Witch of the Woods 2

Win takes a step into the forest. Although he had spent some time in these woods already, it’s a different thing entirely when you’re in a rush in the dark of night. The sunlight breaks through the small gaps of the leaves and falls on Win’s face. For the first time in quite a while, Win’s face is clear and light.

He thinks about when he last felt so at peace. Perhaps it was when he began to train to use the iron cloak. Or perhaps it was when he was trying to perfect the art. Or perhaps when he wholeheartedly studied magic. Or perhaps when he played with Odila. Or perhaps when he lost himself in books. Or perhaps when he was with Marcus. Or perhaps when he was born. Or perhaps it was when eating a meal with his family was a simple matter, before he found his parents irritating, before he found his little sister vapid, before he hated everyone, before humanity burdened him with sin. Perhaps he’ll never be at peace again.

Win slumps against a tree, tortured by the thought. The bark is rough against his cheek, but he does not mind it. The most bothersome thing to him now is the thought pounding in his head that he can never again be happy. How is he meant to find joy in a world set so that he must bear witness to humanity’s wrongdoing. He wishes he could tear his eyes from his skull, if only so he might be able to avoid it. But he’s not so foolish and not so brave. Win pushes himself further into the bark of the tree. The dull pain seems to wake him enough.

Win pushes himself off the tree and continues to walk. He doesn’t know where he’s walking or what he might be searching for. The Witch of the Woods is still something he can’t quite understand. He doesn’t know how to seek out an entity whose nature is so unclear. A witch would move differently than a beast, so the method of tracking them is entirely different. And besides that, Win does not know what he plans to do once he has tracked it down. He has no strategy and does not intend to formulate one for a creature with wholly unknown abilities. All he knows for sure is that it might drive him mad. And at this point Win would welcome such a thing.

Win keeps on walking through the forest. He’s travelled far enough away from the village now that there is no easy path for him to take. He starts to lose himself to nature as he pushes leaves out of his way. He doesn’t know when nature began to hold so much power over him. He guesses that it must just be the impact of when he saw the view from atop the hill with his father, a scene more beautiful than any he had seen before. Now even these mild sceneries are so beautiful and so precious to him. He wonders if there were things this beautiful on Earth, and if they might have changed something had he known. And even faster he answers his own question: if something so serene and beautiful existed, surely humanity had already sullied it. He scoffs at himself for thinking the fate of these woods might one day be any different. He’s sure now that one day that village will need to expand, and the loggers will come, and that will be all she wrote. Yes, he’s sure now that humans will do nothing but spread like pests and bring destruction and strife, just as on Earth.

Win draws his sword and turns to face the sound of rustling leaves. Standing there is a girl. She has pale skin and long, flowing hair somewhere between silver and lilac. Her large pink eyes are inscrutable to Win. He’s never seen somebody like her before. He takes one step forward, not dropping his sword.

“Who are you?!” She silently puts her hands up, pointing them towards Win. “Why are you here!? What are you doing!?”

She doesn’t respond. Win dashes forward brandishing his blade. She waves her hands around slightly, then starts to turn to run. Win is much faster than her. However, at the moment he reaches her, he feels his body slam into something unseen. Win hadn’t felt any sort of magic in the air. He grins at that sort of power and continues his pursuit of her.

“Witch! Don’t think you can get away!”

They run through the woods. In the unfamiliar terrain, Win can’t quite close the distance. Whenever he thinks he might, he feels the same strange barrier stop him. He can’t quite understand the logic of that power. The girl hasn’t looked back at him once, so he doesn’t know how she could be stopping him with such precision. However, each time he feels it, he comes a little closer to understanding.

Win stops for a moment and takes a shallow breath, never letting the girl out of his sight.

“Empty Heart.”

His grip on his sword loosens and he begins to focus deeply. He starts plotting out every possibility with his current limited understanding. Every route he can take, each line connecting him to his target. He plays through every scenario until he finds the path of least resistance, and all before she can get too far away for it to matter.

Win jumps forward, the full force of the wind behind him. He lands on the side of a tree, near the canopy of leaves. He twists around and jumps from the tree. He bursts forward through the air, making a loud crash as he lands right behind his target. She tries to speed up, but she does not need to. In his state of heightened focus, Win figures out the mystery of the barriers.

Win sees small motes of light flitting around in the air. He hadn’t been able to see them before, but he can see them clearly now. He’s certain that they are the source of the barriers. Win swings his sword at them. The lights break apart and disperse as he cuts them, only for them to reconstitute moments later. Win sees the girl running away. He cuts through the motes of light and tries to push forward.

Eventually the girl disappears from sight, as do the motes of light. Win sighs as he sheathes his sword. He follows after the girl. He quickly comes across a small cottage in the middle of the forest. It’s simple, made of wood and largely undecorated. The only thing of note is the flowerbeds surrounding the house. Win walks up to the door and opens it.