Chapter 69

Fissures won't come closer. They will touch the girl at best, Haunt her like jesters hoping to cause misery and fun, giving her fear that they hoped would never disappear. There was an excuse in this show. They could always kill her, they looked like. That was false and worth learning. She knew they couldn't, but it always felt as if they would.

It was a terrifying hunting strategy that could destroy the morale of a lot of prey. Even upper Darks themselves could feel apprehension in the Haunting.

She knew they were just a joke. They weren't powerful. They couldn't kill or become something great in this hill and area of many kings. She was just an ant. Unworthy of anything. She barely breathed and kept her cool. Even when they touched her with those nasty fingers, and looked at her eyes, forcing themselves onto her, they were just annoying. Screaming at her in the Haunting, she gazed into the darkness, into her Emblem, and hugged her rabbit. She went deep, losing herself, and remembered things of misery and pain.

Hours passed until the sun disappeared, giving the night a rightful rein and immense satisfaction.

By now, the girl was almost delirious because of the long Haunting. It felt like a bad dream usually, yet when the night came, the Fissures were gone. Where? How?

Pain was around her when she opened her eyes and she couldn't remember the details of this Haunting. Her eyes were tired, her arms and face wounded, and who knows what the rest of her body looked like. Bloody side remained, and nothing new came out of it besides fatigue.

She probably endured it enough, or that was a lie. She ignored the pain. Her head and legs weren't that bad. She survived much worse things than some mental battle. It was annoying like pain that never passed, almost like herself if the wound was deeper, or if this Haunting came up at a different time.

It was her mistake. She should've allowed a weaker first hit. She winced in pain when she tried to move and almost fell asleep. That was bad. Her Emblem still shone from her forearm, giving much better light to this small shelter that was barely enough for her. It shined a little bit outside, giving her a path because it was already night.

There was nothing out there when she looked. No Fissures. No moving shadows or light in some eyes. There were some bugs and.... noises. A lot of noises crawled into the night that arrived and changed the whole Coban Region.

It was chilling. Screams, thuds, wind, and all sorts of noises wept into the red moon, surrounding the flat lands around this Holy Land.

It was false hope to expect safety at night or day, but one was better. At night, howls spread, and terrifying noises reached everywhere at many lows or heights, giving plains and night different aura. It was now a prime hunting time, so the valleys and savannas became bloody and crazy. Most powerful Darks usually made their appearance, leaving weaklings away, and causing troubles in many territories. It did resemble a war. An ancient primeval war that was far from the Earth.

She went out of her cave, thinking that Fissures disappeared because prime predators were around many corners, or they fled because they couldn't have her. Many monsters could eat Fissures for snacks. No one wanted to be eaten by a higher level life-form. Especially when the powerful ate the weak.

Fissures were surprisingly easy prey for some of them, so she glared if those were around. She failed to note anyone. She tried to focus on her hearing, notice changes, sense the surroundings, and recognize something hard. It was impossible for her current self.

Wounded, it was already hard to do that when fresh, let alone in such a big place. She paused the moment she was outside the cave. There was no helping it. There was an incredible sight above her that caused her eyes to twitch.

Stars. So many stars, it was impossible to count. Bright and pretty, she even gasped even when she had seen them countless times. It always happened.

Above her little temporary shelter, the previous Hound waited, sitting and wriggling its tail on a cliff, creating another hiding spot.

She noticed it and looked at it once before she ignored it as always. She hated it like any monster, yet... what was wrong with this one? What was wrong!? It was big and deadly, yet it never ate her, let alone wanted her flesh.

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Hound jumped down, crunching something in its large mouth enough to accommodate multiple people. She paid no attention to it. It was always better to do so, even if it was endlessly following her like a lost dog.

Why? Just why?! It was strange for her no matter how she doubted herself. She hated it, yet she couldn't ever toss it or cause it to go away and leave her alone.

It was a rather long-lasting case.

She couldn't hurt it, and it didn't want to hurt her.

It was like a circle of inevitability. A cycle that went on and on without an end in sight. And she tried many things, but Hound was like a mountain before her, so what to expect? Gradually, she found reason and excuses in herself to hate this one less. At least it didn't want her. That was good, right?

It was bizarre.

They should all die. Drown! Die in flames!

Following the night and starry sky, her time was much brighter, since the Holy Land had fewer Darks at this hour, and the starry sky was pretty and different from the sun. She didn't know the reason, but the hills that surrounded her right now were close and safe, the same as the mountains further into those hills. There were five of them in total, reaching for the sky, looking flat and red.

Close, there was a direct route to her home.

She moved, ignoring Hound who was tracking her or breathing right onto her neck. That went on until many noises spread from the horizon, but due to the hills all around her, she saw very little of what was going beyond them. She noticed some lights were brighter than the stars, and noises were like chopping wood or grass or mixing bones, blood, and gore.

She wasn't sure what was right in this noise, but there was no way she wouldn't miss out on anything dangerous. But first things first. She hurried away to quench her hunger. Her home wasn't that far away because it was at the ground level of this Holy Land.

It was a cave so hidden, that only a few Darks would ever crawl through a space hidden behind rocks and bushes. The entrance was a very tight hole. One had to fall into the darkness, and she always hit her head. Now was no different apart from her wounds and rabbit in her hands.

Hound howled to the hole in dismay, disappointed that it couldn't come inside even when it felt it should.

The girl ignored it, glad to get down, and made no noise. Crawling to her home, she felt pain and fatigue coming for her. She was starving so much that she almost thought of eating this rabbit raw.

That was a terrible idea. Her home was barely fit to call it one, but there were some branches for the fire, and a small made-up room made of some logs, hide, and grass created enough vanity. There were even some old metal plates that created shelves for her treasures.

Her mattress consisted of many long leaves, with some fur in between. It was hard to tell if any of that was from Darks or regular animals. Aside were small military crates that she found lying around this region in her rare and dangerous expeditions. They acted as her storage or table. There were fewer things than one would expect.

On her shelve were carved bones into knives or weird tools, followed by things she didn't know how to use. There were even some bottles and machinery, followed by empty vials. She often thought of tossing some things away, but she never did because they were interesting items of humanity. She was one, right? She was human, no?

Some of them even talked to her, before stopping years ago.

Preparing the meal was easy. She had wood ready due to some rare chilly nights, so she prepared them and crashed a bunch of rocks together until they sparked against some dry weeds, creating embers for fire. She taught it herself by luck and frustration.

She had no proper knife, but the ones made of bones ended up enough for this rabbit. She skinned it and used some rocks from her collection to give it some pounding attention.

Afterward, she just stuck the rabbit onto a stick and let it sizzle above the flames. Salivating, crouching, she almost couldn't stop glancing at this cooking meal. After a few minutes, she couldn't stop herself. She bit into it, moaning, and falling to the ground. There, she ate and felt immense satisfaction. How long had it been since such a feast? She ate that rabbit whole, eating even bones that she crunched to paste.

She glanced at the wall opposite her and shook her head. Then, she got up and took her clothes off, revealing many scars in various places, as well as her fresh ones. Some of them weren't as nasty, although the ones in her size weren't looking promising. Skin was red and purple, but not bone-deep.

Blood was not escaping too much because of her previous shirt that helped like an improper bandage. Most wounds were already filthy, and one would expect some infection, yet nothing of that sort spread. Massing them, claw marks soon began to seep fresh blood and the girl grunted, taking this hit for a lesson.

Other wounds were blunt damage from that fall, making her skin colorful and less tanned. Her head was no different, and some blood on her hair, face, and mouth was less than appealing. Most of it hurt the insides, while the outside dried up and left her skin bloodstained.

Her black hair scatted around her shoulders, front, and back. She didn't make too much noise, but changing her face when she touched or poked her wounds didn't hurt. She knew they were temporary, like the pain, or misery. Then, she moved deeper into the cave, which was surprisingly clear as if it was a day.

The flame wasn't strong enough to cause so much light. There was something brighter, bigger, and much more mesmerizing than a little flame ahead.

There was a small pond of water ahead, glistering in delightful colors. Immense sunlight was coming from a large crystal etched into a rather sizable round cave's ceiling. Droplets of liquid fell from it every second, creating a pond the size of a pool below it.