Adela and the Spirit (in the forest).

[Morning - April 1, Monday]

The interior of the forest was eerie and morbid at first, all trees were dead, the soil dried, and tombstones & skull were what decorated the place; throwing some students off the idea of going through there. Crows were everywhere, shrieking at any presence. But, as the school building got closer, the forest seemed a bit more normal, more lively; but even then, there were lots of trees and plants that couldn't be found anywhere in the human world, with rare colors. Occasionally, a stream could be seem.

The forest path narrowed as Adela continued onward, she lost sight of any other students, the trees growing closer together until their branches formed a dense canopy above her. The sunlight filtering through the leaves was dim and green, casting long shadows that seemed to shift as if alive. There was a faint rustling sound, like whispers in the breeze, and the air grew cooler the deeper she went.

Ahead, the trail split around an ancient, moss-covered stone shrine that stood off to one side. The shrine’s surface was cracked, its edges weathered with age, and a small stream trickled nearby, its water shimmering with a faint magical glow. The figure at the center of the shrine was a delicate statue of a forest spirit, carved with hollow eyes and flowing limbs, but even from a distance, Adela could see that it was damaged—its right arm was missing, and cracks ran along its body.

As she drew closer, a sound caught her attention: a soft, sorrowful weeping. It wasn’t coming from the statue itself, but from something sitting on the shrine's steps—a small, ethereal creature with bark-like skin and leaves woven into its hair. The spirit looked like a young girl, shimmering faintly as it wept, its voice barely audible. "...It’s all gone," the spirit murmured, clutching its knees to its chest. "The magic is fading…"

The shrine felt heavy with an aura of sadness, and the ethereal thorny vines that grew nearby pulsed faintly with a strange, dark energy, as if feeding on the shrine’s weakening magic. They twisted and coiled, blocking a portion of the path ahead.

The spirit’s hollow eyes turned towards Adela as she approached, blinking in surprise at the sight of the towering clay golem girl. "Y-you…" it stammered, its voice barely above a whisper. "Please… can you help? The vines… they’re stealing what’s left of the shrine’s magic. I’m growing weaker… I—I can’t stop them."

---

She points at the shrine: "That shrine is my home, but it is damaged. It makes me too weak to... resist... The corruption. It's spreading on this groove..."

"Th-thank you!" She said in a groan.

As Adela approaches the vines with her hands, they seemed ethereal, her hand passing through them. "It's no use, miss... These are vines of spiritual corruption, geminated by an evil spirit... You won't be able to cut them... I- I need the help of an exorcist... Or that my shrine is restored so I can fend them off! She points at the statue's missing arm and cracks, "I reside in this statue, while it's damaged, I'll be weakened..."

The spirit didn't weep anymore, tears still forgotten in her face: "hmm... Th-that would work... Yes!" She seemed a tad more relieved.

The spirit raises to her feet and approaches the shrine, picking her statue: "B-but are you sure you can do it?" It was a figure of carved limestone, a quite detailed one, its face showing a faithful representation of hers, showing details of her nose, chin, eyes, etc. Furthermore, the folds of her fine tunic were also very detailed. At last, the figure showed minor vestiges of painting, alluding that it was once painted, her skin fair, green eyes, and her tunic light-brown and beige, with green details.

Noticing how Adela searched around, the spirit says, meekly: "A-actually, it mustn't be from the same material as the original... I-I don't want to take too much of your time..."

Not long after starting her search, Adela finds a nice chunk of soft limestone, in perfect state to be worked on!

Seeing Adela return with the piece, the spirit girl rejoices raising to her feet and approaching Adela, "Woa, you did find it!" She cheers, still feebly, but with a hopeful smile.

"Oh... How rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself in my weeping... Sorry..." Her sorrow for it out of the way, she says, a bit more cheery "I'm Yuzuki... Nice to meet you, Adela!" "Hmm... P-ra-gue? I've never heard of such place... Heh... What a funny name.

At that, Adela starts working on the statue: if everything goes well, she won't even be (too) late for the commencement ceremony.

With the little time she had, Adela started chiseling the limestone, with skillful precision, she carved out the limbs and head, then sculpting the details on the members, and the dress and hair, finally finishing with the face details.

Overall, no one could deny it looked exactly like the Yuzuki, and it owned nothing to the old one (at least in its present, decrepit state).

Seeing the work done, Yuzuki couldn't resist jumping at Adela in a feeble but warm hug. Still without removing her arms from Adela's shoulders, she says "Oh thank you! Thank you very much miss Adela! I'm so glad you come in! You saved me, and my groove!"

The spirit gladly accepts the new statue, putting it over her shrine. After a moment, her appearance turned more vibrant in its colors, more opaque, and her aura gleamed stronger; with a wave of her hand, the vines retreated from the shrine and promptly disappeared in the dark. She seems very relieved with that, and sighs away all her preoccupation.

Turning back at Adela, she says, "I still don't know how to thank you... Not in this state I was in..." She seems to ponder for a moment, them glaring up, with an idea: "I know! Uh... If you didn't mind... would you maybe... come here later, and paint my statue? By then, I would surely have something nice to award you!"

[Noon - April 1, Mon]

As Adela pass through the forest, she finally reaches the shrine, it was just as she left it, the statue still there, decorating the wilderness.

With her approaching it, a strange air fills the place, as if converging in a point, and then, Yuzuku slowly appears out of thin air, a pleasant smile on her face.

"Oh, Adela!! You came! What a pleasure to see you again!" She says as she fully materializes. "Oh, sorry for my eagerness, it can get quite lonely around here... Ever since people stopped coming." Despite the gloomy remarks, her tone and smile remain warm.

Seeing the painting tools she brought with her, the spirit cheers "Oh! You'll start painting my statue now!!" She then stays there, looking at Adela's actions with curiosity in her eyes.

Switfly setting up to start her work, Adela starts. At her words, Yuzuku just nods eagerly, her eyes gleaming as she watches the artist's work.

Adela already had in mind a color palette, and she feels very confident in her dexterity right now, not even requiring warm-up. She used what would be most appropriate, green and blue, along with the use of their complementary, red and orange, and some hues of brown brown and pink (for the skin).

After less than an hour (not surpassing the lunch-time) the work was done, leaving almost no space for perfectioning. The overall style of the statue was a tad unorthodox by Japanese standards, Adela being carried away by her European education, but Yuzuku didn't seemed to mind that at all! In fact, she seems perfectly happy with it, clapping lightly as Adela worked.

When it was done, she says "Amazing, Adela! I've never heard of a more beautiful shrine than this! Oh, I must withstand puffing up now!" She says, chuckling. "What's more, my power to protect my groove never was greater!"

And indeed, as she talked, Adela couldn't fail to notice how the scenery changed, the leaves and grass were now of an impressively vibrant green, flowers of all colors sprouted everywhere, with great volume; and they were soft and robust, returning to shape after being stepped on, full of life. Even the sunlight, filtered by the canopies of the trees looked and felt warmer. All of this even days before the start of spring.

---

After the moment of bliss faded, Yuzuku's face turned graver, though it was still pleasant in such a place and under such a light, "I must warn you though, my good friend." She says, laying both hands on Adela's "The corruption that ravaged my groove before may be gone in here, but its source still stands. I sense it spreading, away from my domain, towards that school of yours." Her hands clasped tighter, "I will try to secure the path to here, but I can't do more than that. I urge you not to venture in the forests outside of it, and to avoid going out alone at night... Please relay this to anyone you're found of..."

After a moment of pondering, with her head low, she then raises her eyes back to Adela's. "This corruption isn't natural, Adela. Something must be generating it, something hidden in the school's grounds, the source of this. If you could find it, and destroy it, all of this would cease..." Her mind wanders for a bit, "I have no guess of its location, or what it is though... It's probable to be deep inside the forest, but I can't be sure."