Nash narrowed his eyes scarcely at the sight of the being's sudden appearance on the horizon and subconsciously raised the sword in his hand higher as he stepped before Amy who seemed to be rather anxious and even looked a little bit pale.
As for Erys, her complexion became white as a sheet of paper as she noticed something that Nash definitely didn't; and it was the creature's aura which despite being surpassed she could easily detect that it was on the Warmaster Rank, on the same Rank as her!
"That creature... is at the Warmaster Rank. Although it tries to conceal it, I can sense it."
"WHAT?" both Nash and Amy snapped their heads toward Erys with widened eyes, feeling as if they have just misheard what she has just said. However, when seeing her grim face together with how her little hands trembled slightly, Nash realized she was not lying and what she just told was indeed the truth!
"We need to get out of here now!" Amy quickly grabbed the sleeve of Nash's clothing, pulling it toward her with stress as she tried to make him budge and move.
But to her great surprise, Nash was akin to a huge and heavy boulder that was impossible to push or pull much less move around, hence the only thing she could do was to anxiously wait and hope that he won't try to do anything stupid.
"We need to go now if you want to keep living. That creature is not something you can defeat, not even with me on your side. If it comes any closer than that, we are all doomed for sure." Erys said calmly, but just like how Amy, she too was dependent on Nash as she couldn't just decide and run away as she wished.
At the very end of the day, despite her hatred toward the human on her side, she was still under the influence of his power and whatever he decided to do she must follow and obey with 'loyalty'. The only thing that was given to her was to give him advice and hope he will listen to her and do not plan to eat something he couldn't even chew!
Of course, Nash knew what the two on his side were thinking and he was clearly aware of the fact that they stood no chance against that creature before him, but then...
'Why do I have this strange feeling inside my chest?'
In the beginning, he was able to feel like his body to its very core became unease and even slightly worried, but once the strange creature that represented a skeleton with bones shining with an emerald green cluster appeared, the feeling in his body began to change, gradually becoming something completely different, something he has never felt before.
It was almost like something deep inside him told him not to move and even trust the skeleton in front of him as he won't regret it.
"Nash...?" Amy's grip on Nash's sleeve tightened when she saw Nash stay silent even after a full minute, her face turning paler by the fraction of the second as the creature came closer and closer to them.
Nash clenched his teeth when he heard Amy's slightly shaky voice and without further hesitation took a step forward as he said, "Erys, protect her no matter what."
Erys looked at Nash's back with widened eyes and while her body was forced to move next to Amy, she thought to herself mockingly, 'He is definitely digging his own grave. What a fool.'
While Amy watched with widened eyes as Nash ordered Erys to protect her, Nash walked several meters forward, and when he was just below the gate he stopped moving with his gaze fixed on the creature that already arrived in front of him, and stood exactly five meters away from him.
And from such a distance, Nash could clearly see that the creature before him was true, without a question a skeleton, built up from nothing but green bones and nothing else. There were no flesh, organs, or veins, but only bones that moved around just as perfectly as they would with muscles and tendons!
"So you have decided to remain even after knowing the threat. No wonder fate has chosen you in the end."
"?!"
Nash's eyes widened the moment he heard the unfamiliar voice in his head which was neither feminine nor masculine even though he saw as the skeleton's jaw didn't move and simply stared at him with its empty eye sockets.
"You... can speak?" Nash asked after a bit of hesitation and raised his gaze slightly to see if the skeleton had any Indicator above its head or not. But to his great surprise, it did not have, confusing him even more.
"I can speak indeed, but the biggest question here is not that, but instead the reason why did you have stepped through the Forgotten Gate." the voice appeared inside Nash's head once again, sounding rather mysterious but peaceful.
"Me? What do you mean by that?" Nash asked with a slight frown but soon realized something was wrong and took a glance behind him. And to his horror, the walls and gate which he was below a second ago vanished, together with Erys and Amy too!
"This... What is happening here?" Nash turned around and looked at the forest around him, only to find out it was not the forest from where he just came from with Amy and Erys, but a completely different one.
"Because you have stepped through the Forgotten Gate, now your soul has stepped into the Forgotten Lands."
"Forgotten Lands? Forgotten Gate? What the hell are you talking about here you pile of b-, Eek!" Nash seemed to become angry when he heard the many unknown things, but was quickly forced to calm down and even let out a slight scream when he turned back around and saw as the skeleton was now only an inch away from his face, and its eyeballess face staring deeply into his eyes quite creepily.
'Just when?' Nash swallowed nervously when he realized he could have just died now without knowing when the skeleton got behind him, and subconsciously took a few steps back to increase the distance between them.
"Don't worry, if I would have wanted to kill you I would have done so already." the skeleton's voice sounded in Nash's head and straightened its posture, "Or at least, I could have if we were still outside and not in the Forgotten Lands. But now, things have become slightly different."
Nash remained silent with a deep frown on his face, and after pondering for a while and realizing that the skeleton meant no harm for him, took a deep breath and asked, now with a seemingly relaxed attitude than before, "Can you tell me more about what this place truly is and how can I get out of here? Also, who are you, and how did you get here? According to the records, this planet should be desolate."
"Desolate?" the skeleton let out a slight chuckle when he heard this, giving Nash a kind of illusion as if it was smiling even though it was impossible, and said, "The Paradise will never be a desolated planet, no matter how many millennials went and will go by. As for who am I, let's just say that I am this 'desolated planet', this Paradise's Guardian, and I have waited for your arrival quite a long time now."