—Recap—
Ori & Aris have slightly explored the forest of Niwen, though they still have a long way to go until reuniting with Ku. A fight with a beetle has stalled them slightly, though fortunately Kwolok is just ahead. Will Kwolok hold the answers they seek? Only time will tell.
Aris POV
That fight with the beetle was a waste of time, it only stalled our voyage to find Ku.
Ori was taking the lead as we walked towards the location of Kwolok, he should be just ahead. Bashing off creatures that blocked our way, we reached a region where the breeze of wind suddenly ceased.
The forest fell quiet, too quiet.
As we slowed our pace walking forward, I noticed a wooden stump at the center of a gleam of sunlight. I stopped on the spot and looked at said stump, as for a reason I couldn't explain a sudden emotion of grief overcame me. It's if I knew something bad was going to eventually happen, though I couldn't fully wrap my head around it.
"Aris? You coming or not?" Ori called from ahead.
"Right, sorry." I said shaking my head to clear my thoughts. I scurried my way up to Ori, as we walked further down this path. After several minutes the pathway came to an end on a ledge, where it overlooked a much larger swamp. We stood there confused, Ori was mostly disappointed.
"So? Where is he?" He questioned.
I stuttered for a moment before taking the map back out from my pouch.
"I-I'm not sure, it says he should be right here."
I answered as if I was saying an excuse.
Ori gave a sigh in defeat.
"We're never going to find Ku, those Moki were probably tricking us the entire time."
"What? I'm not sure the Moki would go such lengths just to trick us. They said it themselves; they saw Ku!" I reassured, though Ori didn't listen. He turned away from the swamp and began to walk away, completely ignoring what I said.
"Ori? Where are you going?!" I shouted but he gave little of a response. Before I could even chase after him, the sound of upset water stopped me from doing so. I took a glance towards the swamp to notice it was bubbling, by a very large amount.
"Ori, you should see this!" I exclaimed.
Out of the blue, a flipper emerged from the water as it grabbed onto a stone. A second followed suite, until an even larger object finally emerged itself. As the swamp water poured off its body like rainfall, the being was revealed to be a frog. A very large frog.
It was identical to the statues we activated prior.
"Do my eyes not deceive me? Spirits in my marsh?" A deep voice echoed through the swamp.
"So the Moki were right. I wanted to believe... but it has been so long."
"W-who... are you?" Ori slowly asked as he walked back towards me.
"I am Kwolok, and you are welcome in my marsh, little ones. The Moki tell me you both seek your friend, an owlet. He fell far to the East."
—Elsewhere—
Deep in the Silent Woods, Ku was still chasing after Kuro's feather in desperation to find Ori.
It lead Ku to an opening where he noticed a nest, with a single egg resting in the rain. It was completely shattered apart, not in a way a hatchling could break.
'The Silent Woods hold him now.'
A flicker of lightning caused Ku to look into the fog, as a silhouette could be seen from every flash. Just as Ku turned around, the fog began to fade away. Revealing to Ku, something he wished he never saw.
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Ori & Aris the Journey Through Nibel (proofreading and improving chapters)
Fanfiction(Thank you for over 8k reads. It means a lot to me.) Since the restoration of the spirit tree, Nibel was returned to its former glory. Calming the elements and returning peace back to the forest, as spirits were reborn within the light. However, one...
