The sun starts setting as Karma and Sylf embark on a journey to go deeper in the forest of illusions to find the ancient artifact.
As the sets all the noises of small and lively creature silenced giving eerie sensation which sends a shiver down Sylf's spine.
"Karma we should take a break here it's getting a lot creepy " Sylf looked almost scared.
"Sylf what's wrong do you sense something ?" Karma responded immediately sensing intense fear from Sylf as she was sitting on his shoulder.
KRRRROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRGHHHH!!!
A loud roar erupted from the deeper parts of the forests of illusions. Sylf scared to the bone flew from karma shoulder but due to dizziness landed directly on his face blocking his sight.
"Sylf move I can't see " Karma in the moment of panic draws his sword from his spatial wristband with a snap of his wrist. Then karma grab Sylf and hid her in his robe holding out the great black blade towards the bush like some entity will pop up immediately. The tension faded immediately after a infected rat jumps off the bush and Karma sliced it clean through the middle.
Karma and Sylf decided to rest for the night due the earlier incident it has proved that forest of illusion isn't safe for midnight stroll even for a veteran like Karma.
Karma then asks Sylf out of curiosity "Hey Sylf are all fairies this small" Sylf got agitated and smacked a double foot stomp on karma's solar plexus knocking the air air out of his lungs "that's for being so rude" She said with a mischievous grin. Karma laughed it off looking at her then he seriously said "Sylf, can I tame spirits like you too? ".The question hang cold in the air, after a moment of silence she reveals " See karma we are divine creatures fairies, Dryards etc we are guardians so for a mere human to tame us he/she must be a Spirit tamer not an ordinary taner which I believe is you class is right Karma".
Karma sighs *huh* , Karma grabbed Sylf in his palms and used skill share to borrow Shiro's powers and leapt high on a tall tree branch and decided to rest here, Sylf for a change didn't argue this time and agreed with Karma. After a while shiro kuro and Sylf fell into deep sleep Karma deployed both tyrants one at tree trunk and other at tree top looking out for any unusual signs constantly communication via skill-share with tyrants.
At midnight Karma woke up with a movement beneath him Tryant for tree trunk reported a human starring at the tree.
Karma woke up with a shocked and surprised ecperssion " A.. A Human what is a human doing in the middle of the night in the forest of illusion " He quickly wake ups Sylf and Shiro and Kuro, they woke up confused karma quickly pointed below at bottom of tree where a person was starring at them with a blank expression. The entity then turns itself into Sylf, they both with wide eyes looked at it. Karma quickly pulls out a small dagger and puts a cut in his palm and immediately puts a cut on Sylf's palm.
"This is for identification I have never encountered such entity , I freshly put a cut after his transformation so he dont have the cut I know the real one and so does you now " Karma said hastily.
As Karma and Sylf starred at the entity it's neck crackle and he slowly looks up into Sylf's eyes.
Sylf began to Shake an fall straight down of tree, but shiro immediately lealed and caught her mid air and landed on the ground.
Without a hesitation Karma jumped off the tree and landed beside Shiro in disbelief.
As both Sylf looked exactly the same,
Before karma approaches this Doppleganger that entity began to distort.
"What's happening" Karma shouted out if disbelief.
Within a blink of an eye another Karma was standing in front of him, the entity lifts his head up looked directly into Karma's eyes.
Karma froze from shock and disbelief.
He gets flashes of his village burning down by Horde of mind controlled orcs and watching his parents die due to all that trauma and suffering Karma's mouth filled with disgust and he throw up.
It was just affecting Karma the entity overwhelmed by the emotions and memory load it started shaking violently.
*Puff*
Entity vanished in thin air leaving Karma still in shock.
"Th... That was no ordinary Mimic it was a low grade among the unique monster memory mimic that bastard almost got me" Karma said hitting his fist to ground.
"Hey Karma are you all right?" Sylf genuinely due to concern asked him as she for the first time saw fear in the eyes of Karma, way different than his usual I can handle it all personality.
"So the challenge in this forest is not really stronger creatures but the forest itself that tends to mess with a livings brain" Karma said with a cold look in his eyes.
"So this is the true essence of the forest of illusion as the name suggest " Karma said still in shock.
Meanwhile Sylf was shocked too not by the Memory mimic itself but by Karma, as a faury she had lived 100hundreds of years yet her memories were not enough to overwhelm him but Karma's memories overwhelmed him to a level where he retreated living his prey.
Sylf gulped as her throat got dry by mere thought of it. Karma what monstrous past has forge you to be like this she exclaims it in her mind.
Karma stood up put his sword back in wristband and moved forward.
" Sylf are coming or not?" His voice cutting through the silence.
Sylf flew and sat on Karma's shoulder while rest of Karma's companions follow him.
Shiro then starts running through bushes on his own and Karma and his companions follow him.
"Shiro where are you going buddy?! " Karma while following heard a waterfall and within few steps they arrived at the foot of the waterfall.
All tamed beasts and even Sylf rushed to drink water as all of them where thirsty.
While all his companions recharged he sat under a tree wondering still about the Ruler of Central continent and what was the secret and benefit behind his villages massacre, his ambitions resurfaved as he remember his goal to win the Grand tournament and ger the opportunity to meet him and ask him face to face about his villages incident.