Kimera Forest. Stretching westward from the eastern border of the Bosua State, this forest covered an incredibly small area, so small that its name would not even appear on a continental map. It possessed no legends, nor was it considered particularly dangerous. Under normal circumstances, many barbarian communities lived within it, and the beasts were not very powerful. It consisted of nothing more than thick-trunked trees extending for a few kilometers along the river, wet soil, and boulders fallen on top of one another.
The river flowed gently. It had a sound, but no roar.
As one moved deeper into the forest, that sound changed. First like a whisper, then fuller, then turning into a white noise. There was a waterfall that created a beautiful scenery in the area. The waterfall was not small. The water pouring from the high point of the cliff fed a small lake below, and the excess water from the lake merged into the river. Its surroundings were enclosed by wet stones and trees whose roots touched the water. It was a beautiful place. The kind that no one knew about.
Animals did not come near that lake.
A squirrel changed its route while switching branches to avoid falling in that direction. A few birds were about to land by the water's edge, then did not. A small herd of deer passed slightly above the river, without looking down.
Not just ordinary animals, but even those who had entered the path of cultivation did not want to enter this area.
Behind the waterfall, behind the white curtain created by the pouring water, there was a figure. He was sitting right there. Cross-legged, hands on his knees, back straight. Looked at from there, his silhouette was indistinct — between the water and the mist, it was unclear whether he was real or an illusion.
He had been there for a long time.
The origin energy around him began to stir. This was not slow — it was silent. The leaves of the trees in the forest trembled. The surface of the lake grew taut without small ripples, as if a weight was slowly settling upon it. The air did not change, but something did.
The flow of the wind in the area changed for a single moment.
At that moment, it was not difficult to understand that the figure behind the waterfall was making a breakthrough. However, it did not seem quite possible to understand what level of breakthrough this was.
The figure opened his eyes.
***
Shadows falling upon the ground. About an hour had passed since the two youths entered the forest. They looked quite absent-minded. The area had been cleared. It was evident that the strange occurrences and tensions experienced recently had exhausted them. The barbarian camps had all been dismantled, and all of the men had been beaten, bound, and left in the area. But the problem was, it was unknown who had captured the barbarians. When the town's scouting teams found the barbarians, the barbarians also claimed they had never seen the person who captured them. Consequently, all the barbarians were taken to the town. Now, this duo had gone out on a scouting mission to see if there were any barbarians still remaining or somehow managing to escape, or if there was any suspicious situation in the surroundings.
The one in the Foundation Establishment realm was in the lead. He held a small notebook in his hand, his eyes frequently scanning the surroundings. Occasionally, he would bend down to look at the soil, examine the marks on the tree trunks, take notes, and move forward. A remnant trace of a barbarian camp, an abandoned tent cloth, a broken stick — he recorded them all. He took his job seriously. Not completely, but enough.
The slightly plump fellow behind him, however, walked quite nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets.
"After taking them all away, what is left here to examine anyway?"
"A report will be written. If a report is to be written, an examination will be made."
"You are examining for the report, I understand." With a slightly mocking tone, the youth in the Beginning Realm broke a branch and threw it away. "We are doing this seriously just because the commanders gave us this job. I wonder if the officials in Magnolia do it like this, or is it just us doing such plain examinations..."
"I don't know about Magnolia."
"I know. Whether people there are smarter, I don't know. But they are definitely luckier."
The one in front did not answer. The inside of the forest was damp and cool. The light entered, refracting through the treetops, leaving scattered bright spots on the ground. The sound of the river came from afar — not deep, but calm. From time to time the sound of a bird, from time to time the slight rustling of branches. It was a peaceful place. If it weren't for his duty, a man could sit and rest here. Following the departure of the barbarians, this forest had become a very comfortable place to cool off. Among those barbarians, there were even experts in the Origin Energy Realm. The town could not cope with them on its own.
They walked in silence for a while.
Then the one in front stopped.
At the base of the cliff, on top of the wet soil, a single tulip had bloomed. It was red. This was not its place — inside a forest, in the shade, almost in the wrong season. There was nothing else around it, only that. Yet, it stood there.
The man looked at it. He closed the notebook. He looked for a while.
The one behind him came forward, carelessly stood on his tiptoes, and tried to look over his shoulder. He did not say anything at first. But seeing the notebook-holding man's focus on the tulip, he smiled. Then he made a slight sound, almost as if laughing to himself.
"Denis, are you thinking about that woman again?"
It was not a question.
Denis did not take his eyes off the tulip. "She used to like tulips in Magnolia."
"I know. You told me."
"She had them in her garden. The City Lord's garden was large, but she used to tend to that corner herself." He paused for a moment. "Tulip roots take hold with difficulty. It hadn't bloomed at all the first year. The second year—"
"So you are thinking about that woman."
Denis turned around. He looked. The face of the slightly fat man behind him was completely flat, containing neither mockery nor sympathy — it was merely an observation.
"When the State Lord's soldiers take someone away..." He leaned against the rock and crossed his arms. His voice had not changed. "We both know what happens."
"I don't know."
"I won't say it then."
The youth in front took a step. "I can get stronger. It's a matter of time."
"A matter of time." The one behind repeated this, but with a different tone. As if weighing it, as if calculating a burden. "You are currently in the Foundation Establishment. You are talented, I can say that much. But you are not very talented." He shrugged. "If you go well, really well, you will reach the Core Realm at the end of your life. Maybe. Then you will die."
"I know where I am."
"Then you must know your calculations as well. What stage is the State Lord at right now? What stage are his men at?" His voice did not soften, but its speed dropped. "I believe you will get stronger. But you won't be able to get strong enough. You know this too."
Silence.
There was no wind. The trees were not moving. Only the sound of the river came from afar.
The one in front looked at the tulip again. He crouched down, looked closer at it. He extended his finger, but did not touch it. He was about to say something, he did not know what to say, maybe he had nothing to say —
A cough.
Both of them stood up at once, turning around. Their hands reflexively went to their weapons.
Someone was coming through the trees. A delicate hand lightly lifting the leaf of a bush. He was a young man — how old he was, it was hard to tell, but young. His black hair was slightly messy, the fatigue of a long journey settled upon his face. The clothes on him were clean but worn out. There was a sword on his back — this immediately made the two cautious. And a bundle, slung over his shoulder, looking heavy.
This young man looked at them with a slight smile on his face.
A moment passed.
Then the youth raised his hand — slow and unostentatious, as if to explain that he had no threatening intentions.
"Hello." His voice was steady, neither anxious nor overly comfortable. "Do you have any idea how I can get to Magnolia City?"
The two guards looked at each other.
The tension dropped, but not completely. He was a cultivator carrying a sword — his level was unclear, and it was not easy to read his aura either. As the duo looked at him, they passed all kinds of thoughts through their minds. Even that this person was an uncaught barbarian or the person who caught them. Still, since he was looking for the town, he was probably not an enemy.
The slightly plump youth stepped forward. "Didn't you know about the Kimera Forest before?" His voice was scolding, but his hands were no longer on his weapon. "The barbarians were just cleared out. If you had come a little earlier, you could have been in very big trouble. Even now, there are still dangerous animals here, there are rocky terrains. If something happens to you, who will find you?"
The young man did not answer. He only listened.
"What business do you have in this part of the state all by yourself? We are quite far west." the same man continued.
"I was passing through."
"From where?"
The young man did not answer immediately. His eyes traveled between the two of them, neither weighing nor examining — he just waited.
Denis intervened, his voice less harsh. "We can show the way. We are returning to the town anyway, from there you can go to the city with a caravan." He looked at the bundle and the sword, then at his face. "Have you been traveling for a long time?"
"Well, I can say that I didn't set out on a journey yesterday."
"Do you know anyone in Magnolia?"
The young man paused for a moment. Then, "I don't think so," he said. It was quite a casual attitude.
Denis did not ask any more. They began to walk, and the young man fell into step beside them. They took a few steps inside the forest in silence. The slightly fat man looked at him sideways. He decided to break the tension of this journey early on.
"What is your name?" he asked.
The young man adjusted the strap of his bundle. His black eyes offered a melancholic smile as he looked at this slightly fat man.
"Evra."