Arka, Banelfsing, and Mikrim was in a muddled state of mind as they saw the bewildering scene in front of them. Along with the dead forest and absent fauna, broken earth with blackened soil manifests in their field of view. Due to the absent light, the party could hardly see through the thick, dead trees of the forest. An illusion—they hoped it would be, though each time the trio bat the lids of their eyes, the look of the world just didn't change.

"Arakar... where are we...?" Mikrim asked Arka in a low, and worried tone.

Arka cautiously turned to the Mikrim, using her voice as her guide. "I-I don't even know, Krim..." she said.

As Arka and Mikrim stood mystified getting a hold of the situation they were in, Banelfsing immediately felt his way through the indistinct, darkness of the forest for his rucksack. After which, he took out the unlit torch and set it ablaze after pouring it with a bottle of wine he kept, and the sparks he ignited from the flint and steel. After being lit, Banelfsing picked it up, and its light swept through the three; illuminating a small radius of the forest among them to see the path ahead.

"Did we come out a different way...?" Banelfsing asked, full of doubts with the scene before him, as he held the torch in one hand.

Upon Arka hearing Banelfsing's question, she also felt her doubts about what she was seeing arise. She took out a map that she reached in her bag after a flap of her leather satchel and unfolded it. She was sure, however, that they indeed exited the right location. It was just clear as ice. The barrow after all only had a one-way of entry, and exit. There was no way she mistook the route she led with her party.

She pinpointed their location on the parchment, and as she compared and contrasted the fine print labeled with the area they stood, she confirmed that they were in the right direction.

"No, we didn't..." Arka said as she began to return the map with an easy flap of her bag, and sliding it swiftly into her leather satchel. "This... This is the only way out of the dungeon after all..." She told Baneflsing.

Banelfsing's troubled expression was visible in the torchlight.

"No worries, we can just teleport out of here, then," Arka said in a calm demeanor. Banelfsing slowly, but surely, made a quiet nod at her in agreement.

However, Mikrim punched a hole into Arka's plans. "I'm sorry," She said. "I'm already out of teleportation crystals." She used her last one a while ago before she came with them on their adventure.

"It's fine," It was Banelfsing who turned to Mikrim. "I have a spare crystal with me in case something like this happens."

He approached Mikrim. "Hold this for me, will ya?" He handed her his torch. Then, he quickly swung his rucksack over to his front. This swinging maneuver Banelfsing made was something he's done many times over, as he's capable of performing this without any extraneous effort. After that, he stuck his hand in one of its side pockets and took out a spare teleportation crystal he had in store.

He then handed it over to her, looking directly in her eyes, as Mikrim focused her gaze on the teleportation crystal. Arka just crossed her arms as she stared keenly at how both of them interact.

After all was said and done, three of them now possess a teleportation crystal in hand. "We should leave now," Arka said. Mikrim nodded attentively at her proposal, and so did Banelfsing.

All three of them broke the crystals in sync by crushing it in one hand. Yellow light covered their avatars instantly like a blanket, but it stopped short as a sudden current of blue electricity traveled through them. This jolt of electricity didn't hurt them.

"D-Did it— it didn't work?" Banelfsing asked, puzzled at what just happened.

Mikrim just stared at Arka, then to Banelfsing, and then at the crushed crystal on the palm of her hand.

Just what's going on here...? Arka thought as she stared at the crushed crystal she held. She titled her hand, dropping the broken crystal fragments on the barren ground beneath her.

Arka turned to Banelfsing and Mikrim. "It looks like we'll have to walk then," she said. "It must be a bug in the system."

"Yeah... this is still the Alpha phase of the game." Banelfsing said. "No surprise for bugs like this to happen." He threw away the broken pieces of his crystal on the ground.

"I'll just be right behind you two, then." Mikrim said.

Arka nodded at Mikrim. "Alright, let's go,"

They walked slowly, still grasping—still digesting, of what was in front of them with their discombobulated thoughts. No matter where they look in their current path however, everywhere they set their eyes to seem apparent of the seeming dead earth. Arka took the first stride to walk in this mirthless, new world, followed by Banelfsing, and Mikrim with the path ahead visible by Banelfsing's bright, torchlight.

For each, cautious step they took; the cursed ground crumbled as the clay beneath resounded its cracks.

They've strolled for what seems like an hour, as the results of their travel showed the thick trees begin to lessen in number.

The rust-colored sky doesn't show any stars, although a pale moon was present. It always gets overshadowed by the dark clouds. Mikrim saw this when she looked up in the wider space of the forest they were in.

Soon, they arrived at a crossroads in the dark forest. A wooden signpost stood at the center indicating directions whichever the roads lead. Banelfsing leaned his torch closer to the words etched on the signpost in the darkness, making them visible to their naked eyes. The left board says, PATH TO ILHORR while the right board says PATH TO FELLMORIA.

The group's eyes lit up, expressing a gladdened look with their mouths upturned upon seeing this, with Arka only able to express her changed mood by raising her head evidently with her darkened helmet.

Seeing this signpost meant they're close to civilization. They were, after all, getting weary with the gloomy atmosphere they stood in.

"Looks like we'll be outta here soon," Banelfsing said.

"Yeah." Arka nodded to Banelfsing. "Shouldn't be long now... We'll need information once we get back to the city... Hopefully, we'll find out just what exactly is going on here."

Banelfsing nodded at her. After that, he turned to Mikrim from behind. He saw her looking up at the dark skies. Then, as if feeling like she felt somebody look at her, she looked back toward them. She and Banelfsing looked at each other.

"Mikrim, are you doing okay?" Banelfsing assessed her.

"Yeah, I'm alright." Mikrim said. "Why shouldn't I be? I've got the two, best fighters accompanying me after all, with some magical help from yours truly," Mikrim said teasingly at them, then pointed at herself, implying that she understood the strength of their small party.

Banelfsing and Arka smiled and chuckled at her comment.

"Really, now? I just thought you'd be more worried about this strange occurrence that's happened to us... since you know? You looked pretty worried earlier. That's all," Banelfsing said.

"Oh, is that it?" Mikrim said, placing her fingers on her chin. "Well, I suppose you're right that I'd be worried about that. Although, I’m getting used to this because I enjoy exploring, you see; and it helps calm me down. I've come to realize that it’s actually fun strolling with you two in these dark woods..." Mikrim lowered her hand and touched her fingers with each other. "Just like playing a horror game," She said with an amused tone.

"Like, a walking simulator horror game?" Arka quickly suggested with a raised finger, in between Mikrim and Banelfsing.

Mikrim's eyes lit up at Arka. "Yeah, exactly! So, it's pretty cool," Mikrim said enthusiastically to Arka.

"Did you also play Outlast, then?"

"Isn't that where you use a camera as a flashlight to escape from an asylum?"

"Y-Yeah! That's the one." Arka said.

"Nice! Did you record everything for the collectibles?"

"Yes! It took me a few days to do, even... finding the locations and just saving enough batteries."

"Nice!" Mikrim prolonged her tone on saying this. After that, she offered a high-five to Arka. Arka was startled with the sudden change in body language. It was not every day she received a high-five from just anybody. She raised her hand and gave back the high-five that Mikrim kept hanging. "I can't believe you did it in a few days, I finished my glossary after a few weeks because of school and..."

Banelfsing stared at the two ladies, conversing and seeming not to mind their current circumstance. As he watched both of them talk, it became clear to him now how his friend, Arakar was able to express herself with Mikrim, with the relationship that they both shared in common... which was video games.

It was nice for him to see how they were enjoying themselves despite this dark atmosphere. And he was glad that his friend found someone whom she can relate to. This eased his worries at least a little, with the current state of the game world. In truth, he was the one who was most disturbed about everything that was happening. Just what happened with Helsfate? And do the developers of the game even know what was going on? Do they even play their own game? These sorts of thoughts went through Banelfsing.

Just as Banelfsing passed these worrisome thoughts, trouble finally found them where they least expected it.

Banelfsing suddenly heard a rustle in the forest's shrubs. He turned to the sound, and immediately looked where it came from.

"Guys," Arka and Mikrim both turned to Banelfsing as he called them. "Something's amiss..." He drew his dagger and readied his torch in hand. Arka and Mikrim drew their weapons in turn, assuming their positions.

The rustling in the forest slowly grew louder and multiplied to more of the thick shrubs in the darkness; then it stopped. Silence flooded the air of their surroundings.

It didn't take long though until this silence was broken with Mikrim's sudden yell. Both Arka and Banelfsing turned around to see her, startled with her sudden cry.

Mikrim fell to the ground backward as a large shadowy figure pinned her down in the darkness. It violently attempted to bite at her face, as Mikrim blocked the beast's jaws with her bow.

Crap...! We forgot to change our formation!? Arka realized their party's mistake.

Banelfsing immediately pointed his torch in the direction where he heard Mikrim was caught and saw the creature pinning her down.

At first glance, it resembled a wolf. Although, it possessed three, black eyes with reddish pupils on both sides of its skull. It stood on all fours, with its frontal limbs, thick with muscle while its hind limbs, being much smaller. It wept tears of blood on both of its center eyes. Its snout gruesomely splits into four, down to its mouth, showing the four rows of sharp teeth. Saliva drools uncontrollably as it opens this, as it attempts to bite at Mikrim. It stood almost furless, with its remaining clumps of black fur shedding off from varying places showing its black, muscular, skin dripping with blood coming from its bloody, weeping eyes.

As they saw the creature at that instant with the dim lighting, Arka and Banelfsing rushed toward Mikrim. However, three more of these wolf-like creatures pounced at them hidden in the shrubs. Banelfsing saw the creatures coming at the corner of his eye and evaded their ambush by ducking and sprinting forward. Arka also seeing this, quickly swung her sword horizontally at one of the pouncing, giant wolves knocking it away from her, hitting the thick guard of her sword and her iron fist. Part of her blade only scraped the creature, drawing some blood from its body.

"I'll be fine! Get to her!" Arka yelled to Banelfsing, as she prepared to fight the three wolves that ambushed them. Banelfsing quickly moved forward to the wolf pinning Mikrim.