"Huff… this should be far enough."
"You're alright, right?" Noen asked.
For them, a few hours had passed since their encounter with the plague. Noen's injuries had completely healed, and Sera looked mostly fine, aside from a slight injury on her hand.
"Yes, I'm alright. What about—"
"Don't worry about me…" he said, his eyes cold as before. He murmured to himself, "I'm not sensing any danger here."
"It seems we can rest here."
His voice remained calm, though his eyes weren't as sharp as before. He looked exhausted, like he could collapse at any moment—and that's what worried Sera the most.
"Mister, please rest a little… You don't look okay."
"No need," he said, his voice getting deeper. "I'll be fine."
"You're doing it again… urgh."
"Can't you just rest for once?" she said, sitting down and turning her face away, puffing her cheeks.
"If you won't rest, then I won't either."
"Sera, listen—if I stop now, you'll be in danger."
"Just admit it—you're only saying that because I got hurt, right?"
"Huh… what am I supposed to say now…"
Noen sighed in frustration and sat down, but Sera didn't budge.
"Say whatever you want… but if you don't rest, I won't either. Okay?"
"…Okay. I'll rest. Happy now?"
"Good. Now come here and sleep."
"What? You want me to sleep on your lap?" he said nonchalantly.
"Oh, come on—"
Before he could resist, she grabbed his arm and pulled him down, resting his head on her lap as she gently patted his hair.
Even then, his expression remained tense—still alert, still unwilling to let his guard down.
But slowly… despite himself, his body gave in.
And before long, he fell asleep.
***
Their feet moved through the heavy mud, cold water brushed their skin, and a chilling sensation filled their bodies.
The air was engulfed in the faint scent of moss, and the trees looked twisted like spirals, reaching deep into the muddy swirl. Long green vines stretched to the water, looking similar to a spider's web, as though something was odd about the atmosphere.
It was so silent that it felt almost weird.
Noen had a dagger prepared in his hand as Sera followed him, walking carefully behind his back.
But suddenly, he heard something. It was a ripple—a sound of something moving like it was tearing apart the water silently. Even the wind felt still as quickly, he gestured for Sera to stay back.
His eyes stayed sharp, looking around, he noticed something—its shadow was distorted in the murky water.
Although the presence of the monster was so silent, it felt nonexistent.
"Where is it…?" he questioned, but the more concerning thought was her safety.
"Sera," he said,
"If I throw you, would that be okay?"
She looked at him, confused—as if trying to ask what he meant—but he didn't give her a chance as he threw her high into the air.
"Ahhh!"
The sky shook from her voice as that monster jumped out of the water, trying to catch her.
But he instantly covered the distance, cutting the monster in half. Blood splattered all over the water as he took Sera in his arms.
"What did you do that for?!" She hit him, crying over him for throwing her suddenly, but Noen just looked at her as the only words that came from his mouth—
"Sorry… I won't do that again," he said nonchalantly, but he didn't feel the calm.
The trees looked even weirder as they moved forward, but the path never seemed to end, like a fog covering their way.
As then a sudden chill went down their spines.
Countless shadows surrounded them, but Noen only gestured to stay silent.
They both stopped, looking for anything incoming—but the shadows vanished as Sera let out a sigh.
Splash!
The water tore apart as a giant, murky monster jumped out. Its eyes were pure white, its antlers hung on its head, its teeth looked like a collection of nails, and its body resembled a giant boulder.
It lunged at them, but Noen quickly charged at it and severed its head. His eyes glowed more vibrant as his muscles stretched, jumping through the swamp trees. He tore through every monster again and again before everything fell into silence.
The fog seemed to clear as the murky water turned into a pond of corpses. Sera looked at it in fright, but somehow she felt normal. As she gestured with her hand toward an edge.
"I think there is a land."
Noen just glanced in the direction before he took Sera in his arms. Jumping through the water, he covered the distance in an instant before he dropped her on the ground.
In the sky, the sun shone brightly as its warmth filled their bodies. They looked at the sky, taking deep breaths. As she stood up, looking at Noen, she said, shyly
"Mister, your clothes."
"Don't worry about that. Leaves will do their job."
"But I'm a girl, you know," she whined, but then an indifferent voice came—
The leaves rustled as the wind brushed past their bodies, and from afar, small murmurs of birds echoed… or so?
"Screeeeeekch!" A scream echoed across the sky. It was like a whistle—its noise felt like chalk rubbed on a board. They both fell down, holding their ears in pain. Noen looked upward only to see—
A big bird, swirling around their heads high in the sky. It had long feathers, sharp like pointy blades. Its beak was dark, its eyes hollow like an undead. Its body looked rotted, covered in flesh.
Though it was not alone, more of its kind came flying. But what came next—
They both didn't expect.
Slowly, the monsters stretched their beaks, digging into each other's flesh. Their eyes glowed white as they scraped and tore each other's bodies. From the sky, their rotted blood fell down as an unpleasant smell filled the air. One by one, they started to fall, covering the trail of the path in their oozing blood.
The scene was a spectacle as they both stood watching, unable to process what had just happened.
But then he noticed—there was something odd about their behavior, yet he didn't know why.
He gritted his teeth in his thoughts as he closed his eyes.
But then—something hit hard.
His senses screamed. Feeling nauseated, he fell down like he was drowning. It was like a needle kept hitting his brain. His eyes glowed red, and under the pain, he looked forward with teary eyes.
A memory flickered in his mind. Though it remained blurry, the voice felt familiar.
It was saying something to him—like he was being drawn. He saw a structure made out of ancient glyphs, but the pain pierced through his eyes.
Sera rushed to help him, but Noen pushed her aside, screaming,
"Stay—stay away!"
He closed his eyes for once, focusing on where he saw the structure.
A red blooming flower came in front of his eyes. Its vibrant color looked like blood, and in the middle was the face of a dead man, covered with stems and hanging guts.
Its eyes stared hollow, as roots covered the whole area.
It was a city, some sort of an unknown place, destroyed and battered as if it had been left for thousands of years.
He snapped back, huffing, muttering in a dying tone:
"I found it…"
"I found a hint."