Third chapter of the week anyone? Yeaaaa! This will most likely be the last chapter this week. I am incredibly busy starting tomorrow but hey, I can try! Anyway, thanks to the two or three people that have actually commented! Those comments are 10000x better than a "thanks for the chapter". You guys don't know how annoying those are. They don't help at all. I get it, alright, you're commenting. It's better than nothing. But you have to look at it from the author's perspective. You would want your readers to actually been visually interested in your story, rather than stealing posts by posting "thanks for the chapter". /rant

Edit: IRONY

Lol, anyways guys. Enjoy the chapter. (Also, this chapter is exactly 1,999 words according to WordCounter.)

“What is this place?” A Gifted walked forward, asking that rhetorical question as he looked around.

“I have no idea. For right now, everyone get some water. Use the empty water bottles so we’ll have some stored for when we leave.” Kyte said.

I’m gonna have to boil all of them just in case though.

He took the empty bottles out of the storage necklace and placed them on the ground. All the Gifted took two or three each and began to fill them up with water. Kyte looked up at the tree, trying to figure out anything he could just by examining it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t. Either he was too far away or maybe there really wasn’t anything.

Because there was only one tree around the lake, being the one in the center, there was no longer a wall of branches blocking the sky. However, the branches from the center tree did spread out quite far so there was only a small ring of sunlight reaching through to the ground. When Kyte saw this he was immediately filled with joy. These rays of sunlight were the first they had seen in over two weeks. He flew into the air and popped out the top of the tree line.

Fresh air filled his lungs as he felt the free, peaceful breeze brush past his face. He enjoyed the warm sunlight that covered his entire body. After several seconds, Kyte finally remembered the real reason why he flew up there.

He flew significantly higher so he would be able to see farther outward. He stopped once he was a good mile high in the sky. Looking down, Kyte saw the vast expanse of the forest that spread outward from the center. The giant center tree looked like the pupil of a giant green eye. Kyte could see the entire forest and he concluded that the shape of the forest was a perfect circle. He knows eyes aren’t actually circles but it gave him the feeling of staring at one.

About half a mile out from the center tree was a section that looked off. It surrounded the center and was about five miles wide on all sides. Kyte could see this because the tops of the trees looked as if there were old, dead cobwebs laid on them. When Kyte closely observed the mysterious substance he noticed that it was actually moving. He watched the whole ring and saw that it was indeed moving. That was when Kyte discovered that it wasn’t cobwebs, it was mist. A thick, white ring of mist revolved around the center of the forest. As for the reason why, Kyte doesn’t know.

After flying around for a while, Kyte finally found the train track. It would’ve been impossible to find on the route they took because the track curved around the white mist area. Once he traveled close enough, Kyte could see the clear treeline that was created because of the track. He noticed that the activity of creatures about a quarter mile around the track was greatly reduced compared to other areas. He couldn’t discover the reason why this was happening but just as long as it persists, it’s fine.

Kyte created a mental map of the forest before flying back to the center. He slipped through the opening and quickly found where the group was located. He could see them boiling the water somehow. Kyte thought of the earth manipulating-Gifted and, since they were boiling water, he assumed there was a Gifted in the group that could manipulate heat. Anyway, he landed next to the group and walked toward them.

“I’m glad you guys decided to boil the water first.” Kyte said.

“You’re back!” A few gifted welcomed Kyte back as he joined the group.

“Yep. I just flew up above the forest to create a mental map of it.”

“What’d you see?”

“Well, I saw that there is a ring of white mist the revolves around this center. Aside from that, I discovered where the train track is.”

“Train track? What’s that?”

Shit.

“Don’t worry about it. To say it simply: I found a way to get out of here.”

“You did?! Yay!”

The Gifted started growing excited after hearing Kyte’s words. He didn’t know what they were getting excited for since their memories were sealed, but Kyte didn’t dwell on that. He looked at the those three Gifted that woke up a few hours after Kyte discovered that secret about memories.

Right when they woke up, Kyte stopped everyone and brought those three Gifted away. He first asked them if they remembered everything, and they did. He closely observed the Gifted that he obtained memories from and it seemed like nothing was wrong. After confirming they actually did recover their memories, Kyte told them to act like they didn’t. He divulged the information about their memories being sealed and, since they experienced it themselves, they instantly believed Kyte. So, they did their best to act like the others.

Concerning the other two Gifted, Kyte still had them bound. He didn’t feel confident enough to tackle the challenge they presented, so he decided to practice on the sealed Gifted. What he found was quite intriguing. Of course, he only tried this when they were asleep.

Inside their souls, Kyte found the same sphere with several layers protecting that ball of light. However, instead of the white realm being empty, it was filled with white mist. That mist was capable of slipping through the spherical barriers to surround the ball of light. Kyte closely observed the mist as it seemed to be entering that ball. The light emitted from the ball was incredibly dim, almost to the point where there was no light.

Kyte tried to clear out the mist but everything he did was futile. It seemed to just freely drift throughout the space without hindrance. He also tried to use some of the black energy but he was unable to transfer it through a piece of Will. He guessed he would have to learn how to either send himself into the soul or send the black energy inside by itself. He didn’t know what would happen if he did that, mostly because he never used that black energy on anyone before. It came from the fusion of the black figure and black light after they were absorbed by his soul. He didn’t even know the properties of the black figure or black light, so how the heck would he figure out this new black energy? Everything that’s happened to him has been one abnormality after the next.

Anyway, he didn’t discover anything new after that nor did he want to take the risk of the white mist retaliating if he did do anything. So, he left that Gifted’s soul and pondered the mysteries he’s observed. Afterward, he entered one of the Gifted’s soul that was unsealed. He once again, carefully, pierced through the barriers and touched the ball of light. He obtained more memories which were instantly detained by the black energy within his own soul.

He ended up destroying all of them since not one was useful to him. Kyte was specifically looking for certain styles and weapons, so if none of those were there he would just destroy the memories. Also, he didn’t go berserk because of the black energy. He wanted to observe his own soul too but he just didn’t have the time. It only took two days to reach the lake after the memory complications but he’ll have more time in the future.

Speaking of the lake, Kyte noticed that it was eerily calm since they arrived. The water was crystal clear so they could even see the dirt and sand underneath it. Kyte grew curious so he decided to fly over it. He brought a large flame to illuminate the surroundings because sunlight was unable to pierce through the thick branches that protruded out over the lake.

Kyte saw the lake’s depth steeply increase the closer to the tree he moved. It descended so deep that Kyte couldn’t even see the bottom once he was about twenty meters away from the tree. Looking at the tree, Kyte was confused by its structure. The trunk was split into several different sections that were arranged in a spiraling form down into the water. The spiraling only began about five feet above the water’s surface so from then upward the tree was a regular tree. However, Kyte couldn’t see where the trunk ended because it was so deep. The space between each individual spiral was rather large, so Kyte decided to slip through and travel to the middle of the spirals.

Kyte had assumed that the trunk above the water was not hollow, and he was correct. Only from the beginning of the spirals and below was it hollow, allowing entrance all the way down, as far as Kyte could see.

Concerning the depth at which Kyte was unable to see, that was about one hundred feet. His vision was limited because the light from the fireball wasn’t strong enough to pierce down into the water that far down. It was just a fireball, not a tool that focuses light in one direction. However much he wanted a tool that could do that, there wasn’t anything like that even in the storage necklace. There was an instrument that produced light, however, that was a stage five equipment. That wouldn’t help him at all.

Also, Kyte was careful not to catch the tree on fire. He produced a layer of defense on the trunk so the fire doesn’t burn it. He was being as careful as he could because he would rather not harm anything in the forest anymore, aside from the crazed creatures. He doesn’t know what could be hiding within the forest or even the lake itself. That’s why he wants to find out.

However, actually going into the lake is a different story. Kyte absolutely hates deep bodies of water precisely because of the fact that anything could be down there. Especially now since the Dread Ruins spread a weird energy around the entire continent AND the forest was already weird to begin with. Finding a large, incredibly deep lake with a weird tree in the center just spells ‘giant monster’.

Despite this, Kyte’s curiosity was overwhelming. The saying “Curiosity killed the cat” wasn’t actually the complete version. Instead, it should be: “Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back.” Of course, whether or not Kyte comes back may be something he’s not in control of.

Kyte stared at the water for several minutes, considering whether he should go into the lake or not. Since the spiraling trunk goes down into the abyss, he assumed it could act like a sort of barrier blocking anything from the outside. Of course, if there was anything. And, if there really was, then there’s also the question about whether or not it cares about harming the tree. Though Kyte doubts it would damage it.

Kyte spread his Spirit energy an entire mile down yet he was unable to reach the bottom. He also sensed that the spiral trunk didn’t end there either. The lake floor was like a giant funnel; the outer edges slowly descended before steeply plummeting down toward the center. He couldn’t sense any creature down there either, so he assumed it was somewhat safe. He’s never encountered an enemy that’s been able to block his Spirit energy nor has he experienced the strength of natural pressure, mainly from water.

Kyte created a bubble of oxygen, converted from black light, around himself. He kept the fire burning but he created a system which would cycle out the bad air and convert black light into oxygen. At least then he’ll be able to see with his eyes. Just in case there is something that can block his Spirit energy, Kyte needs to see what it could be.