Sucrose, Collei, and Arakom departed for Mawtiyima Forest. The two girls walked, but the Aranara was carried in Collei's arms. The Aranara were small, and their extremities were short. They were slow walkers, yet surprisingly fast runners; still, they were unable to travel long distances. Arakom explained to them how the Aranara moved around the forest, but none of them understood him; only that they jumped into the ground, and then they reappeared in their destination. Sucrose had already seen that method several times. In any case, the only way for Arakom to go along with them was as a passenger. From Vimara to the Palace of Alcazarzaray he was carried in Sucrose's arms; and now, in Collei's. And the Forest Ranger trainee couldn't be happier to have been presented that chance.

"Arakom would rather be in Nara Crows' arms…" Arakom protested.

"Nara Crows needs to rest her arms for a while," Sucrose quipped.

The path from the Palace of Alcazarzaray to Mawtiyima Forest was via the same trail Sucrose had taken with Dori when they went to the Hilichurl cave; only that, this time, they kept going straight ahead instead of turning left. After a little while, the trail reached Mawtiyima Forest.

Mawtiyima Forest was hardly a grove. Or perhaps it was a grove in the fullest sense of the word. Sucrose was left stunned when Mawtiyima Forest appeared all of a sudden before her just after leaving the narrow trail. She had never seen something like that before. The 'trees' had tree trunks, yes, but their crowns were mushroom caps. Were they plants? Or were they mushrooms? They were for certain big, humongous: Sucrose needed to bend backwards in order to see their tops. Every crown, or cap, was blue, which gave the place a singular ambiance. Since the path forwards went downhill, the furthermost trees could be seen. They were the largest ones, and from their tops hung light-blue plants. Water came down as cascades from them as well. How was that possible? Where was that water coming from?

Those and many other questions went through Sucrose's mind. Her insatiable curiosity couldn't wait to begin to investigate and find answers to all of those questions. Moreover, she also felt that that place could serve as inspiration for her flowery paradise. She wasn't surprised that the Aranara said that that was where the forest dreamt; Mawtiyima Forest was, indeed, dreamy.

"Very impressive, right?" Collei commented. "It doesn't matter how many times I come here, this sight always leaves me breathless."

"You can say that again…"

Nevertheless, there was no time to contemplate the scenery; they had work to do. Their first step was to find Araon, and ask him to show them where the fungi were located.

"Araon is usually around there, lately," Arakom said, pointing towards their right.

Towards that direction there was no path to tread on, only grass everywhere. They set off. That grass was nothing of the ordinary, either: it shone around their feet as they trod it. The azure gleam which radiated from them rose up to the height of the girls' heads. Sucrose was once again astonished. Gawking at the grass, she walked around it, watching how that gleam followed her as she trod.

"How can this place be so close to my house and I haven't known about it all this time!" she exclaimed.

Sucrose's dumbfounded face made Collei let out a chortle. Then, Collei reminded her that they had a task at hand; that they might explore the grove at their own leisure once the children recovered. Sucrose recomposed herself, and they resumed their way towards the direction pointed by Arakom. After a few minutes of walking, Collei asked:

"Hey, Arakom, how are we supposed to find your sibling if he's always hiding?"

"Nara Collei is asking a good question," Arakom nodded. "Arakom hides a lot, but he loves singing. If we want to find him, we must not watch, but listen."

They kept walking in utter silence so that they could hear any sign that Araon was nearby; Sucrose even pricked up an ear. Collei was about to comment on who of the two had the better hearing, if her or Tighnari, but she quickly realized that that would have been a rude thing to say; thus, she said nothing.

Shortly after, Sucrose's raised ear caught something: it was a melody. That melody sounded familiar to Sucrose; very familiar. She walked towards the direction whence that melody came, with Collei right behind her. The melody was becoming louder and louder; Collei could hear it now, too. Then, Arakom exclaimed:

"It's Araon!"

He jumped out from Collei's arms and ran towards a tree which was more than twice as tall as Sucrose. It was incredible how such small creatures were such fast runners, even though only for short distances. There was a hole at the bottom of that tree. Araon peeked inside.

"Araon!" Arakom waved. "Arakom finally finds you!"

From that hole a blue aranara which looked just like Arakom peeked out. He greeted his sibling back:

"Hello, Arakom. What brings you here?"

"Arakom wants to ask Araon something. Arakom would like for Araon to help Arakom and Nara friends."

Right at that moment, Sucrose and Collei arrived at the hole. Both greeted Araon smilingly, calmly and politely, trying not to startle him. Then, Sucrose stared at Araon, and Araon stared at Sucrose. After several seconds of mutual fixed stare, they both screamed at the same time.

"You're that Aranara that ran away from me that day!"

"Big Nara that wanted to eat Araon is back!"

"Were you going to eat an Aranara!?" Collei asked in astonishment.

"Of course not!"

"Nara friends pay Araon no mind," Arakom interceded. "For Araon, everything wants to eat Araon."

The party retraced their steps, now accompanied by Araon. Thanks to Arakom's intervention, Araon didn't run away this time. In order for Araon to be more at ease, Arakom proposed that both Aranara were together in Sucrose's arms. Sucrose saw no way to refuse this time, since it was for the sake of their expedition.

"See, Araon?" Arakom reiterated. "Nara Crows is good Nara."

"Is Nara Crows really not going to eat Araon?" Araon insisted while shaking.

Sucrose smiled. "Of course not. I'm actually pleased to finally meet you."

She didn't say that to make Araon stop being afraid of her; she meant it. At first, she did greatly regret chasing after Araon, the blue Aranara, and getting lost in the forest: she had been truly scared back then; moreover, she had disobeyed and disappointed Dori, and she truly loathed herself for a few days because of it.

However, as time went by, she realized that her actions had also brought something good to her: she had met Collei. And thanks to Dori's ban ―although she would never say so out loud― they had spent and were going to spend plenty of time together. It had been ages since Sucrose and her childhood friends went their separate ways, and ever since then, Sucrose hadn't made any new friends, due to both her social fright and the fact that she had spent almost all of her time conducting experiments. Thus, even after everything bad which had happened to her because of that experience, Sucrose was glad to have had it. She was really looking forward to exploring Sumeru with Collei after they cured the children; to helping her with her studies; to teaching her how to read, how to write… And now that she thought about writing:

"Oh! Now that I remember!" she realized. "Collei, have you already written a letter to Amber?"

"Yes, I have. Just the day before moving," Collei said. "Master helped me write it."

"And what name did you use?"

"A flower name: Parul."

Just then, the two Aranara leant towards Collei. They had moved so suddenly that they almost fell from Sucrose's arms.

"Nara Collei likes Parul!?" Arakom asked.

"Aranara adore Parul!" Araon exclaimed. "Especially Araon and siblings!"

What had become of Araon's fear for everything, Sucrose wondered while trying to find a comfortable position for holding the two lively Aranara. She thought of the Viparyas the Aranara had gifted to her and Dori. She had already assumed that the Aranara liked flowers back then, although not as much as to lose all fear all of a sudden.

Out of curiosity, Sucrose asked Collei how she had thought of that name, to which Collei shyly replied that she had taken it from her storybook. According to the book, Parul were beautiful yet rare flowers, quite difficult to find, and very precious to the Aranara; they only used them on their most special occasions. Judging by the reaction of the two Aranara siblings, it seemed that the book was not wrong.

"I've also seen them in Master's botany book, but I don't know how to read it yet."

They finally returned to the same place whence they had reached Mawtiyima Forest. This time, they were going to take the path forwards which they hadn't before, venturing further in the grove from there. Araon told everybody that the fungi were gathering in the deepmost area.

"Araon used to live there with other Aranara," he added. "But there are so many Chattra lately that Araon had to move away in search of silence. Now Araon usually is where Nara friends have found him, if not where Nara Crows found him before."

They followed the path downhill towards the deeper part of the grove. The vegetation thickened as they ventured further in. Hues of blue from the vegetation which abounded the area now predominated the ambiance, giving it off a mystical air, just like the purple mist did to Vanarana of Dreams. The grass now emanated the azure gleam just by walking nearby, without needing to tread on it; moreover, the gleam was now more intense. There were trumpet-shaped mushrooms of all sizes and hues of blue everywhere. Some were two feet tall; some others, two Sucroses tall.

The vegetation grew even denser, and now the only passable way was through the path they walked on. This continued until they reached a pond. The falling water from the tallest trees filled it. An indigo haze caressed its surface before being carried away by the breeze. The sight, together with the babbling of the water, made that place a perfect spot to relax and meditate, or perhaps having a picnic; however, something else caught their whole attention: fungi.

Dozens and dozens of fungi. The two Aranara weren't exaggerating: that place was truly infested. There were fungi of all colors and shapes: small, mushroom-shaped ones, and larger ones, with limbs. Some wandered around, others fed themselves by absorbing nutrients from the soil, and others just floated aimlessly. Sucrose felt her pulse beating in her left hand. Unconsciously, she squeezed it with her right.

"Let's hide," Araon suggested.

They hid behind some of the larger trees' roots. Since their hiding spot had no gleam of any sort, it was a good place to stay unnoticed.

"I don't understand," Collei whispered. "One of our Forest Ranger jobs is to look after the balance in the ecosystem. How did we get to this?"

"That's right: you said before that there are barely any fungi in the forest lately," Sucrose confirmed. "And that's because they're all here."

Collei was certain that the other Forest Rangers, especially Tighnari, who was quite perceptive, were aware that the fungi had migrated there, which made her ask herself why nothing had been done yet. Be that as it may, they had another, more pressing issue at hand: there were too many fungi there for them to just rush in. They would have no chance of success if all fungi attacked them at the same time.

"Araon doesn't see Big Chattra," Araon commented.

"Big Chattra?" Collei repeated.

"Yes, Big Chattra. Araon calls it Big Chattra because it's really big. Even bigger than Nara!"

And, to cap it all, there was a fungus larger than the rest somewhere. Maybe they should probably desist and come back another time, better prepared and with some help. However, Sucrose didn't want to just give up without even trying; she didn't want to fail her promise of curing the children. Her resolve was rubbed off on Collei, and now she didn't want to back down just yet either.

"I have an idea," she said.

"What is it?" Sucrose asked.

Collei opened her mouth to speak, but then, she tripped over her tongue. She lost the momentum she was having, and her mind began to fill with negative thoughts again.

"Forget it…" she muttered. "It wasn't a good idea, either."

"Just say it, silly!" Sucrose insisted. "It surely won't be worse than just leaving empty-handed! And besides, nothing will happen to us just because you've said it!"

Sucrose was, for sure, little by little adopting Dori's direct way to speak her mind.

They decided to go with Collei's idea. Her plan consisted in waiting until nightfall, and then make use of the lack of visibility to approach the fungi without being spotted, and then attack a smaller group on surprise while causing a big ruckus which would scare the other fungi away. That plan was quite risky, and they were betting everything on a single try; despite this, it was also the only plan in which they saw a chance.

They didn't wait for too long until nightfall settled in, and Mawtiyima Forest had even more surprises lying in wait for Sucrose: the tree tops, the hanging plants, and the flowers all shone on their own. It was a breathtaking sight. Fortunately, even though the place was somewhat lit thanks to the plants, visibility was still poor; therefore, Collei's plan might work.

Sucrose and Collei came out of their hiding spot in a crouch, trying not to make any sound: in order for Collei's plan to work, they had to catch the fungi unaware. As further precaution, the two Aranara remained hidden and just watched. The two girls approached a group consisting of three small fungi and a large one situated on the shore of the pond; those were going to be their targets.

Once they were close enough, Sucrose, with utmost care not to make any unwanted noise, opened one of her pouches and pulled out a red sphere. She threw it. The sphere flew over the four fungi and fell into the water. The splashing sound caught the fungi's attention. Seconds later, where the sphere had fallen, there was a powerful explosion of steam, which damaged the fungi and alerted the others.

"Now!" Sucrose exclaimed.

They stood up and ran towards the group of fungi. Collei pulled her boomerang out and threw it. She had real a knack with it: the boomerang hit all four fungi, and then it returned to her. Then, Sucrose took a blue sphere out and threw it to the group. The sphere burst like a water balloon at extreme pressure, further injuring the fungi. The combination resulting from Collei's boomerang's Dendro effect and Sucrose's blue sphere's Hydro caused that from each fungus a large green seed germinated, which detached from them and floated above the ground. Next, Collei summoned her bow, and shot an arrow to one of those seeds. The impact detonated the seed, which, in turn, set off a chain reaction with the others. All of those explosions finished the four fungi off.

The other fungi noticed what was occurring and began to come towards them. Sucrose threw another red sphere at their closest ones. The sphere didn't reach them, but such was her target: the sphere landed on the grass and exploded like a large bomb. The grass was set on fire. That fire was not big enough to spread through such wet vegetation; however, it was big enough to scare the other fungi away: they ran off in all directions, emitting loud cries. Sucrose ran to the defeated fungi and extracted as much pollen as she could.

"Okay, I have more than enough with these," she claimed. "And they're also of good quality."

"So then, are we done here?" Collei asked.

"Yes, we are. In the end, your idea worked, Collei."

Collei blushed. She always tended to imagine the worst; that anything she might say was wrong. For that reason, she hardly ever expressed her opinion, sometimes even around Tighnari and Cyno; for that reason, she wouldn't have said anything if Sucrose hadn't insisted. But in the end, they got the Luminescent Pollen thanks to her idea; thanks that Sucrose had trusted her. Just like when Collei had confessed her illiteracy to her, Sucrose treated her warmly and kindly; quite the opposite from what she had initially imagined. Collei was beginning to feel around Sucrose the same way she felt whenever she was with Amber. She was very grateful to have met her, and she didn't want to leave that unsaid:

"Sucrose…"

All of a sudden, a loud, powerful shriek was heard. It had come from far away, but still, it resounded in the air and scared them both.

"What was that?" Sucrose asked, still startled.

"Big Chattra!" Araon shouted in fear, while coming out of his hiding and running towards the girls. "Big Chattra is coming! Nara must run away this instant! Arakom too!"

And, without wasting a moment, Araon jumped into the ground and vanished. He had left. Arakom arrived just then.

"Araon is running away again," Arakom commented. "Although Arakom has never seen sibling Araon this scared before."

They heard footsteps. Heavy footsteps. They came from where most of the fungi had fled; from where some flames resulting from the sphere which Sucrose had thrown still burned. Behind those flames appeared a huge fungus; it was much larger than Sucrose and Collei. His body was white; his cap and his back were green. It also had a beak, claws, wings, and a feather-like tail; more than a fungus, it looked like a peacock.

"A… a Jadeplume Terrorshroom…" a frightened Collei stammered.

Why hadn't she thought about it before? When Araon had mentioned that there was a fungus much larger than her and Sucrose, that was the only one which could fit that description. And its size wasn't its only trait; it was also much more powerful than the other fungi subspecies. Collei cursed her own stupidity for not considering that the fungus Araon had meant was a Jadeplume Terrorshroom.

"Sucrose! Let's run away!" she shouted. "We can't take it down on our own!"

Without so much of a second thought, Sucrose took Arakom in her arms, and both girls ran towards the path from whence they had come. The fungus chased after them, and the moment after it touched the flames, from its back several thick dark-green colored spores were ejected. The spores flew over the girls and impacted on the ground just before them. They didn't block their way, but they had stopped them at least, giving the fungus enough time to catch them. The fungus jumped, and using its wings, it glided above the girls, landing just where the spores had impacted previously. It had cut off their escape route.

"No!"

"Did it do that on purpose!?" Sucrose wondered, taken aback.

The fungus turned around, and stood face to face with them. It stared at them, especially at Sucrose, who seemed to have caught its attention the most. It brought his head so close to the alchemist that it was almost touching her face with its beak. Terrified, Sucrose stood still, holding her breath as the monster closely observed her from top to bottom. Arakom didn't dare to move, either. Then, the fungus moved its head away, shook itself, and screeched. Its squawk was so strident that both girls shuddered, closing their eyes and covering their ears as a reflex action. Arakom, no longer with arms support, fell to the ground, although he managed to land on its feet. When Sucrose and Collei opened her eyes to look at the monster, they saw that it was preparing to attack.

"Collei! We have to fight!" Sucrose shouted while summoning her staff.

"What are you saying!?" Collei said in fear. "We don't stand a chance against it!"

"Even so, it's still better than just doing nothing! We have to at least make our way through!"

Collei shook her head vigorously; not as a refusal, but in order to clear her thoughts. Even if they wouldn't be able to defeat the Jadeplume Terrorshroom, at least they could try to create a new opportunity to run away. As a matter of fact, they had no choice but to try it, and flee as soon as possible: if the rest of the fungi came back, then their lives would be in dire straits. Collei braced herself, and summoned her bow.

The fungus raised its head; it was about to attack them with its beak. At that moment, a marble-sized bullet of yellow light hit the monster's face, catching it by surprise and staggering it. Both Sucrose and Collei were surprised as well, mainly because they knew whence it had come: from their feet. It had been Arakom.

"Arakom will help with his Ararakalari!" Arakom said. "Arakom will not fail his friends again!"

None of the two girls knew what did Arakom mean by 'Ararakalari', nor how an Aranara would be able to fight. They did, however, know that any attempt to persuade Arakom to get to safety now would be worse than insulting him. They looked at each other, and nodded at the same time. They were ready.

Sucrose began the offensive by hitting the abdomen of the Jadeplume Terrorshroom with her staff. She still had some offensive items, but she wanted to save them for more necessary opportunities. That first hit was followed by a second, and then a third. The fungus tried to hit her with his beak, but another bullet from Arakom made its head alter its course. It missed; it stuck its beak into the ground. Sucrose stepped away. Then, Collei shot an arrow to the fungus' forehead. The arrow shot must have hurt it, because it shrieked while shaking its head violently.

"If only this were enough…" Collei said.

That was no plea; Collei knew all too well that that was not enough to defeat a Jadeplume Terrorshroom. Indeed, as soon as it recovered, the fungus began its next attack. It splayed its wings and its tail. Collei foresaw what it was about to do.

"Sucrose! Take cover!"

The fungus beat its right wing, and it shot several yellowish projectiles; then, it did the same with its left wing; and lastly, its tail. Thanks to Collei's warning, Sucrose managed to take cover behind a large mushroom just in time. Collei hid behind a tree, then she used said cover to surprise the fungus from its right flank. She shot two consecutive arrows at its right thigh, and backed away. The fungus bent down on its hit thigh.

Sucrose took that chance. She began to focus on her staff. The Hypostasis began to shine, and several gusts of wind whirled around it. Then, she quickly tossed a blue sphere at the fungus' head. The burst of high-pressure water hurt it. The moment after, Sucrose ran to the fungus until it was at hit range, and swung her staff with all her strength, hitting it with the charged Hypostasis. The Anemo Hypostasis reacted with the soaking wet fungus, and high winds were formed from the Hypostasis, which shook even the largest mushrooms. The Jadeplume Terrorshroom drew back and covered itself with its wings. The wind caused many spores to fly out of the fungus' body in all directions; however, with its claws dug into the ground, it had barely been moved a few inches from its spot. It recovered immediately. The only thing Sucrose managed to do with her staff's most powerful attack was to fill her surroundings with spores.

"It can't be…"

"Sucrose!" Collei shrieked. "Get out of there right now!"

At that moment, the fungus struck the ground with its beak. Sparks flew at the point of impact, causing the spores to ignite and explode. Sucrose had no time to react; much less, to get away on time. Collei blenched.

"Sucrose!"

That Dendro blast would have been enough to at least cause Sucrose grievous wounds. Would. However, the explosion had not reached her. Right in front of her, a yellow barrier of light had appeared, which had repelled the explosion. And, between the barrier and Sucrose, floating, there was…

"Arakom!"

"Arakom said that Arakom will not fail his friends again!"

Arakom shot the barrier towards the fungus, hitting it on its face. The fungus lowered its head, to which Collei took the chance to hit it squarely in the head with an arrow. Arakom stopped floating, yet before he fell to the ground, Sucrose took him in her arms and ran towards Collei, and both hid behind the same tree Collei had hidden previously. The breathing of both girls was short and heavy.

"Don't scare me like that!" Collei reproached Sucrose.

"I-I'm sorry," Sucrose stammered, still recovering from her fright. "Hey, are you okay?"

Collei had raised a hand to her head, and groaned, which worried Sucrose.

"Don't worry, it's nothing," she asserted. "I just got a little dizzy, but it's gone now."

It didn't seem to Sucrose that Collei was putting on a front, so she didn't insist. Besides, she still had to say something to somebody else.

"Thank you so much, Arakom. But still, what was that?"

"Arakom used his Ararakalari to save Nara Crows," Arakom explained. "Nara friends can trust Arakom."

"Do you think you could create a barrier that would protect all of us?" Collei asked.

"Arakom can do, but if big Chattra hits Ararakalari, it will break."

Collei sighed in disappointment. Apparently, she had had an idea which involved Arakom's barrier, but it was not going to work.

"I had thought of having the barrier protect us while we ran away, but if it only takes one hit, we're back to square one."

"Not necessarily," Sucrose disagreed. "As long as it can withstand one hit, that's enough."

Sucrose held Arakom out to Collei, so that she were the one holding him. Then, she pulled out both a red sphere and a blue one. Collei's idea had helped her come up with one of her own:

"On the count of three, we run straight to the fungus; then, we move to its left, and we don't stop running for anything in the world," she said. "Arakom, protect us with your Ararara… barrier."

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Collei doubted nervously.

Just then, they heard some shrieks coming from the opposite direction; the other fungi were returning. They were running out of time.

"I'm only sure that this is our last chance! Just believe in me!"

Just like Sucrose had trusted her and her idea before, now it was Collei's turn to trust Sucrose's idea:

"I believe in you."

Sucrose smiled and nodded. "Ready? One, two… three!"

Arakom activated his Ararakalari barrier and the two girls ran as fast as they could, right towards the Jadeplume Terrorshroom. The monster was not expecting such a charge from them; therefore, it only tried to attack them with its beak. The girls dodged it by moving to the fungus' left, and kept running. However, the fungus still had time for another attack; it spun around and swung its tail at them. Arakom's Ararakalari deflected the tail, staggering the fungus, and broke. The girls didn't slow down; they continued running, and now they were leaving the Jadeplume Terrorshroom behind. Then, before giving the fungus any more time to act, Sucrose turned around and threw at it both spheres at once, one with each hand.

The two spheres impacted just at the fungus' feet, and exploded at the same time. The water from the blue sphere and the fire of the red sphere caused an explosion of boiling steam, which burned the fungus, forcing it to step back. The steam remained in place, obstructing the road and visibility for several minutes without losing temperature. The Jadeplume Terrorshroom had no choice but to desist from its pursuit. It squawked loudly in frustration.

Sucrose and Collei kept running even after having left Mawtiyima Forest behind, until they had traversed quite a stretch of the narrow trail back to the Palace of Alcazarzaray. Once they had ensured that they had eluded the Jadeplume Terrorshroom for good, they stopped to rest and catch their breath. Both were gasping, especially Collei.

"Are Nara friends okay?" Arakom asked in worry.

"Yes, we're fine," Collei replied between gasps. "We're safe now."

"You've been a great help, Arakom," Sucrose smiled.

"Does Nara Crows mean it?"

Arakom was beside himself; he had been able to help his friends this time. In the end, their expedition had helped him in raising his spirits.

"Of course I do," Sucrose nodded, still smiling. "Now, go home and rest."

"Huh? But Arakom wants to stay with Nara Crows!" Arakom protested.

"We're fine, and our house is nearby. Besides, the children need your company more than we do now."

Arakom remained thoughtful for a few moments. "Nara Crows is right. Arakom goes home."

"See you tomorrow back in Vimara Village."

"Not in my case," Collei regretted, "so I'm going to help myself with a parting gift."

Collei took the chance that she was still holding Arakom in her arms to hug him. Arakom didn't feel any dismay this time. Once Collei put him on the ground, Arakom bid both of them farewell and jumped into the ground. He left.

"We should better be on our way, too," Sucrose suggested. "Don't you think, Collei? Collei?…"

Collei, still panting, had raised a hand to her head again.

"It's nothing," she said. "I'm just feeling a little dizzy."

"Are you sure? Because it doesn't look like it to me."

Sucrose reached her hand out with the intention of putting it on Collei's forehead in order to check if she had a fever. When she was about to touch it, Collei slapped her hand away.

"No! Don't touch me!"

The slap had hurt Sucrose, yet it was nothing compared to her surprise. Such was her shock that she even forgot to breathe. Her mind was focused only in trying to understand what she had done wrong to upset Collei like that, to no avail. Her eyes never stopped looking at Collei. They watched as the Forest Ranger trainee cowered and shuddered; as she lowered her head and trembled more and more violently.

"Co… llei?" Was the only thing Sucrose managed to say.

Collei raised her head and looked back at her. She looked at her with her eyes completely wide open. She looked at her with an expression of pure terror, like if she were looking at a ghost; no, something worse: the very embodiment of evil.

"What are you doing here?" she spat with pure disdain.

The current state of affairs was utterly out of hand. Sucrose didn't understand what was happening to Collei; in fact, she had begun to wonder whether Collei was actually speaking to her. Something told her that she should back away. Was it instinct? Or was just her social anxiety peeking out again? Whatever it was, Sucrose felt that, if she left Collei like that, she would later regret it. There had to be a reason as to why was Collei so in hysterics; if only she told it to her…

"Collei?"

"Stay away."

"Collei, what's wrong?"

"I said stay away!"

Collei took out her boomerang, and attacked Sucrose with it in a descending movement.

"Ow!"

Collei had intended to smack Sucrose's head, but due to the distance between them, she managed only to graze her. She grazed her from the left side of her forehead to her right cheek, passing between her eyes. Sucrose felt the boomerang grazing her face. She also felt how it had broken the bridge of her glasses. Without support, her glasses fell to the ground, and the lenses shattered due to the violent impact.

Sucrose felt the part where the boomerang had hit her burning. Moreover, she felt that something warm had begun to run down from it. She touched that part, and felt a sharp pain. As a reflex action, she moved the hand away, and then, she looked at it. There was blood on it. Collei had made a cut on her face with her boomerang. Terrified, she looked back at Collei, who was still glaring at her with utmost hatred while breathing very heavily. There were tears in her eyes.

"I won't let you hurt me ever again!" she hollered. "Go away! Piss off! Just die!"

Right after, Collei ran away as fast as she could down the trail in the direction of the palace. She didn't get quite far away; all of a sudden, she collapsed.

"Collei!"

Sucrose rushed to Collei. It was obvious that something was wrong with her. Repressing her panic as much as she could, Sucrose checked on Collei; she was asleep. She was soundly asleep.