Itsuki gawked at the humble beauty of the lake. He’d seen them before, multiple in fact, but none were quite like this one. Its motionless surface was as clear as glass, remaining utterly still and unperturbed even through the billowing morning winds. And oddly enough, it seemed as if a pack of glitter had been sprayed onto the lake, causing its superficial layer to glisten like a disco ball in a retro college party. As Itsuki approached the blinding body of water, he realized that the surface of the lake that he once believed to be transparent was a discreet shade of aqua after all.

A pungent odour had infiltrated Itsuki’s nostrils throughout the previous night. He believed the source to be one out of the bazillion odd creatures surrounding his tree branch as he slept. Furthermore, the torrent of emotions he had undergone during the preceding day repeatedly resurfaced, disrupting his slumber in the process. This series of events caused his rest to be less than ideal. However, as Itsuki gazed upon the lake, it all scattered, as if these concerns had never existed. Its beauty and calm gradually put him in a momentary trance. Itsuki felt as if he could relax on the spot and never leave. The longer he thought about it and the better it sounded. Soon enough, Itsuki became irrevocably convinced that this place is where he belonged. The memories of his past life and experiences since reincarnation both began fading away. All that preoccupied him was the now. There was no past nor future, only the present.

And before he knew it, Itsuki had taken a step towards the lake and another, and another. Step by step, he repeatedly connected leg with floor and slowly advanced towards his imminent demise. For Itsuki, this process was mindless. If you were to ask him his name, it would take several minutes before you detected a response. And even then, it might not be the correct answer. The surface of the lake was fast approaching, and Itsuki was still bulldozing forward, five meters, three meters, one met- A sharp, ear-splitting sound reverberated throughout the forest at the instant he was about to make contact. The turbulence caused by it was so loud that small and big birds alike took off to the sky, the cries of creatures mourning for their burst eardrums echoed within the forest, and the ruminating deer perched their heads up and bolted for cover.

Itsuki stood in a daze, sweat engulfing his tiny body, scarlet liquid flowing from his ears and accumulating at his chin, but worst of all was the fear, the intensely profound heart-piercing dread. The terror of knowing that he was seconds away from eternal slumber. Itsuki raised a shaky hand to his ears, bringing it in front of his eyes as he analyzed the blood. At the moment, he could hear a pestering ringing in his ears, and Itsuki remarked that the pain was barely notable. He concluded that his injuries were minor and that they would most likely heal in a matter of days. With that out of the way, he began assessing the cause behind them. Like a dog in a new home, his eyes darted around the periphery, and immediately after, he had located the source of his recent suicidal actions. Itsuki retreated five meters away from the lake. The familiar tug of the tantalizing creature remained. Thus he retreated another five meters. He repeated this process of retreat and check to see if the feeling had yet disappeared. At the one hundred meter mark, the prying eyes of the lake had ultimately receded its gaze from his every move.

He emitted an abysmal sigh, the stress of it all still clinging to him like a leech. For good measure, he placed a few extra meters of distance between the deceiving lake and himself. Using the back of his sleeve, Itsuki wiped the dripping sweat from his forehead. And folding it into itself, he seized the chance to rid himself of the blood oozing from his eardrums as well. Now that he felt relatively safe, Itsuki began searching with his eyes for the origin of the noise that had saved him from such an embarrassing death. A list of possible options coursed through his mind as he rummaged the surroundings. A mole, no, they are too quiet for this. A dire wolf, maybe? Though the degree of the sound is feasible, it was still elegant beyond what they are capable of producing with their gruff tones. Itsuki would know as he had the pleasure of listening to their pathetic whining every night after all. Possible candidates appeared one after the other, only to instantly get rejected afterwards.

In the corner of his eye, Itsuki spotted something. It rested atop a branch and was so dark in colour that only its eyes were visible. The features on its body remained obscure even while the sun beamed straight at them. Due to this, he was unable to tell what it was for the longest time. As Itsuki approached with vigilance, it became slightly more apparent. A beak protruded from what he assumed to be the face, a bird of some kind, maybe? It was not so big that lifting an adult off the ground would be possible. If Itsuki were to estimate the size, he would equate it to the eagles on earth. A perfect volume that was in between the large and small birds that infested this forest. Placing a prudent step on the emerald grass reaching his knees, he slowly approached the mysterious creature. One by one, the unique characteristics of the bird were exposed as he neared. Feathers as dark as charcoal, a craning neck hidden behind large, licorice-coloured wings flanking it from both sides. Most beautiful of all were its eyes. His throat became parched from the amount of time spent staring into them and admiring the depth within.

A pair of milky white eyes unveiled behind the dusky feathers of the bird. They seemed to hold the secrets of the universe and the wisdom of sages at the same time. And below these eyes were a mirroring pair of razor-sharp incisors, as long as his fingers. It looks like a raven on steroids and makeup, he thought to himself. For a brief second, Itsuki believed that he was staring into the eyes of a wise and intelligent human. But, as he strayed from the intense gaze of the bird and glanced upon its body, it became clear that the creature was no more human than a dog was. However, this did not take away from the intellect this bird projected through its eyes. The minute-long stare down between Itsuki and the raven ceased. By the end of it, he irrevocably believed this animal had produced the deafening shriek, indirectly saving his life in the midst of it. And for that, Itsuki decided that this creature warranted a certain amount of respect from him. Folding his body like a pancake and lowering the back of his head to only a few inches off the ground, he produced a low bow directed at his saviour. For him, this action of diminishing himself to something was very embarrassing, but the mystical raven saved him from utter peril after all. Thus it was something he was willing to endure.

After their brief interaction, Itsuki parted with the strange raven. And it took off to who knows where. Bathing in his usual state of loneliness, he reflected on how he would go about gathering water without getting controlled by the lake. Itsuki evaluated that he knew nothing regarding the lake. Nor what methods it used to lead creatures toward their end. It could be anything from chemicals released into the atmosphere to something simple like a new type of magic he was still unaware of, there were so many variables to take into account, and Itsuki would not feel safe venturing forward without enlarging his information about the lake. Thus, he resolved to observe and test. Not long after his testing session began, Itsuki uncovered the secret of the lake. It was so uncomplicated and plain that anyone and everyone could easily fall victim to it. For example, it took Itsuki approximately an hour to comprehend it. However, if he had not been a previous victim of this trap, it would take much longer.

If one inspected the lake long enough, they would begin experiencing dizziness, then transfer onto confusion and finally work their way up toward severe hallucinations. The animals that fell victim to the earlier symptoms would tremble as they walked in the direction of the lake, and their eyes would protrude outwards. Previously, Itsuki had been unaware since he was too busy juggling his attention between the awful sleep of the previous night, emotions from contemplating at the state of the house, what he should do to survive for the following months, and his desire of refilling the water bottles. But now that he had nothing better to think about, it seemed so obvious. The connection between all these animals was the fact that they had eyes. Well. Not that specifically, as it was more about this mysterious trance only affecting creatures with sight. The moles would approach the lake and even sip a little and return, but whenever a horned rabbit or deer entered inside a perimeter of one hundred meters of the lake, they would immediately begin walking towards their deaths.

Thus, Itsuki concluded that the link between this was sight. If an animal had a vision, it would be ineligible to enter the perimeter of the lake. To test this, he wrapped a piece of cloth over his eyes and walked a few meters inside the effective range. And as he advanced, Itsuki could feel the alluring pull getting more demanding, but it was still nowhere near what it was before. With this fact confirmed, he ventured onwards. The shore of the lake was fast approaching, and when it was right below his feet, Itsuki crouched downwards, opening his numerous water bottles in the process. A noise resembling rocks rubbing against one another reverberated as he stepped on large boulders which inhabited the shore. Gently, Itsuki lowered the tip of his first water bottle into the water. A small portion of it was inhaling the air while the other half earnestly slurped the water, up to the point that no more could fit inside. He quietly repeated this process three more times. By the end of it, all four bottles were full.

Aw, now comes the hard part of boiling the water, Itsuki thought to himself. A painful memory arose when he reminisced of his previous difficulties in the art of making a fire. Since Konza had been unable to teach this crucial skill to him b-before, well, his death, Itsuki was left to fend for himself when it came to this particular task. Recently Itsuki thought it was getting better as there were fewer nights where he cried himself to sleep, fewer days where he felt like lying on the tree branch and doing nothing, and less frequent moments where Itsuki wanted nothing more than to rip his heart out and forget the pain. But whenever the memories of his parents arose, it was as if all that progress was non-existent. As a tear streaked down his face, he remarked with surprise that it had not evolved into a painful crying fit this time. I am getting better, Itsuki recognized.

Wiping the tear away, he unzipped his bag, stuffed the water bottles inside and began marching towards the place he was born, the place where his parents died, and the place where he was reborn. Hopefully, he could use some of the trees around to start the fire, and there was always the off chance of finding a pot or pan he could use to boil the water. And if there were no pots or pans, Itsuki would have to use a random piece of metal lying around in the debris. Also, the house seemed to have something inside that deterred monsters, and maybe it had survived the burn. If not, Itsuki could always hop onto a branch and close his eyes.