Amalia sighed softly, as the three of them stood at the edge of the village of Alfeon, having just arrived there after a non-stop trek to get there as quickly as they could. The village, and likely many others around the Abyssal Dungeon, had become abandoned. Not far from them, the edge of the forest could be seen, which was already showing signs of the corruption that was spreading forth from the Void Crystal.

The trees had grown into a sickly dark color, almost black like charcoal. As well, the branches seemed to become a more twisted tentacle than tree branches. As well, both the leaves of the trees and the grass below them had turned into a strange almost blood-red color. This, of course, was one of the major signs that a Void Crystal was doing its work somewhere nearby. While before, Caelyn had watched the Crystal kill off everything around it, the true signs of influence came in two main colors.

A deep blood red, and a shade of blue so saturated, it seemed to reflect the ocean.

The three of them stood there, at the porch of Caelyn's home, which had since been abandoned, though they knew not of where the Adventurer that Caelyn had left behind to watch things, had gone. Which was also worrying, though Caelyn assured the other two that he was likely to be fine.

Amalia however, was focused more on the forest before them, according to her research into Abyssal Magic, and Void Crystals in particular. She stared out in silence as she watched the corrupted forest, frowning as she did so. She knew that color was as important to Abyssal magic, as anything else, though most reports only spoke of the Blue corruption, only old tales and myths spoke of what it meant when the corruption took a red tint, instead of blue. This, of course, meant that she wasn't fully sure what to do about this revelation.

"So, what should we do?" A'ari suddenly said, a soft, but clearly nervous, tone to her voice as she looked between the two others. "This, wasn't exactly in any of the reports, you know..." She continued, crossing her arms, visibly shaken by the crimson-colored corruption.

"I am aware of this as well, as you know." Amalia soon said, frowning once again as she glanced at the two beside her, as she slowly shook her head. Glancing at her fingers, it seemed as though she was counting something in her head. "Well, it shouldn't change too much. Our protections should still work." She then said, after a few tense moments of silence. "At least, they should outside the cave."

"Outside?" Caelyn said, suddenly speaking up for the first time since they arrived, startling the both of them. "That does not bode us anything good, Amalia." She then said, as Amalia slowly nodded, a blush on her face as she looked away.

"Yes, yes... I'm aware of what my words sounded like Cae." Amalia said, letting out a sigh as she looked over at the forest, before slowly shaking her head, her eyes closed. "There is very little writing on Crimson Forests, as you know. So there is no guarantee if we'll actually be safe in there. Or if Subjugating the Void Crystal will cure the land."

"This... won't be a problem, right?" A'ari then said, a nervous chuckle escaping her as she spoke up, looking between the two.

"No, no... It shouldn't be too much of an issue. I think." Amalia then said, smiling warmly at the wolf beast woman, who sighed out as the group silently nodded to each other. Collectively they had agreed to take a couple of hours to gather up any supplies they may need for the Subjugation, while Amalia would be inside Caelyn's old home, making any other preparations that would be needed in order for them to at least safely reach the Cave.

Soon enough, however, the sun was beginning to set. And with that, the three of them finished up the last bits of the preparations they needed in order to Enter the Crimson Forest. As they set out, Amalia cast mage-light, using a bit more of her mana than she normally did, causing the light to light up a larger array of area.

This was so she too could see, despite both of her companions having good night vision, as the sun would soon set fully as they arrived at the edge of the forest. While they did not hear the usual chattering of hidden creatures, nor the usual swaying of branches in unseen winds, the soft silence seemed all too eerie for the three of them.

Despite this, the small group pressed into the forest. As they did, the area around them, just outside the array of light cast by Amalia's Mage Light turned from a soft eggshell white to a more rose pink color, likely due to the red shade that most things around them had. The silence was even more deafening as they took more and more steps into the forest.

Shuffling lightly, the group continued their way into the forest, none of which were sure when or how the Void Crystal would begin defending itself. It had been at least an hour of them heading into the forest, and due to this, the group was growing restless, as they had yet to find the cave entrance. "It's possible that the Crystal is in a state of hibernation." Amalia soon said as she looked around the clearing they found themselves in. "It might have done something to protect itself, so..."

"So, it's possible we've been going in circles." Caelyn then said, interrupting Amalia as she spoke, which only caused the young princess to slowly nod in agreement.