Far to the east of the Gardenia Empire...
Beyond the borders marked on human maps...
Lay one of Melika Realm's oldest forbidden regions.
The Emerald Forest.
To ordinary people, it was a land of death.
To Hunters...
It was a place where fortunes could be made—or lives could be lost.
Few knew the truth.
The Emerald Forest was not ruled by monsters.
It was ruled by kingdoms.
Kingdoms of beasts.
---
Deep within the forest...
Where trees rose thousands of meters into the heavens...
Ancient beasts lived in harmony beneath the watchful eyes of their rulers.
Great Sky Eagles nested upon cliffs that pierced the clouds.
Crystal Ant Colonies carved magnificent cities beneath the earth.
Moon Wolves hunted beneath the light of Gaia's three moons.
Serpent Kings slumbered within sacred lakes older than the empires themselves.
Every race possessed its own territory.
Its own customs.
Its own pride.
Above them all...
The Emerald Beast Court maintained balance.
---
Near the heart of the forest...
A young girl darted effortlessly between towering branches.
Her long emerald-green hair flowed behind her like leaves carried by the wind.
She wore clothing woven from enchanted vines and beast silk.
Her bare feet landed silently upon every branch.
Behind her...
Three young Moon Wolves chased excitedly.
"No biting!"
She laughed.
"You promised!"
One of the wolf pups barked playfully before pouncing.
The girl twisted gracefully, causing the wolf to tumble harmlessly onto a bed of moss.
"You almost had me."
The other two wolves immediately joined in.
Soon...
The forest echoed with laughter.
---
"My Lady."
A deep voice interrupted.
The wolves instantly stopped playing.
Descending from the trees came a towering Silverback Ape.
More than four meters tall.
Its silver fur shimmered beneath the sunlight.
Unlike ordinary beasts...
Its intelligent golden eyes carried the dignity of an elder.
The young girl smiled.
"Uncle Gor."
"The Queen wishes to see you."
His tone remained respectful.
Yet firm.
The girl's smile faded slightly.
"...Now?"
"Now."
---
The Emerald Palace stood unlike anything humans had ever imagined.
Rather than being built...
It had been grown.
Gigantic living trees intertwined naturally, forming halls, bridges and chambers.
Flowers bloomed from the walls.
Waterfalls flowed through its center.
Every structure pulsed gently with Magna.
Nature itself had become architecture.
At the highest chamber...
A woman sat upon a throne carved from the trunk of the Worldroot Tree.
She appeared human.
Yet emerald antlers rose elegantly from her head.
Golden markings glowed faintly across her skin.
Her emerald eyes seemed capable of seeing through everything.
She was...
Queen Sylvia.
Ruler of the Emerald Beast Court.
---
The young girl bowed.
"You wished to see me, Mother?"
Queen Sylvia smiled gently.
"Come here, Liora."
The girl obeyed.
The Queen brushed a leaf from her daughter's hair.
"You've been spending all your time with the wolf cubs again."
"They're fun."
"So I heard."
Even the Queen chuckled.
---
Her expression gradually became serious.
"Liora."
"You're six years old now."
The young girl nodded.
"I know."
"Do you know what that means?"
Liora's smile slowly disappeared.
"...The Blessing Ceremony."
Queen Sylvia nodded.
"Every child of the Beast Court undergoes it."
Liora lowered her gaze.
"What if..."
"...the Worldroot rejects me?"
The Queen immediately embraced her daughter.
"The Worldroot rejects no child."
"It merely reveals who they truly are."
---
Elsewhere...
Deep beneath the palace...
An ancient pair of crimson eyes slowly opened.
Chains thicker than mountains rattled softly.
A massive voice echoed through the darkness.
"...The Princess."
"...Her time has come."
Silence followed.
Then...
Another voice answered from the shadows.
"...Yes."
"The bloodline continues."
The ancient eyes slowly closed once more.
---
That evening...
Liora returned to her favorite clearing.
The three wolf pups were waiting.
"So?"
One barked curiously.
She smiled weakly.
"I have my ceremony tomorrow."
The wolf pups lowered their ears.
One nudged her gently.
"You'll be amazing."
Liora looked toward the enormous Worldroot Tree rising above the forest.
Its branches seemed to hold up the sky itself.
"...I hope so."
She didn't desire power.
She didn't dream of becoming Queen.
She simply wanted...
To continue laughing with her friends.
Unbeknownst to her, the blood flowing through her veins carried one of the oldest Beast bloodlines in the Melika Realm—a lineage said to predate the rise of the human empires.
Whether it would become her greatest blessing...
Or her heaviest burden...
Remained to be seen.
Far away, hidden within a secluded valley, another child looked up at the same evening sky.
Though separated by forests, kingdoms, and fate itself...
The paths of Kieran and Liora had already begun drawing closer.
One day...
The boy whom Magna welcomed...
Would meet the girl whom the beasts called Princess.
And when that day came...
The Emerald Forest would never be the same.
End of Chapter 23