It wasn't that some monster with a particular form had appeared in the dense woods. Rather, it was as though the entire woodland known as the "Lost Forest" had come alive. The malice was like Life and Death Limbo when it had completely lost control, driving Shade to run faster and faster through the forest.
He sensed his stamina draining at an abnormal rate, while his body temperature rapidly fell. Even more strangely, he felt thirsty and hungry, despite having clearly adjusted his condition before setting out.
This terrible environment again. Why do I always have to run for a while first?
Fortunately, just like before, as he kept running forward and the hunger and exhaustion grew worse, firelight appeared amid the corpse-nailed trees and thin mist. It was like a lost traveler seeing hope. The longing of that moment forced Shade to run even faster. Only when he finally entered the reach of the firelight did he discover a small camp in the forest.
The crackling bonfire seemed able to ward off all the malice in the misty woodland. Its light was so reassuring. Yet once Shade fully entered the camp, its cramped size still took him by surprise.
A bonfire and a tattered little one-man tent were the camp's only landmarks. The area covered by the firelight was probably only as large as the bed in Shade's home, while the worn tent stood forlornly at the edge of the firelight. It could likely serve only as decoration.
Though small, compared to the misty woodland, this place still looked immensely comforting, like a sanctuary in the Doomsday or the only Safe House in a haunted manor.
At that moment, four people—two men and two women—were resting around the bonfire. As Shade looked them over, they turned toward him upon