Andreas rushed to help Lilith, hoping to at least put out the flames, but before he could reach her, Lilith stood up on her own, the flames licking her skin without harm. Her clothes didn't burn. She even looked... healthier and cleaner.
Flames?
They're covering me... and I'm unhurt?
I can't even feel the heat. I finally have an ability. If I survive this, Father would be proud.
The fire faded away. Lilith stared at her hands, half in awe, half in disbelief.
"Sir Andreas, are you okay?"
Then Andreas noticed the pitch-black substance creeping over his vision. Alarmed, he tore off the helmet and threw it to the ground.
It lay still for a moment... then liquefied, melting into the earth like a puddle of shadow. It turned a smoky gray before vanishing entirely.
The armor that remained on Andreas was pitch-black metal with golden edges. A similar black liquid flowed out from the joints and seams but disappeared before touching the ground.
He looked down at himself and smiled. A wide, electric smile, like a man, struck with divine revelation.
"YES!!!!!!!"
This must be some kind of ability.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
This place sounds like the kind of hell someone like me might die in... but if I get to have cool abilities like this, it's a good trade-off. Well. At least, I get to die doing something that matters.
"Sir?"
"Yes, I'm okay, Lilith."
"Thank the golden king that you are well and for this fortunate event."
"Okay, time to think about this."
"..."
"So Lilith, does any of this seem odd to you?"
"... Do you mean about the lack of monsters?"
"...Monsters!!!"
"Pardon?"
Monsters? I wonder what they look like. But something tells me that I should never find out."
"...No, never mind, are you okay, I mean, you were on fire not long ago."
"Yes, you could even say that I am better than before.
"Now I can defend myself a little better, sir Andreas."
Lilith lets out a small chuckle.
"...Hmmm..."
Turning his attention to his new grey armor notices the dark liquid drooping off his armor.
" Can I use this somehow,"
As Andreas thought of the various ways to use the new power, the grey armor and dark liquid obeyed, and several black tentacles with grey tips sprouted from the armor and ground.
Andreas marveled at the shifting black tendrils emerging from his armor and ground, twisting like living shadows with glinting gray edges. The way they responded to his thoughts was intoxicating.
"Okay," he muttered, shaking himself free of awe. "That's enough of that."
The tendrils retracted smoothly, vanishing back into the seams of his armor like obedient serpents. He turned to Lilith, who watched him with quiet amazement, the last flickers of her fire curling harmlessly off her sleeves.
"Let's go find that tree."
Lilith gave a sharp nod. "Then I suggest we follow the path of symbols."
She gestured ahead, where the earth had begun to split unnaturally into two paths, one of Concrete that jutted out like broken bone, bulging and cracking as if rejecting whatever lay beneath, and one were faintly glowing symbols flickered in and out of sight above the path-hovering sigils of strange origin, each appearing for only a second before vanishing into the air like breath on cold glass.
As they stepped onto the path, a new scent hit them soil twisted with the pungent stench of rotting flesh. Flies buzzed in lazy, drunken circles, drawn to something deeper along the trail.
Andreas narrowed his eyes. "Well, this screams 'important location.'"
With cautious steps, the two walked forward, following the spectral trail of symbols as it guided them into the distance. The forest thickened around them, shadows crawling higher up the trees. And Far ahead-half-glimpsed through warped trunks and shifting stood something vast and gnarled.
A tree. But not just any tree.
Its bark glowed faintly with the same symbols floating above the path, pulsing like a slow heartbeat. Something ancient lived there. Something waiting.
The duo reached the clearing.
The gnarled tree loomed like a titan in slumber.
Its roots bulged out of the earth like ribcages, curling inward toward a hollow beneath it. The symbols on the bark brightened, then dimmed, in time with some unseen breath.
A deep voice resounded in the clearing.
"Welcome, challengers."
Andreas clenched his fists, biting down on a knuckle in tension.
"How was your Trial?"
He bowed his head slightly.
"It has been... favorable, Great Lord of the Forest."
"Then your next path awaits. You must leave the forest and seek out Welkenhaar.
But first, Andreas… place your hand into the hollow of the tree."
Andreas hesitated, his eyes narrowing at the gnarled trunk before him. A dark hollow opened like a mouth.
"Um… sure thing."
He pressed his hand into the hole.
Nothing happened.
"Now you may leave."
Then, a deeper, darker voice cut through the clearing.
"No. No... you may not."
Suddenly, the forest shuddered.
Thousands of vines shot out from the trees, hissing as they twisted and writhed. They converged, pulling the creature swathed in pitch-black cloth. No limbs, no face—just a shifting silhouette cloaked in shadow.
It dropped two thin books, their covers a glowing, unnatural shade of blue, right at Andreas's feet.
Andreas scooped them up without hesitation, stuffing them into his jacket. He turned, lifted Lilith into his arms, and ran—as fast and far as his legs would carry them.
While Miles away from the forest clearing, Andreas ran through the forest until a violent tremor tore through the earth. Trees cracked like bones, their roots ripping from the ground. The forest fell into chaos.
Then—they were airborne.
In a heartbeat, Andreas and Lilith were yanked hundreds of meters into the sky. The wind howled past their ears. Below, the world twisted, distant, and small.
Two colossal beings clashed on the far horizon.
One was a titan of bark and leaves, its body a tangled mass of wood, moss, and living roots. It moved like a sea creature, a great forest shark, gliding through a green canopy that surged like ocean waves. Every motion spilled soil and sent birds scattering.
Opposing it was a bloated abomination—pale, raw-skinned, its flesh swollen and pulsing like something long-dead, risen. It oozed with rot and rage with every movement.
The bloated beast roared, its mouth splitting too wide—then fired a beam of searing blue energy, screaming through the air like a falling star.
The wooden creature twisted, raised an arm of woven branches—and redirected the beam.
Straight towards Andreas and Lilith.