Just the mentioning of the Dark Evil Forest alone was enough to instill fears into the heart of any grown man.
Located in the Schlumtas Kingdom, the Dark Evil Forest encompassed more than half of the Evergreen mountain range, the biggest mountain range on the continent.
It was shrouded by a dark murky cloud that resembled ink. The dark cloud was so concentrated that it showed signs of liquefication.
Even looking at it from a distance would give a person the creeps. It was a dark and silent expanse where even the sunlight could not penetrate.
Its entrance resembled the agape mouth of a prehistoric creature that would swallow any fools that dared to enter.
No one could clearly speak of the exact origin of this landscape of doom. Its existence predated the Schlumtas Kingdom and the kingdoms before and so on.
Some said that it was the burial ground of an insanely powerful evil creature. Some described it as the entrance of the netherworld.
Its existence was mentioned in every record and history book dating back hundreds of thousands of years ago, but nothing about its origin. To this day, it remained the greatest mystery of the Naladeid plane.
As they said, mysteries bred curiosity. Throughout the ages, many brave or foolish adventurers have ventured into the dark evil forest, hoping to unearth its potential secrets and treasures hidden within.
Unfortunately, none of them came back, seemingly evaporated from the world after entering, never to be seen or heard again.
However, that didn't stop the other adventurers from all over the world from continued taking their chances despite the ill fate of their predecessors. They were like moths attracted to a flame as their greed overshadowed their fear.
Fortunately, as time went by, the number of adventurers entering the dark evil forest reduced exponentially as it became evident to many that entering the dark evil forest was literally entering the netherworld.
But oddly today, it was barely the start of the new day, and thousands of adventurers, regular citizens, and powerful nobles gathered outside the usually abandoned entrance of the dark evil forest, brimming with excitement.
With every passing second, more, and more people continued to arrive in groups. Some even took the opportunity to set up shop and food stalls outside the entrance of the dark evil forest.
There were also several hundred tents scattered about forming dozen of small campgrounds. And at the center of each campground was a large flag that was hoisted into the air along with the insignia of a particular noble family. Even some of the members of the Schlumtas Kingdom royal family were present.
One might wonder why but the reason for this was simple, the thick black fog that had shrouded the dark evil forest was now dissipating.
This phenomenon didn't only attract the people of Schlumtas Kingdom, but people from all over the continent and even the entire world as the news spread like wildfire.
Even though they didn't know the cause of it, the disappearance of the thick black fog of the dark evil forest was good news to everyone.
As such, they were all in a state of euphoria as they flocked toward the Evergreen Moutain range like bees.
"It's finally happening, the black fog of the dark evil forest is vanishing!" A young hot-blooded adventurer couldn't help but exclaim: " With the disappearance of the black fog, we can now safely enter the dark evil forest!"
"Hahaha! I'm going to be rich today. Bye-bye, my poor wretched life." Another couldn't contain his excitement and let out wild laughter. It was as if there were numerous treasures just awaiting his excavation.
It wasn't only them two, almost everyone outside couldn't contain their eagerness and happiness as well. Their mouths were watering with greed.
The secrets and treasures of the dark evil forest were something coveted by many if not by all. It was a land of opportunities and treasures in their eyes.
To them, this was the miracle of the ages. Not even in their wildest dream did they expect to see the black fog of the dark evil forest disappearing in their lifetime.
Meanwhile, in the depth of the nether region of dark evil forest, at the very center of it, a place void of any life, rested an oval-shaped item amid heaps of dried grass and gnawed bones. It was about the size of a football/soccer ball. At first glance, it actually seemed like… an egg.
A pitch black egg with numerous blood red runes and weird symbols engraved all over it. The egg was cracked all over, like a broken mirror.
The unknown pitch black egg reeked of death. It gave off the feeling as though it was the embodiment of evil and malice.
However, that wasn't all. As if contained a will of its own, the cracked egg seemed to be absorbing the surrounding black miasma through the tiny fissures at an alarming rate.
It was unknown how such a small item was able to absorb such a large amount of miasma without being full or saturated. It was like a bottomless pit.
Suddenly, out of nowhere;
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Numerous banging sounds could be heard as if something was pounding and punching the egg from the inside accompanied by an eerie howl, causing more cracks to appear on the egg.
It was as if whatever creature was inside was trying to break out of the shell.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
With every strike, more cracks appeared on the egg which in turn fastened the absorption rate of the black miasma in the surrounding. This continued for about ten or twelve minutes before it stopped.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes…
A whole five minutes passed by and the egg still didn't have any movements, like a stone egg without any life. It was unknown if whatever was inside was just tired and taking a break or giving up entirely.
It was unknown how long this has been going on. However, after ten minutes or so, the monotonous banging sound continued again. But this time, it was louder, more powerful, and violent. It was as if the creature inside was desperate and was using all of his remaining power to break out of the shell.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
From the thickness of the cracks, one could tell this pitch black egg wasn't a regular egg otherwise it would have been broken a long time ago. It was more like thick black porcelain.
Crack!
Finally, the effort of the creature inside paid off as its desperate clawing and movement poked a hole through the shell, revealing its sharp reaper-like scythe claws which slowly stretched out from the broken area infused with dark energy before retracting it.
From the outside of the broken area, one could see the inside of the egg and it was like peeking into a bottomless pitch black abyss, not even the shadow of the creature could be seen inside. It was as if it has merged with the darkness and became one with it.
There was this erring silence within the egg and this silence seemed to be a greeting for something on the verge of awakening.
After a short while, a soft pop was heard within as a small evil fiery eye with a slit pupil was snapped open and hovered within the darkness.
It glimmered with a malevolent intelligence and looked as though it was crafted from the purest hot coal.
Normally speaking… The eyes of a newborn creature should not be open, but this creature's eyes were glowing brighter than even the hottest burning ember.
It was quite intimidating. Even an experienced adventurer would feel their legs giving in. The shining blood-red eye seemed as though it could drain someone's soul away.
As if wanted to check its surrounding, the fiery blood-chilling red eye moved closer to the broken area of the egg as it peeked outside.
It moved left and right, up and down as to scout the way ahead. After making sure that there wasn't any living soul nearby, the eye retracted back within the depth of the egg.
Bang!
In the next second, the pitch black egg suddenly shattered like a broken mirror as the unknown creature seemingly used its claws to smash it from the inside.
As the egg was already cracked all over and had a gaping hole, it became extremely unstable and fragile. As such, with just a single strike, the creature was able to completely shatter the sturdy egg.