Aryk’s eyes widened as his face was illuminated by the glowing tree trunk before him. A strong whistling sound in his ears faded after a few seconds. Aryk approached and raised his hand to touch the trunk.

"It feels like any other tree in the forest, except this one glows with a golden light. Could it be the Great Tree of Life? But that’s impossible. My mother told me it left the continent years ago!"

As Aryk spoke to himself in complete silence, he felt warmth and heat coursing through his veins coming from the tree trunk.

"Is it my imagination, or am I really feeling warmth in my hand? How can this be?"

Aryk pulled his hand away from the trunk and began to observe its details.

"Although it seems like an ordinary trunk, apart from its yellow color, there’s something strange. This trunk isn’t made of wood. Instead, there are thin yellow threads woven together to form it."

Lost in his thoughts, Aryk’s ear caught the sound of a soldier approaching from the cave entrance. Aryk shivered and began to feel a cold sweat on his forehead.

Despite Zak’s warning to return precisely in five minutes, Aryk had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he completely forgot he was in a heavily guarded cave.

Quickly, Aryk moved toward the cave entrance but stopped and hid when he saw a shadow at the entrance. Feeling his heart racing, Aryk glanced sideways at the entrance.

"It’s over for me; one of the guards is back. Damn you, Zak, why didn’t you warn me more urgently?"

Aryk started to assess his surroundings for any means of escape. He observed the cave walls, which had aged, and the scattered rocks, searching for anything to distract the guard. Nearby, Aryk found a flashlight and got an idea.

"It seems the guard has returned early. I need to use this opportunity. If I throw this flashlight to the west side of the cave, it will definitely catch the guard’s attention. The moment he turns his head, I’ll escape to the exit. Damn, if only I had Ragnar’s agility."

Aryk picked up the flashlight and began counting, but strangely, he only reached the number two.

"Damn it, Aryk, you need to do this now," he told himself, clenching his fists and counting down to zero.

Aryk threw the flashlight to the far western side of the cave. The guard’s head turned, and he picked up his sword, slowly moving toward the source of the noise.

In five seconds, Aryk started to run on his toes to avoid making any noise.

"The guard is distracted. I’m really going to escape!"

Aryk increased his speed and approached the cave entrance. With a strange mix of happiness and tension, he exited the cave.

"I made it out!! I really did!"

Aryk barely had time to move before his feet froze. He felt a cold sensation on his back and a shiver down his neck. A deep voice echoed from inside the cave.

"Don’t move. If you make any move, you’ll vanish in seconds."

Aryk froze when he heard the guard speak.

"I’ll give you a second chance to introduce yourself. I’ll count to five. If you don’t introduce yourself, you’ll die."

Aryk was paralyzed, unable to hear what the guard said as a loud buzzing sound overwhelmed his ears. Within seconds, Aryk snapped back to reality and heard the guard counting.

"Three... Two... -"

Aryk stammered, "S-stop!"

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"My name is Aryk. Aryk Nister. I haven’t done anything wrong. Please don’t kill me."

A deadly silence followed until the guard spoke.

"You said your name is Aryk?"

"Yes, sir, Aryk. I live in the neighboring village."

Aryk sensed a change in the atmosphere. The deadly chill eased, and he began to hear his surroundings again.

He wondered, "Wait a minute. Upon reflection, I think I recognize this guard’s voice."

The guard lowered his sword and stepped out of the cave.

"Aryk. By the Great Dragon, what are you doing here?"

Aryk was surprised by the guard’s question and, in an instant, recognized the voice’s owner.

Turning to face the guard, Aryk asked, "Sir Roger?"

"Yes, Aryk. What are you doing here, and in this part of the forest? Didn’t you see the plastic threads? I’m sure Trevor has cordoned off this part of the forest."

Aryk began thinking about how to respond to Sir Roger to dispel suspicion.

"Zak’s cat went missing, so Zak, Ragnar, and I went to look for it. Zak and Ragnar returned after Zak got tired, and Ragnar accompanied him, while I continued alone. I saw the plastic threads and wanted to go back, but I could swear I saw something in this direction, so I followed it to the cave."

Roger continued to scrutinize Aryk, then leaped and vanished swiftly before reappearing in the blink of an eye.

"It seems Zak and Ragnar aren’t here after all."

Internally, Aryk thanked the Great Tree of Life that Zak and Ragnar had escaped.

Waving his hand, Sir Roger instructed Aryk to leave and not return to the cave.

Aryk bowed respectfully to Sir Roger and turned to leave before Sir Roger asked the one question Aryk dreaded.

Sir Roger looked at Aryk and opened his mouth. "Wait a moment, Aryk, before you go."

Aryk trembled in place and closed his eyes to steady his heartbeat.

It seemed he knew what Sir Roger was about to ask him.

"Did you see anything inside the cave?"

Aryk turned to Sir Roger and responded with a smile, "No, Sir Roger. The cave was too dark, and I couldn’t see anything."

Roger continued, "And why did you run away?"

"I ran because I was afraid you might harm me if you found out I was here. I also didn’t know it was you inside the cave. I felt scared and decided to flee."

Roger watched Aryk’s movements closely, then responded calmly, "Go back now and remember. You weren’t here, and you don’t know anything about this place."

Aryk bowed and began walking away from the cave.

In the forest, Aryk did not speak or analyze his situation with Roger. All he thought about was returning to the village as quickly as possible.

At the village entrance, Aryk found Zak and Ragnar waiting.

Seeing Aryk from a distance, they started running toward him.

"Aryk, you fool, what were you doing inside?" Ragnar approached his brother angrily.

"Aryk, what don’t you understand about five minutes? Five minutes, damn it!" Zak yelled.

Aryk stepped back, surprised by their reaction, but understood they were worried about him.

"Don’t worry. I managed to escape, but luckily Sir Roger caught me. If another guard had caught me, I would have been dead."

Zak and Ragnar were both astonished.

Zak, with a tense tone, asked, "Didn’t Father ask about your purpose for entering the cave?"

"Yes, he did, but I told him about the cat, and it seems he believed me."

Zak’s tension eased, but his expression became serious and enthusiastic.

"So, what did you find inside the cave?"

Aryk expected such a question, so he prepared his answer.

"I found several excavation tools and flashlights. When I looked towards the horizon, I saw a light, so I followed it but only found a hanging flashlight."

Zak remained silent, while Ragnar looked disappointed.

"It seems our adventure was meaningless."

Zak nodded in agreement. In a moment, he approached Aryk and hugged him.

"Don’t do this again. If Father hadn’t been there, you’d be dead now."

Aryk smiled and hugged both tightly.

After dinner at home, Aryk went to his bedroom early and sat by the window, staring at the sky.

The stars twinkled in the calm, black night. The trees swayed to the rhythm of the wind, illuminated by the large moon that shone alone in the sky.

Aryk recalled the tree trunk and began thinking about the golden threads he saw and the strange feeling he had when he touched the trunk. He felt that warmth again in the palms of his hands.

"That tree really isn’t ordinary. No wonder the Emperor himself is coming to the village to see it. Is it really the tree I dreamt about?"

Aryk felt a headache and suddenly remembered something important. "Damn, I didn’t tell my mother about the Emperor coming next week, and I doubt Ragnar told her. He was half asleep when we talked about it. I’ll tell her tomorrow."

Aryk closed the window and went to bed, and for the first time, he had a normal dream about cats.

At the Roger family home, Zak sat at the dining table with Roger and Cecilia.

"Zak, did you tell Aryk about the cave?" Roger asked.

Zak trembled at his father’s words. "Yes, Father, I told him as you instructed."

Roger smiled and continued, "It seems he found something inside the cave. Didn’t he tell you anything?"

"He told me he found only a set of flashlights and excavation tools."

Cecilia interjected, "Roger, do you think he saw something there?"

Roger smiled. "I’m sure. When I asked him, he said he found nothing, but his reaction was too calm. If he had really found nothing, he would have shown some surprise, but he only smiled."

Cecilia fell silent.

"Father, should we proceed with the plan? The Emperor is coming next week, so we should start the plan now."

Roger agreed with his son. "Tomorrow morning, invite Aryk and his family to dinner"