Kion observed the terrain.
Distant spires stretched towards the sky, piercing through the skyline in jagged fashion.
Dead trees loomed around them, their branches twisted and spindly.
And a red mist settled in the atmosphere, coating everything in a light shade of burgundy.
"This must be the Egovore's doing. Don't trust anything you see. This is all some big illusion." Kion muttered to Kai after what seemed to be a moment.
"Well of course it is. The real issue is finding this monster in the midst of all this madness." Kai gestured to the hellish scape all around them.
At the moment, they were in a forest, a dried out one, with sturdy oak trees that seemed to have long exhausted their long lifecycle.
Kion took another quick look around.
He knew his way around nature, being a former run-away mercenary and all, but no matter how he tried, nothing about this place seemed to add up.
The trees seemed to dance before his very eyes, shifting and swapping positions like they were playing a cruel game. The ground beneath his feet rose and fell like the toad Al waves of an ocean, and the sky above swirled and mixed like the sea.
They were within nature, but nothing was natural.
Kion tried to place waypoints, listen for animal calls, he even crouched down to examine the loose, granular texture of the dirt, and check for footprints, if any.
They had been standing there for about thirty minutes before Kion realised that it was hopeless.
"I'm not sure where we should go," he said after a short while, "did you have any luck figuring anything out?"
"I never took nature training seriously. How could I? When I was training my swordsmanship all those years with Kuvira? You were the one who always went on boring trips with your mother to pick berries in the wilderness or whatever. You should know a thing or two about this, at least more than I do." Kai mused.
"Well, it seems I don't either." Kion said.
For a moment, there was silence, as Kai stated pointedly in Kion's direction.
"What? I can see you glaring at me from my corner vision." Kion finally said, seemingly frustrated by the staring.
"It's nothing, I was just wondering when your swordsmanship became so good. You never really trained back at the castle. At least, not that I remember." Said Kai.
Kion chuckled. It was natural for Kai not to expect his sword skills, or anyone for that matter, including the entire royal courtroom
Back then, they'd thought that they would only have to deal with a weaker version of the red-haired prince, not realising that this version that existed one wasn't the same boy they always knew.
He'd changed, literally.
But of course, Kai couldn't know any of that.
"Did you just admit that I am a good swordsman?" Kion teased successfully diverting the topic.
Kai eyes bulged out of their sockets as he realised his implication.
"Oh heavens no! I'm only saying that you're not too bad, for someone who didn't get any training. In fact, I'd say that I'm the better of us two."
"Really?" Kion asked with a smile, and Kai knew what he was referring to.
"Oh please. I had you back then. Was it not for your completely overpowered skill, you would've been the hospitalised one that day."
"Whatever you say, brother." Kion said in an exhaustive tone, smiling within himself of how his reaction sparked a hint of anger in Kai's eyes.
His brother always hated that snug arrogance of his.
And he loved it just that way.
An hour had passed, and nothing eventful or noteworthy had taken place.
"Let's move. This illusion isn't like anyone I've ever seen, or read about. It's very obvious that it may be here to stay if we don't find this thing and kill it."
"Where do we even go to find it?" Kai asked, his arms inquiringly.
"Anywhere," Kion replied in a drab manner, "We've been here too long afterall."
Together, the duo marched down the only untouched dirt path they could find through the forest, keeping their eyes sharp and their wits about them as they went on with their journey.
Kai had marked the bark of a tree with a huge "X" when they'd left. He also continued marking notably off trees, making sure they were not going in circles.
The journey pressed for what seemed to be hours. The pair walked for miles before coming upon something finally noteworthy.
A dead tree marked with an "X"
"Bah! This is pointless!" Kai stabbed his broadsword deep in the dirt. Panting, he collapsed onto a nearby tree, resting his back against the sturdy bark.
"After hours, we only moved in fucking circles." He exclaimed. "What do we do now?"
Kion had not idea what they were to do.
Throughout the journey, he hadn't fared much better himself, making pit-stops to rest due to the weird, woozy nature of the terrain.
He had loved being in the cradle of nature, but not once had he thought that it could overwhelm him.
He sat down alongside his brother. His stomach growled. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and unearthed his ration mix.
If not for Penelope, he may have starved to death in this sickly milieu.
"You got any spare?" Kai asked, his bowels grouching and gurgling just like his brother's
"Here." Kion handed him a few rations. They both munched on them hungrily.
"At least we've had food. Can't imagine anything that could be worse." Kai said after letting his meal digest.
"Yeah." Kion replied with one word. It was all he could do at this point.
"So we can't dispel this illusion or whatever, until we finish off the Egovore. I didn't know that a plant could cast illusions. I thought you said it only had wood-mancy?" Kai asked, his breath ragged.
"Yes and it did. I wasn't aware that it had other mancy abilities." Kion replied. His head spun, causing the words coming out of his mouth to sound like garble.
"What was that roaring thing back there? I heard somewhere that monsters of our realm had trump cards. Was that it? It's trump card?"
"I don't know."
"What of the attack you released back there? The one you used on me. It was about to connect with the monster before we got here. Do you think it did?"
"I don't know."
"If this is an illusion, where are our real bodies? Could they be back in the woods behind the mountains? Is the Egovore still there? Is it feeding on our flesh?
"I don't know."
"How about—"
"Kai, no more questions!" Kion's voice echoed through the hellish terrain.
Kai kept silent.
Meanwhile, Kion's head was still spinning.
"I need to take a short nap."
"A nap? Now?"
"Be calm, brother. My head is not in a good place right now. We'll continue when I wake up. Just keep watch and wake me up if you spot anything."
Kion didn't even wait for Kai to object before resting his head deeper in the soil, allowing the warm earth to grant him the comfort of sleep.