Is It an Enemy?

Chapter 101 Is It an Enemy?

Once Dahdin landed, he leaped back toward the light spot. He checked himself over and found that his body was uninjured. This realization gave him new confidence, allowing him to fight the mist without hesitation. When he looked up, the mist had returned within reach. He lashed out his claws at the mist. The mist was sent away. When it came back, Dahdin flung it away again. This exchange was repeated several times, causing Dahdin's previous expectations of danger to fall short. 'It feels too easy.' The thought pervaded his mind again and again. Gradually, the peril he had anticipated from the mist diminished significantly.

Feeling lost, he wondered why his body had reacted so strongly to the mist back then. He began to consider a plausible explanation for his reaction. At that time, the light had not been as bright when he first encountered the mist. Since it was pitch black, his mind could only interpret it as an invisible force that might revert things to how they used to be, leading his body to perceive the mist as a more dangerous threat than it actually was. As Dahdin pondered this, his guard was lowered, allowing the mist to approach him. It almost had the chance to consume him, but possibly thanks to the light weakening the mist, Dahdin was able to easily sweep the ball of fog away with a swipe of his claws.

Dahdin no longer felt the fear he associated with the mist, but he sought another explanation for the space's ability to regenerate. 'It couldn't possibly be an action from the mist, could it?' Dahdin wanted to find out if the mist was responsible for regenerating the surroundings or if it was simply another habitant of the space.

He left the brightest area and pushed the mist aside, giving himself time to dig several holes in the ground. After several minutes of digging and throwing the fog away, he felt pleased with the number of holes he had created for experimentation. He then waited for the mist he had displaced to come hovering back.

Eventually, it arrived and slowly moved across the field of holes, hovering above them without falling in. As it passed over the holes, they were refilled, but only after the mist moved across the covered area. From these observations, Dahdin concluded that the mist was responsible for regenerating the land, but he wondered why it was there.

Was the mist trying to attack him? Was it attempting to drive him out of this strange space? Was it an enemy? These thoughts swirled in his mind. Unable to reach a conclusion, Dahdin pushed these thoughts aside as he sought to learn more.