C͟H͟A͟P͟T͟E͟R͟ 3

ᗷᒪᗩᑕK ᖴOᖇᗴՏT

ʟᴇxᴜs' ᴘᴏᴠ

After saying my farewell to my parents, my friends and I went to the entrance of the black forest.

A lot of contestants are already going in.

There's only a limited time the forest will stay open for all the contestants. So Fox and I went inside.

The forest is so misty and cold. It's still early so it's not that dark here yet.

"Where should we start searching?" Fox asked while looking around.

The Black Forest is five times bigger than the Elvin Forest so even if hundreds of contestants join, a day still won't be enough. Not to mention that there's missions included.

Fox and I are not really familiar with the forest. So we decided to take what we think a smooth road.

"It's getting darker here!" I said as I noticed the clouds covering the earlier blue sky.

"You're right! But it wasn't even 2 hours yet when we arrived here!" he said and I agree.

We continued searching for a few more hours when we heard something strange tailing us.

We thought it was just the trees at first trying to scare us but then we heard inaudible voices.

"Did some of the black witches joined the game?" I asked, almost whispering.

"I'm not sure... But I hope not!" Fox whispered back.

And after only a few seconds, a screaming woman ran towards us. Fox and I immediately ran away from her but she was chasing us.

Her whole body is covered with thick blood. Her eyes are wide open just like her mouth while screaming. And her hands were trying to grab us.

She really looks scary.

Fox and I jumped on a tree's branch and the woman still tried to grab us from below.

I looked carefully at the woman and noticed her eyes are black.

I've seen eyes like hers before. People that are bewitched by dark magic have their eyes turn just like hers.

Then does it mean that this girl is bewitched? She must have encountered a black witch. How unfortunate for her. The royal game is just starting

The black witches always have the advantage during the game because of their power. But because they are a black witch, they can't touch the golden key. And they are not fit for the throne. So the black witches stop joining. But I reckon, some joined to sabotage the others.

"Die!!!" Fox exclaimed and aimed his arrow at the girl so I immediately stopped him.

"Stop!!! Don't hurt her!" I said and he gave me a confused glare.

"Why not?! She's slowing us down!" he exclaimed and glare at the woman.

"Do not dirt your hands with blood Fox! Look at her! She's bewitched!" I said and thankfully he realized it.

"We're faster than her especially on the trees! We can just simply lose her!" I said and he agreed nodding his head.

So we jumped from tree to tree until the woman can no longer follow us.

I looked around to see where we are as we are completely lost.

It's darker here and colder. The place is now covered with thick mists. The place simply screams a deadly aura.

"Help!!!" I heard a child's voice.

"Did you hear that!!?" I exclaimed and herked my head searching for the voice.

"Hear what?" Fox asked not even sparing me a glance. He's busy counting his arrows.

"There was a kid asking for help!" I said and he only raised a brow at me.

"I heard nothing! You're being sentimental again Lexus!" he said with a nonchalant tone.

"Please help me!!!!" there it is again.

"Did you hear that!!?" I exclaimed and decided to just stop walking.

"Hear what?! I didn't hear anything!" Fox exclaimed.

"But I heard her voice! She's asking for help!" I fired back.

"Maybe you're just hearing things!" He said with a scoff and continued walking ahead.

"Please somebody help me!!!!"

"There it is again! I'm not hearing things Fox! Why can't you hear the kid!!?"

"Because I don't here anyone asking for help dimwit!"

"She needs our help Fox! We need to find her! She can't be in this forest!" I said before deciding to go where I heard the voice.

Fox had no choice but to follow me.

And I was right...

I saw the kid crying. Her foot was stuck under a fallen tree.

I immediately ran towards her.

"Hey! We're here! Don't cry now! We're gonna help you!" I said and wiped her tears.

"Please help me! I'm scared!!!" she said and cried again.

"Fox! Help me lift the wood!" I said and Fox helped me. He looked quite perplex seeing the little girl.

When the kid was set free, I took out a cloth and wrapped it on her injured foot. Then I carried her on her back.

We continued walking until we reached a dried river.

"Come on! We can cross that! There's no water anyway!" Fox said checking both directions for anything dangerous.

But the other side of the river is too far. It's like miles away. And it's not like Fox wants to carry this sleeping kid.

So it is decided and we are crossing the dried river.

We were on the middle when I felt the ground shaking. I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt it based on how Fox looked at me.

We ran as fast as we can to the other side of the river.

Until the huge amount of water drove us farther from the land. The wave was too strong that I accidentally let go of the kid.

I couldn't find her nor hear her anymore. It made me go into huge amount of panic. She's suppose to be my responsible but I let go of her.

"Fox!!!" I yelled his name and saw him behind me.

I tried to reach him but something hit my head and everything went black.