At the same time while the fight was occurring in some barren lands that were on the edges of the Storm Empire, an interesting event was happening to an unfortunate kid.
A type of insect that inhabited huge mountains and ancient lands, the dragon pill crickets that were active under moonlight started singing a rustling song of life.
They were critters that only came out at the night. Their bodies emitted faint red light: at this moment they jumped out in droves, each of their bodies flashing with the brilliance of a red agate.
At first glance, Vladimir thought that he was in the afterlife. His big eyes were filled with the Dragonpill crickets that were bouncing about around all the place, landing on the green grass and wild flowers, prancing around the moonlight in the open green land.
The green land was like a conscious pond, under the moonlight an ancient-looking tree that towered over hundreds of meters in the middle flashed in the brilliance of light.
The enchanting sight of the extremely beautiful tree and bright flowers in spring. Mother nature was showing Vladimir her immense beauty at this moment, yet his mind was thinking that he perished under the cliff and all of this was but the afterlife that many sought to see.
Vladimir unconsciously stood up and got on his feet, feeling as if he was in a heavenly land. He was already about to fall apart from the guilt and sadness that was overwhelming him, but at this moment he appeared that he was the happiest man in the world, his face showing no signs of discomfort or dissatisfaction.
He began walking toward the gigantic heaven-like tree, he didn't find any object or anything else that was more eye-catching than the lonely tree standing root in the middle of this vast green land.
With each step he took forward in an attempt to get closer to the tree, he felt like he was moving in an endless loop unable to close the gap between both of them.
He soon realized that all his efforts are futile and its better to give up trying to reach the extremely beautiful ancient tree, hence he stopped in his tracks yet his eyes were still locked by its jade-like leaves that were emitting faint green blue light.
After a few minutes of being drawn into the tree's heaven-like form, a sudden voice brought him back to reality that sounded old and lazy.
" Kid, are you gonna keep looking forever? Don't you have any questions for me? "
Moving his eyes to the source of the voice, he finally noticed that an old man was sitting cross-legged under the ancient jade tree, yet he failed to see him since the moment he opened his eyes in this place.
The old man seemingly used to such a reaction gave the kid some time to stabilize himself and calm his mind a little down, or else he wouldn't be able to think and act rationally on what was to come from now onwards.
" Sorry Mister, I only saw you after you spoke up or else I wouldn't sense your existence at all. " Vladimir scratched his head awkwardly as he apologized.
The old man's eyes emitted faint blue light with each word he spoke, gentle breeze of wind blew every time he finishes speaking, it was simply a magnificent scene to behold.
" Do you have any questions? I'm here to give answers to the best of my ability and knowledge about this place so don't hold back!"
Vladimir didn't sense any hostile aura being released from the old man, only peace and tranquillity surrounded him which made him feel kind of safe and relaxed.
He didn't waste any time as he instantly pointed at the jade-like tree with his right hand, curiosity filling up his soul as he desired knowledge about its origin.
" Then can you tell me everything about that weird yet beautiful tree?"
The old man that had blue hair added with a blue robe shook his head in refusal without thinking any second about the kid's question, but before Vladimir could raise any questions the old man already gave him the answer.
" You are not worthy yet, you should display your resolve and good heart if you want to have anything to do with this tree."
Vladimir didn't expect such an abrupt rejection without giving the subject any thought, yet he didn't have any choice at this point and had to change his approach.
Deep down, his feelings were complicated. On one hand, he wanted to know what happened after he fell off the cliff from that height, while on the hand he felt like he needed to reach and learn everything about that tree before he leaves the place or else a big opportunity that will surely affect his life might be missed out in this wonderful place.
" Can you at least tell me where am I? Is this the afterlife or something along those lines? And what happens from now on? "
He didn't hold up any of the things he yearned to know about this place as he bombarded the old man with multiple questions, but deep down he was still aiming into going back to the tree subject and learning a lot of things about it.
The old man this time around didn't deny his curious behavior and slowly replied to all of them while giving as many details as he possibly can for a human being.
The more the old man spoke, the more wind, singing, and faint light that was emitted out of his eyes intensified. And after an hour or so of speaking without pausing for any moment to rest in between, the old man stopped explaining as he again looked the kid's way, his facial expression was plain without any hint of changing at all.
Matter of fact, despite Vladimir being so hooked into every magical thing he was experiencing at this moment, he still felt that the old man's behavior was odd for a human being, but he paid it no heed and kept digesting the information he was getting consecutively trying his hardest to not miss any important ones that might play a crucial role in whatever is gonna happen next.