Red didn’t know what to say, but it was clear his silence spoke more than words.

Domeron’s frown deepened. “Did something happen to me, too? Am I… rotting like them?”

“Not quite.” Red shook his head.

Domeron laughed. “‘Not quite?’ You meant to tell me there is more than one way this thing can affect others?”

“I saw the same thing in Rimold earlier. A grey aura surrounding him, and now the same thing is happening to you.” Red said. “I didn’t know what it was at the time… Well, I still don’t. Do you feel anything different?”

The man shook his head. “Nothing out of the ordinary, as far as I can tell, but that isn’t saying much, considering what we are dealing with here. Do you reckon this happened to us both because we tried to look into these disappearances?”

Red nodded. “It’s the only thing that makes sense, but…” He looked down at his own hands, noticing nothing out of the ordinary.

“You’re not affected?” Domeron followed his line of thought.

“It doesn’t seem to be the case.”

The swordsman seemed confused. “I can’t think of anything I did that you didn’t do inside the village. Do you have some kind of natural protection against these corruptive forces?”

“It’s quite possible, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you.” Red said.

The youth had so many strange energies acting on his corpse that he wouldn’t know which of them were responsible for blocking this influence.

“I sensed a foreign energy approaching your body.” Aurelia said. “It stopped short before I even needed to act, though.”

Red frowned. It seemed like the woman was comfortable speaking in front of the strange grey aura now.

Domeron sighed. “Every passing moment makes me certain we are completely out of our depth here. Then again, I suppose there’s no backing out now, is there?”

Red shook his head. “We knew this could happen, but if it makes you feel any better, we would have probably been compelled to look into this one way or the other.”

The swordsman smiled. “I suppose so. It seems that strange things just keep happening since you arrived at our sect, doesn’t it?”

Red didn’t respond.

Domeron continued, looking at his shoulder. “There is something we haven’t checked.”

The youth knew what he was asking about, so he patted the snake wrapped around his shoulders as he examined it. The creature shifted slightly, but it showed no other reactions.

Red looked back at Domeron and shook his head. “It’s not affected.”

That was to say, there was no grey aura surrounding it.

“So, this thing is not an all-pervasive force, but it instead picks and chooses who it targets?” Domeron asked. “Then why me and not you?”

Red hesitated. “… I need to do something.”

The swordsman raised his eyebrow. “Do what exactly?”

“I need to think by myself.”

Domeron frowned. “I thought we needed to stay within fifty meters of each other.”

“You can stay close by.” Red nodded. “I just need some privacy.”

The man sighed. “Fine. I’ll be behind that tree some ways away.”

Red was relieved that Domeron didn’t question his motives.

“You’ve finally mustered the courage to speak with me in front of others, huh?” Aurelia said in a mocking tone. “Just as well, since we have a lot to talk about.”

Red ignored her, and as soon as Domeron was a ways away, the youth sat down against a tree and started to rifle through his bag.

“Hey, why are you ignoring me now?” Aurelia seemed vexed.

Red soon took out a few pieces of paper from his bag, as well as a small brush and a pot of ink.

The woman let out a groan of frustration as soon as she saw this. “Ugh, you… Fine, let’s just get this over with!”

The youth was already writing on the paper before Aurelia could even finish speaking.

He wrote: ‘What can you tell me about this premonition?’

“First, explain to me in detail what you saw, and don’t leave any details out.” Aurelia said.

Red did as much. Though it was a harder task to do over paper, the youth still wrote what he saw in as much detail as possible.

“That’s enough. I get the gist of it.” Aurelia interjected. “Are you sure you haven’t missed anything?”

Red frowned.

“Every detail in an omen is important, which is why I’m asking.” Aurelia said.

‘Are you a specialist in visions?’

“No, but I certainly know more about it than you!”

Red sighed.

‘What do you think these visions mean?’

“Well, it means they are probably all going to die like your friend guessed.” Aurelia said in a nonchalant tone. “Rotting corpses are never a good sign.”

Red was silent for a few seconds.

‘Are these omens always set in stone?’

“Not always.” Aurelia said. “But it all depends on how accurate one’s visions are. A powerful clairvoyant can evidently predict things more accurately than a novice. As for you and your visions… I have no idea how precise they are.”

Red was in silent thought for a few seconds before continuing to write.

‘Was there anything odd about that girl back in the village?’

“Not that I noticed.” Aurelia said. “Why do you ask?”

‘She kept staring at me.’

“You look like a noble from a royal family with that red hair and delicate features! Of course a country bumpkin is going to stare at you in wonder!”

Red frowned. Although the woman said that, he couldn’t help but have this strange feeling whenever he thought back to the girl staring at him.

“Stop focusing on that and focus on more important things!” Aurelia sounded angry. “Think about what the girl said in her conversation! ‘Where the Moon meets the earth.’ You seemed to be surprised, so you must know what that means, right?”

Red hesitated.

‘It’s related to the curse.’

“I know that! But do you know where that is?”

‘I have an idea, but the necromancer told me that place was closed off by the imperials a long time ago.’

Aurelia was silent for a few seconds. “… What kind of place is that?”

Red hesitated once again. Although Aurelia seemed to know about the curse and its cause, she didn’t really seem to understand the root cause of it all. The youth continued to write.

‘It’s where this core you’re in comes from.’

“I see…” Aurelia said after some thought. “You should go investigate it.”

‘It’s a bad idea.’

Red immediately shot the suggestion down.

“We don’t need to go in.” Aurelia said. “However, we might be able to figure something out just from looking at it from afar. After all, the last time you were there, you didn’t have me or that strange tumor of yours, right?”

The youth knew she was right, but he was still hesitating. The possibility that the underground might have been connected to this whole thing was real even back when they left town, but getting confirmation about it was an entirely different matter.

He couldn’t help but remember the horrors that awaited inside that place. Although, perhaps, like the woman said, it wouldn’t be harmful to just look at it from afar.

This was something he would judge as he got closer to the cave.

‘There’s the message too.’ he wrote. ‘Do you think she wrote that in some bout of lunacy, or was it there for someone to find?’

“I wouldn’t be able to tell you either way, but from what her daughter described, while she wasn’t in a good state of mind, it’s hard to say it deteriorated to that point.” Aurelia said. “It sounded more like she was following instructions from this unseen force.”

Red’s mind immediately went to a terrible possibility. ‘They have collaborators in the outside world?’

It was the only reason why someone would leave a message like that, much more so coded in a way large factions often did. They wanted only the right people to be able to read it.

“It could be.” Aurelia didn’t deny the possibility. “Or whoever or whatever is behind this could be just like me - a ghostly being awakened after hundreds of years, unaware of the present state of the world and hoping to attract the attention of its collaborators in its previous life.”

‘What about the bone dagger?’ he asked. ‘How does it connect to all this?’

“Ghosts can inhabit treasures and items, too.” Aurelia explained. “Suffice it to say, if this bone dagger is real, its form and origin would make a perfect host for an undead spirit. It might even be the case that this ghost is a lingering presence of the cultivator whose bones the dagger was fashioned out of.”

‘Isn’t this ghost dangerous?’

“You don’t need to worry about it.” Aurelia said. “Whatever is behind this can’t seem to affect you, and if it tried, I’m here to help you through it. Besides, I reckon if they were truly capable, they wouldn’t be relying on scheming around peasants over such long periods of time. Even if the range of their influence is large, it wouldn’t be so coy about their actions if it was more powerful.”

‘And Domeron?’

“… I can’t promise you anything regarding his safety.” Aurelia said. “I’m already overextending myself in helping to disguise his emissions. Anything above that would be beyond me.”

Red assumed this was the reason why she didn’t even try to stop the grey aura from invading Domeron earlier. He didn’t know if she was being truthful, but judging by her condition, he assumed she was weakened in one way or the other.

With nothing else to discuss, Red lit the papers he was writing on fire. He wouldn’t leave behind any evidence of these discussions.

After he packed the rest of his belongings, he returned to Domeron.

The man was leaning back against a tree with his hand on the hilt of his sword.

He looked at Red with a curious expression. “Did you have any revelation while communing with the spirits?”

Red frowned. How could he know this?

“Uh… It’s a joke, kid.” Domeron said with an awkward expression.

“Right.” The youth nodded. “I have figured out some things, though. For instance, judging from everything that is happening, it is almost certain to assume that the thing behind all of this is some kind of sentient ghostly being that has awakened recently.”

The swordsman nodded. “I assumed as much. Perhaps the message it left on the table is for someone from its past life to find.”

It seemed like Red wouldn’t need to explain too much to him.

“However, you don’t sound too worried about it.” Domeron said.

“The ghost is probably not as powerful as we first assumed.” Red said. “It has been acting over so many years, only using peasants to scheme. Whether it’s trying to get free or do something else, it’s either not powerful enough to compel actual cultivators or it is trying to avoid detection, which in either case implies a weakness in its abilities.”

Domeron nodded. “It is a fair assumption, but it seems a bit risky to assume this without more substantial evidence.”

“Indeed, which is why I intend to investigate further.” Red said. “I’m fairly certain that this thing can’t influence me, so I’m safe to look into this matter.”

“That’s why you’re so confident in continuing, I see.” The swordsman smiled. “I suppose this is the part where you tell me to leave, then.”

Red hesitated. “… I can’t guarantee your safety if you keep going.”

Domeron laughed. “I’m not here because of myself. I’m here because of you.”

Red shook his head. “Something bad might happen to you if you keep going.”

“Bad things happened to me my entire life. Worse than this even, if you can believe me.” Domeron said. “So long as I can accomplish my task, it doesn’t matter what happens. Even if I die, I have to make sure you get through this at the end of the day.”

Red frowned. “What if you get possessed?”

Domeron smiled. “Then you can kill me before it happens.” He patted the youth’s shoulder. “I trust you to do that much.”

This was the last words Domeron said before he turned around and started to walk away.

Aurelia scoffed. “What a moron.”

Red didn’t say anything as he began to follow behind the man.