CHAPTER 47: MEMORY AND REALITY

What should’ve been a fifteen-minute trip turned into hours.

Capturing the Riven-Mouthed Maiden is good and all, as that would push him closer to finishing the origin quest, but if something were to happen to Marsha, then it’s not worth it. Marsha is a lot more important than a mere Ghost.

Granted, he was biased—but at this moment, that is what he truly feels.

"Shit, fuck, cunt, stupid!"

Deklan spewed out every curse word he could think of as he sprinted through the street with his all.

He met a few groups of Shadowlings along the way.

But for some reason, none of them attacked.

Even though he didn’t know why, he could only be happy with such a situation.

[Notice: Host has exited the Shadowed Town.]

Upon stepping back into the forest, the air became significantly more refreshing, but it wasn’t significant enough to ease the tightness inside Deklan’s chest. He swept his gaze around him, searching for all the marks he left behind to help him know the way back.

But he couldn’t find them.

"Did the forest heal on itself...?" Deklan rasped as he swallowed hard.

It seemed the mana concentration gave the forest a regenerative ability.

Deklan had been hunting in this forest several times already, and every single time, he always left a distinctive mark every one hundred yards or so. He never had any problem, but then again, he had never stayed this long.

For a good moment, Deklan paused and tried to recall a way to where Marsha was.

However, focusing meant his senses were also stimulated to their peaks.

Rustle...

Deklan turned to his right, hearing the bushes rustle.

Aooouu!

And then he turned to the opposite side, hearing a distant howl.

Every sensation he felt made him realize that there are a lot of dangerous things in the forest that could harm Marsha. It was as if the forest was mocking him right now, playing him an orchestra of noises and growls that created a haunting requiem.

"Fuck."

Deklan couldn’t stay still.

He opted to follow his gut, hoping that his feelings would lead him back to Marsha.

But in truth, it was more like he felt a bit better if his body was moving.

At least if in the end he couldn’t find Marsha, he could fool himself into thinking that he tried his best.

He couldn’t do that if he stood around all night.

Swish!

Deklan has barely any mana in his reserve—and he didn’t dare to use it again lest he be brought back to whatever that dark place from earlier was. His sprint was slower, but that doesn’t mean he was slow like a snail.

Only his mana was drained.

His physique was completely fine from the hours and hours of rest he had had earlier.

But even as he searched around for ten minutes straight, he couldn’t find the particular spot—where he had left Marsha. If this were a story, his guts would lead him to where Marsha was, which would lead him to whether to find her alive or dead.

It’s going to be awful if he finds her dead, but not knowing what happened to her feels a lot worse.

At least if he knew what happened, he could find a way to get past it.

But not finding her at all? That’ll haunt him more fervently than a poltergeist would.

Deklan panted heavily and looked around again.

Everywhere he looked, the forest appeared the same with no distinct difference.

He wouldn’t even be able to find where the inner area is again at this point.

Deklan fell to his knees, but his eyes kept looking around, searching for anything that stood out.

His pupils dilated, he began to hyperventilate, and the forest around him started to blur, or rather, merge with the white interior of a hospital. The sound of creaking insects, distant howls, and leaves rustling began to blend with the sound of nurses talking over each other, the sound of ventilation, and also the sound of the door opening and closing.

Recalling what happened back then, back to when his life was at its darkest, Deklan crumpled.

His pupils blew wide, breath hitched into frantic shallow gasps, while the forest began to warp.

Shadows smeared. Shapes doubled.

Deklan swept his eyes to the right and saw the towering trunks dissolving into flat, sterile walls.

He snapped upward and saw that the leaves had become the glaring hospital lights.

Darkness and brightness overlapped until neither felt real.

Even the chirring insects, the distant howls from Ghosts, and the rustle of branches and leaves—all of it collided with the sharp clatter of hospital shoes, overlapping voices of nurses, the hiss of ventilation, even the snap of doors opening and closing.

Reality and memory fused into one suffocating blur.

"It’s all in the past..." Deklan uttered inwardly, clutching his face as his darkest memory came to haunt him again. He thought he was already over it, but it doesn’t seem to be the case. "It’s not real. It’s all an illusion. She’s okay... She’s going to be okay..."

Gritting his teeth hard, Deklan closed his eyes and regulated his breaths.

And when he calmed down a little, he opened his eyes again.

He recovered from the daze and stood up again.

"Panicking will not help," Deklan uttered what Paul said to him back when he lost his assignment that was due tomorrow. "If I panic, then even the important details would slip past me. I need to calm down and try again."

Deklan looked around again, now with clearer eyes.

Back then, he found the assignment that was slipped among the stack of papers after Paul said that.

And like that time, he also found his answer.

"Hmm, this tree... its mana is thinner—at the center of the trunk." Deklan pressed his palm against the bark, letting his hand glide slowly along its surface. And at that moment, the realization slammed into him. "Shit... It was right in front of me all along. This is the tree I phased through with the Elementary Phasing skill earlier!"

Deklan’s lips stretched into a smile.

If he followed the trees that are hollowed out at the center, he would find Marsha.

"Even though you’re not here, you saved me again, pops." Deklan shook his head and moved again.

It didn’t take long for him to reach where Marsha should be.

He could tell instantly, as there was a decaying human corpse slumped nearby, the same unfortunate guy the wolf had been feeding on before crossing their path. Deklan moved past the carcass without slowing, eyes fixed on the tree where Marsha should be.

But the moment stepped through the bushes and went around the tree, his heart skipped a beat.

Bloodstain.

Deklan actually found bloodstains instead of Marsha.

In a rush, he knelt down and touched the bloodstain and smelled it.

He wanted to make sure that it was really blood, and true to his assumption, it was really blood.

"Marsha!"

Deklan stood up and shouted her name.

Even though shouting in the middle of a forest where Ghosts roamed is a stupid thing to do—he didn’t care. "Marsha, answer me!!" He shouted again, clenching his fists on the side, "Fuck! I shouldn’t have left her behind! Fuck, fuck, fuck!!"

At the possibility of her death, Deklan’s entire body began to tremble with rage.

He clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white.

And to top it off, he could feel it in him.

The part of himself he’d been holding back was bleeding, boiling the blood in his veins.

"Just you wait, fucker..." Deklan muttered hatefully, his mind fixated on whoever or whatever did this to Marsha. "Once I get my hands on you, I promise... I promise I’ll make sure you regret doing that. I will make sure you regret being alive."

Rustle...

Deklan straightened his back when he heard a rustle.

It came from the bushes to his right.

And then came a low, menacing growl.

No, multiple growls that prompted Deklan to turn, his head tilting slightly and his eyes wide with killing intent. He watched as a pack of wolves emerged from the bushes, similar to the one he killed before, but smaller and certainly weaker.

However, there were six of them.

But Deklan’s eyes were fiercely fixed on the one leading the pack, the one that had blood dripping from its snarling mouth.

"Is it you?" Deklan turned to face the pack unafraid. "Are you the one who ate her...?"

Meanwhile, somewhere inside the same forest.

"Young master..." Marsha was walking through the forest alone, eyes warily looking around.

Upon waking up earlier, she was surprised to realize that Deklan was nowhere to be seen, and though worried, she thought he had gone ahead, so she looked around for him before making her way to the inner area, thinking that he must’ve gone inside alone.

Never once did she ever think that he would leave her alone.

He wouldn’t do that.

So, he must’ve gone inside for a moment while she rests.

But hours passed, and there was still no sign of Deklan.

Even though the urge to look for him in the inner area was high, Marsha didn’t dare to step inside lest she anger Deklan for even attempting to do that. Since the night was nearing, she decided to head back to the hamlet and wait for him there.

It was the best course of action, at least at the time, she thought it was the best move.

However, her patience has its limits.

Marsha couldn’t help but go back into the forest again to find him, fearing that he was in trouble.

She was already at the point where she didn’t care whether Deklan would scold her or not.

"I know the Ghosts in the inner area are strong, but the young master is extremely capable," She mused aloud, recalling how Deklan could even cheat death by having two bodies. "If anything, he must be able to run away. So where is he right now? Why hasn’t he come back?"

Marsha traced the same path she had taken before.

And it didn’t take long before she neared the spot where Deklan’s physical body was torn to shreds.

But then, she stopped abruptly.

She could hear growls ahead, a lot of them, and they seemed to be in a battle.

Clinging to the possibility that it might be Deklan, Marsha quickened her pace and reached the core of the commotion. She peeked from behind a tree and covered her mouth, seeing that it was indeed Deklan, but he was not being himself again.

"In my world, animals like all of you are afraid of humans. No matter where you are in the food chain, humans will always be at the top. And you dared to attack a fucking human? A helpless girl at that? Ho, in case you don’t understand, that’s really... really bad."

"And, unluckily for you guys, you so happen to meet someone who could show how grave what you did was."