Rex continued walking at his own pace. From the moment he entered this world, almost a year had passed. He had wandered inside the forest doing whatever he wanted, relaxing his mind. A few months earlier, his thoughts had finally stabilized, and he could keep himself calm without slipping into the chaotic state the Void had left him with.
As he walked deeper through the trees, he found a narrow path. It looked faint but used regularly. He could see the marks of cart wheels and the hoofprints of some animal, maybe something like a horse, though he wasn't sure. He examined the tracks and followed the direction they were moving in.
While walking along this path, he noticed something unusual. There were no animals at all. Not even weak rank 1 creatures. It was as if someone was clearing this path constantly to keep travelers safe. This made Rex realize that he might finally be close to a civilization.
He continued walking slowly, listening to the forest, until he heard shouting coming from the distance. The sound echoed faintly through the trees, so he followed it. His steps remained relaxed, but his senses sharpened as he approached.
In the distance, a cart stood on the path, surrounded by men wearing ragged clothing. They looked like bandits, their twisted expressions filled with excitement and cruelty. There was only one cart, pulled by a single carriage beast, and some space in the back where cargo had been stored. One of the bandits was searching through the items inside the cart, throwing things out carelessly toward the others.
There were around fifteen men total, all of them in their late thirties or forties. Scattered around the ground were several bodies wearing red armor, clearly dead. A short distance away from them, a woman was still fighting all fifteen men by herself.
She didn't wear the red armor the others had, so she wasn't part of their group. She looked ordinary, but the courage she showed was something extraordinary. Despite the hopeless odds, she was still fighting. One man swung his blade at her, and she barely managed to deflect it. Her stance was shaky and her movements untrained, but she had enough basic knowledge to defend herself.
Another bandit slashed toward her from behind. His blade grazed her back, and blood spilled out. She stumbled and nearly fell. The man raised his sword for the final blow, ready to kill her right there. Tears welled up in her eyes as she lifted her own sword to defend herself, though her arms trembled.
But before the killing strike landed, another bandit grabbed his comrade's arm and stopped him."Bro, what are you doing? Don't kill her yet. She's a woman. We can have some fun with her first."
Hearing him, the others laughed, understanding exactly what he meant.
The woman froze. Her mind went blank. She knew exactly what these men wanted to do to her. She knew she would die afterwards anyway. She shook with fear, but she did not want to die like that.
So she slowly stood up straight, sword shaking in her bleeding hand. The bandits stepped back to give her space, mocking her, fully confident that anything she did would only serve as entertainment.
Her appearance became clearer now that she wasn't moving. Her messy black hair fell around her face, her body slim with a delicate waist and soft features. She was injured, exhausted, terrified, but she still pointed her blade forward.
However, instead of attacking them, she turned the sword toward herself. The tip touched her chest. She chose death over the fate waiting for her.
Just as she thrust the sword inward, all the bandits leaped forward in panic, trying to stop her.
But everything suddenly stopped.
The wind froze.Leaves halted in the air.The bandits, mid-jump, hung motionless.The woman, her sword tip pressing into her chest, could no longer move.Her eyes widened with confusion as she realized her body was frozen, while her mind was still active. She could still think, still feel fear, but she could not move even an inch.
Time had stopped around her