Two days had passed.

Our progress… was non-existent.

We still hadn't moved from our campsite at all.

Kang had scouted the surroundings and mapped out the area, but aside from that, no one had done much of anything.

Michael was still strategizing — which, in practice, meant standing on a rock and staring dramatically into the horizon like some mythic hero about to embark on a dangerous quest for survival.

Alexia spent most of her time meditating beside the campfire, her cane across her lap, looking so serene it was starting to annoy me.

Juliana had already gone through three of her 'talk to me and I'll stab you' phases. I counted.

Vince tried to teach Ray how to gamble. It ended with Ray losing all his food rations in a single game of cards. As a result, Vince ate well for two days straight.

And me?

I was being calm and composed, acting as the voice of reason within the group.

…Which, as anyone who knows me will tell you, is the most obvious lie I've ever told.

Anyway, by the morning of the third day — technically day eleven or so in the Noctveil Wilds — the air had turned colder and heavier.

Even the forest mist had grown thicker around the clearing, greatly reducing visibility.

The reason behind the sudden temperature drop was unclear. Maybe it was a change of season?

There wasn't exactly a Death Dimension Weather Guide lying around to help us make sense of it.

Thus, we decided to ignore it.

…Yeah, I know. It was a stupid mistake.

You shouldn't ignore suspicious activity in a Death Zone.

But we were just a bunch of teenagers back then — and like most teenagers, we had a bad habit of ignoring our problems until they either went away or killed us.

So instead of worrying about what we couldn't control, we agreed it was time to gather more firewood, since the last of our dry logs had already been wasted by someone (Ray) trying to roast a single piece of meat yesterday night.

Unfortunately, Kang and Michael were busy discussing monster territory zones and movement patterns.

While Lily and Alexia were walking side by side, talking and giggling among themselves, going out to hunt dinner — if unappetising insects could even be called that.

Juliana, on the other hand, was leisurely sitting in a patch of shade beneath a crooked tree.

She was currently gutting the enormous corpse of that two-headed serpent we'd slain three days ago. Her icy-blue eyes caught the firelight as she worked, glowing faintly.

She had already cut the beast clean open and was now in the middle of extracting its poison sac — carefully draining the thick, venomous liquid into small pouches she'd made out of the serpent's own membrane.

It was a meticulous and dangerous process — the sort of thing that would make any sane person nervous.

And I was nervous.

Partly because one wrong puncture could completely melt her hands off… but mostly because I was letting Juliana handle poison.

Juliana!

Just the mere thought of that crazy girl equipped with venom-coated daggers was enough to make me dizzy.

Regardless, everyone was busy doing something.

Everyone except Vince, Ray, and me.

So, since we were the only ones free, we valiantly took upon ourselves the heavy burden of finding some goddamn dry firewood.

But it was proving to be a challenging task, given the cold air and wet mist.

It was also proving to be an incredibly boring task.

Still, we walked on — through the damp brush, over fallen branches, in search of anything that resembled a log that wasn't soaked through.

We walked and walked and walked… until—

Click—

Ray turned off his camera.

Now, for most people, that wouldn't mean much. But this was Ray!

He never switched that thing off unless he was changing batteries or having an existential crisis.

Then, he looked up at us with an expression so serious it made me straighten instinctively.

"Alright, gentlemen," he said in a grave tone. "It's time we had a talk. Man to man."

I frowned. "What kind of talk?"

"The kind of talk that decides if the three of us will be best friends for the rest of our lives," he declared solemnly. "It's time we… rank the girls!"

I blinked. Vince blinked.

Then we both burst out laughing.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said.

Vince folded his arms, smirking. "You're so stupid."

But Ray, with that smug little grin of his, pressed, "Oh, come on, guys. We've been stuck here for well over a week! And the girls are pretty. Don't pretend you haven't thought about who's the best one."

"I haven't. Also, I think ranking people behind their backs is derogatory." I paused, then added, "Do it to their face."

Ray chuckled. "Then that's just harassment! And don't act like you're above this, Sam. We've all seen the way you look at Juliana sometimes."

I raised a brow, aghast. "Yes! I look at her the same way you'd look at a ticking time bomb!"

Vince hesitated to join in. Then, like the weak-willed man he was, he shrugged. "...Okay, fine. Hypothetically speaking—"

"Really, Vince?!" I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Unbelievable!"

"Hypothetically speaking," Vince went on, patting my shoulder, "I'd say Alexia takes first place. She's elegant, graceful, and composed. Has that whole 'untouchable beauty' vibe."

Ray nodded vigorously, whispering as if discussing state secrets. "That's true, that's true. But Lily! Lily's hotter than Alexia is pretty."

Vince hummed. "Mhm. You're right. But I've never really seen her that way. Lily's got that warm, girl-next-door charm. She's like the sunshine you marry."

The debate spiraled from there as we kept walking. It was exactly the kind of stupid, circular argument only men with too much free time and too little intelligence could sustain.

By the time I tuned back in, they'd somehow moved from physical attractiveness to personality scores, moral fiber, and hypothetical dating scenarios.

It was tragic.

…But even I had to admit that it was far more entertaining than looking for firewood.

Then, inevitably, Ray steered the conversation toward Juliana.

He rubbed his hands together. "Alright, alright. Forget Lily and Alexia. I'm saying Juliana! She's actually the hottest and the prettiest of the three. She's got it both!"

I froze mid-step.

Vince looked skeptical but also mildly intrigued. "You're serious?"

"Absolutely!" Ray replied with unshakable confidence, like he was ready to die on that hill. "She's terrifying. And that's the charm! There's something about knowing she could stab you that keeps the blood pumping, you know?"

Vince snorted. "That's not attraction, that's a cry for therapy."

Ray turned to me with curiosity. "Wait, Sam — you've been living with her since childhood, right? You ever… y'know?"

I nearly choked on my own breath. "Excuse me?!"

Vince looked at me too, completely unfazed. "What? It's a fair question."

"No! It's not!" I snapped. "She's my Shadow!"

"So what?" Vince asked lazily. "I've heard plenty of nobles sleep with theirs. I thought that's half the reason Shadows are always the opposite gender of their masters."

"Gods, no," I shook my head. "That's not why."

"Then what is the reason?" Vince asked, looking genuinely interested.

I sighed. "Because they're meant to be your other half. Everything you're not. Your second eyes, second hands, second personality — the other self that completes your perspective. That's why they're called Shadows. And that's also why tradition dictates you only ever get one in your entire life."

Vince thought for a second. "So… it's like a soulmate thing?"

"More like a mirror," I said, resuming my walk. "They exist to reflect what you can't see in yourself. The bond's supposed to be functional, not romantic."

"Yet there's some obvious chemistry between you two," Ray muttered under his breath.

"Modern media has romanticized the concept too much," I continued, ignoring him. "In reality, many nobles think it's beneath them to even touch their Shadows like that. It's considered immoral. After all, a Shadow can't technically refuse. So there's no such thing as real consent."

Vince nodded slowly. "Still… I've heard of plenty who end up together anyway."

"Oh, there are," I agreed. "Some Shadows willingly become mistresses or partners. Happens all the time. Just not as often as people like to assume."

Ray let out a low whistle. "Damn. Makes me almost glad I'm not a highborn."

"Almost?" Vince asked dryly.

"Yeah," Ray's grin widened. "Because if I were, I'd probably have a Shadow like Juliana… and then die in my sleep."

I couldn't even argue with that.

"Well, still!" Vince said, pulling us back to the original topic. "I still think Juliana shouldn't be ranked number one. She looks too crazy."

"But that's exactly what makes her hotter!" Ray countered with stupidity.

"No, it doesn't!" Vince threw his hands up.

"You have issues, Ray," I said flatly. "And you're exactly the kind of man she preys on."

We finally spotted a few dry logs scattered across the moss. Crouching down, we started picking them up.

"A little crazy, I understand," Vince continued, lowering his voice. "But have you ever looked into Juliana's eyes? There's nothing there. It's unsettling even to me! And I've seen some real psychos! You've heard the rumor that she was involved with Professor Rexerd? I'm, like, sixty percent sure she's the reason he disappeared. I'll admit she's ridiculously hot, but hot enough to risk your life over? Yeah, no thanks."

I opened my mouth to respond—

…But the words I'd formed refused to leave my throat when a voice — an all too familiar, honey-sweet, spine-crawling voice — cooed from behind us:

"Are you sure?"

That voice…

It was sweet as syrup… and yet sharp enough to make every hair on my body stand on end.

"I'll make it worth your while, if you dare risk it," she purred.

I shuddered.

Vince and Ray went pale.

Oh no.

Oh no, no, no!

The three of us turned around slowly, as if moving too fast might trigger a landmine.

…And there she was.

Juliana Vox Blade — standing right behind us with an almost playful smirk across her lips.

Her glacial blue eyes gleamed in the mist, looking both enchanting and terrifying at the same time.

She seemed overly ecstatic, like someone who'd just found the perfect opportunity and excuse to commit a felony.

Ray didn't even flinch at her sight. He just fainted! He fainted like a Victorian-era sick child.

Vince, meanwhile, let out a strangled, high-pitched screech that sounded somewhere between a dying seagull and a malfunctioning kettle.

Juliana tilted her head, kneeling down in front of him with a smile so sweet it made my stomach twist.

"Oh? What's wrong, Vince?" she asked, innocently batting her lashes. "You were just talking about me so confidently a second ago."

Vince's entire face flushed red. "N-No, no, I was just— I mean, I wasn't—!"

She leaned in, still smiling. "You weren't what?"

"—I wasn't insulting you!" he squeaked, his voice climbing several octaves higher than humanly possible.

Then, in pure panic, he scrambled backward on all fours.

I wish I was exaggerating!

He didn't even try to stand up.

He really just crawled away like a rat escaping from a cat, yelping and tripping over a root.

Juliana rose slowly and brushed off her hands. Her expression slipped back into its usual calm. Then she looked at me.

I swallowed hard and immediately lifted both hands in surrender.

"Okay, listen," I said quickly, "I tried to stop these two degenerates! But they didn't listen! I didn't even participate in the conversation—"

Her eyes narrowed with dark amusement.

"Uh-huh." She took a step closer.

I took one back.

She took another.

I took two.

"Juli," I said, half-laughing, full-terrified, "let's be reasonable here, okay? There's no need to kill me over this! I can still be of use to you! Our deal isn't over yet, remember? We also have a contract! You can't kill me! And I—"

KHAAWAAAR—!!

Before I could finish my rambling, a sharp, blood-curdling, guttural roar tore through the forest. It sounded wet and low and hungry.

Very, very hungry.

We all went still instantly.

The whole forest did too. The rustle of wind, the swaying of leaves, the chirping of insects — everything turned silent too unnaturally, too suddenly.

Juliana's smile faded as she took out a kunai.

Ray also jumped to his feet and swiftly activated his Origin Card.

I summoned Scorched Oath.

Vince, still a bit far away from us, drew a short sword without any delay.

That's when the roar came again, much closer this time.

KHAAWAAAR—!!

We whipped our heads toward the source of noise… and gasped in unison.

Something was standing behind Vince.

It was tall, easily ten feet, and gaunt.

Whatever it was… it was barely humanoid in shape but its limbs were far too long, jointed in all the wrong places, bending and creaking like a broken marionette.

Its flesh was the color of burnt ash, rippling like black tar over its bone.

Its head twitched and slowly rotated far beyond what a neck should allow, until dozens of eyes — too many to count — opened across its face.

Each one blinked out of sync, some horizontal, some vertical, and some just… there, unmoving.

When it opened its mouth, it wasn't just one — it was several. All of those mouths converged to split across its jaw like someone had carved a smile into a rotting corpse with a hacksaw.

At first, I thought I was seeing things. But I wasn't.

That thing… was smiling.

But that wasn't even the worst part.

None of it was as horrifying as what I noticed next.

You see, each time that towering creature took a breath, it exhaled a faint white smoke from its many mouths that seeped into the air.

That was when it hit me.

The mist around us wasn't fog.

It was it.

No one dared to move, not even an inch.

The air felt cold now, much colder than before.

In the dreadful silence that followed, one of its countless eyes slid sideways… and fixed directly on us.

And then— it lunged.

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