A creeping fog enshrouds moonlight.
The forest is even darker, and the evening wind resembles a sob.
I carefully move my ankle and lift my watch to find there's no signal. I look at the spot where Xavier had vanished.
He's a mysterious person. Could he be my mission partner? I was told I would be working with the best hunter, but if it's really Xavier... Did the system make a mistake?A Wanderer's roar cuts
through the air. I tightly hold my gun.

"Did he run into trouble?" I said to myself.

No, that's impossible. If anything, the Wanderer should be the one who's
worried. The leaves rustle. It's not the wind. I glance behind me, a familiar figure emerging from the cover of night.

"You're..?" Xavier said not knowing what to say.

"Why did you come back?" I asked.

Xavier's brow furrows as he scans his surroundings. He looks at the tree stump I'm sitting on. He realizes I haven't moved. He turns around,
clearing his throat.

"There are many Wanderers here. I've already taken care of some of them." He said. "It should be safe for you to leave."

"Thank you"

"You're welcome"

He rushes off in another direction, vanishing into the forest. Before long, there's another wail from the Wanderers. Within ten minutes, a beam of light cleaves through the shrubs. Amidst the flurry of leaves and branches, Xavier and I lock eyes.

"Let me guess... You cleared out the Wanderers on the other side?" I asked.

"Yes" he answered" Another ten minutes pass. I'm speechless as Xavier appears before me for a third time. His expression, initially wary and awkward, has relaxed. "I've been thinking...
Leaving an injured teammate behind isn't a good idea."

"So you finally see me as your partner, huh? You don't look guilty." I said.
Xavier rubs his face, his gaze shifting to the perilous forest.

"It's too dark for you to see."I looked to see The Hunter's Watch glitches for the fifth time. The electronic light illuminating Xavier's expressionless face fades as I lower my arm."Is my uniform not enough?"

"Anyone can wear a uniform. Given your suspicious behavior, I see no reason not to confirm." I said. "Tell me something only a UNICORNS hunter would know."

"During the Chronorift Catastrophe, the first Wanderer to be killed was Tezcatlipoca. It happened.."

"Anyone can look that up on the Internet. Try again."He lets out a soft sigh. Raising his hand, specks of starlight gradually gather around us. The light moves along his fingers, transforming into golden threads in the dark. A pattern composed of several diamonds appears.Surrounded by radiant light, Xavier quietly stares at me, waiting for me to speak. "Uh, it looks pretty?"

He closes his eyes. "I'm asking if it looks familiar to you at all."I stare at the complicated pattern again. "No.
Should it be?"

The light flickers. Maybe Xavier was hoping to hear something else.

"You'll see it soon. It's a device that captures Metaflux. It's also the source of the fluctuations here.Our mission will be complete once we find it."He sounds confident... But something is still off. "Has my identity been confirmed?"

"No."Realizing the problem at hand, I take a step back. "The objective said nothing about a pattern or Flux Nexus.
You could've just made it up. And if this is some top-secret info... How did you get it? You're getting even more suspicious by the second."

Xavier seems stumped by all the questions. He waves his hand, golden light dissipating into particles.

"Forget it. Think of me as a normal hunter who happened to be passing by." He said.

The pattern still lingers in my mind. I remember what Tara was telling me earlier. A stone stele with peculiar symbols.

"Wait, can you describe what the Flux Nexus looks like? Like its size or the material it's made from." I said.

"Will you believe me, though? You wouldn't be able to confirm if it's all
made up. And I'll be even more suspicious."He's using my own words against me.

"You've already said a lot. It wouldn't hurt to say a few more things."

"It doesn't have a set size. It could be mistaken for a stone sculpture."His description matches up! The one at the abandoned research base should be the same thing. If the Flux Nexus really is the source of the fluctuations, then it could've caused an explosion. With looming trees blocking the moonlight, monsters roam the forest and howl.
Their roars are accompanied by distant thunder.Xavier doesn't seem to have noticed me being momentarily distracted. He slightly turns in the direction of the sound. "It doesn't matter. Let's get out of here first. How's your ankle?"