The First Trail

The jungle was quiet.Too quiet.
You know that awkward silence after you say something dumb at a party?Yeah. That. Except instead of people glaring at me, it was an entire living forest waiting to eat us.
We’d just finished turning a mist monster into cosmic dust, Shimos had pulled a magic anime sword out of thin air, and I’d… uh… stolen an evil fog’s powers because apparently I can just do that now.
Not bragging.Okay, maybe a little.

[Skill Update Unlocked!]
Name: Memory Capture (Passive Upgrade)New Effect: Capturing a memory from an enemy now grants a chance to copy one of its abilities.Side Effect: The copied power may… influence your emotions. (Not ominous at all, right?)
New Ability Added: Mist Tendrils — Conjure tendrils of semi-solid memory mist to grab, restrain, or extract memory fragments from objects and living beings. (Limit: 3 active at once.)

While I was mentally fist-pumping over my new toy, Shimos was standing a little apart, his new weapon still shimmering in his hand.
It wasn’t just a sword — calling it a sword was like calling a dragon “a slightly warm lizard.”The thing pulsed with streaks of gold and silver light, like it was forged out of the most stubborn memories in the world. And when he moved it, the air around it rippled — not from heat, but from… presence.
“Damn,” I said, stepping closer. “That thing’s like Excalibur got married to a camera flash.”
Shimos actually smirked at that, which was concerning because it probably meant he liked the comparison.“It’s called Aeterna, the Blade of Unbroken Memory,” he said. “Passed down in my family… or it would have been, if I hadn’t been banished.”
“Cool name,” I admitted. “What’s it do?”
Instead of answering, he gave a casual swing. The blade’s edge didn’t just cut the air — it sliced through a hanging vine… and the vine’s memory of being connected to the tree. It fell, completely withered, like it had been cut days ago.
“…Okay, I officially never want to fight you,” I muttered.

Mira was sitting on a log, kicking her boots like she was trying to shake something off her mind.“We should move,” she said suddenly. “This part of the jungle… it’s restless. The fight probably drew more monsters.”
For once, I agreed with her without sarcasm.But before we left, I spotted something shiny near the spot where the mist creature dissolved.
It was a pendant — silver, worn, and marked with an insignia I didn’t recognize.When I picked it up, the Mist Tendrils flared to life without me even thinking about it, curling around the pendant like curious snakes.
The world blinked.And suddenly, I wasn’t in the jungle anymore.
I was standing on a cliff, staring at a vast coastline. Below, a town — white stone houses, sails bobbing in a sunlit harbor, and a tall lighthouse singing a low, haunting melody that carried over the waves.
Then… the music stopped.And the town went still.
When I blinked, I was back in the jungle.

“What did you see?” Shimos asked.
I told them about the coastal town, the song, the silence.Shimos went pale — and not just his usual broody noble pale.
“That insignia on the pendant,” he said quietly. “It’s Velhart… but altered. Corrupted.”
“Corrupted how?” I asked.
“Like someone wanted to twist my family’s symbol into theirs,” he replied. “And if it’s in that town…”
“…Then it might be connected to the Memory Eater,” I finished.
Mira crossed her arms. “Great. So we’re heading toward creepy coastal town with brainwashing issues?”
I grinned. “Exactly.”