The eyes always reflect the mood of a person, no matter how much they try to hide their emotions. Joy, sadness, resentment, hatred; all are vividly expressed through the soul's windows.

The eyes of the person standing before Nea gleamed with a dark, sinister red, eerie in the dim space.

The last thing Nea remembered was being grabbed from behind and pulled away; just a second ago, he was still in the large room containing the giant stone gate, along with Gray and the members of the self-proclaimed organization protecting the Earth. Then, in the next moment, the surroundings had turned pitch black. Surrounded by darkness as black as ink, Nea could see nothing else except for a pair of glowing, sinister red eyes in the shadows. Those eyes seemed to bore into Nea's soul. Although the eyes had a warm hue, not to mention the halo of blazing red light surrounding them, they evoked a sense of dread, sending chills down one's spine. Yet, it brought a sense of familiarity to Nea, as if he had seen these eyes somewhere before. Despite the different hues, he recognized them because they conveyed a sense of emptiness and a bone-chilling coldness to Nea.

But never mind those eyes for now. Nea suddenly struggled to breathe, as whatever was in front of him at the moment was tightening its grip around his neck. At this time, Nea's eyes had gradually become more accustomed to the darkness, slightly adjusting to it. Nea could discern the shape of what was tightly gripping him; it wasn't anything bizarre but rather a person. A person with those eerie red eyes and, worse, it seemed like this individual was trying to take Nea's life. The choking reminded Nea of the first time he was bullied; out of nowhere, someone had grabbed his neck. Nea always remembered the helplessness he felt at that moment, which partly motivated him to train in martial arts to be able to defend himself. And now Nea was different; he was no longer as powerless as before. No matter who the person in front of him was at the moment, he felt confident in his ability to handle the situation. That's what Nea thought.

Nea planned to deliver a swift kick to the groin of his attacker, as it was a vulnerable spot that could quickly debilitate an enemy. He had just lifted his leg to strike, but unfortunately, his opponent anticipated the move. The attacker flung Nea into the air, followed by a solid hook to the stomach that sent Nea flying upwards, only for his entire back to crash with a thud against the hard, rocky rock. Nea was in shock. The assailant had just finished strangling him, and even though Nea had tried to brace himself, his neck was still somewhat injured. And now, the attacker had launched a ruthless blow, sending Nea up towards the ceiling or whatever was above, only for him to land on a pile of rough rocks, unfortunately. After that not-so-gentle collision, Nea could hear the sound of bones cracking inside his body, not to mention the equally painful landing on the ground.

Bruised and battered, Nea felt powerless again, but this time not because he was weak but because his opponent was overwhelmingly strong. No ordinary person could punch someone with such force that they shatter a rock upon impact. It was clear that his attacker was no ordinary human. Nea lay sprawled on the ground, struggling to breathe but unable to do so because blood continued to ooze from his throat. He could hear the sound of his assailant's footsteps approaching, but what could he do now when he couldn't even move a finger? Nea had barely begun his journey to find his missing father, and now death seemed to be beckoning him. His consciousness was fading, and he could no longer stay alert. The last thing Nea saw was the eerie red glow in the eyes of his assailant closing in on him, the eyes of the Grim Reaper.

***

Nea slowly opened his heavy, bewildered eyes and looked around, realizing he was no longer in the dark cave from before. He found himself sprawled in some dense forest, surrounded by nothing but trees. Strangely, the trees were leaning and fallen in disarray, as if a fierce battle had happened here. But Nea didn't have the time to ponder what had just occurred in this place. He leaned his back against a standing still tree, his entire body aching intensely, so it took considerable effort to get himself upright. Resting against the tree trunk, Nea tried to take deep breaths of the fresh air, attempting to regain some sense of stability and clarity amidst the pain and confusion. This was the first time Nea had sustained such severe injuries. In the past, whether in training or competition, he had never experienced such grievous harm. Every minor movement triggered waves of excruciating pain. Nea tried to regulate his breathing to be more rhythmic. Even though breathing was painful, it helped him regain some alertness. There wasn't a single soul in this area, just him and the desolate forest scenery. Whatever had happened, the stranger with the death's eyes had disappeared. Nea wanted to feel relieved for not losing his life in this unknown place, but the persistent pain was so overwhelming that he just wanted to faint. Eventually, after enduring the agonizing pain for a while, Nea passed out again because he couldn't bear it any longer. Nea kept losing and regaining consciousness several times, his mind dizzy from blood loss and pain. But after a long while, things started to ease up a bit.

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"Water!!"

That was the first thing Nea thought of as the pain began to subside. He had been sitting there for a while and was sure he could hear the sound of water trickling nearby. There must be a stream or two around in this forest. Gritting his teeth, Nea slowly stood up, staggering and leaning on a tree trunk until his legs were stable enough to stand on the wet ground soaked with sweat. He cautiously took one step at a time, moving towards the direction of the flowing water sound. After dragging himself for a while, Nea finally saw a small stream before him. He quickly gulped down the cool stream water like someone dying of thirst. Perhaps he had never before found water to be so delicious. Looking at his face in the water, smeared with blood, Nea felt like blaming himself for being too careless. But the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

"Who is he? Is he a human or a devil? And why did he drag me to this wilderness only to suddenly leave?"

Nea clearly remembered the sensation of being dragged along after fainting from a crushing blow. It seemed unlikely that the situation was as simple as it appeared. However, the more Nea pondered, the more mystified he became. Dwelling on these thoughts wasn't going to solve the immediate problem:

"Where am I?"

All Nea could hear up to this moment was the sound of the wind blowing, the rustling of trees, the flowing of the stream, and the chirping of birds. There were no human sounds or noises from vehicles. Nea was likely deep within a forest. Speaking of the forest... Suddenly, Nea realized something unusual about this place. He had been too exhausted to notice it before, but thankfully, the cool, refreshing water had brought back his clarity. And now, the answer appeared right before his eyes. On the other side of the stream lay a gigantic gray tiger, the likes of which Nea had never seen before. Fortunately, it appeared to have been dead for some time. The enormous body of the tiger was severed into two pieces, and it was still slightly warm, indicating that it had died only recently. Regardless of who or what had done this, cleaving such a massive tiger in half was genuinely insane. Absorbed in observing the tiger's carcass, Nea momentarily forgot the world around him until a loud rustling noise emerged from a nearby thicket. Quickly, Nea hid himself close to the tiger's corpse, alert despite the excruciating pain the sudden movement caused. The effort was warranted as another tiger emerged from the bushes. Its body was as enormous as the first, but its fur was different – it was white. The animal, whining softly, moved slowly towards the carcass of the other tiger.

Nea held his breath, crouching low to the ground, taking cover behind the pungent, blood-soaked carcass of the tiger. The tension escalated with each step the tiger took. Suddenly, Nea felt dizzy and lightheaded. He had just narrowly escaped death, and now, another dangerous situation unfolded before him. He could sense the tiger's breath drawing nearer. With his face pressed against the Earth, he dared not look up. He was terrified; Nea had never felt like this before. Until now, he had faced many types of opponents, and he trained his body diligently. Nea even had experience fighting monsters in virtual reality games. But those were just games, and his opponents until now were only humans, or if they were beasts, they were not real animals. And this is a tiger, a wild beast of the ancient forest, not to mention its unnaturally colossal size and enormous fangs. Facing it was an impossibility, especially in his current state with a body full of injuries. Nea had no choice but to hold his breath, wait, and hope the tiger would not see or smell him.

Every second now felt like an entire century; Nea couldn't hold his breath any longer. His body had reached its limit, his broken ribs throbbing with pain. Blood began to seep from his wounds, exactly what the tiger was searching for—Nea's strategy of remaining motionless shattered. The scent from the carcass couldn't mask the smell of his blood, and of course, the tiger detected it. Once again, the situation was as precarious as a thread of hair holding a thousand pounds. Despite the excruciating pain, something like a survival instinct was awakening within Nea, and it was telling him:

"Do something right now, or you will DIE!"

Right then, the tiger pounced on the corpse of its kin and discovered Nea hiding behind it. Nea's body instinctively reacted, and in a split second, he launched a powerful kick right into the jaw of the massive tiger.