The forest was silent.
Not the peaceful kind.
Not the calm, breathing silence of nature.
This was wrong.
No wind.
No insects.
No distant animal calls.
Just stillness.
Sora walked ahead, hands resting behind his head like nothing had changed.
"…Feels like the forest died or something."
Johan didn't respond immediately.
His eyes moved slowly across the trees.
Sharp.
Careful.
"…Not dead," he said quietly.
"…Disturbed."
The ground still carried the scars.
Burn marks.
Cracks.
Shattered roots.
And beneath it—
faint traces of lingering aether.
Unstable.
Like something had forced the natural flow to break… and it hadn't recovered.
Sora clicked his tongue.
"…Yeah, well, whatever it was—it's gone now."
Johan stopped walking.
"…You really believe that?"
Sora glanced back.
Johan's gaze was fixed ahead.
Not relaxed.
Not relieved.
Suspicious.
"…That thing… the core," Johan continued.
"…It wasn't just generating power."
He clenched his hand slightly.
"…It was controlling it."
A pause.
"…Directing it."
Sora exhaled slowly.
"…So what, you're saying someone made that shit?"
Johan didn't hesitate.
"…Yes."
Silence fell again.
But this time—
it felt heavier.
Sora scratched the back of his head.
"…Then we just find whoever did it and beat them."
Johan glanced at him.
"…You make it sound simple."
Sora smirked faintly.
"…Isn't it?"
For a moment—
Johan almost smiled.
"…Let's get back to the village first."
Sora stretched his arms.
"…Finally, something that makes sense."
They continued walking.
Leaving behind the broken forest.
But the feeling—
didn't leave with them.
The village came into view just before noon.
Small.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
Sora frowned.
"…Why does this place feel creepier than the forest now?"
Johan noticed it too.
Villagers stood in small groups—
whispering.
Eyes shifting.
Watching them.
Not with relief.
But with unease.
"…They know something happened," Johan muttered.
Sora shrugged.
"…Yeah, no kidding. Pretty sure that explosion wasn't quiet."
As they walked through—
the whispers followed.
"…They came from the forest…"
"…Are they alive…?"
"…What did they see…?"
A child was quickly pulled away by their parent.
Doors closed.
Windows shut.
Sora's smirk faded.
"…Okay, yeah. I don't like this."
Johan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Let's talk to the village chief."
The chief's house stood at the center of the village.
Larger than the others.
Old.
Weathered by time.
Sora knocked.
A pause.
Then—
"Come in."
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
They entered.
The village chief sat behind a wooden table.
An older man.
Sharp eyes.
Observant.
He looked at them—
and for a brief second—
something flickered across his face.
Recognition.
Then—
gone.
"…You two came from the forest," he said.
Not a question.
A statement.
Sora stepped forward.
"…Yeah. And something's wrong in there."
The chief remained silent.
Johan spoke next.
"…Creatures. Mutated. Abnormal aether behavior."
The chief's fingers tightened slightly on the table.
"…I see."
Short.
Controlled.
Too controlled.
Sora frowned.
"…That's it?"
The chief exhaled slowly.
"…What exactly did you see?"
Johan didn't sit.
Didn't relax.
"…A core. Deep within a cave."
A pause.
"…It was producing and controlling aether unnaturally."
Silence.
The chief looked down.
Just for a second.
"…Then it has reached that point…"
Sora blinked.
"…Reached what point?"
The chief looked up again.
Calm.
But his eyes—
carried something else now.
"…Tell me," he said.
"…Did you destroy it?"
Sora crossed his arms.
"…Yeah. Blew it up. Whole place collapsed."
Another pause.
Then—
"…I see."
Relief?
No.
Something else.
Johan stepped forward slightly.
"…You knew about it."
Not a question.
The chief didn't answer immediately.
The silence stretched.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
"…For months," the chief finally said.
Sora's expression hardened.
"…And you didn't think to mention that?"
The chief's gaze didn't waver.
"…Those who went too deep into the forest… never returned."
His voice lowered.
"…Animals were found torn apart."
"…Bodies… incomplete."
Sora's jaw tightened.
Johan's eyes sharpened.
"…And yet you did nothing," Johan said quietly.
The chief looked at him.
"…What would you have me do?"
No anger.
No defensiveness.
Just—
truth.
"…We are villagers."
"…Not warriors."
Silence.
Sora clicked his tongue.
"…Still should've warned people."
The chief didn't respond.
Johan spoke again.
"…You're leaving something out."
The room went still.
The chief's eyes met his.
For a moment—
neither of them spoke.
Then—
"…There are things," the chief said slowly,
"…that are better left untouched."
Sora scoffed.
"…Yeah, that's not happening."
Johan didn't move.
"…You know more than you're saying."
The chief's gaze hardened slightly.
"…And you are still alive because you do not know everything."
Silence.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Sora stepped forward—
but Johan raised a hand slightly.
Stopping him.
"…Fine," Johan said.
He turned.
"…Let's go."
Sora frowned.
"…That's it?"
"…For now."
Reluctantly—
Sora followed.
The door closed behind them.
Outside—
the air felt heavier.
Sora exhaled sharply.
"…That guy's hiding something."
Johan nodded.
"…Yes."
A pause.
"…And whatever it is…"
His eyes drifted toward the forest.
"…it's still there."
Sora cracked his neck slightly.
"…Good."
Johan glanced at him.
"…Why?"
Sora smirked.
"…Means we're not done yet."
Deep within the forest—
far beyond the destroyed cave—
something moved.
A faint glow pulsed beneath the roots of the earth.
Another core.
Smaller.
More stable.
And standing before it—
a figure.
Unmoving.
Watching.
"…So," a quiet voice murmured.
"…they destroyed it."
The figure tilted their head slightly.
"…Interesting."
The core pulsed.
Responding.
"…Two variables…"
A faint chuckle echoed through the darkness.
"…This might become entertaining."
The light flickered—
casting shadows across a face that remained unseen.
"…Let's see how long they survive."
The forest remained silent.
But now—
it was no longer empty.