Unknown Place
Outer Heliodor
East Gregoria
The rift sealed behind him without a trace.
No sound. No light. No residue of the force it took to tear it open in the first place.
One moment, space had been broken.
The next
It was whole again.
Ishmael stood still where he emerged, his posture steady as the world settled around him. The transition wasn't jarring, but it was noticeable. The air felt lighter. The pressure that had once constantly pressed against his senses was gone, replaced by something calmer and more structured.
Natural.
He inhaled slowly, allowing the flow of Spirit Energy around him to register.
It moved freely here.
Not forced.
Not hostile.
Just… present.
"…So this is what it feels like outside now," he muttered quietly.
Ishmael stood at the edge of the outer district, his silver eyes taking in the remains of what had once been a thriving city. Heliodor still bore the scars of collapse, structures cracked along their foundations, sections of buildings missing entirely, and debris scattered across the streets like remnants of something violently torn apart.
Burn marks stained the stone.
Blood had dried into dark patches that hadn't been fully scrubbed away.
Abandoned vehicles lay overturned or crushed, some partially buried beneath rubble, others left where they had failed, as though the people who once used them had vanished mid-motion.
And yet,
There was movement.
A few people walked the streets, not many, but enough. Their steps were cautious, deliberate, carrying the weight of a world that hadn't yet fully stabilized. Some moved supplies. Others worked to clear debris. A few stood in small groups, speaking in low voices, their attention constantly shifting.
The order was returning.
Slowly.
Painfully.
But it was returning.
Among them, a pattern had begun to form. Individuals clad in knightly armor, polished plates layered with deliberate precision, reinforced pauldrons, and gold and white cloaks bearing the Valemont insignia. They moved with a discipline that set them apart from the rest.
These were the Knights of the Valemont Dukedom.
Ishmael watched them for a moment.
"Valemont Knights?…in outer Heliodor?…well Duke Valemont has always seemed the sanest of those lot," he scoffed.
"What are you on about?" Lunaris enquired
"Nah, nothing…just that things have started to settle down."
"Of course," Lunaris replied faintly. "When chaos settles, something always rises to control what remains."
Ishmael didn't linger.
His gaze shifted past the broken streets toward the distant stretch of land beyond the city.
Toward the forest.
That was all that mattered.
He stepped forward,
Spirit Energy shifted.
Light bent.
His outline blurred, then disappeared completely as the light around him refracted what should have revealed him. No shadow. No reflection. No presence.
Invisible, well mostly.
"… avoiding attention, I see," Lunaris noted.
"More like avoiding unnecessary confrontations," Ishmael replied.
Then
He blurred into motion.
He ran through Heliodor without resistance, slipping between people unnoticed, their voices brushing faintly against his awareness before fading behind him. He didn't stop. Didn't engage. Whatever this place had become,
It wasn't his concern.
Not now.
The city thinned behind him.
Stone turned to dirt paths.
Dirt gave way to open land.
And eventually
The forest stood before him, the onyx veil
Dense and Layered.
Waiting.
He crossed into it without hesitation.
The shift was immediate. The air cooled. Light dimmed. Sound dulled.
His illusion held as he moved deeper, his presence slipping through the forest like something unregistered.
"Careful now, humans aren't the only beings that ascended remember?" Lunaris chided casually
"Yeah, got it" Ishmael replied as he continued moving. Cautiously.
Hours passed.
The terrain grew uneven, roots twisting unnaturally through the ground. The flow of Spirit Energy shifted, no longer smooth, but faintly disrupted.
"…Something's off," Lunaris murmured breaking the silence.
Ishmael didn't respond.
Then
A sound.
Impact.
A low, rumbling growl.
"…Ahead."
He moved.
Fast.
The clearing came into view.
Three figures.
Barely holding.
Two men.
One woman.
The one in front, a broad-shouldered man with dark hair and eyes stood as their shield, his broad sword raised, though blood ran freely down his side, his stance already breaking under pressure.
To his right, a younger man with brown hair and green eyes struggled to remain upright, one knee dipping as he tried to steady himself, his breathing ragged. Daggers slipping from his hands.
The woman, average-looking with short brown hair and black eyes, stood slightly behind them, her arm injured, her grip on her spear weaker than it should have been.
And in front of them
The beast.
A massive, malformed bear.
Its body was layered with hardened earth, jagged plates forming across its limbs and torso. Each movement cracked the ground beneath it, spirit energy pulsing faintly through its form.
It raised its paw
And brought it down.
The leader blocked
Barely.
The impact shattered the ground beneath him, driving him down.
The others couldn't move.
The next strike would end it.
Then
Ishmael moved.
He appeared between them and the beast in a single step, the sword of light formed in his hand already in motion, as he swung ruthlessly. A simple vertical slash.
One strike.
Clean.
Absolute.
The bear froze.
Then split.
Its massive body collapsed into two halves, crashing into the ground with a heavy, final weight.
Silence followed.
The three stared.
Breathing hard.
Frozen.
Ishmael lowered his hand casually and tucked it in his pockets, the Light blade fading as though it had never been there.
Calm.
Uninterested.
He turned.
And started walking.
"W-Wait—!"
The voice came from behind him.
He didn't stop.
"I'm William, and those two are Luka and Ana"
"Thank you!" the younger man added quickly, pushing himself upright despite the pain. "You just saved our lives!"
Ishmael slowed.
Just slightly.
Then stopped.
But he didn't turn.
"No problem…just try to stay alive this time," he said flatly.
The leader exchanged a glance with the woman before finally speaking, his voice strained but steady. "We're part of the Adventurers Guild. We were sent to investigate this forest, where people have been going missing."
No response.
"You shouldn't be moving through here alone," the woman added, her tone firmer despite her injury. "Whatever's happening deeper inside… It's not normal."
Ishmael glanced slightly over his shoulder.
'They're not lying…there really is an adventurers guild now…and they're members'
He said as he secretly appraised them.
"Then they're probably not lying about the forest either," Lunaris added as they continued the conversation mentally.
'True, but it's not like we have a choice, we just move with even more caution'
"Hmm…you should go back." Finally replying to the three Adventurers
Silence.
A brief, heavy pause.
The green-eyed young man let out a weak shaky breath. "…We can't."
"…Too far in," the dark-haired leader added. "If we turn back now in this state… we won't make it out."
Another pause.
"…And we need to complete this mission."
Ishmael looked forward again.
Unmoved.
"…Not my problem."
He took a step.
Then another.
"Wait!" the brown-haired spear woman called again, more urgent this time. "You took down the Third Ascension Bear in one strike. You're strong, at least let us move with you. We won't get in your way...Please?"
That made him stop.
For real this time.
A brief silence settled between them.
"…You will," he said simply.
No hesitation.
No softness.
Just truth.
The three exchanged looks.
They knew he was right.
But they also knew
They didn't have a choice.
"…We'll manage…sir," the leader said finally. "Just… don't leave us behind."
Another pause.
Then
Ishmael exhaled faintly.
"…Fine, do what you want, just don't slow me down." He said coldly.
That was enough.
He continued walking.
And after a brief moment, he spoke again.
"El, call me El. 'Sir' is weird, you're all older than me."
They were stunned for a bit. But they snapped out of it and followed him.
Carefully.
Quietly.
Deeper, into the forest.
Deeper than they should have ever gone.