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Anna didn’t know how long she had been unconscious, but they knew it had been a long time.

[Our body feels weird…] (Syrus)

[I’ll take your word for it.] (Luna)

They finally woke up but they all felt groggy. However, that was no excuse to stop because they needed to get out of that cave.

Syrus examined the body the moment she awoke to check if everything was okay. Everything had to have stopped changing; she didn’t have to thoroughly check the body to see if there were any major differences, but it seemed to be just a standard physique.

On a concerning note, the body was still far from optimal conditions. Luna and Eva could tell they felt exhausted, but Syrus could tell that the body was absolutely wrecked still and that any strenuous activity could be dangerous. Every muscle was overstressed and worn out to the extreme; they could be healed, but it would just take time. Syrus had a slow Blood technique which was perfect for healing, which she was using right away to continue the proper healing process; however, she didn’t know how long this would take. She had been more seriously injured in the past but never encountered a situation where the entire body was damaged like this.

The issue was that, with this damage, it would be hard to exert their body to do anything. Syrus figured she would need to use Blood attribute if they even wanted to run, but she couldn’t do that, because using the physical strengthening side of her attribute would just cause more damage.

So Anna slowly walked through the tunnel, using the wall for support and a guide. But soon they realised the craziness of the previous owner of the house.

[We didn’t even reach halfway.] (Luna)

The walk had gone on for ages and they didn’t even see a speck of light or an exit.

[We will be out of here soon; it can’t go on for that long.] (Eva)

[Yeah…] Luna worriedly agreed. True, the exit may be nearby, but she began to wonder if there was a secret out they had missed cause they simply didn’t know about it.

[Whoever this guy was, he was motivated to dig, I’ll give him that.] (Syrus)

However, finally, they did reach a dead end.

[Well, the only way is up.] Syrus looked up from the crouched position they were forced to walk in due to the tightness of the cave.

Anna pushed against the ceiling of the end of the tunnel, which was dipped up. She felt a budge but required a bit more of a push.

“Ergh…” Anna groaned.

Pop

But the stone was able to push up and it fell to the side. They pulled themselves out of the hole and looked at the late afternoon sky.

“Stupid trapdoor.”

[Would you even call the stone plate a trapdoor?] (Luna)

[It’s doing the same bloody thing as one.] (Syrus)

The trapdoor was a simple, small square of stone that had been overgrown with grass. However, just by looking at the slab, it was clear they weren’t the first ones to open it. Grass and dirt had already been torn away from someone pushing it up out of the ground earlier. And the fact it was placed back over the hole meant some had opened and closed it recently.

[Where could they have gone?] (Luna)

[From the direction we went, Ihere would be about three hours? Maybe more.] (Syrus)

[But how likely is that?] (Eva)

[No idea. That depends if Elly even knew what direction Ihere was in. And by the location of the sun, they have at least sixteen hours headstart over us.] (Syrus)

“Sigh…” Anna looked up at the sky, exhausted. They knew she would have to find someplace to sleep again soon; their body were still tired even after that rest.

[Well, Ihere is probably a good place to look?] (Syrus)

[Yes, if there are no tracks.] (Luna)

[I will look around for a bit more, but it's mostly just a small collection of small footprints in all directions, then they fade away as the ground gets harder.] (Syrus)

[If we can at least find something, that will be good.] (Eva)

[That is the hope…] (Luna)

Eva had a thought, [How close are the other farming villages?]

[Umm… no idea? Based on the direction of the tunnel, we might be near Village Three. But that will still be over an hour, and the tunnel did turn, so could be close to two?] (Syrus)

Syrus was doing her best, but she had never been in this part of the forest and knowing the general layout of the map did nothing when they were in a pitch-black tunnel for over an hour.

[Yeah, let’s go to Ihere first……] There was also the potential that other farming villages were attacked, and that going to one would be a danger to themselves. Then Eva realised another problem, [Wait our appearance…]

[It’s fine.] (Syrus)

[...] (Luna)

[I should be able to change it, right?] (Eva)

The last time Eva saw herself, they looked like a mess and would stick out easily. The crazy hair and eyes could be chalked up to attributes, but the horn could be concerning. Especially for small towns or most places in Cancole due to exotic attributes being extremely rare.

Luna offered a suggestion. [Let’s go to the water and see if you can.]

[Good idea.] (Eva)

Anna moved to the river that she knew existed nearby. It was also likely that Elly and children followed the river, so it was a good bet to go towards it either way.

However, before Eva even had the chance to try and see if she could use Morph correctly,. They already noticed a difference.

[And our appearance has changed again.] (Luna)

[It’s better this way…] Eva was happier looking at this version of their reflection, but still greatly preferred it back to the way it truly was.

Her physical body was the same and the horn was still there. However, the eyes and hair had changed. Anna’s hair was still as long, but now its primary colour was black again, however, the strands faded to white towards the ends, except for her bangs, which stayed crimson. Anna’s eyes also had dulled into a light reddish-brown.

[It does look much better this way.] Syrus preferred this over the patchwork of colours, [We need to cut our hair badly, though.]

[Agreed.] Luna also had her own thoughts about their new look. [Lilly, maybe your subconscious thoughts already used Morph to adjust the body?]

[Potentially.] (Eva)

[Well, try to see if you can change it slightly again.] (Syrus)

[I will.] Eva was going to start small, but her main goal was to somehow remove the horn… she didn’t actually mind it, she thought she would, but she knew it had to go if they wanted to cause less of a fuss than they already would.

Eva stepped back for a moment to think and focus on controlling her Morph attribute. She had a basic idea of its feeling, but she had never willingly used it before.

“Good luck,” Syrus said while looking at their reflection.

After a couple of moments, Luna went quiet to let Eva focus.

But before Eva could try anything, suddenly, their body shifted into something similar but different.

[Ergh… what’s happening now? Eva?] (Syus)

Syrus quickly became concerned as the body worked more than she would’ve liked. They grew a few centimetres taller, and her hair and eyes were dyed crimson. She looked like her soul form, if not still shorter than it.

[I don’t know! I can’t use Morph at all?!] Eva panicked and tried to control the body more directly. In doing so, Anna shifted back to her default appearance.

[What is even up with our body?] Syrus didn’t blame Eva for this change, she could tell the body was working automatically on some level to cause these rapid changes.

Soon the body shrank back to regular size and looked the same as the initial reflection.

After a few moments of silence, as the three waited for something else to happen, nothing changed.

Luna pondered. [I wonder what is causing this?]

[Yeah…] Eva and Luna’s curiosity was piqued, which helped distract them from their other, more negative emotions.

Syrus sadly had to stop it. [Look, I know you two would like to do some tests, which are very much required, but not now.]

[Okay.] (Eva)

[What do we do then?] (Luna)

Eva and Luna trusted Syrus on this, so they stopped those thoughts and moved back onto the topic of where to go.

[...We’ll keep going to Ihere but we will rest up outside of town near the forest. Maybe with a night of rest, our body will be okay enough to do whatever quick test you want.] (Syrus)

[I’m fine with that.] (Eva)

[Seconded.] (Luna)

They both readily agreed. So, after choosing their direction, they made a move on and eventually found a cave near Ihere to rest for the night.