'How much longer do I have to walk before I can find water?'
Ash's body was suffering from severe dehydration.If he failed to find water soon, he would die long before any monster could tear him apart.
It was not only thirst.His stomach was empty as well. He had not eaten anything since entering this place.
'Ha… thirsty, hungry, exhausted, hunted down… what a ruined body.'
Even Ash could not help but let out a bitter smile at his own condition.
Feeling that he had rested just enough and that the cramp in his leg had finally eased, he decided to move again.
One hand pressed against the tree trunk for support, the other tightly gripping the branch. Ash forced himself to stand up.Pain screamed from his feet, and his head throbbed as if struck by a hammer.
Still, he did not give up.
As long as he had not found water, he would not stop.
"Hah… Hah… Hah…"
Heavy, cold breaths escaped his mouth as he walked.Every step demanded tremendous effort just to lift his foot off the ground.
Yet Ash endured the pain and kept going.
'How long have I been walking…?'
An undefined amount of time passed.Ash no longer knew how far he had gone, nor how long he had been moving through the darkness.
He continued forward with no result.
His throat and lips burned with dryness.He could no longer speak, nor produce any clear sound.
Step. Step. Step.
His heavy footsteps echoed endlessly, as if this path would never end.
Bang.
Distracted, Ash tripped over a thick tree root protruding from the ground and fell forward.
He hit the earth hard.
Ash tried to stand up again—but his body refused to respond.
No matter how much strength he tried to summon, he could not move.
He lay there, chest rising and falling with great difficulty.
Thoughts slipped away.Consciousness wavered.
If he lost consciousness here, it would be easy for monsters to find and kill him.
And that sleep would last forever.
'I can't sleep… can't sleep… I have to stay awake.'
Ash fought desperately against the drowsiness, forcing himself not to fall into a defenseless state.
But he was too tired.
His eyelids trembled, then slowly closed.His awareness faded, sinking deeper and deeper.
'I… can't… hold on… anymore…'
Unable to resist any longer, Ash finally closed his eyes.
Then—
From his right hand, he felt something strange.
A gentle sensation spread across his body.It felt like an embrace.
Warm.
Like his mother's arms.
Warm…
'Warm…?'
The sudden warmth startled him.
Using strength he did not know he still possessed, Ash forced his eyelids open, trying to see where this warmth was coming from.
And then he saw it.
Light.
Yes—light.
Something humans see every day after night falls.Yet for Ash, it felt like something he had not seen in a very long time.
So long, in fact, that he had almost forgotten how it felt.
Although this sun was not as warm as the one on Earth—perhaps even a little cold—it was more than enough for him.
The sun slowly rose, pushing away the darkness and bringing an end to a night of exhaustion.
Watching the sunrise filled Ash with a sense of comfort.
Not long after, he gently closed his eyes again and drifted into sleep.
The forest gradually brightened, becoming less terrifying.
Ash slept deeply and peacefully where he lay.
It felt like a reward for surviving his first night.And perhaps… preparation for the nights yet to come.
…
…
…
"Uhm…"
After an unknown amount of time, Ash slowly opened his eyes.
Towering trees with dark brown bark surrounded him on all sides.
He muttered weakly,"Where… am I…?"
His voice came out hoarse and cracked.His throat burned, and even those few words had been difficult to speak.
'Ah… right. I'm in the Place.'
'Just yesterday, I was still thinking about life after my mother's death…'
'And now I'm lying here, after going through situations that nearly cost me my life.'
He lay there in silence, lost in thought.
'I wonder how much time has passed.'
Ash quickly realized that if he kept lying there, the morning would slip away—and night would come again.
'I need to move. Now.'
With that decision made, Ash gathered what little strength he had recovered and forced himself to stand.
Mud covered his body from head to toe.His mind was exhausted.His body was broken.
If he had to describe his current state with one word—
Ruined.
He looked around and saw the familiar branch still lying nearby.
Ash quickly picked it up and used it as a cane, dragging himself forward.
It had been over a full day since he last drank water.
Right now, nothing mattered more than water.
'Water.'
'Water.'
After only a few steps, his muscles spasmed violently, forcing him to stop again.His limbs trembled, refusing to move.
'I need water.'
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Suddenly, a familiar sound—and a damp sensation—touched his skin.
Ash slowly lifted his head.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
More and more droplets fell from above, slipping through the thick canopy and landing on him.
'Rain!!!'
Yes.
The sky had finally released its first rain, welcoming Ash to this land.
Ash immediately opened his mouth, drinking the rain as it fell.He cupped his hands together, trying to collect as much water as possible.
He did not care whether the water was clean or safe.
Right now, all that mattered was drinking.
His body greedily absorbed the heaven-sent water.
After being deprived for so long, Ash drank as much as he could.
"Ah… so satisfying."
A refreshing sensation spread through his body, as if life had returned to him.
For a brief moment, he felt like he could fight ten wolves at once—
Though he knew it was just an illusion caused by relief.
Ash looked up.
The rain continued to fall.
It was a pity he had nothing to store the water.
"If I get thirsty again… I wonder if it will rain then."
Suddenly, Ash noticed a dark shape falling from the sky.
'Huh? What is that?'
Then another.
And another.
And more.
Only then did Ash realize what it was.
'Hail.'
Understanding the danger, Ash immediately ran, dodging the falling chunks of ice.
Yes.
The sky, it seemed, had welcomed him not only with rain—
But with hail as well.