Ged had always loved nature. Growing up, it was common to find him wandering through the forest behind his childhood home.

To others, his hobbies were hard to understand. Much of his childhood was spent collecting bits of natural debris—old, rotting branches, strange mushrooms, moss-covered bark. He would gather anything he could scavenge from the forest floor and carry it to a hidden spot deep in the woods. What he did with these items, however, was always a mystery to those around him.

When he was nine, his father, Ben, began to notice this unusual habit.

Amused and curious, he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning the forest," Ged replied in his squeaky, young voice.

Ben loved the response. With a hearty laugh, he thought it was a precious hobby for his son and supported it.

When the rain came and knocked branches from the trees, like clockwork Ged would go and retrieve them and disappear into the forest. Seeing it as nothing more than one less chore, he brushed off his son's proclivities, and even rewarded Ged for his help in maintaining the backyard.

After months of Ged's "cleaning," his mother, Nora, began to notice his peculiar behavior. Unlike Ben, she felt uneasy about it. She watched Ged pick up leaves and sticks and wander off, her intuition telling her that something was off. Unable to shake the feeling, she pointed to Ged through the window one rainy summer morning and asked her husband, "Ben... what is Ged doing?"

Ben rose from his chair and walked over to the window to see what Nora was pointing to.

When he saw Ged picking up branches, he laughed and said, "Nora, dear, you should have asked him yourself. He says he's 'cleaning the forest.' It's the most adorable thing!"

"Cleaning the forest?" A frown creased her face. "Do you know where he goes off to with those branches?"

Ben hesitated, searching for an answer. "I didn't see it myself…"

"Well, can you go out and check what he's up to?" Nora urged.

Ben tried to calm his wife's concerns, reluctant to interrupt his son's activities. "It's fine, dear. It's just a phase, a coming-of-age thing. It's something he will grow out of, just like I did. I had similar quirks when I was his age."

Nora wasn't convinced.

"Ben, just go and follow him. I'm sure what he's doing is fine; I'm just worried, that's all."

Seeing no way around it, Ben begrudgingly pulled on his work boots and jacket. He stepped outside, closing the door softly behind him. Exiting the house, he quietly trailed his son. Ged navigated the backyard forest, his arms full of fallen branches, unaware of his father's watchful gaze.

It wasn't a short trip; Ben found himself weaving through dense underbrush and crossing steep ravines, echoing trickling water. He furrowed his brow, trying to understand why his son would travel so far, eventually losing sight of him in the uneven terrain.

Following Ged's general direction, Ben came upon an open clearing where grass seemed unable to grow. Many piles of debris lay neatly on the ground. Ged stood at the far end of the clearing in front of a large pile, smiling as he balanced a few long, sturdy branches into a tepee.

"Ged?" Ben called out. "What are you doing?"

Ged jumped in fright at his father's voice, dropping the branches. Sheepishly, he turned away, avoiding direct eye contact.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

Ben raised an eyebrow, knowing this situation all too well—Ged was clearly hiding something. Yet, as he glanced at the piles of grass and bark on the ground in front of his son, a part of him felt he might not want to know exactly what that was.

Slowly, he began to peel away pieces from the nearest pile.

Ged frantically called out to stop him. "Dad, stop! You're going to ruin it…"

"Don't worry; I'll put it back once I'm done. I just want to see what you've got under these piles, that's all," Ben reassured him.

His words did little to calm Ged, who kept pleading with his father to stop. But once Ben removed the final layer, he froze, staring down at what lay beneath.

It was far from pleasant. He took a step back, a chill running down his spine.

At his feet lay a burial ground of dead reptiles. Snakes and lizards were arranged with eerie precision: some had been decapitated, their insides scattered in careful piles, while others were skewered with sticks and posed like grim science fair projects.

It seemed Ged's "hobbies" involved more than just collecting foliage—there was a fascination with dead animals as well.

Ben let out a deep breath, for even with his lax temperament, he felt disturbed by the sight, and solemnly understood that he could not let Ged off easily for such a display.

"Ged... Where did all of these animals come from?" Ben spoke slowly, each word cutting through Ged like cold ice. "Were you the one who brought them here?"

Ged began to panic, for when he heard his father's serious tone, he knew what would come next. "They were already like that when I found them, I just picked them off the ground and moved them to this place."

"You found them like that?" Ben furrowed his brow, clearly doubtful of his son's words. "Alright, if you don't want to tell me now, that's fine. But be honest—what's beneath these other piles?"

He paused, his gaze hardening. "Is there more?"

Ged's mind began to spin. The horrifying truth of his actions was beginning to surface, the reality of the situation unraveling slowly around him.

He felt no remorse for his actions. Years unchecked by guilt had twisted parts of his mind, a rot deepening within him with each foul act. Once he began down the path of cruelty, he found himself unable to fully turn back. Yet his thoughts were not those of pure malice or calculation; rather, they spiraled into bizarre, tangled patterns and unintelligible phrases, making his true disposition feel continually obscured.

His mind was an anomaly, and his words were woven with constant lies and distortions. With Ged, what was real and what was false was always difficult to discern. All that was certain was what he was capable of. His inner thoughts, especially in moments like these, remained nearly impossible to understand.

Twisting his words, he sought to dissuade Ben from looking further. "Nothing, it was just this pile; everything else is just sticks and grass," he said, pointing dismissively at the disturbed pile and downplaying the five untouched ones nearby.

Ben frowned, clearly displeased with Ged's answer. As he scanned the remaining piles, his eyes fell upon a harrowing sight. He sucked in a deep breath, unable to contain his calm demeanor any longer.

"Ged," Ben's voice wavered as he pointed to the large pile where Ged's tepee of sticks had once stood. Now toppled, the sticks had shifted the pile's contents, revealing a gray human hand. "What… what is that?"

Ged stood silent, not wanting to answer.

"Ged, you need to tell me the truth. This is very serious; no more lies, tell me exactly what is going on. Why is there a body hidden beneath that pile of dead grass over there?"

Ben's voice turned deadly serious. "Was it you? Were you the one who did this?"

Ged looked away, unwilling to answer.

Ben took his son's silence as an admission of guilt. Moving to the lump, he quickly scattered the pile, revealing the body of a young girl beneath.

"Who is this?" Ben's voice rose, his anger barely contained. "Tell me where you found her."

He hesitated, a horrifying thought creeping into his mind. "Don't tell me… did you kill her?" His voice trembled as he pointed to the girl's corpse. He shook his head, attempting to dismiss the idea. "It's not possible. He's still just a child." But despite his doubts, he pressed forward, determined to get answers from Ged.

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Ged instinctively stepped back, anxiety building as he looked from his father to the uncovered body.

The girl appeared to be around nine years old, with long brunette hair and a butterfly hairpin tucked behind her ear. Ged stared at it in alarm, and as he looked closer, strange things began to happen.

The corpse's facial features started to contort, stretching unnaturally as if molded by invisible hands. Gradually, they twisted and warped until they settled into the familiar face of his short-lived friend, Polka.

"It wasn't me." Ged became hysterical. "I didn't do it!"

Desperate to escape his father's anger and Polka's haunting gaze, he broke into a sprint, turning his back on the scene and fleeing deeper into the forest.

"Ged! You are in big trouble!" Ben shouted, his voice carrying the fury of a scolding father. "Come here right now! Running will only make things worse!"

His father's words only fueled Ged's determination, and he pushed his legs harder, navigating dense trees and uneven terrain. His familiarity with the landscape allowed him to keep his distance from the faster, stronger Ben.

"Ged, come here!" Ben continued to shout, trying to reason with him. "You can't hide forever!" His voice took on a sharper edge. "You'll have to face me sooner or later—what good is running?"

Ged managed to put some distance between them. Breaking through the dense trees, he found himself on flat ground and sprinted forward without looking back. As he ran, the earth beneath his feet seemed to come alive, the grass turning a deeper shade of green.

Halfway across the field, Ged heard his father's familiar voice. "I'd love to see you keep outrunning me on flat ground." Ben took off into a full sprint, now able to use his longer, more powerful legs to their full effect, quickly closing the gap on his nine-year-old son.

Ged glanced over his shoulder, locking eyes with his father. To his horror, Ben wasn't the only one gaining on him. Behind him was the corpse of Polka, now reanimated. Her bloodless body kept pace close behind him. Alongside her were the corpses of the lizards and snakes, and four scattered lumps of natural debris. They all seemed to be accelerating, ready to close in on him at any moment.

As they ran, the ground beneath their feet began to incline, and the grass turned a desolate black, sprinkled with strange blue sediment. This was all that remained of the once-vibrant green grassy hill. Now barely standing, only a thin barrier surrounded it, just enough to hold Ben and the others at bay.

Inside the boundary of the green grassy hill, Ged could no longer hear his father's voice, though he could still see him as he banged against the invisible walls.

Ged rarely liked dwelling on the past. He kept many secrets close, locked deep within the crevices of his mind. But as the green grassy hill declined, it could no longer uphold these chains, allowing repressed memories to rise, forcing him to relive their grief once more.

Ged rarely dreamed at night; his thoughts were usually clear. But tonight, he was experiencing a vivid nightmare.

He gasped for air, steadying his breathing as he looked around, gazing bitterly at what had become of one of his most beloved sanctuaries.

Once, it had been a familiar and beautiful sight—a hill covered in unique, twisting green flora. At the hill's peak stood a lone tree, its leaves and trunk glowing with vibrant green.

Now, the land was desolate and bleak, the grass dead and darkened to black. Dark blue smoke hung in the sky, raining filth onto the ground below. Only the top of the hill remained untouched by the fog, where the green-tinted tree still stood. But it was in poor condition, its once-green leaves wilted to brown and fallen from its branches. Next to it, an entirely blue tree stood awkwardly, out of place.

Seeing the hill in such a state, Ged felt an indescribable pain. Although he never fully understood where the hill had come from or why it appeared in his life, it was an inseparable part of him.

Tears streamed down his face as anger boiled within him, watching as the green grassy hill declined even faster. The fog crept closer to the top of the hill, held back only by the lone tree, which was beginning to wilt and wither.

The tree seemed to be the heart of the green grassy hill; as it weakened, so did the surrounding barrier, allowing limited access to those outside.

Sensing its own demise and recognizing the presence of its master, the last remaining essence of the green grassy hill fled from the collapsing tree, drifting toward Ged.

It traveled through the air like a green mist, pulsing with powerful energy.

Ged stood alone, barely noticing the mist approaching him. The essence of the tree was gone, and the barrier had collapsed entirely. Ben and the reanimated corpses began charging toward him.

As they drew near, the mist entered Ged's body, releasing a surge of green energy that pulsed outward, forming chains that wrapped tightly around his attackers. They struggled, fear evident in their eyes, as they sensed their time was running out and that they would soon be locked away once more. The chains tightened, and with one last effort to break free, they disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

Within his mind, the green essence began transmitting crucial information, and Ged suddenly understood the true identity of the one behind all this suffering.

Ged's eyes glowed an intense emerald green. Like a small devil, he looked up at the blue tree atop the hill, hatred burning in his gaze.

It was the ancient entity's tongue.

After eroding the hill's defenses, it had taken on the appearance of the central tree in an attempt to seize control. But now, with the essence gone, the land lay completely dead, and the tongue appeared visibly frustrated.

Having fought a long, drawn-out battle with the hill's defenses, it had exhausted much of its strength. Now, seeing a fresh adversary before it, the entity chose to flee. Focusing solely on survival, it uprooted itself from the ground and ran away.

"Give it back!" Ged bellowed, charging after it. He wasn't about to let it escape so easily.

His mind buzzed with countless sensations as the world before him seemed to change in his perception. Within the essence of the green grassy hill was the makeup of all the sensations from its many plants. Ged felt that all he had to do was combine these sensations into the desired object, and the essence would bring it to life.

As he ran, various flora sprang up around him, only to wither and decay in seconds, the green essence struggling to form one plant after another, each fading as quickly as it appeared. Its strength was so diminished that it could only manifest a single plant at a time.

Recognizing this, Ged imagined the largest object the hill could create. Ahead of the blue tree, the green essence floated out of Ged and coalesced into the shape of the all green tree, tripping up the entity's tongue and forcing it to change direction.

Now that he was closer, Ged sensed that by channeling the essence into one of his limbs, he could gain a temporary boost in strength.

Directing the green essence into his foot, he pushed off the ground with explosive force. He leaped high into the air, the wind whipping by his ears. Shifting the essence into his fist, he came crashing down onto the hillside with immense force.

Sensing the imminent danger, the tree spat out a bright green sphere from its mouth. The sphere hovered effortlessly above the ground, and as the tree transformed back into its original, tongue-like form, it moved even faster, no longer weighed down by the green sphere.

Ged's impact left a massive crater, sending dirt and debris flying into the air. With the green grassy hill's essence removed, the hill could no longer hold its form. Dirt hung suspended, as if defying gravity.

Ged raised an eyebrow, reaching his hand out to touch the green sphere hovering before him. A faint smile crossed his face as a calming energy washed over him, bringing a wave of relief. He now understood that what had been taken from him could indeed be reclaimed.

Turning his gaze toward the fleeing blue tongue, Ged's eyes glowed green as he called the essence into his feet, propelling himself forward in a burst of speed. "How many more are you hiding?"

With growing confidence, Ged mastered the powers granted by the green essence. His botanical roadblocks became more intricate, his movements sharper and more precise.

Meanwhile, the tongue became increasingly desperate. Even after it coughed up three more green spheres to increase its speed, it still struggled to escape the relentless Ged. The hill's environment grew even more chaotic as now a third of its dirt hung suspended in midair.

"DIE!" Ged bellowed, crashing down toward the tongue again. The tongue narrowly dodged his strike. It spat out a fourth green sphere, giving it a small speed boost, continuing on with its frantic escape.

***

Much time had passed outside Ged's dream. In the cubed room, he lay tossing and turning on the back of the room's hard floor.

It was now time for the daily check-in for the third trial. Near the center of the room, a black, watery portal appeared, and through it emerged a stocky, serious-looking man. With long braided black hair and a prominent chin, he exuded a commanding toughness.

Dressed in robes similar to those of the other accepted church disciples, the man scanned the room, looking for Ged. Noticing the unoccupied bed, his eyes moved to the back wall, where he finally spotted his target. Observing the disheveled, sleeping figure next to an open manual, the disciple raised an eyebrow.

"At least this one has read the manual," he muttered to himself. "Perhaps the Mountain has gifted me a bit of luck with this trial disciple."

Lacking patience for the sleeping Ged, he approached without hesitation.

***

As the man moved closer, Ged was reaching the climax of his battle against the blue tongue.

He had successfully forced nine green spheres from the creature, and the hill's calming effects seemed nearly restored.

Ged noticed that the powerful green essence was beginning to run low, but now that he had the tongue cornered, he didn't care.

The tongue, withered and desperate, appeared on its last legs. With nowhere left to run, it morphed into the image of the deceased Polka, causing Ged to hesitate.

A deep primal anger began to mount within him.

***

"Ahem…" The visiting disciple cleared his throat, attempting to wake Ged from his sleep. "Trial disciple Ged, it is time for your evaluation. Please wake up and show me how far you've gotten with the first condition…"

Ged, still lost in his dream, merely turned over, seemingly ignoring the senior disciple's words.

The disciple frowned. "Never mind that, this little one seems to be a bit of a troublemaker." He let out an annoyed sigh.

***

The blue tongue lay helpless, seemingly able to read Ged's innermost thoughts as it morphed into familiar faces, hoping to delay its impending demise. Shifting from Ben to Brit, Raff, and even his mother, Nora, it tried every tactic it could think of to avoid certain death.

But Ged wasn't falling for it. He raised his fist channeling the remaining green essence into one final fist, letting out one final, bellowing war cry.

"DIE, YOU BASTARD!"

Unfortunately for him, his shout echoed beyond the dream and reached the ears of the visiting disciple, who was trying yet again to wake Ged.

Hearing Ged's words, the disciple's face twitched. "Ungracious brat," he muttered, his forehead creasing as his mouth twisted into a sneer.

With an unfriendly kick, he jolted Ged awake. Groggy and rubbing his back, Ged blinked several times, trying to adjust his eyes to the waking world.

Seeing that he finally had Ged's attention, the disciple gave a snort before properly introducing himself.

"My name is Kuj. You may address me as your Mountain Guide. For the third trial, I will be overseeing your progress."