The flames crackled and danced gently in the night, casting flickering shadows in the darkness.
Doken stirred, waking with a start. His eyes darted around in confusion until they settled on the campfire. For a moment, he looked lost.
Then the memories rushed back. He quickly raised his head and stared warily at the human sitting across from him, who smiled calmly in return.
"H-Human..." Doken stammered. A sharp pain in the back of his neck reminded him this was no dream. His green pupils shrank in alarm.
Instinctively, he curled his legs under himself, trembling and tense, as if ready to flee or pounce.
Back when his mind had been clouded earlier in the day, fighting this human hadn't triggered any alarm bells. He had only wanted to kill.
But now, with full clarity, Doken realized how deeply unnatural this man was.
Not only could the human summon angelic creatures—beings that should only exist in the human realms—but he was also terrifyingly strong himself. Worse, he had used Shrink, a spell supposedly exclusive to gnomekind.
And the most terrifying thing of all?
This human radiated cursed energy... yet didn't seem the least bit affected by it.
"You look more lucid now," said the man—Lyle—with a nod, noticing the bloodshot madness had faded from Doken's eyes, along with the earlier twitchy paranoia. "No need to be so jumpy. I don't mean you any harm."
"First things first. You must be starving."
Lyle picked up a slab of golden-roasted boar meat, sizzling with grease, and offered it to the jittery gnome.
Of course, Lyle hadn't just been lounging around while Doken was unconscious.
[EXP: 9632 / 10000]
His experience points had climbed well past 9000. If it weren't for the time limits on his angel summons, he could've maxed out the bar today.
This forest wasn't as vast as the Great Forest of Tob, but it was still large. Even with ten flame archangels rampaging around, they'd only just managed to clear the local beast population.
He still had fifteen flame archangel scrolls in reserve, but he had held back to prevent drawing too much attention.
Besides EXP gains, Lyle had noticed something else—his cursed energy had grown slightly stronger again. Oddly though, the growth wasn't very significant.
At first, he suspected it might be because the angels were too far away, and he couldn't absorb the curse energy spilling from the slain monsters.
But after personally slaying a few beasts himself, he realized the problem: not all monsters carried equal amounts of cursed essence. Stronger monsters yielded more. Weak ones barely contributed anything.
Just as Lyle was about to insist Doken eat, the gnome's expression twisted in panic.
"Don't eat it!" Doken recoiled in alarm, scooting backward.
Lyle blinked, hand still mid-air. "Why not?"
"This forest is cursed! Every living thing in it is toxic!" Doken's eyes flicked with fear. Then, as if remembering something, he looked up at Lyle again. "That's it... That's why you're fine. You are the curse. Or... you control it."
He suddenly leaned forward, agitated but not deranged. "Where's Pasha? Is he alive?"
"Poisoned?" Lyle paused, thinking. He'd already eaten plenty of the local meat. Felt fine, too.
Ahem. He gave a sheepish cough and placed the meat back on the fire like he totally hadn't just eaten three skewers before Doken woke up.
What Doken called "poison" was likely the same cursed essence Lyle had been absorbing. It explained why he wasn't affected—his body was already steeped in it.
"As for your friend—if by Pasha you mean that forest gnome who left a few years ago—he's alive and well. Lives in our empire now," Lyle said casually, watching Doken closely. "Your kind is rare these days. There's even an ogre who goes by 'War King' back in the empire—massive celebrity."
Half-truths, of course. But the truth was flexible, and Doken looked like he needed comfort more than facts right now.
Doken fell silent. Then, with a deep exhale, he wiped his furry eyes and muttered in a hoarse voice, "As long as he's alive... That's all that matters."
"Can you tell me what really happened?" Lyle asked gently, seeing that Doken's emotions had stabilized. "I have a friend who's also suffering under this curse. I want to understand it. Maybe even find a cure."
Doken's eyes widened in disbelief. "You... don't know either? But you wield this power!"
"I'm still figuring it out," Lyle admitted with a shrug. "It's like adopting a stray demon and realizing it knows more magic than you."
He paused. "Do you want me to take you back to your tribe? Maybe someone else can explain more."
Doken froze.
"My tribe... is gone."
"They're all dead."
His shoulders trembled. His voice, cracked and filled with remorse, barely rose above a whisper. "It's my fault. I carry the blame."
Before Lyle could say anything, Doken suddenly raised his head, green eyes burning with intensity.
"It's the Abyss!" he cried. "Something went wrong in the Abyss!"
He stumbled forward and dropped to his knees in front of Lyle, pleading. "Please—take me there! Only someone who can control the curse can get close to that place!"
Lyle blinked, a little taken aback by the sudden drama, then nodded. "Alright."
—
Dawn, the next day.
As the sky brightened, Lyle and Doken set off for the heart of the forest.
Despite the dramatic name, "the Abyss" wasn't a mythical pit to hell, but rather a deep, shadowy ravine nestled where the forest met the nearby mountain range.
The forest gnomes had always called it "the Abyss," and with good reason—it looked like the gods had taken a sword and cleaved the forest clean in half.
Doken hadn't shared all the details, but Lyle had gleaned enough from scattered hints to piece things together.
Whatever was going on, it predated even Leinas's curse.
Long ago, Doken's tribe had been tasked with handling the cursed creatures that crawled out of the Abyss. Blackened, rotting monsters that oozed toxins and smelled like despair.
Back then, they were few and far between. The gnomes burned them as they appeared.
But a few years ago, something changed. Something tied to one of the tribe's old ritual spells.
The trees rustled as the two of them moved swiftly through the underbrush.
Thanks to Lyle's enchanted "Forest Walker" boots and Doken's natural agility, they made excellent time—although, oddly, they encountered no hostile creatures along the way. Perhaps they were avoiding Doken.
Even so, it took them the better part of the day to reach the far edge of the forest.
And there it was.
A massive gorge split the earth ahead, like someone had taken a divine axe and carved it clean through the forest floor. One more step forward, and it was a straight drop into shadow and nothingness.
It was no wonder the gnomes had called it the Abyss.