DanMachi: It's destined to lose its self.

Kopii woke up in anticipation of the day's events, full of determination and hope. He wanted to find himself a team again and was ready to do whatever it took to make it happen. Kopii decided not to delay and headed straight for the exit as soon as he got dressed, but suddenly Naaza called out to him.

"Kopii, wait," her voice sounded, interrupting his swift pace.

"What? What is it? Do you need help, Naaza?" he asked anxiously, hoping that her request wouldn't take too much time.

"Yes, Kopii, I really need help. I've been waiting for you to become stronger than you were, so you could do this without endangering yourself," she said, full of confidence in his ability.

Kopii approached her, confident that he could handle any task, and said, "I'm ready, you can…" He pounded his chest. "You can rely on me, Naaza, just tell me what I have to do."

Naaza hesitated for a moment and said, "Kopii, you know we usually buy herbs from merchants for potions."

"Yes, I know, Naaza," he confirmed, nodding his head.

"Now that we have you, I was waiting for you to become a little stronger than you were. I also taught you some shooting skills. So you are ready for this."

"Come on, Naaza, what do you want from me?" Kopii started drumming his fingers on the table out of anticipation, feeling a bit nervous.

"You need to go outside Orario and get the herbs we need for the jam potion. So are you ready, Kopii?"

"Just get herbs, is it that difficult?" Kopii thought, and another question arose for Naaza.

"And why didn't you do it yourself if it would save time and resources?"

Naaza looked at Kopii, fell silent for a while, and finally spoke, "I just didn't have time for it, Kopii. You have to understand that potions don't sell themselves, and there are monsters outside too. So you probably already understood all that."

"What, monsters? But how?" Kopii was surprised.

"Judging by your face, I understand that you didn't know there were monsters outside Orario too. I'm surprised you didn't encounter them on your way to Orario, but it's okay."

"But how, how is that possible? I thought monsters were only in the dungeon. Isn't that so?"

"No, Kopii, you're mistaken. Once upon a time, monsters escaped from the dungeon. But nevertheless, monsters on the surface use the power of their Magic Stone to reproduce and grow in numbers, and therefore, those on the surface are much weaker than the same monsters inside the dungeon. Do you understand now?"

"Yes, I understand. So how long will this take me, approximately?" Kopii asked, trying to process the information.

"Well, I don't know exactly. It depends on how many herbs you want to collect, Kopii."

"Okay, I'll go. This won't bother me."

Kopii shrugged and headed for the exit. And there he was, out on the sun-drenched street of Orario, taking a breath of fresh air and heading towards the city gates. "Get herbs, nothing complicated," he thought, contemplating the task ahead.

Outside the gates, the hustle and bustle of the city gave way to the silence of fields and forests. It was the first time Kopii had left Orario in the six months he had already spent in this blessed city, and he looked around with interest. Birds were singing, grasshoppers were chirping in the grass, and everything around seemed peaceful and calm, so strongly contrasting with his recent experiences.

Kopii looked at the map that Naaza had given him. "It's quite a walk," Kopii thought, feeling a slight excitement continue to build. He looked at the map for a few more minutes and continued on his way. It was getting dark when he began to approach the first herbs he was supposed to collect. "What, did I spend a whole day just to reach one point? I should have asked Naaza better about the places where this herb grows." Disappointment crept inside him, and Kopii decided that he should take his time and set up camp here.

Kopii lit a fire, throwing a few dry branches into the flames. The flames crackled, casting long shadows on the tree trunks. He sat down on the ground, leaning against his backpack, and looked up at the sky, where the first stars had already begun to appear. "Not so bad," he thought, but the question continued to spin in his head: why had Naaza waited so long? Well, not that long, just one month. They are even weaker than the monsters he had fought before.

Kopii sat by the fire, his thoughts tangled like the branches of the trees overhead. The flame licked the air like a hungry beast, and the shadows around danced as if they were alive. He sighed, reached for his backpack, and took out a piece of dried meat. He chewed slowly, listening to the sounds of the night. The forest was quiet, but not silent. Somewhere in the distance an owl was hooting, and the wind rustled the leaves, as if whispering secrets that Kopii couldn't understand.

"I have to deal with this. This may be the first assignment from the captain of my family, so I will fulfill it at any cost," he said to himself with determination as the embers of the fire flared brighter, illuminating his calloused hands.

"Okay, I need to get ready to sleep," Kopii said to himself. Maybe if he sleeps on the ground, he won't get sick. He didn't think he would be collecting herbs for several days. Kopii lay down on the ground, feeling the cold of the night creep under his skin. The fire was already dying out, leaving only smoldering embers that, like red eyes, watched him from the darkness. He listened to the forest. The silence was deceptive, like the smile of a stranger.

Soon his eyes began to slowly close, plunging him into sleep. Kopii woke up from the cold and anxiety, in his hands he still had a smoldering stick with fire, and above him, the dying campfire was still crackling. But the forest around seemed even more sinister and gloomy. He listened to the night sounds - somewhere in the distance the owl was still hooting, but now it seemed to him that these sounds were getting closer, and he began to wonder what was hiding in this dark night.

Kopii slowly got up, trying not to make any noise. The flames of the fire had almost gone out, leaving only a faint glimmer of embers behind. He looked around: the forest remained as quiet and silent as before. But something in this silence was absolutely wrong.

The forest was too quiet, and besides the owl, he couldn't hear anything.

The silence pressed down on him like an invisible hand, slowly tightening around his throat. Every breath now seemed deafening in this dead silence. The owl continued its sinister cry, but now it sounded as if it were right above his head, repeating over and over again, as if it were a countdown to something terrible.

A sudden gust of wind stirred the tops of the trees, but the sound did not reach Kopii's ears. Instead, he heard his own pulse, echoing in his ears like a drum roll. The shadows from the smoldering embers danced on the ground like living creatures watching him from the darkness.

Kopii took a step forward, and at that moment something cold touched the back of his head. He turned around, but saw only the silent forest. The owl was crying closer and closer, its voice becoming more and more piercing, until it seemed to be piercing straight into his brain.

In the darkness, leaves rustled, as if someone was sneaking behind him. Every rustle echoed in his ears, turning the night into a real nightmare. Kopii froze, afraid to move. He knew it was just his imagination, but fear paralyzed him, preventing him from moving.

Suddenly the owl fell silent. In this deafening silence, Kopii heard his own heart trying to jump out of his chest. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to calm down. But the forest continued to press down on him with its sinister silence, reminding him that he was all alone in this world.

Kopii stood, unable to move. The silence of the forest pressed down on him more and more, turning into an invisible wall, squeezing him in its embrace. Every heartbeat echoed loudly in his ears, drowning out all other sounds.

Kopii didn't understand what was happening. He didn't understand why he was so afraid of what wasn't there, what he had invented himself. Kopii looked at the stars. Everything was as usual, and when his gaze returned to his camp, he felt real horror at what he saw. There was nothing there. What? How is that possible? Absolutely nothing remained of his camp, as if it had never existed here. Panic overwhelmed Kopii. He looked around desperately trying to find something familiar, any detail that could explain what was happening. But around was only darkness and the forest, which had swallowed up all traces of his stay here. Where is the fire? Where are his things? Where is the slightest sign that he spent the night here?

The unknown became much scarier than any monster. Kopii felt helpless, like a child lost in a vast, hostile world. This inexplicable disappearance, like a failure in the fabric of reality, instilled primal horror. He was no longer afraid of rustling in the bushes or the sinister cry of an owl. He was afraid of misunderstanding.

Kopii took an uncertain step forward, then another. He walked aimlessly, hoping to find something that could pull him out of this nightmare. Every step echoed hollowly in his head, reminding him of his loneliness. Where is he going? What awaits him? There were no answers.

The further he moved away from where his camp was, the stronger the feeling of unreality of what was happening became. The forest seemed to mock him, offering only an endless series of identical trees and bushes. The stars, which seemed so familiar and distant, now seemed like alien and indifferent witnesses to his nightmare.

Kopii stopped, exhausted. He understood that he was wandering blindly, without the slightest chance of finding a way out. The fear of the unknown paralyzed him, turning him into a soulless doll in the hands of the sinister forest. He closed his eyes, trying to calm the trembling in his body, and whispered, "What's happening?" But in response he again heard only silence, even more sinister than before.