jdhmnovel Chapter 106 Walking in the Dark
Chapter 106 Walking in the Dark
"call……"
boom!
With the last monster falling to the ground, I finally had time to catch my breath.
Nearly five hours of non-stop fighting left me exhausted. Although this place wasn't exactly a test of my physical abilities, I was still fighting and walking almost non-stop.
This desolate landscape, filled with ghouls, seemed to stretch endlessly, and with the passage of time, each step grew heavier.
"hiss……"
The small wounds on my body are also throbbing slightly. These were all caused by the ghouls.
Glug!
I took a bottle of medicine from the bracelet and drank it down in one gulp. I felt lighter, and a sense of comfort washed over me.
'Now is not the time to relax.'
The moon above had shifted its position, casting an even more eerie light upon this desolate battlefield.
The screams and howls had numbed my senses; I needed rest. My body ached from unhealed wounds, and my mind was exhausted from the constant vigilance against the ghoul attacks.
Boom!Boom!Boom!
I continued onward, my weary footsteps echoing, a constant reminder of the harshness of this environment and that I was the only real, living person here.
Just then, my gaze was drawn to a faint, flickering light in the distance, almost imperceptible in the suffocating darkness.
Although it was only for a moment, I still saw a small ray of light in the fog and darkness.
The Eye of Time
I activated my skill, focused my gaze on the fog, and then I saw a small patch of scenery that was different from the fog.
'A cave?'
It appeared to be a cave in a small mountain.
'Looks like I've finally arrived.'
Seeing this scene brought back memories of the game. It marked the end of our long journey through the fog.
Having regained some strength and senses, I walked toward the shimmering light in the distance, and the entrance to the cave became clearer as I approached.
Roar!
The screams grew louder, as if a group of tormented souls were begging for my company. This made me uneasy, and I forced myself to concentrate on the task at hand.
Why won't you stay with us, my child?
Aren't you tired?
'Please, be my friend.'
'My child, come here for a hug.'
As I approached the cave, I began to hear whispers directly into my ears. It was as if I were surrounded by people from all directions.
As I stepped into the cave, the sounds became clearer, echoing on the walls and reverberating in my mind. Each step deeper into the cave felt like falling into an abyss of madness.
'Join us...'
'Stay with us...'
'We can end your suffering...'
The darkness within the cave seemed to twist and distort, lingering as if with some purpose. At this moment, even moonlight could not penetrate the cave, let alone illuminate it.
Darkness completely enveloped me, yet that darkness did not make me feel uncomfortable.
After all, although I can't effectively use my [Shadow] ability here, I can still see everything in the dark thanks to my special ability.
The walls were damp, covered with a slippery liquid, as if all the ghouls I had killed had gathered here.
'Don't resist...'
Embrace the darkness…
'We're waiting for you...'
The whispers continued, like an endless psychological attack.
I could feel their cold, bony fingers trying to invade my mind, trying to make me one of them.
I resisted stubbornly; I had a clear purpose for this trip.
"Death is not something to be joked about."
I muttered to myself, staring straight into the darkness of the cave.
Gah!Gah!Gah!
As if in response to my words, a sudden cawing of crows came from around me.
I looked over and saw the surrounding walls suddenly disappear, as if they had never existed.
Now, I am in a forest. A forest full of trees. The moonlight has reappeared, illuminating the surroundings. The fog has disappeared, replaced by the shade of tree branches.
The black trees were leafless, as if their life force had been drained.
In this eerie forest, the air is filled with the smell of decay.
The ground beneath my feet felt soft and uneven, as if soaked in blood. Crows stared at me with their red eyes, their gaze chilling.
Countless crows perched on the bare branches, watching my every move.
'Join us...'
'Stay with us...'
'The embrace ends...'
The whispers continued, mingling with the cawing of crows. The entire forest felt filled with malice, urging me to succumb to the abyss.
"..."
I just kept walking forward silently.
Those were the sounds of death.
With each step, the forest seemed to change, and fragmented memories flooded my mind.
A woman is holding a little boy's hand...
A young man, holding a small box in his hand, knelt on the ground...
A little girl looked at the candy in the other children's hands...
An old woman watched her grandchildren running around...
Some memories are happy, while others are sad and unsettling.
'Don't come any closer!'
From a woman's perspective, a man approaches her in the darkness, disgusting saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth...
Why did you do that?
From a man's perspective, he was standing in the doorway of a room, with two people lying on the bed, one of whom was his wife...
'Come here, child…'
From a child's perspective, a woman is holding a rolling pin...
Countless different memories flooded my mind, and each memory brought with it a variety of emotions.
Fear, hatred, anger, sadness, betrayal, pain...
Happiness, joy, excitement, nostalgia, thrill, delight...
The contrast between these two emotions makes these heavy feelings even more vivid.
Click! Crack!
Amidst these intertwined memories, the trees twisted and deformed, their branches reaching out to me like the claws of a skull. Moonlight cast long shadows, and the trees danced around me, appearing exceptionally eerie.
The crows remained perched on the branches, their eyes fixed on me, unblinking. They seemed like guardians of this dark world, watching over the intruder.
I can sense the subtle emotions in all these people, but then again, no one in this world is happy all the time.
Where there are people living in luxury, there will always be people living in slums.
This is the nature of humanity and the world.
Just as not everyone is born with exceptional talent, they are not born into the same environment.
This is an undeniable fact, and it is precisely this that shapes the world. Wherever there is light, there will always be darkness.
Without darkness, we cannot talk about darkness itself.
"I understand……"
At that very moment, I heard a voice.
A voice filled with malice.
Flutter! Flutter! Flutter!
Countless crows took flight from the branches, forming a whirlwind of feathers and darkness around me.
Gah!Gah!Gah!
They cried out in unison, creating a chaotic melody that drowned out the whispers of memory.
The forest floor seemed to tremble, and then blood seeped from the ground, swirling and congealing to form a bizarre outline.
It is an invisible, ever-changing object, a combination of nightmares.
"Do you understand this world?" the monster hissed in a low voice, its voice like a chorus of thousands of suffering souls.
I could barely make out its shape amidst the chaos of swarming crows and swirling blood, but its presence was suffocating.
Malice and hatred filled the air, and a nauseating feeling welled up in my stomach.
“I don’t understand anything,” I replied.
The monster let out a low laugh that sent chills down my spine. "We will see, you insignificant mortal. Let us test your heart."
In a spinning motion, the monster began to transform, displaying a series of horrific images before my eyes. Scenes of death, betrayal, pain, and despair flashed by.
A woman, her eyes wide with fear, falls from a great height.
A soldier, his face contorted in pain, a knife piercing his chest.
A child cries in the dark, lost and alone.
"Can you endure the suffering of this world?" the monster mocked.
"Do I have to put up with it?" I asked back.
"...You answered well." The monster laughed again. "But you, someone who cannot bear your own pain and runs away from the past, should not have answered like that."
As the monster uttered these words, the scene suddenly changed.
There stood a little girl made entirely of blood, a claw piercing her chest. Her eyes held no light, only emptiness.
Hers was filled with darkness.
Not a single word was uttered.
She gazed at me with those dark eyes.
It's as if it's asking, "Why did you leave me all alone?"
Why won't you help me?
Tick tock!
A tiny tear of blood rolled down from her dark eye and fell to the ground.
"You got here because of your talent. But when your talent is gone, can you still move forward?"
The monster spoke again in a malicious voice, as if mocking my arrival.
“A mortal trying to forget the past is not qualified to stand before me.”
“What did you say?” I replied. I knew this bastard would say that, but it still annoyed me.
I can accept all the deaths and those horrific scenes, but to say I'm trying to forget the past?
“I will never forget,” I declared. “And I will never forgive.”
Saying these words finally released the emotions I had suppressed for so long. Countless scenarios flashed through my mind, in which I killed that demon, tore it to pieces, and shot a bullet into its throat.
Countless times in these imagined scenarios, I saved her countless times. But I knew it was all in vain.
"Heh...you're really funny..."
The figure spoke, its ugly hands slowly reaching towards me.
"You possess an aura that makes you suitable to be here."
In the eerie silence, the figure approached step by step, and I could feel its cold, bony fingers touching my forehead. This touch sent chills down my spine, as if it were probing my soul.
Even though I was prepared before I came here, the malice I felt upon touching it was almost enough to destroy my soul.
“You certainly deserve what I am about to give you.”
As those words were spoken, the figure withdrew its hand, and at the same time, a small raven appeared on my shoulder. Its eyes were purple, similar to mine.
“Then, take your companions with you,” the figure said, its form beginning to fade. Immediately afterward, I felt some force drawing me in…