Chapter 14: Memories

The forest stretched endlessly in every direction, its unnaturally vibrant colors almost too much for the eyes. Every leaf, flower, and twisted vine seemed like it was plucked from some fever dream. Even the air felt wrong—sweet, almost intoxicating, as though it wanted to lull you into a false sense of security before the forest itself decided to kill you.

My footsteps crunched against the uneven ground, the sound barely cutting through the oppressive silence. I'd strapped a makeshift spear to my back—if you could even call it a spear. I had to make a new spear since my last was practically unusable. Since I didn't have the time to make a proper spear, this was more of a stick with a sharp rock tied to one end, held together with vines and sheer desperation. Still, it was better than nothing. Not by much, though.

It was morning now, not that you could tell in this place. The dense canopy overhead let through just enough light to remind me I was still alive, but not enough to make me feel good about it. Last night had been a trial. Sleep? Forget it. Between the cold wind slicing through my clothes and the uneven, stony ground digging into my back, I'd gotten maybe an hour of rest.

And the critters—God, the critters. Skittering, chirping, crawling. At one point, I was pretty sure a snake slithered over my leg. Did I scream? No. But I definitely thought about it.

Now, as I pushed forward, my body aching and my stomach growling, I couldn't help but feel like I was marching toward my death. The Revenant had told me there was a village somewhere to the west. "Go West," it said, as if that was supposed to be reassuring. But what if there was no village? What if I was just walking to my grave, destined to starve or, worse, eat some poisonous fruit and die retching in the dirt?

"Hell of a way to go," I muttered under my breath, the sarcasm dripping like venom.

When things got this bleak—and let's face it, they often did—I found solace in memories. The old days. Back before I was trapped in this godforsaken cycle of misery. Before I was trapped on earth. Before the system decided I was its favorite punching bag. Back when the group was together.

We weren't heroes. We weren't even friends at first. But we found each other after the system bestowed its so-called "gifts." Most people got flashy powers, massive mana reserves, or some other world-breaking advantage. Me? I got nothing. No mana, no abilities. Just me, Weapon Mastery, and a body that broke more often than not.

But we vowed to stick together, and somehow, we did. Through every nightmare, every close call, we survived. Well, most of us.

I chuckled dryly, shaking my head. "Survived" might be too generous a word. We barely scraped by half the time.

Take Arthur, for example—the so-called leader of our ragtag group. Arthur was everything I wasn't at the time. Handsome, strong, and annoyingly competent. His slicked-back hair and chiseled features made him look like he belonged on a magazine cover, not in a battlefield. But he was good at what he did. He had a massive pool of mana and could conjure barriers that saved our lives more times than I could count. He was the glue that held us together. Without him, we probably would've killed each other long before the Revenants got their chance.

Then there was Vyron. If Arthur was the glue, Vyron was the flamethrower. Literally. He had bright red hair with streaks of orange, a walking bonfire of a man with the temper to match. His fire magic was as destructive as it was beautiful, and he loved using it. Any excuse to blow something up, and Vyron was there. But beneath the bravado, he was loyal. If someone was in trouble, he'd be the first to jump into the fray, no matter how bad the odds. Even me, useless as I was back then.

And then… there was Yuliya.

Yuliya was the kind of person who made you believe there was still good in the world, even when everything else screamed otherwise. Blonde hair that shimmered like sunlight, eyes that could soften even the hardest heart. She was our healer, the one who kept us alive when the system threw its worst at us. We grew close, partly because I had a knack for getting hurt and partly because, well… she was different. Kind, selfless, pure.

At the time, that is reason why I had fallen in love with her. Truly. She was the reason I kept going, even when every part of me wanted to give up. And in the end, she was the reason I gave up my life to save the group.

The memory hit hard, the weight of it settling in my chest like a stone. I stopped walking, leaning against a tree as I tried to catch my breath.

"I hope you all made it," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "I hope it was worth it."

The system, ever the sadistic overseer, chose that moment to chime in.

[Warning: Nutritional intake required. Hunger levels critical.]

[Alert: Performance reduced by 30%. Consider eating soon.]

"Oh, sure," I muttered. "Let me just check my pantry. Oh, wait, I don't have one because I'm stranded in the middle of nowhere!"

The system didn't respond, of course.

I forced myself to move again, one step at a time and as I walked, more memories surfaced. Like the time Arthur's brilliant plan got us trapped in a Revenant-infested store. Vyron had to burn half the city to get us out. Or the time I tried to sneak past a patrol and tripped over my own feet, alerting every enemy in a five-mile radius. Yuliya laughed so hard she could barely heal me afterward.

Despite everything, there were good times. Nights by the fire, sharing stories, laughing at our own stupidity. Arthur trying—and failing—to tell jokes. Vyron betting he could eat an entire loaf of stale bread and almost choking. Yuliya teasing me about my lack of mana, but always with a smile that made it impossible to be mad.

I missed them. God, I missed them.

The forest stretched on, endless and unforgiving. But I kept walking. Because what else could I do?