Chapter 437 - Fluttering Consciousness

Looking at his hand briefly, he furrowed his eyebrows before raising his dagger, keeping it up alongside his guard. 

I'm stupid. Making careless mistakes at this stage of Purgatory...it's like I'm trying to die or something. I can't slip up anymore, I can't afford to, he thought. 

The steps were so light it was impossible to listen to unless he focused all of his attention on the minuscule sounds they produced, only audible by the nature of the verdant-ridden field. 

Whispering as low as he could, he chanted, "Araphel: Particle Shade."

Through the blades of lengthy grass, the shadowy particles gently bloomed, carried by an unseen wind as the additional sense acted as recon for him. 

Two on my right; one close, one far. One to the left, three behind...one ahead, close, he thought. 

The range wasn't far-reaching due to his low-call, but all that mattered to him were his immediate surroundings. 

Regaining whatever faint breath he could fill his heated lungs with, he began to once again move slowly while remaining crouched, keeping his vision steady as it attempted to sway and swirl. 

Letting a small wave of air slip away from his lips, he suddenly reached forward, taking hold of the goblin just beyond the veil of grass in front of him. 

He covered its mouth tightly, clenching its jaw while it attempted to resist, stabbing into the back of its neck with his black-pearl dagger. 

Just as he felt the resistance of the goblin in his hold fall, he slowly lowered its body to the ground to maintain his unknown location. 

--But, he made a fatal error. 

In the hand of the enigmatic goblin, it held an amber stone--a confusing sight to him that he only realized just as the dying creature tossed it directly into the air. 

Shit! He thought. 

Reaching up above the field of towering grass, the magical stone released into a bright flash that emitted directly above his position, shining down on him. 

As the light radiated as if the sun had cast itself down aggressively, swift steps could be heard moving from every side now. 

It used its dying breath to give away my location? I have to--he thought.

--His thoughts were interrupted just as he stood, listening to the distinct sound of a bowstring being pulled back. 

Swoosh. 

Two arrows came swiftly with only seconds passing after the light came, one narrowly missing as he stepped back, and the other plunging into his right bicep. 

"Ngh…!" He winced. 

Though it hurt, he was forced to sprint forward without any hesitance as the orchestra of bowstrings being tugged filled his ears. 

All carefulness was flung out of the window as the immediate threat of the intelligent goblins pulsated through his mind like his thumping heart. He attempted to converse as much mana as humanly possible, but the enemy proved to be too much for such a risk as he felt their presence even while sprinting through the field. 

Though the weakness still thrived through his veins, he forced past it temporarily with reinforcement. 

More arrows came, most missing by a hair, though another grazed his leg with a sharp nick that made him stumble slightly in his run. 

Looking up, he squinted as he looked directly at the overflowing light; waiting as its flash ended before countering with his own action. 

"Araphel: Blackout!"

He tossed the shadowy orb directly into the air, allowing it to explode into a wave of sensory-deprivation magic. 

By the sudden stoppage in the storm of hastened footsteps and drawn bows, it was clear the 'Blackout' had filled its role as he made his escape. 

Through the towering, olive verdant he pushed through without any inclination of what waited ahead before finding himself in a rocky field, surrounded by stone hills, white cedar, and a small, running stream. 

I made it, he thought. 

Catching his breath quietly, he held his guard while sitting down next to the narrow stream of water. 

Looking at his right arm, he felt the dizziness return as he made sure to wrap a few bunched-together leaves around the arrow before gripping onto it. 

He sat there for a second, gathering his strength before--he tugged, pulling the arrow embedded in his bicep out in one, solid pull. From the jagged shape of the arrowhead, forcing it back out the way it came proved to be an action not without consequence as his flesh was skewered by the brutal edge of the wide arrow. 

"Gah…! Shit!" He let out. 

Blood seeped down his arm plentifully now as the unsightly wound was left on his crimson-laden bicep. 

Without any proper medical supplies, all he could do was form a temporary fix as he ripped a piece of fabric from the interior of his coat. He tightly wrapped the sable piece of cloth around his afflicted flesh, feeling it immediately become drenched in blood as he tied it off. 

The bleeding stopped, though his arm was left completely numb as the ointment spread itself in full, causing him to sweat through his pores as his breathing became louder. 

Moving his attention to the small cut left on his calf, all he could do was wash it with a few splashes of the stream's water, feeling the weakness strengthen itself. 

Not good. This substance of theirs is what's going to lead to them wearing me down and killing me off, unless I play this right, he thought. 

It was an observation that was easier said than done, though. Coursing through his body, the mysterious drug lathered on the arrows imprinted on his body a weakness that supplemented his already exhausted state. 

He could feel each blink he took was used as an opportunity by his brain to attempt to fall into slumber, causing his eyelids to feel like lead.

I have to stay awake. If I fall asleep...I'm gone, he thought. 

It was a bad enough sign that the stress of being hunted wasn't enough to supplement his body with the necessary energy to simply bypass his exhaustion in the moment, but he didn't have the luxury to lament that. 

Splashing the cold water from the running stream onto his face, he took a few, controlled breaths before standing back up. 

Cold, he thought. 

Feeling the briskness of the water he splashed against his face, he gathered an idea on how to overcome the plague of exhaustion biting away at his mind. 

If I keep myself cold, I won't fall asleep...at least, not as easily. I'll constantly be uncomfortable, he surmised. 

With that idea in mind, he unbuttoned his sable jacket, leaving it open as he exposed his bare chest to the chilly elements around him. A shiver ran over his body, though it was one that was quickly followed by relief as he felt a small boost in his conscious state. 

"Alright," he muttered to himself. 

Maintaining his momentum in evading the organized goblins, he bottled up some water for the road before pushing back into the holds of the lethal forest. 

At some point, his steps turned more into drags as the strength to lift his feet became more and more of a heavy task. Pushing through the dense foliage became a challenge in itself as each passage felt like pushing against steel doors. 

Whatever it was, the goblins' mysterious poison could be felt tangibly mixing through his body like an oozing warmth, attempting to compromise his strength at every turn. 

With no indication of where he was heading, surrounded by cedar at every step, he simply moved through the path of least resistance before finding himself in a new, unknown section of the deathly forest. 

The scenery of white-leaved trees was replaced by long, interconnected trees that merged at the very top, forming a maze of branches that almost felt like a ceiling of sorts. No leaves clung to the interconnected, countless branches. 

Hanging from the peculiar timber were endless drapes of overgrown vines, reaching down to the floor of moss and gross. 

It felt like a completely different environment; a cinnamon-like, brown mist hazed the air just slightly; obscure enough to leave his vision untampered, but visible enough to give it a unique distinction. 

Where the...hell am I? He thought. 

In his exhausted haze, he didn't recall the past hour of wandering that led him to this location as he looked around, finding that the ground quickly became absent just a few steps ahead. 

A massive dip waited just a stride beyond, allowing him to overlook a deep chasm below; the only way forward was to use the natural bridges of the colossal, enigmatic trees as their countless branches served as such. 

"...I guess I have no choice," he whispered. 

Looking over his shoulder, he could still sense that he was being followed, leaving little doubt in his mind that he had to enter the valley of timber bridges. 

An upward draft passed by him as he stood on the branch-bridge, making him immediately question his decision, but by this point, there was no turning back. 

It wasn't particularly difficult to walk across, as the colossal trees produced branches that were the width of his body. The arduous part came with the looming reality of the chasm awaiting below, and the enigmatic fate it held in its bottomless hold. 

I'd rather not find out what's down there, he thought. 

Looking up, the maze of branches were decorated by spread out, giant nests formed of bundled-up, scattered twigs from seemingly the same trees by the shade of the oak. To his dismay, giant cobwebs also seemed to stretch across some sections of the towering trees. 

Just great, he thought. 

Moving forward slowly, he kept his pace steady through sheer will, crossing from tree to tree as something finally made itself visible in the far distance. 

The verdant tinge of nature couldn't be mistaken, but enticingly, a running waterfall could be faintly seen; it looked to be a basin. 

"...There's no way I'm reaching that soon, at this pace at least," he muttered to himself. 

He could feel the sweat exuding from his pores as he stood there, breathing heavy puffs of air from his lips as he looked at the distant scenery that felt like a utopia in contrast to the nightmarish terrain he found himself on. 

Either way, he accepted that taking a moment to rest would likely benefit him more than pushing on. 

If I keep forcing myself forward....I might crash, and falling in an environment like this isn't exactly without risk, he thought.