"Be careful...." That was the only word Lester uttered. He was in deep pain, making him unable to say anything else.
He just collapsed on the ground helplessly. Kyra is vigorously shaking. Her tears came out, unable to stop.
Her feelings are heavy with deep remorse.
"Silver..." She uttered Silver's name. But the silver lotus is so weakened after being corrupted that it slowly collapsed on the ground, unable to stand up to help Lester.
"Tinkers..." Kyra's voice falls so low no one can hear her.
"World Tree.... mother, anyone please..." she pleaded. Her voice cracked.
"Be careful..." That was Lester's last word to her. That was all.
Why couldn't she say anything?
Lester's rotten body stench just like the royal guard in the image. Kyra cupped her hands over her face. Tears are unable to stop falling.
Why? Why? Why?
No one was there to answer.
She was supposed to be powerful.
Why can't he save him?
She was able to kill the two notorious demons single-handedly. Why can't she stop the corruption?
Kyra knows the extent of her father's power. It wasn't supposed to be as lethal as this. It wasn't supposed to corrupt even the World Tree.
How was he able to gain so much poisonous power in such a short time?
Kyra bowed her head and turned around to gather the ashes of Lester. He disappeared. Just like that. Her only friend. Her most trusted servant. Her loyal guard.
She gathered the ashes and spread them at the feet of the World Tree. Along with the ashes of the fallen leaves.
One particular leaf rested in Kyra's cupped hands. Then it slowly disintegrates into dust. That was Lester.
All are born in the World Tree and die in the World Tree. She gripped her sword tighter and marched towards the other side of the World Tree.
At its root, there are small caves with entrances that let you get to anywhere in the fairy realm. She marched without hesitation towards the cave that led back straight to the Elven Croft Palace.
This happened...
Lester's death.
Her mother's imprisonment.
Because of that damn fairy king, many people suffered.
Now he must pay the price of what he's done.
As the entrance rippled around her, the surroundings shifted and she could see the tall Elven Croft Palace.
But it wasn't as it used to be. Some walls are decrepit, as if they have aged thousands of years. Some monuments cracked and fell into the ground. Plants are no longer recognizable under the pile of thick, rotten substances. Even the tall, majestic trees that the naiads hang out with are no longer there.
It was just a patch of black mist. The essence of dark magic and curses is leeking from the soil. As Kyra got near to the courtyard, many of the royal guards' clothes were sprayed on the ground. Not one has a body visible. Only a pugnacious smell is leaking out.
Kyra saw the grand gate that led to the courtyard. One can tell where this strong, malignant dark magic is coming from.
She unsheathed her sword and walked straight. Her eyes were full of anger. At her feet, many remnants of royal guards' ashes and their clothes are littered. The poison was in the air, in the ground, in nature itself.
In her path, no one was left alive. The poison began to reek inside of her body. It first tattered her clothes, then invaded her body. Black spots appeared on her skin.
Afterwards, her limbs are wracked in pain. Her bluish green veins started to change color. Black liquid polluted her blood. It started at her feet, then it rose and sought to destroy her cells, little by little.
It is the corruption she managed to cut off earlier that is back again. But this time, she can't cut her legs in order to get rid of it.
It was in the air she breathed in her lungs. It was in the earth that she stepped on her feet. It was everywhere.
For only a short amount of time, Ava witnesses how lethal it is to be corrupted by the corruption. That's why Lester's last words to her were "be careful."
Because once you step into a place where the curse dwells, no mana nor magic can save you, not even light magic.
Kyra wanted to run ahead and look for her mother. It was useless. The corruption is spreading faster, eating away her mana. Her strength.
It took all of her to continue walking. The black mist surrounding the place became heavier as she approached the center. She started to lose some of her senses. Kyra's half-lidded eyes and sluggish movements made it more certain she was losing control of her body, especially her legs.
She continued to purge forward. In the middle of the black swirling mist, a single ray of light shone brilliantly, like a ray of light in the dark cave.
Kyra's eyes lit up when she saw this. She limped over, trying to hasten her steps. She was already losing sense of her left leg. She wasn't able to fight off the urge to look over at it earlier.
And her heart gave a jolt. Her leg is already severed. Because of the corruption, it rotted away her flesh and bones completely.
As Kyra slowly approaches, a domineering figure stands tall amid the mist. His short hair cast away from the black mist swayed completely to one side. His brilliant armor and overbearing sword gleam even in the darkness.
Ava's grip on her sword tightens. Her eyes are searching for her mother. If this man is here, the sole responsible for all of this, then she must either kill him right now or escape while she has the chance with her mother. Otherwise, it will be too late.
Kyra crept up on him as quietly as she could. But before she could approach him, he suddenly threw his sword towards her.