Chapter 13: Indeterminate Covetousness

A faint mist began to permeate the entirety of the forest.

The priest stared blankly at the woods, which had begun to shroud themselves in fog despite the fierce midday sun, and at the figure of the crazed forest witch—if indeed it had been anything more than a hallucination.

His entire body trembled, struck by the sudden manifestation of that entity and terrified by what might befall the two travelers.

Yet he knew he was powerless; as the mist rose, he and his god would be severed from one another.

He had tested it before: casting divine spells into the fog was entirely futile.

The very nature of the barrier that cut him off from his deity allowed the mist to absorb the brunt of his magic, rendering his prayers almost entirely ineffective.

All he could do now was pray, beseeching his god to guide the path of the two young souls.

The priest stood in silent, wordless supplication, praying for them within the quiet chambers of his heart.

What he failed to notice was that the surrounding villagers seemed entirely oblivious to the rising haze.

Under normal circumstances, these people, well-accustomed to the timing of the forest’s mists, would have been whispering in alarm at such an unnatural sight, rather than acting as if nothing were amiss.

The pressure exerted by that figure had been so overwhelming that his judgment had faltered.

The wise and steady priest had, at last, lost his composure.

…

Choosing to enter the Forbidden Forest at midday was, in part, a practical decision for the ease of travel and the high visibility that minimized the risk of accidents.

But it was also because Wang Yu remained deeply wary of the entity mentioned in the priest’s tale.

This world was, in truth, a perilous place where inexplicable horrors emerged without warning.

Most of these things were grotesque and deeply unsettling, appearing with particular frequency in areas far removed from dense human populations.

While they were less common in populated regions, their arrival in such places usually heralded a catastrophe.

Wang Yu had no perfect solution for this; he simply chose the safest possible approach to reach his destination, determined to do the best he could with the circumstances at hand.

The midday sun pierced the dense canopy, casting dappled light upon the forest floor.

If one could ignore the horror story recounted by the priest, the forest was truly beautiful.

With the chirping of insects and the calls of birds, the air was filled with the fresh, herbal scent of nature, vibrant with a wild, untamed vitality.

Wang Yu walked at the head of the party, with Avia sandwiched between him and Torret; the sound of two people and a horse treading through the quiet woods seemed remarkably loud.

After about half an hour, the group had been in the forest for some time.

The density of the trees had increased significantly, and the interior of the woods grew darker as the thicker foliage blocked out more of the sunlight.

"Avia, is there a saying that the trees grow denser as you approach the center of a forest? The woods here are becoming increasingly crowded."

Wang Yu found it difficult to understand why the forest would grow so thick; logically, if a forest had existed for a long enough time, its density should be relatively uniform.

"That is indeed a known phenomenon. The 'Druid’s Heart' journal from the capital mentions that forests of sufficient age often give birth to a Tree King."

"These trees possess a rudimentary consciousness and emit a field of vitality that causes the surrounding flora to flourish," Avia nodded, confirming his suspicion.

"Then our target, the Cabin in the Woods Magic Academy, should be somewhere in that vicinity, right?"

Wang Yu scratched his head; they had no real way to pinpoint the academy’s location.

But in the absence of any coordinates, seeking out the anomalous was as good a strategy as any.

"Yes, let’s try heading toward the heart of the forest," Avia agreed, and the two continued their trek.

The woods remained as tranquil as ever, with no sounds other than the natural chorus of insects and the rhythmic footfalls of the party.

Suddenly, Avia tugged at Wang Yu’s sleeve. He turned back. "What is it?"

A look of worry clouded her face. "We haven't seen a single normal animal since we entered."

"And logically, even though it’s daytime, we should have seen forest witches, swamp slimes, or moss-skinned goblins by now... but we’ve seen nothing."

"Indeed." Hearing Avia’s words, Wang Yu realized something was amiss.

Part of the Forbidden Forest’s infamy stemmed from those very pests, yet after traveling for so long, they had encountered none of them.

The absence of even the forest witches, notorious for their presence, was deeply suspicious.

Their realization seemed to trigger something; the forest fell into an even deeper silence. The chirping of insects and the calls of birds vanished abruptly, and the woods shifted from tranquil to deathly still.

"This is..." Wang Yu felt a chill. The forest had changed the moment they noticed the absence of life, which was truly unsettling.

"Wang Yu, what do we do now?" the girl asked, biting her lip. The change in the environment weighed heavily upon her.

"We keep moving. Things that rely on tricks and illusions usually lack the power to kill us outright," Wang Yu waved a hand. He felt no fear—at most, a sense of caution.

It was, in fact, a fairly obvious conclusion.

If the enemy possessed malice but did not strike immediately, it meant they had to rely on these indirect methods to influence their prey.

The avoidance of a direct confrontation suggested that the entity’s combat prowess was not particularly high.

There was one other possibility Wang Yu kept to himself, as voicing it would only further unnerve Avia: that the entity possessed the cruel malice of a cat toying with a mouse.

However, given the girl’s sharp intellect, she had likely already considered this, making their unspoken understanding a wise choice.

If they could reach the Cabin in the Woods Magic Academy, all their problems would be solved; an organization capable of existing here for so long would certainly possess the means to protect itself, if not to retaliate.

They pressed on, but the atmosphere grew increasingly eerie. The sounds of the forest seemed suppressed, and even their own footsteps became muffled.

Everything seemed draped in a thin veil, creating the illusion of viewing the world through a hazy, distorted lens.

No, it was no illusion—the mist was real. Without them noticing when it began, a faint haze had risen around them.

It was not thick, but the fact that it had appeared less than an hour past noon was deeply wrong.

"Something is wrong. Be more careful," Wang Yu cautioned Avia behind him.

The shift had occurred; this was no longer a time to rely on bravado. Ignoring these changes would only lead to more trouble; vigilance was their only recourse.

He did not stop, maintaining their pace as he steered them deeper into the woods, toward what he hoped was the center.

The trees grew ever more tangled, and the dual shroud of mist and foliage plunged the forest into deepening gloom.

There was no need for panic; panic would only invite greater disaster. Whatever they faced, they would meet it as it came.

He felt his sleeve tugged again. He turned to see Avia, her face etched with clear terror. "Wang Yu, I feel like something is watching me!"

"What?" Wang Yu paused. He knew Avia’s character; she would never speak such words unless she was certain.

That meant she was sure she was being watched.

Yet he had been scanning their surroundings, maintaining constant vigilance, and he had sensed nothing. Why?

"It’s alright. As long as it doesn't reveal itself, just stay alert and don't panic," Wang Yu comforted her. He wasn't sure if this was a hallucination born of stress or a genuine, unseen gaze.

From Avia’s perspective, she felt a malicious stare piercing through the mist.

No, not one—many gazes, clustered together to form a single, malevolent, and covetous stare that watched her from every corner, flickering in and out of existence.

The convergence of those many eyes reminded her of the monster from the priest’s tale.

It filled her with dread, but she kept the details to herself, knowing it would only burden Wang Yu, who was focused on leading them through the woods.

As they delved deeper, the sensation of being watched did not fade; instead, it grew more intense and tangible.

In this world, the sixth sense was a reality, and many sensitive individuals could perceive such phantom gazes.

Much like the inspiration found in Call of Cthulhu, these individuals often perceive the uncanny entities lurking beneath the veneer of the mundane world, yet by the same token, they are far more easily noticed by them.

Avia’s sixth sense was exceptionally keen, and the intensification of that feeling of being watched weighed upon her with mounting pressure.

Gradually, she began to discern shapes; within the pale mist, something had begun to manifest.

It was the silhouette of a deformed woman, accompanied by the ceaseless, clamorous shrieking of forest witches echoing in her ears.

The appearance of the figure caused Avia to freeze in terror; she hurriedly tugged at Wang Yu’s sleeve and pointed toward the fog. "Wang Yu, there! That thing!"

Wang Yu paused, knowing full well what that thing might be, and turned his gaze toward where the trembling Avia was pointing.

The mist was thin and the light dim, yet in Wang Yu’s vision, there was nothing but the fog and the shadowy silhouettes of the trees.

"I see nothing," Wang Yu said, his eyes narrowing slightly. Was it a hallucination? He was immune to such things, but Avia...

"Avia, I am going to cover your ears. Close your eyes and feel if that gaze is still there."

Hallucinations require a vessel; for humans, that vessel is the five senses. Seal the senses, and the corresponding illusion should cease to exist.

Wang Yu stepped beside the girl and covered her ears with his hands.

Avia closed her eyes; with the sound cut off and her vision plunged into darkness, two of her five senses were sealed, and the world transformed.

The gaze remained. While the screeching of the forest witches had indeed vanished, the unmasked, covetous stare became all the more palpable.

That naked malice, that raw greed, and a biting chill surged into her heart, and an unnatural fear began to take root.

"No, this fear is not normal," Avia noted with sharp intuition.

When that thing appeared, it was clearly accompanied by a crumbling of willpower, as if fear were seizing control of her reason.

The priest’s behavior had been much like hers—an uncontrollable deepening of dread, an irrational urge to flee—yet Wang Yu remained unaffected.

Stay calm! she told herself inwardly. Taking a deep breath, Avia steadied her state of mind.

The influence did not vanish; that unprovoked, burgeoning fear continued to gnaw at her.

This thing... it felt familiar. Had she seen it somewhere before? The way it incited fear, that strange sensation of being watched.

As she noted these details, Avia’s mind grew nimble; she felt as though she were on the verge of a realization, yet it remained just out of reach.

"The gaze is still there!" Avia called out to Wang Yu.

"Still there? Then it is highly probable that the thing truly exists, but why can I not see it?" Wang Yu’s thoughts raced.

If the naked eye could not observe it, perhaps he could try another method of perception. Though he was not well-practiced, it was worth a try.

He triggered his arcane ripples, modulating the energy, and closed his eyes. Abandoning his physical sight, he projected the void energy outward from his skin in waves.

The ripples expanded in circles through the air, acting as a radar to detect his surroundings, carrying the "vision" he had sacrificed by closing his eyes.

It was a spell-like detection ability Wang Yu had developed using his arcane power: the Arcane Inner Eye.

Though it offered a broader perspective, it required the total abandonment of physical sight.

He used it now to see if he could observe this illusory yet real existence by utilizing the similarly illusory and real energy of the void.

"Hm?!" Suddenly, Wang Yu’s Inner Eye detected something.

Something had been swept by the pulse. What was this grotesque composition?

Within the perspective fed back by the Inner Eye, a bizarre entity stood there, outlined by the void energy.

A heap of twisted, mangled forest witches had been stitched together into the figure of a woman, her uncanny face twisted into a crazed, grotesque grin.

And what was that she carried upon her? Was it the same void energy?

The moment Wang Yu perceived what his physical eyes could not, the thing noticed him in return.

Seeming to realize that it was not only seen by Avia, a look of extreme disgust crossed its crazed, smiling face.

It cast a twisted, malicious glare at Wang Yu, locking its evil, frenzied gaze upon him.

But Wang Yu felt nothing; the creature’s ability clearly had no effect on him.

Seeming to realize it could not influence Wang Yu, the entity simply ignored him.

It appeared to lack the passions of a sentient being, showing no anger as it turned away from Wang Yu.

The strange entity kept its gaze fixed on Avia; in Wang Yu’s vision, that look was one of frantic, unmasked covetousness.

The next moment, the thing vanished from his sight!

"Where?!" Alarm bells rang in Wang Yu’s mind as he focused every ounce of his attention on his field of vision.

In the next instant, the thing appeared abruptly beside Avia.

There was no trajectory, no trace; it simply manifested in a seamless, sudden flicker.

With a twisted grin and greedy malice on its distorted face, it reached out a hand—a limb forced into shape from the bodies of forest witches—to grab Avia’s head.

Reacting instantly, Wang Yu drew his sword and slashed, the blade carving a silver arc through the air.

A "whoosh" echoed as the steel cut through the atmosphere, but it passed right through!

The sword was fast, but useless; it passed through the strange entity without effect.

Avia, too, saw the uncanny presence, her fear mounting into an indescribable panic.

She threw up her hand to block the claw, but her left hand passed through the entity as if it were a phantom, meeting no resistance.

The claw reached for Avia’s head, slow and deliberate, as if victory were already assured...

Then, a "snap" echoed in the air, though no physical contact had occurred.

Avia’s right hand—that hand which had turned ethereal—collided with the entity, actually knocking its limb away.

The thing vanished instantly, reappearing by a tree several meters away. It tilted its head, its neck bending at a grotesque angle, turning 180 degrees to stare at Avia.

It was the signature expression of a forest witch, but worn by a human-like form, it looked infinitely more chilling and repulsive.

The creature’s face held a trace of confusion, followed by an even more intense, irrepressible greed and covetousness.