CHAPTER 24 — THE INVISIBLE CAGE
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The afternoon sun was beginning its descent toward the west when the three of them left the empty house in the middle of the forest. Golden-orange light pierced through the gaps in the trees, creating shifting patterns of light on the dry, leaf-strewn ground. The air had started to cool, though it still held the warmth of the midday sun that had just passed. Birds were beginning to return to their nests, their distant calls like nature's whispers, unconcerned with human anxieties.
Kyoichiiro walked in front, as usual. His steps were steady but unhurried, his eyes constantly moving, observing his surroundings—not because he was searching for threats, but out of habit. Every tree, every bush, every shadow falling on the ground, he cataloged in his mind. A mental map of this forest was beginning to form in his head, though he didn't know when that information might prove useful.
Behind him, Aetheria walked with her hands clasped in front of her chest, her fingers occasionally playing with the hem of her sleeve. Her long blonde hair, slightly dulled by travel dust, swayed gently with each step. Her pink eyes—Scarlet Luminis—still held remnants of fear from their underground experience, but were now beginning to shine as they normally did. She occasionally glanced left and right, enjoying the unfamiliar forest scenery—tall trees with peeling bark, large ferns growing between roots, and occasionally strange butterflies with transparent wings fluttering across their path.
Aetheria: (After walking for quite some time, her voice soft, almost a whisper) "Kyoichiiro-san... are we really going back to that place tomorrow?"
Kyoichiiro: (Without turning, voice flat) "Yes."
Aetheria: (Biting her lower lip, her fingers beginning to play with her sleeve hem again—a habit that surfaced when she was anxious) "But... that place is terrifying. I... I don't know if we're ready."
Kyoichiiro: (Pausing briefly, turning to Aetheria) "I don't know either. But that doesn't mean we'll never be ready. We'll learn from today. Tomorrow we'll be more prepared."
Aetheria: (Looking down, her voice even smaller) "You're always like that. Always certain. Always having an answer."
Kyoichiiro: (Resuming walking, his voice unchanged) "I don't always have answers. I just don't like showing that I'm confused. There's a difference."
Amura, walking on Aetheria's other side, listened to the exchange with a small smile at the corner of his lips. One of his hands rested on his sword hilt—a habit he couldn't shake after years as an adventurer, even though they were now walking through a seemingly safe forest. His center-parted red hair swayed whenever the wind blew, and his red eyes—Crimson Iris—remained alert even as he tried to appear relaxed.
Amura: (Interjecting, his tone light but not unserious) "Kyoichiiro-san, don't you find it strange? This forest is too quiet."
Kyoichiiro didn't answer immediately. He slowed his pace, his ears trying to catch the surrounding sounds. Amura was right. Quiet. No insect sounds, no bird calls—even though just minutes ago they had still heard distant birdsong.
Kyoichiiro: (Stopping completely, his eyes sweeping the area) "You're right. Too quiet."
Aetheria: (Moving closer to Kyoichiiro, her voice trembling slightly) "Maybe... maybe because the sun is starting to set? Animals usually—"
Amura: (Shaking his head) "No. I've walked through forests at dusk many times. It's not like this. This is like..." He paused, searching for the right word. "...like every living thing has vanished. Or is hiding."
Kyoichiiro said nothing. He just stood still, observing. His eyes moved from tree to tree, from bush to bush, from shadow to shadow. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. Only the wind blew gently, carrying the scent of damp earth and falling dry leaves.
Something's wrong, he thought, the hairs on his arms standing up. But I don't know what. No signs of danger. No monster tracks. No strange sounds. Just... unnatural silence.
He took a deep breath, then began walking again.
Kyoichiiro: "Let's speed up. I want to get out of this forest quickly."
No need to repeat. Amura and Aetheria immediately quickened their pace, following Kyoichiiro who was now walking faster. His feet pressed more firmly into the dry leaves, occasionally leaping over protruding tree roots, occasionally ducking under low branches.
They walked for perhaps five minutes—or ten, it was hard to measure time in the silent forest—when Kyoichiiro, still in the lead, suddenly raised his hand. The signal to stop.
Amura: (Whispering) "What is it?"
Kyoichiiro: (Not answering, just staring ahead)
Before them, there was nothing. Just the path stretching on between the trees. Leaves falling gently. Wind blowing as usual. But Kyoichiiro felt something—something he couldn't see, couldn't hear, but could feel. Like a wall ahead of them. Like a boundary that should not be crossed.
He stepped forward. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four.
Five steps.
CRACK!
His head hit something hard. Very hard. Like hitting stone, but there was no stone before his eyes. Kyoichiiro stumbled backward, his hand reflexively rising to his forehead, which was beginning to throb with heat and pain. He winced, his teeth biting his lower lip to suppress the hiss that nearly escaped.
Aetheria: (Startled, her voice rising) "Kyoichiiro-san?!"
She ran closer, her hand reaching up to touch Kyoichiiro's forehead—but Kyoichiiro gently brushed it aside.
Kyoichiiro: "I'm fine. Look ahead."
Aetheria turned. So did Amura. They looked toward where Kyoichiiro had just walked, where he had collided with something.
There was nothing. Just empty air.
Amura: (Frowning, stepping forward carefully) "What the—"
He reached out his hand. His fingers moved forward, slowly, like feeling in the dark.
And at a certain point, about half a meter before his nose, his fingers stopped.
Not because he willed them to. But because something stopped them. Something invisible, yet tangible. Its surface was smooth, cold, and hard—like glass, but not slippery. Like stone, but not rough. Like a wall made of nothingness.
Amura: (Eyes widening, his voice disbelieving) "There's... there's a wall."
Aetheria: (Approaching, also feeling) "But... but there's nothing there!"
She pressed her palm against that invisible surface. It felt real. Felt solid. But was completely invisible. No transparent purple color? No. No color at all. No reflection. Just... something that refused to be penetrated.
Amura: (Pulling his hand back, his expression shifting from surprise to tension) "This is magic. Very powerful magic. I've never felt anything like this."
Kyoichiiro: (Still holding his forehead, which was beginning to swell slightly, his voice flat but with a hint of suppressed frustration beneath) "Can it be destroyed?"
Amura: (Sighing, trying to press the surface with his palm, then with his knuckles) "I don't know. But I can try."
He stepped back two paces. His hand went to the sword at his waist. With a quick, practiced motion, he drew the blade—its sleek, sharp edge glinting in the golden afternoon light. He regulated his breathing, focusing his magic into the sword's tip. A thin red aura began to envelop the blade, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Amura: (Whispering, more to himself) "Just one hit. Enough to crack it."
He swung his sword forward.
Horizontal. Fast. Hard. Filled with magical energy.
CRISSSHH—!
Not the sound of a wall breaking. Not the sound of metal striking stone.
But the sound of metal shattering.
Amura's sword blade—the sword he had used for months, the sword that had cut down monsters and slain thugs, the sword he had specially ordered from that old blacksmith—shattered.
Shards of metal scattered through the air, glinting briefly in the sunlight before falling to the dry leaf-covered ground with a soft, tinkling sound. Amura could only stand in silence, staring at the hilt still gripped in his hand, blade-less. Just an empty handle, feeling hollow.
Amura: (Whispering, his voice empty) "My sword..."
Aetheria: (Covering her mouth with both hands, eyes wide) "Impossible..."
Kyoichiiro: (Silent, his eyes fixed on that invisible surface with increasing intensity)
He stepped forward. Raised his hand. Not gently like before—but clenched into a fist. He squeezed his right fist tight, then, without warning, he punched that wall with all the strength he possessed.
A punch learned from sword training—not a boxer's punch, but the strike of a warrior who knew exactly where an object's weak point should be. He didn't know if that would be useful here. He didn't know if this wall had a weak point. But he had to try.
THUD!
The sound of impact. Loud. Sharp. Accompanied by pain that immediately shot from his knuckles to his wrist, to his arm, to his shoulder.
Kyoichiiro didn't shout. He just hissed softly, pulled his hand back, and stared.
His knuckles, which had been intact, were now torn. Blood began to seep from several points on his broken skin, dripping slowly to the ground below. The fresh red contrasted sharply with the dry brown leaves. His hand trembled—not from fear, but from the intense pain and the effort of suppressing it.
Aetheria: (Immediately kneeling beside Kyoichiiro, both hands raised, golden light beginning to glow in her palms) "Kyoichiiro-san! Don't move! Let me—"
Kyoichiiro: (Pulling his hand back, his voice firm despite the pain) "No need. It's a small wound."
Aetheria: (Her voice rising, almost angry—something rare) "It's not small! You're bleeding!"
Kyoichiiro: (Staring at Aetheria, then looking down, sighing) "...fine. Heal it."
Aetheria wasted no time. Her golden-glowing palms touched Kyoichiiro's bruised and bleeding hand. The light spread, covering the small wounds on his knuckles. The throbbing pain slowly subsided, replaced by a strange warm sensation—like being soaked in warm water after being cold.
Kyoichiiro said nothing. He just stared at the invisible wall while his hand was being healed.
Amura: (Still holding the shattered sword hilt, his voice low) "This wall... can't be destroyed by ordinary force. Even with my magic." He looked at Kyoichiiro. "I could exert more. Much more. But..."
Kyoichiiro: (Finishing his sentence, voice flat) "But if you do, you'll be detected. Either by whoever made this wall, or by other parties we don't want involved."
Amura: (Nodding slowly) "My power... I can't just show it off freely. If I release too much, someone will know. Someone will come. And they won't come to congratulate me."
Aetheria, still healing Kyoichiiro's hand, heard the exchange and held her breath. Her fingers paused for a moment before continuing their work.
Aetheria: (Voice soft, almost a whisper) "So... we're trapped here?"
Kyoichiiro didn't answer. He stood up after his hand was fully healed, and began walking along that invisible wall. To the left. Ten steps. Still there. Twenty steps. Still. Thirty. Forty.
The wall stretched on. Endless. No turn. No sign of ending.
He turned, walking in the opposite direction. To the right. Ten steps. Twenty. Thirty. Forty. One hundred.
Still the same.
Kyoichiiro: (Returning to his original spot, his voice calm but his mind racing) "This wall encircles us. Not just in front. But on all sides. We're truly trapped."
Amura: (Silent, processing the information) "But we can walk backward. We can go back to the empty house."
Kyoichiiro: (Shaking his head) "Let's try."
He turned, walking toward the empty house—the direction they had come from. One step. Two steps. Five. Ten.
CRACK.
His head hit again. This time he was ready, so he didn't stumble. He just stopped, his chest rising and falling with breaths slightly faster than usual.
Aetheria: (From behind, her voice anxious) "So... that wall is also behind us?"
Kyoichiiro: (Letting out a long breath, his hand rising to touch the invisible surface behind them) "Yes. This wall is like... a cage. No matter which way we go, we'll hit it."
Amura: (Sitting on the ground, placing the shattered sword hilt beside him) "Someone deliberately trapped us."
Kyoichiiro: (Not sitting. He stood in the center, his eyes gazing upward—through the gaps between the trees, where the evening sky was still visible) "Or testing us."
Amura: (Looking up) "Testing?"
Kyoichiiro: (Pointing up) "We don't know if this wall is only on the sides, front, and back, or also above. The only way to find out is to try climbing a tree."
He walked to the nearest tree—a large one with low-hanging branches within reach. He jumped, grabbed the first branch, then pulled himself up. With agile movements, though his right hand was still slightly stiff, he climbed. Branch by branch. Higher and higher.
The tree was quite tall, about ten meters. Kyoichiiro stopped at the highest branch that could support his weight. From here, he could see a wider expanse of sky—a golden-orange sky beginning to turn purple on the eastern horizon. No clouds. No birds. Just sky.
He reached his hand upward. Fifty centimeters above his head, there was nothing. But he kept reaching. Arm straight. Fingertips.
And there, at a height of about eight meters from the ground, his fingers touched something.
Cold. Smooth. Invisible.
Kyoichiiro: (To himself) The wall is above too. We're truly locked in a cage.
He looked down. Aetheria and Amura still stood below, gazing up at him with hopeful eyes.
Kyoichiiro: (Calling down softly, loud enough to be heard) "There's a wall above too. We can't escape that way."
Aetheria covered her face with both hands. Amura just stared blankly ahead.
Kyoichiiro climbed down carefully. Once on the ground, he didn't speak immediately. He just stood, staring at the invisible wall before him—the wall he couldn't see but could feel. The wall that had wounded his hand, shattered Amura's sword, and trapped them inside a magical circle they didn't understand.
Amura: (After a long silence, his voice soft) "What should we do, Kyoichiiro-san?"
Kyoichiiro closed his eyes. His mind raced, considering every possibility. This wasn't an ordinary trap. Not a thug's snare or a black market merchant's ambush. This was magic—magic so powerful that even an enchanted sword shattered upon touching it. Magic so precise that it created an invisible cage in the middle of a forest, leaving behind no traces.
Someone is targeting us, he thought. But why? We have no enemies. Not in this world, at least none we know of. Unless... He remembered the voice beyond the iron gate, the voice that had touched his fingers, the voice that had asked for "something more precious." ...unless that wasn't a coincidence. Perhaps that gate, that voice, and this wall—they're all connected.
He opened his eyes.
Kyoichiiro: (Voice calm, but firm) "We wait."
Amura: (Surprised) "Wait? Until when?"
Kyoichiiro: "Until something happens. Whoever made this wall must know we're here. If they want something, they'll show themselves. If they just wanted to trap us..." He paused, considering the worst possibility. "...then we'll starve here. But that doesn't make sense. Too much effort just to kill three children. There's another purpose."
Aetheria: (Still sitting on the ground, her knees drawn to her chest, her voice small) "You're... you're not scared?"
Kyoichiiro: (Looking at Aetheria) "I'm scared. But there's no point in showing it."
He walked toward the largest tree, sitting down with his back against its trunk. His eyes remained open, watching that invisible wall—even though there was nothing to see. His healed hand now rested in his lap, his fingers moving slowly, tapping against his right thigh. An irregular rhythm. A sign that his mind was working hard.
Amura: (After a while, sitting down near Kyoichiiro, placing the shattered sword hilt beside him) "Sorry. That sword... it was a gift from my grandfather."
Kyoichiiro: (Turning to Amura) "We'll buy you a new sword. A better one."
Amura: (Smiling faintly, but it didn't reach his eyes) "That's not the point. But... thank you."
Aetheria: (From where she sat, she looked toward Kyoichiiro and Amura, then stood and walked closer. She sat on Kyoichiiro's other side, not too close but close enough to feel his presence) "Kyoichiiro-san... I'll heal your wound one more time. Don't refuse."
Kyoichiiro: (Sighing) "My wound is already healed."
Aetheria: (Shaking her head, her voice firm—something rare) "Your hand is still trembling. That's not from a physical wound. But... maybe from something else. I can help a little."
She extended her hand, a soft golden light glowing in her palm. Kyoichiiro stared at Aetheria's hand, then at her pink eyes. There was something there—not fear, not pity, but resolve. The resolve of a girl who had decided not to be just a burden.
Kyoichiiro didn't refuse. He extended his hand, and Aetheria touched it gently. The golden light spread, not only healing any remaining physical wounds but also easing the tension in his muscles.
Kyoichiiro: (Whispering, barely audible) "Thank you."
Aetheria: (Smiling softly, her cheeks slightly flushed) "You're welcome."
The three of them sat in a comfortable silence—not the tense silence of the underground passage, but a silence filled with the awareness that they were together. That whatever happened, at least they weren't alone.
Beyond that invisible wall, the sun continued its descent. The sky shifted from orange to purple, from purple to deep blue. Stars began to appear, one by one, twinkling above the cage that held them.
Amura: (Pointing upward, his voice slightly surprised) "Kyoichiiro-san, look."
Kyoichiiro looked up. So did Aetheria.
The night sky looked as usual—dark, with millions of brightly shining stars. Yet, at one point, above their heads, there was something different. A pattern. Like a faint ring of light encircling the stars in a specific area.
Kyoichiiro: (Eyes narrowing) "That's... the upper boundary of this wall. Starlight is blocked there."
Amura: "So this wall is truly a cage. Perfectly spherical. From the ground to the sky."
Kyoichiiro: "Or at least up to a certain height." He sighed. "But that means... this isn't a simple trap. It takes tremendous magical power to create something like this."
Aetheria: (Her voice soft, but with a note of fear in it) "Power like... like what you mentioned, Amura? Power you can't show?"
Amura: (Nodding slowly) "Even greater than that. I could create a wall, yes. But not like this. Not this precise. Not this wide. And not without leaving traces." He stared at the sky. "The one who made this wall... they're very powerful. Or they are."
Kyoichiiro said nothing. He just sat, staring at that faint ring of light in the sky, while his mind continued working. Who did this? Why? And what did they want?
Is it because of me? he thought suddenly. Because of my presence in this world? Because I'm an 'intruder' from another world? Or... because of something simpler? Like the information I asked from that mysterious merchant? Maybe this wall is their way of saying 'don't interfere.'
He didn't know. But he knew one thing: they couldn't wait forever.
Kyoichiiro: (Standing, straightening his robe) "We'll try one more thing before it gets completely dark."
Amura: (Also standing) "What?"
Kyoichiiro: "We'll try walking together. Me in front, you two behind, and we'll walk slowly in the same direction. If we all touch the wall at the same time, maybe... maybe something will change."
Aetheria: (Standing, gripping the hem of Kyoichiiro's robe) "Do you think it will work?"
Kyoichiiro: (Sighing) "No. But it's better than sitting still."
They stood in a line—Kyoichiiro in front, Aetheria behind him on the left, Amura behind on the right. Kyoichiiro counted down in his mind.
Kyoichiiro: "Go."
They walked. Slowly. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four.
Five steps.
And on the fifth step—no impact. No wall. No pain in the head.
Aetheria: (Whispering) "Kyoichiiro-san... the wall... is it gone?"
Kyoichiiro didn't answer. He reached his hand forward, feeling the air.
Nothing.
He stepped forward again. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Still nothing.
The wall was gone.
Amura: (From behind, his voice a mixture of relief and suspicion) "Did they... let us go?"
Kyoichiiro: (Stopping, staring at the surrounding forest, now growing dark) "Or they got what they wanted."
Aetheria: (Trembling) "What do you mean?"
Kyoichiiro didn't answer. He just stared toward the distant empty house, now barely visible beyond the trees. Something had happened there—something they might not have realized. Something that might have been taken from them without their knowledge.
But what? he thought. What could be taken from three children who have nothing?
He didn't know. Perhaps he would never know. But one thing he was certain of: their fight with the underground world, with the invisible wall, with the entity beyond the iron gate—none of it was over. This was just a pause. Just a breath before the next chapter began.
Kyoichiiro: (Decisive, his voice firm) "Let's go home. Tonight we rest. Tomorrow we search for more information."
He walked, this time faster than before. Aetheria and Amura followed behind, not asking, not doubting. They just walked, cutting through the darkness of the enveloping forest, toward the distant, faint glow of the town.
Behind them, in the silent empty house, beyond the closed wooden door, something whispered. The same voice. The voice made of shattered glass and choked breath.
Voice from Underground: (Barely audible, swallowed by the night wind) "Interesting visitors... next time... bring a more... precious gift..."
And in the night sky, that faint ring of light slowly faded, vanishing as if it had never existed. As if that invisible cage had never trapped anyone. As if they had only dreamed.
But the wound on Kyoichiiro's forehead—though healed, still ached when touched—and the shattered pieces of Amura's sword still scattered on the ground, told a different story.
It was real. And it was only the beginning.