‘It’s getting… A little tough to move.’ Arthur clenched his teeth a little as he focused on his steps. He knew that this was merely the start and the resistance was bound to start getting stronger very soon to a level where he might very much end up unable to move another step.
But, he didn’t dare to think about that. All he had to do was to focus on the next step and that’s it.
“Is everyone still here?!” He asked as he looked behind him. Surprisingly, even though the fog was very thick, nobody was lost yet. However, they were all dealing with their own struggles.
Even the two dwarves could barely keep their speed. Their small bodies were being pushed back as if they were struggling against a violent storm even though the place was essentially very calm.
From afar, the group would look like they were fighting an invisible force that didn’t exist.
The struggle continued for a while after that as the forest grew more and more restless with each passing second. The trees screeched and cried around them like agonized souls being tortured. The grass beneath them shook and waved as if it were being burnt alive.
‘What the hell is happening? This is ridiculous!’ Arthur cursed inwardly as he kept looking all around him. He felt the dreadful atmosphere grow even more terrifying. No environment in the game had given him such chills ever before.
He was under the mercy of this place and he could only resist as much as he could. However, at some point, things suddenly shifted again. Arthur was trying to keep his eyes on the path while also looking behind him to check on his group.
He made sure not to keep his eyes away from them for more than a few seconds at most as he knew if he didn’t keep looking, they would all get lost eventually. Yet, even that didn’t seem to be a foolproof plan as when he randomly looked behind him, he realized that he was suddenly completely alone.
“Guys?!! Are you still there?” Without stopping, he called for them with a frown.
Yet, he received no response. ‘Goddamit! The fog is getting too thick! I already lost them!’
Even though he already expected this outcome, Arthur could only feel even more restless as he fought to continue moving forward, toward the waves of energy. ‘I need to keep… moving!’
Alone, he traveled through the fog, trying to find something he didn’t even know anything about. Whatever was behind this fog, whether it was a monster or not.
But, nothing prepared Arthur for what he was about to witness. Several minutes into this situation, Arthur’s eyes suddenly saw a glimpse of something not that far away ahead of him. The shrouded silhouette didn’t look like a tree or a plant so it instantly roused his suspicion.
“Hey, is anybody there?!” He called for them. “Isla?! Herculia?! Anybody?” He yelled again and yet the silhouette didn’t respond. ‘They couldn’t hear me?’
Feeling even more alerted, Arthur hurried his steps toward the silhouette. If he finds another person he can move with, it would be considerably easier and less stressful. However, the closer he got to this silhouette, the more he noticed that something was very off.
To begin with, the silhouette didn’t look like any of his friends or the two dwarves. It stood very short, even shorter than Emmy. Its body was small and skinny too.
‘What the hell?’ Arthur didn’t know what to think of this. He was very confused and that urged him to get even closer. He knew that it was risky to simply approach such a strange thing. But, what other choice did he have?
Step by step, he closed the distance between them till he finally could see a considerably clear look of the silhouette. As he expected, it belonged to a human, a female to be precise. Her long grey hair was tied into a messy bun and her body was tilted forward, perhaps due to old age.
‘An old lady… What is-‘
Then the lady slowly turned around, stunning Arthur beyond words. Slowly, his eyes widened in shock. After all, he knew that person very well.
“… G-Grandma?”
***
‘This fog has already separated us. What the hell is happening?’ Isla inspected the location she was in with a deep scowl. Her eyes were coldly trying to figure out what just happened.
‘They should be fine for now. I need to continue forward and find the source of the fog.’ She thought to herself as she continued her arduous trip.
She was very calm and collected the entire time, but she was also feeling a very sense of coldness within her heart that she couldn’t describe. This forest had been but a nightmare so far, a nightmare without anything truly terrifying going on. It surprised her how much a bunch of fog and a slightly eerie atmosphere could do to one’s consciousness.
Isla wasn’t the type to be scared of such places, but here she was, struggling against the unknown.
However, she saw something appear in the distance. A mysterious silhouette stopped right in her way, looking the other way. Isla stopped for a moment, trying to identify the person, but they didn’t appear like anyone she was with.
“Who are you?” She asked coldly as she rooted her legs into the ground, fighting the waves and waves of energy.
Then, that person turned around and looked at her, sending Isla’s mind into a frenzy. Her breath halted in her throat.
“… Vic…?” Her mouth muttered in an almost inaudible tone.
***
Meanwhile, everyone else faced a stranger. Emmy, Herculia, and Danny found themselves staring at people who should’ve not been there. People that only existed in the real world and people that they knew very well.
Never in their lives did they expect to see them in the game, in a forest, surrounded by fog. Yet, they were there, alive and well… When all of them were supposed to be dead.
It didn’t feel real and it didn’t feel right. So far, Divinity Online has only been a game in their eyes. A very serious game that they had to put their everything into in order to succeed, but nevertheless, still a game. It was never the real world and what happens in it is different from the real world. But, that fact suddenly warped and twisted, changing the very base of their understanding of Divinity Online.
Ironically, this game had been advertised from the very start that it was going to be the second earth where all humans could live. They were told that they were going to live in that world, and not simply play in it. Yet, that fact was taken as a mere facade or an exaggeration for the sake of excitement. However, the truth was far from that.
They should’ve realized that when a game takes every single piece of information about them, things they didn’t even notice… Then what was stopping it from taking a very precise piece of information they all had… Memories.
Their eyes were looking, but they couldn’t see.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
