Day Four of being Transmigrated...
Waters of the tributary of the great river, swept the two struggling figures down the forest.
He coughed the river water out of his lungs. His good hand gripped the hilt of the knife stabbing his belly. He gritted his teeth; blinding pain ran through his nervous system. Both upper parts of his ears were cut off.
His left leg and his right hand were broken.
The man was getting closer. "Brat, give up already. Don't make things difficult for me." The man's fist landed on Edwin's neck. Nerves bulged out; his good arm left the knife hilt, clutching his neck.
---
Back at the fight scene along the tributary, five warriors were investigating the area. They had brought the witness with them.
"Captain, this has to be an assassination," one said, holding two freshly severed ears.
The captain stared at the bloody evidence for a long moment. His jaw tightened. "Hmm."
He looked at his men.
"I'm sure all of you have families, right?" he asked quietly.
The warriors nodded slowly.
The captain exhaled. "Good. Then we silence the witness and pretend this case never reached us."
The witness's mouth fell open in disbelief. "But… I only reported what I saw…"
A blade had already flashed across his throat before he could finish. The warrior behind him moved without hesitation.
The others looked away, then back at the captain. No one spoke. It was either justice… or their own lives.
---
"Howl! Howl!" Wolves could be heard as the full moon lit the entire Tuvwala forest.
The mad man threw his blade away; it was useless in the unforgiving river. He resolved to bare hands. There was nothing that got warrior path seekers excited than combat.
"Little rat," the man stamped on the river bed, launching himself onto Edwin. "I promise, I'm going to make it quick." His arm yanked Edwin up by the neck.
"Huh?" Edwin struggled for air.
The man pulled the knife stabbing Edwin out. An abnormal scream shattered the night silence.
The man threw Edwin, smashing his back onto rocks on the river bed. The sharp edges of the rocks tore the recently closed wounds on Edwin's back. Blood gushed out.
Edwin lunged and sank his teeth into the man's leg. The man's fist landed on Edwin back. Edwin stepped back. His back was boiling.
Edwin's hand scrambled for rolling rocks; he grabbed one, throwing it at the mad man's face. "Curse you! Your mother!" Edwin stood.
The mad man threw a punch, hitting Edwin's chest. "Och!" Edwin was thrown a couple of steps back.
Awakened seekers of the warrior path could double one's strength for a certain period of time.
Without knowing, they had reached a river branching out. One fork led to Marable further down; the other fork, branching southeast, led to the Forest of Horror Songs.
Edwin remembered teacher Bauji's lesson. All rumors old Edwin had heard as a child in the village flashed into current Edwin's mind.
Edwin rushed for the fork toward Marable. The sharp edges of rocks pierced through the back of his foot. He endured the pain. From the memories of old Edwin and teacher Bauji's lesson, he knew the Forest of Horror Songs was a death sentence.
Unfortunately, he didn't go further. The mad man's knee landed on his back, slamming Edwin down. He felt as if a car had crushed onto him.
The man grabbed him, throwing him onto the other fork.
"They call you the child of chaos. But I think we should exchange names," the man went into laughter.
He cracked his knuckles. "I wanted to kill you," he spat out blood; the rock Edwin threw did land a damage. "What if I gift you to the dark forest?" He kept laughing.
"Hey… what… happen to…" Edwin couldn't speak.
"Do you have something to say?" The mad man asked, his hands tightening on Edwin's throat. Edwin nodded.
"I can't hear you! Speak louder!" The man brought Edwin closer to his ear. "What are you saying?"
The mad man threw him down.
Edwin coughed, his chest panting. The mad man slapped him. His lips broke, but this time, the man's attack felt like that of a normal adult.
"Brat, I thought you had something to say?"
"Yes… yes, yes," Edwin nodded. "What about gifting me to the dark forest?" He knelt. He had no plan, but at least nobody really knew what was in the Forest of Horror Songs, Edwin thought, and treated it as a tale told to scare children. He would rather be thrown into the unknown forest than be slain.
"Oh, thanks for reminding me." Before he even finished, a hammering kick had already landed on Edwin's chest, throwing him into the fork.
"Curse you! I'm going to come back for you! You think this is the first time dying? Hahaha!" Edwin laughed as the stream down the dark forest kept getting deeper.
The mad man moved to the edge of the branching out. He jumped in joy. "Rat, I've killed many before you. They all claimed the same thing. Guess what? I'm still…" He slipped into the fork; the river suddenly deepened as the current sped. "Huh?"
"Hahaha! I'm not dying alone!" Edwin laughed.
The river kept getting wider. In rage, the man punched Edwin. The laughter vanished from Edwin's face. The river had already swept them into the dark Forest of Horror Songs.
They disappeared into the unknown. The foggy forest welcomed them with cold silence.
The man's fists kept landing on Edwin until Edwin broke the silence. "Wait!" he gasped for air. His face was swollen, painted in red.
A beautiful melody with beautiful female voices rang in their ears.
"It's not just one, it's more." The man carried Edwin out of the river. Edwin was surprised.
"Can you hear it, boy?" The man's eyes widened. Edwin sensed something wrong; he struggled, but at that moment he froze.
Together with the man, they mimicked the song.
"Beautiful… I want it all over me, mistress."
Saliva dripped off their curved, smiling lips.
"Beautiful… I want it all over me, mistress."
The mad man jogged along the river tributary further down toward the source of the melody.
---
They had traveled the whole night. It was already hours past midnight. The man jogged with Edwin in his arms, exhausted but moving faster and faster as they neared the lake.
The man ran straight into the lake without stopping.
"Beautiful… I want it all over me, mistress," both of them sang in unison.
The Lake of Horror Songs glittered under the stars and full moon. The Dolwa Mountain Range loomed behind it.
Three beautiful women rose from the surface to welcome the arrivals. Their upper bodies were naked and flawless, breasts bare. Below the waist, their bodies were feathered like birds, with powerful talons and huge wings folded against their backs.
Two of them leapt onto the man. He dropped Edwin. As the melody stopped, Edwin jolted awake.
"What the hell! Sirens!" Edwin screamed.
One siren opened her mouth impossibly wide, covering the man's entire head. The other began chewing on his arm.
Edwin blacked out as the third siren dragged him upward, revealing rows of yellow, razor-sharp teeth in her once-beautiful mouth.