Chapter 262 - Secret of the Misty Forest

Yuzu observed the scene for a little longer to confirm her theory.

Yuzu had only seen the spiritual world once before - briefly, on the staircase leading up to Li Ru’s temple. The most striking difference about the spiritual world was that the colour of everything constantly shifted. Rather than the solid colours of the physical world, it felt like there were multiple layers of saturated reds and blues that oscillated gently over time.

Nilya had been dropped into a forest with pristine white snow and a backdrop of trees that disappeared into the mist. The sky above was overcast and dark, with no stars or other heavenly bodies to provide a point of reference.

A thick, peaceful silence permeated the forest. There was an otherworldly aura of solitude in the air, making Nilya feel that he was completely alone and isolated from the world.

His feet left tracks in the soft and fluffy snow as he walked through the forest looking for any sort of landmark or sign of the way out of the forest.

~

“All living things in the world have a life force within them, and that life force is contained within their spiritual bodies.” The guru-chi had explained to Nilya in one of his teachings, “The spiritual body is highly receptive to the auras of other living things. We have been training your spiritual intuition, yes? Listening to your spiritual intuition is tapping into your spiritual body and becoming aware of the influence of things and people around you.”

“When people are at peace or have good intentions, their aura is warm and soothing. When they are angry or strike to harm, their aura is hot and burning. Stronger souls emit stronger auras. Stronger emotions and killing intents feel sharp on the soul.”

“All living things are connected to one another in spirit, so the spiritual plane is the plane of connections. When you are in the spiritual plane, you will feel more connected to the world. It is easier to understand others’ intentions, and of course it is easier for others to understand you. Your happiness becomes their happiness. Your pain becomes their pain, and vice versa.”

“In the physical world, your physical body acts as a shield for your weaker spiritual body, but this also dampens your awareness of the spiritual world. In the spiritual world your physical body will be stored inside your spiritual body, which means you will be far more vulnerable to attacks.

“However, your pathway is within the Domain of Body, which is equally attuned to the physical and spiritual realm. This means you can use your Exalted powers to bolster the strength of your spiritual body. When you are in the trial, remember your training well so that you can protect yourself…”

In his own words, the guru-chi had lived for over a thousand years. His knowledge in Exalted matters was deep, and he shared this freely with Nilya in order to prepare the boy for the trial.

The Domain of Body was within the Kingdom of Humanity. It specialized in skills related to strengthening and bolstering the Exalted’s body, allowing them to perform superhuman feats. They were resilient, agile, strong and quick to heal. Depending on one’s path, they also had the ability to shapeshift and change their body’s appearance and composition.

Since the origin of Nilya’s Exalted powers wasn’t clear his exact path was unknown. However the guru-chi wasn’t too concerned; the Trial of Requirement would make it clear.

Since Nilya had no Exalted foundation at all, the guru-chi had to explain things from the start. What he didn’t know was his private tutoring was also benefiting Yuzu greatly, filling in a lot of gaps in the knowledge that she had about the Exalted realm.

Of course, he didn’t share everything, and Yuzu didn’t have a good way to manipulate Nilya’s questions to provoke answers the way that she had with Li Ru. Therefore there were still many topics that were unexplored, and naturally the details of the trial were also kept in the dark.

As a result when Nilya was dropped into the middle of the misty forest Yuzu was not fully aware of the nature of these new surroundings. The two of them had to discern the requirements of the trial from the evidence before them.

Yuzu reflected on this knowledge as Nilya made his way through the silent forest.

~

Yuzu quickly discovered that there were significant limitations on her abilities at this time. Her awareness was limited to the area around Nilya, and furthermore she couldn’t see any strings around him. The only strings she could see were those of Nilya and the guru-chi who had secretly tagged along.

This is because this dimensional pocket isn’t nearby. Yuzu hypothesized, Nilya’s current location is out of range of my powers, but I can still view his actions from afar because his physical body is still tethered within my range. Therefore I can still see his future, but not the future of anything around him.

During Prince Deka’s resurrection she was in the aetheric plane within Deka’s divine kingdom, but she had manipulated hundreds of threads across Noga. The key point was that Deka’s aetheric body was anchored in the forest while the ritual in Noga City was underway. The fates of the people in the city were all directly influenced by Deka’s rebirth, linking them to his fate string in a giant knot. This knot gave Yuzu access to the fate of people across the city, enabling her to act beyond her normal range.

If this theory holds up, then if Nilya encounters another person in the spirit world, I should be able to see their string when their fates collide. Yuzu thought.

However after an hour of trudging through the snow Nilya still had not encountered a single soul.

His breath streamed out of his mouth in large clouds as he hugged his bare arms close to his body. He had never experienced such cold before, cold that pierced through his flesh into his bones. The mist hung in the air, obscuring the forest around him, making everything appear the same no matter how far he walked.

At first he had made a few turns here and there, following the soft curves of the land. However after a while he gave up and just started walking straight. His pace varied with his emotions, sometimes confused and slow, sometimes panicked and rushed. No matter how far he went his scenery didn’t change and he was beginning to think that the forest just went on forever.

At present he stopped walking and just stood still, staring off into the trees. His whole body shivered, teeth chattering as he felt a sense of hopelessness stir in him.

Even after two hours he had still not figured out how to exit the forest, but actually Yuzu had discerned the truth long ago. The forest itself was not that large, but it had a special quality to it. They tricked the senses, causing the trapped victim to feel disoriented. The spacing of the trees varied as the victim walked through them, and most surprisingly, the trees themselves moved!

The movement of the trees in the mist fooled the victim’s senses. When they felt like they were going straight, they actually were moving in a curved motion. When the victim turned around, they would over or undershoot the angle of the turn.

The snow at the victim’s feet shifted subtly. Tracks that were obscured in the mist were covered up. They changed when they weren’t being observed.

The end result was, if the victim relied on their normal senses to navigate the forest they would inevitably be directed to the center of the forest in an endless loop.

This observation was made even easier due to Yuzu’s ability to see Nilya’s thread. Even as the tracks and the trees shifted, the past thread showed the path Nilya had taken, providing a static frame of reference. It was almost amusing how completely it broke the illusion, as if Yuzu had noticed the slight of hand that ruined an otherwise flawless magic trick.

After discovering the secret behind the forest, Yuzu still had one question in her mind. How was Nilya supposed to leave the forest?

Trapped at the center of the forest with no knowledge and no obvious frame of reference like the fate strings, Yuzu discerned that it would indeed be very difficult to figure out the secret of the shifting forest.

Even if Nilya knew the trick, it was not an easy illusion to overcome. He would basically have to completely ignore his senses to escape, and who knows how many hours would be wasted before he figured out the solution.

The time between sunset and sunrise was only seven hours at this time of year. It was plausible that he could fail the trial on the very first obstacle.

But the fact that this is a trial means that it is solvable. Furthermore, it’s solvable without outside influence or hints. Yuzu contemplated.

After all, the scriptures the guru-chi quoted stated: The Oji shall travel alone, without guidance or instruction, only knowing that they must retrieve a hollow ember from within.

Since this was related to a prophecy involving the sun god, the guru-chi would probably allow Nilya to fail rather than break the rules. He was using some power to accompany Nilya on the trial, but perhaps there was some nuance to the meaning of ‘alone’ that allowed him to do so. He also hadn’t yet interfered or provided any assistance, even after Nilya used up almost a third of the time.

Yuzu didn’t know what would happen if Nilya failed the trial, but she wasn’t interested in finding out. It was in both of their best interests if Nilya passed the trial. Success meant more tutelage and guidance, and Yuzu wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip by.

Perhaps the guru-chi was bound by his god to not help Nilya, but Yuzu had no such restrictions.

The corner of her lip curled up as she reached out and touched Nilya’s string.