Upon reaching the final stretch of the road, the group of demons halts to admire the scene. Shriek Forest unfolds before their eyes, shrouded in an ethereal bluish aura, a black cloak of leaves and slender trunks ascending to the sky. The tall grass gently brushes against Rei’s ankles, its tips frozen by the winter season's chill.

"We’re here. Keep your eyes open," A-Yin instructs with a solemn tone. The demon is the first to step forward, gradually vanishing into the forest's darkness. Rei follows him, moving slowly and cautiously. She does not like this place.

The minor demons walk neatly towards their goal, in a row, with their weapons wrapped in whitish clothes, hands ready for the eventuality of a surprise attack. The ground within is uneven, disrupted by tree roots, and slippery from ice. The air is saturated with the unmistakable scent of fir trees. Shriek Forest stands out as one of the few places in the Rèn plain where shinat is so vital that it condenses into the trunks of the trees, forming tiny bubbles of luminous resin. They adorn the vegetation like sparkling pearls in the forest's perennial shade. 

The air hums with energy, difficult for the group of demons to breathe, forcing them to concentrate to avoid inhaling its particles. Despite the dense saturation, the low temperature makes it hard for the shinat to become too volatile, so as long as no one brings their face too close to the pearls, there shouldn’t be any problems. In any case, the leader emphasizes, “Don’t touch anything, or you may not be able to move because of the burns."

He sees Rei skillfully moving between the branches. A smug smile slips on his face as he approaches the fubai by giving her a slight nudge on her arm to make her turn towards him. "You seem used to it."

"I’ve been here before." she answers, increasing the pace. He stops for a moment, lightly upset by the dry response, then starts to walk again at the usual speed. The environment maintains its pristine white veneer of tranquil stillness as the group marches steadily, forming a continuous line for at least half an hour. Every member is on edge, prepared to react at the slightest rustle. The terrain proves challenging; even the delicate layer of snow appears to resist this expedition. However, glancing back, no human observer could assert that a group of demons had recently passed through. Kahn, bringing up the rear, has been tasked with making sure the traces they leave behind aren’t too obvious. They’re like ghosts.

Meanwhile, A-Yin silently observes the path, detecting no living soul in the vicinity. However, he refrains from alerting the minor demons. It is good that they stay focused to protect themself. An annoying smirk flashes on his face for a second. I’m such a good teacher. Then, it quickly disappears when he turns his bored eyes to the trees, which keep going as far as the eye can see. Otherwise, I’m gonna have to babysit them till I die.

The soft light emanating from the pearls of shinat creates a relaxing, quiet atmosphere, while a faded fluorescent bubble seems to make the group even tenser. Even Rei now seems tired. 

The smell is more intense, and the air denser. 

Zhou observes the younger ones in contemplation. Something is amiss. Even the leader seems to have noticed, shaking his head with a bemused smirk that prompts an exasperated sigh from the old demon. They must have increased their defenses. It wasn't this strong before. 

A couple of the minor demons lag behind the group, dragging their feet due to fatigue. A red glow lights up A-Yin’s eyes as he activates the demons’ pebbles, along with the marks to ease the nausea rising within the group.

"What’s wrong with them?" asks the fubai.

"It’s the shinat."

Rei looks around, confused. "It shouldn't be as strong as a few moments ago, and we are not yet in the thick of the forest. If they're struggling now, I don’t think they’ll hold out until the mission’s over."

"A few moments ago?"

She shortly nods and adds, "We will not have done more than a few miles, at most."

The corners of his mouth curl upwards, unable to resist teasing her with a grin. A tiny puff of warm breath escapes from his nose tip. He shakes his head and chuckles, then waves his hand to the group. "We camp here."

Rei is puzzled as she observes the minor demons, who sigh in relief. Striding over to the expedition leader with hands on her hips, she displays a poorly concealed sense of dissatisfaction. Her attention is caught by a small cut in the palm of his hand that wasn’t there before. "Why do we stop? We’re almost there."

He doesn’t answer immediately, just looking around for a stone that seems comfortable enough for his seat, settling quietly as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. He hardly moves his fingers, releasing tiny drops of blood onto the snow, which are strangely absorbed and vanish under the white mantle, leaving only the shape formed by the weight of the liquid but not its color.

He notices the fubai’s look on him and smiles, then asks, "You said you have already come here.”

“I did.”

“What? Like a hundred years ago?”

“Kinda. I travelled near the forest recently, next to its borders. That’s why I told you to bring warmer clothes. Temperature swings a lot.”

The jab makes him sigh. “Sure. Then let’s see. How long do you think it’s been since we entered the forest?"

She is utterly stunned. You're kidding, right?

"You should have understood it by looking at them."

Rei turns to look at the others again. Almost all of them are sitting, some lying down, and many appear sweaty and pale. They seem genuinely tired.

"Don’t make that face. You’re tired too...not as much as they are, of course. They’re a bunch of pussies." A-Yin laughs in response to some grim looks his guys send him.

"I don’t understand. It’s only been about an hour since we entered."

"That's where you’re wrong." The demon nods to Lesia, who still looks pretty perky, to bring him a couple of rations. She smiles in understanding. Then he looks back at Rei. "You’re tired because we walked through this thick air for at least two days without stopping. Your head is spinning because you haven’t eaten."

The fubai widens her eyes, incredulous. “How’s that even possible?”

He takes the two rations from Lesia, thanking her as she glares at Rei with shining pink eyes. She chuckles and accepts the food, making the youngling blush.

"My bad. I lost track of time almost immediately." At the sound of these words, the rumor of the brigade dies out, and the leader is forced to scratch his head in embarrassment, a childish expression printed on his face. "Sorry, everyone."

The group of demons responds with grunts, resuming their conversations. Someone rubs his hands vigorously to warm them up. A-Yin signals for her to sit on his legs, but Rei looks at him with a bored glare and squats on the ground, placing her cloak under her butt to avoid getting too dirty and wet from the snow. She then opens the tiny lunchbox and starts eating right away.

"It’s due to the shinat particles released into the air by the fir resin." explains the demon. "It’s so dense that it permeates the whole environment without acting directly on us. That’s why it is difficult to realize it at first.”

“So we’ve been going around in circles for two days,” Rei says, teasing him. He nods, ”Yep. This time, the natural mechanism seems stronger than usual."

"You’ve been here before, too."

A-Yin smiles slyly, thinking it hasn’t passed too much time, even though the winter wasn’t so rigid. "A long time ago. The forest had just begun to quickly change, and no one dared to set foot... Kind of like right now, actually." This is not the truth, but not a lie either. 

"Always on the run."

A relaxed laugh escapes the demon’s lips. "That's the amusing part."

The response eases her a little. Rei embraces her knees, her gaze fixed on the snowy boot tips as she is lost in memories. The lunch box is now on the ground, empty. Something bumps into her back at some point, making her whole body swing forward. A-Yin has risen from the stone and is now sitting behind her, with his back resting on her and his nape barely touching her silvery white hair.

"You don’t seem to like this place very much. Did something happen?"

He feels the fubai shrink on his shoulders as she leans more heavily on him. "I once came into this forest with a friend. In the eastern part, though. There weren't so many pearls there," her voice is feeble, almost a whisper. Melancholy strikes the demon’s ears. “And?” he asks kindly.

A deep sigh warms his back as Rei's body lies there, her brow furrowed in a sad expression. "And I got out, and he didn’t."

A-Yin is unsure of how to respond. He is certainly not someone others turn to for advice or support with emotional wounds. He brushes his hands on his knees, gazing at the tiny luminous pearls that adorn the forest. A flicker of uneasiness passes through his eyes, but fortunately, Rei doesn’t seem to mind and resumes the story of her own accord, prompting a quiet sigh of relief from him.

"When the RiShi Pit was burned to the ground, I lost everything,” she takes a deep breath in the freezing air before continuing. "We hid all over the Rèn but stayed in an abandoned shed hidden by trees for a while, in that part of the Forest.” Her hands move on the ground, touching the cold grass.

"An Wen."

She nods. "The guards caught him. By the time I got there, it was too late." As Rei speaks, a tear trickles down her face, and though she swiftly wipes it away, the sorrow lingers in her eyes. 

"I've never killed anyone before that day." A bittersweet smile plays on her face as she contemplates the person she has transformed into. Still speechless, A-Yin sighs sorrowfully. His hand moves with delicate intent, seeking Rei's. Her eyes, mirroring the heaviness of the past, return a gentle, melancholic smile. In the hushed stillness of Shriek Forest, their fingers weave into a wordless, tender embrace.

A few seconds pass before his voice is heard again. "Well, there are many people to keep you company now. You just have to give them a chance.”

"Like you?” she laughs.

The demon looks at her slyly, and then his gaze wanders over the vegetation. “Obviously!”

“That's only if you don't kick the bucket for a cold.”

"It would be ridiculous if I die before I achieve my goal after all these years." 

The fubai remains perplexed but allows a small smile to slip through in response, partly in jest and partly as gratitude for alleviating the tension of the moment. A-Yin rises, shaking off the snow from his clothes, and in a calm, serious tone, he cautions, "Gentlemen, we've rested enough. Don't leave anything behind, and let's move. We have company." At his words, the demons swiftly stand and silently gather their belongings.