Chapter 191: Questioning Reality The trees were different. Not dramatically so. Not in any way she could definitively prove. Like someone had taken the forest and moved each element slightly to the left, or rotated everything by a few degrees, or rearranged the pieces in a way that almost—but not quite—matched the original. Selene’s eyes caught on a tree with three distinctive branches reaching upward like grasping fingers. ’I’ve seen this before. Recently, within the last hundred paces. But we’ve already crossed it...didn’t we?’ "...Seventy-eight. Seventy-nine. Eighty..." ’Maybe there is multiple clones of trees. Only the symbol that Moon left will finally tell us...if it’s not there...then nothing about this is a coincidence.’ Her own breathing sounded too loud in her ears. Selene tried to quiet it, to focus, but her heart rate kept climbing despite her best efforts. The shadows between the trees seemed longer than they should be. The torch flames—both hers and Moon’s—burned with the same intensity they’d had minutes ago, but the darkness they pushed back felt somehow thicker, more resistant to the light. "...Eighty-nine. Ninety. Ninety-one..." Selene found herself counting along silently in her head, her body tensing with each number. "...Ninety-five. Ninety-six..." ’The tree with the split bark should be visible by now. ’ Even in this darkness, even with the limited range of their torchlight, they should be able to see it. But there was nothing ahead except more twisted trunks, more diseased pines, more impenetrable shadow. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂 "Ninety-seven. Ninety-eight..." Selene’s throat tightened. She wanted to say something, to warn Moon, but the words stuck behind her teeth. ’Just two more paces. Just let him finish the count. ’ "Ninety-nine." Moon’s voice remained steady, but Selene could see the tension in his shoulders. "One hundred." He stopped. They both stopped. The marked tree—the one with the distinctive split bark, the one Moon had carved an unmistakable X into not five minutes ago—wasn’t there. For several heartbeats, neither of them spoke. Moon’s torch swept left, then right, illuminating twisted trunk after twisted trunk. None of them bore his mark. None of them had that characteristic split. "Where—" Selene started, her voice coming out rougher than intended. "I didn’t miscount," Moon said calmly. "One hundred paces. Exact." Selene swallowed hard. "I know. I believe you." Moon turned to look at her, and in the torchlight she could see something cold and dangerous in his eyes. "Did you see anything weird?" Selene nodded her head. "The trees," Selene said quietly, finally voicing what she’d noticed. "On the way back. They were... different. Shifted somehow. I thought maybe I was imagining it." "You weren’t, clearly." Selene’s voice was tight. "What if this is an illusion? What if one of us or both of us aren’t really here?" Moon turned to look at her, "Possible. But unlikely." "Why?" She couldn’t help but ask. Judging from his tone, it appeared as if he was certain it wasn’t, despite his words. Selene was right about her thoughts. Moon was completely certain that the phenomenon they were experiencing was real, as real as it gets. Simply because Illusions could not affect him, his [Tenacity] skill negated that fact completely. The only reason behind Moon’s uncertain words was to make Selene feel safe around him. He wanted her to feel as if he were in her shoes, experiencing the same thing she was. If he acted completely certain, it would make her suspicious that he was an illusion himself, unless he claimed to have a skill that countered illusions—and even that wasn’t foolproof. "Because we’re both experiencing the same anomaly. If you were an illusion I’d created, or I was one you’d created, the illusion wouldn’t need to go through this. It would just... show me what I expected to see." "Unless the illusion is strong enough to—" "To predict both our reactions, anticipate our words, and respond in real-time to our changing strategies?" Moon shook his head. "That level of illusion magic would require more mana than most first-order beasts possess." Selene frowned, but she couldn’t argue with his logic. "But, we should still verify anyway. Just to be certain." Moon wanted to ensure Selene had no doubts in her mind. He could tell she still wasn’t convinced, and that was dangerous. He didn’t want Selene to start feeling doubtful at a critical moment, it could certainly lead to her death. "How?" Moon thought for a moment. "Tell me something only the real Selene would know. Something that happened between us that no creature could have witnessed or extracted from my memories." Selene studied him for a long moment, her eyes searching his face in the flickering torchlight. Moon could see the gears turning behind her gaze, weighing her options, considering what information would truly prove his authenticity. Finally, she spoke. "The night before we left for the Rotten Pine Forest. You came to my tent." Moon nodded slowly. "I remember." "What did I serve you to drink?" "Tea from your storage ring," Moon answered without hesitation. "Bitter tea. You said it was from the First Sanctuary, some blend that made the mind feel at ease. I told you it tasted like tree bark." A ghost of a smile crossed Selene’s face, but her guard didn’t lower. "And what did I say in response?" "That I had no appreciation for refined tastes." Moon kept his voice steady, reciting the memory precisely as it happened. "Then you laughed and admitted you hated it too, but it was good for mind clarity." The tension in Selene’s shoulders eased fractionally. Not gone, but... reduced. "Your turn," she said. "Ask me something." Moon didn’t need to think too much, he knew it wasn’t an illusion, he just needed a question personal enough for Selene to believe. "When we first met in the first base, when we both were newcomers. You asked me for my class, what did I say?" Selene smiled, her smile reaching her eyes, "You said...you were a water mage. Just like I was." "That’s correct." They stared at each other for several heartbeats, the forest’s oppressive silence pressing in around them. "Alright," Selene said quietly. "I believe you’re real."