Just as Darryl said, they got separated the moment they entered the tall bamboo grove.
Flint ignored a sense of unease that gradually crept in the longer he walked through the towering stalks of bamboo. He felt as if hours had passed, and yet he seemed to have not travelled far. At some point, he thought that he was walking in circles.
The bamboo swished and swayed in the night wind, their leaves producing a whistling, almost melodic, sound. It could not be any more different, but somehow it reminded him of the lullaby his wife used to sing their child to sleep....
Alarmed, he snapped awake as he noticed his surroundings had completely changed without his knowledge. Instead of the lush bamboo-lined path, he was staring down at a nostalgic wildflower field.
Although he was taken aback, Flint quickly regained his composure. Looked like the bamboo grove not only contained a strong disorienting magic, but also illusion magic. He suddenly remembered what Darryl told them - to reach the end, you must think about your wish.
This was not his wish, but his strongest desire... which was to see them again.
He sighed. "Damn, I really hate this kinda stuff. Those mages really know how to play tricks on people."
As anticipated, he saw the back of a familiar figure in front of him: long hair flowing in the wind, slightly mischievous eyes, and a light spring tunic dress embroidered with flowers. The figure was holding a child's hand, smiling down at her.
Darryl closed his eyes, trying to press down the heavy, aching feeling in his stomach. His body was tense, ready for any upcoming attacks.
But it did not seem that the figures intended to harm or even interact with him. Forcing himself to ignore the two in front of him, he walked in the opposite direction, down the hill.
In the split second that the scenery changed, he briefly sensed something filled with the vitality of magic. After wandering around the edge of the forest for a while, he finally found his target: a large white stone carved with an almost invisible ancient rune.
"Found you." He muttered. Without hesitation, he pulled out his sword. Channelling sword aura into the blade, he struck downward and cleaved the stone in one smooth, powerful slash.
***
Armand looked up towards the star-studded sky.
He was a bit worried about Darryl. He knew that he had been here before, but the bamboo grove contained such a strong magic that he was concerned the boy would get swept in. Flint would be fine - that man was surprisingly exceptional against mental attacks.
Well, it was not like he had time to worry about others. He was currently standing on top of a still, pitch-black lake, which reflected his figure and the starry night sky above him. The landscape looked endlessly dark and empty as far as he could see. He tore his sight away from his own reflection, which was disorienting and made him question whether he was standing upside down.
I need to think about my wish, he thought.
There should have been no doubt what his wish was - after all, it was the sacred duty given to him by the Temple, to look for the Apostle of the World Tree.
However, he knew it was not as simple as that. There had been very little information about the existence of the 'Apostle', let alone how to find and identify one. The last Apostle passed away hundreds of years ago with little record.
He looked up at the vast sky again, feeling quite empty and insignificant under its expansive beauty. He knew he was only a pawn in a game that those people were playing, and they were eager to set him up to fail, but he did not regret his decision to take on the mission. After all, it had allowed him to get away from his family, explore the world beyond the Temple, and encounter all kinds of things. Although he had since grown a bit weary of travel.
His wish was definitely to find the Apostle. It would not be only for his own good, because he knew how crucial this figure would be in humanity's war against the monsters, who had grown stronger and stronger every year.
The moment he steeled his resolve, ripples formed on the mirror lake, with him as the isocentre. The ripples went bigger and bigger until suddenly, a black hole formed underneath his feet and plunged him towards the darkness.