I kept wandering around the forest. Returning to the Barriered City wasnāt at all on my mind. The only thing that moved me was my determination to survive. That was the only thing on my mind.
āUghā¦ā
Iām probably the first person in 150 years to set foot here, this deep in the Twilight, I thought.
Long since having lost any sense of direction, I moved out of pure desperation. And as I progress further inwards, the burning colour of the Twilight gradually becomes darker.
āUgh,ā I moan. I could feel my body screaming in protest as I forced it to keep moving. Eventually, I was forced to come to a stop.
Ahā¦ I think Iām gonna die here. No, Iām definitely going to dieā¦
āAhā¦ā
I think I fell to the ground. But actually, I was falling off a cliff. Rolling down the cliff, I realised I couldnāt even feel the pain anymore.
I hopeā¦ I can finally die peacefully like this.
Iām sure that dying is just like falling asleep and never waking up. Itās just likeā¦ my consciousness gradually becoming weaker. Thatās what I thought as my consciousness faded.
***
āWhereā¦am Iā¦ā
When I woke up, I was by a river. Apparently I fell into a river and was washed downstream before being caught by a piece of driftwood. For some reason, I was still alive. I could feel the brutally cold water washing over my skin.
Iām still alive, even in this pitiful state. I proceeded to crawl onto dry ground and fell face up on the gravel. Then I set a few of the big trees next to me on fire. Magic depends largely on talent. I was a little better at magic than most people. I could also use the four major attributes fairly well. So I concentrated and created a flame. The warm flames healed my frozen body. Suddenly, I felt the tears come out.
I started sobbing. I was alive. I was alive in the Twilight, the place where humans cannot survive. Iāve probably spent about a day here. Somehow, I was still, just barely holding on.
I donāt wanna die yet.
I thought I wouldnāt mind if I died. And yet, when I realised that I might be saved one day, I was so relieved I started to cry.
Why is this happening to me? I just wanted to be able to help people. Just like my dad. But I didnāt want to become someone elseās disposable pawn. I didnāt become an Exorcist just to be abandoned by my party, I thought, and I felt dark emotions begin to seize control of my heart.
But right now, I donāt have the luxury to sit around thinking. What do I need to do in order to survive?
āItās brightā¦ā
When I looked up, the burning red glow of the Twilight was spreading through the sky. The scenery I always saw from within the Barriered City is now before my eyes.
In this world, there is neither morning nor afternoon. There is only evening and night. During the day we have the light of dusk, and during night, it is pitch-black. Thatās the reality of this world where demons rule supreme.
āMore fireā¦ I need to create more fireā¦ā
At the Academy, we received a certain amount of survival training, just in case we became stranded in the Twilight. But that was just a theoretical class. We never actually practiced those skills. Still, because I was a low-ranked student, I felt that I had to grab anything I could learn and try to understand it. As a result, I still remembered what I had learned in that survival class.
The first thing I need is fire. Humans can survive without food for two weeks, and without water for about three days. My water situation is fine, since Iām near a freshwater river. The main problem is getting attacked by demons. Demons fear fire. Itās probably an instinctual response ā they donāt come close to a burning fire.
So, I made my fire bigger with magic.
āAckā¦ā
I suddenly coughed up blood, staining my hands red.
My internal organs might be injured. Or, could it be caused by some kind of virus? I have no knowledge about the Twilight. No, it would be more accurate to say humans have no knowledge about the Twilight. We go out into the Twilight for training, but we never stray far from the Barriered City. Itās rare for someone to go as deep into the forest as Dan did.
āUghā¦ā
I blacked out again.
***
It hurts. My body hurts.
The pain woke me up again. I looked at my right arm, the source of the pain, and found something red and black running on it.
āWhat on earthā¦ā
I have no idea what happened. That doesnāt matter. There are no doctors out here. Thereās no one out here. If this kills me, then that just means I could only get this far, I thought. With my new-found determination, I felt a little more positive. Fortunately, there werenāt any demons in the area around the river. It was relatively peaceful.
I need to gather some food, though. I havenāt eaten anything in the past few days. I can fill my belly with water, but itās not enough to drive away the hunger.
āIāve gotta get goingā¦ā
I was a little unsteady on my feet, but I set off with my determination visible on my face.
āThatāsā¦ā
Walking through the forest, I came upon a few White Wolves.
This whole forest is probably White Wolf territory. I thinkā¦ I can beat it with my current strength, but I definitely canāt handle how hungry Iām feeling.
I grabbed a small stick, and used it as a conduit for my magic. When it comes to magic, I can do just about anything to some extent. I was a jack of all trades, but a master of none, as people used to tell me. However, there was one kind of magic that I was especially good at: Illusion Magic.
[Phantom] is a spell that tricks the opponent. It makes the world perceive things that do not actually exist. But itās basically useless. Just creating an illusion isnāt going to be enough to keep you alive in the Twilight. Practical spells, with physical effects, are more important. Because of that line of thinking, I was considered the weakest student at the Academy.
But now, I feel like I can figure out a way to make it useful. On the verge of death, I have no idea whether or not I can do it, but Iām going to deceive the world into believing this wooden stick is a sword, I thought. Illusion Magic brings into existence things that donāt exist in the world. Normally, if the illusion is broken, itās over. At that point, the potency of the deception is lost. However, what I used wasnāt just Illusion Magic.
Create an illusion, then establish it in the world.
āā¦ Alright!ā
At first glance, it was just a simple wooden stick. However, I extended the stick with my illusion, and placed a sharp blade on the end. It canāt be seen, but it exists. Thatās how I made it.
āAwooooo!ā
The moment I jumped out, five White Wolves turned to look at me. They identified me as an enemy and tried to bite me. Their speed is truly demonic. If the old me were here, he wouldāve been frozen with fear by now. But nowā¦ I canāt live unless I get through this!
My invisible sword cut off a White Wolfās neck. That moment, something tattoo-like glowed red on my arm, but I didnāt have any time to think about it.
I shout as loud as I can to pump myself up. And so, I cleanly chopped off the head of every single White Wolf. This was my beginning. This was the moment I was reborn, and my life started anew.
It was also the beginning of my long life in the Twilight.