Chapter 26 — After the Apple
The sound echoed softly through the forest, sharp and clear, and then there was silence again. Gaurav expected pain. He expected his throat to burn, his chest to tighten, his body to reject whatever he had just put inside it. Instead, the crystal piece in his mouth did something unexpected. It did not crack or crunch. It melted. Slowly, smoothly, like ice under sunlight, turning into a thick, sweet juice that spread across his tongue. The taste was strange but pleasant, not sharp, not heavy, almost comforting. Before he could even think, the liquid slid down his throat. He swallowed without effort. Everyone was watching him closely now, their bodies tense, their minds ready for the worst. The Vestiges stood still in the distance. The red crystal tree pulsed faintly, as if waiting.
A few seconds passed. Then warmth bloomed inside Gaurav's chest. Not heat, not fire, but something gentler and deeper. It spread outward through his arms, his legs, his neck, his spine. His breathing changed. It became lighter, deeper, as if his lungs had suddenly grown larger. His heart slowed, steady and strong. The warmth did not stop. It moved inward, deeper than muscle, deeper than bone. Gaurav felt it reach places he had never been aware of before. Every cell in his body seemed to shift, to loosen, to break apart and rebuild itself. It felt like being taken apart piece by piece and put back together again, cleaner, stronger, newer. A wave of freshness washed over him, so intense it almost made him dizzy. It was the kind of freshness he had never felt in his entire life, not after rest, not after sleep, not even after surviving danger. This was different. This was complete.
He looked down at his arms, turning them slowly, disbelief written across his face. Small scratches he had gotten while pushing through sharp branches days ago were gone. The thin cuts on his hands had vanished. The dull ache in his shoulder, something he had been carrying for months, was simply not there anymore. He touched his neck, his ribs, his legs, checking again and again, half-expecting the pain to return. It did not. His body felt perfect in a way that made him uncomfortable. Too perfect. Like something that did not belong to him.
Nitya watched him carefully, her eyes sharp, missing nothing. Vansh stepped closer, his sword still in hand, ready to act if Gaurav so much as staggered. Avni held her breath, her fingers clenched so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Gaurav took a slow step forward. Then another. His balance was flawless. His movements felt lighter, more precise. He looked up at them, shaken.
"I'm… fine," he said, his voice steady, almost calm. "More than fine."
That was enough. One by one, they raised their own pieces of the crystal apple. Fear still lingered, but it was thinner now, cracked by what they had just seen. Vansh ate first, then Avni, then Nitya. Each of them felt it the moment the crystal touched their mouths. The melting. The sweetness. The strange warmth spreading through their bodies. Vansh's tired muscles loosened, old stiffness disappearing in seconds. Avni felt clarity flood her mind, her exhaustion dissolving like mist. Nitya closed her eyes as the sensation reached her core, her breathing slowing, her pulse steadying. The same feeling hit them all. Every cell replaced. Every weakness wiped clean. The freshness was overwhelming, godlike, almost wrong. They stood there for a long moment, four people breathing in unison, surrounded by a forest that glowed red and silent.
It was Nitya who noticed first.
The pressure was gone.
She opened her eyes and scanned the space beneath the crystal tree. The four Vestiges were no longer there. No movement, no sound, no sign of struggle. Just empty ground where they had stood moments ago. Her body reacted before her mind did. She raised her hand sharply. Vansh stepped back into position, sword lifted. Avni turned slowly, eyes wide, searching the trees. Gaurav felt the shift and tensed, his new strength ready but untested. Minutes passed. Nothing moved. The forest remained still. No attack came. No presence returned. Slowly, carefully, they lowered their stances.
"They're gone," Avni whispered.
Nitya nodded, but her expression did not soften. The Vestiges had not retreated in fear. They had left because they chose to. That thought stayed with her as they moved away from the tree and deeper into the forest.
They traveled longer than they meant to. The forest no longer drained them the way it should have. Hunger did not come. Fatigue did not slow them. After two full days, they finally crossed out of the Red Crystal Forest. The land beyond looked normal at first, but something felt off. The sky angle seemed wrong. The hills did not match their memory. They stopped, checked their path, checked again. Slowly, the truth settled in. They were lost. After hours of walking, they found a river and decided to follow it, trusting that water always led somewhere. The river curved, bent, twisted through the land, and after three and a half days, the red glow returned. The trees rose again around them. They had entered the Red Crystal Forest once more. No one spoke for a long time.
Inside the Horizon, worry spread like a quiet sickness. Six days had passed. No signal. No return. Some believed the four were dead. Others refused to say it out loud. The leadership waited, restless, watching the clock become an enemy.
Back beyond the forest, the group finally emerged again. This time, they did not stop. As they moved toward familiar ground, a cave caught their attention. It sat far from the main path, dark and wide, like an open mouth in the earth. They had left the Horizon six days ago. Returning empty-handed felt worse than risking another unknown. After a short discussion, they turned toward the cave. By the time they reached it, the sun was already sinking. The sky darkened quickly. They set up a small camp near the entrance and slept in shifts, the cave watching them silently.
At dawn, they entered.
The inside was not stone like they expected. Bamboo trees filled the space, growing tall and dense, their green stalks stretching toward a ceiling lost in shadow. Vansh stepped forward and tested one with his sword. The blade cut cleanly through the bamboo. Instantly, blood sprayed out, warm and dark, splashing across his armor and face. He froze. The bamboo was alive. The sound that followed was worse. Soft movement. Crawling. From inside the cut stalk, silkworm-like creatures spilled out, pale and thick. Vansh reacted on instinct and struck one down. The creature split in half—and then vanished, leaving behind a small white relic on the ground.
They moved deeper, carefully now. Each bamboo held five or six worms. They killed them when they attacked. Not every death left a relic behind. They counted. Nearly a hundred worms. Only thirty relics. The math was cruel. Effort did not mean reward.
As they prepared to leave, Gaurav slowed. Something felt wrong again. Not pain. Not weakness. He stopped walking completely. Everyone turned to him.
"I'm not hungry," he said slowly.
They stared at him.
"We haven't eaten properly in two days," he continued. "I should be exhausted. I should feel it. But I don't."
He took a deep breath, understanding settling in, heavy and cold.
"My body isn't using energy like before," he said quietly. "It's wasting almost nothing. I could last longer than a normal human. Hunger. Pain. Low oxygen. All of it."
He looked at the relic in his hand, then at the others.
"Is this the power of the relic?"