♠️ Exceptis Centrum ♠️ ✔︎

Chapter 32

How long had he been walking? It felt like hours or even days but Alfred continued onwards. He had to, no matter how uninviting the environment was around him. The forest loomed around him, nothing but ancient trees keeping him company as he marched on to an unknown destination. Looking up all he could see were leaves and branches belonging to the trees around him, blocking out any light so he couldn’t tell wether it was day or night. He couldn’t even see the ground as a thick layer of a fog like substance smothered his feet. It felt cold despite his thick coat protecting him and he felt slightly disoriented, like he had just been spinning around in a circle and his brain was trying to adjust.

Looking back he couldn’t even see the forest exit. Then again the moment he entered this forest he couldn’t even see the way he came in, it was like his first step transported him somewhere deep into the forest. He couldn’t even connect himself to time to allow himself to warp through it, it was like he was completely disconnected from the world. It was a horrible feeling and there was a small notion in his mind to hurry up and get out of here. Well even if he knew the way back he knew couldn’t just leave, for he came here to fix this terrible mess.

So he continued to stomp through the forest floor, wondering if he was walking the same path Arthur did. It also filled him with an overwhelming sadness to think that he ended up wandering through here for nothing. What if... what if he ended up coming across his remains? He shuddered to think about it, hugging himself for comfort at the very idea. It didn’t help when he accidentally stepped on what looked like a skeleton. It scared him of course but as he inspected it, it was clear that it wasn’t Arthur, it was too short and the remains of it’s clothing didn’t resemble anything Arthur wore.

“Probably someone Ivan sent in,” huffed Alfred, stepping away from it and continuing.

Onwards and onwards. He passed more skeletal remains but was too uneasy to check if any of them belonged to Arthur. He stared at the ring on his hand and noticed it started to glow when he walked in a certain direction, even if all the paths looked the same. He passed through what felt like a hundred trees, their wooden faces glaring down at him as if they knew what he had done.

Eventually he was starting to feel tired and he sat down on a large exposed root to catch his breath. Looking at the ring he found that it was still glowing.

“What does this mean? Am I lost?” Looking around he was certain he was lost the moment he came in here. “What do I even do when I find this Grand Elder Tree? Beg? Plead with it? Offer it my life?”

Although these thoughts wandered through his mind, he couldn’t help but think of what Arthur did. Did he think the same thing as he did? Did he wonder what he was going to do once he found the Grand Elder Tree.

“Dammit, why am I doing this to myself!?”

He hated thinking about these bleak thoughts about Arthur, but it was the only think that seemed to occupy his mind. He wanted to remember those happy times when they talked to each other, laughing at jokes, arguing over petty things, calling each other names before apologising, and sharing personal thoughts. They were his cherished memories but thinking about them seemed to make him feel worse.

When he wasn’t trying to think about Arthur, he was wondering what was happening with the others. Yao was probably in pieces over the whole thing, but Alfred was confident he’d keep everything together until a new King came along. Francis would probably cry given that he was actually quite the emotional person, he just hid it really well, or maybe he’d be trying to comfort poor Erika. Kiku would probably be saddened but hide his emotions from sight. Ludwig might act like it was all his fault in an attempt to take the blame. Ivan... he wondered what he would do? Would he wish that it was he himself who sent Alfred to the Forest of Eternity? Or would he actually be a little sad? He could only imagine how everyone was fairing, feeling slightly guilty that he just left them without a single word.