Ash didn't know what he expected when he ran into the thick of the trees, heart thumping like crazy in his chest.
In front of him was a massive clearing, and it was filled. No, flooded with creatures. Hundreds... no, maybe thousands. Some were standing still. Some were lying on the ground. A few were just pacing in circles like they were confused or lost. He could tell some were injured. A couple looked sick, like really sick. Their skin was pale or cracked, and they had those slow, dragging movements like they were about to die.
But what shook him wasn't the number. It was the way they were acting. They weren't fighting. Not one growl. Not even one roar. They were just... there. Together. Not a single creature even looked his way. Some glanced past him like he wasn't even real.
For a second, he genuinely thought he had stepped right into his own funeral. He half expected to be ripped apart in the next few seconds. But nothing happened. No sudden attacks. No movement toward him.
Creatures like these shouldn't be peaceful. Not in this kind of number.
He slowly sat down on the dirt, breathing shallowly. His heart was pounding hard, but he forced himself to calm down. This wasn't normal. Not even close.
By the time Ken and Reaper finally caught up, about fifteen minutes later, they found Ash just sitting there. His back was to them, his head lowered, arms resting on his knees like he had given up trying to understand anything.
At first, Reaper squinted, confused, his hands twitching like he was ready for a fight. Ken stood silent, eyes scanning every direction, his body tense.
Then they saw what Ash was looking at. Reaper stopped breathing for a second. Ken's mouth twitched, just slightly.
There were monsters everywhere, and none of them were trying to kill each other, and that was the scariest part.
Ash didn't look back at them when he spoke. "They're scared," he said.
Reaper didn't respond. Neither did Ken. Ash looked down again, dragging a hand through his hair.
**
They found a better tree to rest in, an old one, bigger than the last. Its bark was thick and dark, almost black, and its trunk was so wide it would take four people holding hands just to wrap around it. Its branches stretched out like long arms, heavy with leaves, and even though the forest around them was dying, this tree still stood strong.
They climbed up carefully. The top gave them a clear view of the clearing below, of that silent swarm of monsters. Some were still sleeping, curled up like strange dogs. Others were awake, sitting still.
That night, their stomachs reminded them they hadn't eaten properly in days. And even though hundreds of beasts sat below them, they didn't dare touch a single one.
One wrong move, one drop of blood, and the whole thing could turn into a bloodbath. And it wouldn't be the monsters dying. So they did what they always did. Took turns watching.
Sometime deep into the night, when the moon was higher in the sky, Ken shook Ash awake.
Ash blinked, groggy and cold. His back ached from sleeping on bark, and his mouth was dry.
"Your turn," Ken said softly, already turning away.
Ash sat up slowly, letting out a long yawn. He shifted forward and moved toward the edge of the branch, letting his legs dangle. As he looked down at the clearing below.
It was almost peaceful, in a strange, wrong sort of way. The creatures hadn't moved much. A few of them twitched now and then, or blinked their glowing eyes, but that was it.
Ash leaned back against the tree, wrapping his arms around his stomach. It growled again. He ignored it.
"What the hell is this place…" he whispered to himself. His thoughts wandered. They always did during his watch.
Every weird thing that happened since they got stuck here came crawling back to him. The rift in which he fell down. That strange man they met, the one who gave him the sword and talked about something that Ash didn't understand.
The gods he thought..... The gods didn't exist anymore, every last one of them abandoned humanity, and in the end, were killed by lord Gabriel. That's what he had heard in stories on how lord Gabriel had saved the dying world, giving it life, killing the corrupted gods and uniting the world into one.
Ash, as a kid always wondered how lord Gabriel even managed to kill a god. If he were one of their creation, then how was a creation able to kill the creator itself?
Then there was the forest, quiet, dead and empty. No life, no sound. It didn't feel like a forest. It felt like a graveyard.
Then the strange pull of the nexus tear. That pressure in the air that had made his skin crawl.
And now... this.
A valley full of monsters, scared and waiting.
Ash closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. He looked over to where Ken was sleeping. The guy didn't even move in his sleep anymore.
Ash hated it.
He missed the old Ken. The loud, dumb one who used to sneak snacks into training and talk with his mouth full. The one who used to laugh at bad jokes and complain about everything. That Ken would've thrown a stick at Ash just to be annoying. That Ken would've said something stupid right now just to make him laugh.
But that Ken was gone.
And Ash didn't know if he was coming back.