[Vol. 9] Chapter 40: Land Without Light
The black-haired girl neither agreed nor denied, just spread her hands and made a light “hmm~” sound. Seeing she didn’t want to continue talking, the snow girl stopped asking questions. She stood up, raised her head to look at the pitch-black deep sea above, where countless rotten, twisted shapes floated, and her expression returned to its usual cool, pure calm.
“We should hurry and prepare to leave. If we’re gone too long, some things outside will become troublesome.”
On this topic, Violet only smiled and shook her head.
“Whether we can leave or not has never depended on me. As long as you feel ready, you can start anytime. But you should already know very well what the price of failure is. This is the one step I cannot help you with.”
“......”
Seeming to understand what the girl meant, Moraya said nothing more. She just nodded quietly, and then, with a seriousness she had never shown before she spoke.
“I’m ready.”
“Then, good luck~”
The priestess lightly snapped her fingers. In that instant, the seawater and unspeakable things that had been kept outside by an invisible power came rushing in. Moraya’s whole body froze as the bone-piercing cold instantly surrounded her.
In truth, this was what she should have faced directly when she first came here. It was only because a certain unreasonable person had interfered with her own power that the trial had been delayed until now. But no matter what, this step had to be taken sooner or later. Violet could block it for a while, but she could not stay here forever to maintain the barrier. She could leave, but Moraya could only leave if she completed certain things.
“Hey, I’ve already done what I could. Whether you can hold on to this chance depends on you alone. Do your best, little one, I believe in you~”
The vacuum space that kept back the seawater shrank little by little until it stopped only a few feet away from Violet’s body. This was an effect created by releasing the power of her [Feather Robe Graria], something she could control freely at will.
Talking softly to herself, the girl caught the little wooden puppet that jumped into her hand and placed it on her shoulder. Then, after one last glance at Miss Moraya, now fully submerged in seawater, floating with eyes tightly closed, while the eight-petal snowflake mark on her forehead shone brightly again, Violet turned away and ignored her.
She took a single step forward, yet it was as if she moved through space itself. The deep, dark seafloor scene instantly shifted, and she was back again in that forest that looked like endless night.
A simple campfire burned quietly, the only weak light in the darkness. Violet looked silently around. Suddenly, she waved her staff, and the firelight, freed from some kind of restraint, flickered a few times as if it were alive. Then, strangely, it formed into lines of clear text.
The writing seemed both real and unreal. It was clearly not any language known in the present world, not even with proper grammar or structure, yet when seen, its meaning was instantly understood, like its existence itself was the rule.
Yes, it was a rule.
It declared itself so clearly, almost impatiently:
[Walk upon the road of skeletons, observe the dread of the defeated. The living must stop, only those who pass may claim the God’s Remains.]
The mysterious and majestic characters swirled for a few moments before quietly fading away, then transformed into a series of more detailed smaller words.
[Please remember the following rules, or you will bear all the consequences yourself.]
Rule 1: The campfire is the only stable light source in this place, and also the only safe point. Do not go too far from the Light, or you will be lost in the darkness.
Rule 2: The protection of the Light is safe, but under its glow, everything you see, shapes, distance, colors, even existence itself, may twist or deceive. What you see might not be real. Be careful.
Rule 3: Your gaze is also a kind of Light.
Rule 4: Do not make random sounds. That will attract Them.
Rule 5: Any path that looks clear, like it was stepped on before, is a trap. They lead either to eternal wandering or instant death. The true way is hidden in the Nothingness.
Rule 6: There are no living beings here, and certainly no companions of yours. Do not trust anything that appears, and do not approach or respond to it.
………………………………
“…What kind of nonsense is this?”
Violet frowned at the string of words formed by the firelight, which twisted strangely in the wind as if it were truly alive.
In fact, when Moraya first woke up here, these kinds of rules should have appeared for her, the one taking the trial. But at that time, the priestess had only glanced at the first line before finding the riddle-like words too annoying. So she simply used her divine sense to suppress the entire forest’s mechanism, forcing the rules to their weakest point. Because of that, these words had also been hidden.
Still, this place was very special. Some of the most basic rules could not be erased, not even by Violet. For example, without Light, you could never leave the darkness. That was why she created the little wooden puppet to act as a lantern and guide them out of the forest.
Skipping the trial sounded easy, but it left behind problems that still had to be dealt with. The trial’s rules, though they looked fancy, each carried deeper meaning. They were a form of special Information. These rules were part of how that Information took shape. Without them, the trial could never be complete. Since Violet had cut corners to help someone take a shortcut, she now had to come back and clean up the mess.
Because this time she did not use divine sense and her divine kingdom to crush the domain, when the rules truly appeared, the world around her also shifted to show its real form.
Shadows moved in the dark. Trees and bushes twisted their branches like living things. The cold wind blew through, carrying strange, eerie laughter. Except for the small circle protected by the firelight, the whole forest had become a monster’s paradise.
The words flickered in the firelight, glowing with an ominous light. Facing them calmly, Violet could clearly feel the cold will inside the words. The Light itself was silently staring at her.
The place that looked the safest… might actually be the most dangerous.
Compared to before, when the trial was only about finding a way out without light, this was now showing its true, deadly level of danger.
The rules looked reasonable. Each one seemed correct. But if you thought carefully, you would notice they also contradicted each other. For example, the rules said the campfire was the only safe point, but then also said the Light could twist and deceive your senses. If you couldn’t see through these contradictions, you would easily fall into traps.
Maybe only the truly chosen ones, blessed with great wisdom and great luck, could sort out the logic between the rules, find the one common truth, and clear the trial.
But Violet couldn’t be bothered to think that hard.
So, she simply kicked her way forward.