The cold breeze blows softly as Fa stares at the statue of the grandmaster with a melancholic expression while Ezra gives Fa a sad look.

"This garden is where i unlocked my realm..." Fa Jin says, his eyes twitching slightly.

"May i ask... What was your trauma...?"

"I was seven years old when an assasin ambushed my mother in the garden and murdered her... He tried to murder me as well but i killed the man when i unlocked my realm..." He sighs, "for that reason, my realm's ability imbues death into every person in it, multiplying the damage delt to anyone inside."

"I'm sorry to hear that..." Ezra says quietly.

"It's alright, but never mention this to Yue, she was inseperable from our mother when our father left and she is still not over her death. I still remember her crying day and night after her death..." He sighs deeply again, "you can leave now, i'll stay for a little while longer."

Ezra doesn't question him and simply turns around to leave, he begins to walk away, slowly stepping closer to the home, his mind completely full of thoughts and concern for both Yue and Fa.

The sun slowly sets behind the horizon and stars light up the night sky, Ezra looks up at the path forward and sees Helena and the swordsman slowly aproach him. He waves at them with a small smile, Helena waves back with a grin while the swordsman only looks at Ezra with a neutral expression.

"Ezra!" Helena yells out, "i'll be going out to search for Qiang with the swordsman guy, wanna come?"

"The two of you are enough, no? Besides, i'm kinda sleepy..."

"It'll be easier with three of us, and we don't know what dangers lurk in the forest. And Yue also encouraged us to go so we could familiarize ourselves with the environment."

Ezra rolls his eyes, "fine, i'll go..."

The three of them begin to walk away from the estate, very quickly leaving the gate and going into a dark forest of evergreen trees. Ezra walks beside Helena in silence while the swordsman walks slightly in front of them.

Ezra looks at the swordsman, seeing a large sword on his back but doesn't seem to impede his movement, on the contrary, he walks faster than both Ezra and Helena, almost like the weight on his back isn't even there.

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Ezra sighs, looking up at the sky in boredom but looking a little on edge and it doesn't help that the forest is extremely large and dark. He looks on into the endless umbra before him and his heartbeat quickens.

Bushes shush all around him and crows caw loudly from atop the tall evergreen trees. It's already well into the night and the moon casts its silver light upon the forest below, by then, they had already traversed many kilometers.

Helena apears bored now as well and sighs, looking at the swordsman, asking for his name to start small talk however the man only says "Huan Lian" and continues to walk, clearly uninterested in a conversation.

"Um... So where are you from...?" Helena asks with a nervous smile.

"I am of the noble Huan clan, i will say nothing more." He continues to walk and Helena sighs even deeper to which Ezra asks her why she even speaks to him but she doesn't answer, only shrugging.

"So..." She starts to speak again before Lian shushes her, "I am payed to look for your friend, not to listen to your yapping." He says coldly, he then focuses on listening to the forest sounds, howling of wolves and shushing of every bush in the area as if the man is one with nature.

"It's safe." He clears his throat and walks again, "I have to be on the lookout since i am traveling with two children, i wouldn't like to be responsible for any injuries."

Helena nods, "well, you see... I am..." He cuts her off again telling her that he knows of her identity as a Principle. They walk more and more, the sky begins to slowly turn red as the moon dissappears behind the horizon and Huan Lian stops dead in his tracks, his black eyes widening as he grips the handle of his large blade, hearing a bloodcurdling scream of a woman echo through the forest.

Three creatures run from the north, bearing large claws and teeth with bloodshot eyes, with a single motion of his hand Lian slashes the creatures in three, bending down and analizing the vaguely humanoid corpses at his feet.

Helena walks forward, "this is... Metamorphosis... And the scream earlier... This is Leviathan's doing..."

"Leviathan... Sounds strong..." Ezra says with a nervous smile, "i'm so screwed..." The next moment Lian dashes into the forest with Helena and Ezra reluctantly follows them.

After running for a minute the arrive close to a giant ravine, trees, boulders even entire hills. A loud childish laugh is heard and wind rushes at Lian who is pushed out out of the way by Helena, the ground is almost erased entirely as the vortex rushes across, even destroying Helena's left leg that is immediatelly healed.

Ezra arrives soon after and the three of them stand face to face with a little girl, her hair in a ponytail and she wears a small checkered skirt. Ezra moves back slightly fearfully but a tree pulls him back into itself and begins to absorb him as he shouts for help.

Helena summons her water sword and gets into a stance while the child only looks at them with a wild, evil grin. Playfully repeating "new toys!"

Helena and Lian stand still, sweating profusely while the girl simply puts her hands behind her back with a smile, "my name's Leviathan, what's yours?"

TO BE CONTINUED...