They continued through the forest, and the oppressive atmosphere gradually lessened as the terrain opened up slightly. The spacing between trunks widened, allowing easier movement while more sunlight penetrated more freely here.

It's then that they come across a massive tree ahead with a trunk so wide that ten people linking hands couldn't encircle it.

The bark was dark while the roots spread from its base like the spokes of a wheel, each one thick enough to serve as a bridge.

They passed it in silence, each of them craning their necks to see where the trunk disappeared into the canopy above. Reinhard felt small beside it, which made him wonder for a second. How long had this tree stood here? A hundred or thousands of years pass?

The path beyond led through a corridor formed by massive roots and trees. The roots rose on either side like walls, some reaching higher than their heads.

They'd grown together in places, creating archways and tunnels of wood. Their footsteps seemed too loud in this space.

Rustling erupted from somewhere to their right.

Reinhard's hand twitched toward while Marie tensed as her eyes scanned the root walls, and Joseph's posture shifted. But Brunhilde continued walking without reaction, her expression calm.

They followed her lead and kept moving as the rustling faded behind them, whatever caused it either losing interest or moving away. There was more rustling ahead, but Brunhilde didn't react to any, leading them to be curious if it really was just the wind or normal animals.

Grey bushes appeared along the path, growing in clusters, some small and sparse, others dense enough to block sight lines.

Reinhard noticed how roots had wrapped around many of them, threading through branches like parasitic vines. The bushes seemed unbothered, continuing to grow despite the invasion.

"So are there negative effects to the roots around bushes like this?" Reinhard asked as they moved around.

"The only negative is that it makes the bushes grow too much. I am sure in a day or two that bush will expand further across the path. "Janus says with a slight frown.

"That's troubling, but is there a limit to their growth?" Marie asked.

"I am not sure about the bush, but the trees are an example of there being no limit, considering how tall they have grown." Janus said as he pointed to the sky.

Reinhard took a glance once more to see the trees reaching to the clouds before nodding his head.

As they continued walking, they came across tree stumps that were scattered across the path and between bushes. Every single one was covered with roots, or had cracks or parts of it that seemed to be indented.

It was as if something heavy had walked over the stumps or something had smashed into it.

They continued walking past the stumps before Reinhard blinked as he saw a deer moving across their path thirty feet ahead. The animal paused as it stared at

Reinhard before its brown fur seemed to tense, and then it rushed into the roots and trees. He watched as brown fur flashed between trees. The deer was moving with desperation, crashing through areas without care for noise.

But something was wrong. As it passed through a beam of sunlight, he saw roots wrapped around its hindquarters, trailing behind like grotesque streamers.

"The animals here are scared of each other." Janus explains, leading Reinhard to furrow his brows.

"Is it because of the aggressive ones you talked about?"

"Yeah, they aren't sure which being in the forest is aggressive or passive. So instead of taking the risk, they will run away once they see you." Janus says with a frown.

"Can't they tell from the roots that covered the bodies? Or is it possible it's not just those ones?" Joseph asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"You're right, some of the Phantasm Beasts without the roots are also aggressive. You saw the dog and the Werefang from before. I am sure the dog would have been devoured by the Werefang without the roots interfering." Janus stated, leading all of them to nod their head.

The deer fully disappeared into the forest, and they continued forward.

A couple of minutes later, they heard something large moving through the brush to their left. Heavy footsteps echo out with the sounds of panting, leading them to pause. Through gaps in the roots, Reinhard glimpsed a massive dark-furred bear. But then he saw roots had pierced through its body in multiple places, rising out from its shoulders and back like wooden spears. The beast kept moving, whether it was being driven by instinct or stubbornness, they didn't know.

Marie's expression grew troubled. "Should we?"

Janus shakes his head and says. "Only if they can't move. Since the bear can keep moving like that… Then it's best to leave it alone as it will try everything it can to survive."

"I admire its spirit." Brunhidle says softly, leading all of them to slowly nod their head.

A stream appeared ahead after a bit of walking, but the water was almost metallic grey, which seemed unnatural. The grass around it was clean, with clusters of flowers growing around it, and vines spreading around.

Janus paused at the edge, gesturing to the lake. "The water is alright and not contaminated. But drinking a lot of it will make you pass out."

Marie blinked, tilting her head. "Isn't that the definition of contaminated?"

Janus's lips twitched as he nervously shifted. "The reason people pass out is because the water is filled with a lot of life energy for some reason. So drinking a lot will energize you, but also push your body over its limit and have it shut down."

Joseph's eyes widened slightly before peering down. "That sounds pretty amazing, but it does seem hard to believe with the color."

"The color might have been a warning that it's a disaster more than a blessing…" Brunhilde said softly, her light blue eyes studying the grey water. "As it also leaves you open to being attacked or dragged away by the roots, right?"

Janus nodded with a heavy sigh. "It's why we're only allowed to drink one bottle of water a day."

Marie's eyes widened. "Only a bottle? Then what else do you drink?"

Janus grinned. "We've been able to create our own juice that we use as an alternative."

Marie nodded with a faint smile while Reinhard furrowed his brows, a thought occurring to him. "If the water gives you energy, then if you drank it at night, you wouldn't fall asleep?"

Janus nodded, his hand coming up to nervously rub the back of his neck. "It isn't a very good thing, though. While the body might be energized, the mind itself is still exhausted, and abusing the water will..."

"Leave the mind either falling into a coma or dying while the body lives." Brunhilde finished bluntly.

Janus trembled before looking down at his feet while the others stared in shock.

Reinhard shivers at the casual implication of it. The way Eastern Hesod turned even basic necessities into potential death sentences.

Brunhilde sighed. "The water here is a terrifying poison. You could even consider it another disaster." She turned to Janus. "Are the food sources around here the same?"

Janus shook his head quickly. "The issue with food is that it grows too fast, requiring us to burn or destroy it so it doesn't let the roots expand. Every fruit and vegetation that grows has roots spreading around the area."

Brunhilde nodded slowly. "We haven't seen any fruits growing around. Does it only grow in certain areas?"

"It does, unfortunately, which is why we create settlements around those areas because it makes survival easier." Janus said with a nod.

"We should keep going." Brunhilde glanced around.

Everyone nodded as they left the grey lake behind, continuing deeper into the forest.

Janus checked the clock in his bag to see that it was 6:40 PM.

They'd been walking for a long while, but none of them were tired or feeling any pain.

They passed a fox darting between trees, its red fur bright against the grey-brown forest floor. Roots wrapped its tail and one rear leg, but it kept moving with frantic energy.

A bird flew overhead, crying out in a high-pitched sound after Reinhard caught a glimpse of it through the trees. Roots had somehow wrapped around one wing, the wood growing from its body like parasitic branches.

How it still flew was a mystery.

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