Walking towards the forest of the ents with Ariana and Shaman, Ren was calmly observing the trees and animals that they came across along the way. It was universally accepted amongst the demons not to go near the forest of the ents if they didn’t want to be captured and used as fertilizers for the trees. Yet normal animals and half-evolved beasts were most of the time left alone to freely roam the forest, without interference from the sentient trees.

“I’ve got a weird feeling.” Leinor’s voice echoed inside Ren’s head.

“What do you mean?” She asked back.

“I can’t put my finger on it. But the air is different, filled with… weirdness.”

“I don’t feel anything strange.” Ren replied to him, after taking a deep breath. She was trying and sensing it but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

“Maybe it's because I’m only a soul?” Leinor guessed. “But I definitely feel… off.”

“In a good or a bad way?” Ren asked, furrowing her brow.

“Both. Good in a sense that I can form tangible thoughts and solidify my presence so I can talk to you freely. Bad in a way because I can detect feelings that are not mine. Thoughts that are not mine. Memories that are definitely not mine. It is hard to put it into words, Ren. Most of the time, before you tore Harimau’s soul apart, I was slipping in and out of consciousness. I was living or, more accurately, dreaming through your memories before I could form my own separate thoughts.”

“Your soul fragment must have absorbed some pieces of Harimau’s when it was torn apart.” Ren thought, coming to the conclusion as to why she could more clearly feel Leinor’s presence now. “So… Are you saying that you were going in and out of consciousness?”

“Yes. It was hard for me to remember who I was, what I was and sometimes I just… I just was. It was like being dazed and disoriented. I was watching your past and present life through a foggy window. Sometimes recognizing my own reflection in it… That was what gave me enough strength to remember who I am and speak to you. Honestly… I was not even sure if I was me or part of your mind. Most of the time I was in a state between real and fake.”

“And now?” She asked with a slight, barely noticeable tremble in her voice.

“Since the Tiger King’s death, I feel more stable. When I slip into that dazed state, I more easily get brought out of it by your thoughts. More importantly, I can quickly remember who I am.”

“Glad to hear it!” Ren smiled happily, that also showed on her face. “So, about the forest! You are trying to say that you pick up on marks left here by others from the past? Old souls, maybe?” She asked, thinking.

“Maybe. I don’t really know.”

“That should not be possible. People back then were not cultivators like nowadays. Maybe 1% of the population had the chance to call him or herself a cultivator. And that is generous! Their souls should have disappeared instantly after death, gone into reincarnation with a snap.”

“Maybe. But who knows what has changed when the cosmos’s energy washed over our realm. Or what have the trees done when destroying the House of Ein?”

“...”

“Master?” Ariana asked, seeing Ren’s face change constantly, from happy to thoughtful, as if she were debating with someone.

“Hm?” She looked at her, tilting her head. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?”

“Sure. I was just thinking! Don’t you feel weird? Closing in on the ents?” She probed her disciple as she was more tuned towards others’ feelings.

“No, not really.” She replied after a few seconds, trying to feel out the forest. “Wait…” She flinched as she tried again and again. “I… I don’t know. Maybe? I thought it was coming from Shaman.”

“What was coming from me?” The chimpanzee asked, looking at them. “Just so you know, I bathed! I do so regularly now! It is not coming from me, okay?”

“We are not talking about your smell!” Ren said as she rolled her eyes. “But about feelings!”

“I am not interested in girly talks! Thank you very much!” He said as he threw his hands up immediately, hastening his steps, quickly drawing a distance between them. “It's so damn confusing and pointless…” Shaman murmured under his breath.

“Leave him be!” Ren sighed, watching the old chimpanzee’s back. “So, what did you feel?”

“Grievance. Indignation. Anger… But they are… somewhat faint. And distant… I don’t know.” She sighed, shaking her head. She really thought it was coming from Shaman before them. “Won’t he be a problem, Master?” Ariana asked quietly. “He has such an intense hatred towards the ents, killing and consuming his whole family and tribe before…”

“I know. That is why I brought him along. He needs a resolution, one way or another. This is what kept him going for decades now! If we don’t give him a chance to put an end to this all, he is going to go insane sooner or later. Barring him from doing this would also turn him against us. I care for the old monkey; I don’t want to see him crumbling down in the end. If things get dicey, I’ll step in, until then, let him let loose some of that pent up rage.”

“I see… I’ll help however I can.” Ariana nodded.

“That is why I brought you along~” Her Master smiled at her. “It helped me a great deal, too.”

“Hehe…” She blushed with a happy smile. “Also, Master, your warning seemed to work! We are clearly already in their territory. I heard the stories of how the trees attack any demon who gets this close, yet we were still not harmed or barred from going forward!”

“Better if it stays that way!” Ren laughed as they were interrupted by a surprised shout.

“Would you look at that!” Shaman’s voice traveled to them, and when they caught up to him, they were standing before a giant, arching bridge over the Shert River. It was still in perfect condition, free of cracks or erosion, only covered by fallen leaves, ivies, and a little dirt. “Oh? There is a plaque at the foot of it.” He said as he walked closer, wiping off the foliage.

It was a carved-out stone plaque made from the same material as the bridge. It was signaling that on the other side was the land of the royal family and the home to the capital city, Azur. Only those who are invited or have the rank of High Noble, bestowed to them by the Royal Lineage. Only they were permitted to pass over this bridge. Both the plaque and the bridge itself were decorated with carvings of beautiful figures of both men and women with little to nothing on them. The writing was laced with something that was still sparkling in a deep, sapphire color. After 2000 years, it has not yet faded away; it was just as vivid when it was first put here.

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“It says, ‘Those who are not welcomed be warned! Your life is forfeited the moment you step onto this bridge!’ Hmm… strong words.” Ren mused, reading the warning out loudly.

“Should we… try to cross it one person at a time?” Shaman asked her, with uncertainty in his voice, for the first time since they had set out.

“No,” Ren replied, rolling her. “What do you think, the old humans had some kind of traps laid down? A golem, maybe? Or is the bridge going to shake us off? Think! Back then, they were nothing but regular people! There were probably guards patrolling the area, catching anyone who was not invited, and maybe they tossed their bodies into the river. The most advanced technology they had was at most flushable toilets and running water.” She explained as she stepped onto the bridge and started walking. “See?” She stood in the middle, turning back to look at them, but then she heard Leinor’s voice.

“Something is happening behind you.”

“Huh?” Ren blinked her eyes, surprised as she looked at the other end of the bridge. From under the earth, shriveled human bodies were rising up, climbing out from the mud.

First, it was only a hand stretching out from the ground, then multiple mummified corpses climbed out in tattered, ragged clothes and armor, already fused with their shrunk up skins. Their eye sockets were completely empty and nothing but a black hole. Their teeth were rotten, and putrid air escaped from between their mouths and noses as they were moaning incoherently. Some held weapons like broken spears or rusted swords and some of them had shields strapped to their arms. In the end, a dozen or more ‘humans’ were walking towards Ren.

“Are you serious?” She sighed, watching the corpses drag their feeble bodies towards her.

“What did you just say?” Shaman shouted, still at the foot of the bridge.

“I still stand by it!” Ren replied, pointing out a finger and shooting a bolt of lightning toward one of them, blowing the body into pieces. Just as she killed it, the area trembled a little, and on the other side, more and more started to rise. They were soon numbering a hundred. Bodies of soldiers, civilians, women, men, children, young and old, all were walking towards them. They quickly turned the sunny morning into a horror scene. “Fuck me…” Ren gawked, not believing what she was seeing.

“Master!” Ariana rushed up to her. “They are alive! I can feel their confusion!”

“They are… alive?” Ren asked as she tilted her head. Then, she also heard Leinor’s voice echo inside her mind.

“She is right. When you killed that one, I felt a jolt. Its soul immediately passed on. The rest still have theirs trapped in their bodies, unable to truly die.”

“Leave it to me, Master,” Ariana said as she stepped forward. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she was tuning herself onto the ‘zombies’ feelings. She could pick up on the pain and 2000 years of suffering. Just as she could utilize the death of the demons on that glass-like battlefield to take down the golem, now she could tap into the pain of the living corpses. Soon, the earth turned black, like an oil spillage, trapping a lot of the bodies and slowing them down even further.

“That is… so bizarre…” Shaman murmured, also coming up on the bridge, watching Ariana in action.

Her spell did not end there, soon figures started to form, rising up like specters, made out of tar as they were attacking the corpses. It took only a few seconds, and it became a battle between black, demonic-looking creatures and living corpses, killing and tearing each other apart. Ariana knew this might inadvertently cause that sleeping God’s consciousness to be drawn here… but she didn’t hear his voice. Yet. And she gambled on the fact these souls were too weak to be useful to him.

“What do you think caused it?” Shaman asked, but Ren just shook her head.

“I don’t know. Yet.” She replied.

“I think I have an idea.” Ariana said, and one of her demons brought something back. It was a chestnut-looking seed with little, tentacle-looking sprouts growing out of it and still flailing about. “This is inside of them. Every one of them has one.” She explained, giving it to Ren.

“Interesting,” Ren whispered, looking at it and rolling it around between her fingers. As soon as she held it in her palm, those little sprouts tried to drill under her skin, yet they were unable to hurt the body of someone in the 2nd stage of Harmony.

“It's this… this…” Shaman spoke up with a cold voice, yet his eyes spewed fire. “They plant these into us and control our bodies, use them as puppets! I saw them do this to my family!”

“So this is the seed of an ent, huh?” Ren poked it as if it was constantly trying to get under her skin. “What is even worse, they somehow keep the host alive. Those people are 2000 years old, trapped inside their dead bodies. If the dwarfs knew about this, I can now understand their deep-seated hatred.” She sighed before crushing the seed.

Just as she did, amber-colored sap spurted out from it between her fingers. It was overly sweet in odor and thick as honey. It slowly dribbled down from her palm, splattering on the bridge’s surface. As soon as she crushed it, Ren’s eyes were already looking past the still ongoing battle, watching the tree line, sensing that something had reacted to her destroying that seed.

“The owner of this… thing… felt it.” She explained slowly.

“Good! I hope it hurts!” Shaman snorted, picking out flasks before hurling them forward. Green and bluish-colored flames came forth as they landed amongst the battling crowd. It was igniting dozens of corpses aflame in a flash. “Fuck them! Fuck every last one of them!” He shouted, producing every little piece he brought with him. He was breathing heavily as he rained fire on them while laughing. Ariana didn’t say anything, just let him do it, but below Shaman, from her own shadow, a small, thin hair strand was connected to his.

After only fifteen minutes, nothing ‘living’ was left on the other side of the bridge as they walked down from it. Most of the bodies were broken and unmoving, their seeds destroyed, burnt to ashes, or still burning and melting. The scenery looked like dozens of bluish bonfires lit at the same time, letting a sweet, caramel-like scent spread everywhere in the air.

“You good?” Ren patted the back of the huffing and puffing Shaman, who was gasping for air.

“Y-yeah… I am… I… am now.” He nodded, looking around and wiping his forehead. “I hope whoever is the owner of those seeds feels good about it! Just as good as I do!” He grinned, wiping his mouth.

“I did.” An inhuman, deep voice echoed from the forest. Not that far from them, a root broke through the earth, growing out from the burnt ground and taking the shape of a thin, somewhat human-looking being. “Yet do not think that your fire is going to make me scared.” He replied, ‘looking’ at them. Where the eyes should be, only two amber-colored stones were placed.

“Well, I did send a message. You received it, I assume?” Ren stepped to the front as she continued. “I was not joking.”

“We received it. The typical arrogance of a human.” The ent answered, looking down at her.

“Then… Should I take it that the typical welcoming of an ent is to throw monsters at the guests?” Ren retorted quickly.

“We do not receive guests.” The ent said after a brief pause. “But the progenitor agreed to meet with you.”

“Then start coming up with a better way to greet guests!” She shook her head. “Or test us in a less obvious way. You are way too much of an amateur!” Ren sighed, walking forward, not showing any fear, but they also could not see any change on the ent’s ‘face’. Which was staying completely… wooden. When standing before her, Ren just looked at the root, sticking out from the ground, forming the person before them. “So, what is your name? I am Ren.”

“We have no names. That is a human concept. We just are.”

“Damn, you are going to be annoying to deal with!” She murmured under her breath while Ariana and Shaman also walked up to her. “Okay, lead the way Mr. Morning Wood.”

“Ren!”

“Master!”

“Hah!”

Three different voices, one from Leinor, one from Ariana, and one from Shaman, were echoed in her ears.

“Okay, okay…” She sighed, scratching her ears. “Mr. Moody Woody, please, bring us in! We don’t know the way.”

“...” The ent said nothing but just disappeared back into the ground, and after a few minutes had passed, the treeline started to separate before them. It was showing a path, clearly inviting them inside.

“I have a bad feeling about this…” Shaman gulped, but Ren was already walking forward.

“Relax.” They heard Ren’s confident voice. “I prepared something if things would go south.”

Ariana just nodded, calming down after hearing her Master’s words as they followed her. They were walking along a strange path. While the forest behind them closed in on itself, at the front, it was still opening up. It was acting like a living, breathing entity in itself.