NOVEL NEXT 23 — Misting Valleys
"The difference between an undead and a living soul is that the living have the capacity to learn and change. The undead don't. Everything they learn is relearned, and every change is one that their soul had potential for in life.
Undead are to be pitied. They are creatures perpetually stuck in the past, reaching for the heights they once achieved. And the most pitiful of all is that they will never attain them. No mortal soul remains intact when torn from its home, and these undead—they know it. But they will never understand the significance. That feeling—the sense that something so integral to their being has been lost—chains them. They will never be unshackled from these chains. And yet, they will always strive for more.
I bring them rest, because it is the only mercy I can give them, Alex."
Laura Garcia, Priestess of the Seven Sisters.
* * *
The ghoul clutched the gap in its throat where black, greasy blood spilled. Its eyes went wide, and its tongue flitted and snaked into the wound to plug the flow, writhing beneath decayed skin like an errant vein. For a moment, it seemed the creature's grotesque actions might actually save it—until its eyes turned white and it keeled over without ceremony. It hadn't died so much as life had simply left it because the wound Alex inflicted had cut deeper than the purely physical.
No, not cut—
Sever
Nychta followed the skill's momentum in an arc, slicing through thick mists as Alex shifted into a guard against his next opponent. The action was swift, merciless, and wasted no time while the ghoul's soul disseminated. Precious seconds were a scant currency when faced with multiple opponents.
But perhaps ghouls might be an exception to the rule.
Alex didn't know what creatures they resembled in life—only that he didn't want to know. And as those green-tinted eyes in the fog swerved onto their fallen comrade—as his foes paused in their pursuit of him to tear it limb for limb, teeth gnawing and scraping flesh from bone—he took their clemency in good grace and turned heel.
He ran deeper into the forest. He weaved through thickets of trees whose trunks bloated with rotten bark. Groans and screams of elation followed, and he stopped only when their echoes became diluted by distance. Pivoting on his feet, he dropped into a middle guard, the top of his curved blade jutting up and out. The hem of his cloak flapped behind him.
[Midnight Cloak]
Woven from the silk of Night Worms, this cloak enhances Stealth effects.
Cost: 8,000 Essence Crystals
Those distant groans grew more guttural by the second—and far less distant. But even under the midday sun, the misting valleys concealed all shadows. Alex knew he would spot them long before they spotted him. His focus, instead, lay elsewhere.
His sword's voice rang out from her fractured metal. The voice no longer seemed to come from within or without—the distinction no longer felt applicable. It was his now. All that mattered was that he listened.
It told him there would be narrow room for his sword between the trees. So he adjusted his stance, sliding his left foot further forward and his right foot back, extending his sword arm away from his body in a stance opposite to how he would have wielded Lys. Nychta gave a low hum, which rose to a fever pitch, reverberating in his skull as a sharp sense of rightness settled in.
[Weapon Mastery] with Nychta increased.
Progress to rank Adept: 27%
Having corrected his guard, Alex raised his left hand and curled it around the pommel beneath his right in a dual grip. The curvature of Nythca's edge now aligned vertically in the face of his approaching foes.
[Armored Gauntlets]
A pair of gauntlets lined with leather for a tighter grip and plated with steel scales.
Cost: 5,000 Essence Crystals
In the back of his mind, experience warned him of the dangers of so extended a guard. It would allow for faster reactions, but his limbs were too exposed. Against creatures as spry and lithe as ghoul—whose razor tongues could wreathe tight appendages as easily as they could tear them free—it was dangerous to leave anything sticking out.
But Alex was a Stone Dancer now, and his class illuminated his way.
A ribbon of light appeared the instant the ghoul did. It was a river that flowed between the mental and physical realms, a passage to exact his will on reality. He brought his blade down, following its twisting path. Nythca—his partner in dance, his protector—caught the ghoul's clawed fingers on her blunted backside.
Alex stepped in. The ghoul's two-handed lunge glanced harmlessly down her curvature.
It opened its maw then, shooting out its tongue. But it had over-extended, and Alex caught the tongue in his left gauntlet. He reversed his blade with his right, and the ghoul's neck fell in sight of Nythca's edge. It did not matter to her—human, beast, goblin, or however twisted the deformity. The undead were a scourge that all life must be cleansed of, and with her new trait, the process was as swift and clean as ever.
The ghoul's blood hardly spattered Nythca's blade as it died.
Level 9 Ghoul has been Cleansed!
+460 Essence Crystals
Before wielding Nythca, Alex had never experienced Persian swordplay, but his Weapon Mastery was slowly correcting that. His style of combat was already evolving. With such a long, curved blade, you must commit to blows and pivot out of them immediately once they are made. Linear swordplay was to be avoided; lingering too long was dangerous.
Following the momentum of his strike, Alex refused to stop—following the ribbon of light that guided him. It appeared again as he twisted around in dance, reacting in tune with his dangersense.
The tongue of the other ghoul jutted out. He snapped his head sideways to dodge and the cut grazed his cheekbone—a narrow, but measured scrape. Ignoring the wound, he slid his sword adjacent to the tongue's path. The ghoul, its muscles tensed and coiled, could only watch. It was no longer a threat by this point but a lamb on the platter.
So this time, Alex tested something new.
Lylith's Bond was a rare phenomenon where a weapon's trait synergized with a user's skill beyond what should be possible. Knowledge on the subject had never been for Alex's purview, but it was what he'd experienced with both Lys and Nythca—and now, with his Weapon Mastery raised, he attempted to replicate it.
It was a dangerous time to look inward, but Nychta only awoke in such danger—and even as he did, the ribbon of light she traced didn't disappear from reality. Beneath Alex's flesh—beneath his psyche even—was a blazing sun. Its burn was so hot, so bright, it was impossible to look directly at. But beneath that—where Alex was only just learning to look—was something equally grand.
The shadow his sun cast.
Sever
Nythca's cry reverberated in Alex's soul and in perfect union they cut through the ghoul's neck.
The world shivered.
Then when it stilled, he shifted his sight outward. For a moment, he expected to see the ghoul split in two—a beat past its death, as though theatrically delayed. Instead, he saw the ghoul entirely unscathed. Not a single splash of blood marred its flesh as the green in its eyes turned to white. The creature collapsed, lifeless but whole.
Alex's confusion lasted only a moment until he looked at his blade. So akin to a limb she was at times, that it was hard to remember what she truly was. Nychta was no ordinary blade. She was a named weapon, possessed by a guardian spirit.
Her purple-black sheen had an otherworldly quality, and for a fleeting moment, that perception of her in Alex's mind had spread to reality. Nychta had become ethereal. She had left the physical realm and entered the spiritual—severing the ghoul, yes, but not its body.
A small fire drifted from the ghoul's corpse—dull and gray with green flickering its edges. It floated aimlessly until it hovered right above Alex's open palm.
[Soul Fragment]
The fragmented remnant of a ghoul's soul.
Alex frowned. He was far from unlocking his Class's Weapon Arts, but perhaps his bond with Nychta had shown him a glimpse of the things her new trait were capable of. Except what was he supposed to do with a ghoul's soul?
Well… he had a few ideas, but none were accessible to him. First, he needed a way to store it properly. It wasn't like he could just stuff it into his back pocket. Was it even tangible enough to store in his inventory?
Alex tried to close his hand around the flame but it disseminated into particles, fleeing God only knew where. Perhaps he'd know if he ever died again.
He let out a sigh and knelt, lowering himself to one knee to examine the body. It had turned to ash faster than its companions, leaving behind only a dull, lifeless core, ivory tusks, and a surprisingly fleshy, pink razored-edged tongue. Alex put them into his inventory.
Quest Complete!
Quest: [Slay Three Ghouls]
Ghouls haunt the passages of the Misting Valleys. Slay three of them and make the mountains safe for travelers once more.
You have been rewarded 3,000 Essence Crystals!
"Well done, Nythca," Alex said, though he received no response.
Once more, the blade had fallen into slumber—into the depths of his soul, where she would rise only when Alex's sun seared its hottest. Strangely, he could still feel the presence of her guardian spirit, the undead who had once been the Second Scenario's boss, Lionheart. But if the spirit felt anything at Alex's praise, that too escaped his senses.
Really, Alex wasn't certain if it was truly Lionheart or merely a fragment of the man's soul, like the one he'd just severed from the ghoul—a watchful, aimless specter.
Quest has been upgraded to Blue-grade!
Quest: [Slay Fifteen Ghouls]
Ghouls haunt the passages of the Misting Valleys. Slay fifteen of them and make the mountains safe for travelers once more.
Reward: 9,000 Essence Crystals
Progress: 4/15
Alex slid the notification away, noticing that the system didn't even bother changing the description for this quest. The two other quests he'd chosen pretended to have a sort of plot to them. For instance, when he found the "missing caravan" two days earlier, their people—all undead enemies, naturally—had left scripted final words about some beast in the mountains that had ambushed them. Now, his next quest in that chain was to track it down and kill it if he could be bothered.
Alex had felt a little bad watching them deliver their lines while quaking from Nythca's presence. They were meaningless anyway. In the end, all these stupid prompts just boiled down to finding enemies and killing them.
Achievement Unlocked! [Natural-born Adventurer]
You have completed three Green-grade quests!
+1,000 Essence Crystals
Alex's head jerked up. Distantly, he heard the wails of wraiths. You always heard the wraiths before you saw them. They infested the mists like sharks—driven mad by the scent of living blood. His hand came away from his cheek, bloodier than expected. On closer inspection, the blood was from his hand itself.
It was the tongue.
Only the outer shell of his gauntlets were armored. When he'd snatched the ghoul's tongue, its razor edges had shallowly sliced his fingers. The leather was torn and ruptured. And if that weren't bad enough, the Lost Souls that gave the Soul Mists their namesake returned now to haunt him. They whispered in his mind, their voices light and airy.
"It'sss… going to be a paaain… to sew back togetheerrr…"
Alex shook his head as they tugged and prodded at his mind. He looked down at his gauntlet, wishing they wouldn't lend voice to legitimate grievances.
"The wraaithss… will teear your soul… apart…"
He shivered; that wasn't any better.
Standing, he glanced mournfully toward the first ghoul he'd killed. He might loot it in time, but once the wraiths found you, they never stopped coming. Besides, he didn't want to linger here among the Lost Souls for much longer. His trait made him sensitive to their lingering wills, but his Scenario Path at least provided ample barrier to their voices. Somewhat.
Sheathing his sword into Lionheart's old scabbard, Alex ignored the irony and made his way out of the mists.
[Enchanted Scabbard (Uncommon)]
Carved from aged oak and enchanted to fit any sword. Designed to contain and conceal aura.
After a short hike down the mountain, Alex approached the wall separating the mists from his path. Stepping through was like entering another world—similar to passing through a cavernous waterfall then seeing the beauty of nature once more.
Though frankly, there wasn't much beauty to behold here. The dried grass and shrubbery matched the lifeless trees in dull gradient, and the sight provided over the forested valley was dampened by thick mists and gray canopies. His saving grace was that the mists didn't impede his scenario path. The air was more breathable here—drier, without condensation clinging to his every breath. Most importantly, the narrow corridor, about a dozen feet between both the mist walls, offered a clear view of the sky and sun.
But he'd left Starter Town three days ago and this was only the second sun he'd seen. He'd bask in it while he could—and dry his clay, which hung in pillowcases from a tree's branches—but soon, the night would blot it out entirely.
Approaching the tree, Alex stamped his boot to shake free a chunk of gore. The hard-packed dirt of the valley path was unfit for life, but the deep-rooted trees were eager for fertilizer. Roots snaked around the chunk of ghoul flesh caught in his boot and dragged it underground.
Alex took a second to ensure his own wound was wrapped in gauze before he leaned against the tree's stump to take a short break. He'd been pushing a hard pace since he'd set off three days ago, and he'd stopped today only to fulfill his third quest. He'd exceeded it actually—killing seven ghouls rather than the three required of him since they rarely ever traveled in packs of less than half a dozen.
And now, fifteen minutes after consuming his Essence, he finally felt the electricity leave his body.
Charged State has ended!
Essence has been integrated with Fortitude!
+1 Fortitude
Essence has been integrated with Dexterity!
+1 Dexterity
Essence has been integrated with Perception!
+1 Perception
He looked over the increase, feeling that power bind with his flesh and spirit.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Three stat increases from two level-ups…
It wasn't a bad rate, but nothing to write home about. At Alex's current capabilities killing a single pack of ghouls wasn't particularly challenging. It was regrettable, since he probably could've squeezed another one or two stat increases out of the level ups if he were taking things slower, but it was more important that he continued getting stronger.
With these quests, he'd been trying to level up at least once each day, and this had been the only battle he'd even regarded as worth two level-ups-worth of Essence. Now, he was level 20 and at the very least, his stat spread was in much better shape than when he'd first come back to this world:
Alex Smith
Tier 0 - Level 20, Unranked
Class: Stone Dancer
Bloodline: Forged in Fire
Trait: ???
Health: 92%
Mana: 73%
Stamina: 67%
> Titles
The First Spark, Forge-Father
> Attributes
Half-Dead Persistence
> Stats
Vitality: 6 (+3)
Strength: 16 (+2)
Dexterity: 12 (+2)
Fortitude: 9 (+2)
Perception: 11 (+1)
Arcane: 8
> Skills
Stealth (Adept)
Metalwork (Adept)
Meld (Novice)
Examine (Novice)
Feather-Foot (Novice)
Enchant (Novice)
Pierce (Novice)
Glancing Blow (Novice)
Sever (Novice)
Alex pored over his stats, giving them some additional thought. Vitality was the hardest to intentionally train—without poisoning or wounding yourself at least. Alex had noticed his own Vitality lagging worryingly behind his other stats, so he'd consumed a level-up directly after affixing his class, reflecting on the Sepsis that had nearly killed him. He'd gotten four stat points from that, one going to Fortitude. Since then, he'd focused on getting his Strength and Dexterity raised since there were many Combat Skills he wouldn't meet requirements for until 20 or 30 points each. Some, even higher than that.
Overall, he was doing well for himself. He was averaging about 2.7 stat points per level-up. That was about half a stat-point higher from his original average in Nightmare, which had already been above average. He wouldn't be killing Anne at this rate obviously, but he could probably hold his own against many of the Mages here, even the ones that outleveled him.
That was… on paper, at least. In reality, stats were rearely actually what decided fights.
"...nothing to do… if they sssliit your throat… inn your sssleeep—"
Or vice-versa, thank you Lost Souls.
Frankly, Alex hoped to avoid any neck-slitting action from both sides of the encounter. Nothing good would arise from needlessly tangling with Mages. He was only one man, afterall. For now, his priority was to get stronger, and perhaps, what was more important than stat-gains in that regard were what skills he trained.
No, actually… Even before getting stronger, he supposed his main priority was catching up to Gloomy and convincing her to join parties for the Crucible of Sun Quest. Or to trade for it outright.
Alex craned his neck, looking back the way he'd come. This was the whole reason he couldn't pace his stat upgrades how he wanted. He'd expected to have managed to catch up a day ago given how short her legs were. Instead, he'd been forced to dedicate sixteen hours of his day to hiking after her, and now his legs were so tired he'd gained a point in Fortitude without even intending for it. He was spending all day on the road and as such, the only skill-training he could accomplish was passive and poor-quality, resulting in meager proficiency boosts to Feather-foot.
Although, it spoke to just how mind-numbing his days were that it added up over time regardless…
Feather-foot
Proficiency towards Adept Rank: 67%
And… I should probably get going again in five minutes.
Alex stood, stretching his muscles, hearing more bones crack and multiple joints pop. He exhaled, drawing Nychta from his hip and looked down her length. He wasn't sure whether her current slumber was in relation to his core's state, but she'd very clearly shattered at the same time his core had. Still, she didn't seem weakened from it. Their bond was still in its infancy, but he could feel her presence within his soul—in places where even his senses had trouble reaching. There was much Alex didn't understand about the reforging. But as a result, his control over her mana-conductive properties had improved incrementally. Soon, he might be able to safely use more advanced combat-skills.
Which still beggared the question—which ones?
Aside from Stealth, Alex never really had any signature, all-powerful combat skills in his last life. Most of his skills were either situational or reliant on particular weapons for synergy. He was an all rounder, both in swordstyle and in combat skills; and when he'd been most feared it wasn't because he did anything particularly special, but because people simply didn't know how to face him.
Honestly, if anything, he'd been most reputable for being the world's worst inventory-abuser. Yet, in this life he'd fallen quite quickly into the same trap he'd found himself in with Lys—simply, none of his other weapons compared to Nythca. And seeing as he had no forge to work with, that had no current fix.
Worse yet, his Weapon Mastery designating him a Novice with her was in no way an exaggeration.
Feeling the breeze, Alex pivoted his foot, wrapping Nychta around and over his head, swinging her down diagonally. He quickly ran through some work-in-progress sword forms, and she sliced the air in front of him like a gentle whip. He no longer paid as much attention to his footwork, and his movements with her seemed to be coming more naturally. By all rights, it felt like they were in tune with one-another.
Which means I'm making mistakes I can't even perceive. Great.
[Weapon Mastery] with Nychta increased.
Progress to rank Adept: 28%
Well, thanks for the blatant honesty.
Alex tapped Nythca's spine in appreciation, then looked inward. The patterns of his soul had shifted with his affixation of the Stone-Dancer class, and it'd given him an advantage he'd never had before—Weapon Mastery. When he looked outward again he glanced down Nythca's length and aligned her edge towards the tree's low branch. He channeled a copious amount of mana into her, then in an instant—
Nevermind.
Alex stopped the flow of his mana the instant he sensed a hint of awkwardness in his motion. His sword continued through regardless, the branch falling to the ground. Yet, even though that mana went to waste, he was pleased with the notification that popped up in front of him.
Would you like to create this skill and add it to your Weapon Mastery arsenal?
Yes/No
Alex smiled. Stone-Dancer's Weapon-Arts ability was icing on the cake, but Weapon Mastery was one of the core reasons he'd coveted the Blacksmith-Warrior foundation class. Skills were categorized into two vague categories—general skills, which anyone could train and tier-up if they had access to them—and locked skills.
Locked skills could be categorized further into several families, but they essentially referred to skills that would be tierless without access to anything that can progress them. That "anything" could be a bloodline, trait, class ability—or most commonly, a skill tree. Anyone following a Skill-path for long enough is likely to develop a skill tree, as they're the most accessible of the methods. However, they are also the most restrictive, since skill trees practically took root in your soul, like blue-prints dictating the growth of your skills.
In Alex's last life he'd attained a Warrior Skill-tree, and it'd been a blessing until he realized just how limiting those restrictions were. Combat Skills like Pierce, Glancing Blow, Sever, and many others fell into the locked category of skills—and although he'd progressed them in his last life, their ranked-up tiers were locked to him in this one.
At least, they had been. Weapon Mastery changed that. Not only did it unlock progress for all Combat Skills, it even allowed Alex to create them, and progress them to his will. It removed the System's other frameworks and tied his skill-progression entirely to his Mastery over Nythca, on the basis of: If it works, it works. So long as the skill was synergetic with his weapon's sword style, there was no theoretical limit to his physical combat skills.
But just because it works doesn't mean…
Alex's mind trailed off, looking at the dissipating branch at his feet.
Level 5 Twisted Oak has been Cleansed!
+0 Essence Crystals
Then Alex glanced back at the notification his Weapon Mastery had given him.
No, he intoned, sliding it away.
Would you like to remember this move as a Potential Skill?
No.
He exited his interface. The move worked. It killed something—as most ways of swinging a sharp object tended to accomplish. But there was a reason people didn't affix every shoe-tying skill they found on the market. Skills were woven with Essence, and Essence is limited in supply. Progressing those skills required even more Essence to be woven in. And one day, when the man with a thousand magical ways to tie his shoes reaches a plateau in his advancement, he'll look around and find that he has no room in his soul for even a single skill more.
"...It sssucked… didn't it, Aleexxx…"
"Sure," Alex replied aloud. "But it's not a concern now."
More concerningly, Nychta hadn't been at all excited over that move. And neither had he. He let his frown loosen as she shimmered in the light, then he slid her back into his scabbard.
Well, as far as skills go… I guess you'll just have to show me the way again.
He thought he might've sensed a hint of anticipation from her at that, and he couldn't deny feeling a little excitement of his own at the idea.
Then, he looked at the path ahead of him, and sighed. He drank some water, applied deodorant, gathered his pillowcases of clay, and began walking again at a brisk pace. He pushed aside thistles when they impeded his path, and traversed the uneven terrain as best he could, thinking more about his skills. The Stone-Dancer Class description hadn't mentioned it, but Enchant being part of his skill path had to have some hidden significance. Unfortunately, progressing the skill was… complicated, but it was something he was working on.
Aside from that? Well, combat skills were one thing, but he supposed he should at least affix Smoke Screen. It'd gotten him out of many pinches in his life, and it would've helped a great deal if he'd had it during the Second Scenario.
What were the requirements for that again?
Smoke Screen
Creates a burst of dense smoke around the user, obscuring vision within a wide radius
Skill Requirements:
Perception: 12
Fortitude: 10
Arcane: 8
So Alex met the Arcane stat requirement, but he was still one point off for Perception and Fortitude both. In which case, he supposed that point going to Fortitude wasn't such a waste afterall. If he distributed his stats perfectly he'd meet the requirements for Smoke Screen one level from now, otherwise…
Yeah, two levels probably.
More problematic was the fact that he was quickly burning through his remaining Essence Crystals, and levels were only becoming more and more costly. His quests off-set that a little, and Ghouls always lurked in the mists for him to kill—if he only had time to wander off and find them.
He'd see about making time for that tomorrow. But for now, he marched on. Ideally, he'd catch up to Gloomy today, before the sun even began to set. Then he could give all this more consideration.
Really, it couldn't be much longer before he did.
* * *
Alex glanced behind him at the setting sun. There was no sign of Gloomy yet. Well, no sign, as in no sign her actual physical presence. There were clear signs of her passing through.
"She'sss… gone…"
"...you'll… neverrr…"
No. It… wasn't that odd. She'd had almost 10 hours of a head start over Alex. It appeared she was just much more motivated than he had assumed. There were clear advantages to reaching the city earlier, and at this pace Gloomy would be one of the first to do so. However, that also meant that if she needed supplies this far ahead of the pack… Well, she'd be competing against the best of them.
Alex looked over the trees as a beacon of green smoke drifted from a supply drop in the mists. He already had all the supplies he needed, and that was an advantage that even those with Constellations sponsoring them probably didn't have. Coming in with loads of supplies would have resulted in the System triggering some inspection or another, and he simply didn't have anything to hide. So in a way, he'd partially removed himself from the third Scenario's premise.
"How… fffortunate… Do you reeemember—"
Oh, shut it.
Alex swatted around him as though trying to swat a fly, but it didn't make the voices stop. He sighed, ignoring the Lost Souls, then shivered as the temperature began to drop. He'd been planning to stop here and sleep, but instead he kept walking. Gloomy would have to stop to resupply at some point, and he didn't have to.
It was only a matter of time.
* * *
It's only a matter of time, Alex repeated to himself.
"It'sss oonly…"
"A… matter…"
"Of…"
"Shut up," he muttered.
"It'sss onnly…"
"Shut up! Ugh…"
"…Shuut… up…"
"It'ss…"
Alex shook his head, ignoring them. It was night now, but not the same night it had been when he'd pushed himself for his "final stretch" to catch up with Gloomy. The sun had cycled up and back down again. Sleep and Ghoul-killing were the only things he'd taken a break to do.The rest of Alex's time was spent walking and with every step he took, exhaustion burned in his calves and hamstrings.
"...Sssoo…tiiresssome…"
Wind blew through the trees, making him shiver again. It carried voices on its breeze and the cold made Alex's legs chafe. This was tiresome…
No, that wasn't his own voice. Why were they so much louder now? Was it because his trait was stronger? Was it exposure? Or were there just more along this path…
It didn't matter. He was tired, but—
"You caan't… esscape usss…"
But… his fatigue wasn't unbearable. This much, Alex could take. It was nothing like the exhaustion he'd experienced at the start of Nightmare. The points he'd dumped into his Strength and Fortitude stat had seen to that.
"Reemember…? They're alll… deead…"
Yet still… Alex was reaching the point where his breaths no longer entirely relieved his lungs as he counted the steps he had left to take before his next stop.
"...dyiiing…"
Leaves crunched beneath Alex's boots. The path—this narrow strip of land between the mist-shrouded walls—was like its own world in a way. Or like someone had carved out a sliver of Nightmare, turning it into a safe haven and a form of torment in equal measure. Tackling it all at once was a mind-numbing experience.
"...Do you…reeemember…?"
Alex's breath plumed in shallower mists with each step he took. Here, everything was simple. He walked the path, and he'd follow it to its end. That was his only goal, no matter how grueling.
"Haate… let… con..sssume…"
Twelve-thousand-twenty-one, He thought to himself, Twelve-thousand-twenty-two.
"Lisssten… to their sscreamsss…"
Eighteen-thousand-three-hundred-six, Eighteen-thousand-three-hundred-seven.
A twig snapped beneath Alex's boot. His breath plumed in shallower mists with each step he took. He'd stopped getting much gain out of practicing Feather-foot and now he passed time by counting sheep.
"Thousssands of sheep… to the ssslaughteeer…"
Finally, the timer in Alex's interface beeped and he found a place to rest. He wolfed something down for nutrients, then cradled himself in blankets, setting another timer.
A woman whispered in his ear. "...aa..are… youu… cold, Alex?"
Laura was there in his vision. Then he rid himself of the memory. He pictured Anne there instead, steeling himself. His mission was simple. He would follow this path to its end and somewhere along the way, he would meet Gloomy. And if simply following it wasn't enough to catch her, there was one other method that would ensure that happened.
"So…you do… rememberrrr…."
Alex nodded off, fearing what he'd have to do.
* * *
"Alex," A voice in his ear. "Did something ever happen that could've caused you to become a spiritual medium?"
Alex looked up. His head lay on Laura's thighs and she stroked his hair. The sky was unmarred by clouds and the wind danced through the field of flowers. Tears had dried in the corners of his eyes and they were raw when Laura's thumb brushed near.
"Why do you ask?" Alex rasped.
She smiled. "Even if you had protectors, it's not usual for so many spirits to latch onto a soul and not corrupt it. No mere affinity can explain that."
"So what, you're saying I could be a shaman?"
"Alex," She said sternly.
He sighed, finding the day's first clouds in the sky above. He let his mind drift with them, letting out a shaky breath. "Nightmare had three zones and mine, I was in this place called the Misting Valleys. During the Third Scenario… there were these paths winding through the… the 'Soul Mists'. And… there were these 'Lost Souls' that lingered in them. They didn't bother others as much, but to me… they'd whisper things… they'd…"
"Wait, how many souls are you talking about?"
"I don't know. Thousands? Millions?"
Laura gasped. "Millions?!"
"Is… that weird?"
She looked at him like he was crazy. Then she opened her mouth to say something, but his expression must have warned her off. The memories flooded back to Alex and she pressed the backs of her cold fingers against his eyelids, her voice soothing.
"You can tell me," She said.
His lip quivered. "Right. I was… I strayed from my path, once. I got lost in those mists. Or, maybe it's more accurate to say I was… spirited away…" He shivered, recalling the days he spent in the Misting Valleys. Fighting, running, hiding, all while those voices whispered… "I couldn't… get them out. They whispered things… things I didn't even know I was thinking. I lost who I was in there. I became something else… and then…"
Alex choked back his words as something caught in his throat. "And then I… they took me. They were taking me somewhere…" He remembered it. He remembered the abyss, the eyes peering out from that bottomless dark… yes, there'd been millions.
And they all wanted…
"Take a breath," Laura said. She smiled sweetly down at him. Something in her presence touched Alex in that moment. Her smile was like the sun that cleared the skies on a cloudy day. "You're you, Alex. And you're not alone. It's all behind you now, so let the memory pass in peace…"
His shiver was replaced by a different sort. He took a moment to gather himself.
"What happened?" She eventually asked.
"After that? Nothing, really. I stood at the lip of that ravine, lost amongst the souls that swam its depths. Before I knew it… I'd come back. Their voices stopped and I was me again… and I… I fled. I put that place behind me and vowed never to stray too far into the mists again…"
"And… you made it back to your path?" Laura asked.
Alex shook his head. "I strayed too far from my original path. But I found another that passed right down the mountain from the ravine. That path was—"
[Path of Buried Ghosts]
Be it that the ghosts that haunt your path stay buried.
May your passage prove safe.