Chapter 33
My eyes snap open. A feeling of doom overtakes me, yet I cannot say why. My body is charged with adrenaline, and I’m on the verge of bolting—running until my legs give out. But I don’t know why.
“You’re awake.” Moe smiles at me.
I blink. Moe? What is she doing here? For a moment I’m disoriented and confused before everything comes back to me. She followed me here and I said I would take her with me.
There was something else, was there not?
“Yes,” I answer groggily. Then noticing how late it is, I quickly get up. “We should probably get moving.”
Moe goes outside to put out the fire while I take apart the tent and the sleeping bags. With everything deposited back in the proto-realm, we start walking.
Following the map, we have some twelve hours left of walking until we reach the Gaigo-ne Mountainous Region.
As the trees become sparser and sparser, we make our way into canyon territory.
The first sign is the changed color of the rocks. If before they had a healthy, earthy look, now they are barren and greyish in color.
The vegetation is short, thin and scattered. It’s mostly shrubs, roots and some leafless plants. Brittle branches scrape against our clothes as we push past them.
The air is dry. A fine layer of dust clings to my skin, peppering my dark clothes with grey.
“This is so interesting,” Moe says in awe as she looks around. Although she’s mortal—granted, I’m not that much better than her—her endurance has been surprising. At no point has she asked me to stop or slow down, keeping up with me even when the terrain became tough.
“I’ve never been outside of the Capital before. Well, I’ve barely even been around the Capital. But this…” She shakes her head. “I’ve read about these areas, but I never thought I would get to see them in this lifetime.”
“You read about them?” I raise my brows in surprise.
She nods. “I love adventure novels, and a lot of them were about the hero’s journey through uncharted territories of Tartareia. Some of the environments they conquered looked like this: barren, inhospitable and hard to traverse.”
Her expression turns wistful. “Often, I would imagine myself as the main lead in those novels, doing those acts of bravery and going on those adventures. But it was just a bit of entertainment; my escape from reality. I never thought I’d be here.”
“You’ve never said that before,” I mention, my eyes glued to her, half in admiration, half in… it’s better she doesn’t find out.
She’s kept the male clothes from before: high-waisted black trousers that cling to her curves, paired with a crisp white linen shirt and a waist-length padded jacket. She’d also kept the hat from before, though now her hair is flowing freely down her shoulders instead of being hidden away.
She’s stunning, particularly with her ruddy cheeks and sparkling eyes full of excitement.
“Why should I?” She laughs. “It’s not as if I ever thought I’d embark on an adventure.”
“Why not?” I challenge. “You could become a heroine and write your own adventure novels.”
Her eyes widen at me suddenly before she lets out a soft laugh.
“I’m mortal, Nyk. Even if I wanted, I’m basically at the bottom of the trophic chain in Tartareia.
Never mind the many immortals around, or those other species that have supernatural abilities, think about the wild animals that could rip me apart in a moment.
Or those mythical beasts you’re chasing. I’d have been crazy to do that.”
“And yet here you are.”
She smiles. “Here I am. That should tell you how much trust I have in your abilities.” She winks at me.
My lips pull up in a smile. But it soon freezes on my lips as her image is superimposed with another one, winking at me…
I blink and the thought is gone. My mood only becomes better as we continue to chat.
Every four hours, we take a small break. We eat and I urge Moe to take a short nap. When the area looks to be a bit more tranquil, I also close my eyes for a brief moment to recharge.
Although the weather is rather fickle in this region, with a couple wind storms hindering our way, we manage to cross the canyon unscathed.
Soon, we reach the Oleyan River. The Gaigo mountains loom in the distance, their high peaks blurring into the clouds.
“Wow!” Both Moe and I whisper as we stare at the scenery in front of us.
“The books don’t do it justice,” Moe adds, turning in a slow circle as she takes everything in.
“We should cross the river and find a spot to camp for the night. We’re not too far off the edge of the forest.” I point into the distance where tall trees are gathered into the horizon.
“How long will it take us to reach the destination?”
“Not long. According to the map, some three hours from the edge to the heart of the forest. But that’s where the real danger begins. Once we reach Feiyin Grove”—I point to the area marked with red on the map—“we’re effectively entering the mythical beasts’ domain.”
“We’ll need to be fully rested,” Moe says, her voice full of determination.
My lips flatten into a thin line as I think of all the dangers ahead.
Once again, my instinct is to ask Moe to wait for me at the edge of the forest, but I know she won’t accept that.
If anything, she’ll just follow me anyway.
At least while she’s with me I can keep her in my line of sight and ensure nothing happens to her—and if anything should happen, then I can protect her with my body.
I give her a tight smile and turn to scan the riverbank. The current isn’t too strong, but the water runs deep enough at some portions of the river to make the crossing a risk.
We start walking along the riverbank, searching for a safer passage.
After a few minutes, I spot a stretch where the river narrows, its current broken by a scatter of stones jutting above the surface.
“There,” I say, angling toward it.
The rocks form a crude path across, uneven but manageable. I step onto the first one, testing it before shifting my weight. It holds.
“Careful,” I murmur, glancing back at Moe. She nods and raises her fist up—a gesture to signal she’s doing fine.
One by one, we cross, the rush of water loud beneath us, until we reach the other side.
On the other side, the air feels cooler, the ground softer beneath our feet.
I move along the edge of the forest, searching for higher ground—somewhere sheltered, but not too enclosed.
We don’t want to venture inside too much yet.
Even though the most dangerous area lies deeper into the forest, I can’t ignore the fact that other animals might roam around here.
“There,” I say at last, pointing to a small rise tucked between a cluster of roots and low-hanging branches. “We’ll be less exposed, and we’ll hear anything approaching.”
Moe nods and helps me set up our tent and sleeping bags.
We push the tent right under the branches, carefully fitting some of them on top of the roof and over the main entrance to disguise it. Then, a small distance away from it, we gather some branches and start a fire to cook dinner.
The moons are already converging in the distance, the light dimming by the minute. Loud screeches echo from the forest, followed by a low chorus of guttural growls that seem to vibrate through the ground.
Across the sky, a large-bodied bird flies high over the tree crowns, letting out successive bouts of high-pitched shrieks.
“What was that?” Moe asks, startled.
“It must be a prey bird. We should hurry and put out the fire to not attract attention.”
Her attention is fixed above as she absentmindedly gathers all the food. I quickly put out the fire and disperse the smoke before I join her back at the tent.
We nestle inside, closing the entrance and adding a few more branches around for camouflage.
Moe seems a little distracted as she eats, flinching every time another loud noise rings out.
“We need to be more careful from now on. We were lucky we didn’t encounter any wild animals on the way, but it seems this forest is teeming with them.”
She nods and finishes her food. “You said you have some books on the mythical beasts you’re searching for?”
“Yes.” Reaching into the proto-realm, I retrieve a book on mythical beasts. It’a thick tome containing thousands of species, some endemic to Horan Forest, while others endemic to other parts of Tartareia.
I scan the index, find the Horan Forest section, and open the book to the first mythical beast: the Wilka.
“Here.” I hand it to her.
She starts reading aloud.
“Wilka, Genus: Welkorum coeur. The Wilka is a rare, horned predatory beast native to Horan Forest. It possesses a lean, elongated, wolf-like body adapted for extreme speed and agility, with long limbs and a narrow torso that allows for rapid acceleration across uneven terrain. A single horn emerges from the center of its forehead, typically curved forward and composed of dense, bone-like material. This structure is lightly veined and may exhibit a faint luminescence, particularly in mature specimens.”
“That sounds quite cute. I wish they had an illustration to go with it,” Moe says jokingly.
“Me too. It says it has a wolf-like body but it doesn’t really say the size. I wonder if it’s the same as a regular sized wolf or bigger,” I muse aloud.
Moe nods as she continues reading.
“The most distinctive feature of the Wilka is the visible glow emanating from its thoracic cavity. This phenomenon is attributed to its heart, which contains a highly concentrated form of energy. In low-light conditions, this glow can be observed through the creature’s thin, tightly bound dermal layer, often described as a hybrid between fine fur and reinforced hide.
The coloration of the Wilka ranges from ash grey to deep charcoal, with subtle variations depending on age.
Its eyes are typically amber or pale silver and display a high level of environmental awareness, suggesting above-average cognitive function. ”
“The Wilka is an opportunistic carnivore, preying primarily on medium-sized fauna—”