The Smiling Death-Chapter 288: Waking Up!

In a silent, dark space where there was no light.

A silent lake existed at the bottom. The water was crystal clear, but because of the darkness, nothing could be seen. At the edge of the lake, something was lying there. Something that was alive.

It was the body of a young man, lying on the earthen surface. Half of his body. His lower body was still submerged in the water. While his upper body was outside the water, on the shore of the lake.

His breathing was calm. His chest rose and fell with each breath. He was sleeping soundly there, not knowing how much time had passed since he lost his consciousness.

Amon remained there. But then his still body made a movement. His wet fingers twitched slightly.

His lips parted as he exhaled. His closed eyes slowly opened. He lifted his heavy eyelids. All he could see was dazed and blurred.

"Gah!" A groan escaped his mouth. Not from pain, but from trying to move his rigid body, which had been still for who knows how long.

With time passing, his view became clear. What came into view was empty space above him. There was no end to it.

’Where... am I?’ Amon thought tiredly. Despite his body being fully healed, without having a single scratch, he still felt tired.

Mentally, he was still exhausted. He had been unconscious for a while now. Maybe days. Yet he still felt drained.

Amon remained in the same position for a while.

He started to recall what exactly had happened. He remembered how he fell down into the hole. Then something had happened to his body, as if something had entered inside him.

He frowned and raised his hand in front of his eyes. It was a little uncomfortable to move, but he still did it. His eyes widened.

He blinked a few times. Now that he focused on his hand and the surroundings, he noticed that he could clearly see everything here.

It was not like he was seeing things as if they were in light. There was still darkness. The shadows still lingered, thick and heavy. And yet, every shape and every detail stood out, as if his eyes had adapted to the dark itself.

"Ahh—" Amon clenched his teeth, then forced his body upright. His legs were still inside the water.

He surveyed his surroundings. First, in front of him was a huge lake containing crystal-clear water. From all sides, wood and huge roots rose upward.

Amon was sitting on the soil ground. He was still inside the tree, at its bottom.

"So... I am still alive." Finally, words came out of his dry mouth.

The usual bright boy who always smile and laughed. He was silent at the moment. He really was getting himself into one hell of a situation after another

"I miss the Academy now." He muttered.

Amon gazed at the lake. He leaned forward, joined both his palms together, dipped them into the water, and collected it in his hands. Then he started to drink it.

The cold, thin liquid passed through his mouth to his throat, giving him a divine warmth. It had been a long time since Amon had drunk water.

While doing so, he noticed another important thing, his hands. They did not have any cut marks. They did not have any wounds. Not only that, his whole body was healthy.

He checked his hands, legs, and even touched his face. There were no wounds or scratches. His skin looked more pale and smooth.

Amon was shocked at that. A smile broke out on his face. "Haha. I am all good. How?" He shook his head while chuckling.

He wanted to understand how this miracle had happened, but he pushed those thoughts aside for now. He could think about that later.

Amon stood up at the shore.

’Let’s take a bath. I haven’t washed myself for God knows how many days.’

He was still wearing the grey-colored T-shirt provided by the human army and black trousers, but they were beyond dirty and battered. He pulled out his two storage rings from his fingers and kept them a little away from the edge.

After taking them off, he jumped into the water.

Splash!

The coldness of the water hit him, but he did not mind it. He started to clean himself.

His mind was blank. He really did not want to think about anything and just wanted to relax here in the darkness.

After swimming for some time, he got out of the water. He sat on the ground for a while. After his body dried, he wore the two storage rings on his fingers.

Then he pulled out a new set of clothes. They were a black-colored assassin’s outfit.

The black upper garment hung loosely, layered to disguise body shape while allowing free movement. A deep hood draped over the head, its fabric falling forward to completely obscure the face.

A leather harness crossed the chest, secured with metal rings and buckles, both functional and understated. The sleeves were long and close-fitting near the wrists.

For the lower side, there was a dark pant. It was slightly loose but fitted at the bottom.

Amon wore the outfit. To his fortune, it fitted him perfectly. There was also a pair of black boots.

After wearing them, he tried moving. Amon then felt his movements becoming lighter and more comfortable.

Oddly, he felt more powerful than before. Then Amon decided to check his surroundings. To find a way to go outside.

’It would be good if those demons have gone away.’

He still did not know that those demons were already dead. Sadly, there was no one to tell him that. In a way, those two had actually died because of Amon. His wish had come true, even if it was indirect.

Amon walked closer to the roots that went outward. The walls were made up of these roots. What Amon wanted to find was a path to walk upward.

He remembered that at the entrance of the inside of the Celestial Tree, there were two paths. The right side led upward, while the left one was where Amon had been lying during the demon encounter.

That road was slightly downward, so his guess was that there must be a path here that would take him back to the entrance.

"Who must have made those roads? It’s weird how it has paths that lead both above and below. It’s not naturally made."

Amon tried to come up with conclusions, but it was useless.

The place was really mysterious. Many questions came to his mind, but Amon pushed them aside for now. The most important thing was getting out of here.

He walked alongside the wall of the tree, which was circular in shape, surrounding the lake. After walking for more than ten minutes, Amon’s eyes caught something.

’There it is!’