***Darius POV***

Strange. Very Strange. I could feel foreign energy outside of the carriage. It feels different than mana. It can't be...

"Lady Elaine! Someone is outside claiming to know Lord Northwood!" My mother looked warily at the driver for a moment; before opening the carriage door. She walked toward the front of the carriage to discover a knight standing protectively in front of a young boy.

While peeking my head out of the carriage door my eyes were drawn to the boy.

Hmmm, If I were to describe the energy or feeling, I would say he smelled earthy or rusty. My instincts screamed at me. This energy was reminiscent of something... something nostalgic.

"Get back inside, Darius! You can't just leave the carriage whenever you want!" I didn't quite listen as I chose to stand next to my mother instead.

She talked with the knight for a minute or so as I looked at the strange boy. The boy looked at me through the gap in his father's legs. His eyes were filled with curiosity. Though he seemed a bit nervous and afraid as well. 'Sniff' 'Sniff'

My heart was wildly thumping in my chest as though... It's just not possible.

My curiosity could no longer be contained. I walked over to the boy. There was something I needed to check.

"Darius!"

The boy looked like he had an apple stuck in his throat as he looked at me.

"What's your name?" I asked him a pointed question.

The knight took a step back and pushed his son forward to meet me. It looked like the boy used every bit of courage he had to meet my gaze.

Before I could say anything a shadow loomed behind me as though a tree suddenly sprouted providing shade. A hand shot down to grab me like a hawk snatching a rodent from the ground, "Mother, please trust me. Let me check something. I'm sorry!" Her glittering eyes seemed to be filled with fire as her hand stopped in the air.

"Darius..."

"Mom..."

We stared each other down before she gave me an affirmative grunt. "I'll give you two minutes."

I looked back at the boy and asked, "Name?"

"Roderick. Roderick Bravestone, Sir."

"I'm not a sir." I walked around him in a circle and said, "So I overheard you saying you wanted to be my squire. Is that true?"

The knight-looking man quickly said, "Yes, young master. My son would like a chan..."

"Sir Bravestone, I'd like to hear an answer from the boy himself. A squire is trained to be a knight who will serve a master for life. I'd prefer he thought out his answer before giving it to me."

The boy Roderick looked stunned for a few moments before recovering. He gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, young master. I'd like to be your squire. I want to grow up to be a knight like my father!"

I nodded, "Give me your arm."

The father looked at me, his eyes glazed in confusion, and my mother's expression wasn't too different.

Roderick slowly showed his arm in trepidation. I placed my index and middle finger on his wrist, "Stay still."

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His heartbeat was erratic. I delved deep into his blood and bones with a few threads of Qi. His mana was rich in qualities of the earth. That was the impression I got, at least. His blood was darker than normal, and the blood vessels lining his dantian took a certain shape... It was almost as though his blood vessels were shaped like many branches extending in every direction.

I couldn't help but mumble, "True Lotus..."

The true lotus divine art. The dantian takes the shape of a flower, and each cultivation stage is characterized by: roots, branches, stocks, and petals.

An ancient art practiced by an old friend...

It's impossible!

Chaos erupted in my mind as I looked at the boy in front of me.

Did he reincarnate alongside me? Could the others have reincarnated alongside me? It was certainly possible. I had never even thought of the possibility before now.

An indescribable urge to ask him a question in my native tongue came over me, but I thought better of it. I knew this wasn't the right time to ask. I'd have to wait until an opportunity presented itself.

How could this be a coincidence?

"Young master?"

I could tell from looking at the boy in front of me that he had no idea what was going on. Thousand Roses wasn't an actor. He couldn't act for shit unless he suddenly picked up the skill in his new life.

It took all of my willpower to gather my composure and say, "His talent for magic is acceptable. Father, gave me the right to decide my own squires." I looked at my mother first before turning to the boy and continued, "Roderick, how would you like to be my squire."

Sir Bravestone and Roderick both looked shocked by my words, but my mother simply shook her head. "Are you sure, Darius?"

"Of course. Please trust me, mom. I'll take responsibility for my people if there's ever an issue." I smiled at my mother and gave her a thumbs up. She only smirked at me before ruffling my hair in response.

She turned to look at the father and son and shrugged her shoulders, saying, "Well, would the two of you like to join us? We're going to Renee to look around. The kids, sorry, squires need some experience."

The knight took a step forward and bowed, "Of course! I'd love to join you all in an outing in Renee. But I must ask, is it possible for me to come back with you all at the end of the day? Lady Elaine, Sir Northwood invited to me work for him as a knight. I'd love to get the chance to meet him again!"

"When we get back from the city, I'm sure my husband can spare some time to see you." My mother nodded at him before walking back to the carriage. I followed behind my mother before turning around to look at the dumbstruck boy.

I gestured for him to follow me. This had been the most interesting encounter I've had since the dragon in my dreams.

I had a lot of questions and not many answers.

*********

A dark shadow flittered across the trees and fog like a ghost. Denny Carter was now deep within the depths of the Prime Forest. The fleeting shadows and dense fog were signs of a danger he'd prefer not to deal with if he had a choice.

"I'm too deep now. It's time to head back. I already have all the information I need. Going any further is just suicide." Denny stopped in his tracks and turned around.

Shadows would flitter within the trees from time to time, but no physical signs of beasts or monsters were present in the forest. There was no sign of any life in the forest at all...

Monsters were always present in the forest. Usually, entire ecosystems of monster colonies existed within the middle region of the forest. The deeper section of the forest he was currently in, was reserved for powerful beasts that took entire portions of the forest as their territory.

"I need to get back to the Red Tower and call for an emergency council. A monster recession of this magnitude... I've never even heard of monster recession reaching this far into the forest. This is umprecedented."

Doom.

The fog grew thicker as a feeling of intense cold crawled up his limbs to the back of his head. Death and dread seemed to claw at his soul as he heard a child-like whisper.

"Why are you leaving so soon?"

Chills shot up Denny's spine as the ghostly voice of a shadow whispered in his ears. Denny knew not to respond to any voice he heard in the deeper parts of the forest.

He knew it better than most.

Flames erupted from underneath his feet as he charged through the forest at the top speed he could muster. He just needed to reach the middle portion of the forest, and he'd be safe.

"Would you like to play a game?"

The voice seemed closer as he ran with everything he had. The voice approached from only a few meters away.

Hopefully, he could lose his voice before...

"Won't you stay?"

The voice was practically tickling his ear at this point with a chilling cold voice that could strangle the soul. Leaping hundreds of meters with as much force as he could muster, Denny carved his way past the deep fog and made his way to the middle section of the Prime Forest. He broke past the thick fog and managed to break out of the dangerous part of the forest.

A part that was usually reserved for massive colonies of monsters, but was now empty.

Denny took deep breaths as he regained control of his lungs. He looked around in every direction desperately trying to find any signs of a shadow or beast lurking around him.

When he was confident that there was nothing around him he finally relaxed.

"Sh-shit! The fucking shadowlings! What the fuck was that?"

"Let's play a game."

Like the cold that came from the frozen level of hell itself, a voice penetrated Denny's soul like a spear to the heart.

"You can't leave, you know. So you might as well stay and play with me."

The fog surrounding Denny thickened rapidly. The trees around him became obscured, and within seconds he could see nothing at all.

All that was left was a cold and heavy fog.

"This is Roderick. He's the last of the four squires and will be joining us on our trip to Renee." Darius introduced the new squire to the group of kids waiting in the carriage.

Talia quickly smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Roderick! I'm Talia!"

"The name's Daniel. It's a pleasure." Daniel smiled as well, however, he was a bit more polite in his choice of words.

Aaron ignored them as he looked out the carriage window. An unaware passerby might even think he was the noble child in the carriage if they were to look into the carriage with no context. Darius could only glare at Aaron before saying, "The arrogant one is Aaron. Don't pay him much mind. He spends most of his time in his own little world."

That drew a frown from Aaron, but the brat chose not to say anything as he looked out the window.

Darius sat next to his mother and said, "Let's all get along. I'd like to take you guys out for some really good food before we look around the city. Granny's Pies makes the best pies in all of Renee! I hope you guys like it."

Roderick looked shocked for a few seconds before scratching the back of his head. He wouldn't mind getting another slice of pie if it was on the way...