The darkness that surrounds them grew as the trees grew thicker, creating an eerie feeling as if they're entering the mouth of a monster.

Perhaps it is really the mouth of a monster, she thought absentmindedly as they camp that afternoon. She didn't really know if it was afternoon because inside the Forest Of Light everything looked dim. But for some reason, Nelrue knows of it no matter how dark it was.

The man had been sitting away from them with his legs crossed as if in deep thought. This position would last for about 30 minutes before they started trekking once again.

They shouldered their belongings once again and moved deeper into the forest to continue. Nelrue insisted that they shouldn't slack in their journey. The Venedralis could still follow them from here. Throughout their travel in the Forest, Nelrue had been nothing but tense. And Nefaaya was too, the scuttling sound that she heard had become ever closer. She shivered every time she realized it.

One evening as they camp beside a dead tree and surround themselves with fire in four corners, she had thought of something, as if an epiphany—perhaps the reason she couldn't find where the scuttling sound was coming was because she was looking in the wrong place.

Nefaaya slowly looked up, there was nothing but a thick canopy of leaves that blocked the stars and moons from above.

She laughed at herself for getting herself worried.

"What?" Renaeril asked beside her.

"Nothing," she said and looked forward, eyes flickering from time to time on the smallest of sound that she heard.

Later that morning, when she woke up to the sunlight creeping on her face, Nefaaya had almost froze from where she slept. She realized something as she regained her senses.

How would sunlight be hitting her face... last night, she was certain that the canopy above was so thick that she couldn't see the moons and stars.

She sat upright, looking around with eyes wild in fear. The three looked at her confusedly.

"Another dream?" Renaeril asked.

She shook her head and groaned. Ettran laughed. Nefaaya shot him a glare that silenced him.

"Is the...," she said. "Are the leaves here had always been thinner?"

"What do you mean?" Nelrue asked as he stirred the stew in the metal pot.

"Just answer it, damn it!" She shouted.

Nelrue had stopped from stirring the pot and looked sharply at her.

"Of course, I always look for a place with a thin canopy," he explained. "How could I know the time if we sleep somewhere where we cannot see the moon."

As he heard the musicteller explained, Nefaaya felt her world shrinking, she was petrified and unable to do anything as all spaces closed around her. As if to make fun of her, the scuttling starts. Nefaaya twitched in fear, she felt her inside was breaking. She looked around eyes blurry and alert.

Where would it come from? She asked herself, followed by two more questions: when would it come? And why would it come for them?

Three questions that had been in her mind that seemed cannot be answered unless the beast showed itself.

"What is the matter?" Nelrue asked.

Nefaaya looked up and wiped the tears in her eyes. "Last night," she started. "I saw no stars... There were thick leaves that blocked the view of the sky last night. How can I see the sun now!"

She shook her head, putting her face in her hands. "I want to leave this place. Please, let us just leave this place."

Renaeril moved to her side and touched her back and the gesture had only made her tears cascaded more out of her eyes.

"Why can't we just go back?" Nefaaya asked.

Nelrue smiled sadly at her and she immediately knew the answer to her questions. But she just had to ask it or else risked herself getting mad from her own thoughts. Curse it! For all she knew the Madness might perhaps be in her path, influencing it in a way that would brought her close to being a Tainted

Nelrue spoke calmly, "you're involved with me. And they would use you against me. Right now the only way is to run... but I'll promise it wouldn't be for eternity. Soon we'll stop running."

As he said soon, Nelrue looked somewhere. His eyes distant as if he was already seeing the future, as if before he met them he had been doing nothing but run.

Nefaaya nodded and calmed herself. It wasn't the time for her to give up. She has to endure it. A sudden memory of the fire that burnt her village flashed in her mind. She once again remembered the promise that she had met that late afternoon, when she and Renaeril buried the bones of the villagers.

Revenge. The mages in white would pay for what they had done. Their Empire would have to pay for their sins.

In the afternoon, the leaves have started to thin. They find themselves shading their eyes on the sudden burst of sunlight from above. The wind rustled the leaves from above. Inside the Forest Of Light, the air was thick, damp and heavy but here it was much lighter and easy to breathe. The chirping of birds echoed around them. But Nefaaya's hope that they're nearing the end of this Forest were soon crushed when the leaves above started to thicken once again.

Nelrue looked back, eyes glowing brightly in violet light. In that moment onwards, Nelrue hadn't pulled back from his Merge. He had been more alert even on the tiniest sound.

Renaeril who had suddenly remembered his training also Merge with the Creation. And as he looked around, Nefaaya saw the looked at Ettran's eyes. Hard Contempt. Jealousy and envy.

She later realized as she caught sight of Ettran watching them that among the four in the company he was the only one who couldn't Pull the Flow. When the boy noticed her, he glared at her like a threatened animal.

They both looked left as they heard a sound. Nefaaya was sure that it wasn't the scuttling sound that she feared. She immediately Merged with the creation, the darkness of the forest vanished around her. She found herself surrounded by dancing lights of many colors.

She saw ten Shadows heading towards their camp. There was only one answer to whom those Shadows belonged—Deprives, Those Who Lose Their Grace.

"We don't sleep tonight it seems," Nelrue announced and shouldered his bag and pulled Ettran with him, carrying him with his two hands. He looked back at them, "you could follow right?"

Nefaaya nodded.

"Yes," Renaeril replied.

Nelrue glowed, stepped forward and flew straight to the canopy of trees above. Nefaaya immediately started running, her legs made stronger by the Flow. She was still ignorant about the jumping that Nelrue always did. But at least she could run with the Flow as a fuel.

Beside her was Renaeril, she looked at him and only hoped that he could last longer for them to escape the Venedralis that were chasing them.

The two dodged the trees that blocked their path. In this state, where everything was emitting an unusual glow it was much easier to run. She could see everything, every rock, every root and every animal lurking behind the bushes.

Nefaaya turned left, closing to Renaeril as she noticed that they're being much apart from one another.

"Don't go too far from me," she said.

The boy nodded, he was covered in brightly Blue Pieces that moved restlessly around him. Nefaaya looked up and saw that Nelrue was already too far ahead of them.

"We have to catch up on him," she said as she increased her speed. Wind whipped against her face, and the leaves hissed every time they passed on it. But still Nefaaya felt that it wasn't enough.

Behind, she could already feel the ominous presence of the Venedralis covering their distance to them. Nefaaya looked around and abruptly stopped. Renaeril too stopped when he noticed her.

"Run, I'll follow," she shouted as she raised both of her hands. She clasped her hands and Pulled a wall of fire on the path of the Venedralis.

She pulled back from the heat. But at least she thought it would be enough to stall them. With the fire still roaring behind her, Nefaaya ran all the while hating herself for burning another forest.