“His killing intent revealed the truth. And by the Lunocha clan, I swear… Only a demonic Void Arts Practitioner can possess such a powerful killing intent.”

“He? Who are you talking about?” Lena felt even more confused. She didn’t remember meeting anyone powerful lately.

“Ren.”

Lena froze. For a moment, she doubted her hearing.

“Ehhhh? That human scum!?”

“Tone down. He might hear you.”

“But-”

“No buts. Do you doubt my judgment?”

Lena fell silent. But she was inwardly screaming, unable to reconcile what she had heard.

‘A human Void Arts Practitioner!? I must be dreaming. There’s no way! That brat can never be the epitome of strength!’

“We have to change our strategy.” The owl declared, much to Lena’s dismay.

“Changing our strategy over a human? I disagree! No, no, NO!” She furiously shook her head. After sacrificing a whole year’s work on their plan, she would never agree to the owl's preposterous suggestion.

“Of course you’d say that. You’re ignorant of the power of Void Arts! Though I won't blame you. Information on this topic is extremely confidential.”

“Who even cares about confidentiality? He’s a human! You can’t be that ignorant!” She protested, ignoring the difference in status between the owl and herself.

“Lena! I’ll tell you one thing. Even Kaero wasn’t able to perfect Void Arts. He was a failure! And do you know why?”

Hearing the familiar name, Lena’s heart palpitated. She instantly fell silent, awaiting her superior’s answer.

“Void Arts requires one to complete at least two of the criteria for Forbidden Arts. However, to perfect it, one has to master killing intent. Kaero failed because he couldn’t kill you and Kana. His soul was still pure. But, this kid, Ren…” The owl called Ren’s name with respect, irritating Lena. It hadn’t even used that tone when talking of her talented brother.

“…His soul is of a pure demon. He’s an authentic Void Arts Practitioner. I can't even infer the number of kills he has accumulated. And that includes his loved ones. Yet, he hasn’t lost his sanity. I want to call him a monster, but I feel like that it’s an insult to Ren.”

“But he’s a human!” Lena felt that her perception of the world was breaking. A human, one of the weakest beings in the Everleaf Forest was standing at the epitome of strength? That very thought made her nauseous.

“I don’t care!” The owl’s voice took a deep turn and continued.

“We must recruit him! No matter the cost! With the help of a Perfect Void Arts Practitioner, forget the Blazen clan, even Edahi will have to kneel before our Lunocha clan.”

“What about the Divine Emperor?” Lena smirked. She was confident that the owl had lost its sanity.

The owl gave her a contemptuous gaze.

“I’m not going to explain any further. This might be concerning! I finally understand why Edahi bestowed the title of Honored Guest on Lord Ren.”

“Lord Ren!? What the-” Lena gaped. Knowing the identity of the owl, she had never expected such a drastic change in its tone.

“Silence! Don’t disturb me! The Divine Emperor might already know of his talent. This is very problematic. We must act quickly! I’ll contact the clan. On the other hand, you better be prepared. You’re in the best position to recruit Lord Ren. The clan will definitely ask you to intervene.”

“NO! I’m not going to beg! Not to a human! Never! You can go ahead and kill me! See if I care!”

“Huu, this is just a reminder. Wait for the Clan Head’s personal order! Sleep for now.” Lena fell into a daze. Regaining her consciousness, she looked around in confusion.

“What was I doing? Oh no! I’m falling into these weird dazes too often. Piko! What do I do?” She panicked.

Hoot!

“Ehhh? You won’t help me? No! Give me a cuddle! That might cure me!” She hugged the owl. It struggled, flapping every feather to escape the grasp.

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Hoot! Hoot!

Soon, Lena left the bird.

“Ah, I feel better now. Eh? Why are you flying away? Hmph, you can’t escape forever. I know you’ll be back for dinner!” She smiled and returned to her book, ‘How To Become An Extrovert? Vol. II’.

----------------------------------------

Night.

Ren sighed for the nth time. He had lost count over the times he had sighed over the evening. Seated on his bed, his mind wandered to his bet.

‘Ha, Rui is right. Without Void Arts, I’m useless. I can only enjoy these five years and surrender to the wheel. I lack other options.’ He rubbed the scab on his forehead.

Crack! A sound caught Ren by surprise. It didn’t originate from his surroundings. Instead, it came from within his body.

Perplexed, Ren focused on the peculiar sound.

Crack! Crack!

Ren’s eyes glowed. He waited for another minute, and the crackings increased in frequency. Once they stopped, he grinned.

‘Rui, Oh Rui! You finally left! Spying with a residual soul… Your tricks are good but alas, they aren’t effective. You’re playing with a demon!’ He laughed before clenching his fist.

‘My loyalty lies with the Zarstorms forever. Your wheel is unworthy. The Zarstorms created me, and I shall never betray them! Your dream of stealing a Void Arts Practitioner will remain a dream. Stay satisfied with Azen.’

Opening the window, Ren jumped out.

He noticed a couple of curious guards and waved his arm. Pointing at the roof, he climbed the building, indicating that he’d stay there.

The guards nodded and resumed with their duty.

Ren stretched his limbs, relaxing under the caressing night breeze. Catching a whiff of the woody smell, he relaxed, his face covered in bliss.

However, his gaze quickly sharpened.

“Reveal yourself.”

An owl appeared in the darkness. Lit by the legions of stars, its body glistened.

“Lord Ren, please forgive me for disturbing your rest.” The owl spoke. It had the deep voice of an average middle-aged man.

“It’s you again? Do you have a death wish?” Ren laughed coldly. He had already determined to end this murderous creature. Even at a distance, he could feel its killing aura.

“Lord Ren, it seems that there’s a misunderstanding. I’m not Your Lordship’s enemy. In fact, I wanted to extend my clan’s support to Your Lordship.”

Ren pondered for a while. His goal was to return to the Zelong clan at haste. At present, his sister’s life was at risk, and if anything unfortunate befell her, it would dictate the end of the Zarstorm branch. He could never allow for such a scenario.

Thus, he had to return! As for the Five Year bet, Ren decided to ignore it altogether. He couldn’t wait for five years. With each passing second, Nell's fate was facing greater jeopardy.

However, to return, he needed local help. Ren had no recollection of the Everleaf Forest or the Tribal Lands. It was likely that he was far away from home.

As Ren mused, he kept the owl in silence. After a long period of silence, he spoke.

“Which clan do you represent? And why are they interested in me?” He asked.

“Lord Ren, we are the Lunocha clan. We consist of Ascended Humans with the Lunocha bloodline.” The owl replied in haste, its voice filled with relief.

Ren’s pupils dilated. He never expected to hear that term. It unfolded a number of unanswered questions in his mind.

“There are Ascended Humans in this forest? Then where are the humans?”

“Lord Ren, the humans have been expelled from Everleaf Forest.”

“Expelled? By Edahi, I assume.” Ren frowned.

“Indeed, Lord Ren. We, humans, are in a precarious situation. It is in our best interest to form an alliance with common goals.”

“Says a talking owl. Why should I trust you in the slightest? For all I know, this could be a trap to set me up as a traitor.” A dangerous glint flashed past Ren’s eyes. Although he knew that it wasn’t a trap, he wanted to pry out more information from the owl.

The owl tilted its head. After looking around, its body morphed into a middle-aged human. His hair and eyes were black, just like the night. However, the feature that captured Ren's notice was the pulsating scar on his forehead. No object in Ren’s recollection was capable of creating such a disturbing wound.

However, Ren smiled. Despite being a simple transformation, it fed him with all the information he needed about the owl.

“You’re a Forbidden Skill Practitioner. Let me guess. You know my real identity, and you wish to ally or recruit with me?”

“Indeed, Lord Ren. I hope Your Lordship has noticed my sincerity.” A trace of blood emerged from the corner of the middle-aged man’s mouth.

“What are you doing here?” Ren pointed at the cottage below him.

“Lena is a member of the Lunocha clan. She's half-blood to be precise.”

'Half-blood? Ah! That explains Kaero's lack of cat ears.' Ren’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He thought for a while before a grin crept up his face.

“Your expertise in Forbidden Skills isn’t bad.” He commented. The man’s complexion slightly paled. Ren continued.

“I’ll accept your clan’s invitation. But first, you must prove your worth. I’ll give you three words! Zarstorm, Zelong, and Nell. Bring me all the information you can gather on these three terms. We’ll discuss cooperation after that.”

“Understood, Lord Ren. For future reference, my name is-”

“Piko.” Ren interrupted the scarred man.

“Lord?”

“Your identity is Piko. I don’t want to keep track of another name.”

Watching Piko’s expression change rapidly, Ren smiled in amusement.

However, remembering an important issue, he said, “Our cooperation will be founded on sincerity. If I sense anything suspicious…”

Ren released his killing intent, overwhelming the scarred man. Watching his face contort in pain, he dropped the killing intent.

“That’s a warning!”

Piko nodded sternly. His body shrunk into an owl as he disappeared into the night sky.

As soon as he left, Ren’s expression turned grim.

‘There are far more Forbidden Skill Practitioners here than I expected. I cannot reveal my killing intent lightly.’ He sighed.

The crescent moon glowed, surrounded by uncountable stars. Levitating above the cloudless sky, they brightened the large tree that hung over the city.

‘I, Ren Zarstorm, will return. If gales divert me, I shall tear through them. If mountains block my path, I shall level them. Through flames or storms… I will return!’

‘At that moment, the rose of the Zelongs will wither, and the lotus of the Zarstorms shall bloom! Nell, until then… wait for me.’

The Mother Tree stood tall, unbreakable, just like Ren’s determination. Closing his eyes, he welcomed the caressing breeze.