Zhu slumped against a nearby tree, her legs trembling from exhaustion. Every muscle in her body screamed. Her throat felt scraped raw, as though she had swallowed sand and ash instead of air. If she closed her eyes for more than a second, darkness clawed eagerly at the edges of her vision, waiting to drag her under.
Herkid shoved a water bottle into her hands. "Drink. Slowly."
She obeyed immediately, gulping before remembering his warning and forcing herself to slow down. The cool water slid painfully down her throat, but it was enough to keep her conscious.
Which was impressive considering she had almost become predator soup three separate times today.
The deeper they traveled into Hollowveil Forest, the more vicious the creatures became. Massive scaled wolves with too many eyes. Thorn-backed lizards that spat corrosive venom. Even the trees seemed hungry here. Every step deeper into the forest felt like trespassing into the mouth of something ancient and starving.
When she lowered the bottle, she groaned dramatically. "My God… how much farther, you annoying voice?!"
They had been walking since morning. The orange glow of evening now bled weakly through the thick canopy overhead, staining the world in bruised gold and black shadows.
Faral sounded deeply unimpressed. "We are here."
His voice projected outward from Zhu's body so Mara and Herkid could hear him clearly. The effect still unsettled them. Every time the North Guardian spoke through her, it felt wrong—as if the forest itself had borrowed Zhu's mouth.
Zhu lifted her head weakly.
Nothing but tangled wilderness greeted her. Crooked branches twisted together like skeletal fingers. Long shadows stretched unnaturally across the ground, writhing softly whenever the wind moved. The darkness between the trees felt alive. Watching. Waiting.
She tucked her knees closer to her chest instinctively, suddenly desperate to stay away from those shadows.
This time Faral did roll his eyes. "Look to your right, girl."
Zhu frowned before turning her head.
Only then did she notice Mara and Herkid already staring in that direction with stiff expressions.
The moment Zhu saw it, a violent shiver crawled down her spine.
"…Absolutely not."
The tree was enormous.
No—enormous did not describe it properly.
It towered over the surrounding forest like the corpse of some dead titan rooted into the earth. Its bark was blackened gray, twisted and swollen in places as though disease pulsed beneath its surface. Thick ropes of brown slime-coated moss hung from its branches like rotting scarves swaying gently in the wind. Not a single leaf grew from its limbs.
Its branches clawed toward the burning orange sky like bony fingers begging for mercy.
And the smell—
Zhu gagged instantly.
It smelled like wet rot, spoiled meat, stagnant swamp water, and something far older underneath it all. A scent so foul it seemed to coat the inside of her mouth. The ground surrounding the tree was dark and damp, littered with pale mushrooms and strange bones half-buried beneath the roots.
Then the tree moved.
Its massive branches twitched violently the moment Zhu looked at it. Thick limbs creaked and swayed despite the air being perfectly still.
"Nope." Zhu stood immediately despite her shaking legs. "No. Absolutely not. I would rather sleep outside and get eaten."
One of the branches suddenly swung downward with terrifying speed.
Zhu shrieked and stumbled backward directly into Mara.
The branch stopped inches from her face.
Slowly… it lifted again.
Faral sighed with the exhaustion of someone dealing with an unreasonable child. "It is a Deadalive Tree."
"That name is not helping!" Zhu snapped.
"The Deadalive Trees are ancient symbiotic organisms native to Hollowveil Forest. Predators avoid them."
"…Why?"
"They dislike the smell."
Zhu stared at the horrific tree in horror. "I dislike the smell."
Faral ignored her. "The scent confuses the senses of mana beasts. To them, it resembles decay, poison, and territorial markings all at once. Most predators will not approach within several hundred meters."
As if proving his point, distant growls echoed through the forest before fading away again. Something large had clearly changed direction.
"The branches also react aggressively toward hostile intent," Faral continued calmly. "Anything approaching too quickly is struck or entangled."
Another branch swayed ominously above Zhu's head.
She pointed accusingly. "It already threatened me!"
"You screamed at it first."
"I screamed because it looks cursed!"
Mara pressed a hand over her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh. Even Herkid's shoulders shook slightly.
Faral continued mercilessly. "Despite appearances, the inside is surprisingly warm. Hollowed naturally over centuries. Large enough for the three of you to shelter comfortably."
The massive trunk gave a low groaning creak, almost as if agreeing with him.
Zhu narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How do you know this thing won't eat us in our sleep?"
"I am the North Guardian." His voice carried quiet authority now, deeper and older than before. "The creatures of this forest recognize my authority. I have already negotiated temporary shelter."
"…Negotiated?" Zhu repeated slowly.
A thick branch lowered itself toward them. Resting on the wood were several large pale fruits with cracked purple skins split open from ripeness. Thick juice dripped lazily down the bark. Tiny insects crawled across the flesh—some alive, some very much dead and stuck to the sticky surface.
An offering.
Faral sounded unbearably smug. "See? It accepted the arrangement."
Zhu stared at the horrifying tree in disbelief.
The horrifying tree swayed happily.
"…I hate this forest," she muttered.
Your thoughts are noted, Faral replied without remorse. Please enter the tree.
As he spoke, the trunk cracked open.
The dark bark split apart with a long groaning sound that echoed through the clearing. Jagged edges peeled back slowly like ribs opening to expose the hollow interior beneath. The movement was disturbingly organic.
Zhu swallowed hard as the "door" widened. Beyond it waited complete darkness.
"…It's so dark."
"Don't worry, young miss." Mara lifted one hand gently. Golden light bloomed from her palm, warm and soft like candlelight soaked in honey. "My healing light should be sufficient."
The glow spilled into the opening.
Brown inner bark was revealed beneath the darkness, smoother than the decayed exterior suggested. The inside walls curved naturally, polished by time and strange sap until they resembled flowing river wood. Long grooves spiraled along the interior in elegant patterns like frozen waves carved into the trunk itself. Pale green moss clung between the ridges in soft glowing patches, breathing out a damp earthy scent.
It still smelled terrible.
But now the rot mixed with wet moss, old rainwater, rich soil, and something strangely warm beneath it all. Ancient. Alive.
Zhu waited a beat, wisely allowing the adults to enter first.
When Mara stepped inside unharmed and Herkid followed without being devoured, Zhu reluctantly approached the entrance. She carefully lifted one foot over the twisted roots lining the threshold.
Then something caught her ankle.
She stumbled forward with a startled yelp.
"You stinky tree!" she hissed, spinning around. "You did that on purpose!"
One of the branches outside shook violently.
The tree was laughing.
Even Mara snorted quietly into her hand. Herkid immediately looked away, shoulders trembling suspiciously.
Upset but vastly outnumbered, Zhu swallowed her grievance with dignity.
"Stinky trees and stinky farts go hand in hand," she muttered darkly under her breath.
The branch outside tapped the trunk twice in retaliation.
Faral sounded exhausted already. Please stop antagonizing the tree.
Zhu just rolled her eyes as they moved deeper inside.
The narrow hallway twisted downward slightly, roots arching overhead like the ribs of some gigantic beast. Mara's healing light flickered across the walls, revealing more of the strange wave-like grain patterns carved naturally into the wood. Some sections almost resembled flowing water frozen in motion. Others looked like spiraling whirlpools.
Soft moss covered parts of the floor beneath their feet, thick enough to cushion their steps. The deeper they went, the warmer the air became. Outside, Hollowveil Forest had been cold and damp beneath the evening shadows. Inside the Deadalive Tree, however, a gentle natural heat pulsed through the wood itself.
Zhu blinked in surprise.
"…Why is it warm?"
"The tree absorbs mana from the surrounding earth," Faral explained. The inner chambers retain heat naturally. During winter, many smaller creatures shelter within the roots.
"That somehow makes this worse."
Finally, the narrow passage opened.
Zhu stopped in stunned silence.
The hollow interior of the tree was massive.
The abandoned woodshed she had sometimes slept in back at the Wang estate could have fit inside here several times over with room to spare. The chamber stretched upward farther than Mara's light could fully reveal. Thick inner roots twisted along the ceiling like ancient pillars supporting the hollow space. Natural alcoves curved into the walls, some large enough to sleep inside comfortably.
Moss spread across the ground in soft carpets of green and silver. Tiny glowing spores drifted lazily through the air like floating stars whenever the branches outside swayed.
For the first time since entering Hollowveil Forest, Zhu felt something unexpected.
Safe.
Herkid immediately began setting down supplies while Mara gathered fallen bark and dried root pieces near the edges of the chamber. With practiced movements, Herkid struck flint against stone.
A torch flared to life.
Then another.
Warm orange firelight spread through the hollow chamber, pushing back the shadows completely. The moving flames illuminated the curved walls properly now, revealing even more intricate grain patterns beneath the bark. The inside of the tree looked less like wood and more like flowing waves frozen mid-current. Moss glimmered softly between the grooves while drops of amber-colored sap reflected the torchlight like trapped gold.
The chamber almost looked beautiful.
In a deeply unsettling forest-creature kind of way.
Mara exhaled softly as she settled near one of the roots. "Honestly… this is far better than sleeping outside."
A distant roar echoed somewhere beyond the tree.
Something large screamed in the darkness. Another creature answered.
The branches above them swayed once.
The sound immediately stopped.
Zhu slowly looked upward.
"…Okay," she admitted reluctantly. "Maybe the stinky tree can stay."