Adam smiled with sarcasm. "And that's not all. All his followers… without exception, are perverted in one way or another. Either they show it openly, or hide it behind fake masks."
Kayden looked at him with disgust and spoke in a half-sarcastic tone. "You're savages, and they're perverts? Sounds fair to me!" He then sighed and added in a whisper, "If I had followers… they'd probably be… far more dangerous."
Adam cut him off quickly, his eyes glinting with mockery. "Strange perverts with perfect faces."
Kayden let out a low laugh, then said proudly as if entertaining the idea, "So… you will be my first follower!"
Adam turned his gaze away in disdain. "Absolutely not! I'd rather die than follow you!" He paused, then added more seriously, "I remember every battlefield that war touched. Every fight… almost every name."
Adam slowly stood up, brushing dust off his clothes, and began walking. Kayden followed lightly, speaking with enthusiasm. "Adam, let's go back to the village. We need to gather information… maybe we'll find an explanation, or at least a thread leading to the truth."
Adam didn't answer, but he quietly followed him. Their steps blended into the ground covered with dry, fallen leaves.
At that moment, Adam felt a strange, light itch in his foot. It wasn't painful. He ignored it completely, assuming it was just a minor sting.
The two returned to Rita's house. She allowed them inside, and Kayden asked:
"Rita… about that war… do you remember anything else?"
Her eyes flickered, then she looked at Adam and Kayden, thinking for a moment.
But Adam interrupted her in a low voice. "I know a way to get a response from the Great One… I'll tell you later, if you give us the correct way out."
She nodded, then spoke. "My lord killed the beast Edminail, but the problem wasn't just him. His followers… his followers were fiercer than a hell that devours itself. That's why my lord sealed the city. It wasn't a war… it was a flood of curses."
Silence filled the place, broken only by the crackling of burning wood in the fireplace.
"Do you remember any of their faces? Anything at all?" Kayden asked.
She stared at the ground for a long time, then murmured, "Only… a boy. Black hair, dyed in a chaotic way, with strands of early gray. His face was covered in bandages."
Adam froze. At that exact moment, he scratched his foot nervously. Then he looked down.
Blood was running from it. The skin had torn as if bitten. Thin trails of blood slid down steadily, cold, as if they didn't belong to him. He hadn't felt it at all.
"The snake…" he whispered, his voice dropping so low it was barely audible, as if he didn't want to hear himself.
"You're poisoned," Rita said, stepping closer.
"This is nothing. It doesn't matter."
He didn't wait. He inhaled deeply and activated his spiritual power. A brief flash, a faint distortion in the air around his foot—and the poison vanished as if it had never been there.
But the pain didn't disappear.
"Can I use the kitchen?" he asked calmly.
Rita pointed inside. She lit the fire as requested, and sat watching silently.
Adam entered the kitchen. He drew his knife and passed it over the flame, his eyes fixed on the wound.
Kayden, who followed him in, understood what Adam was about to do and asked Rita, "Do you have eggs? Milk? Anything natural?"
She brought what he requested.
Kayden began mixing the ingredients with unexpected skill, adding a pinch of gray powder he carried in a leather pouch.
"Drink," he said, handing the cup to Adam. "Don't ask. My brother is a doctor, and I studied a lot too. Just drink quietly and don't argue."
Adam stared at the disgusting mixture and raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to poison me again?"
"Again? This is the first time. You're imagining things," Kayden smiled.
"Pinch your nose and drink," Kayden said as if instructing a child.
Adam pinched his nose and drank it in one go.
Seconds passed… then he ran to the bathroom.
The sound of vomiting was clear.
He came back a few minutes later, leaning against the wall, pale.
"Great… I almost felt guilty you didn't suffer enough," Kayden said with a laugh, glancing at Adam's foot. "But at least the wound looks cleaner now."
Later, they left and walked back toward the forest in silence.
The sky above them had turned a dark gray, and the branches intertwined above like suffocating hands.
Adam suddenly stopped. A sharp sting hit him.
He looked at his foot. Blood was flowing again… from the exact same spot.
"Damn it…" he muttered.
He knelt and pulled up his pants. The same bite. As if time had reset it. As if it had never left.
"The snake…" he said quietly, pressing the wound.
Kayden leaned in, examined it closely, then looked up.
"It hates you… look at your actions. It's literally hunting you."
He crouched, pulled a strip of cloth from his pocket—something he had gotten from Rita—and tightly bandaged Adam's foot after Adam expelled the poison again.
"Watch your surroundings," Kayden said in a serious tone Adam wasn't used to.
Adam looked at him, then at the surrounding trees.
The shadows… were closer than they seemed.
Adam scanned the ground, then saw it.
It was slithering slowly through the grass, wounded but alive.
Something dark flickered in his eyes.
He stepped forward, raised his foot—and crushed it hard.
"Kay, let's get out of this forest now," he said, his voice filled with anger.
Kayden followed without protest. After a few silent steps, he suddenly asked, "Adam… that snake… is it really dead?"
Adam didn't answer. He narrowed his eyes, as if the question had planted doubt.
"Wait a minute… then run after me to the same spot."
Kayden didn't argue. He just nodded.
A minute passed slowly, suffocatingly. Then they sprinted back to where the snake's body had been left.
But the place… was empty. No trace of the snake. No blood. Nothing.
Adam looked down at his foot. He whispered in a low voice, "There's no new bite…"
But he didn't even finish his sentence before he noticed Kayden's face turning pale—suddenly darkened as if drained of life.
"What is it?" Adam asked.
Kayden didn't look at him. He only murmured in a low voice, "Adam… the snake is on your shoulder now… it bit your neck… and you didn't feel it."
Time froze for a moment.
Adam slowly raised his hand to his neck… feeling wetness. "Blood…?" he whispered, almost in disbelief.
"Remove the poison quickly!" Kayden said urgently.
Adam focused, trying to expel the poison, but felt an internal tremor—as if the world itself was shaking, breaking apart.
Kayden quickly wrapped cloth tightly around Adam's neck. Adam's eyes were lost, his hand trembling like something unseen was touching him. They left the forest again.
Kayden stared at the ground. "I don't understand anything anymore."
"Kay, keep Nian with you so it won't get bitten."
Finally, Colton returned to his master's arms.
Kayden hugged the cat and thought, How does a snake come back to life?! he asked in rising panic.
Adam didn't respond immediately. He stepped forward and muttered, "I want to kill someone here."
Kayden froze. "Why?" he asked cautiously.
"This place… it's not natural," Adam whispered as if talking to himself. "Everything returns… as it was?"
"Listen. Lure someone into the forest, then leave. Don't interfere no matter what happens. If they really die, I'll hide the body."
Kayden stayed silent for a long time, confused—but he left without a word.
Ten minutes passed… then he returned—with Rita.
Adam did not expect it at all. He couldn't believe his eyes.
"You brought Rita?! Are you insane?!" he shouted.
But it was too late.
Adam didn't hesitate. He drew his gun, took position behind a dense tree, and signaled Kayden.
Kayden ran quickly and disappeared between the trees.
Adam closed his eyes for a moment… then opened them and fired.
Rita's body dropped instantly without a sound. She was dead.
They walked out together in complete silence, leaving the cursed forest behind.
Kayden counted the minutes in his head—each second felt like a blade cutting through his nerves.
Then he heard footsteps… slow.
Rita came out of the forest.
She wasn't bleeding. Not injured. Just confused.
"What happened?" she said, brushing dust off her clothes.
Kayden shrugged. "I don't know… what happened?"
After Rita left to get medicine for Adam…
Kayden screamed, grabbing his hair as if his mind was cracking.
"This is madness…"
Adam looked at her in silence, then slowly hit his forehead with his hand—again and again—as if trying to wake himself from a never-ending nightmare.
"I… understand what's happening here," he muttered, voice calm but irritated.
Adam stood without another word and returned to the village with heavy steps. He entered the tavern with Kayden behind him, both scanning the place without knowing what they were looking for. But Adam didn't stay long—he turned and left after a few seconds, as if confirming something.
They returned to the forest again, silence between them heavier than words.
"Kayden…" Adam said suddenly, brushing leaves off a rotten tree trunk. "Is Rita old?"
Kayden shook his head and looked upward. "That lord… gave her youth so she would stay beautiful forever."
Adam smiled slightly, then sat on a rock. "I'll tell you what I've figured out… the boy Rita remembers was the last thing she ever saw… before she died."
Kayden froze. "Before she died? You mean… she's dead?"
Adam slowly nodded. "Everyone here… is dead."
Kayden pointed at himself quickly. "I'm not dead. That fall didn't kill us. We're alive, right?"
Adam didn't answer. He just stared at the ground in silence.
Then he said softly, "We are alive… but I was the one who killed Rita."
Kayden looked at him in shock. "All of them… just shadows? Illusions? This place isn't real? Did the Lord of Vines manipulate time here to keep it like this forever?"
Adam thought for a moment, then sighed. "I can't be sure. Maybe the Great One created this place for entertainment—no rules, no logic. But one thing is certain… there is a snake we must find."
Kayden lowered his head. "Maybe we need to break this illusion. Break the loop. Make them realize they're dead. After reality shatters… we find the gate."
He paused. "I think I know where the gate is."
Without hesitation, Adam pulled out his gun and handed it to Kayden slowly. "Kill everyone you see."
Kayden looked at the weapon, then at Adam, then stood up without a word.
He walked back to the tavern.
Gunfire erupted.
Screams filled the air. Blood spread everywhere. Kayden was trying to finish it quickly before Adam appeared and attacked him.
When the shooting stopped, he looked out from the broken window—then saw the sky raining icy arrows, falling like death itself, destroying houses and killing what remained.
"His power… is terrifying," Kayden muttered.
But moments later, everything reset. The houses returned.
The people returned. Rita stood in the square, confused. "What is happening here?"
Adam stepped forward, pointing at himself, then at her.
"I am a follower of Edminail. I killed you."
He pointed at the crowd. "And I killed all of you… and I will kill you again."
Rita screamed—but her voice was no longer human. It was filled with unbearable fear and hatred.
Her face cracked and deformed—beauty collapsing into decay and emptiness.
A collective scream rose across the city.
"A follower of Edminail is here!! We will die!!"
Adam pointed at her, then looked at Kayden. "She said the same thing… before she died."
Kayden stepped back, sweat pouring down his face. "Run! We have to end the loops now… before we get trapped again!"
They ran.
The ground felt like it was collapsing beneath them.
Behind them, screams rose higher. Snakes fell from the sky, twisting in all directions. Rotten human hands burst from the earth, dragging at Adam's legs.
But Adam didn't stop. He kicked the bodies aside like dust and walked over them as if hell beneath him meant nothing.
"Your sins are chasing you from the depths of hell!" Kayden shouted. "You need to repent!"
"I won't!" Adam shouted back, rage burning in his eyes.
Suddenly—he fell hard to the ground.
Kayden turned instantly.
Snakes were wrapping around Adam, biting him… and at their center was the same snake from the beginning.
Adam clenched his teeth, grabbed the snake with both hands, eyes blazing.
"I will kill you all," he muttered as he rose again.
Kayden, who had returned to help him, suddenly felt a sharp pain…
Colton, calm in his arms, bit his hand and whispered,
"Now… go back to the cave!"
Kayden instantly changed direction as if he had seen a ghost behind him. He sprinted in the opposite direction at full speed—no hesitation, no explanation.
Adam shouted from behind while still gripping the twisting snake in his hands, "THE CAVE IS THE GATE?!"
But Kayden didn't respond. He only screamed with everything in his chest, "RUN!! FASTER!!"
The air around them was thick with energy. The ground trembled under every step. There was no time to think only instinct, and something hunting them from behind.
Both of them burst into the cave.
The moment they entered, Adam slammed his hand forward, shoved the massive rock into place, and sealed the entrance with a thunderous impact.
And then… the sounds came.
Violent pounding from outside. Repeated tremors. As if dozens were trying to tear the cave open with pure madness.