Chapter 158: The Forest Of the Unknown
The light of the transport platform faded.
Noah opened his eyes.
For a moment, everything seemed normal.
A quiet carriage.
Rows of seats.
The familiar uniforms of the academies.
The low hum of the transport system.
They had finally left Hildgard.
Eric leaned back in his seat and sighed.
"Finally."
Damien looked through the window.
"Hildgard is already out of sight."
Sophia rested her head against the seat.
"Good."
Luna remained silent, watching the landscape passing outside.
Laura sat beside Noah.
Neither had spoken much since leaving.
Noah looked at the window.
The distant outline of Hildgard had completely disappeared.
Yet he could still feel something.
A faint pressure.
Like a thread stretching from the city toward him.
He closed his eyes.
Dead Zone.
No response.
Noah frowned.
Are you there?
Silence.
That was unusual.
The Dead Zone had never stayed quiet this long.
Noah opened his eyes.
Laura noticed.
"Something wrong?"
"The Dead Zone isn’t talking."
She blinked.
"Is that unusual?"
"Very."
Laura looked at him.
"Maybe that’s a good thing."
Noah wasn’t convinced.
"Maybe."
Several hours passed.
The academies had begun discussing their destinations.
Some students slept.
Others talked quietly about the tournament and the disaster in Hildgard.
Nobody seemed to know the full truth.
Most believed the underground incident was an ancient magical malfunction.
Noah knew better.
He looked down at his hand.
The system appeared.
[CURRENT STATUS]
Host: Noah Blackwood
Rank: UNKNOWN
Ragnarok Dead Zone Resonance: 27.2%
Ragnarok Signal: ACTIVE
Noah stared at the last line.
The signal hadn’t disappeared.
It had followed him.
He whispered,
"So you’re still there."
Laura looked over.
"Who?"
Before Noah could answer, the system flickered.
[WARNING.]
[EXTERNAL OBSERVATION DETECTED.]
Noah’s expression changed.
"Everyone."
The carriage went quiet.
Eric sat upright.
"What?"
Noah stood.
"Something is watching us."
Damien immediately reached for his weapon.
"Where?"
"I don’t know."
Luna closed her eyes.
She extended her senses through the carriage.
"I’m not detecting anything."
Sophia frowned.
"Could the system be wrong?"
Noah stared at the window.
"I hope so."
Outside the transport, something moved.
Not on the ground.
Not in the sky.
Between.
A dark distortion followed the vehicle.
It had no clear shape.
No face.
Only a faint crimson glow at its center.
Every time the transport accelerated, the distortion remained the same distance behind.
It wasn’t chasing them.
It was simply following.
Noah suddenly felt a cold sensation against the back of his neck.
The Dead Zone finally spoke.
"Don’t look behind you."
Noah froze.
Why?
"Because you’ll see it."
Noah’s heartbeat increased.
What is it?
A long silence.
Then:
"I don’t know."
Noah’s eyes widened.
The Dead Zone didn’t know.
That was new.
Can it enter my mind?
"Not yet."
Can it attack us?
"Yes."
Noah’s fingers tightened.
Then why hasn’t it?
The Dead Zone’s answer came quietly.
"Because it’s waiting for us to reach somewhere."
Noah looked forward.
"Where?"
The Dead Zone didn’t answer.
Instead, the system appeared again.
[DESTINATION APPROACHING.]
Noah frowned.
The transport’s route had changed.
A new location appeared.
[UNAUTHORIZED ROUTE ALTERATION.]
[DESTINATION: UNKNOWN.]
Noah immediately stood.
"What?"
Laura looked at him.
"What happened?"
The carriage lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The transport slowed.
Eric looked around.
"We’re stopping?"
Damien checked the window.
"There isn’t a station."
The vehicle came to a complete stop.
Silence.
Noah stared through the glass.
There was nothing outside.
No city.
No academy.
No road.
Only a vast forest beneath a pale evening sky.
Sophia stood.
"This isn’t our route."
Luna looked at the transport controls.
"They’ve been overridden."
Noah’s system flashed.
[UNKNOWN SIGNAL: 100% CONNECTION.]
His blood ran cold.
The Dead Zone finally spoke.
"We’re here."
Noah looked outside.
"Where?"
A distant crimson light appeared between the trees.
The system answered before the Dead Zone could.
[LOCATION IDENTIFICATION FAILED.]
And somewhere deep inside the forest...
something began walking toward the stopped transport.
Nobody moved.
The transport remained suspended above the forest, its engines humming beneath the silence.
Eric looked through the window again.
"We definitely weren’t supposed to stop here."
Damien checked the controls.
"They’re completely locked."
Sophia looked toward Noah.
"Can you see anything?"
Noah stared into the trees.
"Something is coming."
Laura stood beside him.
"How close?"
Noah’s eyes narrowed.
"I don’t know."
A faint crimson glow appeared between the trees.
One light.
Then another.
Then another.
Eric slowly drew his weapon.
"Those aren’t eyes, are they?"
Noah didn’t answer.
The lights disappeared.
The forest became completely dark.
Then footsteps echoed through the trees.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Something was walking toward them.
The transport suddenly shook.
Everyone grabbed onto something.
[WARNING]
[EXTERNAL SYSTEM INTERFERENCE DETECTED.]
Noah stared at the notification.
"This isn’t a normal breakdown."
Luna nodded.
"The entire transport is being held in place."
Damien looked toward the exit.
"Can we force the doors?"
Eric tried.
Nothing happened.
"They’re sealed."
Sophia raised her hand.
"Move back."
She released a concentrated spell toward the door.
BOOM!
The carriage shook.
The door didn’t move.
Sophia stared.
"That should have destroyed it."
Noah looked at the floor.
"It’s not the door."
"What?"
"The entire transport is being controlled."
Laura looked outside.
"By whatever is in that forest?"
Noah nodded.
"Probably."
A low sound rolled through the trees.
Not a growl.
Not an animal.
A voice.
"Inheritor."
Everyone froze.
Noah’s blood ran cold.
Laura immediately looked at him.
"That voice..."
"I heard it before."
The Dead Zone finally spoke.
"Don’t answer."
Noah swallowed.
The voice came again.
"Noah Blackwood."
This time, the entire transport heard it.
Eric raised his weapon.
"Okay."
He looked around.
"I officially hate this place."
The forest began changing.
Trees twisted slowly, their branches bending away from the transport.
The sky above them darkened.
No stars.
No moons.
Nothing.
Just blackness.
Luna looked upward.
"This isn’t a normal forest."
Sophia nodded.
"The mana density is impossible."
Damien frowned.
"Are we even still in the same world?"
Noah stared at the trees.
The question bothered him.
Because the system had already failed to identify their location.
The forest wasn’t simply unknown.
It might not belong on their map at all.
A figure finally appeared.
It stepped from between the trees.
A person.
Tall.
Completely covered in dark clothing.
Their face remained hidden.
A faint crimson glow burned beneath the hood.
Noah tightened his grip on Shadowfang.
The Dead Zone whispered:
"That’s not the thing from Hildgard."
Noah’s eyes narrowed.
You recognize it?
"No."
Then how do you know?
The Dead Zone paused.
"Because this one is afraid."
Noah stared.
The figure stopped several meters from the transport.
It slowly raised one hand.
The entire forest became silent.
Then the figure pointed directly at Noah.
"You shouldn’t have left Hildgard."
Noah stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The figure tilted its head.
"I was sent to observe you."
"By who?"
Silence.
Noah’s system flickered.
[UNKNOWN ENTITY]
[THREAT LEVEL: UNAVAILABLE]
[IDENTIFICATION: FAILED]
The figure lowered its hand.
"I can’t tell you that."
Eric muttered,
"Of course."
The figure looked toward him.
Eric immediately stopped talking.
Its attention returned to Noah.
"But I can tell you something."
Noah waited.
"You’re being followed."
Noah’s expression hardened.
"I know."
The figure shook its head.
"No."
It pointed toward the sky.
"You don’t."
Everyone looked upward.
The darkness above the forest rippled.
Something enormous moved behind it.
The figure took one step backward.
"Whatever followed you from Hildgard..."
Its crimson glow intensified.
"...has arrived."
The forest trembled.
Noah’s system exploded with warnings.
[UNKNOWN SIGNAL DETECTED.]
[SOURCE: ABOVE.]
[DISTANCE: 0.]
Noah slowly looked up.
And the darkness opened.