Rustle.

  "Julian? Is that you?"

  "It's me."

  Using the glowing cards as his guide, Julian carefully found his way back to Maria. It was a foreign concept to him hours ago, yet he had already become comfortable using the cards to replace his dysfunctional eyes.

  "Eat these."

  Putting down the armful of fruits on the ground, Julian immediately went to the river to wash his nose.

  "..."

  "Sigh, I already apologized, did I not?"

  "... You went to pick these?" Maria asked, scooting closer to the fruits laid on a large leaf.

  "They are edible. Rinse them if you wish."

  "Are you not going to eat? "

  "Already did."

  "When?"

  "Just now."

  With him busy slapping the water on his face, Julian only replied to Maria in a couple of words.

  Realizing that she was being a bother, Maria returned her gaze towards the freshly plucked fruits. Surely, a sense of nostalgia washed over her.

  "How long has it been since I saw fruits?"

  She did not remember the last time she ate something from the forest. While it was the norm when she was young, the norm had long since turned into a luxury. She still remembered when the villagers told her that the forest to the east would keep standing.

  "Right, you never fancy fruits... Do you know, Julian? I once tried to feed you fruits when you were a baby," Maria said, caressing the small berries in her hands.

  "You did?" Julian said, hands had already stopped moving.

  "But you did not like it. You puke out the fruit so violently that you almost choke...," Maria continued with a sorrowful voice.

  "..."

  "That was the first time, and the last time any fruits get into your sight."

  "Was that ten years ago?"

  "Um... Do you still hate them?"

  Julian opened his mouth, but just a helpless sigh escaped. Glancing briefly in the direction of Maria, his hand then scooped the water once again. Perhaps too busy digging mud out of his nostrils, Julian did not answer her question.

  "Ah," Maria exclaimed, remembering something. Grabbing the knapsack, she pulled out a wrapping and said, "I bought this from the house. You love this, did you not?"

  Hearing such an energetic voice come from Maria, Julian could not help but turn around and see what else she had to show.

  "Crackers?"

  Wrapped inside blueish leaves or parchments, Julian saw deep brown crackers stacked together. While the crackers were the first thing he paid attention to, the blue materials took over his attention instantly.

  He recognized the same kind of materials sewn inside and outside of the satchel, pouches, and even the knapsack. It was thanks to those things that their belongings remained mostly dry.

  "Julian?"

  "... Save it for later," Julian answered, realizing that he had been silently staring at empty air.

  "Did something happen to your face? Is it the wound from before?" Maria said, her body already halfway off the ground.

  "Stop asking useless questions... Hurry and finish your food, we are moving right away," Julian said, gesturing Maria to stay where she was.

  "Can't we stay here for a bit? You do not look too good... Why no-"

  "No, save that when we get out of here," Julian said, slowly dragging his feet to their belongings.

  With a heavy sigh, Julian began to fasten their belongings on his body. His eyes were only half-opened, and his breathing was labored. The knapsack, before comfortably rested on his shoulder before, now appeared to hold much more weight than before.

  "...Is someone following us?" Maria asked, her hands holding the berries, trembled so slightly.

  "Following us? Did you see someone like that?"

  "No, but..."

  "Sigh."

  Letting out a forced sigh, Julian rummaged in his pouch before pulling a piece of dried, goat skin. It was old, something that he happened to come across while helping Maria search for her stuff.

  It was a poorly drawn map.

  '...Right, this corruption.'

  Unfortunately, his eyes were not helping him. He thought that thing he brought from the future could help him navigate the map. But all that appeared in front of him was a card stating it was an old map. Basically useless.

  "Is the sanctuary still far away?"Maria asked, her voice hesitant.

  "8 days away from this forest."

  Though they had diverted from their original path, cutting through the forest would give them a couple of days ahead of their schedule. With Julian's wish to get to the capital as soon as possible, that unfortunate situation was not without any benefits.

  Nonetheless, that was only the case if they successfully made their way out.

  "It's still far..."

  "Hurry up, then."

  Rustle. Rustle.

  Prickly, hairy grass blocked his path. They tied a knot around each other, strangling the boy in each and every step he took. Yet, he did not stop moving. His sword danced in the air, ceaselessly cutting through the chains of gray.

  "Stay close."

  "All right."

  It had been at least an hour since they started moving again. With his eyes turned useless, he could only rely on his intuition and memories to find his way out. It was a shame, but if the map was in a better, readable condition, Maria would surely be able to help them find their way around.

  Thud.

  "Julian!"

  "Tch...Useless fucks."

  With all his limbs kissing the ground, cursing out was one of the only few things he could do. Swallowing back the clumpy solids that were trying to force their way out, Julian tried to stand up.

  Thud.

  "...Julian, let's just stay here for a second, all right?"

  "Get your hands off me, woman."

  It was only a distance away before he could leave that cursed land. He knew his body was not going to hold on for too long, and if he were to collapse, he would rather do it outside. Swatting away the hands of Maria, he pushed himself up with his sword.

  "Let's go..."

  He wanted to remind Maria to keep her voice down, especially since there were countless beasts that they should not alert. However, he had gotten so tired that even speaking a few more words seemed to be a tall hurdle.

  "Ju...Julian"

  "What?" Julian answered sharply.

  "N-no, never mind...," Maria said, eyes staring into the distance.

  "..."

  Shaking his head, Julian continued carving out their path.

  "Maria."

  "Y-yes."

  Frozen in her feet, Maria was only snapped out of her daze by the annoyed voice of her son. However, her senses quickly left her again as she kept staring into the empty air somewhere.

  "Oi, Maria."

  "..."

  She heard not her name being called.

  Rustle.

  To their side, not even twenty steps away, a towering figure stood unmoved. Whether it had always been there was not important. Her heart that skipped a few beats was proof that it was not a hallucination.

  Its body was pale. Its skin appeared similar to a tree trunk. Cracks run down all over its body, with insects crawling in and out from its open spores. Its head, covered by the forest crown, emitted a faint blue light.

  If not for that light, that thing would have no problem blending into the pitch-black forest.

  "Maria."

  The voice called out again. This time, a taint of anger was laced in that voice. Seeing her overly attentive son pay no attention to that tree, Maria hastily threw away her worries and followed her son. This time, her grip on the knapsack was as strong as ever.

  [Tree]

  'A tree.'

  [Tree]

  'An old tree.'

  [Bush]

  'A bush.'

  [Cucumber Snake]

  'Venomous. Eat small animals.'

  He thought what was given to him was useless. He thought that those glowing cards were nothing than a nuisance that kept blocking his vision. Peer into the information of the other people? It was something bound to happen once he got stronger.

  Before, he could even peer into the past and even the future of other people. Naturally, he could only judge those glowing cards as unneeded. However, he had just made peace with the fact that he was wrong.

  Rustle.

  "We are out!"

  The dry ground under his feet. The winds blowing calm on his face. The smell of carcasses in the air. The small, happy voice of Maria. He managed to reach the other end of the forest by visualizing the world through the cards.

  "J..)-*&,<;..iu.ri..?.."

  Unfortunately, the ease he felt came to an end shortly.

  Pab.

  The sword fell first. Next came the owner. He puked out blood and clots of black and red. Black liquid seeped out from his black gloves, staining the dirt below like an ink hitting the canvas.

  Julian trembled on the ground. The sound of the world had quietened down. The pungent smell of the world choked. The voice, and the hands shaking his back, slowly turning numb. Everything gradually moving away from him.

  The cold sweat felt nothing more on his head. The thump of his heart heard no more in his ears. Even his cold breath felt no more. He cursed, yet was clueless if that managed to escape his mouth.

  'Sleep. Hide.'

  He did not know if those words managed to escape his mouth. It was a simple message. He wanted to sleep, and he wanted Maria to hide for a little while.

  It was fine. He wanted to convince himself that. He wanted to convince himself that nothing would happen for the short instance he passed out. But, he heard someone's voice. It was an unfamiliar voice. Coarse, too coarse to be that of Maria.

  He tried to look, but all that came was darkness. Then, he saw a floating card heading toward them.

  'Run.'

  He cursed once again.