Tia stared at the system window.
No surprise.
No anger.
Only exhaustion.
"...knew it would end like this."
The chamber remained silent.
No footsteps.
No breathing.
Nothing.
Tia didn't move.
Neither did the figure.
The rusted axe rested loosely in its hand.
Its pale face remained completely blank.
Featureless.
His eyes swept across the chamber.
A rusted sword lay half-buried beneath the dust.
Better than nothing.
Tia grabbed it.
His grip tightening around it.
"...Let's see how I die this time."
But something was wrong now.
The system had already spoken.
[Final Obstacle Detected.]
Then why...
wasn't it attacking?
One minute passed.
Nothing.
Two.
Still nothing.
Five.
The Hunter didn't moved.
"...Is it really a statue?"
Or ...
A trap.
He took one cautious step.
The Hunter remained still.
Another.
Silence.
Only the sound of his own heartbeat echoed inside the chamber.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
He moved Closer now.
Five steps.
Ten.
He was only a few meters away now.
Still—
nothing.
Tia slowly circled around it.
Observing.
Waiting.
Still.
No breathing.
No blinking.
Not even a twitch.
His shoulders relaxed slightly.
"...Maybe..."
His voice barely escaped.
"...the system made a mistake."
Or
This isn't the forgotten hunter but just a statue.
Tia moved back a bit.
His hands slowly rose gradually
Then he swung.
The rusted blade crashed against its skin.
CLANG.
The vibration shot through his arms.
The Hunter didn't move.
He expected at least a crack but
Nothing.
It's skin was as hard as it looked.
He tensed shoulder fell.
Then—
He heard it.
A sharp sound.
Crack.
Crack.
The sound echoed through the chamber.
Slowly...
Tia raised his head.
The Hunter had been facing away.
He knew that.
He was certain.
Yet...
Its face was looking directly at him.
Not the body.
Only the neck.
Twisted completely around.
"How?
Tia stared at it
It stared back
Then—
Something changed.
It's stone face expression shifted.
The corners of its lips twitched.
Then...
They rose.
Slowly.
Higher.
Higher.
Until the smile stretched far beyond what a normal face should allow almost cracking the face.
Long, uneven teeth emerged from the darkness inside its mouth.
White.
Sharp.
Yet...
Its eyes remained empty.
Cold.
Watching.
It eyes never once turned away from tia.
He blinked.
Cold sweat running down his jaw.
"This is fake right."
He stepped back.
Legs weak.
Breath shallow.
"No.....
He took another step back.
His eyes swept across the chamber.
For Another way out.
But.
Nothing.
He swallowed.
forcing himself to look back.
Slowly...
His breath hitched.
Eyes widened slightly.
The Hunter...
was gone.
Silence.
Then—
A cold sensation crawled across the back of his neck.
Every muscle locked.
Someone...
was behind him.
DING.
[The Forgotten Hunter has awakened.]