The Smiling Death

The sky had darkened. The once grey sky was dark now.

Inside this whole dark forest, in one place, a small fire flickered. Burning and creating light.

It was burning in front of the entrance of the cave. Amon sat inside, chewing on the roasted meat of a wolf monster. Again, this was tasteless.

"Much… munch… really…"

Gulped~

"I am eating this kind of tasteless meat for so many days. When can I eat tasty food again?" Amon muttered sadly.

Though he continued to eat, he looked past the fire, deep inside the forest.

"It seems those things aren't here."

It had been two hours since darkness came. But there was no scream, nor any movement in the forest, which was a good sign.

"So I can sleep without having to worry."

Amon finished chewing the last piece of meat and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

The fire crackled softly, its weak light dancing against the cave walls. Shadows trembled and stretched, then shrank again.

He leaned back against the cold stone and exhaled.

For a while, he just listened.

There was nothing. No screams. No distant howls.

No strange pressure crawling over his skin. No unknown presence outside. The one he always felt outside those ruined buildings.

Only the sound of burning wood and his own breathing.

He had gathered plenty of dry leaves and sticks earlier and stacked them neatly inside the cave. Enough to keep the fire alive through the night if needed. The warmth made his tired body loosen slightly.

"Good…" he muttered. "Maybe tonight will be peaceful."

His eyelids felt heavy.

But then, a different urge came.

"…Damn it."

Amon sighed and stood up slowly.

He picked up his sword and held it loosely in his hand, just in case. The fire was still burning well, so he stepped out of the cave entrance.

The forest outside was dark.

Not pitch black. But dark enough that the firelight barely reached a few meters ahead. The trees stood like silent giants, their black trunks swallowing most of the light.

Amon walked a little away from the cave, careful with each step. His eyes moved constantly, scanning left and right.

He chose a tree not too far away.

"Let's make this quick…"

He stood in front of an unfortunate tree.

He turned, unzipped, and relieved himself, still listening carefully to every sound.

There was only the sound of water streaming from his body onto the tree.

"Hah…" Amon exhaled with a weird kind of satisfaction.

Amon was still at the Awakened stage, so he still needed to do daily necessary things like this. But once someone reached Master rank, they didn't need to pee or shit.

And Amon was going to achieve that stage.

Despite all this, Amon was cautious. He was still sharp. Even the rustle of leaves made his muscles tense.

Nothing happened.

After finishing, he zipped up and relaxed. Just a little.

And then.

He froze. His heart skipped. Something felt wrong. He felt it. As if someone was gazing at him. Staring at him from inside the darkness.

Amon slowly lifted his head.

Just a few trees away…

Something was there.

Behind one of the black trunks, something peeked out.

A head.

Dark. Too dark.

He couldn't see its face clearly in the dim light, but its shape was wrong. Not human. Not animal either. It was still, half-hidden, as if it was watching.

Amon's heartbeat thundered in his ears.

Thump—thump—thump.

His grip on the sword tightened.

"…No way," he whispered.

Then he noticed more.

On another tree.

And another.

Shapes.

Heads peeking out from behind trunks. From higher branches. From the other side of the clearing. Some were low to the ground. Some were unnaturally high. There were many of them.

They moved slowly.

Too slowly.

Like they didn't want to be noticed. All of them were facing him. Watching.

Amon's mouth went dry. Cold sweat ran down his spine. These weren't wolves. These weren't monsters he knew.

They didn't growl. They didn't rush. They didn't make a sound.

They just stared. Which was more creepy.

The fire behind him crackled, and for a brief moment, its light flickered, casting long, twisted shadows across the forest.

The shapes shifted with it.

Closer.

Amon swallowed hard. His instincts screamed at him. "Move. Now."

Without turning his back, Amon slowly stepped backward toward the cave, sword raised, eyes locked on the darkness ahead.

The things didn't follow. They didn't retreat either. They just kept watching.

Waiting.

Just then, one of the shadows suddenly moved faster toward him.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It screamed loudly in a horrifying shrill.

Goosebumps shot throughout his whole body. Fear. It was damn fear he was feeling.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heart beat faster, loudly.

Amon dashed back to his cave.

"Fucck!" Amon moved closer and jumped over the fire directly into the cave.

The unknown being that was after Amon suddenly stopped where the light of the fire was reaching.

"AHH!… AHH!!" It continued to scream while staring at Amon, then slowly moved backward.

He grabbed a handful of leaves and tossed them into the fire, feeding it. The flames flared brighter, pushing the darkness back.

Amon stood there, breathing hard, staring out from the cave.

The forest beyond the firelight was empty again.

Now there were no heads, shapes, or movement.

It was as if they suddenly vanished into the darkness.

As if nothing had ever been there.

But Amon knew better.

He backed deeper into the cave and sat down, sword across his knees, eyes wide open. Sleep was no longer an option.

Not tonight.

In the flickering firelight, his shadow trembled against the cave wall.

And outside, in the darkness just beyond the light.

Something waited.

Amon lay on the hard ground. His hands clasped.

"Oh Goddess, save me… protect me… Damn, why didn't I learn the prayer for the Light Goddess? Shit, Goddess, save your little lamb. In return, I will love you forever."

Inside, he continued to pray to the Goddess, as if she would ever help someone like him. Who only thought of her in dangerous situations.