Chirp chirp chirp!
Above the dense forest canopy, several pink butterflies fluttered their wings, releasing clouds of pink dust into the air.
The powder dispersed like a fine, colorless, odorless mist, blending seamlessly into the woods.
As the soft rustling of insects filled the air once more, the entire forest seemed to return to life.
Tang Hao, who had been holding his breath with caution, felt a surge of relief wash over him.
He turned to one of the elegant butterflies nearby and slowly extended a hand over it.
Surprisingly, the butterfly didn't fly away. It merely flapped its wings twice while perched on a vine, then remained still.
Tang Hao's expression softened. It was as if this fragile creature had somehow reassured him—like a tiny dose of calm amidst the unknown.
With resolve returning to his eyes, he stepped deeper into the woods.
His thick cloak swept across the purple-black grass and the shrubs lining the narrow path.
His figure gradually disappeared into the forest.
But—
He didn't notice that the colorful butterfly on the vine had something unusual about it.
Two crimson compound eyes protruded from its head, unsettling and unnatural.
What should have been delicate limbs were instead covered in dense, bristling black barbs.
This butterfly wasn't beautiful—it was grotesque and terrifying.
Its red eyes remained fixed on Tang Hao's retreating figure, watching...
Until he vanished from sight.
Squish... squish...
As Tang Hao ventured further in, the purple-black grass beneath his feet grew thicker and more resistant.
Each step felt like treading through a swamp, as if the ground wanted to suck his feet down and trap him.
He frowned slightly, glancing down at the disturbing terrain, but said nothing.
He pressed onward, into the heart of the forest.
His instincts told him that something he sought lay ahead.
Suddenly, the sky seemed to dim in an instant.
Darkness, thick as ink, draped over the entire forest.
Looking closer, it wasn't the sky that had darkened—it was the countless twisted, gnarled branches overhead that had completely blocked out the sun.
That was why this space felt so oppressive, cut off from daylight.
"Heh heh heh..."
A cold, rasping laugh echoed in Tang Hao's ears, sudden and uninvited.
Expressionless, he looked up toward a pitch-black cave ahead.
There was no path beyond it.
The cave looked as though it had been waiting for him, emerging from nowhere as if summoned.
A coincidence... yet oddly deliberate.
He couldn't see into the cave—it was deep and dark, like the open maw of a monstrous beast waiting to devour him.
"Hmph, just a cheap trick."
Tang Hao sneered, brushing dust from his cloak.
Then, without hesitation, he strode into the darkness.
Gurgle... squelch...
The moment he stepped inside, he felt like he had entered a damp, living space.
The air was warm and humid, making him instinctively frown. It was uncomfortable.
After adjusting to the dim light, he could barely make out the shape of the tunnel.
But just enough to see where he was walking.
The walls weren't stone, nor earth.
They were soft, sticky—more like the insides of a creature than any natural cave.
Tang Hao shook his head. What kind of creature could be this massive?
The passage was just wide enough for one person, extending into seemingly endless darkness.
He couldn't see the end, only more of the same black, pulsing tunnel ahead.
The soft, gripping sensation underfoot. The unseen distance.
The eerie atmosphere.
All of it pressed constantly against Tang Hao's mind.
Yet his expression remained calm, unfazed.
He continued steadily onward, undeterred.
Then, a faint light appeared up ahead.
As he approached, the glow gradually grew brighter, illuminating more of the tunnel.
"Hah... Finally getting close."
Tang Hao let out a slow breath. There was nothing here that truly scared him.
After all, he had clawed his way out of Slaughter City—an abyss of blood and death devoid of normal humans.
He prided himself on fearing nothing on this continent.
Yet the suffocating nature of this place still made him uncomfortable.
Squish... squish...
His footsteps quickened.
"Heh heh heh... Tang Hao, I knew you wouldn't disappoint me."
A hoarse, aged voice echoed from ahead.
It was heavy with decay, and twisted in tone.
To Tang Hao, it sounded like rusted metal scraping against stone—grating and harsh.
His body tensed ever so slightly, and his eyes widened.
Without a word, he broke into a brisk stride toward the source.
A burst of blinding light forced him to squint.
When he adjusted, he noticed something strange.
The passage he had just walked through was gone.
In its place was a purple-black, fleshy wall—just like the strange grass earlier.
Tang Hao slowly turned to examine the space he had entered.
It was a sealed chamber.
The ceiling, the floor, the walls—everything was made of that same unknown substance.
Soft. Pulsating. Disturbing and grotesque.
The sight and sound of it sent his nerves on edge.
Tang Hao took a deep breath and suppressed his discomfort.
Because ahead of him, seated with his back turned, was a hunched figure, playing with something in his hands.
Tang Hao stared in disbelief.
His voice hoarse, he muttered, "No... Impossible."
"Why... why is it you?"
The figure slowly set down what he had been holding and tossed it aside.
Then he turned around.
Tang Hao's gaze followed the discarded object—
It was an arm.
A human arm.
A fragment of red embroidered cloth clung to it.
Stitched into the slender limb was a disturbing black flower, sewn crudely and tightly with dark thread.
Bright red blood oozed from the needle holes, the grotesque mix of red and black colors making Tang Hao's vision blur momentarily.
****
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