Chapter 83: The Fog Island [23].

An overwhelming silence hung over the group; they made sure not to step on twigs or leaves and to not even swallow too hard. The journey through the Paradise and their escape from the wooden hut’s cell had profoundly scarred them, but the sheer terror they were feeling now was unlike anything they had experienced before. Even to Alice, who had been on the brink of death just a day before.

It was a fact that death was the same for everyone regardless of what caused it or whom it struck, but that did not mean people would not be irrational when facing it, especially when one reaper was clearly more imposing than the others. The girl had given up the prior day due to the specter’s tricks, and perhaps that was why she did not fear the black wolf the same way she feared the current, unknown foe.

Aldrus, for his part, had faced death once as well. Just like in Alice’s case, and thanks to Sir Ludwig’s aid, death had not claimed him, but he would never forget that cold embrace, so indifferent to his own wishes, memories, feelings and morals. He had learned mercy did not exist and that the natural order of things would take him or those he loved away without a second thought if the world so decided. If only there had been a way to oppose it, maybe his father would still be by his side.

At least, that was what he thought. That concept of defiance was, most likely, what repeatedly drove him into perilous situations. He would inevitably be discarded and thrown away by the very world that once granted him life. So, for him, it had been easy to believe that whatever led toward that outcome mattered very little. And that was enough of a reason to keep pushing forward, courageous like a knight.

Unfortunately, courage is a sweet thing that surges only at bright, beautiful moments to help your triumphs taste slightly better. But it is also a cowardly little thing. It slips out of your hands when gripping a sword, and you notice it in the weight of the opponent’s: their blade is heavier than yours; their spirit, stronger. Just as you seek it so desperately and the odds are all against you, it fades away, deserts you, and walks out on you to go and fool somebody else.

Courage can be powerful; alluring, even. But it will take a toll on you—were you ever to mistake it for an ally.

Aldrus would not make that same mistake again.

The four students were lost in their own thoughts and continued to trudge across the freezing slush. As terrified as they were, it was impossible for them to keep silence for long, and eventually they began missing their footing, causing crunching sounds that sent them into a panic. However, despite fearing the worst, the quiet of the night seemed unperturbed no matter what.

After two hours, the dark deepened, and the group could not walk anymore due to the cold. They were all normally in great shape, but the natural boost Time Fragments gave to their physical capabilities did a lot of heavy lifting, so without their powers, exhaustion naturally caught up with them. They settled on a quick, twenty-minute nap to soothe their sore limbs.

"I’ll keep watch; you go first," Aldrus said to them. The others all wanted to do it instead, but there was no time to lose. Alice, Aiden and Cedric sat against each other’s backs and closed their eyes, falling asleep within seconds. Aldrus sat beside them and began darting glances everywhere like a lunatic. When he saw nothing lurking about, he sighed long and heavily as he hugged himself against the cold.

The black-haired boy was about to drift off when the twenty minutes were up. As it turned out, counting seconds while freezing to death would take even the most energetic man alive to the realm of dreams in less than an hour. The good thing was Aldrus managed to stay awake somehow and proceeded to wake up the others. It pained him to see their expressions twist into silent pleas.

"How are you feeling?" Aldrus asked them.

"Terrible, but at least I don’t have an excuse to stop walking now," Aiden said.

"I feel a little more refreshed, but my shoulder hurts almost as much as when you treated it," Alice said, looking at Aiden.

Aldrus nodded.

"Must be the cold; it does make the body ache. What about you, Cedric?"

"My head’s killing me; I’m not sure whether I broke my skull, but I’ll have to deal with it. The hunger, however..."

Aldrus made a face and said, "Yeah; it’s been about ten hours since we set off. Not like it’ll kill us any time soon, but it definitely feels like it. I don’t think I’ve ever gone this long without eating anything."

"If we get to the coast we’ll be able to use our powers again, I hope. At least that’ll give us some strength back," Aiden said.

Aldrus lay on the ground, using his cloak to keep from getting wet.

"Hahhh... Hopefully that’ll be enough to get us out of here. As far away as possible," he added, and without asking, he closed his eyes.

The three who had already rested sat around him in silence, staring into the impenetrable veil of fog and darkness. They kept quiet the whole time until they had to keep going. Cedric gently shook Aldrus awake, saw the same miserable expression on his face that he himself had worn mere minutes earlier, and helped him to his feet. All of them then linked their arms and delved deeper into the woods.

The little break they had taken, mixed with the incredible human capacity to adapt and forget, helped them mend their spirits somewhat. Of course, they still hesitated to speak and thought it best not to. However, they had regained their composure, and with it, some of their speed.

***

It was early morning. They had been creeping past the dangers of the island for more than fifteen hours. Aiden estimated they were now about two hours from the coast. The fog had grown thinner; they could see almost twenty meters clearly, and nothing had attacked them all night, ever since they had witnessed the grim end of the Yetis.

However, despite how good things were looking, the four youths wondered whether they had ever been in so much pain as they were now. A hunger so monstrous it felt as if their stomachs were gnawing at their insides. They were feverish; their fingers showed the early signs of frostbite; they had been forced to stop multiple times to vomit nothing but bile; and their bodies shivered erratically.

Aldrus felt his skin burning; it was so sensitive that even the faint rub of his clothes hurt. He could no longer feel his legs, only numbness from the waist down.

But at least all of that was about to end for good; they were close to salvation... or so they thought.

Aldrus was shuffling through the frost with his head drooping when a deafening crash jolted the four of them into a half-formed battle stance. Their minds were not ready to deal with what had happened.

Not far ahead, almost at the point where the fog veiled the depths of the forest again, a tall, dry tree had fallen. Its trunk was cloven and splintered. And pinned on top of it were two Silver Wolves, Orange-Class beasts, both dead.

The students stopped dead and covered their mouths with their hands to keep from making a sound. They waited in sheer terror for the culprit to appear, and soon after, it did.

Only Aldrus recognized the creature on sight, and as he did, his heart skipped a beat. All of his pain vanished at once, giving way to an overwhelming, desperate urge to run.

Thinking back to the slaughtered Butcher Yetis and the fate of the Second-Rank Holders years ago, everything clicked for him. If it was that thing, then those Holders had been lucky that death was all they got.

T-Third-Rank... Guardian.