Yuel started running. With every step he took, he trampled a mushroom or a fungal flower, but it didn't matter.
The moment he stepped out of the room, he saw dozens of infected creatures around him. Some were Stage 2, some Stage 3—even a few Stage 4. But he had no time to deal with any of them.
"Go straight!"
"Faster, faster!"
"Turn right!"
"That's left, you idiot! Go right, hurry up!"
"Take the second left, you should see stairs ahead!"
"Move! You need to go faster, or you won't make it!"
If Yuel could speak, he would've told Null to shut his beak. But he didn't have the energy—or the time—for talking.
"Right!"
"Right again, climb the stairs!"
"Turn left and go straight, then take the second right!"
"Another staircase, go up quickly!"
"Right turn, you're very close to the exit!"
If Yuel had tried to get out on his own, he would've never found the exit. This place was a complete labyrinth.
"Turn left and up the stairs—almost there, come on!"
There were dhune and titans lying on the ground everywhere. Mushrooms had overgrown around all of them, and every one of them was currently fighting against maddening, unbearably loud whispers.
"Turn right and keep going, then second left—finally, you'll be there. It's been about 4 minutes and 20 seconds. In the remaining 40 seconds, get as far as you can to prevent being followed!"
Yuel followed Null's instructions to the letter and reached the exit. After reaching it, he used the remaining time to get as far away from there as possible.
He was quite lucky, because the crystals that lit up the ground in this part of the day only stayed active for 5 hours out of the 24. While the area was lit, it was much harder for anyone to follow him.
Yuel ran with all his strength and managed to escape from the lair of a Stage 5 Titan.
But even after escaping, it wasn't over—he had to run all the way home to make sure he wasn't being tracked. He wondered what had happened to Luo. Hopefully, she was still alive.
Yuel walked for hours toward his home. Once, these puddles of ink, the harsh grass, and the white, decaying trees all felt boring to Yuel. Now, though, they didn't seem so bad—because he had tasted the true horror of the infected cave.
One day, he would kill that thing. But not today—he wasn't strong enough yet.
All Yuel wanted was to get home and rest a little. Just one mistake during his usual routine—taking a nap during the day's light hours—had cost him dearly.
As he walked home, Yuel noticed something. His body didn't used to be this big, did it? All of his clothes felt way too small now.
'Hey Null, how long was I in there?'
'You? Hmmm, let me check. Even though your memories were wiped and left incomprehensible to you, I was able to access them. You repeated the cycle approximately 1,544 times. That equals about 4 years and 84 days.'
'Wait… so I'm sixteen now? I had noticed I'd grown a little, but four years? Isn't that a bit much?'
'You weren't properly nourished in that tube—just enough to keep you alive. You're like this due to malnutrition. A few months of proper eating and you'll recover.'
'Alright, then if you can read my memories… what attacked us? Why couldn't I fight back? And what happened to Luo? I need to know so I don't repeat the same mistake.'
'All I'll say is, what you encountered that day was not the Stage 5 Titan itself—it was a Stage 4 Titan that had already been infected. While you were being taken, Luo used up all her mana to bless you. Then she ran. Whether she's still alive, I don't know. But she used every last drop of her mana and her elemental percentage to do it.'
'If there's even a sliver of hope that she's alive, that's enough for me. I won't chase after her, but I will believe with all my heart that she survived.'
After that conversation, Yuel finally returned home after four years.
The door was half open—just enough for Luo to squeeze through… Yuel thought, 'Luo must've left it like that, waiting for me to come home.'
Then he stepped inside. But he wished he hadn't.
Inside the house, right where Luo loved to sleep most, she was lying. But it was a sleep she would never wake from again.
Her body was covered in mushrooms. She must've been infected while fighting that thing before they escaped. But since she was a Soul Wolf, the mushrooms couldn't lull her to sleep. So instead, they put her in an eternal slumber.
Her entire body was covered with mushrooms—especially her torso and tail. The unhealed wounds, the exposed skull and legs… they were still intact, with no fungi growing over them. As her body decayed and the mushrooms feasted on her rotting corpse, a stench filled the house, making it unlivable.
The moment Yuel saw her, he rushed forward. He hugged her and cried.
One day, without a doubt—even if it cost him his life—he would take revenge on that Stage 5 Titan.
He would make it pay for Luo.
Yuel cried for hours. Null didn't say a word. After many hours passed, Yuel finally quieted down and pulled himself together a bit. Outside, darkness had fallen again.
He knew what he had to do. She must've slept restlessly for those four years. He had to bury her. Yuel picked a shovel from among the many bone weapons in the house. Then he went outside and dug a grave.
He dug it a little ways away, next to the cliff he would visit every morning to watch the view. He buried Luo there. Ink rarely reached that place. Even in death, he didn't want her to be forced to drink ink because there was no water. From time to time, he'd bring her water and pour it over her grave.
Yuel thought, Luo would be happy to sleep with this beautiful view. Then he walked away.
He no longer had a home to return to. The house reeked of death, and some of the bone items were covered in fungus. He couldn't stay there. He had to prepare and leave. He would return to humanity—he would visit the South.
In fact, there was a reason Yuel had come here eight years ago.
Yuel was an orphan. The reason he was an orphan was because his father was a Troth disguised as a human. He was a hybrid. Eventually, his father killed his mother and everyone around her—except his own son. After that, Yuel was sent to an orphanage. There, he learned about the Undergarden and the basics of the ancient tongue.
Undergarden had five regions—South, West, Center, East, and North. Each region had its own climate, ecosystem, intelligent race, and a Phase 7 Titan. Humanity managed to reach all five regions, but only managed to survive in the southern Verdant Requiem. The other regions were too dangerous.
Each region had its reason.
The Western region, Inksworn Depths—there were no sources of water here, and all living beings drank ink instead. Once someone drank the ink, they would reject water entirely and become dependent on ink. That meant anyone who entered and drank the ink would never be able to leave. For this reason, the West was deemed too dangerous for human survival.
But this didn't apply to Yuel. His father was from the Troth race—a race that had built their own kingdoms deep within the Inksworn Depths—and Yuel was a Troth-human hybrid. When in human form, Troths could drink water, so the ink-dependence didn't apply to them—or to him. So for Yuel, this region wasn't dangerous, aside from the dhune and titans that inhabited it.
Yuel's goal after escaping the orphanage was to reach the Inksworn Depths and find one of the Troth cities. Because, unlike the people who rejected him for being half-Troth, he believed the Troths would accept him and he could live among them. But he never found their cities. They were probably far to the west, deep in Inksworn Depths, while Yuel was closer to the center.
Now, however, he realized that with his current strength, he would never find them. Too many titans stood in the way. But if he got stronger, it might be possible. That's why he would return to humanity and grow stronger.
After burying Luo, Yuel returned to his home. He was still unhappy, burning with the fire of vengeance—but he didn't have the strength to act yet.
He needed to level up a few stages. Then he would return—and take revenge on that Stage 5 Titan, on Infection.
After several hours, when Null sensed that Yuel had calmed down a bit, he finally spoke.
"You can't stay like this forever. You know I can read your thoughts, and I know you're planning to return to humanity. So first, let's solve your food problem. Then we'll find something for you to wear. After that, we'll make a staff or a spear—something for you to fight with. That's all the preparation. Can you handle it? I know you're going through a hard time, but you have to move. Otherwise, you'll never get your revenge."
"Shut up. I know—I'm aware. I'm going fishing in a bit, so… just leave me alone for a few more minutes."
Yuel was still miserable. He wasn't happy with his current state. He wished he had never taken that nap that day—everything had started with that tiny mistake.
A few minutes later, even if he wasn't completely back to normal, Yuel had gathered the motivation to go fishing. He got up, grabbed his fishing rod, and left.
Two fish wouldn't be enough to satisfy his hunger. He would need to fish for hours.
And so he did. By the next day's light, he had finally eaten his fill. He had caught nine fish after staying awake for more than a full day. He had eaten them all, using his own soul flame to cook them. The moment he touched raw meat, it burned—and its soul was destroyed. That was probably one of the things Luo had ensured when she blessed him. She had always used her flames to cook food and craft tools. By passing on her flame, she gave him a part of herself.
Yuel thanked Luo in his heart.
Once his hunger was finally sated, his next task was to make new clothes. So he headed home. His previous cloak had been a street garment he found while escaping the orphanage. After washing it in ink for hours, he decided it was wearable and had never taken it off since—it was that comfortable. But now it was gone. He had to make new clothes.
Should he hunt a titan for that? He had the power of whispers now—if he found a titan weak to sound, he might win. But he didn't want to use percentages, so he would rely on mana. He needed to find a mana source…
"Hey, I can help with that!"
"I wasn't talking to you. I was just thinking to myself."
"Still, instead of figuring it out alone, let me help. Can you see the crystals on the ceiling? If you carry one bigger than your palm, you can use it as a mana stone. You can fill it with mana, and over time it'll generate mana on its own—and you can use that. Making a staff would be better, but it looks like you don't have the materials for that yet."
"I'll make the staff from the titan I kill. I'm really upset I couldn't harvest anything from that giant owl. The other dhune and titans probably devoured it. I can't do anything about that now…"
"Then where are you going to find the crystal? You sound like it's close by."
"Seems like I remember my memories better than you do. The only thing that happened that day wasn't killing the owl or getting captured. A crystal fell near my house. There are no dhune or titans living near my house, so if we're lucky, it should still be there."
Though Yuel appeared to be heading home, he had actually been circling around, searching for that crystal. And just as he had hoped—it was there. A crystal larger than his palm was glowing on the ground, illuminating the area around it.
To someone who had lived in darkness, it was blinding.
Yuel picked it up and began walking north.