Ziggy looked at the trio who all stared at him with dumbfounded expressions.
James was the first to ask. " I'm not a rank 1 karma master?"
Ziggy laughed and strode out of the store.
James followed Ziggy outside of the One Stop Shop in a daze. " Have I not become a karma master yet? "
Ethan laughed self-deprecatingly . "I'm fucked"
James ignored Ethan and closed his eyes briefly inspecting his karma lake. He willed for it to boil; releasing his karma. Externally karma appeared to flow out from James' body as a platinum aura.
Ziggy glanced back at James and scoffed. " I'd save up if I were you, we're going somewhere fun."
Uquinn watched James's karma disappear from sight and began inspecting her own karma lake. Her lake was filled with green colored karma. ' I wonder what Ziggy meant, Transformation karma users are usually considered Rank 1 masters when they are able to fully transform. That's what my father told me.'
The trio followed Ziggy out towards the southern boundary of The Garden into the silent forest. As they stepped across the boundary they each had their own reactions.
Uquinn was rather indifferent. Ethan, although outwardly composed, felt the tension in his body skyrocket as his eyes began darting around waiting for something to appear. ' Something's watching me but I can't see it. I hate this feeling '
Ziggy's leisurely stride had yet to stop even though he also felt the gaze of something watching him. But for Ziggy it was not just something; but many things all watching him, sensing him, but never advancing or retreating.
James had the most extreme reaction. After passing the boundary he paused and stepped back slightly before regaining his senses.
' This feeling…It's like I'm being watched. The moment my foot crosses the treeline it's as if something immediately turned its gaze towards me and all I can feel is hostility.'
James felt his chest tighten slightly as he took a deep breath to calm himself. The scars on his legs itched as he tried to move his leg forward. He blinked and in front of him was a black shuck. He blinked again. Nothing, except the figures of Ziggy Uquinn and Ethan growing distant.
He stood there frozen for a few seconds before Uquinn called to him, her voice growing faint. " If you lose sight of us you won't be able to find us again! "
As if to taunt him the forest returned that light blue haze of bioluminescence in response to Uquinn's scream.
James quickly made his way towards the group. 'This is insane.'
Every few seconds, James would turn his head glancing at the direction he felt that he was being watched from but found nothing. Eventually he could only give up, his unwillingness only amounting to a heavy. "Sigh"
James glanced back towards the boundary of the treeline before looking ahead, his eyes regaining their clarity. ' I can't be afraid... Gasper wouldn't be. '
Ethan, feeling a bit remorseful for his reaction, decided to explain to James. " It's called the boundary of Silence. Any sounds from the outside world are immediately silenced when you enter no matter how loud it is; it's also called the Watchman's Border. I'm sure you feel it but the moment you step into the forest even the faintest of sound you produce;breathing, swallowing, blinking, even the initial crunch of dirt beneath your feet alerts the forest's inhabitants to your presence. "
Ethan who was just relaying basic information felt a chill dance its way up his spine.
"It's like the forest actually eats sound. The silent forest isn't necessarily silent itself as you can see; you're still hearing me talk and can hear the sounds of your footsteps.The thing that's really interesting is that it magnifies sounds. I'm sure you feel it right? Everything about you doesn't just feel louder. It is louder."
James noticed this earlier but he was already a bit used to this since his first experience here. 'So to the outside it's silent but inside everything is louder. Is it an echo chamber?'
James thought about the closest thing to what he was experiencing and his thoughts also began to wander. ' If it is an echo chamber? What is the purpose of its design? This can't be a naturally occurring landmark and what makes it so special to allow for a forest to act with a specific function?'
"-Your heartbeat, the sliding of joints against your bones, swallowing, everything becomes twice as loud in here." Ethan's words finally came back into James' senses.
James nodded in understanding. Seeing James actually take what he said to heart. Some of the tension in Ethan's body actually faded. He thought for a second before continuing.
"The best ways to communicate in the silent forest is actually through non verbal modes of language such as markings, eye contact, gestures, basically anything that doesn't involve making noise above a certain level. Most of the cryptids that live in the silent forest rely on sound to hunt so if you're louder than the general ambience of the forest, you're usually food."
Ziggy and Uquinn nodded at his analysis.
Ziggy added sarcastically. " If so, why do you feel so confident talking so much? Does that mean you're telling them that you're the tastiest dish out of us?"
James blinked in shock and looked towards Ethan who had made a vow of silence biting down on his lips.
Ziggy let out a hearty laugh and the forest gained a blue tint as the mushrooms hidden beneath the foliage lit up.
They all felt their hearts sink. James swallowed his saliva looking at Ziggy dumbfounded. ' Do you not take your own words seriously? With all that meat on you they could have a feast…'
Ziggy, uncaring that he was shouting continued Ethan's lesson.
" Young Ethan is right but the ones that hunt using sound aren't the ones you should worry about. It's only the weakest of cryptids within the silent forest that only use sound to hunt. Think about it not just from a surface perspective. You guys as future karma masters need to think in at least three dimensions in everything you do; but as beginners I'll give you a hint. If the only things available to eat are the ones that make noise, then the competition for food would be extremely high which would require-"
Uquinn continued for Ziggy. "Adaptation and Mutation"
"Good job, Little Mingwa," Ziggy complemented.
Uquinn smiled slightly hearing the name. James noticed this and decided to continue Ziggy's train of thought.
" So you mean that creatures that hunt using sound are actually near the bottom of the food chain making them the next vulnerable prey after us?So things that hunt using things such as sight, smell and even temperature are the real hunters?"
" Temperature eh? Most people don't think about that. Usually they only think about which of the other senses creatures would use. Good job James. But not good enough. You've peeled away at the surface of the issue but think about yourself? Do you only use your ears to hear? Do you only use your eyes to see? Or do all of your senses synergize to make you aware of your surroundings."
James nodded at Ziggy's assessment and continued speaking out loud. " So there is no exclusive hunting using a singular sense but hearing just happens to be the most useful? And even if it's the most useful, creatures who actually focus on improving all of their senses, are the ones that benefit more? And some have even developed unique methods of sensing like temperature?"
Uquinn added on. " If I just transformed my ears and nose does that mean I would be better adapted to fight in the silent forest?"
Ziggy nodded. " You guys are close enough. I'll give you a 7/10 on your first lesson."
James didn't stop there and began to inspect himself trying to figure out what about him would be the most obvious to track and find. Eventually it clicked as his gaze passed his navel. " What about Karma?"
Ziggy grinned widely. Ethan who had taken his vow of silence did not speak but also looked up at Ziggy with open ears eager to digest this new information. Uquinn was also silent considering other things as well.
James thought back to the chase he experienced with the Shucks and how they began stalking him the moment he began to make noises and he felt a chill down his spine. "Wait, doesn't the Black Shuck use sound as its main hunting mechanism?"
Hearing what James said both Uquinn's and Ethan's expressions darkened realizing what James was hinting towards but hadn't been able to quickly think of it themselves.
Uquinn was the first to ask the question in the trio's mind. " Does that mean that the black shuck, no, even the King Shuck, are actually the weakest of the Cryptids in the silent forest?"
Ziggy did not respond but continued to step forward in silence. They didn't need him to say anything to figure out how problematic this revelation was.
James' brain immediately began turning gears. ' The black shuck is the weakest. That thing would be considered weak?'
He could still feel the bone chilling howl that almost sent him into distress.
Uquinn on the other hand frowned harder than she ever had before. ' Does that mean all the senior firekeepers and Juraman were sent out to try and kill something that isn't even at the top of the food chain here?'
Ethan on the other hand who didn't know these things decided to ask a more obvious question. "So if the black shuck is at the bottom of the food chain what is at the top?"
Both James and Uquinn turned their gazes to Ethan, surprised by the question he used to break his vow. However they quickly turned their attention to Ziggy who had stopped at a clearing. The clearing was one that surrounded a crystal blue lake.
The water dazzled under the sunshine and the evening glow which bathed the water's surface made the sight even more ethereal. The water shimmered and twinkled like countless stars on a sea of twilight. Only faint waves rippled across its surface as the wind blew carrying a cool refreshing air.
James felt a warmth well up in his chest. ' Getting to see things like this might make dying worth it. '