Worried, frantic, and driven by a sudden fear for his friend, Hajime dashed through the tall, dry grass. Right behind him, trying to keep pace, was Abrafo.
"Hajime, watch out!" Abrafo shouted, seeing the mage's reckless speed. Since Hajime didn't slow, Abrafo surged forward, his speed unmatched, and grabbed Hajime's left arm, pulling him up short. "Slow down! Yul is capable of protecting himself."
Hajime's panic instantly evaporated, replaced by weary self-reproach. "I completely forgot about that," he sighed.
A few hundred yards further, they found Yul perfectly unharmed, squatting and calmly harvesting melons and turnips.
Abrafo shouted, annoyance mixing with relief, "Hey, Yul! What are you doing?"
Yul looked up, a large honeydew melon cradled in his arm. "Picking melons," he said, regarding their winded state. "What are you two doing here?"
Abrafo waved a dismissive hand. "No need to look for water. There's a well next to the house, and the water is good."
Yul approached them, handing the honeydew to Abrafo. He focused on Hajime's unusually strained expression and frowned. "What's wrong?"
Hajime finally caught his breath. "We heard a female voice humming. It was coming from this direction. We were worried something happened to you."
"I heard it too," Yul confirmed calmly. "But I assumed it was just a passing villager."
"So, you heard it too?" Hajime pressed.
"Yes, but don't think too much about it. I've only heard it twice, and nothing since then."
Hajime nodded. "We heard it twice as well."
Yul gave a sensible shrug. "Since we're going to be here for a while, let's not scare ourselves by believing the village rumors. Come on, help me pick some vegetables." He turned back to the garden, then stopped, remembering something. "There's a pond full of fish over there." He pointed behind him. "You two go catch some fish."
Abrafo and Hajime exchanged glances. Hajime volunteered with a sigh. "Fine, I'll go."
Hajime walked to the pond and saw many fish darting in the clear water. He stepped in, dipped his right hand into the water, and gave a gentle, almost undetectable wave. The fish immediately swam toward him, mesmerized. He swiftly grabbed them and tossed six fish onto the grass before pulling his hand out of the water.
He stood up, his gaze catching the small, shiny green tree with the golden and transparent berries. Curious, he plucked one of each.
Knowing he was effectively immortal, he tried to bite the golden berry, but it was rock-hard. He threw it down. He then picked up the transparent berry and squeezed it—it was soft, almost doughy, and clearly filled with liquid. He brought it close, curious about the juice inside. He brought the transparent berry to his lips, ready to take a small taste.
"Hey, what took you so long!" Abrafo said, suddenly tapping Hajime on the left shoulder.
The shock made Hajime fumble. The transparent berry slipped past his lips and slid straight down his throat. He tried to cough, to spit, but the soft, liquid-filled orb seemed to flow down his esophagus instantly.
"Agh...!" Hajime screamed, falling to his knees. His throat felt like it was being scorched by boiling water, and the agonizing burn spread rapidly down his esophagus and into his stomach.
"Hajime! What's wrong?!" Abrafo yelled, kneeling beside him, suddenly terrified.
Hajime frantically thrust his fingers down his throat, trying to induce vomiting, but he only managed to gag—the burning berry was already searing his lower abdomen.
He clutched his stomach, groaning in sheer agony. "Ah... I accidentally swallowed a berry!" The pain intensified, tightening his chest. "I think I'm going to die!" Hajime gasped, struggling to draw a ragged breath. "I hate dying!" He collapsed onto the ground, twisting his body in a fetal position.
By the time Yul reached them, Hajime was barely moving, his face slick with sweat. Yul quickly knelt, pulling the mage up so Hajime could lean against his chest. "How are you feeling?"
Hajime frowned, grimacing with the effort. "Painful... too painful." His face began to drain of color.
He started breathing in rapid, shallow gasps. As the burning sensation continued its downward path, a sudden, intense itch and heat ignited in his lower back—a sensation similar to severe, straining pressure.
"Oh shit! I think it's about to come out!" he screamed, pushing Yul away. He scrambled to his feet, instantly fell back to his knees, clutching his rear.
Abrafo stared, bewildered. "Come back, where are you going?"
Hajime groaned, eyes watering. "Taking a dump!"
He thought that if the berry was coming out, he had to force it. He strained, concentrating all his strength, pushing as hard as he could, but the foreign object inside refused to budge. Suddenly, the intense burning sensation reversed, moving from his backdoor, up to his stomach, and then—just as quickly—the pain and heat stopped completely.
Hajime cautiously touched his abdomen. The intense pain was gone. He was still alive, and his stomach felt fine.
He pushed himself away from Yul's supporting arm. "I think I'm fine now," he said, sounding stunned.
Yul looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure?"
Abrafo, still agitated, glared at him. "Are you sure you're okay? You looked like you were dying just now!" His voice turned sharp. "Or are you just pretending?"
Hajime scrambled to his feet, angry. "I was in pain because of you! I just wanted to bite that berry to see if the juice was good, but you hit me, and I accidentally swallowed it!" He picked up a transparent berry from the ground and thrust it toward Abrafo. "Come on, if you think I'm faking it, then eat it!"
Abrafo recoiled instantly, chuckling nervously. "Like hell I'm going to eat it! Watching you struggle for air makes me want to stay a hundred feet away from that tree."
Yul quietly picked up the fish Hajime had dropped. "Leave the tree and its berries alone. We have enough food for a month." He looked sternly at Hajime. "While you can't die, you experience all the pain associated with death every time. It's best to avoid it."
Hajime took the fish with a sheepish smile. "I will be more careful next time. Honestly, I don't like the feeling of death." He walked quickly to catch up to Yul. "Honestly, did you really think that humming voice was just a passing villager?"
Yul lowered his voice. "To reassure everyone, let's keep it like that for now. We'll see if it happens again." He turned to confirm. "Are you really okay, Hajime?"
"Yes, for now," Hajime confirmed. "I thought I was going to die, but I'm fine."
Yul and Hajime followed Abrafo back to the house.
After a quiet dinner, the five men retired to the small stone house, closing the door and windows. Yul and U-ri sat by the dying campfire, letting the others sleep first.
"You can go to bed," Yul told U-ri. "I'll take the first watch."
"I can't sleep anyway," U-ri admitted. He looked at Yul earnestly. "Captain Bayarmaa, may I have a heart-to-heart talk with you?"
"What do you want to talk about?"
"It's about Hajime." Yul looked at Hajime, who was already deeply asleep. U-ri began to speak, intending to confess what he knew, but paused. It wasn't his place. He changed course. "I've noticed that Hajime is taking longer to recover lately. You've noticed that too, haven't you?"
"I have," Yul confirmed, his expression serious. "But I don't know what it means."
Just then, the familiar, chilling sound began again, closer and softer this time, seeming to wrap around the stone house.
"Hummm...ummm...hummm...Hummm...hummm...hummm...shhh..."
Yul and U-ri's eyes met, alarm instantly replacing their calm. "That voice is coming again..." U-ri whispered, trembling slightly.
"Wake up the others," Yul commanded, his voice low and urgent. He grabbed the water bag and quickly poured it onto the campfire, plunging the room into darkness.
The five men listened silently in the black house.
Michio took out his talisman, but it remained inert. "This is not a spirit," Michio whispered, certainty in his voice.
Abrafo listened intently to the sound that seemed to float just beyond the stone walls. "It sounds exactly like a mother putting her child to sleep."
Hajime, now awake, asked, "How do you know?"
"How could I not know?" Abrafo retorted. "My sister-in-law sings lullabies to my two nephews every single night."
Yul's face was grim. "I agree with Abrafo. This hum is a lullaby, but who is singing?"
"Let's find out," Yul decided. He slowly, painstakingly opened the door just a crack. He scanned the front lawn—nothing. But looking past the nearby trees, he saw many small, bright orbs flickering. He eased the door shut.
"I didn't see anything on the front lawn," Yul reported quietly. "But I did see a lot of bright, flickering orbs behind the trees. If I had to guess, they are coming from that weird berry tree."
Michio mused, "Since my talisman proves this wasn't created by dark energy, it must be something else entirely, something we don't understand."
Yul turned to Hajime and U-ri. "Hajime, you and U-ri are staying here."
Hajime immediately bristled. "I refuse! I want to see it too!"
"No," Yul said, his voice firm and absolute. "You stay with U-ri. That's an order."
U-ri, understanding Yul's caution due to Hajime's healing, intervened. "Yul is right. Let's not get involved in this for now. Remember, the wound on your back hasn't fully healed yet."
Hajime frowned, defeated. "Fine."
Yul slowly opened the door again. He, Abrafo, and Michio slipped out of the stone house and walked silently toward the mysterious, flickering orbs a few hundred yards away.