Crunch. Crunch—
The crunch of our steps continued to echo throughout the air as several beams of light cut through the dense fog, illuminating the path ahead. Nobody said a word. Nobody dared to say a word, our minds preoccupied with the incident from before.
I was no different.
Thinking about the recording and what Joanna had talked to us about, I knew that there was something fundamentally wrong with this place.
’Could this be a sort of illusion created by the fog? But then how did it take control of the phone and take a recording of us?’
I wet my lips, trying to keep my mind steady.
I couldn’t lose focus now. I needed to remain calm.
Crunch!
Taking another step, I looked at the compass in my hands. It was pointing right in front of me.
"We’re going in the right direction, right?"
Nora’s voice reached me from behind. I didn’t answer immediately because I wasn’t sure myself. The compass suggested that I was, but given that the compass wouldn’t always bring me to the right place, with the occasional risk of it bringing me to the complete opposite place that I desired, I couldn’t downright tell her that we were.
"...Most likely."
Yes, this seemed like the most appropriate answer.
"Most likely? What does that even mean?"
"There might be a chance that we aren’t. I can’t guarantee anything with this fog."
"But... I, agh, nevermind."
Nora seemed to realize as well that, in our current situation, there was little I could actually do.
’At least, as of now, there isn’t anything to worry about. I still can’t feel anything around us.’
But was this a good thing?
I was certain that the knife would tell me if there were any anomalies nearby, or any sort of life, but what if the anomaly couldn’t be felt by the knife? What then...? After all, the knife wasn’t omnipotent. There certainly existed anomalies that could escape its influence.
’No, there’s no use thinking this way. Just go to the central area and find a place to rest.’
All of us were exhausted. We had planned on staying in the camp to take a rest, but as things stood, we had no choice but to leave and look for a new place.
It was important that we all rested.
"What do you all think about what happened back then?"
Cutting through the silence around us, Niel appeared next to me as he wiped his glasses again. Because of the fog, he had no choice but to do it quite often.
"...It might be something related to the mist."
Joanna replied a short moment later.
But Ariel’s voice soon echoed.
"No."
Her words made us all pause for a moment. She wasn’t one to speak a lot, but whenever she spoke, it always seemed to carry a certain weight.
"If it were related to the mist, then we would’ve been informed beforehand in the guidebook."
"But what if it’s part of the trial?"
Nora suddenly asked, trying her best to reason about the situation.
Ariel merely looked at her and didn’t answer. Or it was more like, she couldn’t be bothered to answer as she pointed her beam head.
Nora’s face twitched, her lips opening as she mumbled, ’This bitch is ignoring me again...’
"The BUA is crazy, and the World Congress is supposed to test us, but they wouldn’t omit such important information. Not only that, but we’ve all studied the mist. It doesn’t have such properties."
Joanna was still the most level-headed in the group as she looked at Nora.
"...If the mist really was like that, we would’ve known."
"Haa, fine."
Nora waved her hand, pointing ahead as a soft ’crunch’ followed her steps. Without saying anything else, she moved closer to me.
I merely gave her a glance before looking back at the compass. So far, it still pointed straight ahead, but looking around and seeing no buildings around, I started to grow more and more worried.
’We’ve walked for quite a bit, and we should’ve seen some buildings by now. And yet, there’s still nothing. Don’t tell me that it’s leading me in the wrong path, right?’
My grip over the compass tightened.
If this was really the case, then I needed to take some time to properly assess the situation. Thankfully, I wasn’t completely helpless. I could always summon the Realmwalker to check the surroundings and path.
’Maybe I should do that.’
It could—
Swooooooooooooooooosh!
The thoughts died in my throat. We froze, our bodies locking up instinctively as a low, mournful whistling began to vibrate through the mist.
"That’s...!"
We raised our heads, and the world changed.
The pale, suffocating darkness of the fog was being drowned out. Blood-red crimson began to bleed through the haze around us, spreading like a freshly opened wound. In that light, the shadows of the trees stretched and thinned, almost as if hypnotized by the red light above.
"Flare..." Mia muttered, her words barely audible. The crimson stain in the fog reflected in her pupils, her eyes dying red in the process.
"What should we do?"
"..."
The answer was obvious. There wasn’t anything to think about.
Without saying a word, I swung the beam of my torch toward the place where the flare had burned through the dark and started running.
The others followed instantly.
The crunch of our boots on gravel exploded in the silence, as if the ground itself were brittle bones snapping beneath our collective weight. The beams of our torches jittered wildly, slicing through trees and rock and empty air, never staying still, causing the shadows of the trees to stretch in all directions.
"Start activating your nodes. Take out any protective item that you might’ve brought with you."
We didn’t know what waited up ahead.
Without anyone noticing, I also released the Realmwalker while picking up the pace. We were going to rescue the team, but also potentially fight against an anomaly. I didn’t know what waited ahead, but we had to be cautious.
"Ariel."
Calling Ariel’s name, my mind suddenly cooled.
My body stiffened for just a brief moment before returning to normal.
"If you lose connection with anyone, tell me immediately."
"...Yes."
This was a preemptive measure in order to protect our minds from any anomaly that tried to do something to our minds. Not only that, but if something did occur to any of us, she’d know immediately, as well as brainwash us into becoming calm if the emotions got the best of us.
Like a puppeteer, she controlled all of us.
Swooosh—!
At the same time, Ariel created a connection with us, a shadow shot past us, Sarah’s figure fading as she moved ahead.
With the little presence she had, she was the best scout.
I kept my eyes on her silhouette and quickened my pace, placing each step with care. Heel first, then toe. Slow enough to soften the crunch. Quiet enough, hopefully, not to draw attention.
Everyone else was the same.
The faint red glow pulsed weakly through the haze ahead. One by one, we switched off our torches. Darkness swallowed us whole. The fog pressed in instantly, thickening around us, crawling into my nose and mouth, making each breath feel heavier.
For a moment, we were blind.
Then, pushing past the trees and bushes, the red emerged again, bleeding through the mist.
Sarah’s outline stood motionless up ahead.
We closed the distance and gathered around her. As we did, the fog shifted, thinning just enough to reveal the source of it all: a single flare, stabbed into the earth.
It burned steadily, spitting red sparks into the air. The blood-red smoke coiled through the fog, rising up slowly.
But most importantly, and most unsettling, was the absence of anything around it.
No footprints. No dropped pack. No sign of whoever had fired it.
Just the flare.
The soft hiss and sizzle gnawed at the silence. It wasn’t loud, but in the absence of everything else, it felt invasive.
Like a soft whisper inside my ear.
My chest tightened as I stared at it, the red light flickering across our faces.
Rustle! Rustle!
"—!"
The sound sliced through the silence.
My head snapped up so fast my neck burned. Every nerve in my body ignited at once. The fog ahead quivered, seemingly disturbed by something.
Something pushing through.
Branches trembled. Leaves shuddered.
My pulse quickened in my ears, drowning out everything but that dragging, slow rustle ahead of us. Beside me, someone’s breath grew frantic. Another took a step back, gravel crunching far too loud.
And then—
Rustle! Rustle!
Several figures appeared one by one, their body tensing and freezing at the sight of us.
"You..."
A voice cut through the silence as another figure stepped out of the greenery behind, his expression filled with surprise.
"Were you the ones who released the flare?"