Just as the one minute passed, everything around them changed.

The sudden transformation sent violent shivers cascading down Ishiki's entire body. Dread coiled in his gut, making each breath a labored effort against invisible pressure.

He felt as if something was invading his heart—fingers of malevolent intent reaching inside his chest, wrapping around the muscle that kept him alive, and squeezing it with deliberate cruelty.

'Wha... what is happening?'

He was... suddenly gasping. His breath became ragged and amidst it all, he forgot to look at the sky.

The next moment, when he looked at the dreadful sky it had... changed.

'What the... hell!'

The moon was gone.

Or in better words, that were more accurate but equally incomprehensible—it had simply transformed.... maybe. He didn't know what to call this phenomenon. He Couldn't find terminology in his vocabulary adequate to describe what his eyes were witnessing.

Where there had been a silver celestial body, beautiful, familiar and comforting in its mundane normalcy—now burned an ominous dark circle.

That was the only way to describe it.

A completely black circular body that burned with crimson light along the edges. Like someone had covered the moon in shadow and set its borders on fire.

Like an eclipse had occurred, but instead of darkness, the corona blazed with red that looked more like blood rather than light.

And below it, the structure still remained, that dark line descending from the burning moon to earth somewhere beyond the horizon.

But now, rather than being beautiful, it looked dangerous, ghastly and menacing.

The red glow still danced around it just like the silver light had, and it formed patterns around as it swirled, deepening the dark scar upon reality.

'An eye.'

The thought made his skin crawl.

'It looks like an eye. A massive eye bleeding from the skies.'

Not to mention the sky itself looked... sinister.

That was the only word. The darkness had not lessened, if anything. On the other hand it felt heavier and more oppressive.

But it had changed quality, from being an absence of light to presence of malevolence.

'Wait... how? shouldn't there be sun if the moon is gone?'

It was an undeniable phenomenon that when moon left, the sun took its place and brought everything to colors with its rays. But what Ishiki witnessed didn't make sense. It was still the same moon, it was still at the same place.

Then again... when had anything made sense in this world?

The impenetrable darkness around them had retreated as if it was afraid of the baleful red glow that now painted reality in shades of crimson and shadow.

The surrounding became clearer, details emerging from obscurity.

And it wasn't... night anymore.

It was still night in a sense, because the sky was still dark with no stars and just a burning moon illuminating the world.

Suddenly, Ishiki heard some distant rumbling and growling noises and then there was the sweet sound of the leaves moving in the air, creating harmony and the trees singing.

'Goddamn it. Trees singing again?' He slapped himself across the face.

Beside him, Alex seemed to be doing the same. His pale hands gripped his own thighs, fingernails digging into flesh through leather armor, trying to ground himself through pain.

Fighting against the compulsion to stand and approach the forest and let the trees welcome him into digestive embrace.

The crunching and singing coming from the Crimson Canopy meant only one thing.

The trees had woken up.

And that thought involuntarily sent shudders cascading down Ishiki's body in waves. And still he found himself staring at the groove with a dark expression. The... the leaves had turned back to golden.

As he stared at the forest with dire recognition, something clicked. A puzzle piece sliding into place with satisfying and horrible certainty.

'Its... its all connected. Now I see it. The description said something like - 'The Crimson Canopy during the Crimson Night.' Holy Shit! This is it.'

Ishiki immediately understood what was happening around him. And as he concluded his theory, a smirk appeared on his face despite everything. The expression felt inappropriate, but it arrived anyway.

Alex looked at him with a doubtful expression. Probably thinking if Ishiki was sane or not.

'So in short...'

Ishiki organized his thoughts.

'There are two nights here in this world as opposed to day. Or so I think.'

The one he was currently witnessing, with its burning moon and crimson light was called the Crimson Night.

And the other one which had ended just minutes ago... he needed a name for it. Something to distinguish between the two states.

'Let's call it Silver Night for now.'

The terminology felt appropriate if unimaginative.

During the Crimson Night—when the burning moon stared down from the sky like an eye—the trees of the Crimson Canopy woke up and hunted.

And when the Silver Moon rose—or perhaps when the Crimson Moon became the Silver Moon through whatever impossible transformation, the trees returned back to normal. Or perhaps to their slumber.

He turned to Alex and said in an enthusiastic tone. "I... I guess I know how to get out of here."

Alex turned to meet Ishiki's eyes with a frown. "Have you?... Really?"

Ishiki quickly explained what he'd concluded—the pattern he had recognized. The system's translation ability made communication seamless despite their linguistic differences.

But at the end of it—after Ishiki had laid out his theory with all the conviction he could muster.

Alex simply chuckled. The sound was hollow.

Then he turned towards the forest and spoke in a slow and distant voice. "You don't think I am a fool, do you Ishiki? I figured that out too. Well... thanks for the names though, Crimson night and Crimson Canopy, huh?"

He paused and then slowly laughed... "What a nasty pair of name. Anyways... show me your leg."

He turned to Ishiki and offered a smile—friendly but strained. Genuine but shadowed by whatever trauma he had witnessed during six days alone in this place.

Then he knelt beside Ishiki, lowering to the level of the broken limb.

His pale hand reached out, touching the leg with gentleness that seemed at odds with his earlier emotional distance.

A very mild green luminance enveloped Ishiki's limb. Pleasing to the eye, It was beautiful despite the pain that accompanied healing.

Because it hurt.

"I am sorry for getting your hopes high." The pale man started talking. "I can't heal wound completely that's why it took me six days to get to this much health."

"My skill... it's not strong enough. Or maybe I'm not strong enough to use it properly."

The admission carried shame.

The green glow faded. Alex stood up, swaying slightly on his feet. He looked even paler than before. If such a thing was possible—like the healing had drained color from his already bloodless complexion.

For a moment, Ishiki thought he might collapse. But Alex steadied himself through visible effort, gripping the rock for support.

"And as for your plan... this forest isn't that much forgiving even during the Silver Night." He gulped, gritting his teeth. "When the trees are asleep... the Demons and some unnatural beasts hunt in there."

Ishiki felt his earlier enthusiasm drain away replaced by returning dread that settled into his bones like ice.

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