Chapter 14: The Journey Begins

"We can't stay here," Sehan stated firmly, his gaze sweeping the darkened forest beyond the firelight. "It's too exposed. If we want to survive, we need to move."

The leader of the group, a rugged man named Jisoo, frowned. "Move where? We've been running in circles for days."

"There's an abandoned city not far from here," Sehan replied. "It'll take about five days to reach, but it's better than staying out in the open. Buildings mean shelter, supplies, and more defensible positions."

Uneasy glances passed between the survivors.

"Five days?" a woman named Yura muttered. "You make it sound easy, but we barely survived the last two."

Sehan’s expression remained impassive. "You won’t survive another two if you stay here."

A heavy silence followed. Eventually, Jisoo let out a long sigh. "Alright. We’ll go with you. But if this turns out to be a mistake—"

"It won’t," Sehan interrupted. "Let’s move before something finds us."

A Grueling Trek

The journey to the abandoned city would take five days, and the terrain was far from forgiving.

• Day One passed with few incidents, but exhaustion weighed heavily on the group. They weren’t used to constant movement, especially with the looming threat of predators in the darkness.

• Day Two presented their first major obstacle—a deep ravine with a crumbling bridge barely holding together. Crossing it required patience and balance, and not everyone possessed either. Sehan went first, testing each step before motioning the others forward. Halfway through, one of the men slipped—his scream piercing the silence—but Sehan caught him just in time.

• By Day Three, food and water became a concern. Sehan relied on his instincts and hunted small creatures for sustenance. Some of the others hesitated to eat, but in the end, hunger left them no choice.

• Day Four brought disaster. In the dead of night, a towering beast with razor-sharp claws emerged from the shadows, its guttural growl sending chills through the group. Sehan moved first, faster than any of them expected. His blade flashed in the moonlight—precise, relentless. The battle was over in seconds, the creature’s lifeless body slumping to the ground.

"You… you killed it alone?" Yura whispered.

Sehan didn’t answer. He simply cleaned his blade and kept walking.

• By Day Five, they were exhausted, battered, and on edge. But as dawn broke, the silhouette of a ruined city appeared against the morning sky.

Sehan stopped, exhaling. "That’s it. We made it."

The others stared in disbelief. For the first time since arriving in this world, safety—at least for now—was finally within reach.