Holding his breath, Apolo watched as the bird devoured Helena's corpse: he knew that this bird was his ticket to resurrection, so he couldn't let it escape; there wouldn't be another chance like this. The young man watched in silence until what he had been waiting for finally happened.

*On, on!*... *On, oooooooooooon!*... The bird's caw resounded again, and while the bird was cawing, Apolo violently extended his arm, which grew at an abnormal speed, rapidly catching the bird before it flew away in fright.

*Crush*... *Crush*... Instantly, the sounds of bones breaking echoed from Apolo's elongated arm; however, the boy didn't seem to be in pain. Instead, the smile of a man who had captured his salvation appeared on his young face.

*Oooon, oon!*... *On!*... As the bird struggled to free itself from the boy's grip, the gold ring on Apolo's hand began to glow. The engraving on the ring started moving as if it had a will of its own. Slowly, the person with arms extended to the sky began to close them until he embraced himself. Subsequently, the gold ring stopped glowing, and the trapped bird's struggle intensified. Yet, the boy's confident smile continued to grow as the bird fought more vigorously.

*Oo, on, on!*... *On!*... The bird fought and fought, but gradually its squawks grew lower, and its struggle became less violent. Meanwhile, Apolo began to regain his strength.

This was the power of the gold ring that only the members of Apolo's family could use. It was one of the major reasons nearly all family members became soldiers. The ring acted as an amplifier to quickly gain the blessings of their ancestors. In return, their ancestors would heal them by sacrificing another life. However, the short life of a bird wasn't strong enough to completely heal Apolo, but it would at least help him regain mobility in his legs, allowing him to reach an old tree in the forest.

The innate ability of Apolo's family healed based on the length of the sacrificed animal's or plant's life. The life of a decades-old tree was strong enough to completely heal, unlike the nearby grass that couldn't even heal a scratch.

The bird in Apolo's hand visibly aged until it finally died of old age. Realizing the bird was no longer useful, Apolo cast it aside and mustering strength to cope with the pain, the boy stood up and limped towards the nearest tree.

Reaching the tree, he extended his hand, placing his palm against the bark. The ring's inscription changed again, and the tree's life force began to be absorbed by the boy. As the tree lost its leaves and its bark cracked, the wound in Apolo's abdomen began to close, and the cold pain in his belly started to vanish.

After a few minutes, Apolo felt his life was no longer in danger and that he was completely healed. With some enthusiasm for having survived, the boy lifted his shirt to observe only a finger-sized scar remained where he had been stabbed.

With a triumphant smile, Apolo began to return to his family. However, on the way back to the castle, he felt he had forgotten something. Right then, he remembered he hadn't come to the cliff alone. Apolo turned around with concern and looked at the path he had been traveling all this time. To his desperation, he saw an innumerable number of trees, black wood and red leaves, stretching before him.

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—Helena!— Apolo shouted with all his might toward the hilltop where the cliff was.

*Hush, hush*... Only the red leaves rustling in the wind responded to the boy.

—It can't be, it can't be...— Apolo whispered in desperation as he held his head. —I forgot Helena at the cliff. That fool got lost in the forest. Dad's going to lock me in the castle for a year if I don't find her!

Apolo quickly started running toward the cliff, shouting Helena's name, hoping his friend would hear him. However, only the forest birds seemed to be attentive to the boy's cries. After running for a few minutes, Apolo was finally close enough to the cliff to begin hearing the thunderous sound of water crashing against rocks.

—Helena, Helena, are you here?—Apolo yelled energetically, trying to make his voice heard over the water's noise. However, only the sound of water crashing against the cliff walls replied to the boy.

Apolo kept getting closer to the cliff until he was finally close enough to the hilltop to see his friend's body. Helena was gazing at the cliff, sitting on a large rock, unusually black, as if it had been burned by a forest fire long ago.

—Hey, Helena! Why the hell didn't you follow me back?— Apolo yelled in anger, watching his friend ignore him and continue to turn her back to the cliff. —I was so worried; I thought you were lost. Thank goodness you didn't decide to come back on your own. I would've had to search everywhere for you. Do you know how furious my father would be if I told him I left you stranded in the middle of the forest?

However, Helena continued to ignore Apolo, frustrating him.

—Don't tell me you're mad at me!— Apolo said with some annoyance at his friend's silence. —It's not like it's my fault you didn't decide to follow me! I thought you were deliberately hiding from me, but after a while, it got really strange not being able to hear your steps anymore.

Still, Helena continued to ignore Apolo, making him tired and prompting him to confront her face-to-face. With confident steps, the boy began to approach his friend. When he was a few steps away from Helena's back, his legs began to slow down until Apolo stopped completely, fearfully gazing at her friend's back.

It wasn't what he was seeing that frightened the boy, but rather what he was hearing. Helena was repeating the same words over and over. Due to the rushing noise of the water, it was complicated to distinguish, but standing close enough, Apolo heard his friend tirelessly repeat the following words:

—Deo… Echo… Thais… Helena… Deo… Echo… Thais… Helena… Deo… Echo… Thais… Helena…

—Don't scare me, you idiot! It's like some bug bit you, and now you're rambling— Apolo commented with concern about his friend's abnormal state. The last thing he needed was to have to carry his friend from this cliff to the castle on his back because some animal had bitten her. If that were the case, they wouldn't make it back before nightfall, and his father would end up punishing him.

Despite the boy's shouts, his friend continued to ignore him while monotonously and soullessly repeating the same four words over and over.

—Are you okay, Helena?— Apolo asked, placing his hand on her shoulder, trying to turn her around to see her face. But it wasn't necessary for Apolo to try to turn her around because when he touched Helena's shoulder, her neck began to twist until her eyes locked onto the boy's black eyes with immense hatred.

*Agggggg!*... Apolo cried out in terror as he saw his friend's face completely deformed, staring at him with intense loathing.