The faint Pulse

The path grew darker as Shirro, Pope, and Imca pressed deeper into the forest. Their search for Aika had grown more desperate, especially after discovering the bodies of adventurers whose lives had been claimed by an unnatural darkness.

They had been traveling in silence for a while when Imca suddenly stopped. "Wait," she whispered, her eyes narrowing as she focused on something unseen. "I can feel... something. A presence. It's faint, but it's there." Imca closed her eyes for a moment, attuning herself to the faint pulse of life she sensed.

She led them off the main path, deeper into the forest’s thick underbrush—the darkness around them growing thicker with each step.Finally, they arrived in front of a cave entrance. Its presence emitted a dark, eerie aura—it felt as though this was the place where L'ac had fled. But before they could investigate further, a small boulder caught their attention, standing prominently before the cave.

On top of it, lying motionless, was Aika. Like the adventurers they encountered just before, a sword had pierced her body, and from the wound, a dark, shadowy fog clung to her, swirling ominously. Shirro rushed to her side, kneeling beside Aika while Pope and Imca stood frozen in shock. She gently lifted Aika onto her knee, checking for any signs of life.

To her astonishment, she could feel the faintest breath. "She's alive," Shirro murmured, disbelief in her voice. Looking back at Pope and Imca, she shouted, "Hey, she's alive!"

They gathered around Aika, the gravity of the situation heavy in the air. After a brief but urgent discussion, they agreed there was no choice but to bring her back to safety. Abandoning the trace of L’ac, for now, was a difficult decision, but Aika’s survival took priority.

As they carefully lifted Aika, the shadowy fog around her wound pulsed ominously, a lingering question in their minds: How had she survived? Was it sheer luck—or was there something sinister behind her survival?