"I don't know, Grandpa," he answered honestly. "We only wanted to climb the mountain. But strange things have been happening ever since we started, and now my friend has suddenly fainted."
The old man nodded slowly.
"I know."
Rico stared at him intently.
"You know what happened to Alya?"
The old man took a deep breath.
"Your friend's soul has been drained. That is why her body has grown weak, until she eventually lost consciousness."
Rico felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
"What do you mean?"
"One of the guardians is hunting her. Your friend often loses herself in thought, doesn't she? She frequently loses focus and allows herself to become absorbed in her own mind."
Rico remembered how Alya had been lost in thought several times throughout the journey.
"That is how the creature was able to approach her so easily," the old man continued. "It found an opening when your friend was not paying attention."
Rico glanced back at Alya.
Her face looked even paler beneath the flashlight's beam.
"Then how can we save her, Grandpa?"
The old man did not answer immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes for a moment, as though he were listening to something ordinary human ears could not hear.
A few moments later, he opened his eyes and spoke in a lower voice.
"The creature is still near your friend's body."
Rico immediately turned around.
"What?!"
"It hasn't left. It has no intention of releasing its prey."
The old man shifted his gaze toward Alya.
"Go."
The single word left his lips in a commanding tone.
Rico did not understand.
"Go where, Grandpa?"
The old man looked at him.
"I can help her. However, there is something you must understand. Your friend should not continue climbing toward the summit."
"You mean Alya must stop climbing?"
"Her body is too weak. Her condition is already deteriorating. The journey to Post 5 and the summit is still a long way off. If she continues to push herself, the creatures roaming this mountain will find it even easier to approach her."
Rico fell silent, trying to process everything the old man had said.
"Those creatures can drain her energy little by little," the old man continued. "If nothing is done, it will not be only her body that loses its strength."
He paused briefly.
"Her soul may drift farther and farther away from her body."
Rico's throat went dry.
He wanted to say that all of this was impossible. That a human being could not lose their soul simply by climbing a mountain.
But then he remembered Alya, who had suddenly fainted for no apparent reason.
He remembered the laughter that had seemed to surround them from every direction.
And what troubled him most was the fact that Hasan could not see the old man standing right in front of him.
"Who are you, really, Grandpa?" Rico finally asked.
The old man offered a faint smile.
"I am merely one of the guardians assigned to help hikers."
"A guardian?"
"I watch over those who lose their way, those who become lost, and those who suffer disturbances from creatures that should never interfere with humans."
He raised his face and gazed into the darkness stretching between the trees.
"This mountain has many guardians, from east to west. Not all of them have the same intentions. Some maintain the balance, while others deliberately torment humans for their own amusement."
Rico followed the old man's gaze.
For the first time, he realized just how vast and unfamiliar the forest surrounding them truly was.
"What about the hikers who are never found?" he asked quietly. "Are they really lost?"
The old man sighed.
"Some may indeed be lost. But there are others who choose never to return."
Rico looked at him in confusion.
"Never to return?"
"They choose to submit to the Queen."
The wind suddenly blew harder.
The leaves rustled against one another, producing a whispering sound that seemed to come from every direction.
"The Queen?" Rico repeated.
"The Queen who has watched over this mountain for hundreds of years. Some people know of her through old legends. Others never even learn of her existence until they come face-to-face with her."
The old man looked at Rico again.
"According to legend, she offers all kinds of things to humans willing to become her followers. A comfortable life, wealth, power, and pleasures that are difficult to obtain in the human world."
Rico shuddered.
"They're willing to become her slaves just for those things?"
"Not every human has strong convictions. Some are easily tempted by promises, while others are so desperate that they are willing to trade anything to get what they want."
The old man slowly shook his head.
"They forget that pleasures obtained through such means are only temporary. They forget God and believe they can live happily forever in a place that does not belong to them."
Rico lowered his head.
He did not know whether he should believe everything he was hearing. Yet there was something in the old man's voice that made it difficult to dismiss his words.
Suddenly, the old man stepped past him.
"Now, help me pray."
Rico immediately turned around.
"What are you going to do, Grandpa?"
"Drive away the creature that is hunting your friend."
The old man walked toward Alya with steady steps.
"Do not let fear control you, young man. Keep praying, and do not interfere with whatever is about to happen."
Rico nodded and followed him.
In the distance, Hasan and Laras were still beside Alya. Both looked confused as they watched Rico approach them while talking to someone they could not see.
"Co, who are you talking to?" Hasan called out.
Rico did not answer.
Because just as the old man stopped beside Alya, the air around them suddenly changed.
It became freezing cold.
Colder than before.
The flashlight in Rico's hand flickered several times before its beam began to fade.
Then came the laughter.
Hehehehehehe…
The same laughter.
The woman's laughter that had haunted their journey from the beginning.
Rico turned around, holding his breath.
Something began to move beside Alya's body.
At first, it was nothing more than a black shadow crawling across the ground. Slowly, however, the shadow grew larger, taking the shape of a horrifying creature with a face that was difficult to describe.
Its skin looked dark and ashen. Its eyes gleamed menacingly, while a long tongue protruded from its mouth. It moved unnaturally, as though its bones were not arranged the way a human's or an animal's should be.
Laras screamed.
Hasan immediately stood up and pulled her away from Alya.
"What is that?!"
Rico stood frozen.
The creature raised its head and stared at the robed old man with a mocking grin.
"So, you've come again, Old Man?"
Its voice was hoarse, mixed with laughter that made the hair on anyone who heard it stand on end.
The old man did not flinch.
"Release the girl."
The creature only laughed louder.
"I will not leave!"
It stuck out its tongue toward the old man before grabbing Alya's body, which was still lying unconscious on the ground.
"I will stay with this girl forever! I have already stolen her soul, and she will belong to me!"
"Release her!"
"No!"
The creature hissed.
"She belongs to me now!"
The old man raised his hand.
Instantly, the air around them trembled. Dry leaves scattered across the ground lifted into the air, swirling around before falling again. The wind grew stronger, making the old man's robe billow wildly.
"Begone, evil creature!" he shouted. "I will bind you together with the other unruly creatures in the Forbidden Forest!"
The smile slowly disappeared from the creature's face.
"The Forbidden Forest?"
Its eyes narrowed.
"You think you can imprison me there again?"
"It is not I who determines your fate. You chose to disturb humans yourself."
The old man stepped forward.
"Now, return to the place you came from!"
The creature let out a piercing scream.
The sound was so loud that Rico instinctively covered his ears. Laras fell to the ground, sobbing, while Hasan stood rigid, his face pale with terror.
Before them, the old man began reciting a prayer in a firm voice.
The wind grew even stronger.
The shadows of the trees swayed wildly, as though the entire forest were struggling to contain something invisible.
The creature thrashed about. It tried to claw at the ground, but its body began to be dragged backward.
"No! Let me go!"
The old man continued reciting his prayer.