"Oh my god, uhm…!" There was too much blood. Beryl did not like seeing so much blood.
"Suna, Suna!! Hang in there!! Suna!!!" Lilt did their best to stop the bleeding. But she had been ran all the way through by a wide, spike-like protrusion, there was just so much blood. They were aware of various methods, magical and not, to treat a variety of injuries and bodily trauma, but this was far beyond anything they were comfortable with, not even something they were slightly knowledgeable about. So they simply did their best to stop the bleeding. That was the biggest priority. They'd worry about her missing lung later.
Lilt started crying. They were simply prolonging the inevitable. Suna's pulse was getting weaker, and weaker.
"No, no… Suna, stay with me! Suna! Please…" Tears trickled down Lilt's face, their arms too occupied to wipe them off, their attention too diverted to be aware of their own miserably shaky voice.
Beryl could only look on in horror. She was confused. Why did the girl try and fight it on her own? She knew what that thing did to people. But she, and none of her companions, had ever actually tried to fight it. Maybe… A flicker of hope, within Beryl.
Lilt did their best. But it was futile. They started shaking their head in horror, emitting pained sounds. Beryl sat by their side. It was the least she could do. She didn't mind this person. She also didn't really mind the brave girl that stuck to her word. She just cursed that horrid thing, she cursed her bad luck, and she lamented her companions, their good memories forever marred.
Lilt started crying. They shook. Beryl could only look at them sympathetically. There were no words to offer, certainly not any provocative ones. She wasn't some sort of monster. She was just fed up with this situation, which had gotten to her. But seeing this… it just made her hate the World even more.
Sounds. Lilt perked up. The two tried to listen.
Some sort of impact. An explosion.
Other hunters! This thought flashed through both of their minds.
"I'll go call them over!" Beryl shot up, noting a look of desperate trust and Hope on Lilt's face. She tried to give them an assuring nod.
She dashed out of the tunnel. Hiding from it wasn't an option. There was no time to waste. She would not let that girl die, not when rescue was so close.
She emerged from the tunnel. The sounds were much clearer, but they were a distance away.
"HELP! OVER HERE!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. She… was too afraid to go far from the tunnel's entrance.
"We're on our way!!" Beryl breathed a sigh of relief, peeking her head out, trying to see signs of movement.
She eventually did. "This Way!" She beckoned the group of Hunters. Four of them. They approached, dashing over.
"There's someone, they're really badly hurt! Please, save them!" The Hunters looked at one of their party members, who nodded, hastening their already quick steps.
Beryl and the other Hunters emerged into the small room, a worried Lilt and a dying girl coming into view. One of the Hunters, adorned in a robe, rushed to the girl's side.
"Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh."
Calmly, they chanted. The missing parts of Suna seemed to regenerate, the gap in her chest slowly closing with more and more chants. Suna's complexion was deathly pale; she had simply lost too much blood. Lilt knew that they would have to wait for her body to replenish some of its lost blood before Suna would come awake again. Lilt grasped Suna's cold hand.
"You did good, kid, keeping her alive. She'll be alright." They put a reassuring hand on Lilt's shoulder.
"So… care to explain what's happened here?" The warrior of their group gestured to the corpses, a truly gruesome, sickening sight.
Lilt and Beryl looked at each other, and did their best to share what they knew. That whatever thing is out there affects people's minds, that it caused the dead Hunters to attack each other. They didn't know much else other than that, aside from speculation.
They asked if the Hunters encountered it. They gave a weird story.
They had been in this forest for a week now. They were taking a shortcut through it to reach another area for a commission, but they found that no matter how far they walked, they'd find themselves back where they had started. Left with little they could do to counteract their oddly affected sense of direction, they waited. They camped out. The forest was unsettling, but oddly peaceful, devoid of most life. And then, they heard a shout, in the distance. They made their way over to it as quickly as they could, and they arrived here.
Lilt and Beryl gave extremely perturbed looks.
"But… the explosion…"
"Hm? Explosion?" None of them seemed to know what they were referring to.
Fear. It was spreading through the hearts of Lilt and Beryl. Beryl shivered. She did her best not to fully break down before the strangers. She didn't want to incur their wrath.
Lilt was growing increasingly paranoid. This… is it all some sort of manipulation? What's going on? That's too convenient, the timing is too convenient, these people aren't even here for the same quest as us! Lilt's worries seemed to exponentially multiply, a myriad of outlandish scenarios, any one of them a potential reality. And they all meant death.
The Hunters were confused by the stunned reactions of the two small teens.
"Well, if you just give her some time, she'll be back to normal. These corpses… I'm sorry. It seems like you guys have encountered something terrible. Care to join us? We're going to go back to looking for a way out of this forest."
"Wha, but, it's… it's still out there…" Lilt's quiet, uncertain voice wasn't enough to register in the ears of the unknowing Hunters.
Seeing the two remain motionless and downtrodden, the four gave some last looks at the corpses and the kids, and left the room.
Lilt and Beryl looked at each other. As if in each other, they could find some semblance of normalcy in this terrifying situation.
Lilt's voice was little more than a whisper.
"It…It kept her alive." Lilt looked at Suna.
Beryl, the whole time, was nearly frozen. She was glad that the dying girl seemed to be brought back from death's door, but everything beyond that… she was wholly uncertain, and fearful.
"Lilt, we need to, we need to get out of here."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because they're going to come back. We can't be here when they come back."
"...Yeah. They'll probably come back once whatever's out there shows itself to them. But once they come back, and once Suna gets back to normal, we're going to go fight it, altogether."
"Lilt. We can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because we tried to."
"..."
Beryl's face betrayed a deep, uncertain mess of confusion, sorrow, anger, and regret within her.
"It… It won't work out."
"..."
Lilt grimaced. "You don't know that."
"No. I do. We have to leave."
"What, leave with Suna, to go back out there? Just give ourselves up to it?"
"No. Without Suna. We get my hammer, we leave, and I make another tunnel. If you want, we can even come back for Suna afterwards." She looked to the side.
Lilt gave her a look of repulsed shock. "What are you talking about…? Look. I get it. You don't like those Hunters. Then why are you so willing to be with me? If everyone's going to turn on you, if this is all pointless, I, I just don't get it, what are you trying to say?
"I don't know! I don't know, Lilt. But," She continued looking to the side, her eyes glazed the upper parts of the walls, her lips pursed in a desperate grimace, "You're not like the others, Lilt. You're not like Them."
"No. No, Beryl, I'm tired of this. You can't expect me to abandon my friend when you continue to speak in circular, vague riddles. You can't." Lilt sat by Suna's side. "I'm not abandoning her. Especially not for some barely thought-out gamble."
"No, Lilt, you have to listen to me." Her posture changed. She was pleading with Lilt, worried eyes focused on them. "We-We don't have much time. They're gonna come back any minute, now. We, we can't be here when they do. We just can't." She shook her head, involuntarily.
Lilt looked at her.
"...I'm not taking Suna out there. And I'm not leaving her alone. Go yourself. Go get your hammer. Go dig another tunnel, and go hide in it." Lilt looked at Suna. "The rest of us, we're going to go fight it. We're not just going to let ourselves die slowly." Lilt looked back at Beryl. With nothing to say.
Beryl gave an extremely worried and pained grimace. She bit her lip hard, her body frozen. She abruptly walked away, quickly, not looking at Lilt, or Suna. She left the room.
Lilt lay Suna's head on their lap.
Weird girl. That's all that came to mind when they thought of Suna. But in that strange weirdness, was a fierce determination.
Why? Why did you try and fight it alone? Lilt thought to themselves. Things didn't really add up. If the monster was capable of luring these people out of the tunnels, why didn't it do so with all of them? Especially now, with Suna incapacitated, if it urged Lilt to leave the tunnel right now, then with its mind-crippling fear, it should be able to dispatch them with ease. But it didn't. It didn't do that, Lilt felt no inclination to fight it, whatsoever. So then why did Suna feel the need to do so? Did she simply want to defeat it? If so, then why all by herself? It just didn't make sense. But there was definitely a logical reasoning here, underneath that thing's twisted, demented actions. Lilt was certain. Especially certain, after Suna was so conveniently brought back from certain death. The timing was simply too convenient, the circumstances so unordinary. The monster definitely played a role. So what was it? Clearly, its goal wasn't to simply kill them. Why save Suna if that was the case? Did it enjoy seeing them suffer? Or was it a thoughtless instinct? Lilt hated deliberating the motives of such a cruel, twisted, thing. It made them sick.
Lost in thought, Lilt was interrupted by voices. They were laced with panic, and out of breath. They were getting closer. Lilt braced themselves.
"What was that?"
"It was some sort of thing."
"I didn't get a good look at it, did anyone?"
"Is it chasing us, you think?"
"Wait, where's-"
"Oh my God."
"Burn? Burn!?"
The rushed voices stopped. So did their footsteps.
"...but, but we can't go back out there…"
"Are you kidding me? We can't leave him out there!"
"b-b-But, what if, they're already…"
"No, No! No, not after everything we've been through together. You, you're new, you don't get it, Burn, he's-"
"Dirk, you… you really wanna go back out there?"
"..."
"If… If you go. Then I'll go."
"..."
Slam!
"FUCK!"
Slam, Slam!!
"Oh, fuck, Burn…" The voice cracked. In hopeless resignation.
"..."
"..."
Slow. Heavy steps. They approached the room. Lilt wore a look. They didn't know what to expect. They just wanted to keep Suna safe. In their mind were Beryl's words, laced with fear. I… All I need to do, is keep Suna safe. Lilt honed in on this one thought, amidst their growing fears.
Three Hunters emerged through the opening of the room. Hung heads, looks of regret, and pain. A common occurrence among the three. Lilt noted that the Healer who saved Suna was still alive.
They all slouched, and slumped, against different parts of the walls in the room. Lilt had no words for them. They had no words for Lilt.
The Warrior clenched their fists. Tears came down their face, which shook with grief. Lilt was too ashamed to look further, feeling bad even for just the scant glances they had thrown in their direction.
The Healer had a thoughtful look on their face, which drooped in sorrow. The unfortunate event seemed to only accelerate their mind, which sought to piece things together.
The Ranger shook with worry, their gaze frantic, assessing the others in the room. Even slight noises seemed to set them off, their body twitching every opportunity it could.
Lilt made no movements, directing their gaze at Suna. Suna. They were solidifying this priority in their mind. For they believed in her. That she would be able to rescue them from this grave situation. If she died, Lilt felt that they would all die, without a doubt.
The Healer spoke up. "I'm Zeke. What's your name?" They directed their attention towards Lilt, who didn't wait long to reply.
"Lilt." They looked at the Healer.
"Lilt. We… encountered it."
Lilt looked at the Healer. They felt commenting would be inappropriate.
"We… We were ignorant. We should have paid more attention to your words."
"What? At what point did the kid say, that if we left, we'd die? I don't remember them saying that." The Warrior directed their attention towards Lilt. Lilt could not show weakness here. They stared back the Warrior.
"I told you about the thing. I told you all of what we know."
"Yeah. We. Where's the girl?" The Warrior spoke roughly and harshly. Lilt struggled to maintain their composure amidst the pressure that was directed toward them.
"She… She left."
"She left…? To where? Why?"
"I don't know. I assume she left this tunnel. She was scared. Of you guys."
The Warrior did not like that assessment. "Oh. So we save your friend's life. And in return, we receive hostility. You fail to warn us, you just let us waltz out of here. And one of us dies."
"Dirk, they didn't know what was going to happen to us. Why are you blaming them?"
"Fern." The Warrior looked sharply at the Healer. They looked back at Lilt. "Yeah. We really shouldn't have come to save your friend." They cast a sharp glare at Suna's unconscious body. Lilt disliked it. They wanted to shield her from that hostile look.
The Warrior cast their gaze to a wall. "Ah, fuck. Fuck it, man." They looked at the ceiling. "We're… we're never getting out of here…"
"Dirk. That's not true." The Healer spoke up.
The Warrior looked at the Healer. "..." A blank stare. A sigh. They continued looking up at the ceiling.
The Ranger looked up at the ceiling, too. The Healer looked down at the ground.
Lilt didn't know what to make of this weird atmosphere. It felt… aimless. Empty. There was no cohesion in this group, only base sentiments. Where was their direction, their Hope? What were they even fighting for? I have something, Suna seems to have something. Even Beryl acted out of self-preservation. These people, this air… have they… already given up? At least the Healer still seemed to be in thought. But it seemed like the dynamic of this group was heavily dependent on the Warrior. Lilt did not like it. But they had no regrets. They were not leaving Suna in such an uncertain situation. Lilt was going to protect her. I have to protect her. I can't let anybody, or anything touch her. That glare. That glare from earlier. It ticked Lilt off.
Time passed. The Warrior would express their frustration. The Healer would stop them from clinging to thoughts that were too outrageous. And the Ranger shivered, huddled up in a corner of the room. Lilt was getting tired. Staying constantly aware in this environment. It wasn't good. They were losing a part of their rationale. They could feel it slipping, as the urge to rest started to escalate within them. But they couldn't. They couldn't sleep, when the events of this room, the actions of these people, were so uncertain. Lilt remembered when Suna didn't sleep on that mountain. She stayed up, the whole night, keeping watch. Under constant danger. And she knew exactly when that Beast showed up. It was really impressive. If she can do it… I can! Lilt fought off the desire to sleep.
Too much time. Too much time was passing by. Why weren't these people resting? As if they were stuck in some sort of static time, they went nowhere. They did nothing. Lilt wondered what thoughts were going through their minds. Were any thoughts going through their minds?
Crack. The Warrior cracked their neck. The Ranger jumped. The Healer looked up, then continued looking down. This had already happened. Multiple times. Why, why weren't these people acting normally? Lilt didn't get it. They were getting unnerved. Suna. Suna. They told themselves. Lilt's brows furrowed, as they tried to keep their eyes open.
Too long. This hell wasn't ending. It was nothing. So why was it so terrible? Why was it so exhausting, just sitting in this room? It was obvious. It was because these people were unpredictable. Lilt could not allow themselves to let their guard down. At any moment, any moment whatsoever, these people could spring to action. Lilt had to be ready.
It was like a taut wire. Lilt felt like they were waiting for it to snap. Suna. Suna.
Oh no. Lilt felt they were beginning to see things. Parts of these people seemed to start to deform. Out of the corner of their eye, they felt they could see disfigurations. Parts of them were jutting out. Lilt wanted to rub their eyes, but perhaps doing that would set these people off. Perhaps it would unleash an unholy wrath upon them. Perhaps they would all maul Lilt. Lilt's eyes snapped to the corpses, littered around the room. These corpses, they had gotten used to them. But weren't they… they were real. These were real bodies. These were real people. That ended up… like this. Perhaps because their states just seemed so unreal and impossible, they just didn't seem to register for Lilt. But Lilt was getting a real good look at them during this purgatory-like state. Lilt's heart quickened. Their face was warping. They were losing their grip. How much longer? How much longer? How Much Longer? How? How Much? Exactly How Much? Lilt tried to reason with themselves. That they would only have to put up with this for so much longer. That after a certain amount of time, they would be free. That this wasn't eternal. It couldn't be. It couldn't possibly be. Perhaps. Perhaps at some point in time, Lilt sort of wanted these people to spring to action. That perhaps, that would be better. Better than being stuck in this eternal hell, which never ended.
Lilt was struggling to breathe. The pulse. The pulse! Lilt felt for Suna's neck. The pulse was steady. It was something Lilt could focus on in this hostile environment. It was like water in the waterless desert. It was something. Something, that wasn't a victim of this distorted place. These distorted people. Lilt was so thankful. For Suna.
It wasn't just their imagination. These people seemed to twitch. They'd make unusual movements. Of their arms. Their necks. Their eyes, which, at times, moved so fast back and forth that these people couldn't possibly be consciously doing that. Lilt rested, on their rock amidst the storm. Suna was the one thing that prevented them from losing their mind. Prevented them from launching spells at these people, who weren't even doing anything. The air was simply too tense, too thick. Lilt had long stopped trying to decipher what thoughts could possibly be going through these peoples' minds; clearly, they were mindless. Clearly, they thought nothing, they were not people, they did not act like people, they were not normal. It was so obvious. Normal people wouldn't sit and do nothing like this, forever and ever and ever. That was abnormal. Lilt smiled, to themselves. At cracking the puzzle. For realizing that these people weren't people. It was just so obvious. Lilt and Suna were the only normal ones here. All that mattered was keeping Suna safe. Nothing else mattered.
The Warrior got up. This drew the attention of everyone in the room. They started walking towards Lilt.
"You're not normal. This is a trap."
"Dirk, what are you doing?"
"Fern, how did we not realize? This is all a trap. Coming here, we fell for it. We're in the trap. We need to break out of it." Their feet slowly, creakily, made their way for Lilt."
The Healer stood up. They walked in front of the Warrior. "You're not being yourself-"
"And neither are you." The Warrior directed their empty gaze, glazed over by, a lack of something, over to the Healer.
"What are you talking about? You're not acting normal." The Healer shook their head, as they seemed to do when they'd reach some sort of conclusion throughout their reverie.
"Heh. It's just so obvious. What's going on here." The Warrior looked at all of them. "This is some sort of mental attack. We need to break it. We need to get out of here."
"Then, how do you propose we do that?"
"Fern, we have to eliminate the foreign variables. We need to reduce the volatility of this situation. There's just too much going on right now, Fern."
The Healer shook their head. "You're, you're not acting right, Dirk. It's not right. It doesn't add up."
"Oh yeah? What doesn't make sense?"
The mindless driveling fake people didn't notice the water, pooling at the very bottom of their feet.
Tension. Like a bowstring, pulled back.
Lilt almost didn't notice it.
Fwip!
The loud sound of an arrow colliding with the wall seemed to bring the arguing Hunters back to reality. They turned their attention. To who let loose the arrow.
Lilt was horrified. By their expressions.
The Ranger was hyperventilating. They had been. For a while. Their body shook, with breaking tremors. This person wasn't moving normally. They must not be a real person. This conclusion was a shared conclusion, one in a deep recess of their mind. It was Fact.
"no. no… no…! No! NO! NOO! nOOOoooOOOOO!!" The voice shook. It cracked, it squealed, it screamed. Two figures were approaching them. "NONONONONONOOOOOO!!!" Remove. Remove the volatile factor. Remove the uncertainty. Remove the fake person. Remove. Remove.
"Heheh, Hahahah, HAHAHAHAHAH!!!" A vicious, deep, dark, reverberating laugh. One that pierced the Souls of everyone in the room. The laughter continued. Everyone's attention was drawn. To the fifth person in the room.