Chapter Two—Ash

Amid the silence of the forest, strange yet somehow familiar, Reverie let her feet carry her onward, making her way through endless bushes and sprawling tree roots.

She had no particular destination. She simply followed wherever the cool breeze seemed to lead her. The dress she wore had become dirty, yet not a single part of the fabric had been torn.

For the first time since being thrown into that strange place, she did not feel the need to hurry. There were no car horns, no ringing phone, no work notifications waiting for her. Only the sound of leaves moving gently with the wind.

Reverie kept walking and walking until exhaustion finally caught up with her, making her decide to stop for a moment and look back to see how far she had come.

The girl shuddered when all she could see was a dense forest of unfamiliar trees, as though she had never passed through the place moments ago. The deeper she went, the more she felt herself losing her sense of direction.

She tried to remember which direction she had come from, but everything looked the same. Giant trees covered in moss, wild bushes, and roots crawling across the ground seemed to hide every path she had taken.

Reverie then decided to search for the source of the sound of running water that suddenly pierced her ears through the silence of the forest.

She wiped the sweat from her face several times. Her feet caught on the tangled roots more than once, but she did not stop. She kept walking toward the source of the water, convinced that it was close.

Her throat was beginning to feel dry. The coffee she had drunk in Bellmere already felt like something that had happened a very long time ago, even though she had no idea how many hours had passed since she left the city.

★★★

The already-dark forest seemed even more gloomy when Reverie could no longer make out the sun above the towering trees that formed a ceiling over her.

Day had turned into night, and the cold wind began to seep into her bones. She needed to find somewhere to at least make a campfire—something she had learned years ago while attending a school camping trip.

She wrapped her arms around herself. The cold was slowly draining away the courage she had left, and for the first time since entering the forest, Reverie began to seriously consider the possibility that she might not find her way out tonight.

After walking for what felt like an eternity, Reverie finally found herself standing before a wall of bushes growing between two cliffs, making them look like a doorway covered by green curtains.

The sound of water was getting louder. Reverie was certain the source was very close. She pushed the bushes aside and finally saw it with her own eyes: a vast, crystal-clear lake.

Reverie stood still for a moment. The sight before her felt too beautiful to have been found by accident. Moonlight slipped between the trees and fell across the surface of the lake, while a thin mist hung low over the water.

Without thinking twice, Reverie ran toward the lake and knelt at its edge. She scooped up the water with both hands, drank it, and washed her face.

She had never felt so refreshed in her life, as though she had just bathed in cold water in the middle of summer. For a moment, Reverie even considered swimming in it.

The lake was so clear that even with nothing but the moonlight, she could see fish and aquatic plants beneath its surface.

She could even see her own reflection in the water. Her face looked paler and more disheveled than usual, but somehow it did not feel as heavy as it had back in her apartment.

“Is this heaven? Am I dead?” Reverie muttered to herself, a small smile appearing on her cracked lips. She had almost forgotten the last time she had felt this peaceful in her life.

However, Reverie's peace did not last long when she suddenly heard the sound of dry leaves being stepped on from behind the bushes.

The girl gasped and fell onto her bottom, staring warily at the dense bushes.

Reverie's breathing quickened when suddenly, a four-legged animal with white-gray fur leaped out from behind the bushes with an almost majestic grace. It was not very large; judging by its size, it was probably still young. But regardless of its size, it was a wolf.

At that moment, Reverie felt as though her soul had left her body. She tried to move. She had to move. She had to run and leave the place if she did not want to become the wolf's first dinner.

But her entire body suddenly went rigid. Her hands seemed to be planted against the ground, unable to lift her body to its feet.

“D-don't come any closer! Hush!”

The wolf stared at Reverie with a blank expression, its four legs carrying the tailed creature closer to her.

“I'm not tasty! Please, don't eat me!” She squeezed her eyes shut as cold sweat slowly trickled down her temples.

One...

Two...

Three...

Reverie counted down to her death in her head, preparing herself for the possibility that she was about to meet her end and go to hell—because surely, how could a girl like her possibly get into heaven? Reverie cursed inwardly.

In her mind, all sorts of increasingly ridiculous ways to die began appearing. Being eaten by a wolf in some unknown world was certainly not something she had ever imagined happening to her. Even dying from overwork would have made more sense.

And yet, even when her count reached twenty-eight, she felt no attack or pounce from the wild animal that had been walking toward her.

Reverie slowly opened her eyes one at a time. She found the wolf she had been so afraid of calmly drinking water from the lake in front of them.

“What is a human like you doing in this forest?”

Reverie screamed. Her body, which had been calm for a few moments, was suddenly hit by another wave of shock, and she scrambled backward as hard as she could.

“Y-you can talk?! But you're a wolf! You're an animal!”

The wolf turned toward the still-frightened Reverie. “What? You're not from around here, are you?”

“It doesn't matter whether I'm from around here or not! There's no way a wolf can talk! No! I must be hallucinating!”

The girl suddenly plunged her face into the cold lake water, causing herself to choke and cough.

She lifted her head again and looked toward the wolf. “There. I must have just hallucinated that.”

The wolf shook its head. “Are you a lost merchant or an escaped prisoner?”

Reverie screamed again. “Stop that, human! My ears could get damaged.” The wolf clicked its tongue in annoyance.

Reverie stared at it for several seconds. Not only because the animal could speak, but because it had just complained about its ears like an ordinary person.

“No. No way. What is actually happening? I was just in my apartment, then I went to the city park, and then I—I... that stone. That stone must have been a portal here. Where is this? What happened to me?!” Reverie freaked out.

“Hey, human. What are you even talking about? Are you crazy?”

“I think I really am crazy! Haha, because if I'm not, then what could possibly explain a talking wolf standing right in front of me?!”

The wolf let out a heavy sigh before lazily rolling its eyes. The brief gesture made Reverie stare at it in bewilderment.

“Look, human. In Ardenvale, all animals can talk. There, I've said it. Swallow that one fact first.”

“Ardenvale? Where is that? The A****n? But I was clearly in the middle of Bellmere.”

“A****n? Bellmere? I've never heard of either of those places.”

Reverie stared suspiciously at the wolf before slapping her own cheek hard. “Wake me up. Wake me up!”

The four-legged animal then gave Reverie a concerned look before speaking again.

“I'm Ash. Listen, I suppose this might be difficult for your brain to process, strange human, but this is normal here. All animals in Ardenvale can talk. I suppose you're not from Ardelle.”

“Ardelle?”

“Yes. It's the nearest village to Ardenvale. Its residents often come here to gather firewood or fruit.”

Reverie stared at Ash for a long moment. The names Ardenvale and Ardelle sounded completely foreign to her, yet strangely, they also felt like names that belonged in this place. She swallowed before slowly standing and brushing the dirt from her dress.

“S-show me the way there!” The girl suddenly jumped to her feet.

“No.”

“What?” Reverie looked dumbfounded, unable to believe that the animal would actually answer that way.

“I don't even know your name,” Ash replied.

“...Reverie.”

Ash stared at her for a moment, as though making sure that really was her name.

“Reverie,” he repeated.

For the first time that night, Reverie felt a little relieved.

At least now, there was someone—or rather, a wolf—who knew she was here.