Chapter 73 - 72: The Road Ahead
Sleep never came.
Every time Nina closed her eyes, she saw rows of jagged teeth closing around her arm. Sometimes it was the monster. Sometimes it was the two men reaching for her after everything was already over.
By the time the first light of dawn spread across King’s Territory, she had given up pretending to rest.
Her eyes burned with exhaustion.
Her remaining hand trembled as she silently checked the contents of her inventory. A water-skin, a small knife, the last of her stale bread, a thin blanket and the handful of gold Veronica had pressed into her hand before they parted ways.
She stared at the number inside her System wallet for a long moment before quietly looking away.
Without that gold...
She probably wouldn’t even have the courage to leave.
A voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts."You’re leaving too?"
Nina turned.
A middle-aged woman stood a few steps away with two children clinging tightly to her clothes. Behind them, an elderly man adjusted the walking stick supporting his injured leg.
Nina simply nodded.
The woman forced a tired smile. "I heard some people are following where that light appeared."
"So did I," Nina answered quietly.
Neither of them sounded convinced.
The woman looked toward the broken walls surrounding King’s Territory before lowering her voice. "I don’t know what’s waiting out there..." Her gaze drifted toward the children beside her. "...but I know what’s waiting if we stay."
Nina understood. She didn’t need to ask anything else. Around them, more people quietly drifted toward the gate. No speeches. No dramatic farewells. Some carried children. Some supported injured family members.
Others walked alone with empty expressions, as though leaving behind more than a territory.
A few survivors watched them from a distance.
One young man shook his head. "They’ll be back."
Another snorted. "If the monsters don’t eat them first."
No one argued.
Everyone was too tired to waste energy proving anyone wrong. Nina walked past them without slowing down.
The broken gate came into view. Only yesterday, she had believed those wooden walls represented safety. Now they looked painfully fragile.
She stepped through the opening and stopped. For the first time since arriving...
She turned around.
King’s Territory stood behind her beneath the pale morning sky.
Smoke still drifted upward from the dying funeral pyres. People moved through the streets like ghosts, rebuilding homes that no longer felt like homes.
Somewhere inside those walls, Tobias was probably beginning another day.
The thought no longer filled her with reassurance. Only disappointment. She had trusted those walls. She had trusted the title of Lord. She had trusted that strength gathered in one place meant safety.
She would never make that mistake again.
Taking a slow breath, Nina turned away. The brilliant white pillar had vanished with the coming of daylight.
Only its direction remained etched into her memory.
She fixed her eyes on the distant wilderness. Somewhere beyond those endless trees...
Something had called to countless people during the night.
Hope.
Curiosity.
And desperation.
She didn’t know which one had answered inside her.
Perhaps all three.
Without another glance behind her, Nina took her first step into the unknown.
King’s Territory slowly disappeared behind her as the forest swallowed the road before her.
Whatever waited beyond the horizon...
It was no longer her past, It was her future.
The forest welcomed no one. Within minutes, the towering trees swallowed the narrow trail behind Nina. Thick branches intertwined overhead, allowing only scattered rays of sunlight to filter through the dense canopy. The cool morning breeze carried the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, replacing the smoke that had clung to King’s Territory.
She kept walking.
One step after another. She refused to look back again.
The walls she had trusted were already gone, hidden behind layers of trees and undergrowth. The voices of the survivors rebuilding their lives had faded long ago. Even the faint crackling of the funeral pyres had disappeared.
Now...
There was only the forest. It wasn’t silent, Leaves rustled somewhere overhead.
An insect buzzed lazily past her ear before vanishing into the undergrowth. Far away, something cried out. It didn’t sound like a bird.... Not quite.
The unfamiliar sound echoed briefly before everything became still again.
Her shoulders tightened. Every sound seemed louder when she was alone. Every shifting shadow between the trees looked as though something was watching.
The Beast Tide was over.
That didn’t make the wilderness safe.
It simply meant the monsters had scattered back into the endless forest they called home.
Her pace gradually slowed. Then she noticed something in the mud.
It was a footprint.
It still looked fresh and that made her stop.
The edges remained sharp, and the morning dew hadn’t completely settled inside it yet.
Someone had passed this way not long ago.
Nina crouched carefully, studying it without touching the ground.
A boot.
Humans has reached this far definitely. Her eyes lifted.
Another footprint lay several paces ahead. Then another. Not all of them matched.
Some were larger and others were smaller.
Some sank deeper into the soft earth, suggesting someone had been carrying extra weight.
Families... Or maybe groups.
She followed the trail with her eyes instead of her feet. Several low branches had been snapped carelessly aside.
A strip of faded cloth fluttered gently from a thorn bush, torn free from someone’s sleeve as they passed.
Not far beyond it lay an abandoned backpack, half buried beneath fallen leaves.
The leather had been ripped open. Its contents were gone. Whether looted by people...
Or scattered by monsters...
She couldn’t tell.
A little further ahead rested the carcass of a monster. Its grey hide had already begun to rot beneath the smoldering heat.
Tiny bugs and insects she has never seen before swarmed over the open wounds while dried black blood stained the surrounding grass.
The killing blow might have come from a human or another monster, she wasn’t sure .
Nina remained perfectly still.
Other survivors had travelled this road.
Her fingers instinctively closed around the handle of the small knife hanging at her waist.
The image surfaced before she could stop it.
Two smiling faces.
A rough hand reaching for her. "We’ve got a place you can stay."
Her breathing became uneven.
Humans.
They weren’t always safer than monsters. She slowly scanned the trees ahead.
Nothing moved.
No voices.
No footsteps.
Only the endless trail disappearing deeper into the forest.
For several long moments, she simply stood there, weighing her options. Should she turn back?
Never.
Walk alone?... She already was.
Follow the trail?
It might lead her toward people. Or it might lead her straight into another nightmare.
Nina swallowed quietly.
Then, tightening her grip around the knife just a little more, she took another cautious step forward.
Whatever waited ahead...
She would see it before it saw her. She had learned that much.
The trail stretched endlessly beneath the towering trees.
Time lost its meaning.
Nina no longer knew how long she had been walking.
Minutes?.
Perhaps hours?.
The footprints never disappeared. Sometimes they became clearer where the earth softened beneath the shade.
Sometimes they scattered across patches of exposed stone before gathering together again farther ahead.
Whoever had travelled this road...
They weren’t walking aimlessly. They all seemed to be moving toward the same destination.
Nina frowned.
She had almost convinced herself she was alone.
Then... A faint movement caught her attention.
Her entire body froze.
Far ahead, between the trees, something shifted. No... Someone.
A tiny figure crossed the narrow trail before disappearing behind another cluster of trees. Then another.... and another.
Her grip around the knife tightened instinctively.
She lowered herself slightly, allowing a thick tree trunk to hide most of her body while she watched.
More figures gradually appeared.
Not one group.
Several.
A man carrying a child across his shoulders.
An elderly woman supported by two younger survivors.
Three strangers walking together without exchanging a single word.
Farther behind them, another lone survivor kept nearly thirty meters away, glancing over his shoulder every few steps.
Nobody walked side by side unless they already belonged together.
Families stayed with families. Small groups stayed with their own. Everyone else kept their distance.
Nobody seemed to trust anyone else.
Every adult carried a weapon. Some held crude wooden spears. Others gripped kitchen knives, rusted machetes or broken swords scavenged from somewhere along the way.
Even those travelling with children never allowed their hands to drift far from their weapons.
The silence unsettled Nina more than shouting ever could.
No conversations.
No introductions.
No attempts to help one another.
Only cautious eyes constantly watching the people ahead...
And the people behind.
As though everyone feared that the next survivor they met might become their greatest threat.
Nina understood that fear all too well.
She remained where she was until the nearest group had moved farther ahead. Only then did she cautiously step back onto the trail.
She deliberately slowed her pace. Far enough to avoid drawing attention. Close enough that she wouldn’t lose sight of them completely.
If anything happened...
If someone suddenly turned back...
Or if monsters appeared from the forest...
She wanted enough distance to disappear into the trees before anyone noticed she had ever been there.
So she followed.
Not beside them.
Not with them.
Just another silent shadow on the same lonely road.