The day after his climb, Kenzo opened his eyes with difficulty, as though a heavy weight of fatigue were still pressing down on his body. The night had been short, restless, and his sleep had been far from restorative, but it was still better than nothing. The few hours he had managed to steal on that immense branch had kept him from collapsing completely, and he knew that without that pause, he would not even have been able to stand. He stretched his back slightly, feeling his muscles protest, then his arms, then his legs, every fiber reminding him of the violence of yesterday's fight.
By instinct, he checked whether the fog had climbed higher during the night. He leaned slightly over the immense branch and looked into the void below. Nothing had crawled up toward him, and no creature had tried to climb. A sigh of relief escaped him. Part of him found it almost strange, but it was good news.
Straightening up, his gaze naturally moved toward the horizon, where the day before he had seen that faint red light appear in the night. He blinked, frowned slightly, then spotted it: a column of smoke, thin as a thread, almost transparent, but definitely there. So discreet that if he had turned his head at the wrong moment, he might have missed it. It stood out just enough against the dark mass of trees to remind him that he was not alone in this Fragment.
– « It's still there… but it keeps getting farther away each time… » he murmured, narrowing his eyes to better make out its origin.
For a moment, his instinct urged him to rush toward the source, just like the day before. Maybe it was someone like him. Maybe a person trapped here, another Awakened trying to survive. Maybe someone who could explain what this Fragment was, why that Gargantuan Tree existed, and what kind of trial he was going through. Maybe even someone who already knew how to get out of here.
But all of that was only "maybe."
And his body, on the other hand, was nothing but pain.
He placed a hand over his still-sensitive ribs. His fight against the Young Shoot had left deep marks. The armor helped, and devouring the heart had strengthened him, but it was still not enough. His muscles were heavy, his arms numb, his legs trembling at every slightly abrupt movement.
– « Not today… if I go like this, I'll just get myself killed. »
He inhaled deeply, trying to push back the frustration growing inside him. Every day he remained motionless made him feel as if he were losing ground, losing an advantage, or allowing another Awakened to get ahead. But he knew that rushing forward without thinking was an excellent way to die alone in this forest.
I'll try to keep climbing this tree, just to see what there might be up there, he thought, more determined than he wanted to admit.
He had spent an entire night on this tree without being attacked. More logically still, if something dangerous had been hiding in the heights, it would already have killed him in his sleep. He convinced himself that he was reasonably safe in the upper parts of the trunk.
So he set off again, beginning to climb using the same method as the day before. His fingers gripped the irregularities of the bark while he pushed with his feet, using his broken spear as support whenever he lost balance. He moved slowly, methodically, careful not to waste any unnecessary energy.
The cold and the wind were even stronger now that he was gaining altitude. The air was drier, sharper, but fortunately the branches and clusters of leaves partially reduced the force of the gusts. The wind did not make him sway as much as he had feared, and even though the icy air bit into him, it was not unbearable.
After a while that felt longer than it should have, he finally reached the top of the tree. Or at least, an area just below it, where the structure hollowed out slightly. The crown was hollow for about three meters deep, like a sort of natural basin formed by the wood. At the center, something immediately caught his attention.
– « Seriously? Even here? »
He climbed down carefully into the hollow, looking for signs of movement or traps, then approached what looked like a small crude tent. There were worn pieces of cloth, assembled branches, and an old frayed fabric that had probably served as an improvised shelter.
– « And of course… there's one here too. »
A skeleton, once again. Just like on the eighty-meter trunk. This time, the body wore armor made of dried green leaves, probably the same style as the first skeleton's. Beside it lay not a spear but a sword. The hilt and the patterns were similar to the spear he had recovered earlier: a green guard, a thin blade, and one that was surprisingly well preserved despite the passing of time. No aura, no vibration. Not an artifact. Just a weapon.
Kenzo crouched to examine it more closely, but frowned slightly.
– « Too bad it's not a spear… »
His own spear, though effective, was now broken. If he had to face another Void Creature, he would clearly be at a disadvantage. The sword could have been useful, but he had no confidence in his ability to use such a weapon. Throw it? Impossible. Fight with it at close range? Too risky.
He searched around the skeleton for a while, hoping to find something useful, but there was nothing besides unusable debris, leaves, a few rotten cords, and remnants of bags. The camp was probably several years old, perhaps even decades.
That was when something farther away caught his attention: a puddle of water, wide and perfectly clear.
He approached it.
– « If there's water up here… then it rains. »
And yet, in the four days since he had arrived in this Fragment, he had not seen a single drop of rain fall. Not one, despite the humid, dark, heavy appearance of the forest. No normal weather. No natural cycle. Nothing coherent.
That unsettled him more than he wanted to admit. For the first time since entering this Fragment, he did not even understand the simple rules of his environment.
And that irritated him.
He felt his morale drop. A different fatigue from the body. Weariness. The beginning of discouragement. He shook his head, jaw tightening. If he had been in better shape, he would have left immediately toward the smoke, even if it meant running the whole day to catch up to it. But as things stood… everything told him he was not strong enough.
– « I can feel myself healing fast… but it's still slow… »
He resigned himself to climbing back down to the first branch. This time, he took his time, careful not to injure himself further. Once he reached it, he settled in as he had the day before, waited in silence until the sky turned gray, then until the fog reached his position, and finally until night fell.
And, just as expected, the fire reappeared. The same red light, but even farther away than the day before.
– « Three times in a row… and even farther. Tomorrow, I'll have to sprint if I want to reach it before nightfall. »
It was a bitter realization, but it was his only option. If someone was making that fire, they would not wait forever. They were moving, and Kenzo had to catch up.
With that thought, the boy lay down, his broken spear beside him, and eventually let sleep take him, despite the fatigue, despite the cold, despite his worries. Tomorrow would be another day. And a harder one still.