Astral Flow

Chapter 52

"Lily-"

"Lily, wake up."

"Wake up! You need to wake up, now!"

Lily's eyes suddenly shot open as Six's voice rang through her pained mind, an odd feeling rushing through her interlacing with the pain and aches coursing through her body.

Where was she?

What had happened?

How did she get here?

"Hey, easy there, I'm here with you." Six said as he appeared by her side. "Just take slow and deep breaths, then take in your surroundings."

Doing just that Lily forced her breathing to slow down, making sure to take as deep a breath as possible before slowly exhaling.

Her mind steadily began to calm down, the adrenaline and confusion fading as she looked around.

Trees, tall pine like ones that reached unbelievably high, surrounded her.

Large rocks and rich earth formed the ground, the scent of petrichor hung in the air as gray clouds and a light fog blanketed the area.

Cautiously she looked around a bit more, though she spotted no threats, instead only a magic circle surrounding her.

"Wha-" Lily began, only to stop as she began coughing, her dry throat causing irritation and catching her off guard.

"Don't speak right now, not until we find you a drink." Six says as he looks around. "The circle will protect you from whatever this place is right now, just try to remember how you got here... we need you to be mentally sound before moving, otherwise you could be swept away again."

How she got here... right, how did she get here again?

Quietly she began to trace back her memories, trying to find the correct path.

Her most recent memory was... right, dinner with Vonder and Aida, a fun little celebration after passing the test.

Then she went back to the guild to rest up, getting a good night's sleep.

Next was waking up and speaking with Night, the guild leader happily telling her a bit about Vonder.

That was when Vonder and Gray showed up, Gray to deliver the pendant and Vonder to take her out on her first patrol.

Then they arrived in the forest... and it all goes blank.

Something must've happened when they entered the woods, what though?

What could've caused this feeling of pain and fog in her mind... and why did six draw a circle of some kind?

"The circle is to protect you from the creatures and magic inhabiting this forest." Six calmly states while looking back at her. "I can hear your thoughts, that's how I can understand you without the need for talking."

With a nod Lily stands up and looks around, taking in the greenery around her, though not seeing a clear way out.

Did Six know what happened?

"No, my memory cuts off at the same point as yours, which normally should be impossible given my curse... though I suppose between this form and the forest itself anything could happen." he calmly states as he walks forward and crouches down, observing some kind of tracks in the ground.

Upon moving closer to Six she saw the tracks in greater detail, they looked small, shoe-like as well.

It stops right at the edge of the magic circle before trailing back off into the woods.