It was early morning when Ezekiel was awoken by the sound of rustling leaves and cracking branches. Feeling his bed moving beneath him, he shot up in surprise. Looking around, he realized that he was being brought to the same room as the Forest Spirit’s primary body. The many-faced tree stood before him as he was tilted off of the bed he was resting on.
Checking over himself, he felt his freshly advanced Tier two mana thrumming gently within his soul. He felt a steady calmness envelope him, even as he felt himself entering a state of mental focus. The brief sense of worry he was developing faded away.
“Shine, wake up. It’s time to go.” Ezekiel said to his Spirit.
“...Right, I’m awake...” Shine’s groggy sounding voice drifted through Ezekiel’s mind.
As Shine rose to full consciousness, Ezekiel turned his attention to the Forest Spirit. Once again, all the faces seemed to be turned towards him. Their eyes glowing a faint green light as they gazed down on him. But Ezekiel felt like there was an emptiness to them. As if the Spirit’s attention was turned elsewhere at the moment.
“Are you prepared?” The Spirit asked. Unlike before, this time it was only two or three distinct voices that Ezekiel could make out. Unlike before when there was an uncountable amount.
“I am. Where am I going, and what am I doing?” Ezekiel asked.
A pedestal of wood rose from the ground, opening up like a blooming flower as it reached Ezekiel’s chest. Inside was a sack of seeds. Several hundred from what Ezekiel could tell. If not more than a thousand. They all seemed to glow ever so slightly in the dimly lit area. Yet from what Ezekiel could tell, there was no mana being released from them.
“These are the seeds that you will need to spread throughout the Desolate territory. You need not spread them all, but at least half should be used. You must get as far into the Desolate territory as you can. Else my strike will be of little use against them.” The Forest Spirit said. “Once you are down to the last of the seeds, or you manage to sneak into one of their larger encampments, channel your mana into one of them. It will awaken, and I will be able to sense and sprout from all of them. Forming Avatars of varying power as needed to take down as many Cruor as possible.”
Ezekiel took the bag quietly. He knew he’d be feeling stressed and terrified of what he was about to set out to do if not for his mana suppressing his emotions. Nonetheless, he still had numerous concerns now that his mission was right in front of him.
“You understand that this is crazy, right? Even if I manage to get to the Desolate territory with your help, it’ll take me weeks to get to the heart of the land under their control. If not even longer. There’s no possible way I’ll be able to get all the way in without being caught.” Ezekiel said.
“That is fine. Even if your spell should fail, you need merely bring as many sees as you can into the heart of their territory. I will do the rest.” The Forest Spirit said. “If anything, getting yourself caught by the Cruor would be a good thing. So long as you avoid getting killed by their Umbral Beasts.”
“How so!?” Ezekiel asked, nearly feeling outraged at the Forest Spirit’s disregard for his safety.
“As a Void Mage, they will first attempt to sway you to join their side, which is something we cannot have.” The Forest Spirit spoke with a harsher tone as it said this.
The next thing Ezekiel knew he felt a stabbing pain in his gut as a tree branch tore into him.
“EZEKIEL!” Shine cried out in shock and outrage as he feared for Ezekiel’s safety.
‘Cough’ Ezekiel nearly spat up blood. It was only the fact that the branch was glowing green with Life magic that stopped him from suffering severe injuries. Yet, even as the branch pulled away, leaving no wound whatsoever, Ezekiel could tell that he was not okay.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM YOU STUPID TREE!!!” Shine screamed at the Forest Spirit. But they were unheard by all but Ezekiel, who winced from both the physical and mental pain.
“I have planted yet another seed within your stomach. It is attached to the lining and wil sprout and grow should you attempt to gather Ichor within yourself. It will not be affected by your mana. My remnant ‘will’ that rests within it will not allow that to happen, so your magic will not be affected.” The Forest Spirit explained. “Given that I have allowed your friends to go free, I need to have insurance. To guarantee you will not betray me, or them. Regardless of what the remnant of the Void may see in you.”
A part of the Forest Spirit felt guilty, given what it had said to Ezekiel’s team when they had questioned it regarding the possibility of Ezekiel turning on them. But that part was small, and in the cacophony of voices within it, the quiet whisper of guilt was quickly snuffed out for cold pragmatism, born from hundreds of years of constant war.
“Heh... I knew you were being too accommodating for a Wild Spirit of your age and experience.” Ezekiel muttered under his breath. “Will I be allowed to live if I succeed?”
“Of course. So long as the seeds are grown within the depths of the Cruor’s territory, a branch from one of my Legendary avatars will remove it, and you will be escorted from the Desolate territory post haste.” The Forest Spirit told Ezekiel.
“Swear it. Swear it on your soul. In the name of the Ancients of Void and Life. Swear upon your soul. All, your souls.” Ezekiel said, glaring at the Forest Spirit in front of it.
“... Very well. I swear upon all the pieces of my immortal soul, split as it is, as well as the Void and Life itself, that should you succeed in what I have asked of you, I will remove the seed that threatens your life, and do the best I can to return you to the safety of your Church of Ten.” The Forest Spirit filled its voice with mana as it spoke.
Its words had returned to the cacophonous state that it originally had. The walls of the cavernous room seemed to shake, and the many-faced tree’s eyes closed as its mana seemed to turn in on itself. Unseen to Ezekiel, a magical binding was imposed upon the Forest Spirit’s soul.
Unlike with human Mages, a Spirit’s word, when sworn upon its soul, was much more binding, and did not require the use of external contracts. However, only Legendary Spirits could invoke such power. Those at Tier three and below simply didn’t have the mana to do such a thing.
“Alright then. Let’s get started.” Ezekiel said to the Forest Spirit. Then, as suddenly as his friends had been bound up the day before, Ezekiel was also bound, and found himself being brought away from the ruined city of Morncrest. Moving closer and closer to the darkening sky of the territory of the Cruor.
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The journey to the Cruor’s Desolate territory was a silent one. Ezekiel had little to say, and Shine, who was the only one Ezekiel had to talk to, was busy devouring the mana within the remaining pure mana crystals. Given the number of crystals available, it was barely enough to get Shine the the cusp of Step nine, at which point Ezekiel shared enough mana to push them just past the breaking point to Step nine.
There was a brief moment when the two of them considered saving the crystals for later use. But they realized that they would act more like a beacon, drawing the attention of the Cruor and Umbral Beasts once they got further into the Cruor’s territory. So, using them up in this instance was the best thing to do right now.
It ended up being several more hours before the branches carrying Ezekiel and Shine finally stopped. It seemed like it was somewhere around noon, but neither of them could really tell. The islands in the Archipelago weren’t cast in total darkness like the Desolate Lands of the continent.
Islands like this, that were within the red ocean borders of the Desolate Land, were still almost entirely covered by dark clouds. The clouds would be somewhat cleared with the presence of Spirits and an abundance of mana, hence why only half the island was covered in darkness, but even so, it made it difficult to tell the time of day once one got closer to the Cruor’s territory.
“Here we are. Roughly an hour's run in that direction is the defining border between the Spirit controlled territories and the Cruor’s territory.” The Forest Spirit said to them as it placed them on the ground. “This is where you will need to make your own way. My presence will likely draw in Umbral Beasts quite quickly. If not members of the Cruor themselves. You must go now, while I create a distraction.”
“Is that something that you usually do?” Ezekiel asked, focusing on how he and Shine were going to get into the Cruor’s territory. “Because if you start acting out of character, then it’s likely to make them more suspicious, not less.
“... Usually, I would not attack them directly like this. But how else am I to draw them away from you?” The Forest Spirit asked.
“Do not make a concentrated attack. Instead, spread it out across the border so that there are no glaringly obvious areas that you seem to be drawing attention away from. That way, they won’t be able to tell if there is a specific area that they should look into.” Ezekiel explained.
“But Ezekiel, won’t that make it so we’re in the crossfire of any attack?” Shine asked after hearing Ezekiel’s plan. The Forest Spirit voiced the same concerns.
“Perhaps, but ultimately, you don’t need to worry about me right now.” Ezekiel said. The next thing he did surprised the Forest Spirit and Shine both. He dashed off toward the direction the Forest Spirit had pointed in. “I’d suggest you get ready for your distraction; however you intend to go about it.”
Ezekiel didn’t wait for the Forest Spirit’s reply. He had roughly an hour to make it to the border before the attack happened. Whether or not he’d have to avoid a battle directly, or if he managed to sneak past without any issues was ultimately going to be up to chance.
He didn’t actually know if the Forest Spirit’s plan would successfully draw the forces of the Cruor away from this area of the border. Hopefully it would, but the Forest Spirit had clearly not considered the changes in its behavior in the face of the plan. Given that it was not usually that active in its actions, specific attack zones might draw suspicion, or it might not. Ezekiel didn’t know. He just wanted to make sure the Forest Spirit was operating on all possible information. The experience of the Forest Spirit would hopefully help in whatever decision it ultimately made.
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“Are we going to be alright?” Shine couldn’t help but ask with worry.
Ezekiel didn’t answer at first. He knew there was no way that he could guarantee their safety, even with their advancement in mana. They were headed for dangerous waters, and there was little to no way to know what they would encounter. But given what the Forest Spirit had done to him, there was nothing he could do. This was the only path open to him right now.
“I can leave you here. If that is something that you’d like.” Ezekiel said. He began to slow down his sprint to a fast walk. His mental voice was barely a whisper. As if he could barely bring himself to make the offer.
“NO!” Shine practically screamed at him. “Don’t you dare say that! Don’t you dare think, for even a second, that I don’t want to join you on this mission!”
Shine’s voice was filled with hurt and betrayal as they nearly cried at Ezekiel’s offer. A Spirit was intricately bound to their Mage’s soul. To be separated from their boned human was to have their soul split in half. Sometimes, it would heal, as Ezekiel’s had when the remnant of the Void had done to him. But there were no guarantees.
Worse yet, it wasn’t like cutting something clean with a knife. According to records and accounts from other Hunters, losing one’s Spirit was like boring out a hole inside yourself. A hole that could sometimes be filled, with time and life. But whatever filled it was never the same as what used to be there, and you always knew that it was there.
The number of Spirits that survived their Hunters was far less than the number of Hunters that survived their Spirits. So, the records were few and far between, especially since it was difficult for Spirits below Legendary to be able to speak without directly making physical contact with a human. Given the unstable nature of Spirits that had lost their bond, this was very rarely safe.
“... I’m sorry. You’re not the only one that thinks that this is dangerous. I just... I don’t want you to get hurt.” Ezekiel said. He knew it was hypocritical of him to want Shine to be left out of danger. Especially given the dangers they had already faced together previously. But he knew that this was going to be a step above anything they’d done before.
“You don’t get to leave me behind.” Shine said. Their voice was rough and filled with determination. “We’re in this together, and we’ll get out of this together as well.”
Ezekiel didn’t say anything. He just tightened his grip on Shine’s handle and picked up his speed once again. He could faintly feel the rustling of branches at the edge of his senses. There was no doubt in his mind that the Forest Spirit was still watching him, though through a much weaker avatar. Likely to make sure that he wasn’t backing out of his promise. They were still a distance away from the actual border between the Spirit lands and the Cruor’s territory. Hopefully the Forest Spirit would figure out how to hello them before they got there.
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Having been near the borders of the Desolate Land on the continent, Ezekiel had been expecting something similar. A slow change in the environment to something less thriving with life, and more barely clinging to life, with strange and broken plants and animals here and there. However, this was not the case. Not once during his journey to the border did the environment seem to change. Just the inhabitants.
The few Umbral Beasts he actually saw were incredibly surprising. Although they were never higher in strength than Tier three, the sheer variety of the creatures was amazing. They showed the feathered features of the Winged Cruor, even when the animal was one that shouldn’t naturally have such features.
Such as a land tortoise with feathers sprouting from its shell in a spiraling fashion. Or a dire wolf with fully grown wings that allowed it to glide short distances. In some areas there were even feathered snakes and vines with leaves that fluttered in such a way as to let it drift through the air aimlessly. Whenever they got closer to Ezekiel, he would do his best to avoid them without using his new spell.
Luckily there was plenty of cover to hide behind as he moved through the underbrush of the forest. By suppressing his mana to the absolute maximum, he also made sure to keep himself out of any Umbral Beast’s sight. The few times he nearly got caught, he was able to get out of the way for long enough for the Forest Spirit to take out said beasts with one of its countless avatars.
Thankful for the assistance, as it allowed him to proceed with little to no stopping, Ezekiel continued forward with as much haste as possible. He knew that the best way to thank the Forest Spirit would be to finish the job that was given to him. Shine agreed, so the two of them continued forward as fast as they could, before coming to a stop at what was obviously the border of the Desolate territory.
The border was a sharp and direct cutoff. It was as if a line had been drawn in the ground. On one side, the Spirit side, the land was lush and green, with mixtures of brown and other colors added in. It was a display of life that Ezekiel greatly appreciated, and that reminded him of the rainforests he’d see in movies as a child in his previous life.
On the other side of the line was a red and gray landscape. Stone had crumbled and fallen to rubble. While trees were blackened and cracked, with red and white leaves, as if vitality had been sucked out of them.
The sky had grown darker and darker as they had approached, but it was as if the line was also a border between light, and the sharp edge of a shadow. The Light seemed that much dimmer in the lands belonging to the Cruor.
It was a sickening contrast of colors and atmosphere. The sounds coming from the Desolate territory were also just as different. Unlike the vibrant forest behind him, which he could still hear some ambient noise from, the Desolate side was nearly silent. The only noise was the rustling of leaves in the wind. It was eerie, and Ezekiel had no desire to tread further.
“We’ll take a break for now and move forward after I’ve changed.” Ezekiel said to Shine as he retreated toward the forest a little bit. Finding a larger tree to rest beside, Ezekiel sat down for a brief respite before reaching into his Void Pouch and pulling out a piece of equipment he didn’t think he’d have to use on this expedition.
It was something that wasn’t very special, just a cloak with the basic colorings of the Desolate Lands. He felt it was reminiscent of the camouflage jackets you could get in his previous life. There were no enchantments, as those would be sensed by most Umbral Beasts. Instead, it was just a colored jacket made from expensive, but highly durable material.
There was a jacket, pants, boots and cloak all in the same style. Quickly stripping down his robe and unnecessary clothing, he changed into it as fast as he could. It was baggy enough to fit over what little armor he still wore.
“I guess the money you spent on making this thing was finally put to good use.” Shine said. “I don’t really get why more people don’t do this.”
“Most people don’t go into the Desolate Lands alone, unless they’re Void Mages that want to be caught and turned. As such, with a larger group, the need for secrecy becomes more difficult, and less efficient.” Ezekiel explained. “Especially when you consider that most people going into the Desolate Lands are Guilds that will usually have wagons upon wagons of supplies and bounty to take back and forth. We’re not doing that. We want to get in, drop the seeds, and get out as soon as possible.”
“Right!” Shine replied. They knew that Ezekiel had not been expecting to use these clothes.
The camouflage suit was something he’d off-handedly mentioned to some of the other Scholars when he’d been reporting to the Church roughly a year ago, between work for the Island Hoppers. Fiana had passed it on at the beginning of this expedition since it was finally completed. This would be his camouflage suit’s first test run.
Standing up, Ezekiel stretched briefly before picking up Shine from where he’d laid them against the tree. Making sure everything was in place, Ezekiel started moving. Rounding the tree and approaching the border, Ezekiel started channeling his mana in a new way.
“We’ll go in stealthy at first. Try to find a place to take a break as soon as we can and continue on when we’ve regained some mana.” Ezekiel said.
“Won’t it take us hours to regain our mana?” Shine asked.
“Usually, yes, but upon Tiering up, you regenerate mana according to the new Step you’ve reached. Given I’m a Step one Apprentice, that means it’ll only take me an hour to fully regain my mana. The one perk of being at a lower Step within a Tier.” Ezekiel said.
Shine didn’t say anything, but Ezekiel could sense the feelings of guilt and powerlessness once again. Shine wasn’t able to reach Tier two right now. So, they were stuck having to spend a full nine hours to passively regenerate their mana. If he thought it was safe, Ezekiel would not be opposed to sharing his mana to get Shine to Tier two.
But he just knew that they wouldn’t be able to handle it. Now that he was a higher Tier than Shine, he could tell, just faintly, that their soul wasn’t large enough to accommodate the transformation of quantity and quality of mana that Tier two contained. Perhaps after this mission their soul would be strong enough, but for now it was not.
Allowing his mana to channel throughout his body, Ezekiel formed a thin sheet of mana attached to the surface of his skin. As he did this, he could feel his senses shift as the warping effect of his mana went to work. What was behind him was now shown in front of him, and vice versa from all directions.
From what Ezekiel could infer from the instinctive knowledge of this spell that Shine had granted him, his mana essentially warped space around him to essentially make him invisible to all non-touch-based senses. If he was hit by something physically, then the sheet of mana on his body would dissipate, shattering like glass.
But light and sound passed through him. He couldn’t mask his scent with this, as he permitted air to pass through so he could breathe, but for the most part that was a small issue. In a pinch, he could completely isolate himself, for a short time, as he would run out of air as soon as he could no longer hold his breath if he did so.
Feeling his mana slowly dissipating, Ezekiel ran forward as fast as he could, only barely using his mana to push himself forward. At his current rate, he figured he would be out of mana within a half an hour. But he was also moving nearly three times faster than he had been previously.
That’d get him about as fast past the border into the Cruor’s territory than the distance between him and the border when the Forest Spirit dropped him off. To be safe, he knew he’d better start looking for a place to lay low and regain his mana before he got too close to this time limit.
A mental nudge from Shine reminded Ezekiel that he could also rely on them for a little bit more time if needed. But for now, Ezekiel would see how far he could get on his own.
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Ezekiel had been running for barely five minutes when he heard the first screech. Sparing a glance upwards, he saw a veritable swarm of twisted, flying, things descend from the air. Across the ground there were Umbral Beasts that couldn’t quite fly, but instead ran and jumped to glide short distances. They were swarming towards the border that he was quickly putting behind him.
He could still just barely see the green border of the Spirit lands on this island writhing ferociously as they whipped and lashed at the Umbral Beasts on the ground. A few branches even managed to grasp and pull down the Beasts in the sky as well. But as Ezekiel allowed his attention to remain pointed upwards, slowing ever so slightly to get a better look, he saw a handful of flying creatures that were holding back. Overseeing the assault on the forest behind him.
These creatures were much more humanoid in nature. Similar to the Rot that he’d seen in the Senera Temple of the Void. But unlike those grotesque and misshapen figures, these ones were much more noticeably human in their appearance. The small handful of people reminded him of depictions of harpies, with only one or two looking more birdlike than humanoid.
Ezekiel and Shine had long ago learned that the Cruor were originally humans that had forsaken their humanity and accepted the Ichor of the Broods to become what they were now. But to see the incredible similarities was shocking to say the least. Other than the wings, there was even one that was so human-like that he would’ve easily fit in in any town or city in the Human regions, so long as he wore gloves, long sleeves, and pants.
Mentally shaking himself out of his minor stupor, Ezekiel continued to run, picking up his pace since he knew that the skirmish behind him was obviously part of the distraction. It seemed the Forest Spirit decided that the sudden change in its behavior would indeed bring suspicion to any areas he did not cause a ruckus in. So, it was trying to change how it bluffed the Cruor.
Ezekiel could only hope that it worked. Having hunting parties setting out to track him down or investigate what was going on was not something that he wanted to deal with. Too much was at stake, at least for him, for him to be distracted as well.