A low moan echoed through the trees. Between the thick branches, bits of the night sky peeked through like scattered stars twinkling in the gaps. This time of night, the forest always started weeping like this, without fail.

“Not this shit again,” Do-Jin muttered under his breath. “I still can’t believe this creepy-ass wailing means the whole forest is shifting.”

When he’d first wandered into the Forest That Sings of Eternity, he’d assumed it was just the wind whistling through the trees. It was creepy, sure, but he didn’t link it to something supernatural. However, the Watcher had informed him that sound wasn’t just wind. It was the forest itself shifting beneath their feet. The paths would move, the trees would twist into new positions, and the entire landscape would rearrange like a living thing.

Maybe this sound is exactly why they gave the forest that name. Sounds like it’s singing some kind of eternal funeral song.

There was something unsettling in the sound, a deep sadness echoing through the trees like a forgotten lullaby, alive but tired. As Do-Jin shifted his gaze toward the fire in front of him, it crackled softly, casting long shadows over the ground.

“Looks like today’s a bust too.”

He had spent three days wandering this cursed forest by himself. After that, he teamed up with the Watcher and searched for another two. That made five days of trudging through tangled brush, backtracking through twisted paths, and checking the same rocks only to find nothing. Right now, he had just wrapped up a thirteen-hour sweep of the area, and after dragging himself through the forest yet again, he finally dropped down to make a fire while trying not to lose his mind.

“This is getting depressing. I need to eat something decent tonight.”

Up until now, he’d been cramming down whatever had the most calories just to save time, but if he had to chew one more dried-out piece of jerky tonight, he was going to lose it. Do-Jin got up, opened his inventory, and pulled out water, milk, cheese, jerky, and some potatoes. It took a bit of effort, but he figured a simple hot meal would help his mood. He threw all of it into a pot, along with salt and whatever other herbs he had found.

As this slapdash stew started bubbling to life, Do-Jin stared into the pitch-black woods and muttered, “Guess she went pretty far this time.”

He stared toward the spot where the Watcher had disappeared, the place she had said she would search. Ever since they’d teamed up, the girl barely stopped moving. Even while Do-Jin rested, the Watcher would be out there, scouring the forest like she couldn’t sit still.

She should’ve been on her way back by now...

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he spotted something pale darting through the trees. What first looked like a silver wolf racing through the woods turned out to be the Watcher.

“You back?” Do-Jin threw the question out as a casual greeting.

She gave a short nod then glanced up at the sky and said, “It’s about time for you to sleep, isn’t it? Don’t worry about keeping watch again tonight. I’ve got it covered.”

That was the real reason the Watcher always came back around this time. It wasn’t because she was tired or because she missed the warm fire. It was because Do-Jin’s avatar had to sleep a certain amount in-game to recover fatigue, and the Watcher made sure he could rest without getting jumped by some monster in the middle of the night.

“Lucky me. I get to sleep easy while you do all the work,” Do-Jin said with a grin. “Still feels a little wrong, though.”

The Watcher tilted her head slightly, clearly not getting what the hell he was talking about.

“What are you feeling bad for? I don’t need sleep, and I don’t get tired. But you do. So if we’re talking efficiency, it only makes sense that I stand watch and you get proper rest to recover your stamina, right?”

Although she had a point, people normally didn’t think in such logical terms. Emotions had a way of snaking into even the most sensible arrangements. If the Watcher was constantly doing all the work while Do-Jin just leeched, it was hard not to feel guilty. Also, it didn’t help that she was just a poor soul who’d been wandering this cursed forest as a corpse.

Not like I can just come out and say I pity her...

Do-Jin swallowed the sigh trying to crawl out of his throat and silently ladled the stew into a bowl. He started eating, then froze when he felt the Watcher’s stare burning into him.

What the hell is this? Am I an animal at a zoo? Is this how those monkeys feel?

She was watching him eat like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Of course, it wasn’t even a normal face staring back. It was that creepy wooden mask she always wore, carved out of bark and impossible to read.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Do-Jin finally asked, unable to ignore the pressure of that gaze anymore.

The Watcher flinched. “S-sorry. It’s just been so long since I was around someone. I forgot it’s rude to stare like that. I didn’t mean to... I was just surprised, seeing someone eat warm food. That’s all,” she stammered nervously, clearly flustered.

Watching her fumble the words, Do-Jin lowered his bowl. She hadn’t even realized she was gawking. She just sat there, dead silent, watching him eat as if she’d forgotten how food even worked. That was way too sad to ignore.

Do-Jin felt like the stew he had just swallowed was stuck somewhere around his chest. “Do you want some?”

There was no way he could keep eating with her looking at him like that, so he grabbed another bowl and filled it to the top with stew. Without waiting for a reply, he handed it over.

The Watcher blinked a few times and replied, “But I’m dead.”

Do-Jin didn’t even answer. He just stood up, shoved the bowl into her hands, stuck a spoon into one of her palms, and flopped back into his seat.

Only after taking another bite of his own stew did he finally speak again. “You were staring because you were curious, right? So just try it. I’m guessing you haven’t had a bite of real food since you kicked the bucket. Think of it like an experiment or whatever. It’s not like you can get food poisoning anyway.”

“I guess that’s true,” the Watcher murmured quietly and clutched the warm bowl close. “You’re right... I won’t.”

A corpse wasn’t going to get an upset stomach, after all. Whatever words had been stuck on the tip of her tongue faded away as she carefully scooped up a spoonful of stew and brought it to her mouth.

Clink. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

However, she hadn’t accounted for the mask. It covered everything except her eyes. There was no way to get anything past it. She glanced at Do-Jin like she was waiting for him to say something. However, he didn’t even look up. He just kept eating like nothing was happening.

After a second of hesitation, she made up her mind and reached for the mask. As it slowly came off, a completely scar-covered face was revealed. The only features that remained intact were her two eyes and the delicate shape of her jawline, which hinted that she had once been a young girl.

The Watcher sneaked another glance at Do-Jin, waiting for some kind of reaction. Seeing that he was still focused on eating his stew, she scooped up another spoonful and brought it to her mouth. She carefully pushed it past the jagged scars stretching across her cheeks, but she couldn’t taste anything.

It’s warm. She could feel the heat from the stew. So this is what it was like... to chew food.

The texture, while dull and faint, was still there. The jerky tore apart inside her mouth, moving around between her teeth. The potatoes were soft, perfectly cooked, crumbling as she bit down. A chunk of bread, soaked and tender from the stew, pressed against her tongue. It felt strange, but kind of pleasant.

When she finally swallowed, warmth spread through her chest. The heat from the stew lingered as she stared into the bowl. Only a little was gone, but that was enough to scare her. It was disappearing. She just wanted to feel this a little longer. She didn’t want it to end.

“How is it?” Do-Jin asked, still focused on his own bowl.

The Watcher hesitated, then answered, “It’s really good.”

That was the right word to use, even if the taste didn’t register and all she felt was a dull texture and a flicker of warmth. That was enough. In her mind, this stew was better than anything she’d eaten when she was alive.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said casually, as if he was just chatting over dinner with an old friend. “If you want more, go for it. There’s plenty left.”

The Watcher looked at him quietly for a while, then asked, “Don’t I bother you? Aren’t I creepy or weird to you? I mean, I’m... dead.”

That last word slipped out without her realizing it, and she turned her gaze down in panic. What was she even expecting, asking something like that? She was becoming restless, wanting to backtrack.

Before she could, however, Do-Jin answered, “It’s whatever. Whether someone breathes or not doesn’t decide whether they’re a person. What matters is what’s inside. And as far as I can tell, you’re a little weird, but you’re not a bad person. So whether you’re alive or dead doesn’t mean shit. At least not to me.”

He finally looked up and locked eyes with her. The Watcher felt self-conscious all of a sudden. She wished she hadn’t taken the mask off.

Do-Jin seemed to pick up on it. “You look better without the mask anyway. Just watching you wear it the whole time nearly drove me nuts.”

At that, the Watcher quietly went back to eating what was left in her bowl. When she finished, she glanced at him again, unsure if she should ask for more. Do-Jin just scooped up more stew and handed it to her. She ate and then ate some more. She kept eating until the bottom of the pot started to show.

When there wasn’t much left, the Watcher finally broke the silence. “Hey, what’s your name?”

“I’m Do-Jin,” he said, looking a bit amused.

They’d been traveling together for days without even exchanging names. Now, she was repeatedly whispering it, as if trying to get used to the shape of it.

Then, in an even quieter voice, she said, “My name is... huh?”

Suddenly, her face twisted, like something had shifted inside. It was as if her thoughts had snagged on something.

[–■■7■, mission–]

A jumbled mess of memories slammed into her all at once. Voices called out to her from inside those fragments. Someone was saying her name. She was sure of it. However, it was like someone had taken a blade to the words and cut them out.

“What’s wrong?” Do-Jin asked, suddenly alarmed.

The Watcher had thrown her head back, visibly struggling, almost in physical pain.

“I c-can’t remember my name,” she said, her voice shaking.

Do-Jin’s expression shifted into something somber as he recalled, It’s common for undead to lose parts of their memory or personality after coming back to life.

Although he understood that, helping someone through it was another matter entirely. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to take the practical approach.

“It’s alright. Tegran probably knows your name.”

Do-Jin didn’t know if that brought her any comfort, and the Watcher didn’t say another word. Eventually, he fell asleep while she sat quietly in the pitch-black forest, staring at him as he slept.

***

After that night, the Watcher stopped wearing her mask. She still went out on searches, but not as far and not as often. Instead, she lingered near Do-Jin more, drifting around his camp and looking for excuses to talk. Most of the time, it was a string of curious questions met with half-distracted replies.

Once in a while, he’d pull something out of his inventory like bread, jerky, and dried fruit and hand it to her without saying a word. She always took it without hesitation.

She’d complain about it sometimes, especially when it was jerky or hard bread again. “I like hot food better.”

Then, Do-Jin would sigh like she was being difficult and say, “I’ll cook something warm tonight.”

Every time they had that exchange, she would quietly look forward to nightfall. At some point, she realized she didn’t really care about finding Tegran anymore. Do-Jin had said that Tegran probably knew her name, but that didn’t feel so important now.

Once all this ends, Do-Jin’s going to leave the forest. I’ll be the one staying behind. That was all she could think of.

Even if she found Tegran, even if the egg worked and brought the forest back to the way it was, none of that would change the fact that she was no longer a human. It wouldn’t change the fact that she would have to go back to guarding this forest alone. The thought of it made her hate him just a little.

She hadn’t realized how lonely she was until he showed up and reminded her what it meant to simply walk beside someone and share pointless conversations. To eat together. To exist together.

Maybe, if the forest returns to how it was, I can finally disappear with it too... The Watcher let this thought settle in without much resistance.

Being alone again sounded worse than fading away completely. Although some bitterness started creeping in, all it took was one glance at him. Just watching the way he stirred the stew or sat staring into the flames made it all disappear. She just wanted a little more time with him.

Just one month... no, just one more week.

But her wish went unanswered on the day that she finally understood her own heart. It happened during the moment she cherished most, as she sat beside Do-Jin, with the fire crackling, sharing a warm meal in silence.

“GRAAAHHHH!”

Tegran Begrif’s scream cut through the forest like it had been waiting.