The triangle was slowly filling up, they had found out after a few days. They started to relax again and with nothing to do but wait for it to finish charging up, they had a lot of free time on hand. So, they used their time wisely.
They hunted fish and some other animals in the forest after figuring out that screams seemed to have stopped permanently. They had also spent a lot of time training and having sex.
Leo figured that with the nutrients they got from the native animals, they could train more efficiently, and his theories held steadfast in the following days. Not only did Leo feel how he became stronger and faster almost at the same rate as when he started training, his senses became sharper as well.
It was like he was being elevated on every level. With his discovery Shunlei and Laura followed his lead and started training like crazy to the point that they were even too exhausted to do the deed making Sarah do all the work for them.
They already saw this little beach as their little vacation spot, one that just wasn't visited by any tourist, so they could enjoy it in full. It was a nice and peaceful place if one ignored the fact that they couldn't leave.
After one and a half week, they heard some rustling coming from the forest. They figured it was an animal again that found itself running out of its territory. Strangely the animals didn't seem to be affected by the strange space. Either way, it was understandable that they were surprised when a ragged man stumbled out of the forest.
He looked worse for wear as he was not only covered in bruises and cuts, but he was dirty and unshaved as well, having obviously not cleaned himself for days. Just as he stepped outside, he suddenly turned around with a terrified expression as he looked along the edge of the forest in panic.
"Are you alright?" Leo said managing to bring the man out of his stupor.
"W-ter, p-s." The man coughed out. He looked like he would fall any second. Leo quickly gave him some water bottle to drink from and supported him.
After taking several deep gulps, the man seemed satisfied for now. He slowly kneeled at the beach and started to bend to the ground and kissed the sand.
"Tha-k you. Finally, out." He said before passing out on the floor. They decided to bring him out of the midday sun and brought him to their original shack they had built. They had already upgraded to a bigger one after it was clear that they would have to spend a while at this beach.
As they laid him down, they noticed that he was carrying two knife sheathes with him but only one knife occupied a sheath. As they pulled the knife out, they found a severely chipped knife but more importantly they recognized it as one of the knives that the rogue was carrying.
They had thought that he had already died, they would have never assumed that he would be stumbling about in the forest. It was even less likely that even if he survived that they would meet up again, but perhaps the strange space in this forest and beach was bending in a way that led any direction towards the platform.
It would at least explain why no one bothered to greet them on this side.
After talking for a bit, they then went on with their training routine and caught some fish again while at least one of them kept an eye on the rogue. It would be a shame if he died on them after he had finally reached safety.
The rogue woke up briefly in the evening. Leo gave him the rations that they still had left from back home. The rogue was thankful and after finishing up with his meal he fell asleep again rather quickly.
It wasn't until the next day that they could hold a full conversation with each other. His throat was still recovering from the dryness of barely drinking the last few days.
He slowly told them that after stumbling into this world he started to head aimlessly through the forest. It took him a while until he spotted the ocean in the distance and made his way towards it. According to him it was many times better than heedlessly wander through the thicket.
The screams that accompanied him through his journey had obviously distraught him, especially in the night, making those nights sleepless for him.
He barely slept and only rarely stopped for food and water resulting in his currently ragged appearance. He had lost one of his knifes in a fight against a pack of wolves.
He had stabbed one of the wolves and his knife got stuck, but it did result in the wolves leaving him alone. He used his other knife for gutting and preparing his meals and to make himself some tools like a wooden spear he tried to hunt with.
After telling them about his struggles he asked about them. They didn't hold much information back as they retold their story. As a group they had it much easier, especially for the nights. It also surprised him that the four had so many tools with them. It was like they were prepared to be stranded somewhere.
To be honest they were prepared for being stranded and not only in a jungle like environment but all kinds of biomes. They could have survived on the open sea for days if they had to.
He was also taken aback that they had found the old man's corpse, after all he was the most experienced of the group or better said he was the only one with experience going into this.
He was glad that he had met them, or he might have died as he wouldn't be able to drink the salt water from the ocean and he didn't have any reserves left. The rogues timing was impeccable as well.
The triangle seemed to be almost finished in filling up. They had already told him that it was probably their only way away from there and the rogue was eager to join them.
They still had to wait for a few days. At one point they had figured out that the status of the triangle was corresponding to the moon. The closer it was to a full moon, the closer the triangle seemed to be filled up.
Leo should have figured that one out earlier since it was a common theme in witchcraft. No matter, they decided to relax for the next few days as much as they could as they wouldn't know what would happen once it was activated.
The rogue seemed to have recovered somewhat as well but he was eating a lot less than the others but that was to be expected since their normal intake had always been higher than most. The rogue started to clean himself up and shaved after seeing his image in the water.
Outwardly he seemed to have recovered but according to his screaming nights, mentally he still had some way to go. That was unsurprising as well as even they had been exhausted by the creepy atmosphere in the forest.
The rogue had come here alone since his friend couldn't make it to the darkness. He had to be cautious every second of the day and it showed. Even at the beach he was tense as if he expected to be ambushed any second now. The group did their best to calm and reassure him, but he was mostly living in his own head.
The day of the activation came rather quickly as the full moon shone upon them. They had already gathered their stuff and stood on the platform together.
"So, who should do the honor?" The rogue nervously asked as he rubbed his arm. Leo just wordlessly stepped towards the handprint.
"Alright, I guess hold on tight." He said as he waited for the group to physically hold onto him. He then pressed his hand into the handprint, but after a few seconds nothing happened.
Leo scratched his cheek as he looked at the others. "I was sure that would work- Oh, maybe some blood would work." He ignored their confused gazes as he cut his hand and firmly pressed on the handprint once again.
This time the glowing of the carvings started to intensify by a lot until they could barely see anything. Leo felt himself pulled thin as if he were being spaghettified.
They still held onto him even after the bright light had long faded. They had some white spots in their vision from the intense light. After blinking and trying to regain their sight completely, they looked around to see some buildings surrounding them. A fountain was running behind them and some lamps lit up the surrounding streets.
As they were looking around some guards were approaching them. At least they looked like guards with their spears, shields, and plate armor.
"Hello there. You have already arrived. Honestly, we didn't expect you until the next cycle or even the one after that. Most need some time to figure out how to trigger the teleport formation. So, from which island did you come from?"
"Look at them they look like they had a relaxed vacation. Probably one of the least dangerous islands out there. I go with The Sparrow's island" One of the other guards added while the others discussed among themselves as they observed their group as if they were deciding from which they came from.
"Oh, right! You don't know the names of your island, just describe what the island looked like and what you experienced." The guards seemed to be eager to hear from the island they came from.
Leo wouldn't be surprised if they were betting on their origin. He also wondered if that was such an important information that they needed to know it while standing around in the middle of the night on what appeared to be a marketplace. He answered anyway.
"We first stumbled into a forest before traversing it until we ended up at a beach. The teleport formation was on a stone platform."
The guards looked at each other as they thought about the possible island they had been on. "The Sunset Island, perhaps?" One of them guessed.
"What about the animals and anything that stood out like giant birds or the island being inside a cave?" One of them questioned.
"S-screams, the screams of dying people." The rogue muttered as he stared blankly to the ground. After he said that the guards' expression flashed with understanding.
"Deadman's island? Wow, that's rough. Does- does any one of you want to return home?" The guard said with sympathy in his voice.
"Yes! I want to return." The rogue suddenly screamed as he almost pounced onto the guard. He half kneeled as he began to cry and begged them to return him home. Leo's group looked at him in shook not having realized how despaired he was.
The other guards had an expression on their face as if they had expected that. It seemed like most that came from their island returned in a similar state, Leo guessed.
The guard nodded, "I will show you to the gap between worlds. What about you?" He asked Leo's group.
"We are fine." Leo answered for the group.
"Okay. Go and register those four while I take him back home." The other guards nodded before they guided the group through the city.
"I guess our island is more of a rougher patch than the others." Leo asked his guides not able to hide the curiosity in his voice which in turn earned him some looks.
"Ye-yeah, sir. Although, the Deadman's island isn't known for its high mortality rate, it is known for being the most terrifying one. Most invitees that start at that island want to return home immediately afterwards." One of them answered.