THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 246: 246. ILLUSION

After coming up with a new plan, the teams moved back to the Tatani border. This time, they would wait till daybreak. They would not be separating; instead, all of them would be going through the middle. separating when in a time like this would definitely be their downfall. Kiuga had drawn a new plan. This time, they would move in as one, with Sagiri leading and Gavina and Lira flanking him. They would go in during the day and make sure not to lose the three leading at any time.

If they failed to break the illusion’s trap this time, then Sagiri could go in alone for the third time. If everyone was going to be in danger anyway, then it was better to wait for him to go in by himself this time to pave the way for them. Captain Yoka, Tavaro, his vice captain, and thirteen others had joined in on this second expedition. Tavora was to help Kiuga come up with a new plan if things changed while they were on the inside.

Yoka also said that there was a formation of his squad that could break illusions. They had, however, never tried it before since they had never encountered it before. The shadow squad was through all ways to break all secret arts, if not counter them. People tasked with protecting the supreme mandra could, after all, not go out there while lacking any skill.

At the moment, they were on the outside of the Sagiri squad formation. Their formation, if needed, could only protect the ones inside the formation. Sagiri had encountered one of their formations. The shadow whirlpool and he had almost died back then if Salka had not forcefully broken it and gotten him out of there. Perhaps they could be able to break the illusions if it came to that. If they even managed to tell that they were in one.

”Only an hour before daybreak, I should tell you about an illusion trap first,” Yoka said in a low voice, and everyone turned to him.

”Captain, this is top secret information. They are not even fully fledged warriors yet,” one of the Yoka squad said.

”I know. But they need to know how deadly illusion formations are, at least,” he said with a sigh before continuing. The tribe that practiced illusion as a secret art went extinct a few decades ago. ” And no, Tagayia did not have a hand in wiping them out,” he said, this statement looking straight at Sagiri.

”As if I can trust your word,” Sagiri said under his breath.

”What happened to them then?” Kiuga asked. Yoka had been reluctant to tell them this information, but it seems he had changed his mind on letting them go into enemy territory half-baked.

”The Selaya clan of the Tavurni tribe, who practiced this art, wiped themselves out. It is said that the most talented of them was wronged by the chief of Tarvuni. He wanted to marry her when she already had a lover, and it is said he killed her lover just to get her. She expected her clan to be on her side, but at this time, only her four friends stood by her, including the sister of her dead lover. The four ladies then joined hands and put the whole tribe under an illusion. In the illusion, they made it so that what they defected looked like sweet food...”

”Stop, I am going to throw up.” Ulekai was wretched at the last line and started retching over.

”Shut up. If you are so scared, go back to war college.” Kaka shot Ulekai a glare. Ulekai shuddered before he ducked behind Kiuga.

”You warlings seem to have encountered hypnosis, but at least for hypnosis, one can wake you up, or you can snap out of it, depending on your mental strength. Or at least you can die a painless death while you are stuck in a non-existent memory. However, illusion is far different and far worse. Firstly, you will not see this trap coming, and you might never know. The Selaya clan, even though practicing the art, did not stand a chance against their strongest caster, and they did not even notice themselves dying from eating their own waste. By the time the state noticed, the massacre had already happened. Only the chief remained, and he was stuck in the worst illusion yet. He had already lived the nightmare for three months, and even when rescued, his mind was already too tortured. He killed himself soon after because he could no longer tell illusion from reality. He couldn’t eat because he couldn’t trust the food in front of him.

”You were lucky to notice something was wrong. Perhaps because the casters are still far into the terrain. The strength of the illusion increases with the number of casters weaving it, and the closer you get. The further in we go, the more dangerous it will become. And the worst part is that with an illusion, you notice nothing is wrong. You can stab your friend, thinking it’s your enemy.

”The ground remains solid. The air feels normal. Sound behaves the way it should. That is the first layer of the illusion. a perfect imitation of normal. Nothing changes because everything has already been replaced, and your eyes can not see the real from the fake.

”The illusion forms a closed field. Not just visual alone. It bends sound, distance, direction, and timing. What you see aligns with what you hear. What you hear aligns with what you expect. It not only creates false images, but it also rewrites the space so your senses agree with the lie. You walk forward and cover ground, but not in a straight line. The terrain subtly shifts under perception. Landmarks reposition by inches, then by meters, until direction loses meaning. You believe you are advancing, but you are being turned.

Time doesn’t exist in an illusion, as you realized. Clocks stop. Shadows hold position. Repetition begins, small at first. The same ridge appears twice. The same sound echoes at the wrong interval. You dismiss it once. Then it happens again. When the mind tries to fix what feels off, the illusion becomes even more real. It adjusts faster than your thoughts. The more you focus, the more consistent the lie becomes. Eventually, your senses stop questioning it, and you are contained in the illusion. By then, you can not escape. Even if no one kills you, you will die of starvation or by eating soil, thinking it’s bread. Harsh weather can feel like a warm blanket. not to forget this place harbours fear, anger, and resentment over the many years of war. You need to put away all your emotions because you will most likely fall for what is eating you on the inside.” Yoka finished and looked at Ulekai, Kaka, Kaka, then Sagiri.

A moment of silence passed as everyone absorbed the news. Fear was now written on everyone’s faces. It was only natural since no one wanted there to be a possibility of them eating their waste. Even Sagiri had the hairs at the back of his neck stand to attention. He was not scared of the eating your waste part, but the stabbing your friend part.

”So you mean I might not only drink my own piss, but Kaka can call me dad, thinking I’m chief Zaka,” Kiuga said, masking his own fear. It was clear he was trying to lift everyone’s mood, but he had used the worst example, and Kaka’s eyes flashed red.

”Has your neck grown tired of your head?!” Kaka gritted, taking a menacing step towards Kiuga.