Thaddeus, dressed in simple leather armor and a black hood, was walking through green meadows that stretched as far as the eye could see. It had been two days since he had embarked on his journey to where the Elder Tree would guide him.

The meadows were quiet with no sign of fighting or destruction, almost as if the war had never happened. Of course, this was nothing more than a facade, a simple attempt by the world and magic to correct all the chaos caused by the constant wars and senseless destruction.

In the distance, Thaddeus managed to make out an imposing figure of an elephant, its height extended to the clouds which covered the body of the immense green elephant that seemed to be made of branches and grass. With each step, the rumble of its weight could be felt crushing the ground and reforesting it to what it once was.

-Root, son of an elder- said Thaddeus amazed -I never thought I would see such a creature with my own eyes-

Thaddeus took a notebook out of his leather bag and began to draw the huge elephant. Little by little, without Thaddeus noticing, an old man with a long beard approached him, this old man was Merlin.

-Beautiful, isn't it?- asked Merlin surprising Thaddeus. -No matter how much damage we cause, the earth will eventually reign over everything again. As if we had never been there-

-Merlin, how did you get here? Weren't you supposed to be with Rhonna?- asked Thaddeus confused and a little excited -Is it better now? Have you found the cure?-

-I'm afraid not, young wizard. What you see here is nothing more than a simple copy of me, made of magic and a lot of my will- revealed Merlin - my true body is still on its way to Nuevo Corinto, there is still a long journey to be able to get there-

- So, what are you doing here? You don't come to give me bad news, do you?- asked Thaddeus

- Of course not, in fact it's the opposite- said Merlin as he stood right next to him - you see, I recently had a vision of you, some small ephemeral dreams. A very dangerous journey awaits you and I cannot allow you to go alone towards what would be your death, that is why I will travel with you until my magic allows me-

Even though Merlin had brought him bad news, Thaddeus looked at him gratefully and nodded at Merlin's company. He would not waste a valuable ally and even less if that ally is Merlin.

Merlin watched Root walk in the distance, no animal was scared or ran away from him, as if they knew that Root is not dangerous at all. Birds perched on his long green fur that resembles the branches of a tree and on his large fangs that shined white.

-Have you seen Root before, Merlin?- asked Thaddeus

-Oh yes, 2 times to be exact- said Merlin without taking his eyes off Root -and I always marveled at his great calmness and kindness-

-Have you ever seen him angry?- asked Thaddeus curiously

-Once, although it was a long time ago. 3 thousand years ago- revealed Merlin

-3 thousand years?... in the time of Damnatus if I'm not mistaken- said Thaddeus thoughtfully -What was he like? I mean, I know he was very despicable and bad, but how much?-

-Him? No... that thing is not something you can call by him or her. It is a being made of hate and malice, it is the cause of hate in this world- said Merlin. His gaze reflected the anger and resentment kept towards that being, something that Thaddeus never thought he would see in a benign - his rise to power lasted 2 thousand years, 2 thousand years in which the Benigns could do nothing but watch as damnatus took control of the earth-unica little by little. Then, after 2 thousand years, he remained in power for 3 thousand years controlling more than 70% of our planet. His power and influence were... are such that even today we have not been able to recover even the smallest part of the lands he conquered. Even being locked in that prison he managed to curse the earth-unica so that the races live in an endless cycle of hate-

-It's a demon- said Thaddeus amazed by everything that Damnatus caused.

-It's not a demon, it's Damnatus- said Merlin firmly while his gaze was lost in the direction Root went.-I hope that with this you understand why the Elder Tree is so angry about what they did, we all fear that somehow Damnatus can use these vampires to come back-

-I understand- said Thaddeus.

Merlin gave one last look to Root and then lightly hit Thaddeus on the head with his staff and continued north.

-Come on, young wizard. A long journey awaits us- said Merlin advancing at a fast pace

-*sigh* I hope it's not as dangerous as he says- whispered Thaddeus to himself

Thaddeus and Merlin walked north, passing through the green meadows that seemed to have no end. As they walked, Merlin told him stories about when he was still human and how he met the Benigns. He also told him about how he met Tempus, the hero who faced and imprisoned Damnatus in an extradimensional prison where he would not be able to escape for thousands of years.

The two continued walking for days, to the point where Thaddeus came to think that they were lost going around in circles. It was not until the third week that the two managed to see a forest a few kilometers away.

"Finally, I came to think that we were lost," Thaddeus confessed, quickly approaching the forest.

"In a few moments you will wish you had gotten lost in the meadow, young Thaddeus," said Merlin with a slightly amused tone.

In front of them was a dark and somewhat sinister forest, a complete contrast to the beautiful and peaceful meadow in which they had been walking for days. Thaddeus looked at the strange forest with complicated feelings, it reminded him of the mythical forest from which the creatures of the night were born.

-You know, it may sound a little ridiculous, but this forest reminds me of the forest of stories, the cursed forest- said Thaddeus nervously.

-Hohoho, this is the cursed forest!- revealed Merlin with a big smile when he saw Thaddeus' expression.

-Wait what!?- asked Thaddeus excitedly

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-Hohoho, we must not delay young Thaddeus. A hard journey awaits us and we have no time to waste- said Merlin advancing towards the forest without any fear, Thaddeus even assured that Merlin was excited. -The last time I was here was when I hid the chocolates from the benign of love and I came to hide here, how exciting! She's not as loving as they say if you mess with her food- revealed Merlin

Thaddeus simply sighed and followed Merlin through the entrance of the forest. Every time they advanced it seemed that the forest was getting darker and little by little a mist was appearing.

A few meters after entering Merlin raised his staff and turned it over their heads causing a thin transparent cloth to cover them.

-A spell?- asked Thaddeus

-Yes, it's a simple illusion spell, it reflects all the light around us making us invisible- clarified Merlin -As long as you don't move too far away from me the effect on you shouldn't disappear-

-I find it incredible that being a simple clone you can do magic without problems- admired Thaddeus

-If you study enough you can get to this level- revealed Merlin calmly

-It seems a little impossible to me, I can barely perform basic spells- admitted Thaddeus dejectedly -Spells and charms separately are not a problem at all, but when I try to combine them it becomes impossible for me-

-You just need more practice and one day you will achieve it- cheer up Merlin.

The two continued their journey going deeper and deeper. The trees were getting closer and closer together and the grass more and more leafy and frequent. Before Thaddeus' eyes, the poisonous herbs did not go unnoticed, magical herbs that were usually very difficult to get here were in abundance.

Little by little, the sounds of wild animals became present around them, although they never appeared before them, Merlin assured that it was due to the senses of the animals, although they could not see them, they could feel them and smell them, so they did not get too close. The day passed quickly, faster than it normally did according to Thaddeus, Merlin laughed at Thaddeus' concern, explaining to him that this was one of the effects of the forest, it is normal to lose track of time in it.

Merlin took his staff and stuck it hard into the ground, causing the trees around him to grow and expand until they joined together and formed a small house above them. Merlin assured him that although they had not fully entered the forest, they were already in a place dangerous enough to be attacked while sleeping.

Thaddeus extended his hand creating a flame which he threw towards the small fireplace that Merlin created to keep warm. Thanks to Merlin's help Thaddeus learned to vaguely sense the great source of magic that ran through the forest in the form of mist, according to Merlin it is the magical residue of the monsters and magical beasts that reside in this forest. The magic is so much that it accumulates and manifests itself visibly, this made him think of the fog that was over the Blood Tears kingdom, "How powerful would Varion have to be to be able to manifest this magical fog over an entire kingdom without problems?" Thaddeus thought, it's not like the Blood Tears kingdom was small, it contains more than 5 million people after all.

Merlin sat right next to Thaddeus, in one of his hands he held two cups and in the other a teapot. Thaddeus wondered where he had gotten the teapot and cups from, but decided to leave the question aside. It was Merlin after all. According to legend, this man could move mountains with a little effort and separate the sea between kingdoms without breaking a sweat. “Getting a cup out of his ass would be the least impressive thing about Merlin,” Thaddeus thought.

“I didn't get the cups out of my ass, and don't be rude,” Merlin replied, pouring hot water into the cups.

“Can you read my thoughts?” Thaddeus asked, alarmed.

“Don't be silly. I can't read anyone's thoughts,” Merlin said. “I can hear them, which is very different. Reading thoughts... how ridiculous.” Merlin poured the water and prepared what seemed to be tea, a purple tea with sparks coming out of it. Something totally strange for Thaddeus, who had never seen such tea in his life.

The two continued chatting and drinking tea for a few minutes until Merlin asked Thaddeus to rest first since Merlin didn't need to rest at all. Thaddeus, already accustomed to this routine, went to sleep without hesitation leaving Merlin to stand guard.

—Break—

-Young Thaddeus… Young Thaddeus… Young Thaddeus!!- Merlin exclaimed, waking Thaddeus

-Merlin, what's wrong?- Thaddeus asked, confused

-We have company- Merlin said with his staff in hand

-Company?- he asked again

Before Merlin could answer, the two could hear heavy breathing, as if someone was tired. Thaddeus stood up quickly, focusing his senses and vaguely managing to feel the magic of the being outside. A disgusting magic even greater than that of vampires in Merlin's words.

-What the hell!...?- Thaddeus couldn't finish speaking as Merlin covered his mouth and made a sign for him to keep quiet.

Walking slowly, Merlin reached the door, opening it slowly and delicately until he could see 2 creatures wandering in front of the makeshift house. The creatures had a body very similar to that of a human, however they walked with both hands and feet, they had 2 large white horns coming out of their head and their skin was completely black with only a few red lines that crossed their bodies without forming any pattern, in their mouth only a few sharp teeth and a strange black liquid dripping from there, and completely red eyes.

-Corrupted- Merlin muttered surprised and then looked at Thaddeus -Curse, at the least opportune moment-

-Corrupted? What are they?- Thaddeus asked -Why are they here?-

Merlin looked at him for a few seconds before answering.

-Because of you. You spent a lot of time with me and you ended up breaking the curse of hatred- revealed Merlin -I thought that being a clone it wouldn't have as much effect as my real self, but I was wrong-

-Curse? I don't feel anything different- said Thaddeus quickly

-Do you remember I told you about how Damnatus cursed the races?- asked Merlin

-Was it literal?- asked Thaddeus only to receive a nod from Merlin -And now what do we do?-

Merlin looked at him seriously and then gave him a slight smile and raised his staff.-Fight of course- he answered

Merlin walked out the door waving his staff and releasing a powerful discharge of lightning against the corrupted, waving his staff again he summoned a large blue wave that hit the corrupted directly. Not wanting to finish yet, Merlin raised his hand causing the wave to contract attracting the two corrupted to the center and then exploding in a large flame incinerating the corrupted to death.

-Consecutive spells conjured!!- said Thaddeus with admiration approaching Merlin

-Mph, they were nothing- said Merlin

A little later the nearby bushes shook and from there came 3 corrupted ones surrounding Merlin and Thaddeus quickly. Thaddeus turned quickly, standing back to back with Merlin, ready to attack at any moment.

-Do not fear young Thaddeus, these are nothing more than simple disposable minions and without much power- revealed Merlin showing to be excited

-Of course- answered Thaddeus while moving his hands forward and began to take out blue rays. -Take this!- he exclaimed throwing the rays and hitting two corrupted ones throwing them towards the bushes.

-Good job, but remember not to waste so much magic. Magic may be infinite in itself, but your energies are not- Merlin advised, getting rid of the other corrupted man by breaking his back with his magic-enhanced staff.

“Sometimes Merlin can be very sadistic” Thaddeus thought, watching the corrupted man writhing on the ground in pain until he died.

-I'm not sadistic, it's survival. Live or die- Merlin clarified quickly

-aha- Thaddeus answered, ignoring the sermon Merlin was giving him while he went to check that the two corrupted he hit were dead.

Thaddeus opened the bushes, looking at the two corpses of the corrupted men but also noticing some shadows not far away, many shadows approaching. Thaddeus tried to focus his vision, noticing several horns and dark skin.

-Merlin…- called Thaddeus

-And what seems strange to me is that normally these corrupted being are very weak and travel in groups of 10 to 15, but these were only 5- Merlin continued with his reflection

-200 Merlin, that's 200!!- shouted Thaddeus running next to Merlin and entering the forest.

Merlin looked confused at Thaddeus and then felt the massive group of corrupted approaching at high speed. Without hesitating for a second, Merlin waved his staff over his head and ran in the same direction where Thaddeus went.

-200? That's at least 300!!- said Merlin passing at high speed next to Thaddeus -and among them there are generals!!-

-Did you put a speed spell on yourself? Put one on me too!!- exclaimed Thaddeus.