C88: Hello

Arnold stood at the edge of the northern forest, his long frock coat tugged and snapped by the restless, chilling wind.

The cold had grown noticeably stronger in the afternoon. It slid beneath the layers of his fine fabric, carrying with it the scent of damp soil, rotting leaves, and the thick, pungent aroma of pine resin.

Before him, the trees loomed tall and densely packed. Their trunks were dark and straight, bark rough and scarred.

Above, their branches intertwined into a tangled canopy, forming a living lattice that swallowed sunlight whole. What little light filtered through fractured into thin, dying shafts that barely touched the forest floor.

The deeper he looked, the darker it became.

Izzy and Isa had spent so much time just investigating this, and every lead seemed to circle back to this dark wood.

“Lumber has not yet returned.” Arnold murmured.

In his mind, he really wished the big man would reappear at any second, so Arnold wouldn’t need to step into that forest himself.

He exhaled, the white mist of his breath lingering for a second before he expanded his Field Vision, scanning the perimeter.

‘Hmm?’

In his Field Vision, there was something odd on the open field right next to him.

‘That barn. How did it get burned down like that?’

There was a destroyed barn. It had collapsed inward, reduced to blackened beams and half-charred planks.

The surrounding ground was marred and scorched, the soil darkened as though it had been exposed to extreme heat. Wooden fragments lay scattered in unnatural patterns, some split cleanly as if struck by force, others burned through at their centers.

The earth cracked, as though something heavy had slammed into it.

‘When did that happen?’

Looking at the state of that barn, he guessed it must have been burned down and collapsed only yesterday. The ash still looked fresh, undisturbed by rain.

It looked more like the aftermath of a violent clash.

However, yesterday, he had not heard any ruckus in the village.

‘Hmm. Maybe nothing serious.’

If it had been something major, surely the villagers would be gossiping about it. Surely someone would have come to investigate. Perhaps just an accidental fire, quickly contained.

Since no one had raised a concern, it really wasn’t important after all.

Arnold pushed the thought aside and refocused on the forest.

Almost immediately, a familiar presence registered behind him.

‘...’

He did not need to turn to know who it was.

A girl with golden eyes and strawberry-blonde hair.

Her white coat was so distinct against the muddy browns and muted greens of the village outskirts that she was almost offensively conspicuous

Hazel approached without the slightest attempt to hide her steps, her boots crunching firmly over the gravel and grass.

She stopped a short distance away, her piercing molten-gold eyes scrutinizing him in silence. With an impatient gesture, she swept her bangs to the side..

“You…” she hesitated for a moment, her gaze flickering toward the foreboding forest, before looking straight at Arnold again.

"If you truly desire to end your life, feel free to proceed," she said after carefully choosing her words, shooting him a complicated gaze. It was part irritation, yet also contained something harder to define.

‘Is she worried about me?’ A corner of Arnold's mouth twitched upwards.

He had never expected this prickly girl to go out of her way to offer a warning. He quickly raised his hand and hid his expression, coughing lightly to mask the amusement before Hazel noticed.

“You’re not going to stop me?” Arnold asked lightly.

Hazel shot him a ferocious look, her brow knitting together in an instant.

“What?”

Her eyes flared with a dangerous heat, and simultaneously, Arnold heard the unmistakable crack of her knuckles.

A cold bead of sweat trickled down his temple.

‘Maybe not a good idea.’

“Tch.” She smacked her tongue. “I’m not your father.”

She turned away, clearly done with the exchange.

“Is there anything in the forest?" Arnold hurriedly asked before she could disappear. He wasn't about to miss an opportunity to probe for information from someone who clearly knew more than they let on.

Hazel stopped. She stood there for a long moment, her back to him, shoulders rigid beneath the stark white of her coat.

The wind tugged at her hair, making the strawberry-blonde strands billow around her face like a halo of fire.

She seemed to think for a moment before she gave a shake of her head.

"There is nothing there.”

‘Hmm?’

“I have warned you.”

With the final cryptic word, she walked back toward the village without looking back.

‘Great.’

Arnold stared after her, momentarily at a loss for words.

He watched her retreating figure and shook his head.

‘Better not to trigger her.’ This girl seemed like the cold and blunt type, those who would strike first and explain never.

‘Good thing I approached the captain first.’ Unlike Gregory, with whom he could have a civil conversation, Hazel might have genuinely hit him if he had said the wrong thing.

Arnold figured she had followed him on the captain’s orders. The inspectors were likely trying to extract information from him.

Still, it was strange. If they were so curious, why had they not followed him all the way back to the mansion yesterday?

‘Is there really something hidden inside the forest? ’ he stroked his chin. Were they so cautious, so afraid of something that they wouldn't even follow him back to the mansion?

“...”

Since Arnold wasn’t the real body, Izzy wasn’t overly worried about the forest itself, aside from the minor inconvenience of the sensory feedback if Arnold were to get injured.

‘Great. Still have to do it myself. How wonderful.’

With a resigned breath, Arnold steeled his nerves.

He adjusted his coat and stepped into the forest.

—

“Mary!”

Arnold walked along the forest’s path and raised his voice.

The forest was unnervingly dim. The canopy above knitted itself densely, its branches and overlapping leaves strangling the sunlight until only thin threads of pale gold filtered through. These threads barely reached the forest floor, painting dappled patterns on the damp earth.

The air was damp, it smelled of wet bark. Mud clung to his boots, sucking at each step with an obscene sound. Fallen leaves lay in deceptive carpets, hiding the uneven, jagged ground beneath.

Somewhere deeper within the shadows, water dripped steadily against stone, though no stream or spring was visible to his eyes.

The path was no longer discernible. This was not the route back to the mansion.

He was no longer following his memory, but only by instinct and vague sense of direction.

“Lumber!”

Since only the main body could use [Possession], Arnold couldn’t create any marionettes or puppets within the forest, even though one slot remained unused.

‘…’

It was not a major problem. In truth, the real problem lay elsewhere.

‘What is going on?’

Whenever Izzy sent a bird into the forest to scout, the mental connection would instantly snap.

It simply vanished from her senses as if the creature had ceased to exist the moment it crossed the threshold.

Arnold slowed his pace, his heart thudding against his ribs. After a while, he noticed something peculiar, a chilling anomaly.

In his Field Vision, he did not see any living creatures.

There was no living presence at all. The forest was utterly devoid of life. Not even an ant crawled across the soil.

“...”

Yet, through Arnold’s physical eyes and ears, the woods were teeming. Bees buzzed between flowers. Grasshoppers leapt through the undergrowth. Birds chirped somewhere high above, the sound of their wings beating clearly audible as they passed overhead.

They were right there. He could see them. He could hear them.

They did exist.

But at the same time, they did not exist.

It was as if this vibrant, buzzing life was filtered out, rendered invisible to his Field Vision.

‘What is this?’

He had never encountered this phenomenon before.

‘Does this mean my Field Vision isn't working in the forest?’

This forest obscured his Field Vision? What did that mean?

Did the forest itself reject it?

Or was it to hide away something he was not meant to see?

“!”

Arnold jolted abruptly! A cold dread ran through his spine. A violent electrical shudder ripping through Izzy’s mind, a prickling of pure, primordial fear.

‘What?’

Why now?

So suddenly?

Why did she suddenly have such a bad feeling about this?

Arnold pushed aside a large bush, branches scraping against his coat.

His Field Vision still showed nothing.

However, directly in front of him—

A figure stood.

“Mary?”

A small, familiar back was turned to him. Brown hair braided loosely and hung over her chest. A patched dress clung to her thin frame, and a familiar basket dangled from her elbow.

She stood beneath a darker patch of forest. Her head was tilted upward, staring at something above the canopy.

Cold wind brushed past them. Leaves drifted down slowly, spiraling through the air. Her dress fluttered gently.

The girl noticed his voice and slowly turned around.

“Arnold!”

Her eyes widened in recognition. It was bright and lively, just as they always were.

Her voice was as cheerful as usual, even though she had supposedly stayed here for an entire day.

He wasn’t sure how she had survived out here. But it didn’t matter right now.

She was safe.

‘What is this? nothing happened to her, haiiz,’

Arnold let out a breath of relief.

Whatever happened, Arnold had found her.

“Arnold, friend!” Mary waved cheerfully, standing perfectly still in that same spot.

“You really are…” Arnold trailed off as he walked toward her.

His steps were lighter than usual, because a burden had finally been lifted from his back.

‘This girl really does make everyone worry about her,’ he shrugged.

“Let’s go back,” he said, taking her arm and turning around, guiding her back toward the village.

Stll, why was she here? He raised a question in his mind.

Did she not know how dangerous this forest was?

Mary offered no resistance, as if she allowed herself to be dragged without hesitation.

Yet—

“...”

Why did his right side suddenly feel so much lighter?

As they walked, Arnold tilted his head, his gaze drifting to the right.

“...?”

His right arm was gone.

‘What?’

The limb ended abruptly at the shoulder.

There was blood, an empty space where his arm—holding Mary’s hand—should have been.

He didn’t even know how to react.

His mind didn’t register this.

There was no pain whatsoever.

Arnold looked back at Mary.

“...”

She wasn't walking with him.

“M–Mary?”

Mary still stood perfectly in her original spot, her head tilted, smiling at him without so much as a blink.

The flower basket was still tucked neatly in the crook of her arm.

"..."

Her lips parted.

Cold wind tugged at her braids.

“Hello.”

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