Without warning, the proto-realm spits me out and shuts down. I tap my token time and time again, but there is no proto-realm, and as such, no open mission.
Now he closed the mission.
I can’t even blame him, can I? It was my dumb idea to use the proto-realm. He just took advantage of an idiot.
But how am I going to explain to Moe all of this?
“Nyk?” As if she heard my thoughts, Moe rises out of bed. She’s rubbing her eyes, her expression still sleepy.
I look at her, panicked.
What will I tell her? That I’m the biggest idiot in the world?
By the Seven! This is the worst thing that could have happened. Now we’re helpless in the land of mythical beasts. The chances of us making it back were already slim. Now… almost zero.
“Did you sleep well?” I ask as I go and sit by her side.
She doesn’t answer me. Her brows are bunched together as she stares at me as if trying to puzzle me out.
“Something’s wrong.” A statement, not a question.
I press my lips together.
“What’s wrong, Nyk? Tell me.”
“Moe, the thing is?—”
I take a deep breath and ready myself for her contempt. It’s not as if I deserve anything less for my stupidity. Then I spilleverything about the origin of the proto-realm, the mission from Utopiya and my stupidity.
“Gone? Everything.”
I nod grimly. “It’s all my fault. I didn’t think?—”
“Deep breath.” She places her hand on my shoulder. “There’s no point despairing over that. It’s happened already. There’s nothing we can change. What can we donow?”
“We’ll have to take a different approach to our journey back. We won’t have anywhere to sleep. We’ll have to find food.”
“As long as we get out of Horan forest we should be fine.”
I nod. “I should be able to hunt wild animals once we’re out.”
“See, it’s not so bad. We must get out of here safely and we’ll figure it out. It’s not as if we’re going to sleep within Horan Forest.” She lets out a dry laugh.
Despite my previous scare, I slowly start to calm down.
“You’re the voice of reason, aren’t you?” I smile.
“Good that you know,” she says playfully.
I don’t smile. I fix her with a steady, unyielding gaze as I say, “I will protect you with my life, Moe. Don’t worry about it. This is my mess, and truthfully I should have considered this could happen. Because I did not, I am now puttingyouat risk and I hate it.” I take a deep breath. “I will protect you,” I repeat. “Whatever happens, I won’t let anything hurt you.”
She presses her hand against my cheek, caressing me.
“Now let’s pack what little we have left and devise a plan out. We still have the map, don’t we?”
“Yes.” I move over to my bundle of dirty cloths and rummage my pockets for the map.
I frown. “It’s not here…”
