They sat at the foot of one of the giant trees. It reminded Ayah of their first night in the forest− which was just a couple days ago. It sure seemed like they’ve been here for ages− she held in a shiver as she surveyed her surroundings for any shifting roots.

It’s fine. We’ve already killed the boss. They won’t start moving again.

But no matter how much she reminded herself, she still found herself searching.

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

Harith’s question startled her from her thoughts. “What?” she narrowed her eyes in question.

Harith looked at her, an eyebrow raised. “Back there, when we were fighting against that serpent. For a couple minutes, I couldn’t use my mana, while everyone else did.” He fixed her with an unreadable look. “Only I couldn’t.”

She jerked back, as if hit by lightning. She looked away, avoiding his scrutiny, and opting instead to stare at the ground, looking down at the bed of rotten leaves and broken twigs, suddenly interested in the misshapen foliage. She glanced up at him, then back down, watching as her fingers fruitlessly cleaned a patch of ground, revealing the rich brown color of the dirt underneath. 

“I…eh… I don’t know what you're talking about,” she stuttered.

“Don’t you?”

He didn’t sound angry. So Ayah chanced another glance at him. He regarded her with a thoughtful look, his head tilted slightly to the side.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen such a power−” He cut himself off. “No, I’ve heard of it before, but only in old stories. Legends of time before the seven kingdoms. Of the time the Ancients walked the earth. Of beings so powerful, no one could stand against them.” A small but strange smile pulled at his lips. “Never thought I’d see one in action, nor that I would be at the end of its power.”

Ayah frowned. What was he talking about? What ancients? What she was plagued with, was a shitty system, not some ancient being.

At Ayah’s quizzical look, Harith elaborated. “Those powers of yours, they seem quite similar to the old tales. Powers granted by the Ancient Ones.”

[Warning : Player must keep the existence of the system secret. Else, player would suffer a sudden termination of the contract.]

[Contract termination results in death.]

Ayah shot a glare at the screen, before her gaze turned back to Harith. He looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. As if he just figured her out. He watched her, waiting for her to speak, to affirm his suspicions− whatever they might be. 

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve never seen an ancient before.”

“Are you sure?” He frowned.

“Of course. I would know if I did.”

He watched her, silent. Ayah stared back at the ground, a bead of sweat running down her temple. She felt the heaviness of his stare and forced herself to remain still, 

“Alright,” he breathed out.

They fell silent. Ayah musing about his words, while he closed his eyes, his head leaning on the trunk.

Good for him. At least one of them was getting some rest. He especially needed all the rest he could get to resume their trek to the center of the forest first thing tomorrow. She would keep watch. Ayah didn’t think she could manage to sleep any time soon.

She gnawed at the lower of her lips. What were these ancients he was talking about? She had never heard of such beings. Powerful beings that granted powers? Could the system be considered as such?

And the system’s warning… it had triggered once he had started talking about the ancients. Could it be…?

 

“You’ve been here for a while. If you have something to share with us, show yourself.”

Ayah blinked at Harith. Who was he talking about? The system hadn’t alerted her of any enemy in their proximity.

As if a kid who was caught stealing from the cookie jar, Loaye emerged from behind a tree. He walked slowly towards them, his head bowed, and shoulders drawn inward, as if trying to fold into himself.

“I’ve been meaning to speak with you, your highness.” He bowed deeply as he addressed Harith.

Harith regarded him with unreadable eyes, and motioned for him to sit across from him. Loaye glanced around, then sat a few feet from Ayah

What the hell was he doing here?

She perked up. “Are you a contestant, too?”

Was this why he was at the flower gove?

Loaye shook his head, then looked at Harith. “I have some crucial information to relay to you. Please, pardon my insolence. I didn’t mean to intrude on you.”

Harith waved him off. “What’s so important that made you venture here, inside the forest, to tell me.”

Loaye hesitated a moment before speaking. “There’s been some happenings after the start of the competition.” he took a deep breath, as if whatever he was going to say was going to land him a death sentence. “As we’re speaking, Nur’s army is marching towards Temsia.” Loaye said, hunching over himself as Harith’s gaze sharpened, a dangerous glint flashed momentarily over his eyes.

Ayah sputtered. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What? But why? Don’t you guys have a treaty?”

Loaye glanced at Harith. “Well…” He hesitated. “The thing is…”

Ayah nearly snapped at him to finish his sentence.

“Well…”

“What have we been accused of?” Harith asked, not batting an eyelash. He seemed to have already guessed the answer.

“You have been accused of trying to release the Dark Lord.”

“What nonsense is this?” Ayah exclaimed.

“Well, you have been harboring a couple of accursed people.” Loaye’s eyes glanced at Ayah.

In a flash, Harith had his sword at Loaye’s neck. Ayah startled. She sat up on her knees and put her hand on Harith’s, the one holding the sword.

“No wait, he already knew,” Ayah hurriedly said.

Harith waited for a moment before he removed his sword. A trickle of blood ran from the shallow cut and stained Loaye’s robes.

Laoye sagged, falling back against the tree trunk, hyperventilating. He put his hands around his neck, and hunched forward, muttering, “Oh God! Oh God!”

 

Harith stood up. “If they were light on their feet, it would take them six days to get to Temsia. We need to get there in half the time. Two days have already passed.” He looked past the trees, calculating, his eyes glowing for a split second.

Ayah stood up, and marched up to him, standing between him and his quickly forming plan.

“You’re not going anywhere.” She spread her hands wide by her side. “You have less than 24 hours to live, and it would be even less if you use your mana. We need to get the cure first.”

“I need to get back to my nephew.” His voice was sharp. 

“You’re no use to him like this,” she insisted. “We need to get the cure, and then, we’ll leave.”

Ayah stood her ground, refusing to quiver under his harsh gaze. Why couldn’t he see reason? If he left now, the only thing he would be accomplishing is dying at Shoaib’s feet the second he got there, or even before then.

“Don’t get in my way, Ayah. Don’t make an enemy out of me.” His voice was eerily calm, his eyes staring at her with a wide-eyed, unblinking intensity that would have once terrified her.

They stared at each other, both of them refusing to give in. Then Ayah sighed. She stepped to the side, away from Harith’s path. He blinked at her, a hint of surprise flashing over his eyes, as if he wasn’t expecting her to back down.

He took a step forward, then paused. “The crest of Temsia will still get you passage through Kettara and Karia. But you should probably steer away from the others. Temsia might not be at war with them, but we’re not on good terms either.”

Ayah remained still, her brows furrowed, not acknowledging his words. After a few moments, he nodded, and walked past her.

And that was all she was waiting for.

With all her advancement points committed to her speed, she was a bit optimistic about her success, especially with his worsening state. She dealt him a quick and swift hit to the side of his neck. His eyes widened in what Ayah refused to acknowledge as betrayal, before he fell limp to the ground.

She caught him before his head made contact with the ground. There was no need to add concussion to his list of injuries.

“What are you doing?!” Loaye shrieked. “You just attacked the king regent!”

“Add it to my list of offenses.” She huffed.

If he had listened to her, she wouldn’t have resorted to these underhanded methods. Honestly, he should have known that she wasn’t going to just let him leave without putting up a fight. He was slightly at fault here.

“That’s a death sentence!”

“And not the first one.” Ayah shrugged.

“He won’t be happy when he wakes up.”

Ayah paused, before shrugging again. “I’m okay with that,” she said simply.

She would rather have him angry at her and alive, than any other alternative.

“You’re crazy! What did I do to deserve this?!” he kept lamenting.

Ayah ignored him. He was the last person to give her a lecture about her conduct. 

She draped the unconscious general over her shoulder, and turned to the still fretting Loaye. “What’s your next move?” she asked, glancing at Loaye from the corner of her eye. “Are you going back, or are you coming with us?”

He hesitated. “Well, I had said whatever I had come here for, so…”

Ayah narrowed her eyes at him. “So that’s it then. You’re gonna escape like that time? Could you be any less shameless?”

Now that Harith was out of commission, she needed someone to keep an eye on him. And while Loaye wasn’t the ideal person for the job, he would have to do. It wasn’t like there was someone else here.

Loaye huffed. He opened his mouth, then closed it, his brows furrowed. Then, he sighed. “Okay, fine. I’m coming along.”

Without waiting for him, Ayah started walking, following the path indicated by the map. In his haste to follow her, he tripped on a protruding root and nearly facepalmed on the ground.

Ayah paused long enough for him to get on his feet. A single thought floating around her mind. How did someone this clumsy get this far into the forest?

She shot him a suspicious look. “How did you find us anyway?”

He fidgeted on his feet. “I can kind of teleport to anywhere where something of mine is.”

“Something of yours?” Ayah repeated, puzzled.

“The… eh… manuscripts I gave you. I see you’ve kept them with you.” He smiled sheepishly at her.

Ayah stilled. The manuscripts? The ones in her bag, which, in turn, was stored in her inventory?

She gawked at him. He tracked her using something she was hiding in her inventory?

What more could he do? 

A horrifying thought flashed before her eyes. What about anything else stored there, could he access them too?

She swallowed her fears down, shooting a glance at him. That at least explained his instant disappearance as soon as he had stepped through the portal. And in the tunnels too. 

She glanced at the map to make sure she was still on the right path. She would worry about all this later. When Harith was cured and an army was no longer at Temsia’s doorsteps.

“Wa−wait! Don’t leave me alone here!” Loaye called after her.

 

“What is this?” Loaye squealed as he jerked away from a spider web dangling near his face.

“You better not touch it. We don’t have the time to play with them.”

“Play?! Play?! You call this playing?!” He shrieked.  

Ayah shrugged. Maybe she was getting a bit too used to this.

“What are you?!” His eyes were wide like saucers.

Ayah raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you telling me you’ve never been to the forest?”

“Why would I? I’m a magistrate, not a warrior.”

She paused, frowning at him. “Then, how did you write the forest arc if you’ve never stepped foot inside?”

He looked to the side, avoiding her gaze. “From my imagination.”

Ayah stared at him, unblinking. Then she snapped. “You mean to tell me I trusted the words of someone who’s never experienced a single night here?”

“You still trust me?” he asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

“Well, not anymore!”

“I never tricked you,” he complained.

Ayah shot him a look. “Really? You wanna do this now?”

He closed his mouth with a click.

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Ayah marched forward, shooting glances at Loaye, while he looked at everything and anything but at her.

“Why did you lie anyway?” Ayah mused out loud. “You could have just written him how he actually is.” She didn’t need to elaborate. They both knew who she was talking about.

“They weren’t lies,” he muttered.

“Oh, really? ‘Cause I’ve seen him. Your dashing, heroic protagonist. And do you know what I saw? A murderer! A cold hearted murderer! So tell me how what you wrote wasn’t a bunch of lies.” 

“It was how he was supposed to be,” he said loudly, nearly yelling. “A kind and benevolent king. Someone who strived to protect the weak and better their lives, not someone… not someone who…” He trailed off.

He stayed quiet for a moment, and Ayah waited for him, silent. “He wasn’t like this when he was young,” Loaye said with a wistful smile. “He was a smart and gentle kid. He always spoke about going on adventures and saving the world from evil. He used to trail after me, asking me to tell him the stories of the heroes and the ancients.” His eyes teared up. “He wanted to grow up and be a hero.” His laugh sounded wobbly and on the verge of turning into a weeping sound.

Ayah listened to him, not uttering a word. She wanted to feel sympathy for the little kid in Loaye’s memories, she wanted to feel sadness for him, but what she saw in the tunnels put a stop to any attempt to feel even an ounce of sympathy for him.

What she saw was an evil man, not a broken one.

“If he hadn’t inherited that cursed throne, maybe he might have been one,” he muttered.

“Cursed throne?” Ayah glanced at him.

“It’s the seal. The Nur kingdom was tasked with protecting the seal. Each year it grows weaker, and soon it would break and unleash the monster within.”

Ayah blinked. Was he speaking about the Dark Lord?

“As the inevitable drew closer, the royal family became more obsessed with power. The need to become stronger consumed them.”

“It’s no excuse for what he did,” Ayah expressed.

“Of course not! I never said it was! But if things had been different…”

“No use in wondering that,” Ayah said. “The what-ifs never end well.”

They both lapsed into silence. Then, curiosity won out, and Ayah asked, “Why does he kill those people?”

Loaye gnawed at his lip, seemingly gathering his thoughts. “I don’t know the specifics, but it temporarily amplifies his powers.”

Ayah looked at him. “How?”

“Aayan’s sword− it’s a family heirloom. The sword of the first emperor. In all of Morr, there is no weapon that could stand against its power, but only when used to its full potential. The blood of the accursed allows him a considerable amount of control over it. But it’s not permanent.”

“I see.”

She didn’t. She couldn’t see how someone would become a mass murderer for such a reason. Yes, he became stronger. But, what’s the use of power if it’s not to protect someone? Even if he claimed it was for fear of the dark lord, wasn’t he turning into another dark lord that would need to be defeated? It was like repeating the cycle.

She adjusted Harith’s weight over her shoulders, keeping an eye on the map. They still were quite a distance from the guardian of lost souls− or blessed valley, as the system referred to it− and they still needed to head to Temsia as soon as Harith was administered the cure.

They were running out of time.

“Why are you helping him anyway?” Loaye threw her a knowing look. 

Ayah wondered what the fraud of an author was thinking.

“I can see that whatever is plaguing him has no easy cure. It might be poisoning or a curse.” He shrugged, glancing at Harith.

Ayah looked at the loose hands flanking her shoulders. She could see the poisoning had completely covered his hands. She dreaded thinking of what it entailed. Had it already reached his heart? Would his heart stop once it did?

What would she do if Harith died?

She had thought about it many times the last couple of hours, despite not wanting to, and she came to the conclusion that the mere thought was unacceptable, unbearable. She never wanted to see the day where she would have to wake up in a world without him.

She felt silly and irrational. She had only known him for less than a month. She wanted to laugh, to scream, to break something. But instead, she just smiled, nodding to herself. There was no need to overthink all this. Who knew, once Harith woke up, he might banish her from Temsia, or even finish the serpent’s job.

No matter… 

She didn’t regret her actions, and didn’t think she even would.

“And we’ve been walking for a while now. I might not know where we’re going, but I can see us heading deeper and deeper into the forest.” Loaye continued, startling her out of her dark thoughts. She had completely forgotten he was speaking. “Normally, after the most powerful member of the group has been rendered useless, the others would stick closer to the edges of the forest, not venture further.”

Ayah shot him a glare. Even injured, there was nothing useless about him.

“So, where are we going? Where is this cure you’re looking for?”

Letting out a defeated sigh, Ayah looked to the patch of sky visible through the thick foliage, the canopy was even denser the more they walked. Soon, they won’t be able to see through the darkness, even in broad daylight.

“We’re heading to the guardian of lost souls,” she breathed out.

Loaye did a double take. “You know what’s in there, don’t you?”

“Harith had mentioned something about it.”

Loaye blinked at her, eyebrows raised before he sighed, shaking his head. “What his highness failed to inform you,” he said, putting a lot on emphasis on Harith’s title. “Is that, with him incapacitated, there’s no way we can get even closer to the temple.”

Ayah paused, turning to look at him. “Temple? Isn’t it just some clearing with some rocks strewn around it?”

Loaye shot her a pained look. “Those aren't rocks. They’re the remains of the temple that stood there.” He waved his hands in the air, a look on his face that reminded her of her history teachers when they were speaking about some topic they thought everyone should know about. “A long time ago, this whole area was dedicated to the temple of light.”

Temple of light? Ayah glanced at the shadows surrounding them. Things couldn’t get more contrary than this.

“But, well, the temple fell and soon this whole place was flooded with monsters. But still, none of the monsters approached the area where the temple once stood. For a good reason, mind you,” he added with a frown.

“The monster guarding the place. I heard about it.”

“Then you should also know that with him down−” He motioned to Harith. “Getting there is as good as suicide.”

Ayah looked stubbornly in front of her, adjusting her hold on Harith. “We don’t have a choice.”

Loaye mounted ‘we’ with a disbelieving look on his face.

“Let it be known, I’m just an unsuspecting victim that was strong armed into tagging along.”

“Noted.” Ayah threw him a sharp toothy smile.

Loaye sighed, his shoulders sagging. “What did I do to deserve this?”

[An enemy has appeared.]

Ayah straightened up. She put a halting hand on Loaye’s arm. He turned to her, mouth open to utter his protests, but whatever look was on her face, prompted him to keep quiet.

She glanced around her, straining her ears to listen to any suspicious sound. Harith’s weight on her back was going to be a problem, but she didn't want to settle him down till she knew what she was dealing with.

Was it one of the arachne? Did Loaye accidentally clue one of the monsters to their presence?

Or worse. Was it Zain?

She didn’t have to wonder for long. Maybe her senses were getting used to being on alert, or maybe she had just gotten used to being more aware of her environment. Her sword was instantly in her hand and up to block the incoming attack to her back. A loud clang sounded as the two blades made contact. Her feet slid a couple feet on the ground. And a few feet from her, a white glinting sword with golden carvings was driven into the ground.

A chuckle sounded above them, on one of the trees.

“I see you’ve gotten faster since we last traded blades.”

The white sword flew in a flash towards its owner. A couple days ago, Ayah wouldn’t have been able to track such fast movements, but now things were different.

Zain sat leisurely leaning on a branch, staring down at them with a bored expression. He tilted his head to the side, and grinned.

“What do you want?” Ayah glared at him. When he didn’t respond, she held her sword towards him. “I won’t let you kill him.”

He laughed, as if the mere thought was more than amusing to him. “Oh, him. I don’t have to lift a single finger to get rid of him. He’s already one foot into the grave. By tomorrow, Temsia will be without its infamous general.”

“As if I would let that happen,” Ayah hissed.

Zain regarded her with amusement. “You might think you’re strong, but you’re weaker than stopping his slow and painful death. Really, it would be a mercy to end him now. A mercy he’s undeserving of,” he finished with an ugly snarl. He turned to Loaye, who was too quiet for the chatterbox that he was. “And you, I should have known you would turn traitor.”

“I’m− I’m not a traitor,” Loaye stuttered.

“Oh,” Zain’s grin widened. “What are you doing here, then? Wasn’t it to warn him of the upcoming war? No matter, even if he wasn’t poisoned, Temsia’s fate would still be the same. My king will purge the world of their filth.”

“Zain, you know it, don’t you? What his majesty is doing is no worse than the evil he’s trying to destroy. He’s turning into an abomination!” Loaye pleaded, desperation streaking his voice.

“Shut your filthy mouth, old man,” Zain sneered. “I don’t know why the king spared your life. You don’t deserve his mercy. You’re no different than those filthy fiends. You’re a stain upon the kingdom of Nur.”

“If you care about his majesty, even a little, you should stop him. He’s destroying himself. He’s already crossed the line of no return. Can’t you see? He’s become too dependent on their blood!” Loaye’s eyes were drowned in torment. His voice rose the more he spoke, pleading the king’s closest friend to listen to him, to see what Zain failed to recognize, either willingly or not. 

Zain looked at him, an emotion flashed over his face before he schooled it into a frown, too quick for ayah to decipher. Ayah could feel the tension swirling around them, thick enough to cut with a slash of her blade. Then his face twisted and he gritted his teeth so tightly, Ayah heard them grinding against each other.

“You know nothing about him!” Zain yelled. “You stand there and judge him when he has sacrificed the most for our people!”

“He’s sacrificing his own people!” Loaye screamed. 

“No matter. I’ll just offer him your head,” Zain said, ignoring Loaye’s words. His voice was eerily calm, in contrast to his crazed expression. “Just so you know, I’m not going to kill you with a single strike. I’m going to dissect you piece by piece, and feed them to the monsters here. A filthy traitor like you doesn’t deserve an honorable death.”

Zain launched towards them. Ayah had barely enough time to put Harith on the ground behind her before their blades clashed. She pushed at him with all her strength, and he jerked away, landing a distance away from her.

Zain looked at ehr, as if he just remembered about her existence. “Here’s an offer. You come quietly with me, and I’ll keep your limbs intact,” he said, a twisted smile marring his face. 

Ayah turned her head slightly towards Loaye without taking her eyes off Zain. “Take him and get away from here. I’ll catch up to you later,” she whispered. She hated leaving Harith with Loaye, but she didn’t have a choice, with him unconscious− because of her− he would become a distraction she wouldn’t need. She better get him as far away as she could.

“Are you crazy? You can’t beat him! He’ll kill you!” Loaye yelped. “He’s the second strongest warrior in Nur. He’s on par with Aayan!”

Ayah gritted her teeth. He didn’t need to remind her of that. She already knew. But, it wasn’t like she was the one egging him for a fight! She was just trying to survive here.

“Just go,” she said between gritted teeth.

Loaye opened his mouth to protest. Ayah shot him a quick look before turning back to her opponent. Loaye sighed. “Okay, okay, I’ll go. Just… good luck I guess,” he said, the tone of his voice expressing his thoughts. He didn’t think he would be seeing her again. He pulled the still unconscious Harith over his shoulder and sprinted ahead.

Ayah shifted her stance to stop Zain if he tried to advance towards the retreating duo. 

Zain cackled as he watched her. “So you intend to fight? How brave of you.” He took an offensive stance, readying himself for an attack. “I’ll just bring you to him in pieces then.” He shot her the most nightmarish smirk Ayah had ever seen.