Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 34: Factory III

The winds carrying the black fog whirled a the duo, thicking over time like a black plague beath their feet. Ria's full atttion was on Altair as she tilted her head, her mind full of questions.

"How do you know?"

"Instinct," He deflected, unsure how to explain how sometimes he received strange ssations that directed some of his actions. It was like a sixth sse or perhaps a state of knowing he'd ter in at times. From the day he oped his eyes to the second he held his sword for the first time, Altair had felt something within him stirred.

He narrowed his eyes and shot a measured look at his surings. "What do you see?"

Reina shrugged. " Aside from the black fog, everything seems normal. Eerily so. I can't ev hear the sounds of the animals, much less insects." Suddly, mana gathered within Reina's eye, showering her vision with a myriad of complex nodes dancing along her sight. As if sured by a vast array of undying stars, Reina glanced at her feet, noting the dark-colored mana invading her body.

[Confustion(F) Detected]

[User will experice confusion wh traversing the Forest of Enna]

"What the… It's a confusion formation. It distorts… directions, I guess." She explained through knitted brows, surprised at how she missed such a trick.

Altair nodded, not in the least bit surprised. Rather, he appeared curious about something else. A peculiar discovery he focused on.

The wind.

The winds, an elemtal force that existed solely in the physical plane, were somehow carrying pure ergy, an ethereal force. The Mana was moving with the motion of the winds.

And while the young prince could not yet perceive the flow of mana. All spells required an ergy source to exist in the corporal realm. For the Wind to move ergy, much less Mana, was anything but normal.

"There," Altair pointed, his finger directed towards the flow of the winds. "Maybe we can get out of here if we follow the winds. Breaking a formation that's be set in such a large forest isn't in our best interest. Especially if we are being chased."

"True… But we should be on guard. Papa always said to be extra vigilant in emy territory. We should be on the lookout for anything out of place that could help break the formation if needed." Reina advised as the brush of the winds st her hair in a spiral. She looked at Altair with an advturous grin. Reina grabbed at his hand as he siltly stared without sound. "Let's Go!!!"

Stepping into action, the duo rushed after the howling of the winds, their steps seemingly pressing forward without d as they maneuvered through the forest. Altair could feel the eerie flow of the wind, alongside something else bubbling within his stomach, forcing him to stop.

"What's wrong." She asked him softly as her eyes swayed to an aged stinel tree. She quickly glanced back at him.

"..."

Altair clched his chest, his eyes narrowing into two slits. Premonition swarmed his mind as he backed up, glaring ahead. His fingers tighted as sweat trailed down the hairs that stood on d. His expression was flush and breathless. "We… we shouldn't go that way. I feel something…"

Reina instinctually glanced in the way that Altair was glaring towards finding her innate sses picking up on nothing. She could feel they were at the d of their journey through the forest but couldn't feel danger.

She made a face, nudging him on the arm: " You sure the forest isn't playing its tricks on you?"

Altair didn't respond. Ria had be right. He had felt a little out of it the longer he remained within the forest but hadn't thought the formation had affected him much. Aside from a mild headache and a conflicted sse of balance, he was fine.

"This is the only direction we can go through. Without feeling the full effects of the formation. And—"

"I don't want to go this way." He insisted as that gut feeling intsified. He glared at his sister-in-arms. "Please. Lets just… I don't know. Let's bear the formation's full brunt for a minute or two as we come from a directionless auspicious. The formation isn't that complicated.

We should at least be able to do that, right?"

"Altair… I could. But you don't know how to use Mana. You can't ev sse it. Your mind will—" Ria began pausing as Altair cut her off.

"My mind has be tempered. Trust me." The boy pressed. Tebrae had always insisted he trusted his instincts, ev if it seemed out of place or wrong. And that lesson had only be tempered by his life by his three previous lifetimes.

Reina gave him a deep look, one filled with deep suspicion and discontt. She, too, had instincts. And hers relayed nothing. No danger, no sse of ulterior motives. Nothing. There was only silce.

Were her gifts not ough for him?

"Fine… We'll list, but I see no point.

He gave her a half smile as she pulled away from the path the flow of the winds were flowing. Altair followed, ssing the world a him beginning to spin. His gut bubbled as acid began to roil about the back of his throat, singeing every crevice.

He said nothing, baring the disoritation without sound, much less a show of discontt, knowing he was causing Ria pain without proof. After all, her sses were better than his; she usually was his alarm wh danger approached.

Following the winds with a few extra steps, the duo slowly came to a halt as the pressure of the formation came to an d. They peeked at a fortress through the thick grass and bushes littered with leaves.

"What the…" Whispered Ria, turning to Altair. "You seeing this?"

He nodded grimly. "But it's odd… There are no stries. And it doesn't seem abandoned. Vegetation is at a minimum." He paused and glanced her way." Want to scout?"

Reina observed from a distance, finding her vantage advantageous. She lowered her stance, falling on all fours like a small pup, and moved without sounds; her movemts were practiced and precise. Reina circled the fortress, making sure she remained in the bushes before returning to Altair with a heavy frown.

"You… You might have be right; this is odd. No guards." She whispered to him. "But… I still don't feel danger."

"Instincts work off our wisdom stat. What's that tell us?" He asked, thinking for a momt. "If someone has a higher perception or charisma, they'll be able to command a higher level of skill than us. It's likely we won't be able to pick them up ev if they don't sse us." He paused, reaching down for a small rock and tossed it. " Move!"

Lunging away before the stone could hit the wall. A beam of azure light flickered through the air, striking the stone. Suddly, alarms blazed through the forest, stirring all life awake.