Feather Of Love

The Labyrinthine Truth

"We begin to walk slowly in this forest. Now, I begin to understand why they named her 'Forest of Faith.' No one can hide secrets, and no one can understand direction; it's full of illusion. I just wonder what's happening next. I woke up beside Sylvia, and everything was quiet. We don't have any horses or any support for now. We have each other, but we were so awkward after what happened.

When we were walking, some small creatures began to go around us. Some of them were full of light, some interpreted dark, and each creature seemed to represent something special. Suddenly, I looked at Sylvia, wondering about the fire that I saw before because, you know, magic. So, I think she will know everything.

'So, Sylvia, I tried to find what type of magic I have in this forest, and I saw a strange dream. It's about me seeing four types of fires with different colors and a cup of water. I had to distinguish some of them, which I did, but they merged into one thing. Suddenly, I had rings on my fingers, the same colors as the fire, but there was an extra one, and the color was white. So, do you think it has any type of meaning?'

Sylvia looked shocked at first, stopped in her tracks, put her hand on her chin, and began thinking. I wondered what she was thinking about because it was really a weird dream. After a moment, she began looking at me as if I were joking. 'It's just a strange dream, so don't go too far with those things. Plus, if you want to know what type of magic you have, just ask me. I have a crystal ball; I can read your magic. Okay? Every person has mana and all of that, so don't worry.'

I smiled softly, knowing that I didn't have to worry that much. So, we walked further, and every time we stopped, the grass began to lose color, the trees grew darker, as if dying. We found Lily, but her body was lying on the ground, half dead. We panicked; Sylvia and I ran toward her without hesitation. I checked her pulse; her heart was still beating. Sylvia used magic to check her body, and she was perfectly healthy. We tried to wake her up, but nothing worked.

We looked around, and there was nothing around her. I looked at Sylvia, feeling confused. So, we got Lily out from this place. We held her until we found a good place to put up a fire. After we did, something weird happened. I ate, but I was not hungry, and the weird thing was, no one was talking. Everything was silent, and even though I was eating, I didn't feel any taste—nothing sweet or salty. Things were getting more suspicious as I looked around to find any signs of what happened.

I decided to take a nap, but suddenly, I snapped awake as if someone touched me. It wasn't night; it was still the same time when I fell asleep. I tried to focus again, and the only test I could understand of what happened was through pain. So, I took a small knife and cut my hand. Even though blood poured, I couldn't feel any pain, and after seconds, the wound disappeared.

I began to understand that everything around me wasn't reality. After this realization, I felt something break under my legs, and the ground crumbled, putting me in a deep hole. I got up, but this time, no colors were with me. Sylvia disappeared, and I wasn't in the forest; I was in another place, but it lacked colors.

I looked around and saw a little girl running around a house altar. I got closer to see what was happening and found that the little girl was a small version of Sylvia. I tried to touch her to see if it was the same effect as the dream in the dungeon, and it was. She couldn't feel me. I began to follow her to see what was happening.

She went to her mother, a woman with a big smile, holding a little baby. Sylvia was so excited. 'Mother, can you tell me the story of this baby and when my dad will come? I miss him.' The mother's expression changed drastically; she smiled but looked in pain, as if something were crashing around her. The mother began collecting some herbs, not wanting to answer the question. But little Sylvia was so energetic, yet I didn't see any other children around her, so maybe she felt lonely.