The Smiling Death-Chapter 303: Entering into something mysterious

The next day, Amon woke up slowly as faint grey light filtered through the thick canopy above.

For a few seconds, he simply lay there on the tree branch, staring at the dull sky. His body still ached, but the pain was no longer unbearable. It had dulled into a heavy soreness.

Yawn~

He yawned as he stretched his arms. A slight ache ran through his muscles.

"Hah..."

He took a careful breath.

’It still hurts... but not as much as yesterday,’ he thought.

"That’s good enough," he muttered to himself.

Carefully, he shifted his body and climbed down from the tree. His movements were slow and cautious. When his feet finally touched the ground, he paused for a moment to steady himself.

His legs trembled slightly, but they held.

"I can move," he said quietly. "That’s good enough."

He stretched his arm a little one more time. His ribs still complained, but he could tolerate it. Compared to the broken state he had been in yesterday, today felt like a miracle.

"My recovery speed has also improved."

After putting out the remains of the fire and making sure nothing suspicious was around, Amon decided to begin exploring the area.

He adjusted his torn clothes and started walking. He was still wearing the black suit, something that might be used by an assassin.

The forest here looked similar to the rest of the island. Dark trees, grey sky, cold wind, but something felt different. The air was lighter. The oppressive pressure he had grown used to was weaker.

Somehow, the air here felt fresher to him. He walked slowly, scanning his surroundings carefully.

Step.

Step.

His senses remained sharp. Even though this place felt safer, he didn’t trust it completely.

For half an hour, he roamed around.

But he didn’t find anything new.

’Damn. There’s nothing here. It’s all the same.’ His mind started to complain.

There were no mysterious ancient ruins. No hidden treasures. There was not even a single monster here. Just trees, rocks, and silence, which felt really out of place for Amon.

"Is this place really just... empty?" he muttered.

But he had seen the crow yesterday. Was that his imagination? Did he hallucinate that? Just as he was about to turn back, something caught his eye.

On a tree not far away, a crow sat. Amon stopped instantly.

"...Again?"

It was sitting calmly on a branch, its black feathers blending with the dark surroundings. Its head tilted slightly, as if it was observing him.

Amon narrowed his eyes. So he didn’t hallucinate anything yesterday. The crow was real. It was alive.

He slowly stepped closer.

He took one step. Then another.

The crow didn’t move at first. It continued watching him. But when he got a little closer to the tree.

Flap!

The crow suddenly spread its wings and flew away.

"Wait—!"

Amon instinctively took a step forward, but he didn’t run. Instead, he stopped and watched the direction it flew.

"...Interesting."

It was weird why he was trying to stop a crow. It’s not like he could talk with it. But seeing something normal here was new.

It wasn’t flying randomly. It seemed to be heading somewhere specific.

Curiosity rose inside him.

Without rushing, Amon began walking in the same direction the crow had gone.

He didn’t run. His body still wasn’t in condition for that.

He simply followed.

Step by step, he moved deeper into the forest, eyes scanning ahead in case the bird appeared again.

After a few minutes, he spotted it once more. The crow had landed on another tree farther ahead.

"It’s waiting?" he murmured.

As soon as he got closer, the crow flew again. But then something happened.

Beside the tree it had sat on, there were multiple black trees. From them rose a group of crows.

"What?!" Amon’s eyes widened.

It was a whole group of crows. Amon had been focused on the single one, so he didn’t notice the crows on the other trees.

"This is... really interesting." With curiosity, Amon started to follow the crows.

Caw-caw.

Caw-caw. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Caw-caw.

All the crows were making noise now. Their caw-caw sounds felt creepy in the dark forest.

The sky was grey, the trees were black, and the flying group of crows making cawing sounds made the scenery look even creepier.

But Amon was not going to stop. He followed them.

Step by step, not in a hurry.

They flew all together, changing direction from time to time.

They were probably getting annoyed by a human following them like a stalker. It was a creepy situation for the poor crows. They couldn’t even sit peacefully.

Of course, Amon had no idea what was going on in the minds of those birds.

He was just curiously following them. Amon was just an innocent man, not some creepy stalker.

He continued to walk.

’Where are they going? Do they have nests or what? Are there any other animals and birds here?’

While thinking such stupid things, Amon continued his stalking— wait! He continued his pursuit.

But after a while, those crows stopped mid-air. They continued to flap their wings but didn’t move forward.

Amon also stopped in his position. His brows frowned.

Caw.

Caw.

Caw.

The crows were suddenly acting weird.

Then they turned back and flew in the backward direction.

They flew above Amon. He stared at them in confusion.

"Why did they suddenly go back... as if there is something ahead that they are afraid of?"

Amon’s bad habit slowly started to emerge.

It was curiosity. He was now curious about what might be ahead.

Amon turned forward, where those crows had stopped mid-air.

His dark eyes observed his surroundings. He found nothing suspicious here. He checked the trees and rocks, then took a step ahead.

Moving in the direction where those crows refused to move.

He continued to walk.

Stomp!

Stomp!

He walked deeper into the forest for nearly fifteen minutes, unaware that he had already crossed a threshold he should never have stepped over.

Moments earlier, his boot had pressed down on something hidden beneath the dirt and fallen leaves. A faint, intricate pattern etched into the earth itself.

A magical rune.

It had been carved directly into the ground, its lines ancient and precise, as though the world itself had been forced to remember it. Though time had buried it under soil and decay, the engraving had not faded. It had not cracked.

It was something never meant to vanish with time. And Amon had stepped right onto its heart without even realizing it.

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[A/N: Hello guys! I uploaded my new novel. It will show on my profile. Still I will tell you the name of my new book. Please add it to library. You can see it by searching the name on novelkiss or just in my profile.

Title- Extra’s Path: The Eternal Frost Monarch

Hope you guys will give it a read. Now enjoy your day or night! :)]