Walking through the thick forestry started feeling less like a chore and more like an adventure. Whilst Sky was walking and Avis floating, a rustling of bushes could be heard. It stopped both of them in their tracks. Avis had a look of concern on his face and was looking around frantically, trying to find the source of the noise.

"What is it?" Sky whispered, not wanting to make any sudden movements.

"I'm not sure. Stay close to me." Avis said.

The rusting continued in different directions, from left to right and from front to back. 'Are there multiple of them?' Sky thought to himself. The rusting suddenly stopped, and the forest turned quiet. Too quiet.

"Don't move," Avis said whilst spinning in circles, trying to gain a glimpse into what sort of creature was hunting them.

Avis caught sight of orange fur between the trees as the wind flowed through the brustles and trees, orchestrating a deadly melody.

"I see it." He whispered to Sky. "When I say run, you run as fast as possible in the opposite direction, got it?"

"Y-yeah." Sky said, his voice trembling.

"Now!" Avis shouted.

Sky sprinted through the forest as fast as he could. He didn't know what was chasing them, but he knew that it wasn't anything good. The sound of twigs snapping and leaves rusting followed behind him, but he didn't dare look back.

"Up ahead!" Avis shouted. "There's a clearing! Run towards the light!"

'Light?' Sky thought to himself.

As he approached the light source, he immediately noticed where he was. The Spirit Pond. Without decreasing his pace, he dived into the lake as far as he could. As he impacted the cold water, it immediately engulfed him, and everything went murky. He opened his eyes underneath the rippling water, and only the mirk of dirt mixed with water presented itself. So it was until shadows danced around him as if they were playing a game of tag.

'What the hell is going on?' he thought to himself. The shadows began swarming around him, suffocating him. He kicked and thrashed his arms and legs, trying to get rid of them, but it was no use. Sky tried to reach the water's surface to take a breath of air, but the current pulled him deeper and deeper into the pond. He could hear the cries of Avis's voice calling for him, but it was useless. Before Sky gave into his despair, the shadows dispersed and quickly darted in the direction of a splash. An orange fox-like creature jumped in after Sky, presumably to harm him with its abnormally long claws and razor canine teeth. The shadows swarmed and dragged the beast to the centre of the pond. Sky immediately found his opportunity to swim to the shore and watched the spiralling waters whirl their way up into the sky and crash into the pond. The surface rippled and then calmed.

Avis watched as anger flooded his face. Before Sky could say anything, Avis took breathe and simply said, "That damn fox" he mumbled.

"What?" Sky asked, still gasping for air.

"I'm sorry Sky. I couldn't help you in that pond," Avis said, looking away.

"No, don't be sorry. You saved my life back there." Sky said, patting his little head. "Come on, let's get out of here before something else happens."

Sky looked physically shocked from what just happened, but he knows that to survive, a little detour like today is only a taste of what is yet to come. He took deep breaths and circulated ether, which calmed him almost immediately. He relaxed and kept a calm, rational mind after what would be a traumatic experience.

"Well, that was a close one," Avis said, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Yeah, no kidding." Sky said. "I thought for sure I was a goner."

"Nah, I wouldn't let that happen," Avis said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm sure your cries for help would've been a very useful~." Sky teased.

"Hey! I was trying my best!" Avis said with a cross expression.

"I know. I'm just messing with you." Sky said, ruffling his fur. "Come on, let's go home."

And with that, the two of them went home safe and sound. Although it was a close call, they both recovered just moments later and returned to the cave. Avis asked Sky to wait a moment and quickly floated away. A moment later, Sky could see Avis floating back from where he ran off to with a wide grin across his face. A dark clump of wriggling creatures floated next to him.

"Guess what I have?" Avis said with an eager voice.

"I'm not sure I want to know." Sky said with a raised eyebrow.

The squirming ball dropped down in front of Sky and suddenly dispersed in multiple directions. Although a good attempt at fleeing, the serpentine creature didn't move from its place. The same creature Sky and Avis ate yesterday was wriggling on the ground, trying to escape.

"Dinner!" Avis said with a large grin.

"I'm not that hungry." Sky said with a dry expression.

"Suit yourself," Avis said while picking up the squirming creature and bringing it into the cave.

As Sky entered the cave, he could hear the sickening crunching noise of bones being shattered, followed by Avis's content slurping. The ghastly smell of blood permeated the air and made Sky's stomach churn. He tried to block out the noise and smell as much as possible but ultimately failed. All he could do was hope that Avis wouldn't eat the whole thing and leave some for him to cook.

A short time passed with them in silence. Avis eyed Sky whilst Sky was simply avoiding his gaze. It was an awkward atmosphere to say the least, but it eventually died down as they got used to each other's presence.

"So," Avis said, with a wide grin across his face. "I think it's time to expose my plans to you. I can't always leave you in the dark~."

"What plans?" Sky said with a raised eyebrow.

"The plans to get you back to civilisation, of course!" Avis said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And you know where to go?" Sky said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, that's easy. We have a map."

The moment Avis uttered those words, a display popped up with a wide-range map of the surrounding area.

"This is not just a map of the area, but the map of the whole world!"

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?! We can finally get out of this place!" Sky said excitedly.

"About that. As you're already aware, having a system is not unique only to you but every sentient creature on this planet. Although we can't see your stats, just judging by your performance alone... I'm pretty sure you have the stats of a newborn baby.

"What? How is that possible? I've been alive for over 20 years now." Sky said with a look of disbelief.

"You were alive for over twenty years until you were sent to the Darkness. You were stripped of everything you had gained and banished. You're just a remnant of what you once were, and I'm here to fix that!" Avis said, with a determined look in his eye.

"So, what do I need to do?" Sky said with a look regretful expression.

"Looking at you now, you're about 20 years old? If we go off by that, then your level should be at least 30, and that is below average. Before we can even consider levelling you up, you need to learn how to manipulate ether-"

A system prompt appeared before Avis could finish his sentence.

"Quest 'Becoming One With Ether!'

"Restriction: Complete this task alone!"

Avis sighed and then continued, "You need to learn how to manipulate ether... alone. So chop chop, and get to it! Once you do that, we can look at your status and begin the levelling process."