The night passed quietly while Grey listened to the sound of strange creatures. Inside the dilapidated building, he had seen several items that he could use to block the door and window. He also made sure that no light passed through the cracks and we're shining inside. Which made his surroundings very dark and hard to discern certain things.
But that was not a problem for Grey because his eyes were closed the whole time as he focused on fusing these particles and absorbing them into his body.
And in the blink of an eye, time trickled by and the night passed by. When sunlight eventually appeared, Grey slowly his eyes. His grey eyes held a slight muddleness and absent mindlessness. When the first ray of sunlight managed to breach through the red clouds and shine upon the Corroded Zone, those strange sounds and cries that he had heard throughout the night slowly faded away like a bad dream or a memory. But the fright that it had imprinted into his heart remained.
Grey stood up and left the abode shortly after. He did not plan on staying for long, and had always wanted to leave the corroded zone as soon as possible.
So far, he had been here for two whole days and two nights. His stomach rumbled slightly. It was at this time that Grey realized that he had not eaten since the time he woke up.
Although his stomach rumbled slightly, Grey found that the hunger was very bearable. It was even more so after he cultivated.
And without hesitation, Grey began to search for a way to leave the corroded zone. But he found out that he was always going around in circles. To his surprise, he realized that many trees looked the same because he had passed them multiple times. Which lead him to believe that he was going in circles.
While this was happening, the slight hunger he had felt in the morning was becoming even more unbearable. Time slowly trickled by, and by the end of the day, Grey still couldn't find the exit of if the Corroded Zone. But he believed that he was getting closer.
When might came and the howling noises came once again, Grey hid himself inside another dilapidated building that he had found ahead of time.
He sat down silently and used this opportunity to meditate. In his head, he reviewed all that had transpired during the day. He also began to make a mental map of the area he was in. Slowly, a bright Brilliance appeared in his eyes when the howling cries were at their loudest.
Because of fear and hunger, Grey began to cultivate through the night once more. His injuries had healed a long time ago, and the purple crystal that was in his chest was no longer active. But it was emit a faint purple light every now and then.
Grey continued to absorb the spirit energy particles in the air, until he felt a faint change suddenly come about.
This change was very faint, and he would not have noticed it if he was not in a semi-conscious state.
The air around him started to become cooler as the temperature in the room slowly plummeted. Grey's breathing quickened when he found out that the air was very cold and biting to his lungs.
'What is happening? Is this a change that happens in the Corroded Zone?' Grey asked himself inwardly, but before he could answer, he heard all the howling and mourning sounds outside stop.
At the same time that this happened, the coldness increased drastically. Frost started to cover the floor and the air grew increasingly cold.
Grey who was still stunned by all this could not react in time when the shaky door to the dilapidated building was suddenly blasted open.
The items that he had placed to block the door was scattered everywhere as shards of wood flew about.
Grey felt a chill go down his neck as several rapid footsteps were heard outside the house. Those footsteps sounded like hundreds of people walking together towards this house.
Suddenly, Grey felt a life-and-death crisis fall upon him. In fact, his entire body was completely frozen in a thin layer of frost. But although that layer was thin, he couldn't move even a bit.
At this moment, Grey grew terrified because of the anomaly that was happening in his house. Even his eyes were closed shut and he couldn't open them if he wanted.
After some time, the sound of footsteps were heard as they entered into the house. While these sounds were heard, Grey felt another cold air blow past his cheek. His entire body shuddered instinctively as cold sweat ran down his back.
Then, crying and laughing sounds were heard at once, coming from the multiple footsteps around him. These strange sounds were extremely eerie, and made Grey feel a sense of exhaustion and fatigue.
But after a while, the sounds grew quiet as the footsteps slowly retreated. At some point in time, Grey found out that he could move his body again. But he did not make any sudden movements, instead, he stayed in his position while gripping the dagger that he had brought out from his pouch.
He also narrowed his eyes into a glint and saw what those things that made those footsteps were.
And in shock, Grey saw multiple people that did not have legs moving away. Although their lower bodies were not complete, they stood upright like their lower bodies always existed. And right beneath their feet, he could see the imprints of footsteps.
Not footsteps, real footprints. As this sight baffled him, Grey saw one of the figures that was retreating suddenly stop and look back at him.
When Grey met with his gaze, he felt as if several thunderbolts were going off in his head. He even forgot to breathe. The figure's gaze lingered on him for some seconds, before he took walked away without a lower body.
To his shock, Grey found out that this person looked extremely familiar. Like they had met before, but he couldn't be sure. Ever since he woke up, he had not met any other human. But then it dawned on him that this figure... resembled the male corpse that he had seen in the dilapidated shed-like building some days ago.
**☺️😉**