It was exactly 1:00 AM. The abandoned village lay silent, but wisps of smoke curled into the night sky.
Ethan’s stomach twisted. Just minutes ago, this place had been nothing but a deserted ruin. Now, there were signs of life. And even if this were a normal village, who the hell started cooking in the middle of the night?
The black lynx stiffened, its fur standing on end.
Step by step, it backed away, glanced at Ethan and the others, then, without warning, slamd its head into a nearby tree.
And vanished.
"...What the hell?"
That thing was terrified. Did this an sothing dangerous was about to happen?
Ethan’s senses flared.
"Shit!"
From the village’s ancient well, a dense, crimson mist was rising.
In seconds, it had spread throughout the entire village, seeping through every street, every empty house. Dark shadows twisted within the mist, drifting through the air.
One of them was heading straight for Ethan’s group. The thing was already at the village center and closing in fast.
The lynx hadn’t been afraid of the village’s changes—it had been terrified of this.
Ethan’s eyes saw only the shifting village, but his heightened senses told a different story—a world smothered in thick, red fog.
And the shadows within it were spreading. At this rate, they’d be engulfed in seconds.
A faint mist was already curling around their feet, and Ethan’s perception was growing dull. His senses, which were supposed to be razor-sharp, couldn’t pierce through the blood-red haze.
The changing village, the scent of food—an illusion.
A trap.
If they ran now, that thing would catch them before they even made it to the village outskirts.
What now?
Ethan relayed everything he sensed to the group.
Doe suddenly lunged at Leo. Startled, Leo raised an arm to block her, only for his hand to pass straight through.
But she didn’t reappear behind him.
For a brief second, everyone froze. Then, with a determined sprint, Leo charged straight at a tree. At that speed, he was either about to knock himself out cold… or crack his skull open like a waterlon.
Ethan instinctively reached out to grab him, but right as his fingers brushed Leo’s arm, Leo’s forehead slamd into the tree.
Victor’s heart sank. ’Is he dead?’
For a mont, Ethan had the sa thought. Was Doe behind this?
But before he could say anything, Leo’s body vanished, just like the lynx. The only difference was, this ti, a small sar of blood was left on the bark.
Through it all, Celeste remained calm, only furrowing her brows slightly. She trusted Doe completely, but even she wasn’t sure what the hell Doe was trying to do.
The mont Leo disappeared, Celeste lifted her head and looked toward the mountainside. A flicker of realization crossed her face.
Then, she spoke.
"Follow ."
Without another word, she charged at the tree and slamd her head into it.
Gone.
Ethan, Victor, and Williams exchanged glances.
Ethan gritted his teeth. "Screw it. If we die, we die."
Victor and Williams both nodded. Williams took the lead, sprinting forward, but instead of using his head, he kicked the tree.
Boom.
The tree barely shook, and Williams staggered back. He scowled. "Wait, seriously? It has to be the head?"
At this point, Victor wasn’t going to waste ti testing. He clenched his jaw, braced himself and headbutted the tree.
Gone.
That confird it. Williams sighed, muttered sothing under his breath, then did the sa.
Ethan was the only one left.
And the shadow was barely three ters away. It surged forward, its speed suddenly doubling.
Ethan bolted and slamd his head into the tree. Pain flared in his skull as his vision shifted, blinding flashlight beams swept across him, then quickly turned away.
Ethan blinked. Everyone was here.
Celeste, Victor, Williams—along with Doe, who was still in her ghost form.
Everyone… except Leo.
Leo was lying on the ground. Bleeding.
"The hell happened?" Ethan asked. He’d been the last one in, and nothing made sense.
"Yeah, what the hell was that?" Victor turned to Doe. "Why haven’t you given us an explanation yet?"
Doe gave him a sideways glance. "Oh, sure, I should’ve explained everything while you all were running in one by one. I guess I could’ve repeated myself five tis?"
Victor opened his mouth, then closed it.
Satisfied, Doe continued, "You saw the lynx hit that tree twice, right?"
Ethan nodded.
"It did the sa thing last ti we chased it here," Doe said. "That’s when I realized—the tree is the entrance to so kind of magic formation."
Ethan frowned. "That’s… the dumbest way to enter sothing. You seriously have to headbutt your way in?"
"Exactly," Doe said. "It’s hidden because no normal person would think of doing that. Who in their right mind slams their head into a tree just to check if it’s a door?"
Ethan had to admit, she had a point.
Williams crossed his arms. "So, what’s the logic behind it?"
Your journey continues at .Côm
Doe smirked. "You ever heard of the ’Three Flas’ theory?"
They all shook their heads.
"Every living thing has three essential flas—life, will, and identity," She said.
"The fla at your head represents identity; it’s the most stable, the one that never changes. This formation is designed to absorb that specific fire as a key to activate it. No idea what level of spellcaster could construct sothing like this, but it’s beyond insane."
Doe shook her head in amazent.
Williams narrowed his eyes. "But… didn’t you guys see the lynx do this before? Didn’t you have a spellcaster in the group last ti?"
"That thing is fast. Faster than even when I’m flying. There’s no way we could’ve gotten close enough to see what it was actually doing," Doe said.
Then she glanced at Ethan. "What I do find weird is how it seems so attached to you."
Ethan had no answer for that. "I’d love to know too," he muttered.
Then, he turned his gaze toward Leo.
"Alright, what about him?"
Leo was the only one injured. Everyone else had made it through just fine.
At that, Doe hesitated.
"…Yeah, about that."
Ethan frowned. "What did you do?"
Doe scratched her cheek. "So… I don’t have a body. I had to possess soone to get through."
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. "And?"
"…And because I was inside him, his ’head fla’ was weaker than normal."
Doe coughed. "So, uh, when he hit the tree, the impact was… a bit rougher than expected."
Ethan gave her a blank stare.
"…But hey, good news!" she added quickly. "It could’ve been worse. At least he’s—"
She paused, then smirked.
"At least he’s, you know, still a virgin. That’s why his fla was strong enough to work at all."
Ethan’s jaw dropped.
"Wait—what? He’s a virgin?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers