A cold wind swept by, curling around the thick fog like silent streams surging in secret.
The mist crawled across the ground, winding its way between gnarled tree roots, clinging to their heavy feet like stubborn strands of white silk that refused to let go.
The damp chill seeped through the fabric of their clothes, pressing against their skin, carrying with it an indescribable sense of suffocation.
They walked in silence.
No one spoke a word, not even their breathing could pierce the murky stillness that enveloped them.
Their footsteps sank into the damp, muddy earth, yet the sound was devoured by the fog, as if they were all moving through a soundless realm, severed from the outside world.
Ren could feel despair slowly creeping into his mind.There was no way out.
No matter how far he walked, the scenery around him never changed. It was as though he were simply wandering in circles, trapped within a maze with no exit. No signs to point the right direction. No clues on how to break the effects of the Hollow Brand.
The sensation of being imprisoned in a boundless space, without destination, without control, pressed down on him like a weight, suffocating and relentless.
Each breath grew heavier. Something inside him was swelling, a discomfort, a silent doubt.
It was like a vague whisper, an invisible pressure coiling around his thoughts, as if something was trying to worm its way into his mind, forcing him to believe in something false.
But what was it? Ren didn't know.He only knew that if this continued, sooner or later, he wouldn't be able to tell what was real and what was illusion.
Then the visions began to creep into his sight.
At first, they were just fleeting shadows slipping between the mist, uncertain figures flickering among the silent trees.
Dark streaks drifted inexplicably, with no clear form, no sound. But Ren could feel it, an unseen gaze watching him.
A chill ran down his spine. He instinctively tightened his grip on the sword hilt, his knuckles slowly draining of color.
He blinked. Once. Twice.
The shadows were still there.
The fog thickened, swirling like windswept ribbons, warping more and more with every passing second.
Then, a faint sound broke the stillness, a soft laugh, distant and thin, as if carried from far, far away.
It was featherlight, almost lost in the howling wind. Yet it carried a strange feeling. Too gentle. Too hollow. Not a sound that belonged to this world.
Ren stopped walking, his breath slowing.
He turned his head toward the direction of the sound, but saw nothing beyond the pale shroud of fog. No figure. No movement. But he knew… something was there.
The mist twisted like a living beast, wrapping around reality, pulling it into a state of instability.
His heart pounded wildly as everything began to distort. The trees twisted unnaturally, their shapes stretching and shrinking as if they were breathing.
The shadows sharpened, no longer vague mirages. And then, within their blurred contours, a face emerged… so familiar it froze him to the core.
No way.
His breath caught in his chest. Ren's eyes widened, his vision blurring for a moment.
He blinked again, but the face remained, smiling. Gentle, but cold, like a distorted portrait of memory.
The line between reality and illusion was as thin as mist. And he, little by little, was slipping into it.
Those faces…
Ren could… never forget them.
The blurred silhouettes in the fog grew clearer. Their twisted features becoming recognizable forms, not just anyone, but those he had left behind in the dungeon.
Tarek… Scholar…
Ren stood frozen.
Tarek appeared first. His eyes, once gleaming with greed and calculation, now held only a strange emptiness.
He stood half-shrouded in fog, his clothes torn to rags, his hair matted as if he'd just crawled out from a dark, rotting place. His lips curled upward, as if to smile, but no sound escaped them.
Right beside him was Scholar. Gone were the intellect, the sharp gaze.
All that remained was a pale face and eyes as deep and hollow as a bottomless pit.
He still wore his old, mysterious cloak, once clean, once composed, the same as the moment he was torn apart by the monster...
But now, the hem was stained with darkness, clinging to something that looked like ash.His lips moved slightly, but Ren couldn't hear a single word.
Ren wanted to shut his eyes. Wanted to turn and run.
But he couldn't.
Because deep down, he knew that what he was seeing wasn't just illusion.They were ghosts of the past, echoes he had never truly faced.
Tarek didn't smile. Scholar didn't accuse.
They just stood there.
Staring at him.
And their silence was heavier than any words of blame.
"No… No… no… damn it."
Ren muttered, his voice caught in his throat, barely audible between the ragged gasps and the dense fog tightening around them like an invisible trap.
His hand trembled around the sword's hilt, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles went pale. Every muscle in his arm tensed as if, just one push more, the blade would swing out by reflex.
But even so, he couldn't move. His heart thudded violently in his chest, drowning out the faint whispers echoing from somewhere deep in the fog.
His breaths were heavy, broken. Cold sweat ran down his back, soaking through his shirt.
But his legs.
Ren's legs were frozen in place.
The illusions in the mist didn't fade away like fleeting dreams when awareness returned.
On the contrary, they became even clearer.
The twisted shapes were turning into human forms, their lifeless eyes piercing through the fog, locking onto Ren… as if waiting for something.
Yuna and Nautilus flinched at Ren's sudden, unusual reaction.
"Ren?" Yuna called softly, her voice hesitant, laced with worry.
No reply.
Nautilus frowned, leaning slightly forward, about to step up, but froze as Ren's eyes came into view.
Those eyes, wide open, pupils contracted, were filled with terror.
This wasn't Ren.
This wasn't the person who had led them across the grasslands, calm even before savage monsters.This wasn't the person who had swung his blade with decisive coldness, never once wavering in the face of danger.
Ren was afraid.
But not the usual kind of fear.
This wasn't the fear of facing a towering monster, nor the anxiety of being surrounded by enemies stronger than himself.
This fear came from deep within, from a wound that couldn't be seen, from something carved so deeply into his mind that it would never fade.
And those silhouettes in the mist...
They were dragging him down.
"Ren! Ren! Can you hear me?!"
Yuna's voice rang out, urgent and filled with worry, like a fragile thread desperately trying to pull Ren back from the edge of a precipice.
She rushed closer, eyes wide, hands trembling, yet still reaching out with unwavering resolve to grab his shoulders.
She shook him hard, trying to wake him from the nightmare that had imprisoned his mind.
"Ren, snap out of it!"
Nautilus didn't stand idly by. His voice was firmer, stronger now, not just a call, but an order.
He didn't hesitate for even a second. He grabbed Ren's arm, yanked him toward himself, shaking him hard. But Ren didn't budge.
He was frozen.
Ren's eyes were blank, fixed on something in the distance, a void only he could see, one that was consuming him whole.
Cold sweat ran down his cheek. His breathing was heavy, as if he had been running from something terrifying. His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but the words came out faint, caught in his throat.
"No... No way... You guys... You can't be here..."
His voice cracked.
Yuna and Nautilus exchanged glances, both realizing that something was terribly wrong.
Ren's entire body was tense, as if he could shatter at any moment. His hands trembled, unconsciously clutching his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. And yet, he didn't respond to them.
Yuna clenched her teeth, her heart pounding. A deep sense of dread tightened in her chest.
"Ren! Look at me! There's no one there!"
She shouted, gripping his shoulders harder, trying to pull him away from the darkness that had ensnared him. But Ren still didn't look at her.
His eyes remained wide, filled with sheer terror, as if whatever he was seeing was beyond what anyone should ever witness.
"Damn it, Ren! Wake up!"
Nautilus couldn't stay still either. He gripped both of Ren's shoulders tightly, shaking him hard. "If you stay like this, you'll be devoured!"
Still no response.
The mist around them thickened, the shadows within it no longer just illusions, they were closing in, surrounding Ren, dragging him deeper into a reality no one else could see.
Yuna and Nautilus's voices were beginning to distort, distant echoes barely reaching Ren's ears. A place he could no longer hear them. A place they could not reach.
Nautilus grit his teeth, the worry burning in his bright green eyes. "What the hell is happening?!"
Yuna bit her lip, her heart aching. If this kept going…
There was no time left for hesitation.
She clenched her hand tightly, and without thinking...
SMACK!
A sharp slap landed across Ren's cheek.