Chapter 10. Back to Gloamspire Thicket

Emilia stood outside her hut, stretching her sore muscles and ready to go back to that dreadful yet beautiful forest, when a group of villagers approached, their faces lit with a mixture of excitement. The elder led them, carrying a bundle wrapped carefully in furs. Beside him, a younger woman held another package, and a man trailed behind clutching something that looked like a pair of shoes.

“Pathbreaker,” the elder said with a bow, his weathered face creasing into a proud smile. “The people of Tharrosk have worked through the night to prepare these for you.”

Emilia blinked. “For me? You didn’t have to—”

The woman stepped forward and unfurled the first bundle. Inside were two sets of clothing, simple yet beautifully made. The first is a long tunic of soft, tanned hide, dyed a pale green with crushed plant pigments, paired with a sturdy skirt that reached Emilia’s knees.

The second is more practical: a sleeveless top of tightly woven fibers, flexible and breathable, with fitted trousers reinforced at the knees. Both sets had been carefully stitched by hand, decorated with tiny patterns of spirals and leaves along the hems.

Emilia’s breath caught. She ran her fingers over the seams, amazed at how smooth and strong they felt. “These are… incredible,” she said softly. “Thank you. Really?”

The man stepped forward next, kneeling to present the final gift: a pair of shoes made from thick animal hide. The leather was supple yet surprisingly sturdy, the soles layered with woven fibers for cushioning. Crisscrossing straps would allow them to be tied securely up the calves.

“They will keep your feet safe, even on the roughest ground,” he explained nervously, bowing his head.

Emilia crouched down to try them on after taking off her sneaker. The moment she slipped her feet inside, she could feel it amazing in her foot. The shoes are very comfortable. So comfortable that for a second, she felt like she was back home in Japan, trying on expensive hiking boots at an outdoor store. The hide molded perfectly to her feet, and when she stood, the cushioning softened her steps like walking on clouds.

“Oh wow,” she murmured, taking a few experimental steps. “These are amazing. Seriously, they’re better than anything I had back home.” She then put her sneaker back in her hut; the villagers beamed with pride at her praise, though their smiles quickly faltered when they noticed the pack slung over her shoulder.

The elder’s brows furrowed. “Pathbreaker… you are not leaving us already, are you?”

Emilia hesitated, knowing this moment was coming. “I have to,” she admitted, her voice gentle but firm. “There are things in the Gloamspire Thicket that this village desperately needs, resources you can’t get anywhere else.”

The villagers murmured anxiously, exchanging uneasy glances. A few reached out as if to physically stop her, while others clutched their charms and talismans in fear. “You cannot go back there alone,” one woman pleaded, her voice trembling. “The Forest of Death claims all who enter! You barely escaped the first time!”

Emilia gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine. I promise. And I will come back.” She raised a hand and placed it over her heart, bowing slightly in their traditional gesture of respect. “You’ve given me shelter, food, and now even clothes. I won’t abandon you. This is just… something I need to do. I must go.”

The elder studied her for a long, tense moment. Finally, he nodded, though his expression was heavy with worry. “Very well, Pathbreaker. Go with the spirits’ blessing. And may they guide your steps safely back to us.”

With that, the villagers reluctantly parted, allowing her to pass through the gate. Emilia tightened her grip on her knife bag, which Hikarimetsu stayed inside, exhaling slowly. “Let’s go,” she murmured.

From within the knife, Hikarimetsu’s amused voice echoed in her mind. “Back to the wild heart of danger? How exciting, Master.”

“Exciting” isn’t the word I’d use,” Emilia muttered, adjusting her pack as she stared into the dark, looming woods of the Gloamspire Thicket a few miles ahead of her.

Emilia kept bantering with Hikarimetsu while she was still in her knife form, her brow furrowed as they moved deeper into the forest. The shift was so sudden it made her stomach twist. One moment the sunlight was warm and dappled on her skin, and the next it was gone, smothered by a dense ceiling of tangled branches and mist.

The village’s comforting chatter and the distant bleating of livestock had vanished completely, leaving only the oppressive silence of the Gloamspire Thicket. The air here is heavier, thicker, as if she's breathing in something alive.

The ground beneath her boots felt damp and spongy, soft moss giving way to patches of dark mud that sucked greedily at her steps. Shadows stretched like long, reaching claws across the uneven earth, and glowing fungi pulsed faintly from the gnarled roots of the towering trees. The cries of unseen creatures echoed in the distance, high-pitched screeches and guttural growls that made Emilia’s skin crawl.

Hikarimetsu materialized beside her, and she walked as if the very forest bent to her will. Her flowing kimono trailed behind her, glowing faintly in the dim light. “Ahhh,” Hikarimetsu sighed deeply, closing her eyes as she inhaled the cool, damp air. She spread her arms wide, as though welcoming an old friend. “The smell and the power of this magic… it is intoxicating.”

Emilia hugged herself tightly, shivering. “Intoxicating? It smells like wet dirt and mold to me,” she muttered, her voice low and tense.

The sword spirit chuckled, the sound rich and amused. “That is because you cannot sense what I can, Master. Beneath this decay lies a pulse, a heartbeat of raw mana. This forest is alive, and it's hungry.”

Emilia’s stomach dropped. “Hungry? That’s not exactly comforting, Hikari.”

Hikarimetsu smirked, her golden eyes gleaming like molten metal in the dim glow of the fungi. “Oh, don't worry, Master. I'm here to make sure the forest is hungry for everything except you.”

“That’s not the reassurance you think it is,” Emilia muttered, clutching her bag tighter as she followed the spirit deeper into the darkness.

After nearly an hour of careful trekking, Emilia finally heard it: the faint, soothing burble of running water. She quickened her pace, pushing through a curtain of hanging vines, and there it was. The spring.

Hidden in a small clearing, the water sparkled like liquid crystal. Sunlight filtered through the canopy above, turning the surface into a sheet of gold and silver. Smooth stones surrounded the pool, and ferns grew along the edges, their fronds swaying gently in the breeze.

Emilia’s eyes filled with tears of relief. “Finally,” she whispered.

Without hesitation, she set down her bag and stripped off her grimy clothes. Days of dirt, sweat, and blood clung to her skin like a suffocating layer, and the thought of finally washing it all away nearly brought her to her knees.

She waded into the spring, gasping as the cool water enveloped her. For a few blissful moments, she simply floated there, letting the forest’s soft noises lull her. The tension in her shoulders melted, and the ache in her muscles faded beneath the gentle caress of the water.

“This… this is heaven,” she murmured, dunking her head under and scrubbing her scalp with her fingers. Filth swirled away, disappearing downstream.

Hikarimetsu sat beside the pool, sitting gracefully on a rock with her legs crossed, her kimono pristine as always. She watched Emilia with a faint smirk. “You look almost human again, Master. I was beginning to think you’d turned into a swamp creature. Do you need my help to wash your back?”

Emilia splashed water at her. “Shut up, Hikari.”

After thoroughly scrubbing herself clean in the cool, crystal-clear spring, Emilia felt like a new person. The grime, sweat, and lingering smell of blood and smoke from the village are finally gone. She climbed out of the water, droplets running down her skin, and stretched, sighing in relief.

“Finally… I feel human again,” she muttered, wringing out her wet clothes before kneeling at the edge of the spring to wash them thoroughly. While she worked, Hikarimetsu sat gracefully staring at her.

When Emilia finally finished, she hung her clothes over a low branch to dry and sat down on a warm rock after wearing the new pair of clothes the villagers gaveto her. She's let the sun touch her skin for the first time in days. She reached for a simple comb from her pack, but before she could untangle her dripping hair, Hikarimetsu appeared at her side, kneeling behind her.

“Allow me, Master,” Hikarimetsu said softly. Without waiting for a response, she gathered Emilia’s long, damp hair in her hands and began carefully drying it with a faint golden glow of magic.

Emilia blinked. “Uh… thanks, I guess?” As the spirit worked, she uncorked a small glass vial filled with a pale, shimmering liquid. A delicate, floral scent drifted into the air.

“What’s that?” Emilia asked, suspiciously narrowing her eyes.

Hikarimetsu smirked, holding up the vial so the light caught it. “Scented oil, distilled from the wildflowers growing near this spring. I made it while you were bathing. It is perfectly safe; don’t worry.”

Emilia’s gaze sharpened as the familiar shimmer of magical text appeared before her eyes, overlaying the vial:[Scented Wildflower Oil – Cleansing and Soothing. Safe for skin and hair.]

“Oh.” Relief flooded through her, and she relaxed slightly. “Guess you’re not trying to poison me after all.”

The spirit chuckled darkly as she rubbed a few drops of oil into Emilia’s scalp. “Master, if I wanted to poison you, it wouldn’t be with something so fragrant.”