"Hey, is it really a good idea to go into… that?" Jacob broke the silence. We were camping out at our original spot, just before we reached the sign. He was staring into the forest that lay beyond this stretch, dark and foreboding. Leah was on edge, with sunken eyes and dark circles taking root just beneath them. Charlotte was fast asleep. Maria was drawing like usual, and Terry was sharpening his spear. Ignoring Jacob's question, I looked at Terry's spear contemplating its structure.
Wood. It's made entirely out of wood, from the base to the "blade". That bothers me.
I sighed and inched closer to Terry. "Mind if I take a look at that?" I asked. Terry shook his head, handing it over to me. I examined the spear for a moment, before looking at the ground. Finding a few suitably sized rocks, I picked them up and started forming a blueprint in my head.
"Leah."
"Yeah?"
"Do me a favor and grab me a few vines."
She didn't question me, paranoid as she was. She just got up and walked to Terry's rucksack, digging in it hoping to find some vines, or any rope of the sort.
The sun was down, and the fire we had set up crackled weakly in the middle of our campsite. The night was calm however, crickets chirped as usual, and the moon was a waning gibbous, meaning it was not very dark. Yet still, there was reason to be on edge.
"While Charlotte and I were fishing yesterday, we saw more of those horned things," Leah said as she approached me, a few sturdy vines in hand.
"Demons," I said. "Single horned or… more?"
"Just single horned," She said, and I exhaled briefly in relief. "Are you going to tell us about these Demons? Surely the voice—"
"Calm down," I assured her. "There isn't much to explain from what I was given," I paused. "I would wait until Charlotte is awake to explain, but…"
There simply just isn't enough time to wait on her, I thought to myself.
"So, you get the honors of knowing first. Woohoo?"
"Great." She answered weakly. I smiled faintly.
"Demon horns are Ardor amplifiers," I spoke, "Hence, it's not that hard to understand, more horns equals more danger. It makes them stronger."
"Is that all?"
"All I know, oh, and you've probably also confirmed this but you can think of these Demons as their own kingdom of life, they come in many different species as you've already seen, many mimicking already existing animals like the Narwhal Sprite I killed."
"Then, what about the tusk we got, was that it's 'horn'? And what can we do with it?"
"Yeah, that was it's horn, about what we can do with it— in theory we can use it to boost our cultivation, although I'm not one hundred percent sure on how to do it."
This was true. Not even in my past life had I used a Demon horn in order to amplify my Ardor, as many spoke about negative effects it would have, and being the cautious person I was, I avoided it almost entirely.
Though there was that one time where we used it to make a weapon that could channel Ardor easier, that could be useful.
"Well, it's about time for me to keep first watch, I'll go wake Charlotte."
"Hm? Oh, wait a sec," I beckoned Leah over before she got up to leave. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Sure, what is it?"
I looked at the sign, its ominous presence not fading. Strangely, it seemed closer than before. Like it was honing in on us. "Tell me, can you read what it says?"
Leah looked at it for a second, before firmly saying, "No."
Then she looked at me and inquired, "Why? Can you read it? To me those markings are pure gibberish."
"… Yeah, I can. To you they might look like gibberish… but to me they look exactly like english letters."
"What does it say?"
"Beware ye, death lies ahead."
"The language used is somewhat archaic…"
I nodded my head in agreement.
"If you want my advice, for once, don't think about it."
Huh?Coming from you that's—
"— It probably sounds odd coming from me, I know," she interrupted my thoughts. "But you and Jake have been doing so well at keeping this group stable."
"What are you talking about?" My heart skipped a beat. Was Leah aware of what I've been trying to do?
"You might think I don't notice, but it's essentially the same thing with you and Jake, just different alleys. Jake does it with humor and lightheartedness. You achieve it through knowledge, teaching, and importantly, making sure our connections don't go awry," she smiled.
"Thanks for that, Paul."
And with those words, Leah walked away.
… I guess she is right. I need some well-deserved rest, don't I?
During the process of conversing with Leah, I had finished refining Terry's spear. By now, it had certainly looked a lot more elegant than the flimsy pointed stick it was before. By condensing small amounts of Ardor, I had focused my hand into a saw, and cut the rocks into a spearhead shape.
After, I took one remaining stone and carefully refined its edge, and then lastly, I took the point of the old spear, made a shallow hole at the bottom of the spear head and inserted it onto the wood base. After that all that was left was to hold the shape together by binding it with the vines Leah had given me, which only took me about ten seconds to do so.
Before I could get up and hand the spear to Terry, he had already come over and taken it from my hands. As he walked away, presumably to go and try it out, he grunted the words "Thank you," and went off to do his own thing. It felt surprisingly good to help.
Even though I came into this life with only selfish interest in mind, it seems even that has changed about me.
An image flickered into my mind as I was thinking about what changes I had achieved in this life in just shy of three weeks.
Flames. Cries. The sound of rifles. The smell of gunpowder, and the sensation of toxic fumes seeping through my lungs.
My breath stopped. Without looking, I knew there was blood on my hands. There had to have been. Whether, black, blue, or red. It's all the same. I didn't dare to check.
Looking at the campfire, I felt nauseous. I realized something within me. That I hadn't changed. Not in the slightest.
Life is a fleeting moment. I know this, and yet I still reap lives without remorse.Why?
Thinking back to the Narwhal Sprite, I laughed to myself. Something small, bitter, not loud or attention grabbing.
Really ever since that day I first died—
"— I've never changed."
The realization came with tears of a variety I couldn't quite pin down. I couldn't tell if it was selfish guilt, pure sorrow, or an ugly bitter relief.
After a few seconds of pitiable sobbing, I wiped away my tears. It would be time to keep watch soon. Of course, Leah and Charlotte would hold first watch while everybody slept, and on this particular night I held watch last with Jacob. However, remembering Leah's eyebags, something seemed to stir inside of me.
With a sigh I got up, planning meditate for the next ten minutes. Not to cultivate, but to calm myself. And that is exactly what I did.
"Did you leave any family behind… You know, on Earth?"
"Nah. Nothing of the sort."
"Then are you really alright with being stranded here, where ever we are?"
"It depends. Once we get out of here I'd love~ to see what this world offers. But I'm not particularly interested in going back to Earth, even if it's dangerous, if that's what you mean."
"I can't tell if you're fearless or just stupid…"
"Why not both?"
"Because you're too cunning when you want to be. Of course, stupidity comes in all varieties so even if you were cunning there's no need to say—"
"— I meant to provoke you, not for you to provoke me!"
"Hah, you're too easily riled up to ever get on my nerves."
"Eh? Didn't seem like it when I gave you a few cute lines on your face."
"Shut it."
While everyone was asleep, or rather was supposed to be asleep, Leah and Charlotte were having a conversation. Keeping watch was notorious among us for being absolutely mind numbing boring, which is why we kept watch in pairs. Not only that but for safety reasons as well.
Unfortunately I had the misfortune of being awake because I had lost track of time while meditating. I almost fell while asleep while meditating near the trees in seclusion. If I had there was no telling what could've happened then.
Groggy but aware, I moved silently to eavesdrop on Charlotte and Leah's banter.
"Relax, you really are too uptight."
"I'm not 'uptight' you're just unruly!"
"I've got to say Leah, aside from Paul, you might be the most fun person to mess around with, haha."
"And why's that?" Leah, presumably, asked.
"Oh, well Jake just laughs everything I do off. And trying to talk to Terry or Maria is impossible. It's like facing a blank slate. Paul's just easily irritable, but you've got more sophistication— more detail and finesse in your emotive reactions!"
"I'm flattered. To think you could use such big words for a backhanded complement."
Charlotte laughed at that. It sounded genuine, not forced nor that same monotonous laugh she faked whenever she was plotting something. Seeing such a scene almost warmed my heart. Almost.
I found myself regaining clarity and losing grogginess already, and I could tell I wasn't going to fall back asleep easy. Then, I thought back to Leah's eyebags.
Well, it's not like I'll be sleeping anytime soon…
Sighing, I crept up on them, hidden by a few shrubs. Although their talking wasn't particularly loud, it was loud enough to dampen and and drown out any of the noise I made while moving through shrubbery.
As I got closer, to the point where I could reach my hand out to touch Leah's back, Charlotte seemed to notice me. She was discreet about it, as she shot a quick glance to the bush behind Leah, but Leah herself didn't seem to notice and kept bickering and babbling on.
Finally, I rose up and swiftly struck the back Leah's neck with a chop. She made a weak gasping sound before crumpling. I didn't let her fall all the way as I caught her gently in my arms before she hit the ground. Then, without making a sound, I laid her on a bed of grass that looked comfortable enough, and took her place across from Charlotte.
We sat in silence for what felt like forever. Until Charlotte decided to speak.
"So, when are you gonna actually have us cultivate?"
Silence. I didn't bother replying.
"Fine. What about a more interesting topic," she started, "You're just like me, aren't you?"
The sounds of the forest around us stopped. The crickets no longer chirped. The sounds of the waves crashing against the shore receded. Even the rustling of leaves and shrubs because of the wind disappeared.
"Don't give me the silent treatment."
"How could I ever be like you?" I spat unexpectedly. I hadn't meant to say a word.
"Eh? Don't try denying it either. I saw the Narwhal," she grinned twistedly. "It was pretty gnarly. I mainly took interest in its neck, though."
She took four of her fingers and jabbed at her throat, as if mocking me.
"That technique," she said, "Is meant for killing humans, is it not?"
"…"
"What? Don't avoid the question."
"It's not much of a question, is it?"
"You're a damned hypocrite, you know?" Charlotte said, her grin only widening.
"I'm… Not like you."
"Oh yeah? Prove otherwise."
I laughed coldly. There wasn't much emotion behind it.
"How can I prove something like that? By helping others? I'll have you know I do lots of that."
"…"
"I'm not like you," I said firmly. "I'm worse."
"Hm? Man, that's actually no fun…" Charlotte watched me closely, her grin fading. She sighed. She stopped prying. There were no more questions.
Some time passed, and I had realized I was wide awake.
Looks like I'll keep watch with Jake too. Not that I'm particularly bothered.
I took one last glance at Charlotte. I wasn't sure how she had felt after hearing what I had said. Bored? Disappointed? Maybe even uneasy? Well it wasn't my place to care.
It hadn't been then, it isn't now, I thought.
A few minutes later it was about time for Jacob to switch with Charlotte. She got up without a word, preparing to leave. Before she did, I called out to her.
"Tomorrow, I'll teach you all to cultivate."
She paused for a moment and turned to me.
"Paul."
"What's up?"
"Why don't you leave this group? You don't need any one of us, you didn't need to save me either."
"What do you mean?" I asked, clearly confused. Not just with her question but with myself.
"You're stronger than us. Physically you might be the weakest out of the men here, but once you use Ardor to amplify yourself you're leagues above anyone here."
"So? You seem to forget I get tired quick," I dismissed her.
"You are great at hiding. Having a group makes it tougher to do so. You have lethal skills as well, and yet you cling so closely to us. Why?"
For once, I'm left wondering for a moment why I do. But it doesn't take me long to come up with an answer.
"Charlotte… before you go, let me teach you this one lesson."
"…?"
"It's a short one," I said. "Nobody can live alone. Not me, not you. Nobody."
"… I see. I'll be going now."
And with that Charlotte left. Shortly after, I want to say ten to fifteen minutes later, Jacob arrived, somewhat awake.
"Hey, man, surprised to see you already up." He said. Then glancing behind me, he asked, voice trembling, "Is that… Leah?"
"Relax, dumb ass, she's not dead."
"Oh." He calmed down a bit, "She's not?"
"Just put her to sleep real quick, that's all."
"But why?"
"'Cause I'm nice, isn't it obvious?"
He chuckled, "Sorry, no. Nice isn't the first thing I think of when I see you."
"Damn you…" I muttered a few curses under my breath. "Anyway, since you're already here, want to learn something new?"
"Like what?"
I pointed towards my chest. He didn't reply. I raised my eyebrow. He raised his in turn. I sighed.
"You're so damn stupid. Obviously I mean forming a Prana!"
"Oh. Sure then." He said feigning nonchalance. Though the twitching near the corners of his mouth gave away how he really felt. His blue eyes seemed to shimmer in the moonlight, it was something awe worthy.
What an idiot, I smiled. I can't believe I used to be jealous of this guy.
"First, get into this stance, like me," I guided Jacob as I got into the lotus position. He followed eagerly, letting a little laugh out.
"Then, from there bring your fingertips together," I said, bringing my fingertips together. Seeing that he was in position, I prepared to teach him the last step. "Alright, any questions before we get into the last step?"
"One, actually. What does this pose do?"
"It's supposed to freely open the channels of your soul and connect you to the outside world," I spewed nonsense. Truthfully, I had no idea what the pose actually did, but I did have theories.
Posing likely represents a state of open-mindedness and acceptance, which you need to focus the Ardor already in your body. Then in theory it could technically be anything, but this works… for now.
"Last step, close your eyes," I continued, "And reach deep inside of yourself. Maybe for a familiar coiling heat, the zap of electricity, maybe the cool of ocean waves… It could be anything, but reach for what's yours, deep down."
It was quiet for a few minutes, not silent because somewhere along the way the ambient noises of the shore and the forest had returned, but quiet nonetheless. Then, Jacob stood up.
"Done," he said with a grin. I was skeptical, but not wholly doubtful.
"What was it like?" I asked. He held a finger to his chin and took a moment to think.
"Well, it was like there was something squirming and writhing about inside of me. Just waiting to escape," he said. "Once I reached out to it, it caught onto me and traveled through me with immense force and heat. I thought I was going to be burnt to a crisp."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, it was like an instant. It was faster than I could process, in the moment it was there, and the next it wasn't. It felt electric."
Prisma. Specifically, Jacob seemed to have an affinity for lightning, in his Prisma Will.
"Well, did you form a Prana?" I asked. He gave me a lopsided grin and said, "No."
"Why?"
"Because you only told me how to feel that sensation, which is probably Ardor right? Anyway, you didn't actually tell me how to form a Prana." Jacob scratched the back of his head.
"Geez, you're right. Looks like I got a bit distracted," I apologized.
How did I let that slip my mind? I smirked. I guess I really am tired.
"Are you willing to try it again?" I asked, somewhat curious. I needed to know if it that feeling had made him reluctant to try again in anyway.
"Quite frankly," he frowned, "No. It was somewhat painful, but that's not the reason."
"Right. You wouldn't let a little tingle stop you, would you?" I teased him a bit.
"I wouldn't, but I'm exhausted."
"That's all? That's surprisingly lazy coming from you."
"It's not like that. I think I'll literally collapse if I try again," he admits. I only nod in agreement.
"Well that's fair. Lightning and stuff of that sort seems to favor you," I told him. "It might be dangerous to try again without rest."
"Then that's that," he said with a sort of finality that made it seem like he really was relieved he wouldn't have to try again. His brows furrowed however, as if he found something wrong with his accomplishment.
"Ah, don't worry about it," I assured him, "I didn't get it first try either."
"If anything, I'm lucky I didn't go crazy like you!" He remarked. I think I felt a vein pop in my forehead at that moment, but through grinding teeth I ignored his distasteful joke.
"Let's just keep watch for the rest of our shift, and no mentioning this to anybody! Got it?"
"But why?"
"They'll think I'm choosing favorites."
"You're right, Maria might get jealous."
My face flushed.
"Just shut up already…"
----
"Get up."
Someone with a deep voice grunted. My eyelids felt heavy, as if a large weight had pressed down on them. Had I fallen asleep?
Also… is that Terry? Why's he being so assertive first thing in the morning?
I slowly rose from my position, rubbing my eyes and blinking them open. When my eyes opened, the first thing I noticed was the incredibly vast darkness of the night. The next, were words. A question.
"Where did the sun go?" The voice belonged to Jacob. It no longer held the familiar jovial tone, rather it sounded shaky and bleak. As if he wasn't sure what he was seeing was the real world.
My stomach sank. I spun around, my vision spanning across every direction. Branches, stones, dirt, mud, trees. Trees I would never forget. Faces carved into them— marked by sorrow, fear, and despair. Countless faces among countless trees. And they were very, very real.
We had been swallowed whole. Swallowed whole by the forest.
Beware ye, death lies ahead.