A black shadow flew past straight inside the dark castle and landed on the front of the throne. The shadows swirled and took the form of a human figure.
"My lord, Frederel's sycophant has been discovered searching for the seed in a forest. I took the opportunity to kill it before it could run away."
The dark green armored Knight reported while kneeling on the ground.
The golden armored Knight placed his elbow on the edge of the throne and lifted his hand before leaning his head against it in a relaxed manner. His hoarse voice started to rumble.
"And the seed?"
"I haven't found it, yet. But from what I have seen, the seed must be in that forest."
The Dark Knight that was on the throne ruminate over on what she said. He needed to destroy the seed.
"In a forest, you say?" The Dark Knight thought over on what was the right course of action. It would take a long time before finding the seed in a forest. He needed to quickly destroy it before someone could have their hands on it.
"Burn the forest."
The dark-green Knight was inwardly shocked by what the Dark Knight said.
"But the nest, my lord..."
The nest that she meant was the shadow's feeding ground. It covered the center of the forest and over time it would grow and contaminate the whole forest, then the nearby villages, then the whole country.
"...."
The arm that was carrying the weight of the Dark Knight's head slowly dropped down on the edge of the throne and his head that was a little bit tilted was now staring down at her.
The Knight that was kneeling suddenly felt an intense murderous aura from the Dark Knight.
"Yes, my lord," She bowed her head and thick shadows emerged from her body before transforming her figure into a black shadow. She flew away from the throne room and outside the dark, gloomy castle.
.....
The sky was covered with orange that slowly became yellow to blue. The trees swayed and enjoyed the strong wind that nature blew. Birds were either flying in the sky or resting on the branches, enjoying the shade that the leaves brought. It was a normal day in the forest, and everything was in order.
Almost in order.
There was one thing that was off the place. On the edge of the forest, there was a body that was lying, belly down, on the ground. The pale skin indicated that it was already dead, but there was no stench coming off, meaning that it was still fresh.
It was Lev.
The thin tree that was near him started to wiggle. The roots that were on the ground slowly made its way towards Lev and started to encircle his body, wrapping him like how a spider wrapped its prey.
A few minutes later, he was like in a cocoon-shaped coffin made out of roots and dirt. It gently pressed against Lev until it took the shape of his figure.
After completing the mummification, it gently pulled Lev towards the base of the tree. When it reached on the tree, it stopped moving. It was although he just wanted to pull him closer so that he could accompany it to watch the sunrise in the east.
An old voice that was mellow came from behind.
"Poor boy."
The soothing sunlight touched his eyes, which made them shine with a golden luster. It was S'datel, or Soz. He was carrying a fishing rod over his shoulder and a bucket on his other hand, it made him look like a retired old man who was just enjoying the rest of his life fishing.
He gently placed the bucket and the fishing rod on the ground and approached the mummified, cocoon-like, figure.
"Your unfortunate fate has reached its end here," He sat beside the cocoon and gently caressed the roots. "But you found what you were searching for."
Inside the cocoon, a bright light shone out of nowhere, illuminating Lev's dead body. The light covered his body and slowly centralized toward his chest, where it formed a small seed-like light sphere, and penetrated inside his chest.
The tree was what Glib was searching for 15 years! It was the seed!
A peaceful smile came from Soz's gentle face. The hand that was caressing the wood emitted a bright white light, brighter than the sun!
His mellow but authoritative voice sounded again.
"Fate has reached its end for you in this world, but a new one, filled with endless possibilities, awaits you there."
The light grew even brighter! The light directed upwards like a light beam being shot towards the sky, and slowly dimming after being shot.
Then everything went back to normal as if nothing happened. Birds were chirping, trees were swaying, but the cocoon that was beside the thin tree was gone.
Soz gave a soft chuckle while looking at the sunrise.
"Take care, Lev. Learn, survive, and live. I brought you to 'that' person, now everything depends on you."
.....
In the center of a dark forest, a cocoon was lying on a stone altar with four stone columns standing upright on the edges of the altar.
Lev slowly opened his eyes. He felt that he slept for a long period of time. His eyes saw darkness, his nose breathed and the smell of soil and dirt hit him, his body felt a little bit tight and rough, and his head felt groggy.
The roots were thin and easy to break, which made it easy for Lev to break free by moving a little bit.
The cocoon tore open and Lev slowly raised his body. His eyes swept around and his head rotated left and right. The trees were different now, they were curved all over and the branches were thick. The stone columns, that were filled with what looked like mysterious lines and carvings, were gigantic and towering, and the stone beneath him was filled with mysterious symbols that he mostly didn't recognize and understood, except one. There was one symbol that he recognized but he couldn't remember where he saw it.
Lev then realized the situation he was in.
"Where am I?"