Dawn- An age of Darkness
Chapter 354 - A Slither-

I woke the little thing up just before sunrise. 

It wasn't happy, no, but we had another frigging forest to cover today before we'd reach the base of the mountain.

And this forest had undead in it. Most of the undead were just rabbits and squirrels though. Brought back memories but I didn't have time to be nostalgic about all this. 

So, I just kept on going. 

The little thing clung to my cloak like I was its parent or something. I guess undead scared it more than me. 

Actually, it wasn't quite scared of me though. I guess it didn't understand that I was also an undead- but oh well. Or maybe it just thought I was necessary for its survival and adapted to the whole situation?

Speaking of the undead- they also left us alone.

'What the hell is going on?'

Did I have a sign on my back saying 'don't attack this moron' or something?

Last time I checked, undead ate each other when they were hungry- so this was kind of weird. I had literal meat on my body, so the least they could have done was try to attack me, right? Of course, I'd have blown through them with my holy magic but still!

And why the hell was I disappointed that they weren't!

"This smells!" The goblin held its nose and complained as usual. 

"Deal with it."

I actually didn't replace it that disturbing. I guess I ceased being human to such an extent that even this shitty rotting smell wasn't even remotely bothering me. I almost felt disgusted at myself. 

And my sense of smell had actually grown, so technically, it should have at least bothered me to some extent, but nothing. 

The undead here were mostly just monsters and animals. But sometimes I saw one or two humanoid ones. Elves, half breeds, and demons.

So far, no humans. 

"Why are you doing this?" Halfway through the little thing asked, not quite looking at me.

"What do you mean?"

"You first killed my colony and now you're returning me to a new one? Are you here to destroy that one too by using me?"

Well, wasn't she straight?

Low-pitched growls came from all around us. The rotten smell brushed off my nose and gave an eerie vibe to the atmosphere. The sky was clouded with the black trees and their rotten leaves, but- I still didn't replace this disturbing. The feeling was rather new and rather weird. 

"No, I didn't come here for that. If they attack me, I'll kill them. Otherwise, I won't bother. I'm just here for some answers. Once I get them, I'll leave you alone and go on my main quest."

"That is?"

"Destroy Namcha Millianese and kill the damn thing that created the gods."

It gulped, gripped my robe a bit tightly, but didn't say a word. 

Did it believe I could do it?

Or perhaps it just thought I was a retard. 

I guess that was obvious. Everyone knew the emperor was strong as hell, and the thing that created the gods? Did people even know about the world tree? I didn't know. There was no way I could know.

Or to be more precise, I didn't want to know.

And why the hell was I saying all this stuff to this thing anyway?

I really know didn't know. 

***

The forest kept on getting thicker.

And we didn't stop at noon. Mostly cause of the undead and even if we'd stopped, the little thing wouldn't have been able to eat anything in this place. Sure didn't stop me from eating the stored fish in my ring though. I needed all the sanity points I could get my hands on. 

We did stop in the afternoon when the forest thinned and the smell was minimum. Even now the little thing didn't want to eat- rather picky.

It still ate though, after complaining for a good ten minutes.

Afterward, we traveled further in and finally reached the bottom of the mountain by nightfall. Judging by its height- it was about half the size of the mountain back in Moire.

I used my magic to light up a fire and made a camp. The fire would keep the undead away- not that any of those things were coming this way, anyway.

"Why?" It spoke. 

"Why?" 

"The name you mentioned. Why would you want to kill that person? He is the god of the demons, is he not?"

This thing was really talkative for a goblin. Sometimes it made me wonder if it was really a goblin. 

Undead growled in the background and crickets also buzzed. 

"More like the emperor, and I guess you could call him a god. But- I have my reasons."

There weren't many clouds in the sky and so far, I didn't see anything hostile.

Were we really in Galbatia?

"Those are?"

"NO comment."

It didn't say a word and finished its meal: charred fish. 

I'd caught a bird before evening and I ate that. Feathers were a drag. 

"What if you lose?"

"I already lost once. This time, I won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

I stared at it for a second.  "Because I'm already dead and I won't stop till I cease to exist. I will win, and that's the only reason for me to go on."

Well, now it shut up.

I didn't really say anything else either. 

***

Nights were always a drag. It forced me to think.

I didn't want to think.

But here I was. 

The undead were kind of roaming around and they were just ignoring us. Red eyes just lurking around. 

Now that I wasn't being constantly attacked, I could actually tell, they were in pain. They often growled in pain, hit each other, tried to say things but then just disappeared and came back again. It was amusing in a way- and also very sad in another. 

'I'd eventually turn into those…'

The thought itself was more than just unsettling. 

***

The next morning, we started to climb the mountain. My goal was to be at the base on the other side before sundown and for that, we had to hurry. 

Which this little thing didn't understand. 

It often fell behind and lagged. And even then, it complained. 

Like what the hell was that high agility good for if it didn't have stamina?

Anyway, we kept it up, and often, I carried it on my back. 

I always made sure to keep my guard up in case it decided to bite me on the neck or something but it didn't. 

This goblin was intelligent. There was no saying what it could do- so I just carefully observed it and moved ahead. So far it was playing nice, as its survival depended on me. But the moment it'd deem the otherwise, who knew what tricks it'd use to attack me. 

But since it was on my back and I was doing the climbing, things were much, much faster. And we reached the top, just before noon. If we kept up this pace, we'd be at the bottom in no time. 

There wasn't anything on top. No nests, no holes, no large green leafy snakes: no grand monsters. 

The bottom however- I could see ruins- brazen wastelands and in the very, very far- about a hundred kilometers far- a small city surrounded by walls.