As they stepped onto the mountain path, everyone felt their vision dim slightly.
It was an unmistakable sensation. The shifting light and dark caused their pupils to react, as though a thin veil had been draped over their eyes.
Everyone froze for an instant, goosebumps visibly rising on their exposed arms.
Their unease toward the unknown showed on every face.
Ryoma took a deep breath and continued upward. Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the somewhat yellowed sky, though she did not know why.
Why did it feel faintly familiar?
There was no time for her to think about it now.
Their communication link with Chaldea had been cut off. Led by Sakamoto Ryoma and the other three priests, the group summoning the deity and the group responsible for security slowly made their way up the mountain.
Everything around them fell silent.
The sounds of the village behind them vanished, along with its bustling liveliness.
The sounds of the woods beside them vanished, along with their tranquil yet eerie atmosphere.
Even the howling wind in the sky vanished, along with its desolate chill.
Ryoma walked on.
Everyone behind him walked on as well.
Then, suddenly, Ryoma felt a gaze.
It was as though—though something in the forest was watching him.
He did not dare look to the side.
But there was more than one gaze.
A second. A third.
Countless eyes turned toward him, toward them, watching as they climbed.
"Keep walking."
The voice seemed to ring beside everyone's ears. Its gender and age were impossible to discern; all they could sense was an unimaginable remoteness and terror.
"Life is the same. It is an ascent that seems to have no end."
The voice spoke, yet no one reacted.
It was as though everyone had fallen into a stupor arranged long ago.