Among the sky filled with hundreds of clouds, a sun shone brighter than anything, and amidst the wind, a trail of light radiated; a beginning of a new journey and a beautiful morning.
The crunching of leaves echoed, and the rustling of gravel followed the steps as two figures followed an unknown route. The pathway was going somewhere, although their movement never ended, and trees—they just stretched endlessly.
Noen walked without stopping, but that wasn't the case for Sera; she was tired, gasping for breath, and looking at Noen, she said,
"How long are we going to walk… I'm tired…!"
"You are the one who said you would follow me."
"But…"
Sera tried to say something but gave up midway, looking down sadly.
Still, Noen looked as if he didn't care. His eyes stayed focused on the path, still wary of his surroundings. But then again, her voice echoed, whining as she tugged his shirt.
"Mister, please, can we take a break?"
Her eyes twinkled, looking at him with every bit of cuteness she had left. He, unable to do anything, just sighed.
"Okay… we will take a few minutes' break."
Just as he said that, his eyes changed colour, looking at her with a cold gaze.
"But not now," he said. "We have a long way to go, so just bear it a little."
"Ehh… I will die like this!!"
She tugged his clothes more tightly, whining like a crybaby, but Noen remained cold.
"I said we will take a break soon, so just bear it a little more!"
Eek! She took a step back, completely scared by his tone, but he, untouched by her expression, began walking further. His feet brushed the ground, his eyes stayed focused on the path, and as if lost in some thoughts, he massaged his head with two fingers.
"Why are my senses screaming? There is something... Something is following us, but what? Urgh, I hate this, my life or what, but if we stop here, the danger, it's better than that monster, but what about her?"
Though immersed in his thoughts, he didn't realise how long they had walked, but it was obvious as he was standing in front of a river, completely dazed.
He looked back, where Sera, completely exhausted from this long trip, just lay flat on a giant rock, gasping for breath. He called her name.
"Sera? Sera!?"
"Yes?"
"When did we arrive here?"
She looked confusedly at Noen, but soon she replied, asking,
"We just arrived here a minute ago. Did something happen?"
"No," Noen said, as he looked back at the flowing river, immersed in his thoughts. But quickly snapped back and said,
"Well, listen to me now. I'm going into the forest to collect some wood.
So don't go anywhere." His tone slightly changed, getting colder. "And don't dare to follow me, or I will take you back to your house."
"Okay," she said, nodding.
As Noen began stepping forward, moving toward the nearby trees, he soon entered the forest.
***
Clurk clurk.
Dried leaves crushed beneath his feet, moving forward into the dense bush. The air was weirdly cold, but unfazed, he collected dried wood, leaves, and something to eat.
He found several berries and tested each by eating a piece. Though poisonous, it didn't affect him; due to his immortality, and somehow able to detect its properties.
"How does it work?" he questioned.
"The berries I collected, these blue ones are completely fine, but these red ones, they look normal, but—
When I ate one, sighh.
Well, I can use it to fight the wild creatures of this world, or something else."
"But I should get back now."
Noen quickly grabbed some more stuff as he began to leave the forest.
After a while, he lit up the fire near the river as Sera ate some berries he collected, but Noen didn't eat any.
"Why aren't you eating, Mister?"
"I'm not hungry," he said.
"But you haven't eaten anything since yesterday.
You should, or you might collapse due to exhaustion."
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine, and I cannot die anyway.
So there's no point if I eat anything or not."
"Gosh, come on, eat something. If you don't eat, I won't either."
"Huh?"
Noen looked at her in a confused gaze.
As the fire prickled with the running air, she looked at him with determined eyes.
"Sigh… okay, I will eat something.
But you also eat and rest properly, we have a long way to go."
"Okay," she said, giggling beneath her cheeks.
And just like that, the time passed by as the fire vanished in the burning smoke.
***
The sun was slowly setting, the air was getting colder, and an uneasy feeling was filling the area. The sound of bugs reechoed in the air as Sera slowly walked behind Noen's back.
Whereas he was completely wary of his surroundings, something kept feeling off to him. Still, they kept walking and walking with no clue where they had to go.
Suddenly, he stopped, hearing something coming from afar.
The sound was weird, like something was walking towards them, but it felt as if someone was tearing flesh away. The night was getting closer, and they both were nowhere near a place they could rest.
And with the time running out and the moon taking the place of the burning star, a loud howl echoed across the whole sky.
"What was that, Mister..?" Sera asked. Her legs were shaking, her body trembled from fear.
Her eyes kept tracing back to the long path where they came from as she tugged closer to him.
"I- I'm scared."
Crack.
"Ee!" She came closer, burying her face on his back, holding him as if, if she let go of him, she would die. But he stayed calm, whispering in a low voice.
"Listen, stay close to me, no matter what. Do you understand?"
"Yes," she said as Noen continued further.
"And prepare yourself."
"Wait—mhhh!"
Noen quickly grasped her face, covering it with his hand as he hid behind a tree under the falling shadows. But nowhere could they have thought what they were gonna face.
A rotting smell filled the air, like a stench of meat left for a year. It was so bad that she vomited instantly, falling dizzy in Noen's hands.
"Sera, you alright?" he asked.
But she didn't reply. Her face was pale. A daunting fear welled up inside him as he quickly tore up his sleeves, covering her mouth tightly as he laid her on the trunk.
But far behind, a figure walked in. A weird aura emanated from its body, its eyes glowing purple, and a haze covered it. Its face was a bull's skull instead of a human face, and its presence was completely mysterious, wrapped in a dark, deep cloak. Its hand had large claws, looking like they would pierce anything around it.
It stepped forward, and with its every move, everything rotted beside it. No existence dared to come close to it.
It simply looked at a tree, tilting its head.
It moved forward, as Noen, seeking a chance, grabbed a sharp branch, lunging at it.
But it didn't move.
It just lifted its hand. Its mouth twisted into something else, eyes drifted past anything human, and then—