The gentle wind brushed across the vast meadow, sending Noctis's black hair swaying. His hair was long and messy; his face and head were covered in dust, his clothes dirt-stained and torn in several places. Noctis rubbed his dry throat. His knees ached as if cursing him for walking for hours. The sun hovered close to the horizon. Though he never liked its blinding light, he knew well what kind of dangers followed once it disappeared. Even a small cave would do—his only goal was to find somewhere safe.
Hunger hadn't struck yet, but thirst had. After walking for several minutes, he watched the sinking sun with quiet dread. Countless stars began to glitter, and the Moon Seal reflected their light beautifully. For reasons he couldn't explain, Noctis felt as if the seal was glowing brighter than usual.
When the sunlight vanished, darkness swallowed his sight completely. He tripped a few times, narrowly avoiding a fall each time. His breaths were steady and quiet; every step he took was noiseless. The rustling of the knee-high grass was the only thing breaking the silence—and it was maddening.
After a few minutes, Noctis began to feel something strange. He sharpened his senses, focusing his awareness. His eyes were nearly useless, but his hearing grew sharper. The whisper of the wind turned into a harsh hiss against his ears. He slowed his pace. The sense of unease was growing stronger by the second.
When he finally realized how wrong something felt, he focused on his core—but it only stirred faintly with hunger. Shifting his attention to his soul revealed nothing strange. The senseless tension irritated him. He almost ran into a tree but stopped just in time, stepping away from it quickly. From that moment on, he avoided getting too close to any trees.
The ground beneath his boots started slanting upward, and he realized he was climbing a hill. Taking a deep breath, he looked around. In this kind of darkness, being seen was easy. That was when he noticed it—a faint, bluish glow in the distance.
Noctis froze. The moment his eyes caught the light, the strange feeling surged within him again. He realized it wasn't his soul or his core reacting—it was his mind.
"A mind beast…"
He immediately crouched down. The light was far away, but the pressure it released was unmistakable.
"If it really is a mind beast, why hasn't it affected me yet?"
Noctis moved carefully, trying to descend the slope so he wouldn't be spotted. But as he took a step, the ground gave way. He slipped, falling down and shattering the silence of the dark. Quickly recovering, he looked toward the light, his expression tightening with unease.
The faint blue light was moving. His breathing quickened, the pounding of his heart echoing in his chest. He quietly stepped away from where he had fallen and crouched low, watching the light from a distance.
The glow was growing brighter, and with it, Noctis's fear. Suddenly, he remembered the reward he'd received after killing the shadow. Instinctively, he summoned the dark runes. The strange, eerie letters floated within the darkness—an unnerving yet mesmerizing sight.
Noctis hastily read through them.
[ Rewards ]
[ Moon Seal, Filthy Shroud ]
He stared hopelessly at the new name.
'Even the name sounds cursed…'
He focused on the new reward.
[ Filthy Shroud ]
[ Type: Garment ]
[ Tier: First Layer ]
[ Potential: Low ]
[ Magical Memory: The disgust of devouring another abomination was… satisfying. ]
'…'
[ Active Magic: None ]
[ Passive Ability: Like a Shadow ]
[ Like a Shadow — Description: When the shroud covers your body, you appear as one of the vile. ]
[ Ineffective on intelligent beings. ]
Noctis studied the details carefully. The name and the description didn't give him a clear idea of what it really did. So, he decided to summon it. Sparks flickered in his hands. Startled, Noctis bent his back painfully to keep the light from being seen.
The shroud's fabric felt surprisingly smooth, yet there was a faint sense of revulsion beneath the texture. Within seconds, Noctis wrapped it tightly around himself. His face, hands, and feet remained uncovered, but his body was encased. The shroud shifted on its own, tightening around him and sealing the exposed gaps.
A strange, faintly nauseating sensation seeped into his soul. His mind throbbed slightly.
He stood and studied the position of the light. It was approaching fast, about the size of a human head. Cold sweat rolled down his face. Panic clawed at him, but he remained utterly silent.
Noctis tried to deduce what the shroud was meant to do. He knew that the rewards granted during the first trial were always crucial to survival — which meant this one had to be vital too.
'It probably makes me look like a shadow… but do monsters fear shadows?'
As the blue light drew closer, he slowed his breathing even more. Then came the sound of footsteps — soft, deliberate — blending with the rustle of grass. The mixture was chilling.
'Please tell me I'm not giving off a scent…'
The footsteps grew clearer. Knowing escape was impossible now, Noctis stopped breathing entirely.
The blue glow was now only a few meters away. His fear swelled with every heartbeat. Then he realized something strange — there were four footsteps.
Only a meter separated them now. The light's glare forced Noctis to squint. His instincts screamed. He tightened his grip on the chain-wrapped sword and raised his head slightly.
The light descended right before his eyes.
It was shaped like a droplet, held by a thin stem. Noctis's eyes widened to their limits. He still hadn't taken a breath; his already pale face drained of all color.
Then the glow dimmed slightly, and through the haze he finally saw a face — clear enough to carve itself into his memory.
Two eyes, slightly larger than human, glimmered like frozen blue ice. Hair white as snow fell gently to the sides. Skin even paler than frost. Sharp facial lines and slightly full lips framed an unearthly beauty. From the being's forehead hung the glowing droplet of light, suspended by a thin, ethereal thread.
Noctis's mind wavered—his thoughts dissolving into static.
Even though Noctis knew the thing before him was a monster, its beauty struck him so deeply that his fear faltered. Yet with each passing second, his mind grew darker and hazier.
Then, a gentle but commanding voice echoed inside his head:
"Bow to it… Offer it a sacrifice…"
Noctis rose to his feet, entranced, his body moving on its own. He began to lower his weapon, ready to obey—
but the creature let out a thin, piercing shriek, baring rows of countless needle-like teeth.
Pain stabbed through his ears. He wanted to cover them, but instinct told him that any sudden movement would be fatal. The scream tore through his skull for several agonizing seconds before the creature's mouth closed again, returning its face to that same unbearable beauty.
It stepped past him with slow, gliding movements. For a brief moment, their breaths seemed to overlap.
Then, as quietly as it came, the creature drifted away into the night.
Noctis rubbed his ringing ears and stared at the fading blue light with a bewildered expression.
'That thing… was disgustingly beautiful.'
Minutes passed before his pulse began to settle. The haze clouding his mind lifted slightly, but the terror remained. He was exhausted — the long walk and the encounter had drained him completely. Sleep tugged at his mind.
He considered resting, but the thought frightened him. If he closed his eyes now, he wasn't sure he would open them again. So, he decided to wait for morning. There was nothing he could do in this pitch-black night, and thinking about the dangers lurking around would only make him weaker.
He had assumed the shadows would be more active in the dark, yet all he felt was the gnawing hunger of his core. It wasn't the only thing hungry; his stomach had begun to growl too.
'I wonder if there's any tree that bears fruit here…'
Hours slipped by. With weary eyes, Noctis watched the first light of dawn stretch across the horizon. The emerald grass shimmered under the rising sun. Many of the stars still lingered faintly in the sky. The beauty of it all left him speechless.
After ensuring the area was safe, he sat for a moment longer, taking in the sight. When the sunlight grew too bright, he rose and began walking again. Hunger and thirst gnawed at him. To ease his thirst, he plucked a few blades of grass and chewed them slowly.
Noctis walked again across the endless plain, feeling his core grow hungrier with each step. His gaze fell on the chain-wrapped sword. He tugged the chains curiously — they rattled faintly, but neither end could be found. Every time he thought he'd traced them to their limit, they vanished into nothing.
Climbing a small rise, he spotted a handful of trees in the distance. He eyed their shadows warily before focusing on the leaves. Back in his realm, he had only ever seen trees from afar — never this close.
Cautiously, he approached one and plucked a leaf from a low-hanging branch. He examined it, sniffed it, then slowly brought it to his mouth. His face twisted in distaste, yet he continued chewing. He knew not every leaf was safe to eat, but this one looked ordinary enough.
'A bit sour… but not bad.'
He tore off several more leaves and ate them all within minutes. Under the hot sun, the shade beneath the branches felt like a blessing. Sitting with his back against the tree, he gazed into the cool shadow.
'I wonder what Vireya did…'
Hours passed. The sun climbed high, burning at its peak. He ate a few more leaves, then climbed another rise — this one several dozen meters tall. The view was as magnificent as always, yet something else caught his attention.
Narrowing his eyes, he spotted massive, distant structures. Most were vaguely familiar, but one stood out among them.
It was long and broad, colored gray, with visible cracks and collapsed sections. He counted fourteen windows. It reminded him of something he'd once seen or heard about — the word surfaced hazily.
'…A church?'
The building he called a church looked grand even in ruin. Its broken pieces were clearly visible, stark against the horizon. Noctis recalled the old man's stories.
'Were those "giants" he spoke of living here?'
He turned his gaze to the other structures. They weren't as massive, but still large — resembling houses of some kind. Yet every single one of them shared one trait:
Their damaged sections were obvious and widespread.
Noctis wiped his hands on the shroud, cleaning off bits of leaf.
'Hopefully… it's abandoned.'
For several minutes he simply watched the ruins — relics of a once beautiful place. Then he exhaled deeply and began descending the hill, carefully and quietly.