It had been nearly a month since they left Yggdrasil behind and resumed their journey through the endless wilderness.
With no clear roads to follow, they chose the river as their guide, tracing its winding path as they moved steadily eastward. It was the safest option—water meant life, direction, and fewer chances of getting completely lost.
At the same time, they avoided unnecessary battles as much as possible.
Fighting meant risk. Injury meant delay. And delay… was something they could no longer afford.
Winter was coming.
Based on his rough estimate, they had only a few weeks left—perhaps less. When they had first left his tree house, the forest had just begun to show early signs of autumn. Now, the air had grown noticeably cooler, the winds sharper, and the subtle shift in the environment was becoming harder to ignore.
Time was no longer on their side.
The urgency pushed them forward relentlessly.
Days blurred together as they traveled with little rest, sometimes moving nonstop for days at a time. When they did stop, it was brief—just enough to recover before pressing on again. Camping had become rare, reduced to once or twice a week at most.
Even then, rest never truly felt like rest.
There was always that lingering pressure.
That quiet reminder ticking in the back of his mind.
Move faster.
Go farther.
What had once been a journey of survival had now turned into something else—
A race against time.
(A week later)
A week had passed since they left the shadow of Yggdrasil behind.
Now, when he glanced back, the once overwhelming World Tree had been reduced to a faint silhouette on the horizon—a towering figure diminished by distance, barely distinguishable against the endless stretch of forest.
It was a quiet reminder of how far they had traveled…
And how vast this wilderness truly was.
Ahead of them, the river continued its winding path, guiding their journey eastward.
Everything seemed normal—
Until Blaze came to a halt.
The abrupt stop broke the steady rhythm of their movement. The crimson manticore stood still, its head slightly lowered as if trying to make sense of something it couldn't quite grasp.
"…What's wrong, buddy?"
He reached out, patting Blaze's side gently, his gaze sharpening as he scanned the surroundings.
There was no immediate threat.
No movement.
No sound beyond the wind brushing through the trees.
Perched comfortably atop Blaze's head, the small fox remained as relaxed as ever, its fluffy tail swaying lazily. The so-called Guardian Spirit of Light had been with them ever since they returned to the cavern after their encounter with the maiden.
It had simply… stayed.
Uninvited.
Unbothered.
And no matter how far they traveled, it showed no intention of leaving.
At some point, he had given up questioning it and silently accepted the creature as part of their group.
Blaze let out a low breath before moving again, picking up its pace at a controlled run.
For a while, everything seemed fine.
Then—
It stopped again.
The same posture.
The same confusion.
A slight tilt of the head, as if something invisible was interfering with its senses.
They moved again.
And once more—
Stop.
Confusion.
Repeat.
For nearly an hour, the pattern continued.
Run.Stop.Confused.
Run again… only to end up in the same state moments later.
By now, even he could no longer ignore it.
His gaze swept across the surroundings more carefully this time, paying attention to details he might have missed before.
The trees.
The river.
The terrain.
Everything looked… the same.
Too similar.
A faint unease crept into his chest.
"Are we going in circles?"
The realization settled heavily in his mind.
Each time Blaze stopped, it wasn't random—
They were returning to the same spot.
Again and again.
Even Kagen, who had been quietly scouting from above the canopy, had yet to offer any answers. The shadowy presence remained silent, unable to pinpoint anything unusual.
He raised a hand to his chin, his thoughts racing.
Is our sense of direction being distorted by something…?
His gaze sharpened further.
Magic…?
But something didn't add up.
He focused, extending his awareness as much as he could.
Nothing.
No presence.
No hostility.
Not even the faint trace of monsters in the area.
Silence.
Complete and unnatural.
That's strange.
The more he thought about it, the less sense it made.
After a moment of quiet thought, he exhaled slowly.
His gaze sharpened as he activated Eye of Providence.
The world shifted.
What had once seemed like an ordinary stretch of forest now revealed something hidden beneath the surface—
A wall.
A massive, translucent barrier stood before them, stretching endlessly to both sides, its faint glow barely visible—like glass catching light at the right angle. It rose high into the sky, so tall that its peak vanished beyond his field of vision.
A silent boundary.
Invisible to the naked eye… yet absolute.
"Whoa…"
The word slipped from his lips before he could stop it.
"So this is why we couldn't move forward…"
A faint sense of awe crept into his chest as he stared at it.
If this had been before—before meeting the Guide of Souls… before encountering the maiden—he would've been overwhelmed by a single thought:
What kind of being could create something like this?
But now…
That question no longer felt as impossible as it once did.
"…"
He studied the barrier for a few seconds longer, then made a decision.
He asked Kagen to hide in his shadow.
Then, placing a steady hand on Blaze's side, he guided the manticore forward.
Blaze hesitated for a brief moment—
Then stepped through.
For an instant, the world seemed to blur.
A faint distortion brushed past them, like walking through a thin veil of water. The air shifted, carrying with it a subtle resistance that vanished just as quickly as it came.
And then—
They were through.
He glanced back briefly, but the barrier was no longer visible without his skill.
Only the forest remained.
Silent. Unchanged.
As if nothing had ever been there.
He turned forward again.
The oppressive haze that clung to the air had thinned, fading into something far lighter.
Without thinking, he spread his arms slightly and tilted his head upward, closing his eyes.
Feeling it. Inhaling the lightness of the atmosphere.
For the first time in a while—
The forest didn't feel suffocating.
The air flowed freely, cool and refreshing, slipping into his lungs without resistance. The constant, subtle pressure that had lingered in the wilderness… was gone.
Or at least—
Weaker.
He stood there for a long moment, simply enjoying the moment.
Letting his body adjust.
Letting his mind settle.
When he finally opened his eyes, the tension in his shoulders had eased—just a little.
Still, he didn't let his guard down.
He asked Kagen to scout the surrounding area. While they moved into a small clearing nearby.
The manticore lowered itself to rest, while the fox remained perched comfortably, as if it had no concerns whatsoever.
He sat down, his gaze drifting across the unfamiliar yet strangely calmer forest.
No mist.
No distortion.
But that didn't mean it was safe.
Time passed quietly.
By the time Kagen returned, the sky had already begun to dim, the golden light of the sun bleeding into deeper shades of orange and crimson.
Evening had arrived.
Following Kagen's lead, they moved once more, eventually arriving at a cavern hidden along a rocky incline.
As darkness slowly swallowed the forest outside, they settled in for the night.
(The next day)
They didn't linger.
By the time the first light of dawn broke through the horizon, they were already on the move once more.
The forest was still quiet, the air carrying the faint chill of early morning as they followed the river's steady course. Their pace remained consistent—neither rushed nor slow. Every step forward brought them closer to their goal.
Time mattered.
They couldn't afford to waste it.
Hours passed beneath the shifting light of the sun.
By midday, they came to a stop atop a cliff overlooking the river below.
From that vantage point, the world stretched wide before him.
On the opposite side of the river lay a familiar sight—an endless sea of trees, no different from the wilderness they had been traveling through.
Except for a single tree.
It rose above the rest, its form distinct against the horizon—taller, broader, more pronounced than anything surrounding it. It wasn't anywhere near the scale of Yggdrasil, but compared to the forest around it, its presence was impossible to ignore.
His eyes lingered on it for a moment.
There was nothing visibly unusual about it—
And yet, something about it caught his attention.
A quiet instinct.
A subtle pull.
Without a second thought, he set it as their destination
"Let's go, buddy."
Blaze responded immediately, leaping down along the slope as they made their way toward the river below.
They followed its current, moving swiftly along the bank, eyes scanning for a place shallow enough to cross.
The sound of rushing water grew louder as they moved.
Minutes stretched.
Then—
A crossing.
Without hesitation, they pushed forward, crossing to the other side before continuing their path.
Always moving.
Always forward.
Toward whatever awaited them next.
(A few days later)
Not long after leaving the cavern where they had camped the night before, he felt it—a subtle shift in the air, a presence lingering just out of sight.
Kagen's signal confirmed it.
They were being watched.
He activated Eye of Providence, letting the familiar interface sweep the area. The skill confirmed the presence, but as always, it couldn't identify them.
Its locator function worked like a high-level wall hack or a thermal camera—able to detect heat and movement even through cover—but without a clear view, the identities remained hidden.
He didn't react.
Instead, he motioned Blaze forward as usual, and Kagen melted into his shadow.
As long as they didn't make the first move, he wouldn't either. If they were humans, he'd rather become friends than enemies.
For the next two days, they slowed their pace, allowing the watchers to keep up.
The hours stretched long and quiet, punctuated only by the rustle of leaves and the distant call of birds. Not once did the presence act aggressively; not once did they reveal themselves beyond subtle movements.
He became fairly certain: they might be scouts.
Or perhaps guardians of this forest.
He didn't feel any hostile—at least, not yet.
And yet… the news was welcome.
A glimmer of hope in a wilderness that had so far offered only isolation and danger.
A sign of possible human life. Finally.