The Forest of Lost Data

The return to the Harmonía Clan felt like a death march. Beneath the sky of Altverso, which was beginning to show unnatural purple hues, the three adventurers advanced through the Sector of the Forgotten Ones. The air here was denser, heavy with a trace of static that made the mana in Asimil's body vibrate uncomfortably.

Noelia walked a couple of steps behind Asimil, watching his back with a mixture of regret and stubbornness. Her right hand rose, trembling slightly, as she tried to reach the boy's shoulder. She wanted to tell him that the slap had been a mistake, that her fear was logical... but fate had other plans.

Just as her fingers were inches from brushing the fabric of Asimil's tunic, a figure stepped between them with an annoying agility.

"What long faces! We need some fuel to lift those spirits!" Bodkin exclaimed, appearing out of nowhere with some travel rations in his hand. "We can't let morale hit zero before we get home,

right, Asimil?"

Bodkin literally inserted himself between them, shattering the bubble of tension. He handed a piece of dry bread to Asimil with a radiant smile, while Noelia yanked her hand back, clenching her fist with barely contained fury.

"I don't need your scraps," Noelia hissed, turning her gaze toward the forest. "Let's keep moving."
After a brief pause where only Bodkin and Asimil ate, the group resumed their march. Asimil, seeking a distraction from the icy stare he felt Noelia drilling into his back, started playing with Biteus. The small creature hopped between his hands, emitting tiny yellow sparks that lit the path.
Noelia saw this as her second chance. "It's now or never," she thought, swallowing her pride. She approached slowly, softening her features.

"Asimil..." she whispered, reaching out her hand again, "listen, I..."

At that exact moment, Biteus, excited by the game, made a sharp turn in the air. Its "Synchronizer" instincts reacted to the nervous energy emanating from Noelia as if it were a threat.
A discharge of static energy shot out from Biteus's cheeks, striking Noelia directly in the face. The impact wasn't lethal, but it was strong enough to make the girl gasp and fall backward onto the ground, with several locks of hair singed and her face smudged with soot.
"Biteus! No!" Asimil shouted, horrified.

Noelia remained on the ground for a few seconds in an absolute silence that foreshadowed a storm. Asimil and his pet trembled, expecting the worst. And that's exactly what happened. Noelia stood up, her eyes bloodshot; her desire to apologize had evaporated, replaced by a pure instinct for retaliation.

*WHAM!*

A dull blow landed on Asimil's head, raising a bump the size of an apple.
"You're Useless! Control that furball!" Noelia roared, turning away with furious stomps. "I give up! The world just doesn't want me to talk to you!"

They walked for another twenty minutes in silence, until Asimil stopped dead in his tracks. Noelia, lost in her own frustrated thoughts, collided directly with his back.

"Hey, idiot, watch where you're..." Noelia fell silent instantly when she looked up.
Ahead of them, the path that was supposed to lead to the open plains of the Citadel had vanished. In its place stood a wall of colossal trees, their branches intertwined to form a natural canopy that blocked all light. It wasn't a normal forest; the leaves had a metallic sheen, and the trunks seemed coated in a layer of faintly blinking binary code.

Bodkin approached the entrance, touching the bark of one of the trees with genuine concern on his face.

"Damn... we arrived too late. The zone has updated," he murmured.

"Too late? What are you talking about?" Asimil asked, hugging Biteus tightly.

"These sectors of Altverso have a Dynamic Environment," Bodkin explained. "The logical path remains the same, but the environment changes every so many cycles to prevent adventurers from always farming the same areas. This time, it loaded the Static Forest. I don't know if that's the best or the worst of our luck."

Bodkin picked up a stone from the ground and threw it with force into the grove. There was no sound of impact. The stone simply sank into the absolute darkness, as if it had been devoured by

the void.

"Let's not waste time. Staying out here is an invitation for the Hunters to find us," Bodkin declared,
being the first to plunge into the blackness.

Noelia and Asimil exchanged a quick glance. For a second, mutual fear united them more than any apology could have. Without a word, they followed the Adept, leaving behind the last remnants of light in the world, unaware that deep in the heart of that forest, the Sect had already laid its first trap.