For a moment, the four students simply stared.
A horse.
That was their first thought.
A massive horse standing between the trees.
But the longer they looked...
The more they realized something was wrong.
It was far larger than any ordinary horse.
Its body was powerful.
Its dark mane flowed down its neck.
Its eyes reflected the dim light beneath the forest canopy.
Yet despite its unusual appearance, it did not immediately appear hostile.
Jack kept his weapon lowered.
Not relaxed.
Just prepared.
The wilderness outside the academy was filled with creatures that did not follow ordinary rules.
A strange animal did not automatically mean an enemy.
Oliver whispered.
"Is that a horse?"
Thomas watched the creature carefully.
"Probably not a normal one."
Oliver glanced at him.
"That somehow isn't helpful."
The horse took a step forward.
The students adjusted their stance.
No one attacked.
No one moved closer.
They waited.
The creature watched them.
Almost like it was studying them.
Then it moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
The horse suddenly sprinted forward.
The students reacted immediately.
"Formation!"
Thomas shouted.
The four moved together.
They expected a charge.
A direct attack.
Something they could block.
But the creature did not move like a normal animal.
At the last second, it changed direction.
Its body shifted with incredible speed.
It passed beside them instead of through them.
The force of its movement pushed air around them.
Leaves scattered across the ground.
"What was that?!"
Oliver turned.
The horse had already vanished between the trees.
The students remained together.
They did not chase.
They did not panic.
They waited.
Then the sound returned.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
This time it came from behind.
The creature appeared again.
It circled them.
Jack narrowed his eyes.
It was not attacking.
But it was not leaving either.
The four adjusted their formation.
Backs together.
Weapons ready.
Eyes watching every direction.
The horse moved around them.
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A blur between the trees.
One moment it was in front.
The next moment it was somewhere else.
"It is trying to make us move."
Mia said.
Jack looked at her.
She continued.
"It keeps forcing us to react."
She was right.
Every time the creature approached, they had to shift.
Every time they shifted, their position changed.
The forest around them became unfamiliar again.
"Don't break formation."
Jack warned.
"We don't know what it wants."
The creature charged again.
The students held their ground.
This time, they were ready.
But the horse did not attack.
It turned.
A sudden movement.
A burst of speed.
The students moved to avoid it.
Not because they were afraid.
Because they could not predict its path.
The creature passed between them.
Thomas stepped aside.
Oliver moved back.
Mia changed direction.
Jack followed.
For a moment...
They were still together.
Then the creature changed direction again.
A sudden turn.
A flash of movement.
The students were forced apart by the terrain.
A fallen tree.
A steep slope.
Dense bushes.
The forest itself became an obstacle.
"Stay together!"
Jack shouted.
But the distance between them was already growing.
The horse disappeared.
The sound of its movement faded.
Silence returned.
Jack looked around.
He could no longer see the others.
Not because they had run.
Not because they had abandoned each other.
Because the creature's speed and the forest's terrain had slowly pushed them apart.
Jack took a breath.
He checked his surroundings.
No panic.
No reckless movement.
First priority:
Find the others.
He looked toward the trees.
The strange horse was gone.
But the forest remained.
He wandered for what seemed like a long time, but it was only minutes...
He shouted and called for the names of his teammates from time to time.
Until a familiar voice replied.
"Jack?"
Jack froze.
The voice came from between the trees.
"Jack?"
A familiar voice.
One he recognized immediately.
"Mia?"
He moved carefully toward the sound.
Not rushing.
Not because he suspected anything.
But because the forest had already proven that moving without caution was dangerous.
The trees became thicker as he followed the voice.
The sounds of the forest returned.
The distant rustling of leaves.
The quiet movement of branches.
The strange silence between them.
Then he saw her.
Mia stood near a large tree.
Her clothes were slightly dirty.
Her breathing was heavy.
She looked exactly like someone who had been wandering through the forest alone.
Jack immediately felt relief.
"You’re okay."
Mia nodded.
"So are you."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
After being separated, simply seeing another person felt like a victory.
"Did you find Oliver and Thomas?"
Jack asked.
Mia shook her head.
"No."
"I was trying to find everyone."
Jack looked around.
"We need to regroup."
Mia nodded.
The two began moving together.
Neither of them noticed anything unusual.
Why would they?
To Jack, she was Mia.
His teammate.
Someone who had trained beside him.
Someone who had fought beside him.
There was no reason to question her.
They searched the forest.
They followed the marks.
They called out occasionally.
But the forest continued to resist them.
The same strange things happened.
A sound from the wrong direction.
A path that seemed familiar but led nowhere.
A scent of burning hair drifting through the trees.
A quiet laugh that vanished whenever they searched for it.
Mia looked uneasy.
"This forest..."
She paused.
"It feels like it doesn't want us to leave."
Jack looked ahead.
He understood the feeling.
But he did not know the reason.
After some time, they heard voices.
Real voices.
Not distant sounds.
Not echoes.
People.
"Jack!"
They turned.
Oliver and Thomas stepped out from between the trees.
Relief immediately spread across everyone's faces.
They had finally found each other.
But then Oliver stopped.
His expression changed.
He looked at Jack.
Then at the person beside him.
Then back at Jack.
The forest became silent.
Thomas slowly reached for his weapon.
"Jack."
His voice was low.
"Who is that?"
Jack frowned.
"Mia."
Oliver looked at the other person standing beside him.
Then at the girl beside Jack.
His face became pale.
Because standing beside Oliver and Thomas...
Was Mia.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Two identical figures stood in the clearing.
Same face.
Same clothes.
Same voice.
Same person.
Jack slowly looked to his side.
Then across the clearing.
The impossible sight stared back at him.
There were two Mias.
No one moved.
The forest remained completely silent.
Even the strange sounds that had followed them earlier had disappeared.
As if the entire forest was waiting.
Jack looked from one Mia to the other.
His mind struggled to process what he was seeing.
There was no mistake.
They were identical.
Not similar.
Not close.
Identical.
Oliver slowly raised his weapon.
Not toward either of them.
Just enough to be ready.
"Okay."
His voice was unsteady.
"Someone explain what is happening."
Mia beside Jack looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
Oliver stared at her.
Then looked toward the other Mia.
The same expression.
The same voice.
The same reaction.
Thomas stepped forward.
"Nobody move."
The command was not directed at one person.
It was directed at everyone.
The two Mias looked at each other.
Neither one spoke.
Neither one attacked.
Jack studied the situation.
His first instinct was to solve the problem.
Find the difference.
Identify the threat.
But every time he looked...
There was nothing.
Mia beside Oliver spoke first.
"I was with Oliver and Thomas after we separated."
The other Mia immediately responded.
"I was with Jack."
Both statements were true.
At least...
They sounded true.
Oliver looked at Jack.
"You found her?"
Jack nodded.
"Yes."
Thomas looked toward the other Mia.
"And we found her."
Silence.
The problem was obvious.
If one of them was not Mia...
They had no way of knowing which one.
Jack remembered the forest.
The false paths.
The strange sounds.
The impossible loops.
Everything they had experienced told them one thing.
Their senses could not always be trusted.
But this was different.
The forest could confuse them.
It could make them lose their way.
But this...
This was their teammate.
Oliver swallowed.
"So what now?"
Nobody answered.
Attacking was impossible.
If they chose wrong, they would hurt Mia.
Trusting was dangerous.
If they chose wrong, they would follow something pretending to be her.
Thomas looked around the forest.
"We need information."
Jack nodded.
"Something only Mia would know."
Both Mias looked at him.
Waiting.
Jack hesitated.
That was the problem.
They had all spent enough time together to know each other.
But they were not prepared for this.
They could remember conversations.
Training sessions.
Small details.
But if the thing in front of them had copied Mia...
Would it not have those memories too?
The forest remained quiet.
The four students stood trapped between two possibilities.
Then Jack noticed something.
Neither Mia was afraid.
Both were cautious.
Both were waiting for the team to decide.
That made the situation even worse.
Because the deception was not obvious.
It was patient.
Oliver lowered his weapon slightly.
"This is insane."
Thomas looked at him.
"Focus."
Oliver nodded.
Jack looked at both Mias.
For the first time since entering the forest...
He understood the true danger of the place.
It was not just the paths.
It was not just the creatures.
It was the uncertainty.
A normal enemy attacked from the outside.
This one attacked from within.
But Jack still did not know what they were facing.
He only knew one thing.
They needed to find the truth.
Together.
The two Mias stood silently.
Waiting.
And the forest waited with them.