Salvation of The Scum Fifth Prince

[91 - childhood; please hold me]

They had gravely underestimated the 'chaos' Lydia warned.

When they first strolled through the fog-covered, ghostly forest path, nothing seemed out of place. They kept walking, Alvara in the front following the image her instinct beckoned, but uncertain of the specific place. Perhaps it was because of the lack of clarity that the journey would be full of twisting turns.

And yet, without a glimpse of fear shadowed in their determined expressions, there had been absolutely hesitation.

The first peculiarity to have occurred was the ground disappearing from under their feet.

Vincent had fallen victim to this spectacle, his feet slipping on a crumbling away block of dirt, leading to an abyss down below. The forest faded, distorted, as his eyes widened in surprise and he lunged to grasp something—anything.

His gasp was loud, and all eyes turned to him in a panic as they could do nothing but watch helplessly. Collectively, everybody took a quick step back to prevent more casualties.

Ahead, there was only a single route they could take, the ground having fallen away at the edges, leaving little room for movement.

It was as if a puzzle had been torn apart, with the endless blue of the skies still looming high in the air, but only pitch colouring the floor they walked on. Chunks had fallen away into large, sunken holes that led to an unknown destination.

"Hey—" Raphael leaped forward as the prince fell, wrapping his hand around the man's arm successfully and groaning. "You're heavy."

Vincent stared at him steadily, shaking his head at his friend. "Hurry up and help me, Raphael."

"Yeah, yeah." The protagonist tugged harshly, yanking the eldest prince up and rolling him to the side. They both heaved, hearts beating out of their chests.

Damien watched quietly before stating, "I have a hypothesis."

Alvara looked over curiously, though there was still flickers of worry at the sudden scare of Vincent's fall. "What is it?"

"Guess?"

"We're not doing this now." complained the girl, only to receive a mysterious look from the boy who continued ahead. She assumed that he wouldn't say anything until it was confirmed, whatever strange thoughts lurked in his mind.

Brioc grinned, cheeky intent written across his face, printed in big words on his forehead. "I could give it a guess~"

Damien didn't turn back, deaf to the predicable shameless remarks of the magician. It was better not to give the man an opportunity to say such weirdness, decided the boy.

As they walked, the path continued to grow stranger. Odd screeches sounded, wrapping around their ears, and words too quiet to make out whispered.

And then people started to disappear.

At some point, Brioc had gotten bored and glanced to the side to find somebody to bicker with, only to realize his favourite hated person wasn't there. He froze, narrowing his eyes.

Erlen was the first they lost.

"Keep walking." ordered Damien, well aware of the tricks that any of the Forbidden Forests used. "He'll appear again, later."

Looking back wasn't an option. They could only keep going.

"Hey, what's that?" shouted Alvara, further off in the distance as she pointed at a metal trolley, resembling a shopping cart from the modern world. Only Raphael recognized what it was, while the others crowded around it curiously.