The morning sun painted Spirit City in shades of gold and crimson. The streets were already buzzing, priests in white robes crossing paths with armored knights, merchants hawking wares outside Spirit Hall's gates. The great bells of the Supreme Pontiff Palace tolled, announcing another day under the shadow of Spirit Hall.
Inside the palace, however, one boy was doing his very best to ignore the majesty of the moment.
Oscar tugged dramatically at the white traveling cloak Bibi Dong had draped on him. "Mother, I look like a roasted dumpling. Couldn't you have given me something with more… heroic flair? Maybe black with gold trim? A cape that billows dramatically? I need something worthy of a legend."
Bibi Dong, already standing tall in her regal black and purple robes, fixed him with her cool stare. "It is a simple cloak, not a death sentence. You'll survive."
Oscar groaned loudly. "You wound me. The great Oscar, first of his name, slayer of sausages, forced to look like a boiled bun while traveling to the most dangerous forest in the world. History will weep."
"You will weep," Bibi Dong replied dryly, "if you do not stop complaining."
Oscar grinned and struck a pose, pointing dramatically toward the horizon. "Fine! Then let the world witness this bun march into glory!"
Bibi Dong sighed, but the faintest smile tugged at her lips. His pride and antics were exhausting, but they were also disarming—light in the shadows she had long carried.
As they descended the palace steps, several high-ranking elders and bishops waited at the gates. Their expressions were solemn, their gazes flickering curiously to the boy walking confidently beside the Supreme Pontiff.
One elder stepped forward. "Your Holiness, with all due respect, we cannot allow you to enter the Star Dou Great Forest alone. Please, take an escort. At least ten protectors."
Before Bibi Dong could answer, Oscar clapped his hands together and bowed dramatically.
"Ah, such devotion! Such loyalty! But forgive me, dear elders—your presence would only dim my brilliance. Do you really want to spend weeks walking behind me, watching me dazzle every beast with my heroism? It would crush your spirits!"
The elder blinked, utterly lost.
Oscar continued, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Besides, imagine a group of ten soul douluo marching into the forest. Every beast within a hundred miles would flee! Then where would I find my spirit ring? Do you want me to end up with… with a rabbit spirit ring? Do you want me to be forever known as the Sausage Bunny King?" And also the greatest and the most beautiful pope is with me, what can you bunch offer!
The bishops tried and failed to keep straight faces. Even Bibi Dong's lips twitched, though she remained silent.
The elder flushed, sputtering. "This is not—!"
Oscar slung an arm around the man's shoulders as though they were old drinking buddies. "Don't worry, senior. If I bring back a rabbit sausage, I'll make sure you're the first to taste it."
That did it—the bishops burst into laughter, hastily covering their mouths as the elder turned red.
Bibi Dong cleared her throat softly, instantly silencing the courtyard. "Enough. He is correct in one regard. Too many would draw attention. I alone am sufficient."
Her tone left no room for argument. The elders bowed their heads, though their eyes lingered with both confusion and awe on the boy who had dared to mock them so freely.
Oscar gave a jaunty wave. "Don't wait up for us! If we don't return in three days, send more buns in my honor!"
Bibi Dong tugged him by the collar and practically dragged him out of the courtyard.
The journey began on a wide, stone-paved road that cut through fields of swaying grass. Spirit City shrank behind them, its towers vanishing into the morning haze.
Oscar walked with a spring in his step, humming tunelessly. "So, Mother, tell me—what kind of beast am I going to get for my glorious first spirit ring? A dragon? A tiger? A dragon-tiger? Maybe a sausage beast?"
"There is no sausage beast," Bibi Dong said flatly.
He gasped dramatically. "How dare you! All these years, and no one has cultivated the noble sausage? Truly, humans are shortsighted."
She gave him a sideways glance. "If there was a sausage beast, I imagine it would taste rather good roasted."
Oscar stopped mid-step, clutching his chest. "Mother! The betrayal! My own flesh and blood!"
Her chuckle was soft but undeniable. He grinned, victory achieved.
They continued down the road, passing villages and rivers. At one point, Oscar insisted on buying a roasted sweet potato from a roadside vendor.
"You are about to walk into the most dangerous forest in the world, and you are eating potatoes," Bibi Dong remarked.
"Correction: I am eating fuel for greatness. Heroes cannot fight on empty stomachs." He offered her one with a grin. "Even Supreme Pontiffs need carbs."
To his surprise, she accepted, taking a delicate bite. For a moment, she looked less like the ruler of Spirit Hall and more like a woman sharing food with her son.
By the third day, the terrain shifted. The stone road narrowed into dirt paths. The air grew heavy, humid, buzzing with the cries of unseen insects. Towering trees rose ahead, their crowns blotting out the sun. Mist coiled around the roots like snakes.
The Star Dou Great Forest loomed before them.
Oscar stopped, staring into the sea of green. His grin faded, replaced by a gleam of anticipation.
"So this is it," he murmured. "The place where spirit beasts rule, where gods once fell."
Bibi Dong's eyes swept the horizon, her expression unreadable. "This is a place where even titled douluo tread carefully. Do not let your tongue wander too freely here."
Oscar smirked. "Don't worry. If I scream, it will only be to scare the beasts into submission."
Her lips twitched again. "Foolish child."
But inside, she felt something different: pride. He walked into danger with laughter on his lips, not fear. And somehow, she believed him.
As the mist of the forest wrapped around them, unseen eyes opened in the depths.
Beasts stirred, ancient instincts quivering. The Dragon God's aura pulsed faintly in the boy's veins, and though he did not yet know it, the forest itself would bow to his arrival.
Oscar adjusted his cloak, stepped forward, and grinned.
"Let's see what kind of sausage destiny has in store for me."
And with that, they crossed into the domain of spirit beasts.