For the twelfth time, Zephyr picked up the pebble back up from the ground. But instead of throwing it forward, he sighed.

“Is this… really going to work?”

“Have some patience,” Finn said coldly. “If you want to get to the bottom of this trap, this is the only way. Unless, of course, you have a better idea.”

Zephyr pursed his lips and couldn’t argue against that. Dejectedly, he swung his arm backwards, then tossed the pebble forward.

But then-

“…!”

“The pebble… it disappeared?!”

“What in the world…”

Finn snorted. “… Looks like we’ve found the trick.”

The pebble Zephyr just threw disappeared into thin air. Literally—vanished. It was soaring through the air in one moment, and in the next, it completely disappeared, as if it had passed through some kind of invisible portal.

“Wait… don’t tell me…”

Zephyr took a couple steps forward while everyone else waited, and they gasped.

“Zephyr- you- you disappeared as well!”

But several seconds later, his form appeared again out of thin air, having stepped back through the invisible portal.

“Calm down. I figured it out. There’s some kind of gateway here that we can’t see, but it sends us to the very end of this path, so it makes it seem like we’re walking infinitely.”

“We were all walking line-in-line earlier, so we couldn’t tell…” Athena murmured. “But… what’s with the grim expression on your face?”

Zephyr turned away, clenching his fist. “… It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just… get rid of this portal, and see ourselves out of here.”

Finn knew what was on the other side of that portal—Phoenix’s body. That X-Shape in the sky he and Iris had found not long ago—that must’ve been where Phoenix figured out the secret to this place… and was promptly killed to prevent her from telling her companions.

She probably had been struck by the same headache Iris had, rendering her unable to move, then pierced with that weird crystalline device. Luckily, Finn was unaffected somehow and managed to get Iris out of the sky before that could happen.

“So… any idea how to destroy this portal?” Athena asked around, resting her hands on her hips.

“I don’t think it’s possible to destroy it, per se,” Zephyr said. “Anything we throw at it will only pass through on the other side. That’s why, avoiding is the best option.”

Finn nodded in agreement, but didn’t utter a word.

“Assuming this portal only covers the path and nothing beyond it… we have to venture into the forest to go around it,” Zephyr continued, eyeing the dense trees on either side of the open path they were on. Be careful, though. Specters aren’t very physically strong, but if they get attach to your body and control your mind, you are done for.”

‘So… they attach to one’s body and takes control over their mind from there. Interesting.’

As Finn continued to pick up new knowledge on Specters, the five—six, counting a still hurting Iris—descended into the forest on the left side of the path.

– Inside the Forest –

It was dark.

Well, that was to be expected. After all, the moonlight could not reach here, thanks to the canopy formed by the thick branches and leaves of the tall trees all around. Within this forest, Zephyr, Athena, Giant, Aluna, and Finn traversed closely together.

“One wrong move, and we die,” Zephyr said darkly, as if the environment wasn’t already gloomy enough. “Stick together—the moment we get separated is the moment the game’s over.”

The group nodded firmly, with Zephyr taking the lead and Athena watching the rear. Giant and Finn walked on either side of Aluna so she was protected from all angles, as she was the weakest yet most useful of the five—the Healer.

Carefully, the group moved forward, keeping a keen eye out for any sign of danger (Finn kept a keen ear out). It was mostly quiet. Strangely… quiet. It was not the tranquil silence that Finn wanted, but instead an ominous, looming quiet, like the calm before a storm.

“… Keep an eye on the trees,” Zephyr whispered sharply, glancing around at all the dark tree branches.

Finn, for his part, didn’t know how Specters looked like, but then again, even if he did, he wouldn’t be much help in the sight department. Still, he did his best to pretend to glance at the branches, making sure it didn’t seem like he was blind. After all, he was still in his disguise.

“Alright… we should be past the portal, let’s return to the main road,” Zephyr instructed with a triumphant smile.

And that’s when it happened.

“WEEWOOO!”

Explosively, hundreds of voices making dulled police siren-like sounds erupted all around the group. It came with no warning, and the group, experienced as they might be, were taken by surprise.

“Tch-! They’re here! Run for it—we’ll fight them in the open!”

The five took off in the direction of the pathway, with Finn following the sound of footsteps in front of him. However, with all the police siren sounds, it was difficult.

So difficult, in fact, that it rendered him so concentrated that he was unable to detect a Specter sneaking up on him from above.

“—!” Finn suddenly felt a electrocuting feeling zap through his body, causing him to shake violently.

“What… is this…?!” He gritted his teeth.

“Hold still, Spade!” Athena yelled, then promptly drew her sword and cut off the white goo-like entity that had attached itself to Finn’s shoulder.

“Agh…” Instantly, the electrocuting feeling went away, and Finn could finally move once more. “Tch… thanks.”

“Save it for later! And be more careful next time!” Athena yelled, then urged Finn forward.

He didn’t need to be told twice.

The five charged forward as fast as they could, dashing through the forest, but…

“What’s going on?!” Zephyr demanded. “We didn’t go this deep into the forest… we should be back at the path by now!”

“Don’t tell me… another invisible portal?!” Athena cried, and skidded to a stop.

Right she was.

“Damn it… we’re completely lost and surrounded…” Zephyr muttered, then quickly made his decision. “Giant!”

“Yes sir!” The little boy saluted, responding immediately to orders.

“Transform!”

“On it!”

And then, with a bellowing roar that threatened to take away another one of Finn’s five senses, the little boy known as Giant turned into a true… giant.