Chương 52: Beyond Death

The moon hung low in the sky, its glow slowly brightening as the night descended. Through the dim evening, a small group of people trekked across the vast wasteland. On one of the men's shoulders, a lifeless body rode high, its pale arms hanging limply, swinging like a pendulum with every step. Daniel was the one carrying Arthur's dead body from the hall. They had exited the underground and ventured deep into the wilderness to bury him. Walking closely behind were Susanne, Nickolas, Charlton, and Laurene.

Susanne had cried for a while; now, only a hollow sadness remained. Nickolas had not spoken a single word after witnessing what had transpired. He simply could not understand why they had done this to Arthur. Charlton, who was still clutching his stomach as he limped through the lingering pain, also remained entirely silent. Everyone was still in a state of absolute shock and disbelief over what had happened so abruptly.

As far as they could remember, Arthur had said or done absolutely nothing to offend those people.

"Let us bury him here. If we go any further, predators might dig his body up and eat it," Daniel said. No one objected or even uttered a word of agreement; they simply let him make the decision on his own. Daniel gently set Arthur's body to the side and began using his broadsword to dig a grave. Susanne stood silently, her gaze fixed upon Arthur's lifeless face under the dim moonlight. Tears uncontrollably rolled down her cheeks.

"You were a good person and a good friend, Arthur. Thank you for allowing us to tag along with you. Do not worry... we will join you soon," Susanne cried, kneeling down and clutching Arthur's palm in her hands. Seeing Susanne cry out loud, Nickolas could no longer control his own sorrow, weeping silently into the descending night. Just yesterday, they had met him and been saved by him. Now, within a single day, they had witnessed his death with their own eyes. How had they ended up in such a situation?

After a moment, the digging was finished. Daniel had dug a pit a few feet deep, deep enough to keep the body safe from the noses of roaming predators. Once he was done, he waited in silence. He, too, felt a profound sadness over losing a man he had just met—someone who had spoken to him without a single shred of arrogance.

"Shall we?" Daniel asked after a moment of waiting. Furthermore, they had never ventured out of the underground Safe Spot at night; they had absolutely no idea what kind of creatures roamed the wilderness at this hour. Hearing Daniel's words, Susanne stood up, wiping her face as she gave a nod. Together, they lifted Arthur's body and gently lowered it down. Once Arthur's body reached the bottom of the pit, the shadows completely obscured his face.

With a heavy sigh, Susanne used her hands to push the loose dirt into the grave. Soon, everyone joined in the process, doing their share to bury a friend and an acquaintance they had only just met. Once they were finished, they placed a heavy slab of stone at the head of the grave. Then, they turned around and walked away from the tomb. Sooner or later, they would join him as well. As for how long they could survive in this wretched place, they had absolutely no idea.

Under the dim moonlight, five solitary figures walked away from the only tomb on the desolate wasteland, slowly disappearing into the darkness of the night. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

As the five figures walked away from the tomb, four other figures could be seen silently walking towards it from the opposite direction.

Light. A blinding, radiant light. Whenever he tried to open his eyes, his vision was completely overwhelmed. A young man lay on his back upon a pale, white floor. He tried his best to open his eyes, but it proved to be incredibly difficult. It was not as if it physically hurt to try, but rather, he simply felt that laying there with his eyes closed felt inexplicably good. Could I just stay here forever without any issues? Such a thought drifted into his mind. Flutter.

However, before he could muse any further on his own daydream, a sudden fluttering sound disturbed him. At regular intervals of just a few moments, he would hear this exact same noise. Flutter.

"Ugh, what the hell is that sound?" Arthur grumbled in deep frustration. Still keeping his eyes closed, he lifted his body and sat up. Flutter. With irritation creeping across his face, he covered his eyes with his palms. Taking advantage of the temporary darkness, he rubbed his eyes and slowly lowered his hands, finally opening them. Even though the sheer brightness violently assaulted his vision, he managed to keep his eyes open. He looked down at the ground. It was made of... well, he did not know.

It was simply a pale, white floor. He could not recognize the material it was constructed from. Slowly, he lifted his head and inspected his surroundings. Curiously, this place seemed deeply familiar, as if he had been here multiple times before. Looking straight ahead, his gaze firmly landed on a mysterious object that remained suspended in the middle of empty space. Flutter.

"What the hell is this?" The pages of a notebook turned on their own every now and then, and inscriptions began to appear on the newly revealed paper. How had he ended up here? He was supposed to be in Heaven. Was this Heaven? Did this notebook exist in Heaven? Arthur was truly confused. After his death, he was supposed to go to Heaven. He was incredibly confident that he would end up in Heaven, not Hell. But now, he was sitting directly in front of this cursed notebook.

Thus, he reasoned that this place must be Heaven, and this notebook must also exist in Heaven.

"Is the notebook God?" Arthur muttered. After all, gods lived in Heaven, right? However, he quickly discarded that thought. What kind of god would place a parasite in someone's head for failing to complete a quest? Perhaps he had been sent to Hell, and the notebook existed in Hell. But as far as he could recall, he did not deserve to be in Hell. He had not committed any grave sins that warranted being sent to Hell for punishment. Flutter.

The pages turned again as Arthur pondered how he had arrived here after dying—his throat suddenly slit, leaving him to suffocate on his own blood. Everything had happened so incredibly fast that he simply could not comprehend the situation. All he had wanted to do was ask the old man, Larry, about the Maw. But from that point onward, he had been violently kicked in the chest and repeatedly stomped on until his ribcage fractured, eventually rendering him unconscious.

Then, when he briefly regained consciousness, he found himself desperately struggling to breathe as he hung suspended by his neck, only to lose consciousness yet again. Then, when he woke up again, he felt no pain from his earlier injuries. He almost thought everything had just been a terrible dream. However, when he looked at Susanne and the others, noting their distressed states, he realized it was all completely true. He had been ruthlessly tortured and hung until he nearly died.

Even then, when he was miraculously healed, he truly believed he would be spared. He never expected his throat to be sliced open so suddenly. Arthur sighed deeply, looking up and expecting to see the sky, but all he could see was an endless expanse of pale white. I hope those guys survive and go home. Arthur sincerely hoped that his companions would not end up like him, and that they would somehow find a way to escape from that Trail. Flutter.

As the notebook continued to do its own thing, Arthur lay back down on the floor and quietly closed his eyes.