a Disciple level power of a Keeper.” Argus’s said softly. His voice sounded hazy and hard to identify as coming from a young boy. The harder she tried to focus on it, the less she was able to tell what kind of person spoke those words. “It will disguise our identity and prevent them from properly gauging our strength. When we talk to others they won’t be able to recognize our voices as male or female, old or young. We can also talk amongst each other safely without being understood by those outside the cloak.”

Yuzu’s heart calmed a bit from Argus’ explanation and she nodded. “This is your backup plan?”

“In part. Unfortunately this is only a superficial concealment, I can’t hide our presence completely. It also will not protect us from attacks.” Argus said. He looked up at Yuzu with a calm expression, “But we don’t have anything to worry about, I think, as long as we stay calm-“

A crashing noise interrupted the boy as the trees around them suddenly came to life. The ground rumbled violently as tree roots began breaking through the earth. The creaking and groaning of wood drowned out all other sounds.

The canopy rose around them as the trees stood up from their long, spindly roots that supported them like insect legs. They pointed their leafy ‘heads’ inwards towards the duo, forming a dense canopy above them that shut out the rain.

The air was filled with the heavy scent of wet earth and moss.

Hundreds of snake-like vines covered in thorns slithered out of the darkness, forming a circle around the pair. They created an impenetrable bramble wall under the legs of the animated trees.

Argus kept his lantern held aloft, the bluish light illuminating the angled tree trunks above them and the shifting black vines. They had been imprisoned in a dome of plants. The grey fog continued to pour out of the lantern, forming a broiling pool around their feet.

Yuzu watched the shadows loom around her as her entire body tensed up, though she was not afraid. The black string in her spiritual vision wound around the area, controlling the trees and vines like a puppet master. The Exalted had trapped her and Argus in a living prison, but Yuzu did not feel that she did so out of malice or ill intent.

No, the Exalted controlling the trees was merely being careful, controlling the environment to create a safe, private space.

In the hazy illusory vision of the future, Yuzu watched the Exalted with braided hair reminiscent of vines approach and kneel down in front of her in reverence.