Deep within the Red Lotus Forest's Inner Region, the atmosphere shifted into something ancient—almost sentient.
The mist thickened like a shroud pulled over a corpse, blurring light and sound alike. It wasn't natural. It moved with weight, resisting the wind, coiling around gnarled trees and jagged stones like it had purpose. Breathing felt harder here—every inhale tainted by a metallic taste, like iron and ash.
Then came the valley.
It opened like a wound in the landscape, sunken and still. At its center, three colossal trees towered into the heavens, their roots spiraling like serpents through cracked earth. Their bark was blackened and ancient, but veins of pulsing crimson light throbbed just beneath the surface—as if they were alive, as if blood, not sap, ran through them.
The trees didn't sway. Even the wind dared not brush them.
They simply… loomed.
Beneath the roots of the three ancient trees, nestled in the heart of the mist, stood a beast.
Its coat was obsidian black, rippling with sinew and coiled power. Muscles flexed with every breath, and its eyes—deep amber slits—glowed with intelligence and fury. Faint patterns of spiritual runes shimmered across its hide, shifting like flame trapped under skin.
The Black Panther King of the Inner Region.
Beasts all around the valley knelt in submission—silent, reverent. Deer with antlers like blades. Snakes that shimmered with glassy scales. Monkeys bearing talismanic tattoos across their chests. All bowed before their king.
The panther growled, a low, rumbling sound that echoed through the bones of the land. Its gaze lifted toward the approaching humans, eyes narrowing with calculating calm.
"Humans… so they've crossed the threshold at last."
Its thoughts were sharp, almost cultured. It had lived for centuries, and it had seen what humans brought—greed, hunger, destruction. And yet, it wasn't anger that stirred now. It was duty.
Its gaze shifted to the trees behind it—the three silent watchers. Their presence throbbed like a heartbeat in its skull.
"You must not be touched."
"I'll see to it myself."
It growled once more, and the lesser beasts scattered, melting into the mist. Some took to the trees, others the rocks. All awaited its command.
Then, the king vanished into the fog—one with the shadows.
Miles away.
Lucien's group slowed their pace. Their breaths misted in the air, the temperature dropping unnaturally despite the midday hour. The ground was softer, more damp, leaving prints behind them that faded too quickly.
Jordan spoke first, his brow furrowed. "It's… too quiet. In the outer regions, we were swarmed by spirit beasts and monster. But here? Nothing."
Jessica's knuckles whitened around her blade. "Exactly. It's wrong. It feels like we're walking into a trap."
Mira shivered, not from cold. "The silence… it's pressing down on my soul."
Lucien exhaled slowly. "We don't have the luxury to retreat. The Institute entrusted us with this mission. This is the heart of the forest."
His voice was steady, but inside, his instincts screamed. Something was watching them—several somethings. And they were close.
The group pushed forward until the valley opened before them.
Jessica gasped softly. "Look… those trees. In the center."
Mira's hand rose instinctively to her pendant. "They're… breathing?"
Lucien scanned the terrain. "Prepare for contact. Weapons out. No formation yet. Stay fluid."
In the mist above, Riven's breath caught.
He stood on a wide branch of a charred tree, gazing down at the ancient valley.
"So this is the heart of the Inner Region…"
"Why does it feel so… familiar?"
His fingers tightened around the hilt of his dagger. In his chest, the Veinroot stirred—an unnatural rhythm pulsing against his ribs. A whisper, like an echo of a memory not his.
"This body… the one I inherited. Its death… it happened near here, didn't it?"
He didn't know how he knew. But the moment he laid eyes on the three trees, something buried deep inside him shivered. Not in fear—but recognition.
He descended silently, sticking to the shadows, never losing sight of the team.
Back in the valley, the group advanced cautiously. The mist shifted unnaturally with their steps, curling around ankles and fingers. Then—Mira paused.
"There," she whispered. "By the rock."
Eyes turned. For a moment, they saw nothing.
Then—there a movement.
A shape flickered between trees—too fast to be human.
Lucien's eyes snapped wide. "It's begun."
From the mist, the beasts struck.
They came not in waves, but as phantoms—ambushers trained by the king himself.
A hawk-like creature with obsidian feathers dove from above. A serpent snapped from underground. Two wolves leapt from the bushes, eyes glowing with coordinated malice.
The group reacted fast—flames, talismans, blades drawn in arcs of desperation.
Jessica's shield technique shimmered just in time to deflect the hawk's talons. Jordan's fireball hit the wolves. Mira's barrier slowed the serpent—but not enough.
They were outnumbered.
From the trees, Riven's eyes narrowed.
"This isn't random. This is a coordinated assault. Controlled."
He scanned for the source.
Then he saw them—the black blur at the treeline. Watching. Commanding.
"There you are."
The Black Panther moved like smoke—always seen from the corner of the eye, never directly. Its presence warped the mist around it, a distortion of natural order.
And then it roared.
The entire forest shifted.
Beasts surged. The real battle began.
A sharp howl tore through the mist as two Shadowfang Wolves lunged toward Jordan. Their eyes glinted with primal hunger, fangs bared, claws slicing through the air like razors.
Jordan gritted his teeth. "Let's end this!"
He swung his longsword in a fluid arc. "Solar Blast!"
A crimson flare erupted from his blade. The firelight split the air, leaving scorched trails behind as it slammed into one of the wolves.
BOOM!
The wolf was flung backward like a ragdoll, crashing into a boulder with a guttural whimper. Its fur sizzled from the burn, bones cracking audibly on impact.
But the second wolf dodged just in time—its crimson eyes locking onto Jordan's.
It growled. Not in fear. But in rage. Then it charged.
"So fast!" Jordan reacted instinctively, side-stepping with practiced footwork. "Sun Burning!"
His sword ignited again, heat distorting the air around it. As he raised his blade to finish the wolf—
CRACK—!
A blur of black shot between them.
Something slammed into Jordan's chest with the force of a landslide.
"GHAAK—!!"
His body flew several meters, crashing to the ground. Blood sprayed from his lips. He coughed violently, eyes wide with pain. A claw-shaped dent pulsed on his chest—bones shattered underneath.
"What the hell…?" Jordan gasped, struggling to breathe.
Before him, a shadow emerged—sleek, muscled, and monstrous.
A black panther.
No… not just any panther. It was the King.
Its golden eyes radiated terrifying intelligence. Its aura distorted the very space around it—thick, suffocating, ancient.
"JORDAN!" Jessica's scream echoed from the trees.
She loosed three arrows in quick succession. Wind spirit energy spiraled along the shafts as they whistled through the air toward the panther.
WHISH—WHISH—WHISH!
The panther tilted its head—and vanished.
The arrows struck nothing.
"It moved—before the arrows reached?!" Jessica's heart pounded. "Too fast…"
From above, a hawk beast dove at her with screeching fury. She barely ducked in time, rolling across the dirt and firing again, her arrows glinting with spirit-imbued wind.
But the hawk was relentless—diving, slashing, dodging. Jessica was pinned down.
Meanwhile, Mira stood amidst coiling vines and a slithering serpent twice her size.
Its black scales shimmered with venomous sheen.
"Hngh!" she raised a water-infused barrier just in time to deflect a strike. The fangs clanged off her barrier, venom hissing through the mist.
"I can't keep this up for long…" she whispered. Her talismans floated around her like blue fireflies, casting sigils and seals in rapid succession.
"I'm not a fighter… but I won't run." She flung her hands forward. "Icebind Array!"
Water surged and froze mid-air, slamming against the serpent's torso, encasing it momentarily.
"Did it work—"
CRACK!
The serpent shattered the ice with one violent twist and it hissed furiously.
Lucien clashed with a stone-skinned monkey, each blow echoing like metal on rock. He was fast, precise—but nothing he did left a mark.
"Damn it…" he panted. "Its defense… too high."
He reached into his robe, throwing a golden talisman toward Jordan. "Catch—!"
But before it reached his teammate—SHHRRRAAK!
The panther's claw lashed out again, shredding the talisman mid-air.
"No!" Lucien's eyes widened. "Jordan!"
Jordan staggered up, one knee on the dirt. He bled from his lips, trembling.
"Can't… fall now…"
He gripped the pendant around his neck—a last resort, a token from his clan.
"This should be enough to kill anything in the 9th Stage…" he muttered, eyes narrowing with determination. "Let's see you survive this."
He crushed it.
The pendant glowed violently. A pulse of amethyst energy surged from it, forming a blazing spear of destructive force. It shot toward the panther with a thunderous WHUM that shattered branches and split stone.
The moment it struck—PSSSHHHH—!
It disintegrated. Like sand blown away by the wind.
The panther stood unscathed.
Jordan stared, horror flooding his eyes."You…"
His lips trembled.
"Y-You're beyond the Veinroot Realm…?"
The panther's eyes narrowed slightly. Then it leapt.
One swipe. One flash.
THUD!
Jordan's head landed near his teammates—his eyes still open in disbelief. His body slumped seconds later.
Blood painted the earth.
"JORDAN!!!" Jessica screamed in anguish.
Lucien's blade trembled.
Mira's eyes widened in horror.
Even the hawk and monkey froze for a moment—almost in respect.
The panther didn't care.
It turned away as if nothing had happened.
"Too weak. How did they even survive this long?" it thought, flicking blood from its claw.
Jordan—their strongest. A 7th Stage Veinroot cultivator. Gone.
The tide had shifted.
Panic flooded the team.
Jessica clenched her teeth, tears at the corners of her eyes. "Focus! We can't let his death be in vain!"
Lucien grit his teeth. "Defend! No matter what, don't break formation!"
Mira whispered, "Please… not another one. Don't let another fall…"
But their spirits cracked.
And away from them, far from the chaos—Riven sat in silence.
He hadn't moved. He hadn't blinked.
The air blew past his cloak as he watched from his branch.
Jordan's decapitated body.
The panther's monstrous strength. The collapse of teamwork.
He exhaled softly. Not out of grief. Out of analysis.
"So the Panther's at least Soulspark Realm… That explains it."
His gaze drifted to the three trees in the center of the valley.
"And it's guarding them. A sentinel. A relic beast, maybe?"
He watched Jessica unleash another volley of spirit arrows, Lucien lock blades with the stone monkey, and Mira desperately forming barrier after barrier.
They were crumbling.
And still, he remained silent.
"I'm not their savior," he murmured. "My role here is not to protect. It's to understand. That's the mission."
Yet…
His eyes flicked back to Mira and Lucien. "But if one more falls…"
His grip tightened around the hilt of his dagger.
The cold metal felt steady in his palm, a familiar weight. "I shouldn't care."
But he did.
His eyes lingered on Mira, battling with everything she had. Clumsy movements, cracked barriers, bleeding hands—and yet, she stood. Still casting, still resisting.
A flash of memory passed through his mind—an image from another time.
A girl. Just like her.
Falling in muddy grass. Laughing while patching up wounded stray beasts. Carrying firewood half her weight, stubbornly refusing help.
Weak. Soft-spoken. Ridiculously clumsy.
Yet, never once did she yield.
"She looks just like her..."
Riven's gaze drifted toward Lucien, locked in a brutal exchange with the stone-skinned monkey. His blade was chipped. His aura flickered. One wrong move and—
"Tch. That idiot's still trying to act like a hero."
Lucien—this body's older brother. They didn't share blood, not truly. But even if he didn't feel affection, he could at least… repay the body's former bonds.
"Guess I can't let them die. Yet."
Just as he prepared to move. A voice whispered beside him. Smooth and dangerous. But familiar.
"Riven… why are you staring at that girl like that?"
He stiffened.
The voice continued, sultry and sharp as a blade wrapped in silk. "If you're so worried, why not leap down like a dashing hero? Save the damsel. Win her heart. That's how the stories go, don't they?"
Riven turned his head. And his breath caught.