"I’ll go," Zion said, stepping forward without hesitation before beginning his climb up the cliff.
He needed to move, needed sothing to occupy his mind. The longer they stayed inside this forest, the more he felt his negative emotions intensifying.
Irritation simred beneath his skin, and his wolf was becoming increasingly agitated. His possessiveness and jealousy were flaring dangerously, to the point where just seeing Maxwell or Levi touch even a strand of Addison’s hair might push him over the edge.
Among them, he knew, both he and his wolf were the most susceptible to the forest’s influence. And if he didn’t do sothing to ground himself, he might lose control.
Levi and Maxwell had noticed it too. From the mont they stepped into the forest, a strange agitation had settled over them, an inexplicable irritation that kept simring beneath the surface. It was as if sothing unseen was whispering dark thoughts into their minds, urging them toward negativity.
Though the two had long co to terms with their emotions, choosing to be magnanimous and prioritizing Addison’s well-being over their possessiveness and territorial instincts, those old feelings now crept back in, more persistent than ever. It was as if the forest was amplifying their basest desires, feeding the urge to claim Addison for themselves and push the others aside.
The longer they stayed, the stronger the pull beca. And that was exactly why they had been so quiet all this ti, fighting a battle within themselves they dared not voice.
Unlike the others, Addison wasn’t affected by the strange aura of the forest. While they wrestled with their inner turmoil, she remained calm and focused, her attention fixed on the surroundings and on Elric, quietly observing him for any hint of what he might be hiding.
anwhile, as Zion climbed the cliff, he glanced back, only to see nothing but a thick, endless fog swallowing the world below. Everyone had vanished from view, and the landscape was reduced to a haunting gray void. He had no idea how far he still needed to go to reach the Moon Flower, but instinct told him he had to climb higher, beyond the reach of the fog.
And so he did. Step by step, he continued the ascent. But the higher he climbed, the more disoriented he beca. It felt like hours had passed, yet the fog never lifted, and the summit remained nowhere in sight. It was as if the cliff stretched endlessly into the sky, warping his sense of ti and space.
"Hey, do you think we’ve been trapped in a loop?" Shura suddenly spoke in Zion’s mind.
Only then did Zion snap out of his daze and realize he’d been climbing for what felt like forever, yet the summit was still nowhere in sight. He recalled Elric’s earlier warning about loop magic, and a new thought struck him: maybe it wasn’t just a loop. Perhaps the barrier itself was preventing him from reaching beyond the fog.
Left with no other choice, Zion began to descend.
Back at the base, the others were growing restless. Zion had been up there for over an hour without a trace, and anxiety was beginning to set in. None of them could see him through the dense fog, and the longer it dragged on, the more unsettling the silence beca.
"Do you think the cliff is really that high? High enough to be difficult even for an Alpha to climb?" Addison suddenly asked, her voice uncertain.
But instead of an answer that eased her worry, she was t with Maxwell’s intense gaze. There was sothing unsettling about the way he looked at her, like he was Maxwell, yet not. His eyes seed to flicker with buried desires, dark and unfiltered, sending a chill down her spine. Then, he finally smiled and replied in a hoarse voice, "No. It shouldn’t be a problem."
His words, however, did nothing to reassure her. In fact, they only deepened her unease. Sothing around her felt wrong—off—but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
Nearby, Elric sat silently on a large boulder, deep in thought. He scratched his chin with furrowed brows, then exhaled a long, heavy sigh. "I guess it really is impossible..." he muttered under his breath.
Addison caught his words, but before she could ask him what he ant, her senses picked up a familiar scent, Zion. She looked up just in ti to see a dark silhouette erging from the fog above.
Monts later, Zion descended, drenched in sweat as if he’d just walked through a storm. His body stead with faint wisps of white mist, rising off his overheated skin as he landed heavily before them.
Addison glanced at Zion, but there was no flower in his hands; clearly, he hadn’t been able to retrieve the Moon Flower.
Before Zion could even explain, Elric stood up from the boulder and said flatly, "Let’s go. We won’t get this one. We’ll look for the other materials instead."
It was only then that Addison realized Elric must have known they wouldn’t be able to get the Moon Flower. But how? She turned her eyes back to Zion, who looked like he had just finished a grueling marathon.
His shirt was soaked through, clinging uncomfortably to his skin. With a sigh, he peeled it off, wrung it out, and tossed it into his magical bag before pulling out a fresh change of clothes.
Zion moved quickly, but not quickly enough for Addison to look away in ti. Her eyes followed the fluid motion of his muscles, the defined ridges of his body moving with every stretch and turn. It was... distracting, to say the least.
"Does it look good?" Zion’s amused chuckle snapped her out of her trance.
Startled, Addison t his gaze, those bright erald eyes twinkling with mischief. She rolled her eyes and quickly looked away, focusing straight ahead as Elric began to lead them northwest.
Zion, despite everything, felt a bit lighter. The darkness that had been gnawing at his thoughts seed to ease up, if only slightly. But the silence around them was unsettling.
Maxwell and Levi were unusually quiet, their expressions unreadable. And Elric, he looked like soone in a hurry. It made sense. They’d just wasted over an hour climbing the cliff and ca back empty-handed. He was probably growing anxious, too.
anwhile, Addison was still caught up in her thoughts, trying to make sense of Elric’s behavior. It felt like he already knew they wouldn’t find the Moon Flower up there. Was he simply hoping for a miracle? If so, why bring them here in the first place?
Unless... he had been here before?
But that didn’t add up either. According to Elric himself, once soone entered this place, there was no way out unless they either destroyed the barrier’s core or deciphered and deactivated it. So if Elric hadn’t been here before... how was he so certain about the outco?
As they made their way through the forest, Addison noticed that Elric was deliberately avoiding the central area. Along the way, he picked up herbs and small stones, examining them briefly before tucking them into his pouch. Addison didn’t stop him, she simply observed, her eyes never leaving him.
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