"Are you sure we're on the right path?"
Blueflame Warden, who was carrying me, asked. Beside us, Eugenia was clutching her head, squatting on the ground, as if desperately trying to remember something. We were in a vast forest filled with strange plants, and here and there, odd stone cones jutted out. This Illusory Realm was devoid of any supernatural beasts, having formed naturally. There were many such realms, but our current destination was the Abyss of Despair, where we needed to cast the final Ghost Blood Jade.
Two sharp sounds sliced through the air as Hayden Orion’s glowing white arrows struck two bat-like supernatural beasts squarely in the head. Instantly, their bodies erupted in flames and were reduced to ashes. I swallowed hard; I hadn’t even sensed anything amiss, but Hayden Orion had detected it before anyone else. This surprised me greatly.
"Every living thing has its own aura. This isn’t just about years of training—it’s about increasing your sensory speed. Right now, your perception is far too slow. You can easily sense powerful forces because their transmission is quick, but the transmission of weaker forces is much slower. You have to learn to detect those yourself."
I grunted in response. At that moment, Eugenia stopped moving, and Southwind descended beside a black stone cone. Eugenia let out a sigh.
"It seems like this is the place, but maybe not? I'm not entirely sure."
With a whoosh, Blueflame Warden landed beside the stone cone, carrying me and Hayden Orion. After dismounting, we surveyed the chaotic environment. Everything here was disordered, making it easy to get lost. Even the sky was confusing, swirling with colors that could easily mislead. We chose to travel through the forest because the sky was filled with invisible walls—barriers that existed within the shifting colors above.
Right now, our only guide was Eugenia, who had once briefly lived in this Illusory Realm. Yet even she seemed to have forgotten where the Abyss of Despair was located.
The reason we chose that giant pit was because Eugenia had heard about it from other supernatural beasts. Approaching the pit would unleash an overwhelming pull, sucking in everything nearby. Even powerful beasts had tried to approach and nearly been dragged in, escaping only with help from others. Only those who entered the Abyss of Despair and returned could describe it.
"You idiot, what good is your head if you can't use it?"
Blueflame Warden spoke, and Eugenia shot him an annoyed glare. I quickly smiled and gestured for Blueflame Warden to stop talking.
"Why not just destroy this whole area?"
I suggested, as it was the simplest and most straightforward approach. But Eugenia immediately shook her head.
"The power of illusion here is much denser than in other places. Since there are no powerful supernatural beasts, the recovery rate is also much faster. Destroying it is pointless."
At that moment, Hayden Orion suddenly leapt into the air, drew his bow from his back, and fired a series of glowing white arrows in all directions. After landing, he spoke.
"It's easy to get lost in a place like this. For all we know, we could be walking in circles. Let's keep moving. No matter how faint the memory, if we see something familiar, we might find our way. I've already marked eight directions, so we won't stray off course."
Eugenia grinned and nodded.
"You may annoy a lot of people in the Illusory Realm, but you’re actually a pretty decent person."
We continued onward. In this environment, surrounded by forest, stone pillars, and bizarre plants, it was nearly impossible to find any landmarks. We kept flying low. The ground was covered with multicolored plants—many of which we’d already tested. Most of them moved, and many were poisonous, making them a hassle to deal with.
Suddenly, a stone pillar shaped like a spiked ball appeared ahead. Eugenia burst out laughing, pointing at it and shouting.
"Found it! This is the one—I remember it best. Back when I lived here, I used to hang leftover animal meat on it."
I gave a helpless smile as Eugenia approached the white, spiked pillar that stood beyond the forest. She quietly gazed at the surrounding woods, then started to smile.
"This way."
Eugenia pointed to the left, and we followed her. After a while, Hayden Orion stood up.
"Hold on. This isn’t the right way—we’re heading back to where we started."
Everyone looked at him in confusion. He closed his eyes and, after a long moment, declared with certainty.
"If we keep going, we’ll definitely end up back at our previous midpoint."
Hayden Orion then explained that in a forest like this, where everything looks the same and colors swirl everywhere, your vision can be easily deceived. Flying was better—if we walked, we’d quickly lose our bearings. Even at our speed, moving through the woods made it even easier to get lost.
"You guys decide—I have no idea which way to go anymore."
Eugenia, feeling defeated, sat down on Zephyr’s back. Hayden Orion thought for a while before speaking.
"First, let's move beyond the range of the arrows."
Following Hayden Orion's guidance, we continued along the path he described, passing through countless forests of indistinguishable plants. We also passed six more of those spiked pillars Eugenia had seen earlier. She looked resigned.
"If we keep listening to you, we might never get there."
Blueflame Warden complained.
After a while, I saw a cluster of glowing white light ahead. We all eagerly floated over—it was one of Hayden Orion's arrows. We had finally moved past its location.
Everything ahead looked the same as always. Hayden Orion leapt up again and fired more arrows to mark our direction. We decided to move in a straight line.
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We sped through the forest, repeatedly letting Hayden Orion mark our path with arrows, then quickly reaching each marker. We had no idea how long we’d been moving, but we still hadn’t left this forest. The scenery remained unchanged. I felt a growing sense of unease, and the others seemed to notice something was wrong too.
"This place really is strange—no beasts at all."
Hayden Orion was the first to speak up. Eugenia laughed and replied.
"I think so too. Weren't there some at the beginning? Why are there none now?"
We stopped. Hayden Orion and I climbed to the top of a large tree, overlooking everything around us, but saw no signs of movement.
When we first arrived, there had been plenty of animals and insects, but now there was no trace of them. Blueflame Warden and Eugenia checked the plants on the ground, finding that many which used to move now seemed dead.
We all tried to sense something, but felt nothing. Hayden Orion looked serious, his eyes filled with confusion.
"What is it?"
I asked, and he shook his head.
"Earlier, I could sense quite a few auras—mostly faint, but still animal auras. Now, those auras have suddenly vanished, or rather, they’re fading slowly, then disappearing completely. It feels deliberate, as if someone is making them fade gradually to confuse my senses."
"No, this place feels frozen. These plants seem dead—they look alive, but they've lost their previous properties. They're not poisonous anymore."
I looked down as Eugenia tore open a plant. It used to ooze purple liquid and release green gas, but now it seemed completely dead.
"Its energy has been drained."
Blueflame Warden spoke and darted into the air. Hayden Orion sat cross-legged on the ground, still sensing everything around him.
"You’d better come up here too."
Blueflame Warden said, and Eugenia, standing on Zephyr, floated up into the air. To us, this place now felt like a labyrinth filled with deathly silence.
Suddenly, Hayden Orion opened his eyes and stood up. As he straightened, his eyes glowed white, and searing white currents flickered around his body like flames. We backed away; he seemed to have realized something.
"This Illusory Realm is alive—or rather, it's a supernatural beast itself. I can feel it now—the immense aura covers the entire realm, which is why we couldn't sense anything. It's a clever trick; that's how it deceives so many other beasts."
I stared in surprise as Hayden Orion drew an arrow, white currents instantly swirling around it. He crouched, nocked the arrow, and aimed into the distance.
With a roar, flames burst from the arrow—red turning to crimson, then radiating purple light. The air thundered as the space around Hayden Orion shook.
With a whoosh, a pillar of fire shot across the sky above the forest, carving a long trail. Everything on the ground was crushed, leaving a deep groove.
The arrow kept flying, its path now invisible. The fire trail slowly faded, followed by a deafening boom. In the distance, flames erupted, and Hayden Orion smiled faintly.
The ground rumbled, moving like a living carpet. A thunderous roar echoed, and a massive wall of fire appeared in the distance.
"You’d better come out quickly, or we’ll be forced to act."
Blueflame Warden straightened up as I smiled and raised a hand. A sword of swirling black and white appeared in my grasp.