Chapter 12: (THE NEXT PLAN, FORREST THAT LAUGH)
"There are only two options left."
I raised my head slowly, feeling the weight of exhaustion dragging down my shoulders. My breath came out cold, shaky, like even the air itself didn't want to stay inside my lungs.
"First… I can run. Find a new place where those shadowy figures won't chase me."
I stepped back, "Second option… break the curse. But that's impossible. I don't even know what this curse is. Liam knew nothing. And this body—" I touched my chest, feeling nothing but the small thud of my heartbeat beneath my fingers. "—this body has no memories left for me to use."
The corners of the room darkened as if the shadows were listening.
I clenched my jaw. "No… thinking about that second option will only get me killed again."
I straightened my back and took a single step forward. My feet felt heavy, but my decision didn't waver.
"I choose option one."
The air vibrated for a moment. Then the system flickered awake in front of me—
BZZZT—!
Cold, blue light spilled onto my face as the screen formed.
"System," I said, lifting my hand toward it, "show me every place… every single location where those shadowy figures refuse to enter. Anywhere except the river."
The screen glowed once, waiting and ready to answer.
[NOTICE]
× RIVER OF LIFE
○ FOREST THAT LAUGHS
○ CLIFF THAT DOESN'T ECHO
○ PILLAR MOUNTAIN
○ CAVE OF FORGIVENESS
The eyeball list floated in front of me, each name flickering as if the system hesitated to show something like a clue/information.
"So… these four are the only options?" I whispered.
Before the system could reply, the air behind me twisted.
SHHHT—!
A shadowy figure lunged.
STAB!
A cold blade pierced through my back.
Another shadow followed.
STAB!
Then another.
I didn't fight back. My arms hung limp. My fingers loosened. I simply let their weapons cut through me again and again—because I already knew what would happen next.
1
2
3
—REWIND—
I inhaled sharply as my lungs rebuilt, my body reforming in the same spot I always returned to. My heartbeat steadied. The screen appeared again, and the four options glowed faintly.
"…Let's start. Now."
I grabbed my sword, gripping the worn handle tight.
I turned to the south because he is cursed river and sprinted toward the dense wall of trees where the FOREST THAT LAUGHS waited.
My footsteps pounded against the dirt.
THUD—THUD—THUD—
On my first attempt, the laughter swallowed me whole.
On the second, branches strangled me.
On the third, I slipped into a pit of thorns.
On the fourth, the shadowy figures itself tore my throat open.
But on the fifth try, after dying and returning over and over, I finally pushed through the suffocating darkness and broke past the boundary.
For the first time, I survived.
The shadowy figures stopped the moment I reached the front of the FOREST THAT LAUGHS. They froze just a few steps behind me—as if an invisible line prevented them from entering just like in the river before.
The trees in front of me were unnaturally tall, stretching upward. A thick layer of pale mist wrapped around their trunks, drifting slowly across the ground.
I swallowed hard. My throat felt dry.
"…Let's go," I whispered.
I stepped forward.
The moment my foot crossed into the forest, the shadowy figures changed. Their twisted, grinning mouths vanished. Their expressions flattened. Only their glowing eyes remained—cold, watching, waiting. They didn't laugh. They didn't get angry. They simply stared as if they were relieved I was walking into something worse.
I took another step.
The mist curled around my legs, climbing up to my waist. The air turned cold, The deeper I walked, the more I felt it—
A presence.
No… many presences.
Something brushed the back of my neck.
Then my shoulder.
Then my arm.
It felt like invisible fingers poking me from every direction, testing me, checking and watching me.
My pulse quickened.
"System," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Where am I right now inside this forest? Give me my exact location."
The system flickered once.
[INFORMATION CAN'T BE GIVEN]
"Again…!? Ha… ha…"
My laugh came out broken, tired, almost desperate.
I pushed forward anyway, forcing my feet to move through the thick mist.
Step… step… step…
Then I heard it.
Not the rustling of leaves.
Not the chirping of birds.
Not wind.
No.
I heard voice of... a human.
The human weak voices pushed me deeper into the forest, pulling me step by step.
The mist slowly thinned… and then I finally saw it.
Above me, hidden between the giant trees, were tree houses—layered platforms made from rough wood, tied together with thick vines. A tribe lived there.
They looked nothing like the people I'd seen before.
Their skin was marked with dark tattoos that curled around their arms and necks. Their ears were long and stretched downward, pulled by heavy gold earrings that clinked softly every time they moved. Bone necklaces hung across their chests, clicking against each other.
Some sat on a log, sharpening axes. Others carried spears with polished stone tips. Their eyes glowed faintly in the shade, watching each other as they muttered words I couldn't recognize.
Then one of them turned.
His gaze cut through the mist—straight at me.
One by one, the others followed his stare.
The entire tribe stopped moving.
Their conversation died.
Their breathing slowed.
Only the cold wind remained.
I raised my hands slowly.
"H-hello everyone… can I stay here for the night?"
I lowered my head, trying to bow politely, but before I could, one of the tribesmen stepped forward. His eyes narrowed. His lips curled.
He spoke—words sharp, fast, completely unfamiliar.
Then—suddenly—he shouted.
"Keh-keh-keh-keh!"
"Hii—hii—hii—hii!"
"Kra-kra-kra!"
"Wrah-hah-hah!"
The rest of the tribe exploded into laughter.
Loud. Wild. Animalistic.
"Help!!!" I yelled as I turned and sprinted away.
Their laughter followed me—echoing between the trees, growing louder, closer.
THUD—THUD—THUD—
Their footsteps shook the ground as they chased me, their eerie smiles glowing in the mist.
One of them raised his arm.
WHOOSH—
The axe flew.
THUNK!
It buried itself in my back.
Pain surge through me as my body fell forward and slammed into the dirt.