That same night, underneath a tree next to a fire, there I was. I stared at the fire trying to close my eye so I could sleep. Ever since I came to this world, sleep was a luxury I didn't enjoy. Every time I tried, an image of Airi on her wheelchair covered in blood pops up in my head.
Even though I now know that she's in this world, I can't help but feel that I was the one that caused her death. If only I fought back even if it was just once. Then maybe, just maybe, the events of that night wouldn't have happened.
I always wanted to fight back. I always had the courage, the reason, the tools, the mindset. I felt no pity to those who deserved it. That's why I didn't feel anything when I killed my mother's husband. How could I when he deserved it.
If that's the case, then why did I never fight back? The feeling of wanting to get back at them was practically suffocating me. But I never did so. Why? Oh. I remember. It was her. She was always there, watching in regret and helplessness as it happened to me.
But she never talked to me, probably because she thought I forgot her. I didn't want to scare her that she may go away from me again. In the end, this is where it got me. I won't let something like that happen again, even though I know she's here, in this world.
Time had passed. It was probably around the middle of the night. I couldn't take it anymore. The loud noises from insects or whatever they were. Even though it was the middle of the night, it was incredibly loud. I had to do something.
I was thinking of using a skill of some kind until, all of a sudden, it got quiet. Very quiet. Not a single thing made any noise. Something was obviously not right because I hadn't used anything yet.
The silence helped me listen. Approaching footsteps from far away, though something about how it sounded wasn't right. It felt way too slow and it didn't sound like they were alternating steps. I could tell it was getting closer, but the steps weren't louder.
"Don't move." That was Clara. I obeyed without a second thought. But my eye was already fixated on the direction of the source of the sound since I wanted to see what it was.
As it got closer, I saw dim white light emanating from it. And when it got out of the trees and into the light of the fire, I saw the literal definition of an abomination. Like, I don't even know how to explain it.
A big spherical body with a disgusting appearance. The entire thing was practically one big eye with some other things, all walking on one limb. A hand. And the entire thing was glowing a dim white light for some reason.
It walked as if it had no concept of gravity. I was freaked out. But Clara told me not to move and eventually, I stopped hearing it.
I let out a sigh of relief and wanted to make sure it was gone but when I turned my head, it was right in front of me, staring at me with its big eye. I got jump scared, just without the jump. Whatever it was, it somehow got so close to me without me sensing it.
I didn't move again and waited to see what it will do. Surprisingly, after staring at me for a couple of seconds in silence, it moved back and walked away. I wasted no time in asking Clara what the hell that was.
"A phantom. You might know them as spirits or ghosts." G...Ghosts?
"They are the souls of the dead that are rejected by heaven and are forced to spend all of eternity in the physical world. Depending on the emotion they felt during their last moments, they turn into monstrosities like the thing you just saw."
Yeah. Okay. But why was it here and what was it doing? What kind of emotion did it feel to become that?
"The 'monsters' they turn into are mostly incomprehensible. None looks like the other. It is difficult to know what it felt. This one was probably a wonderer that passed through here many times, killing anything it sees. It must be well known by the wildlife here."
That explains the sudden silence. But it didn't stop the uneasy feeling I'm getting right now. Also, why couldn't I sense it?
"Phantoms typically don't have mana because only living things have it." Isn't it technically alive though?
"If it were, it would be possible to kill them. But there's no way of killing the dead. You haven't come across any of them yet, so you haven't tried it. There are rare sightings of them. Any who see them usually don't survive. You're lucky."
Oh, shut up... If that's the case, then my uneasy feeling has been justified.
The rest of the night was rather peaceful. At daybreak, I planned to continue going for the other sector. I used a teleport skill to get me closer but my level of mana limited it. I could have just increased it or used it again but I thought of just walking the rest of the way.
While walking, I didn't expect to see a camp. Around seven people were there. They were on our side of the wall. The same way I didn't expect to see them, they didn't expect to see me.
"Who are you?" One asked. "Why are you so far away from civilization?"
"I'm an adventurer and I would like to ask you the same question. Why are you here?"
"Oh, we're adventurers too. We were hired to accompany someone." As he replied, a middle aged man walked out of a tent.
"Alright everyone. I think we're ready to head..." He stopped and looked at me. "Oh. Who might you be?"
"He's also an adventurer."
"I see. Then if you don't mind me asking, where are you headed adventurer?"
I didn't understand why he wanted to ask me that but I still answered. "To sector F." Their faces clearly meant that they couldn't believe what I said.
"Are you sure? That's not a very good idea." The man said.
"And why is that?"
"Don't you know what they call the place? Why they call it that way?"
"What do they call it?"
"They call it the Land of Horrors. Anyone who walks in there never comes out. There's a legend that monsters unlike any other kind roam around that area Very scary monsters. Are you sure you want go there?"
"Tell me more about this 'Land of Horrors'."
"That's the only thing about it that's known."
"Listen man." One adventurer spoke. "Between you and me, I don't think its a good idea to head there."
Something was off. "Well, I guess I'm going anyway." I didn't want to keep the conversation going. They acted weirdly. Its as if they were trying to make me not go there. "Safe travels to you." Then I walked away.
Without me knowing, they looked at my back as I continued walking there. Their heads twisted trying to keep me in their line of sight. And when they could no longer see me, their eyes darkened and became pitch black. Then they started chanting something.
"Don't go. Don't go. Don't go." And they continued saying it.
After a while, in the early afternoon, I finally arrived where the borders of the sector were originally. You could literally tell the difference between the land there and outside it. The trees were much taller, older and denser than anywhere else I've been to in this world.
There was also a dense fog in the area. I could tell that it was definitely not a normal place. So I did like any other person in a horror movie.
I walked straight into the unknown. Where anyone who walks in, never comes out. Where a new, mysterious type of danger lurked. A place where the rest of the world doesn't even know what's in it.
A place called, the Land of Horrors.