The Tales Of Sasha Silver (gxg)

Chapter 3

Hi, Izzy here. And right now, I am running for my life from a—wait for it—a carpet-like creature that's hot on my tail! Seriously. I don't know how to explain it better than that, but imagine a living rug with teeth, a mean streak, and a taste for my blood.

"Aw!" I yelled, tripping over my own feet as I sprinted. Damn this body! Getting used to it is going to take some time.

But as quick as I hit the dirt, I scrambled back up and kept running. No time to waste on embarrassment.

I darted between trees, each step frantic as my mind raced through the last few hours: dunking my clothes and weapons into the fountain, watching the grime melt away, feeling... different. Like the water had done more than clean me—it had changed something.

A Few Moments Earlier

I had just dunked all my filthy clothes and weapons into the fountain, figuring that if the water could heal me, it could probably fix my gear too. I mean, why not try?

And holy crap, I was right. The mud and grime melted away from my knives like it was nothing. My clothes, torn and battered from the insanity of the day, were miraculously repaired. They weren't just clean—they were as good as new.

I paused for a second to admire the magic. But then I realized that I felt... different. Like everything was sharper. My senses were off the charts. I could hear the rustling of tiny creatures in the forest, and see things far in the distance with perfect clarity. The only problem? The smell.

Ugh. It was like my dad's couch after a week of fishing trips. That, or a mix of stale chips and swamp water. How could he not notice that? I shivered at the thought.

But anyway, no time to get sidetracked. It was getting dark, and I needed shelter. And not just any shelter—safe shelter. I didn't even want to think about the creatures that came out at night. Yeah, no thanks.

But as I tried to clear my mind and focus on finding shelter, the cloaked creature from earlier popped back into my thoughts. Their words lingered in my mind, sharp and cold, like a wind that wouldn't let go. It wasn't just the mystery of the source—it was the feeling that I was caught in something far bigger than me, something I couldn't yet understand. The more I thought about it, the heavier it felt, like a knot twisting in my gut.

When I recalled the moment, the air seemed to shift. The trees whispered, and the ground felt wrong like it had shifted beneath my feet. They had vanished before I could ask more, swallowed by the mist as if they'd never been there at all.

But I knew they had. And whatever they meant by "the source," I was already tangled in it. No escaping it now.

So how do I find it? How do I make sense of all this magic, these creatures, this mess? What the hell was I supposed to do with it all?

I didn't have answers. But one thing was clear: I needed to keep moving.

Focus.

I forced myself to push the thoughts aside. There was no time for this. I had bigger things to deal with.

I needed a plan.

I glanced around, trying to think of a way to carry some of the fountain plant's life-saving water with me. I thought about uprooting the whole thing, but... what if I triggered some underground monster nest or pissed off a giant worm? No, not a good idea.

That's when I started tossing a rock in the air, trying to let my mind wander and settle on a plan. I wasn't paying much attention—just letting the motion ground me. But then, out of nowhere, it happened. The rock, just a simple stone, disintegrated in my hand, turning to dust before I even realized what was happening.