Chapter 427: Between Yomi and the Living
The realm between Yomi and the living world was a place of fractured skies and restless shadows. Only the blood lake of the Wendigo paled in comparison. The was thicker and denser. Often, a barrier had to employed to breathe.
Marta Kowalski and Sasaki Kojiro stood on a craggy expanse of blackened stone. They were overseeing what lay above and below. Overhead, the sky churned with dark clouds, jagged streaks of crimson lightning occasionally splitting the heavens in silence. The black ground was littered with skeletal remains of creatures Marta did not recognize.
In the far distance, warped trees twisted upward like skeletal hands. Marta looked over her shoulder. They had already gone through one forest worth of these trees. They were blackened and cracked and exploded upon contact, even air. They were humans. Everything about them was wrong here.
Hiding in the trees and waters and underground were monsters. The guttural growls of the unseen beasts echoed. It never stopped.
"This place," Marta muttered, gripping her staff tightly, "is disgusting."
Sasaki Kojiro, the epitome of a cool samurai. He was a step ahead, foot planted at the peak and arms folded.
"Disgusting? I find it rather poetic. A realm of the forgotten, suspended between life and death. You can’t help but admire its honesty."
Marta rolled her eyes and retreated, her prosthetic legs tapping along and adjusting to the uneven ground. "Admire it all you want. I just want to get out of here."
"Ah, but you won’t leave until the task is complete, yes? After all, your friend is counting on you."
He said in that stupid, teasing tone. Marta didn’t want to snap back even if she could.
"Let’s not jump," she murmured. "Better to walk down and not drag attention."