On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Being alone in the dark is not scary; knowing that there is another person with us in the dark is. Upon hearing the voice, the hair on the back of my neck that I thought I had lost stand up.

"Damn it, Eliseus! Don\'t mess with me!" I exclaim in annoyance.

There is no response from behind me, so I wonder if the speaker was really the ghost of this forest. Just when I am about to conclude that to be the case, Eliseus confirms that the owner of the voice is her.

"... You are not like Vibiane." Slowly, I feel Eliseus walks beside me. "I thought you were as easily scared as Vibiane is."

"Didn\'t you hear my exclamation earlier? I think that represented my fear quite well."

"Yes, it did—nonexistent."

Blinking my eyes at how hard it is to make her believe that I was really scared, I remember how expressionless I have become. I sometimes forget that, and still believe that I am as expressive as before.

I initially expressed myself mildly to prevent Valeria or Millonia to read me. It became habitual after a month, and I stopped expressing myself normally ever since.

"Well, the fear was there—it was you that failed to notice it." I shrug. "Anyway, how come I can\'t see anything? Is it only me or..."

"I can\'t see anything either."

"Well, that sucks." I lightly frown. "Wait... How are we supposed to navigate through this forest then? Are we even still in the forest?"

"We are still in the forest." I can feel Eliseus waving off my concern. "Just do what General Velucan has told us to do, and never look back."

"I have already covered myself with Mana ever since I entered the forest, but I don\'t know anything about the never look back thing. What does that mean?"

"It is what it is: keep walking and never stop."

I find her answer slightly dumbfounding, so I don\'t know what to say. I turn to my left, which is where Eliseus is standing, and look at her with an \'are you serious face\' that I am sure she can\'t see.

She knows, however, what I am conveying as she shrugs lightly the moment I turn my head to her. She has illuminated herself, which is the reason why I can see what she is doing.

"[Illustambian]!"

It is a simple Light Spell that anyone can learn. It is used to illuminate our surrounding when we find ourselves in a dark place, but since the forest is too dark, it only managed to illuminate ourselves.

I have honestly forgot I have learned such a trivial Spell, so I was only reminded of it when I saw Eliseus. It honestly surprises me that someone as strong as her still uses this simple Spell.

"Don\'t get me wrong. I have a Spell that can allow us to see everything in a half Absitan in front of us; I don\'t want to cast that because I don\'t want you to depend on me."

"It\'s alright." I wave my hand lightly. "I hate leeching off other people too."

Nodding her head, she starts walking. I follow suit immediately, and stay as close as possible to her so I can prevent myself from getting lost in the forest.

I might be able to find a way if I was lost in this forest, but I would rather not to be lost. I don\'t know this forest at all—its name is the only thing I have learned from my study with Valeria—so I can\'t predict the unpredictable things waiting for me.

"Has it always been like this?"

"Yes."

"How could you even get out of this forest?"

"Instinct."

Now that I have a guide that is familiar with the forest—Eliseus—I ask many things to her. She is fortunately willing to answer all of my questions, so I find out many things about it.

Amizanima Forest was found by three Elves who were dubbed as the three best Pathfinders in the world. The discovery happened around a thousand years ago, so no one actually knows how true the story is.

Even though there is no mention about the name of the three Elves or any concrete proof of their existence, many people still believe the story about the discovery of Amizanima Forest is real.

With that said, the story is fairly ridiculous. It goes like this. A trio of Pathfinders, friends with each other, encountered a forest that attracted their attention. They couldn\'t help their curiosity, and enter it. They explored it, but ended up dying. The end.

The story is actually much longer than that, but I am too lazy to register all of them in my head. It is, after all, mostly about the hardships the Elves went through only to die before they got out.

I don\'t know who spread this story considering that the Elves had died before getting out, but I can confidently say those who believe in the bullshit have a questionable sanity.

How could even the story of three dead people, whose bodies couldn\'t even be found, be known if there was not a direct witness to the event? It is clearly a story that is purposely spread to increase the tourism value of the forest.

I don\'t know what kind of people the first storyteller wanted to attract—probably imbeciles or lunatics—but the story is stupid nonetheless.

Oh, by the way, that is how the forest got its name. People believe the soul of the Pathfinders are still roaming the forest to look for the exit, which is why it is named Amizanima—the place for the lost soul.

"Even though it has been here for ages, we haven\'t bothered to explore this forest much. The method we have found to get out of this forest is to keep walking forward, and we have always sticked to that."

"Isn\'t there a concern that it might not work someday?"

"No, you don\'t need to concern about that." Eliseus shakes her head. "This forest amplifies your instinct, so you just have to believe in yourself. Once you doubt yourself, you will truly be lost."

Humming to myself, I say, "What method do humans use to get out of here?"

"They only need the blessing of their God. They go to the Temple, ask for blessing, and their God gives them in a form of a necklace."

"They... Use Divinity to pass through the forest?"

"The necklace they are given will lead them out, but simply said, yes."

I slightly frown by how unfair it is for the Cursed Creations. Here we are counting on our enhanced instinct to get out of here, meanwhile the humans can just ask for a blessing to do it.

Of course, in the next second, I immediately remember that they are favoured by their God. Every existing race in this world is loved by their God.

We don\'t have a God to believe in, which is why no one can bless us. We don\'t want to be cursed either—just because we are Cursed Creations—since cursing us is the same as killing us.

"Will we encounter any danger on our way?"

"There are some Wild Beasts living here, but as long as you don\'t drop your guard, there is nothing you should be—"

Roar!

"I can feel it staring at us," I comment.

"Hmm... It is quite close to us indeed." Eliseus nods in agreement.

If it was any normal forest, I wouldn\'t be worried because whatever that has just roared is would be facing against the people in front of us. There is no one in front of us unfortunately, so we have to fight it ourselves.

I have asked Eliseus how we can\'t find any of our troop mates even though we entered the forest just a step after them. She said that was just how the forest worked, and it left me confused.

There are so many unexplainable things happening in this world, and the people lack the curiosity to uncover it all. They are so used to mysteries, they don\'t bother themselves to find the explanation to the mysteries.

I can\'t blame them though; this is, after all, a Magic world, where unexplainable things happen everyday. I wouldn\'t think much of those things too, if I had been born here.

"We have to stop here." As soon as Eliseus says this, I immediately summon Rexorem. "We will wait for the Beast to approach us itself, and kill it once we can spot it."

"Tsk. Why does this forest have to be so dark?" I click my tongue. "I can already feel it, but not being able to see it is frustrating."

"In case you forgot why this place is so dark, it\'s because these trees are completely absorbing all of the—"

"The light—I know," I interrupt Eliseus\' explanation. "You have talked about it earlier."

Nodding her head in understanding, we both focus our gaze to the front. My heart beats faster the closer I feel the Wild Beast approaching—it is the excitement to cut it down.

Roar!

With its mouth opened like a blooming flower, the Wild Beast charges at us. It is 9 feet tall, and looks like a mix of a mole and a panther.

What attracts my attention, however, is not its horrendous look, but the thing riding on its back. It is a kid ... An Elf kid.