Four months after the Night of the Massacre
Morning fog blanketed the Valendra Forest as three figures moved cautiously among the giant trees. Rudes gripped his sword tightly, his eyes scanning every moving shadow. Beside him, Ensei checked the arrows in his quiver, while Alice walked behind them.
"Ensei," Rudes whispered, his voice hoarse from lack of sleep. "Are you sure this is the right way?"
Ensei stopped, looking at the worn map in his hands. "No one knows for certain. Legend says the Water of Life exists in this forest, guarded by a dragon."
Alice snorted skeptically. "Legends. Does the Water of Life really exist? Or is it just an empty fairy tale to comfort children?"
Rudes turned, his eyes blazing with anger. "Whether it exists or not, I'm going to try!" His voice rose, causing several birds to take flight. "For my mother, who's afflicted with that curse of darkness. Don't you see, Alice? Many elderly have died in the last month. Some contracted a strange curse that no one can heal."
Alice fell silent, startled, remembering something. "Wait... the only one who could cast a curse like that is Ranga, the Hero of Darkness, right?"
Ensei nodded slowly, his face grim. "Since that Night of the Massacre, the world has changed. We no longer know which side is right. Are those heroes still protecting us, or have they become like gods who judge at will? But at least we know one of them is truly a hero."
"Loid has already been killed," Alice added almost in a whisper. "If Raksha is really hunting the heroes... maybe he knows something we don't."
Rudes shook his head firmly. "I don't care about their politics. All I care about is my mother." He walked away. "Come on, let's keep going."
---
Two hours later...
A horde of orcs leaped from behind the bushes with thunderous roars. Rudes immediately activated his fire power—his sword ignited with red flames.
"You're facing the wrong opponent!" he shouted, slashing the first orc clean in half.
Ensei retreated backward, drawing his bow. Wind swirled around the arrow before it was released—piercing straight through an orc's heart.
But there were too many. Dozens of orcs attacked from all directions.
Alice raised both hands, creating a wall of water around them. "This defense won't last long!"
In the fierce battle, an orc's claw grazed Rudes's arm. Blood dripped. Alice immediately knelt beside him, her hands glowing pale blue as she healed the wound.
"Be more careful next time," she scolded.
Rudes nodded, gasping for breath. "Yeah, I know."
When the last orc fell, they sat around the enemy corpses, exhausted. Food supplies were running low, and day was turning to dusk.
"We need to find shelter," said Ensei, gazing at the darkening sky.
In the distance, through gaps in the trees, they saw ancient stone ruins rising high.
Rudes stood, his eyes gleaming. "That's it. We've come this far. Now or never." He looked at his two friends. "Let's go in."
---
The ancient ruins were larger than they had imagined. Stone walls carved with mysterious runes towered high, and the air inside felt... alive. As if the place was breathing.
"Something's wrong," Alice whispered, sensing a strange vibration in the air.
Their footsteps echoed in the wide corridor. Moonlight penetrated through gaps in the damaged ceiling, creating fractured patterns on the floor.
Suddenly, the air trembled.
BOOM!
A giant dragon descended from the ceiling of the ruins. Its scales shimmered silver and gold, its eyes like glowing jewels, with wings that blocked their entire view.
Istaroth.
"The Dragon..." Rudes swallowed, but his eyes blazed. "Istaroth. We will defeat you here!"
Without hesitation, faint engravings glowed on his hand. He activated his Divine Mark. His body shone red-hot, his muscles expanded, and his fire power increased manifold. His eyes turned blood red—as if thirsting for battle.
But Alice knew: this condition would completely drain Rudes's stamina.
Rudes charged with his flaming sword, launching attacks like a phoenix burning through the air. Fire shaped like a giant bird shot toward Istaroth.
The dragon moved nimbly, dodging elegantly for its size. Its counterattack came with a blast of ice that froze the ground.
"Ensei, now!" Rudes shouted.
A barrage of wind-wrapped arrows shot forth, each as powerful as a spear. But Istaroth countered with a breath of fire—the arrows vanished instantly.
Rudes moved with determination. His flaming sword danced across Istaroth's body, but the dragon withstood and dodged without difficulty.
Alice tried to protect them with a water shield, but...
Istaroth disappeared.
"Where is it?!" Ensei looked around in panic.
CRASH!
A giant claw struck Ensei, sending him flying into the wall. Blood poured from his mouth.
"Watch out! The dragon can vanish and move through shadows!" he shouted while coughing blood.
Rudes, his body blazing like a man of fire, unleashed a tremendous heat wave. The temperature in the ruins skyrocketed, forcing Istaroth to reappear from its transparent mode.
But their strength still wasn't enough.
Rudes's Divine Mark began to fade. His body swayed, sweat pouring down. Istaroth's claw shot toward his neck.
CLANG!
Alice leaped forward, blocking the giant claw with a water shield that nearly shattered.
"ENOUGH!"
Istaroth's voice thundered throughout the ruins. The dragon retreated, looking at them with... curiosity.
"You should not be here, young ones. What do you seek?"
Rudes, gasping for breath, answered with his remaining strength. "We... hunt you... for the Water of Life!"
Istaroth laughed. Loud laughter filled the ruins.
"Hahaha! Water of Life? That's just a ridiculous rumor! There is no Water of Life here, foolish child. Not all legends are true. Sometimes, stories are created to trap those who are too naive."
Rudes's world collapsed instantly. "No... impossible..."
Alice used her Divine Eye—the ability to see the power level of other beings. But what she saw made her pale.
"We need to escape now!" she whispered in panic. "The dragon's power is too great. We can't win!"
Ensei, though injured, created a whirlwind to obscure Istaroth's vision. "Run! NOW!"
They fled from the ruins, leaving Istaroth still laughing.
---
Nearly an hour they ran without stopping...
Rudes, Ensei, and Alice finally stopped at a small ruin, utterly exhausted. Gasping for breath, drenched in sweat.
"There isn't any..." Rudes pounded the ground. "There's no Water of Life. All of this... pointless."
Alice sat beside him, rubbing his back. "We'll find another way, Rudes. There must be—"
Swoosh!
A dagger flew from behind a tree, nearly hitting Ensei's neck. He reflexively dodged and immediately drew his dagger.
A quick figure leaped down from the tree with an almost invisible motion. Incredible speed.
"Damn it!" Ensei retaliated with a combination of dagger and wind manipulation, creating blades of air.
But the attacker was too fast. He moved like a shadow—his darkness power making his body like smoke.
Rudes was about to activate his Divine Mark again, but Alice held his hand back.
"Don't! Your body won't be able to handle it!" Then she shouted at the attacker, "Who are you?! What do you want from us?"
The figure stopped, sheathing his dagger. Cold eyes stared at them.
"Tsubasa," his voice flat. "And you... from the kingdom."
His eyes narrowed at Rudes. "Divine Mark. Same as what some 'heroes' use."
Alice quickly shook her head. "Wait! We're not like that! We're just ordinary citizens." She pointed at Rudes. "We came here looking for the Water of Life to heal his mother, but it turns out it's not real."
"Believe us, we have no connection to the kingdom," Ensei added while lowering his weapon.
Tsubasa stared at them for a long time without emotion. Finally he lowered his dagger.
"For now." He turned toward the bushes. "Master Han, you can come out."
From behind the shadows, two figures emerged. A black-haired youth—Han. And a young girl with a sweet smile—Rina.
Han sighed in relief. "Phew, I thought I misjudged. Turns out you really aren't from the kingdom."
Rina giggled, her eyes sparkling. "Brother's guesses are rarely wrong, hehe. Sorry, we've been following you. We have to be careful with anyone who has a Divine Mark."
Alice looked at the three of them curiously. "You all seem... experienced at surviving in the forest."
Tsubasa didn't answer. Just cleaned his dagger.
Han said carefully, "We each have our reasons for avoiding the kingdom. What's clear is, we learned not to trust people with special powers just like that."
Ensei nodded slowly. "Seems like we all have problems with... the current system."
Rina looked down. "What's clear is, the world isn't safe anymore."
Rudes stared at the small fire before them. "My mother is still dying. And now I don't even know what else to look for."
Tsubasa stood, turning his back to them. His voice cold. "We leave at dawn."
Without another word, he walked away and sat alone under a tree.
"I guess," Alice said slowly, "we're all victims of a game bigger than we imagined."
That night, under the starry sky, six people who had been strangers now sat around a small fire—each carrying wounds and the same question.
Who truly is evil? And who is right?
TO BE CONTINUED...