"But why are you recklessly searching for the Dew Fruit of Life all the way inside the Forest of a Thousand Deaths like this?"
His tone sounded light, almost like casual small talk. Yet his gaze remained fixed on Keira, as if waiting for the true answer.
The cold forest wind blew a few strands of her messy short brown hair. One of her bandaged hands rested limply beside her body, while her other hand pressed against the ground to support herself from sliding down further.
Her gaze briefly shifted to the darkness of the forest before them.
Then back to Zevaron.
Her expression changed slightly.
A bitter smile slowly formed at the corner of her lips.
"...I don't have much time left to live." Her voice sounded quieter than usual.
She took a deep breath, her chest rising slowly before falling back down. That movement pulled slightly at the wound on her stomach, making her eyebrows furrow faintly, yet she still forced her expression to look relaxed.
"...Rather than letting the rest of my life go to waste," she continued while turning her head back toward the dark forest, "it's better if I use it to search for the Dew Fruit of Life."
Keira then shrugged her shoulders slightly—a relaxed gesture that instantly made her wince softly as it pulled at the wound on her shoulder.
"...Besides," she muttered softly while glancing at Zevaron with a thin, slightly mischievous smile, "if I succeed, I can give it to my clan for their advancement."
She paused for a moment.
Then added in a half-joking tone, "If I fail… at least I die after trying."
The night wind blew gently again between the trees.
Keira closed her eyes for a moment, her head leaning back against the tree trunk behind her, while her breathing sounded a bit heavier than before.
Zevaron rested one hand on his knee and slowly stood up, his body stretching slightly after kneeling on the ground for quite a while.
After standing tall, he turned toward Keira who was still sitting leaned against the tree trunk. "Why don't you eat it too?" he asked curiously.
"It's useless." Keira said softly.
Zevaron scratched his head, "Why useless? The Dew Fruit of Life should be able to cure all illnesses and extend a person's lifespan, so why do you say it's useless?"
Keira lowered her head. A few strands of her slightly messy hair fell to cover part of her face, blown gently by the night wind. Her usually broad shoulders now appeared slightly slumped.
"My heart is weakening so my body keeps weakening… to the point where it can no longer contain my own power," she answered softly.
The night wind blew gently past them, making the tips of Keira's hair sway faintly. For a moment she fell silent, as if gathering her remaining words.
"The best healers in the world have tried to find the cause," she continued quietly. The corner of her lips pulled thinly, looking more like a bitter smile than a laugh. "...but everything was useless."
In front of her, Zevaron just stood silently.
He did not answer immediately. His gaze was fixed on Keira, calm as usual, as if the news he had just heard was not something shocking. Zevaron let out a light sigh.
His expression remained flat, but his eyes narrowed slightly—not out of despair, but because he was thinking of something that might save Keira.
"Keira, I seem to have a solution for your problem."
Keira quickly raised her head and stared at Zevaron, "Tell me quickly," Keira said in a fiery tone. "As long as there is a chance to live, I will do it."
Zevaron's storage ring produced a scroll, "Study this scroll."
"What scroll is this?" Keira asked curiously.
"This scroll earlier gave clues about your location." Zevaron then crouched down and handed the scroll to Keira.
Keira's right hand moved slowly toward the scroll, and she grabbed it.
A thin smile formed on Keira's face, "Thank you, Zevaron."
Suddenly the scroll trembled, then without warning, the scroll slipped from her grip.
The scroll lifted into the air before floating in front of her, then the scroll opened up. A soft light radiated from its surface.
The pale light from the scroll spread slowly, illuminating Keira's face and the large tree trunk supporting her back. The light was not blinding, yet bright enough to cast faint shadows on the ground around them.
Keira slightly narrowed her eyes as the scroll fully opened. For a moment she fell silent, as if feeling something strange happening inside her body.
A warm sensation suddenly flowed from her chest down to her fingertips. Her muscles, which had previously felt heavy, slowly grew lighter, while her breathing, which had been irregular, began to stabilize again.
Her eyebrows raised.
She moved her shoulders slightly, then clenched her hand as if testing her own strength. Her surprised expression slowly turned into a spirited smile characteristic of her.
"Whoa…," she muttered softly before finally looking at the scroll again with sparkling eyes.
"It feels like my body has been restored and can contain my power again!" she said in an energetic tone.
However, a few seconds later, the light radiating from the scroll began to dim. The pale light gradually faded like fog blown by the wind.
Not long after, the scroll moved on its own. The edges of the paper slowly folded inward, rolling back up in a slow movement until it finally closed tightly, as if it had never been opened before.
Around them, the last light vanished, leaving the forest environment dim and silent once more.
Zevaron caught the scroll and put it back into his storage ring, "How is it? The effect is good, isn't it?"
Keira nodded, "Where did you find that scroll?" she asked curiously.
Zevaron smiled mysteriously, "A secret." Zevaron answered briefly.
"To think that in this era, someone possesses such an artifact." an unfamiliar voice suddenly resounded.
Zevaron suddenly rose to his feet. His movements were swift, yet controlled. His sharp gaze immediately swept the surrounding area, observing every shadow between the trees with full vigilance.
"Who are you?" Zevaron asked coldly, his voice low yet firm.
Beside him, Keira took a short breath. Her right hand pressed against the ground at her side for support. Her shoulders tensed as she tried to lift her weak body.
Yet barely halfway up, her body wobbled slightly.
Zevaron's extended right hand suddenly lowered quickly, his palm open as if signaling her to stop.
"Don't push yourself," he said without looking back.
Keira clicked her tongue softly, the corner of her lips lifting slightly as if she didn't care much about her condition.
"Relax… I'm not that weak yet," she muttered casually, though her breath was still a bit heavy.
"Just relax. I won't hurt you guys."
A figure of a girl walked out from the shadows of the trees with light steps. Her expression was relaxed, almost looking as though she was enjoying the situation.
"My name is Tivana," she said while tilting her head slightly. "I came to offer a deal."
Zevaron's gaze hardened.
"What deal?" he asked briefly.
Tivana smiled thinly. She raised one hand, then pointed toward Keira who was still leaning on the ground.
"Not with you," she said lightly. "But with her."
Zevaron's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Yet before he had time to react—Tivana's figure suddenly vanished.
Zevaron's pupils contracted. Almost simultaneously, the same voice was heard right beside Keira.
"Your condition doesn't look too good."
Zevaron's head immediately snapped sharply toward the source of the voice.
There, Tivana was already crouching beside Keira, her elbows resting on her knees and both hands holding her chin as if she had been there all along.
Keira raised her eyebrows slightly, looking at the girl without appearing panicked. "What do you want?"
Zevaron's gaze tensed. Her speed… was extremely fast.
The air around them suddenly felt much heavier.
Tivana raised her wide-open right hand, and a magic circle quickly formed.
The magic circle radiated green energy, and that energy crawled across the surface of Keira's skin. A warm sensation spread from her left arm, stomach, and legs, driving away the pain in the injured areas.
"Now try moving the injured parts." Tivana said casually.
Keira was quiet for a moment before starting to move her fingers; as she did so, no pain radiated from her left hand.
The fingers on her left hand began to form a fist; as she did so, there was no pain.
Keira, who was originally leaning back, slowly leaned her body forward. Both of her hands went down to press the ground beside her hips for support. Her knees, which had been straight, began to bend slightly as the soles of her feet were drawn closer.
With a push from both hands and feet, her body rose slowly from the ground. Her back stooped for a few moments before she finally straightened her body and stood upright.
"Before that," Zevaron said suddenly, his voice calm yet firm. His gaze shifted to Tivana. "You must make a blood oath first. We won't easily trust someone we just met in a place like this."
Tivana immediately nodded lightly. "Alright," she answered briefly.
She slowly raised her right hand. A dim light suddenly glowed in the air in front of them, then lines of runes began to form, spinning slowly until they formed a magic circle floating in the air.
Tivana without hesitation bit the tip of her finger. A drop of dark red blood quickly appeared there.
As soon as that drop of blood appeared, an invisible force immediately pulled it.
Tivana's blood slowly lifted from the tip of her finger, floating toward the center of the slowly spinning magic circle. The runes inside the circle began to glow brighter.
Tivana looked at the circle with a casual face before finally speaking. "With my blood as witness…" Her voice was still casual. "I swear that I will speak the truth that I know and the thing I offer will not endanger her life, I also will not harm the two of them while discussing."
When those words finished being spoken, the magic circle trembled gently.
The runes inside radiated a brighter red light. A moment later, the magic circle trembled gently.
The light inside split into two parts. Each part then merged with a drop of blood—one belonging to Keira, and the other belonging to Tivana.
The two drops of blood trembled and shone for a moment, as if accepting the law of the oath just spoken.
Then both shot back toward their owners. A drop of blood re-entered the wound on Keira's finger, while the other returned to the wound on Tivana's finger.
As the blood merged back with their bodies, a strange warm feeling spread instantly inside their bodies, as if the oath had been embedded within their own blood.
The small wounds on the tips of their fingers closed slowly.
The runes on the magic circle began to fade one by one until finally disappearing completely from the air.
The blood oath was now bound. And an oath like that… could not be broken without consequences.