Far beyond the skies, outside the planet's atmosphere, a pair of ancient eyes observed.
Eccaruss.
He stood in the void, arms folded behind his back, watching the battle unfold on a translucent screen.
The clash between John, Tony, and the twin serpents played out like a memory revisited.
"Interesting," Eccaruss murmured as Tony activated his suit, red, gold, and silver lines glowing like molten veins.
"How can a low-level universe produce such a level of armor? Even in that place, only one in ten thousand people can craft something like this…" he muttered, then shifted his gaze to John.
He tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing as John manipulated earth, fire, and wood with seamless precision.
"How many elemental affinities does this little guy have?" he mused, a flicker of curiosity in his tone.
When John summoned a holy spear of light to end the first serpent, Eccaruss's ancient eyes gleamed.
"Hmm… light element too? And he's not even using space… Didn't he take my inheritance?"
He fell silent, lips tightening as he continued watching.
"He's becoming more strange by the second. Multiple elements. Unknown energy. What else is he hiding?"
His gaze stayed fixed, unmoving.
---
Elsewhere, not far from the battle, high in the dense canopy, a shadow crouched silently on a thick branch.
The figure blended perfectly into the forest, unmoving. From time to time, her eyes flickered faintly with light as she watched.
She couldn't figure out where these two had come from. Their clothes were odd, their language unfamiliar.
One could manipulate metal at will, the other wielded all kinds of elements—a race she had never encountered.
"Just what kind of race are they?" she wondered, narrowing her eyes.
---
An hour later…
John and Tony walked deeper into the forest, their boots muffled by the thick, damp moss beneath their feet. The canopy above was dense, filtering sunlight into speckled rays that danced across their path.
Suddenly a soft shimmer caught John's eye.
"Look," he whispered, pointing.
Near a fallen log, nestled among ferns and moss, a small cluster of flowers shimmered with a faint white halo. The petals were snow white, nearly translucent in the misty light. Each had four delicate leaves, shaped like rounded diamonds. They pulsed faintly with ethereal glow—like gentle breathing.
A breeze stirred them, releasing a subtle scent: cool and fresh like morning dew, laced with mint and a strange sweetness that tickled the edge of memory.
"Snow flowers," John murmured, crouching.
Tony knelt beside him. "No idea what this is… but it's glowing. Might be valuable."
"Yeah," John agreed, carefully plucking the flowers and placing them into his storage ring.
As they continued onward, eyes alert for more glowing oddities, they found an odd, squat mushroom sprouting from twisted roots. About the size of a clenched fist, its bulbous cap was lavender and speckled with tiny glowing blue dots. The cap had a jelly-like texture, wobbling when touched.
Tony leaned in and sniffed.
"Smells like… burning leaves and sour milk," he gagged. "Why does glowing stuff always stink?"
"Shut up and put it in the ring," John grinned.
Ten minutes later, Tony plucked a deep-blue fruit from a low-hanging branch. Smooth and glossy, shaped like an apple, it pulsed gently with the same white glow.
"Smells sweet," Tony said, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't eat it," John warned. "We don't know what it does."
"Fair. But if glowing grass makes us rich, I'm building a house on the moon."
John snorted. "You do that."
They pushed on, the forest revealing more of its glowing secrets. In one area, dense undergrowth rose to their knees. Among it grew purple grass with curling flat blades. The blades shimmered with silver veins and glowed softly like velvet under starlight. When the wind stirred, they seemed to dance.
By the time they reached the lake, they had collected thirteen varieties of glowing oddities:
---
1. Snow Flower: Four-petaled white flower with translucent petals and a minty-sweet scent. Pulses softly with light.
2. Unknown Mushroom: Lavender cap with blue glowing dots. Jelly-like texture; smells of burnt leaves and sour milk.
3. Blue Apple Fruit: Deep blue, glossy, citrus-honey scent. Pulses with white glow.
4. Purple Grass: Velvet-like purple blades with silver veins. Curling tips, glowing softly.
5. Ember Vine Pods: Warm glowing pods on ember-like vines. Faint warmth when plucked.
6. Mirror Leaf Plant: Shiny, mirror-like leaves. Soft to touch. Reflects light with spectral hues.
7. Frost Bell Berry: Icy blue, bell-shaped berries. Cold to the touch, chime softly when moved. Vanilla-snow scent.
8. Ash Fern: Blackened, ash-dusted fronds with faint moonlit glow.
9. Crimson Orb Fruit: Deep red plum-like fruit with lightning-like white veins. Smells of cherries and spice.
10. Whisper Bloom: Feather-petaled pink flower. Emits soft whisper sounds when touched.
11. Wisp Moss: Floating strands of moss over stone, pulsing with ripple-like light.
12. Thorned Lotus Pod: Lotus-like plant with thorn-filled central pod. Glows bright at night.
13. Hollow Root Fruit: Pale green, carrot-shaped root. Hollow inside, rattles when shaken. Swirls of light on the skin.
---
They packed each item carefully, avoiding overly soft or suspicious textures. John's ring shimmered every time an item vanished into it.
They kept moving—fighting off pests, navigating twisted paths, and following the faint glows hidden under leaves and behind shadows. It felt like a treasure hunt orchestrated by nature.
Suddenly, a pair of monsters burst through the trees.
They looked like boars but were as big as horses. Their bark-skinned bodies were thick and solid, tusks twisted like tree roots. Their glowing green eyes glared with wild fury.
John reacted instantly, hurling a fireball that exploded against one's chest, charring the bark and forcing a shrill squeal.
Tony lunged, releasing a storm of metal shards from his gauntlet. They pierced the second monster's legs and throat—dropping it with a heavy crash.
"Smelled worse than the snake," Tony muttered, kicking the body.
Hours passed as they pushed deeper. The mist thickened, swirling between the trees. Branches overhead twisted like arms, and distant howls echoed from unknown creatures.