“Hmmm…” Even as everyone was panicking, Arthur kept his focus on the single point he was suspecting… The environment around them. It was perhaps the most incomprehensible thing.
The river and the forest were too calm and peaceful for his liking. The wind had quieted down and even the temperatures had become a little more bearable which was normal had it been any other situation. But, the one they were in made him question himself.
Beyond his senses, his gut feeling had been the one leading him this entire time. It was telling him what to do and where to look. He didn’t know why he was doing any of that but he simply followed without questioning it.
“S-Should we continue on foot instead?” One mercenary asked.
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“Continue on foot? In the woods? Are you crazy? We will die!”
“But, what if we end up getting stuck here for days?! Do you think we would survive?!”
“It’s still not certain if we’re stuck. We could be running la-“
“Stop the bullshit, we are clearly in some kind of problem here! We have been sailing for almost 8 hours and the port is nowhere to be seen! There is clearly something messing with us!”
“Then what are we supposed to do, huh?! Your brilliant idea is to throw ourselves to the Yetis as fresh food?!”
The tension between the players rose to a whole different level as they started arguing and insulting each other. They were on the verge of a breakdown from all the stress and fear they were experiencing and that translated into heated conversations about the possible solution.
“Calm down, both of you! There is no time to fight! We need to figure out what is happening.”
*Swish*
At that moment, Arthur dropped down from his spot and approached the group silently. Everyone looked at him with a confused expression.
“Arthur?”
The boy didn’t look at them and simply moved to the end of the deck and stopped to stare into the distance. He was completely silent and focused as if nothing else mattered.
He looked at the moving trees and all the details in the scenery, keeping everything in his mind. Then, he waited, and waited, and waited… Several minutes passed just like with nothing happening.
‘Was I wrong about it? Could it be that I’m just halluc-‘ Arthur was about to blink again to look away, only for his eyes to suddenly catch something. The moment he did, his breath halted.
“Arthur?” The mercenaries didn’t know if the boy was simply sight-seeing or looking for something with his odd behavior. But, out of nowhere, he moved, leaning forward to look at the scenery.
“You bastards…” He muttered as a wicked smile appeared on his face. “You actual bastards…”
“Arthur?”
“I think I found why we haven’t reached the port yet and I think we will never do.” He said coldly.
“What?!”
“What did you discover?”
The group was taken aback by Arthur’s reply and they eagerly asked him for an explanation.
“Everyone, come here.” He beckoned them with his hand. So, without wasting time, they gathered around him.
“Look at the trees and focus on the details on the trees and the branches.” He said as he pointed ahead. “Don’t ignore any detail.”
The group didn’t understand why he wanted them to do that, but they still did. A few moments passed in silence.
“Hmm, I can’t see an-“
“Shush! Focus!” Arthur replied. “See that scar on that tree, keep it in mind for later!”
“O-Ok!”
A few moments passed in complete silence as everyone stared into the nothingness seemingly. Then, at one point, Arthur yelled.
“There! Look at the tree!”
Everyone quickly scrambled to stare where he was pointing and that was when they finally noticed it. The same exact scar on the tree they saw two minutes ago could be seen right there, a complete copy of the first one in the same position.
“What… H-How could that be?”
“Possible? Well, I don’t know how. But, what I know is… We aren’t making it to the port because we have been going in a loop this entire time.” Arthur replied. “Something is keeping us in the same section of the river, unable to make any progress.”
His declaration made the group freeze for a moment, a little overwhelmed.
“Loop? So, we haven’t been moving at all?” Deka asked.
“No, the ship had been passing by the same trees and the same scenery again and again and again for hours.”
‘So my feeling wasn’t wrong. Somehow that’s a little relieving as bad as this is.’ Arthur mused with a small breath of relief. His gut feeling had come in the clutch again, giving him a warning, even though it came a little late.
“What is making us do that?”
“It could be that woman we saw before. She had put us under her illusion so it could be that she’s making us go in a loop!”
“It could be…”
“But, if that’s the case then…”
“*Gulp*”
Everyone looked around them with a pale expression. A dark realization loomed over their heads.
“She’s still here, isn’t she?”
“…”
That question sent chills down their spines. It was a simple thought, but just imagining it made their fear grow tenfold. This entire time, for hours, the monster that almost killed them was toying with them, and they were blissfully unaware. It could’ve done anything else, and yet it chose to just put them in this eerie loop until they realized what was happening.
“Goddamit, it has been after us this entire time!!” One man grabbed his head as he crouched down. “What the hell is happening?!”
“We are screwed, man!”
“Show yourself, you disgusting monster!! Stop playing dirty games!!”
The reactions varied between panicked people and angry ones. They simply didn’t know what else to do except completely lose it. It felt just like a twisted joke being played by a demon, simply toying with its prey before eating it.
Arthur watched that scene with a cold look. ‘This is exactly what it was looking for… Despair. It wants us to lose our minds before it gets us. I have never come across a monster this smart.’
So far, the smartest monsters Arthur faced were ones that could fight and think critically, but none were near this level of intelligence. To have the ability to constantly put them under an illusion, and wait for them to realize it, only a twisted conscious mind can come up with it.
“Calm them down, Deka. I will go see if I can find where the source of the illusion is.” Arthur said as he turned around and walked to the edge of the ship and leaned down to look at the water from up close. ‘This blue shiny water was beautiful at first but now it’s just a nightmare. It feels like it should let me see down to the bottom, but it’s just a trick, the monsters lurking underneath are completely hidden.’
“We aren’t completely done for yet, people! Why are you already panicking when we can still find a way to get out?! It’s not the end of the world!” Deka yelled.
‘We can’t break down now… Not when it wants us to do exactly that.’
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!