"Mornin'..." Kai greeted the group lazily, rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes.
Ariella, still drowsy, responded by wrapping her arms around him in a warm, sluggish hug. She leaned into him, as if silently asking to be carried. It was obvious she wasn't eager to walk, especially knowing that today would likely be another long trek. Or didn't want to part from the comfort of sleep for now.
He patted her head and glance at Cia.
Cia, on the other hand, didn't respond to his voice. She remained quiet, distant, not even sparing a glance at him.
'Still making me dislike you… At least do better,' Kai thought, frustrated by her stubbornness. He didn't get it. Why would prepared to die even though she was still very much alive. Acting cold and unlikable so he won't feel guilty when the time comes.
He didn't want that to happen.
The morning passed like the previous one. They ate a modest breakfast—Kai's mischievous cooking, of course—but this time, silence ruled the meal. Ariella's eliminating presence seemed muted, oblivious to the mortals emotional struggle. Cia had no intention of speaking to Kai. Her distance created a somber atmosphere that hung over them like a heavy cloud.
Cia pretended nothing had happened the previous night. She acted as if she was just like yesterday— wearing a distant look, like a bleak porcelain doll. Occasionally, she spoke softly to Ariella who guided her by the hand, helping her navigate through their journey with delight in aiding her blind friend.
But Kai could see it, could feel the weight pressing down on Cia. Aware of the deep wounds in her heart that she did everything in her power to hide it from showing on her face. On the surface, she acted like nothing was wrong, but Kai knew better. He wasn't as good at managing his emotions, though. His heart are mixed, making thinking rationally a but difficult. He didn't even know if he could control what will come out of his mouth once it run. So he remains quiet with a grim mood. His mind racing, trying to figure out what he could possibly do to help her.
Comforting people wasn't his strong suit. In fact, he outright admitted to himself that he was terrible at it, much more than socializing.
So he did the one thing he knew how to do: he thought. He drowned in his thoughts, searching for a way to give her hope, a reason to keep going. His mind circled back to one possibility - The so-called abilities Gabriel mentioned, which all Players/Transmigrator possess.
Though he hadn't fully understood it himself, because he hadn't figured out exactly what is his own ability nor know how to discover it. However, his certain it's something unique and magical, varying in power. And maybe, just maybe, it could even let her see the world.
That, at least, was something he could hope for.
Their journey southward continued, peaceful for the most part. Kai's thoughts swirled constantly, trying to unravel the mystery of their abilities, not just for Cia's sake, but for his own as well. He hadn't even begun to unlock the full potential of his own powers, and without more information, he had no way of figuring out how to trigger them. Not even Gabriel knew his, so Kai can only wait for it to surface.
Hours passed, but his thinking led him nowhere, leaving him with nothing but a dull ache in his head.
Kaiser sighed, taking a deep breath of the forest's fresh, earthy air, allowing his gaze to wander around. The forest was a mix of the familiar and the strange plants. Many were similar to Earth's greenery, but a few were unlike anything he'd ever seen before - Trees with blue leaves, black-barked trunks, and odd, brightly colored fruits that looked far too dangerous to eat and so on.
However, plants didn't hold his interest for long, deeming them insignificant. His more interested in the creatures that roamed this world. Not the small, harmless ones. But the creatures that can be described as monsters.
His mind drifted back to the large, crawling snake they had encountered before—the one he and Ariella had narrowly escaped thanks to the bandits that kidnapped them.
In any case, were there even more dangerous creatures lurking in the world? Ferocious beats, repulsive creatures or even titanic abominations as big as mountains.
Kai's curiosity piqued, though he knew better than to seek out such horrors deliberately. The snake they'd run from had been terrifying, but what if there were even worse abominations waiting for them?
He didn't have long to ponder the thought.
'Sh*t.'
His eyes snapped forward, locking onto a certain tree ahead of them. As a traveler, of course his cautious enough to pay attention to their path constantly. Kaiser tensed up, for he had no been wrong. Glaring at the distant tree, he noticed something wrong on its greeny crown. His eyes squinted, recognizing the odd shape among the green leaves—something that didn't belong.
His heart skipped a beat.
If course he recognized that sign, they encountered it before. It might not look like it from afar, but that's a large green snake, coiled up and hidden in the branches, waiting for prey to enter its range.
It was the same kind of creature he and Ariella had encountered before.
He came to an abrupt stop, blocking Ariella with his back.
Cia, sensing their sudden halt, asked softly.
"What's wrong?"
Kai hesitated, his gaze still fixed on the snake.
"Nothing... it's just a snake." He said, trying to sound calm as he could.
'Calm down, everything is under control.' Indeed, the situation is salvageable by circling around this spot, evading the treat in the process.
However, things took a different turn.
The three gently shook as the snake's leaf-covered hide rustled, its presence now fully apparent. Then, an eye popped up. Kaiser eyes met the creature's chilling gaze of its single, vertical eye.
Kai grit his teeth.
"Kai…" Sensing the tension, Cia fragile voice spoke behind. Sounding soft and calm, short but hold emince meaning.
She knew they were in danger and a choice had to be made.
"Don't even think about it," Kai muttered under his breath, trying to maintain control. "It's just an adorable little snake. Nothing special."
Without turning back to look at her, Kai added, "Ariella, go with Miss Cia for a while, alright? I'll come get you in a bit."
Ariella hesitated, her face lacking its usual bright smile, but she nodded and stepped back with Cia. Naively trusting her guardian words completely without doubt.
But Cia refuses to move.
"Kai!" Cia's voice was sharper this time, edged with serious command.
They talk about this last night, to protect Ariella at all cost. Even if it meant abandoning her...
He have her consent, and Kai already thought of ways to use her. Outrunning that crawling abomination with their human legs is futile, but Cia can delay it...
Its funny, he thinks about doing many bad stuffs. But can he really do it? Abandon Cia here?
'Yeah right, of course I can.' he thought, tinged with uncertainty.
'But I won't.' That was certain though.
Refusing to look back, Kai let out his built up frustration.
"Shut it, Cia!" he snapped. "You're gonna die eventually, we all are! But it won't be today. I made a promise." His voice grew calmer. "And trust me, I'm no hero. I'm not risking my life for anyone else. I'll run if things go bad, but I'm not letting you die here. Not like this... Honestly, I never fight a battled I'm not confident in winning."
Cia hesitated, clearly torn, but eventually, she let her be led by Ariella away.
Left alone, Kai watched as the snake approach. By now, it had already descended down the tree, slithering towards him unhurriedly, warry against it's unmoving prey. It slowed down, stopped before him and lifted its head, towering over him with its long neck arched like a cobra. Its single, vertical eye locked onto him, unblinking and filled with primal hunger. The bottom of its scaled body revealed multiple centipede-like limbs along its underside, giving it a grotesque, monstrous appearance.
His only saving grace is that, it's not as big as the one before. It's slightly thinner and shorter. Still, it could swallow him whole.
He couldn't die. What did he have to be afraid of? Yet his hand trembled, remembering why he ran away from it last time. Immortality is both gift and a curse, it will always save him from death, but not the suffering. There exists situation where it's better to die, like being inside a snake stomach. To be surrounded by dissolving acids without dying... The thought of it made him pale.
Even immortals have fear.
Yet here he is, standing before that dreadful creature promising that torturous fate.
Back then, Kai flee from it. But not anymore, not after he made that promised with Cia.
He unsheathed his sword...
But most importantly, In the past few days, he had changed. He wasn't the same Kai who had been terrified and powerless, only having immortality to keep him alive. Akin to a dull sword that would always restore itself... The thing is, his human. The more you break him, the more his desire to retaliate grew. Humans doesn't like being hit without returning a punch. And so, each death made him sharper.
Without warning, the snake lunged at him with lightning speed, its massive jaws snapping shut just inches from his face. Kai barely dodged, slashing his sword at the creature's side. The blade bit into its scales, but the cut was shallow—its tough hide was like armor, and his sword wasn't sharp enough to do serious damage.
It hissed, whipping its tail around and striking Kai in the side. He grunted in pain, stumbling backward. The force of the blow nearly knocked the wind out of him, but he managed to stay on his feet. However, without even time to recover, it lunged again, its jaws wide open, aiming to swallow him whole. Kai narrowly evade, rolling to the side and slashing at its neck.
Another shallow cut. It wasn't enough. His mundane sword from are just not sharp enough.
Before he could react, the snake's tail whipped around again, striking him hard in the chest. Kai flew back, crashing into the ground with a grunt. The impact knocked the air from his lungs, and for a moment, everything went black.
When his vision cleared, he found the snake looming over him, its body coiling around him like a python. It squeezed, and Kai could feel his ribs creaking under the pressure. He gasped for air, struggling to free himself, but the snake's grip tightened. Its several centipede-like legs burying into his flesh.
The fate he feared was coming, he gazed at it grimly with gritted teeth in pain.
...He lost.
Of course, this is expected. His just an average boy thrust into a world of cruelty devoid of skill or talent. Forced to learn combat by the bandits, even then he died multiple times. In the end of it, he learned to fared against humans, albeit in a crude way. However, humans and monsters are vastly different. The crawling snake was wild and unpredictable, moving its long, monstrous body around as it's weapons and armor. Its fighting style was too inhumane, he didn't even knew where it's weak points are. Unlike the humans he fought, Kai was too weak against it.
His vision began to blur as the world darkened around him.
Then… nothing.
The snake swallowed the lifeless body whole, lingered for a bit before slithering towards where Ariella and Cia went, hungry for more.
But inside the snake's stomach, something stirred. It halted, feeling something amiss... Then, it single eye narrowed to the point of needle.
A horrid shrieks sounded in the forest, as the crawler writhed in agony, its body thrashing wildly as it tried to expel the intruder devastating it's innards. Tearing everything inside, flesh and organs, everything that keep it alive!
Eventually, it died.
Moments later, Kai emerged from its corpse, covered in blood and viscera. He looked down at the lifeless snake, smirking.
"Who's laughing now... bastard."
He sheathed his knife, wiping the blood from his face as he look up. Covered in blood as he savored the sweet taste of victory, his heart beating fast.
'No wonder animals can never won against humans.' Eventually, Kai sighed.
The day after that, they finally reach the source of light he saw that night.