The force that had snatched her away left her unconscious. Now, Bella lay flat on her back in the middle of the wilderness.
She remained there with her eyes closed. Her awareness had vanished the moment that entity embraced her, pulling her close and stealing her consciousness.
"Bella... Bella... Don't you want to wake up?" A noisy voice beside her began calling her name.
Disturbed by the sound, Bella slowly opened her eyes. Standing right in front of her was Tyas, staring down at her while holding a cup of hot coffee.
"Why did I faint?" Bella asked, clutching her head, which felt slightly dizzy.
"It's nothing, Bella. You were probably just exhausted! Do you want me to make you a drink?" Tyas replied, offering her a refreshment.
For a moment, Bella observed the rest of her friends sitting in a circle some distance away.
Before she had lost consciousness, everyone had been in a state of extreme shock and terror.
But not here. All of them, including Rio, were chatting with one another. Their laughter even sounded free and relaxed, filling the air.
Bella looked back at Tyas. Her friend was still watching her intently. Then, Bella looked up at the sky. It was still dark. She also noticed that there was no breeze at all.
There was no chirping of birds. No sound of owls or small insects. The forest Bella usually encountered at night was always noisy with the various sounds of animals roaming the dark.
She began to analyze the situation carefully. This was clearly beyond human logic.
Bella still vividly remembered the terrified faces of her companions earlier. And one more thing: the figure that had grabbed her.
"What's wrong, Bella?" Tyas asked with a tone of concern.
Slowly, Bella stood up, and Tyas continued to watch her faithfully. The supplies were not in her backpack. Bella was the one carrying the documentation gear.
Her bag was filled with cameras, tripods, and drones. On this mountain, hikers usually organized their luggage before ascending. If they hiked in a group, they would rotate the bags so that everyone shared the burden of the heavy carriers.
Luckily, Bella remembered that she had Bidara leaves in her bag. To her, this situation no longer made sense.
Slowly, her right hand reached into the side pocket of her backpack where she kept her water bottle. That was where she had placed the Bidara leaves.
Tyas's eyes widened when she saw Bella's palm clutching the leaves.
Bella watched Tyas's face. The expression suddenly turned into one of resentment.
Bella knew then—the thing in front of her was not her friend. It was a supernatural entity mimicking her.
"Hahahaha..." Tyas laughed at her.
Bella remained silent, watching the figure laugh heartily. That laughter caused several of the "friends" behind her to turn their heads toward them.
"So, you've figured it out, have you?" Tyas said.
The voice was heavy, like a man's. Slowly, the manifestation shifted. The group of people they had met at the peak earlier reappeared before her.
"One of you did not respect us! So, let that boy stay here. Do you see the wide piece of wood we are carrying behind us?" the figure said.
Bella looked back. Her friends had instantly transformed back into the same procession they had encountered at the summit.
She noticed a long piece of wood being carried by one of them. What did it mean? Bella had no idea.
"If you and your four other friends want to be safe, then leave the guilty one here! Your time limit is three in the morning. If you are still in our territory by then, do not hope for survival!" said the man Bella had met at the peak.
Suddenly, the eyes of the group turned blood-red. The traditional clothes they wore slowly became tattered and messy. This was their form in death.
Some of them even had faces that were horribly disfigured.
"Young lady, you are sensitive to the unseen. This wood we carry is a sign! There must be blood that dies on this land. He ate the offerings meant for my kind carelessly. Why did he have to eat that?!"
One of the wood-bearers spoke to Bella. The terrifying apparitions slowly faded after saying that. Bella could only stand frozen, surrounded by the many horrifying spirits.
Her body felt paralyzed even though her legs wanted to rebel. But once the figures vanished from her sight, she regained her ability to move.
Sheer terror raced through her. Now able to move, Bella ran as fast as she could without knowing where she was going. As she ran, a heavy, boisterous laugh mocked her from the treetops.
She was afraid—of course she was. She felt like fainting again. Bella had been familiar with the supernatural since she was a child and could see them, but she had never been placed in a position this dark.
Elsewhere, the rest of Bella's group was also running. A black figure with red eyes had been hunting them. Rio was no longer with them.
The three of them ran, thinking only of their own safety, until they stopped again, gasping for air.
"I don't want to die! I want to get out of here!" Tyas sobbed.
Her logic had completely failed her. Fear had taken over. Tyas gripped Yono's arm and cried uncontrollably.
"What about Bella and Rio?" Pram asked the two of them while panting.
"We have to find Bella!" Yono ordered.
"Are you crazy? You saw it yourself, didn't you? That black-haired creature is still out there. If we look for Bella and get killed, then what?" Tyas asked furiously.
"Do you really think you can get out of here without Bella? Rio is the one who messed up. I don't want to leave him here either, but if he's the one at fault, what can we do? But Bella... she's innocent!" Pram replied, trying to bring some reason to Tyas, who seemed blinded by panic.
"Damn it! Fine, let's look for her! If we keep arguing, when are we ever going to get home?" Yono snapped at them.
With heavy steps, Tyas forced herself to walk again. They couldn't find a path. There was no track to follow. They walked purely on instinct through the darkness of the night.
While Bella and her friends struggled to find a way out, Dika, Rachel, and Marsya sat in front of a temple. They were facing the structure.
"Why are we stopping?" Marsya asked. She observed the temple building.
"It means we have arrived!" Dika replied, smiling at the temple.
Rachel remained silent, glancing at the temple. Then her eyes returned to Dika, who was sitting cross-legged in front of it. Dika began to clasp his hands together and closed his eyes.
Rachel knew what Dika was doing. He was contacting Bella's supernatural companions. It seemed Dika was asking them for answers regarding Bella's whereabouts.
Rachel chose to help. She also closed her eyes, trying to locate Bella's spirit friends. Finally, a voice inside her mind said one thing:
"Follow the starling!"
Both Dika and Rachel opened their eyes at the same time.
At that exact moment, right on top of the temple, a starling stood watching them. They both knew it was no ordinary bird.
Dika stood up. He said nothing but immediately began to walk. The bird flew into the forest, guiding Dika's group toward an unknown destination.