The cursed forest swallowed us whole. The trees towered like silent guards, their branches twisted in strange shapes. Shadows stretched oddly, as if watching.
Eren led the way, his steps deliberate, sword loosely at his side but ready. I stayed close behind, gripping the strange orb that had appeared the night before. My pulse thudded in my ears.
Whiskerdoom padded silently beside me, eyes half-lidded as if unimpressed with the danger.
"This is dumb," I muttered.
"Everything you do is dumb," the cat replied without bothering to look at me.
I sighed. "Thanks for the support."
Eren glanced back briefly. "Stay sharp. There's something in this forest."
I nodded, though I wasn't sure if it was the forest or the ghosts in my own head that scared me more.
We pushed through the final stretch of trees and stepped into a small clearing. There, at the center, hovered something pale and glowing, wrapped in a silver light that seemed to shimmer and shift in the air itself.
Eren's sword hand tightened.
"What's that…?" he whispered.
I froze.
The shape gradually formed into a figure — tall, sharp-faced, with long silver hair that fluttered though no breeze touched it. Crimson eyes glowed softly in the dimness.
It was him.
Riel Arkwood.
The villain of Blade Destiny, the man every guidebook described as cold, cruel, and manipulative. The man everyone predicted would be dead by Chapter 13.
But this… this version looked nothing like the monster I'd been expecting.
The ghost's posture wasn't aggressive, nor arrogant. Instead, its shoulders drooped, its head bowed slightly as if carrying a weight heavier than any sword could bear.
My mouth went dry.
Eren's eyes widened.
"Riel…" he breathed.
The ghost's eyes lifted toward Eren, but they didn't seem to focus. Its mouth parted, and a soft voice floated out as if from another world.
"Do not trust their stories…"
The words drifted like mist, not aimed at anyone in particular.
Eren's grip on the sword tightened even more.
"W-what do you mean?" he demanded, his eyes darting around the clearing.
The figure wavered, its form flickering like a flame.
"I was… not as they painted me… a mask of their fears…"
The ghost turned slowly, as if searching for something lost, then looked out toward the dark woods beyond us.
My breath hitched.
For a brief moment, its eyes passed near me. But the air between us crackled with nothing more than distance. It didn't see me. It didn't know me.
I staggered slightly and caught myself on a tree, heart racing.
It can't see me… right?
Whiskerdoom, ever unimpressed, lazily flicked his tail.
"Look at him," he whispered. "Always brooding, never doing anything useful."
The ghost's figure trembled, its outline distorting. Its eyes seemed filled with despair, and with a soft sigh, the image began to dissolve like mist at dawn.
"Choose your path," it whispered one last time before vanishing into sparkling dust that spiraled upward and disappeared.
Eren stood frozen, eyes locked on the empty space where the ghost had been.
"That… can't be real," he whispered. "It looked like him."
I forced a laugh. "The forest plays tricks. Shadows, illusions."
He frowned. "Still… it felt… wrong."
I shrugged, trying to mask the knot in my stomach.
"Probably some spirit trying to scare travelers," I offered. "Nothing more."
His eyes lingered on me for a moment, but I caught the hesitation. He wanted to ask something, but instead, he exhaled slowly and sheathed his sword.
"Let's keep moving," he said.
I nodded, though my legs felt heavy. If the ghost didn't see me, then I'm safe… right? But a part of me couldn't shake the eerie sensation that I'd barely escaped something much deeper — something that knew, or almost knew.
Whiskerdoom looked at me sideways. "You almost peed yourself," he murmured.
"I did not!" I snapped, cheeks heating.
"Sure, sure," he smirked.
As we walked away from the clearing, Eren kept glancing back, his brow furrowed. His grip remained tight on his sword hilt.
I kept my eyes on the trees, careful not to meet his gaze.
The diary in my satchel remained stubbornly blank.
No hints. No warnings.
Only silence.
For the first time, I didn't know what would happen next.
And that uncertainty felt far worse than any ghost's stare.