The corpse lay on the floor.
The younger sister's body.
Her head rested several feet away.
Nobody moved.
The villagers stood outside with weapons raised, staring at the open doorway.
The Traveler looked down at the body.
Then—
the corpse disappeared.
No flash.
No smoke.
No sound.
One moment it was there.
The next—
nothing.
The Traveler's eyes narrowed.
The severed head was gone too.
The elder sister stared at the empty floor.
Her breathing became shallow.
"No…"
The Traveler looked at her.
"Where did it go?"
"I don't know."
The village chief stepped forward.
His face had become pale.
"It has begun."
The Traveler turned toward him.
"What has begun?"
The chief didn't answer.
Instead, he raised his hand.
The villagers tightened their grip on their weapons.
Spears pointed toward the Traveler.
Axes rose.
The Traveler stared at them.
Then his expression changed.
His patience disappeared.
"You're pointing weapons at me?"
His voice was sharp.
The nearest villagers flinched.
The Traveler stepped through the doorway.
"You watched that thing attack me."
His eyes moved from one face to another.
"You watched me stop it."
He took another step.
"And now you're blaming me?"
Nobody answered.
The Traveler's voice became colder.
"Put them down."
The chief swallowed.
"You broke the law."
The Traveler stopped.
"What law?"
"You opened the door."
"And something attacked me."
"The law does not make exceptions."
The Traveler's gaze hardened.
"Then your law is worthless."
A murmur passed through the villagers.
One man raised his spear.
The Traveler looked at him.
"Try it."
The man's hands began shaking.
The Traveler didn't raise his voice.
He didn't need to.
There was something in his eyes that made the man lower the spear.
The chief slowly stepped forward.
"Traveler…"
"Don't call me that like you know me."
The chief stopped.
The Traveler pointed toward the empty floor.
"Your rule failed."
Silence.
Then the chief whispered:
"No."
He looked toward the forest.
"It didn't fail."
His face tightened.
"It worked."
The Traveler's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
The chief turned toward the villagers.
"Everyone back inside."
Nobody moved.
"NOW!"
The villagers scattered.
Doors slammed.
Locks clicked.
Within seconds, the road was empty.
Only the Traveler, the elder sister, and the chief remained.
The chief looked at the Traveler.
"The Blood Moon isn't what we fear."
The Traveler said nothing.
"The dead rising isn't what we fear."
The chief's voice dropped.
"We fear what comes afterward."
A cold wind passed through the village.
The Traveler looked toward the forest.
"What comes afterward?"
The chief hesitated.
Then he spoke.
"Serpent women."
The elder sister's face changed.
The Traveler noticed.
"You know them."
She nodded slowly.
"They came here years ago."
The chief continued.
"They weren't human."
"They looked like women from a distance. Beautiful faces. Long hair. Human voices."
He looked toward the forest.
"But beneath their clothes…"
His voice trembled.
"…were scales."
The Traveler remained expressionless.
"How many?"
"We don't know."
"Where did they come from?"
The chief shook his head.
"No one knows."
He pointed toward the mountains.
"They appeared after the first Blood Moon."
The Traveler's eyes narrowed.
"What did they do?"
The chief's hands trembled.
"They didn't attack immediately."
"They watched us."
"From the trees."
"From rooftops."
"Sometimes from the darkness outside our windows."
The elder sister whispered:
"They called our names."
The chief nodded.
"And whenever someone answered…"
He stopped.
The Traveler waited.
"They disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
The chief looked directly at him.
"By morning, the person was gone."
The Traveler's expression remained cold.
"And the corpse?"
"There was never a corpse."
A silence settled over the road.
Then the chief said:
"Until one night, one of them entered the village."
The elder sister looked down.
"My father saw her."
The Traveler turned toward her.
"He followed her?"
"No."
She swallowed.
"She followed him."
The chief continued.
"She wasn't alone."
"They came through the village like they belonged here."
"Some villagers tried to fight them."
"They died."
"How?"
The chief's eyes darkened.
"Their bodies turned rigid."
"Like stone."
The Traveler's gaze sharpened.
"Petrification."
The chief nodded.
"Anyone who looked directly into their eyes…"
He paused.
"…never moved again."
The forest became unnaturally quiet.
Then—
a faint sound came from somewhere beyond the houses.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Almost musical.
"Traveler…"
The elder sister froze.
The chief's face drained of color.
The Traveler slowly turned toward the forest.
The voice came again.
Closer.
"Traveler…"
The Traveler's eyes narrowed.
The chief whispered:
"Don't answer."
Another voice joined the first.
Then another.
Then another.
All women.
All whispering his name.
The Traveler stood perfectly still.
The chief backed away.
"They've never called someone by that name before."
The Traveler looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
The chief didn't answer.
Because something moved between the trees.
A pale face appeared.
Long black hair.
Eyes reflecting nothing.
And beneath the woman's neck—
a faint pattern of scales.
She smiled.
Not at the chief.
Not at the elder sister.
At the Traveler.
Then she disappeared behind the trees.
The Traveler's expression became colder.
The chief whispered:
"They've chosen you."
And beneath the Traveler's collarbone—
the Abyssal Mark pulsed.
Once.
Then again.
Something in the forest answered.
Hissssss.