Amon stared at the place where the rabbit had disappeared into the bushes.
"Interesting..." he muttered.
Without another word, he stepped forward and began following the direction the rabbit had taken.
Vetaal was still on his back, arms loosely wrapped around Amon’s shoulders like so lazy passenger.
"You are following prey?" Vetaal asked lazily.
"Not prey," Amon replied. "A sign."
"A sign?"
"I haven’t seen normal animals on this whole island since coming here. But since I got out of that unknown cave... I have been seeing them. First crows. Now a rabbit. That ans sothing."
Vetaal humd thoughtfully but didn’t interrupt further.
Amon followed the faint disturbance in the grass for a while. The rabbit appeared once more ahead, hopping lightly between bushes before stopping briefly to nibble sothing on the ground.
"Do you know about this? Why there are animals here?" Amon asked, wondering if he knew anything.
"Don’t know," Vetaal responded quickly.
"Tch! Why did I even ask you?" Amon clicked his tongue.
Vetaal just chuckled creepily.
For a mont, Amon considered catching it for food.
But then he shook his head.
"No point," he muttered. "It’s not leading us anywhere specific."
After watching it disappear deeper into the undergrowth, Amon adjusted Vetaal on his back and continued walking in the sa general direction.
The forest here felt different. The air was lighter. It was less oppressive. Even the sounds were... normal. Birds chirping. Leaves rustling naturally.
"So," Vetaal spoke quietly near his ear, "what are you thinking?"
"That this place is changing," Amon replied. "Or maybe we’ve entered a different zone."
"Perhaps," Vetaal said. "The mana density feels slightly altered."
Amon narrowed his eyes. "Altered how?"
"Less chaotic," Vetaal answered. "More... balanced."
That made Amon think. After walking for nearly half an hour, the faint sound of flowing water reached his ears.
He stopped.
"...Do you hear that?"
"Yes," Vetaal replied calmly. "A river."
They moved forward carefully, pushing aside thick bushes.
Soon a clear river ca into view.
It flowed calmly between the trees, reflecting the sky like liquid glass. The water looked clean. Pure. Transparent enough to see smooth stones at the bottom.
Amon’s eyes widened slightly.
"Water..." he muttered.
He hurried toward it.
Kneeling down, he cupped his hands and brought the water to his lips. It was cold and refreshing.
He drank several more handfuls before exhaling in satisfaction. Then he filled his bottle with water.
"This is truly a clean water source," Amon said with satisfaction.
Vetaal observed quietly. But then Amon looked at the opposite side of the river.
"...We need to cross." For now, they needed to cross this river and check what lay on the other side of it.
The river was not extrely wide. Around thirty ters. The current was gentle, flowing smoothly and calmly. Amon could easily swim to the other side.
"No bridge," Amon muttered.
"No fallen tree either," Vetaal added.
Amon stood up and stretched his shoulders. "Looks like we’re swimming."
Vetaal shook his head. "No, we... you are swimming."
He glanced back slightly. "Tch! Hold tight."
Vetaal’s arms tightened around his neck. Amon stepped into the water. It was cold enough to send a slight shiver through his body.
He took a deep breath and dipped in.
Splash.
The water embraced him fully as he began swimming forward. The current wasn’t strong, which made things easier. His injured body still protested slightly, but it was manageable.
Vetaal remained unnaturally light on his back, almost like carrying air.
The river flowed calmly, small ripples forming around Amon’s strokes.
After a few minutes of steady swimming, his hand touched solid ground.
He pushed himself up and climbed onto the opposite bank, breathing slightly heavier than usual.
Water dripped from his clothes. His hair clung to his forehead. It was getting longer as the days went on. But he ignored it.
They would naturally get dry as ti passed.
He squeezed so water from his sleeves and imdiately continued walking. Ti was more important.
After another stretch of walking, Amon slowed down.
"...Wait," he muttered.
The ground beneath his feet looked... different. He crouched.
The soil here was slightly compacted. There were faint depressions.
Footprints. They were old ones. But many.
"This..." Amon whispered. It looked like a path. Not a natural animal trail or monster trail.
But sothing ford by repeated travel. By people. Humans... or sothing else.
Vetaal remained silent, but Amon could feel the undead’s attention sharpen.
"Should we turn back?" Amon asked quietly.
Vetaal shook his head. "No. I can sense sothing is close to us. And it’s not harmful. Let’s go and check it out."
He stood and began following the path. With each step, the signs beca clearer. There were so cut branches. Trimd shrubs.
Even faint marks of tools on tree bark. Amon’s heartbeat began to quicken.
After nearly ten minutes of walking along the trail, the trees began thinning.
The cold breeze grew stronger.
And then, he stepped out of the forest.
Amon’s whole body froze.
"...What?!" he exclaid in disbelief.
In front of him was a village.
Wooden houses stood in neat rows. Single-story structures with slanted roofs. Smoke rose from a few chimneys. Wooden fences separated small yards.
There were people. Actual people.
n and won walking around. Children running between houses.
Two elderly n sat on a bench, talking casually. A woman carried a basket of vegetables.
It looked... it looked normal. Too normal.
Amon’s mind struggled to process it.
"...There’s... a village?" he whispered.
After everything he had experienced in this cursed area.
After monsters. After fighting against demons. After ancient ruins. After a sealed undead being.
Seeing sothing this ordinary felt more bizarre than anything else.
Vetaal did not speak. His silence felt heavy. Amon took a cautious step forward.
The villagers didn’t seem alard. So glanced at him briefly. People started to murmur while looking in his direction.
So were looking at him with disbelief.
Amon’s heart pounded. "This doesn’t make sense..." he muttered under his breath.
A remote forest. A sealed zone where this undead Vetaal was stuck for thousands of years.
And now a peaceful village. Sothing was wrong. Very wrong. But from the outside, it looked perfectly normal.
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