The Earth After Rebirth

They pretty much walked in silence. Both of them with heavy luggage to think about. They saw themselves in front of a forest, that seemed way too unnaturally small, so small they could see the other side, but barely. Kiro shrugged and entered it wasn't as if he could take another route, so did Hubris.

He wasn't barefoot but he could feel how soft he grass was. Everything about this place was welcoming.

The forest felt too peaceful for an Underworld forest. Kiro half-expected the grass to be made out of blades, or the ground to grow a mouth with razor sharp teeth, but to his dismay, none of his imagination came true.

The birds were singing beautifully to the warm sun that blessed them. Everything was healthy, the trees were just the normal height, but too clustered together which would be why the forest was supposedly so small. It wouldn't take them 15 minutes to get to the other side.

Every animal in there wasn't shy to come up to them, brushing against them lovingly. Birds flying to his shoulder and arm, at random intervals. It was strange, something Kiro wasn't used to. Animals tended to be more cautious, they were scared of people.

"Anything comes to mind about this place?" He asked Hubris while crouched down petting a dark furred rabbit.

"Unfortunately, nothing. Not even a glimpse of a puzzle master." He said in an apologetic tone.

"That's alright Hubris. No need to beat yourself up for it. We'll figure it out, we always do." He assured his mount, who seemed to be losing self-confidence by the second. It was worrying.

The natural, fresh and clean air, the winds that brushed their hairs occasionally was rejuvenating to say the least. Kiro had never felt such a relaxing state while not meditating, his life had been constant stress ever since he came back, even before that, he didn't remember having a single good day.

So, naturally, he was enjoying himself, probably more than he should have. Not to say he wasn't cautious, he had Ryu on hand, in case anything jumped them, he'd quickly kill it.

The walked further, but the rabbit was still hopping right behind them trying to catch up. Kiro didn't really want to leave it behind so he scooped it up, it settled on his arms perfectly well, it gave a low happy growl.

"Are you sure about picking up that thing? I don't feel any animosity from it but still..." Hubris raised his concerns.

"Yes, yes, it could be a very dangerous monster, but if you can't sense anything wrong with it, then I trust you!"

Kiro was being extra nice to Hubris to boost his confidence, his self-doubting self wasn't fun to be around. Kiro wanted his confident self back as soon as possible before he loses his mind completely. Hubris was usually his crutch, if his crutch was gone, he was screwed three times over.

"Ahh, Mushrooms, these are good, though you don't want to have them raw." He told Hubris, as if the beast should learn how to cook.

Hubris looked at him incredulously, dumbfounded at the abrupt teachings. He listened nonetheless, he did so attentively, lest he gets quizzed later on, he couldn't take another punishment.

Kiro walked around, picking all kinds of wild ingredients he didn't have in his storage space. As someone who loved his food and loved cooking just the same, this was heaven for him.

But the happy-go-lucky attitude was cut short when he realised they must've been walking for way more than just 15 minutes, yet the other side still seemed 15 minutes away. They weren't travelling in circles either, the place they were at wasn't anywhere they had been since entering the forest.

"Hubris, what's going on? How long have we been walking for?"

"2 hours? Give or take. I reckon it's a trap."

"That eluded your so-called perfect eyes?" Kiro regretted saying this the moment it left his mouth, that seemed to have hit Hubris where it hurt.

"It was really subtle before we entered, I couldn't sense the illusion until we were trapped, I tried getting us out before you noticed though but that didn't work, it'd require someone who is a master at illusionary arts." He said solemnly.

"Sorry bud, didn't mean to blame you."

They had fallen for a rat trap. It was embarrassing, Kiro felt like a very unintelligent animal, wandering into a trap just to get that slice of cheese. He cursed under his breath at the analogy his brain quickly provided him with.

The Underworld was no joke, no matter how innocent something seemed, especially if it presented itself as harmless, avoid it at all costs unless you have the countermeasures to combat whatever unknown dangers it offers.

"I should've known something was up the moment the sky wasn't on fire anymore." Kiro kicked the ground as he said, he sat on a log.

As if it say, what's the point of walking if they won't reach the other end anyway. Their best bet was waiting, armed, for their enemies to come fetch their caught in the trap meat.

Hubris felt bad that nothing about this place was in his memories, usually places he knew felt familiar, but not this forest. He was clearly never told about it. So, now, he had no idea what kind of monsters they should expect.

Kiro made a fire, started chopping up different kinds of vegetables and herbs. He finely chopped the mushrooms they got along the way. He put them all in a pot, seasoned it.

"We would be eating blackie if we didn't have any meat." Kiro showed Hubris the rabbit, which made Hubris chuckled.

He took out some meat from the storage space, threw some pieces in the soup and closed the lid shut.

It cooked for about 30 minutes, the aroma was divine. It wafted throughout the forest. Even the rabbit wanted some, Kiro dished out for rabbit too. They began to eat their meal.

Every time Hubris ate something Kiro made, he always thinks it's the best thing he'd ever tasted. This time wasn't any different either. The only difference this time was that, after they finished their meal, they were all knocked out cold.

A silhouette could be seen walking closer from a distance to where they were camping.