With careful steps, Aldrian walked slowly through the long, dark hallway. He created his own light using fire energy, forming flames in his hands. His senses functioned normally here, allowing him to spread them forward. What he found was a long hallway descending underground, its end beyond his senses' reach. Always alert for traps or surprise attacks, he circulated his energy, ready to unleash a technique, and had his sword out just in case.
He kept walking until he saw light at the end of the hallway. Feeling the rich energy ahead, he quickened his steps and when he reached the light source, he found himself in a huge empty hall with stones producing light on the ceiling and walls. The hall was quite large for an underground structure, about 250 square meters. When he saw the stones, he was shocked—they were actually peak-level energy stones. After living in Balin for some time, he understood how precious these stones were.
Energy stones are special stones produced by large rocks called energy stone sources. These sources formed from the long-term concentration of heaven and earth energy, crystallizing into huge rocks. The presence of an energy stone source speeds up the production of smaller stones and increases their quality over time, and if all the energy inside is absorbed, the stones turns into a black stone or black rock.
Aldrian felt the urge to take the stones but restrained himself, aware of the potential danger. He marveled at their beauty before noticing three pathways leading in different directions—in front of him, to his right, and to his left. He considered them for a moment before deciding to take the path in front of him. With the path illuminated by the light of the energy stones, he no longer needed his fire and simply followed the path.
He walked along the hallway until he saw two huge doors. Pushing them open, he found another hall, this one with two statues in the middle. He recognized one of the statues—it was the lion statue whose head he had seen at the entrance cave. The other statue was of an elf he didn't recognize.
"Are they Emperor Thonias Evergreen and Dahan?" he wondered.
The statues had moss growing on some parts but were generally in good condition. He looked at the masterpieces for a moment before searching the hall for clues. After investigating every part of the walls, he found nothing. Confused, he thought,
"Is Dahan or whoever it is in another room?"
He looked at the statues again, assessing them one more time. Focusing all his senses on the statues, he touched them and felt a connection established. He inserted his energy into the statues and before he knew it, he was in a different place.
He found himself in the middle of a pond under the moonlight and thousands of stars, surrounded by different kinds of plants.
"Is this some kind of space law? There are also time and illusion laws in it."
He looked around and saw two beings sitting under a lush green tree. Recognizing their faces from the statues, he realized who they were. The elf had his eyes closed, playing a guqin, while the lion lay beside him, also with its eyes closed. Aldrian walked closer to them, stopping a few meters in front of them.
"It's really surprising that I can feel this kind of sensation from you," the elf suddenly spoke, stopping his playing. "Because of my connection to Dahan, I can feel his nervousness due to your presence. For someone who can make Dahan, the king of forest spirits, feel nervous, you must be extraordinary. Are you really human?" The elf scrutinized Aldrian.
"Some people have already asked the same question, but I am human," Aldrian answered, looking at the elf.
"Are you Emperor Thonias?" Aldrian asked.
"You could say that. I am only a remnant will from the past." Aldrian then looked at the lion.
"Then is he Dahan?"
"Yes," Emperor Thonias answered. Aldrian looked at the emperor again.
"Did he also?"
"Yes, he is also the will of the 'true' Dahan."
"The true Dahan? What do you mean, your majesty?"
"You will know in the future. At your current cultivation level, it's not good for you to know more."
"Is it?" Aldrian tried to read Emperor Thonias's mind, but his technique couldn't read him. At that moment, he understood the reason.
"I can't read him because he is only a remnant will, without a physical body. He is already dead." Aldrian thought. He looked at Dahan, who was still silent, and assumed it would be the same, so he gave up on his plan.
"Can you not do that? I can feel the sensation of something like karma laws brushing against me. I'm okay with your actions, but Dahan seems more nervous when he senses it."
"I'm sorry if my actions offended you, your majesty, but I am very curious and interested in mysteries," Aldrian said.
Emperor Thonias smiled.
"What is your name, young man?"
"My name is Aldrian Aster, your majesty."
"Good name, good name."
"Your majesty, I'm sorry, but what kind of place is this underground area?" Aldrian asked.
"Actually, it was Dahan who wanted to create this place."
Aldrian showed a confused expression.
"After I cast 'The Wrath of the Forest Spirit,' I felt like my time was near, so I came to this core region. Actually when Dahan formed a contract with me, he had his own mission. His true form is waiting for something or someone. I don't know the specifics of his mission, but because of the unfortunate event of the great war with the devils and my unexpected demise, Dahan felt rage because his mission was disrupted by the human devil cultivators who invaded my empire. Finding a body compatible with Dahan to form a contract is not easy. So you can see his hatred to this day." Aldrian nodded in understanding and continued listening.
"When I arrived here, Dahan asked me to build an underground place to store his will. He wanted the place to be avoided by others to keep his will as long as possible. With the help of other spirits, we created this underground place and all the obstacles in the forest. I also had my own intentions for this place, so I stored my belongings here and left my will," Emperor Thonias explained.
"Was it Dahan who sent notice to the inhabitants of the forest, your majesty? How did he contact the outside world? How did you know that the 'higher being' would come?" Aldrian asked, looking at Dahan, who still wasn't talking.
However, he could see that Dahan, lying on his stomach, tried to hide his nervousness with folded ears and a shrunken body like a scaredy-cat.
"Yes, it's Dahan who gave the notice. As for how he contacts the outside world, this forest was created with the combined power of mine and Dahan. Because Dahan's power is higher than mine and his remnant will is stronger, he can send his intent and messages through the forest inhabitants. Although it's rare, in fact, he has only given orders or conveyed his intent a few times since I died. We learned about the 'higher being' from the World Tree Spirit of Evergreen."
Aldrian was astonished by the unexpected name.
"She came to us a few hours ago to warn us about the arrival of the 'higher being.' She advised asking the inhabitants of the forest to hide because his presence would be too much for them to handle. Dahan couldn't take a risk because the notice from the World Tree Spirit of Evergreen is not a trivial matter. True to her notice, when you came from afar, even Dahan felt his innate instinct tremble. That's why I asked you if you are truly human and not some higher being or a higher being in the skin of a human," Emperor Thonias asked.
"To be honest, I am really human, but the strangeness inside me is still a mystery to me. I am still trying to figure out who and what I truly am. I can only keep walking towards that answer." Aldrian answered.
"I hope you find it," Emperor Thonias said while looking at his own hand.
"It looks like my time is almost up. Talking with you is also draining my energy fast, and I cannot maintain this form for too long. But it is fate that brought you here, and—" Emperor Thonias looked at Dahan, who was now already standing on all fours.
"It looks like his mission is also complete." Aldrian watched as their bodies started to fade slowly into particles of light from their feet.
"Aldrian, I will give you all my belongings, my treasures, my artifacts—everything. They are all stored in this underground place. You can use them as you wish; this is my will to pass down my inheritance to the fated one. After this remnant will is gone, the underground place and the forest will lose their sovereign, and the inhabitants will have to fend for themselves if something happens." Emperor Thonias looked at Dahan, who moved his mouth without a sound.
At this moment, the entire Forest of Despair—spirits and beasts—stopped what they were doing and looked towards the core section. Some wore solemn expressions, and some shed tears. They all then prostrated towards the core section.
Back with Aldrian, the particles of light had already reached the emperor's and Dahan's stomachs.
"There are many spirits and beasts living in this forest, some loyally following their ancestors to guard this place and the forest. I entrust them all to you. I hope you cherish them; they will be helpful to you on your journey."
At this point, the particles of light had already reached his neck.
"I hope your journey will shine for others like a torch giving light in the darkness." He smiled before disappearing into particles of light. Aldrian then looked at Dahan, who, for the first time, looked at him with a resolute gaze. Dahan suddenly closed his eyes and prostrated towards him, even though only his head remained. For the first time, Dahan spoke to him.
"Welcome back. We have been waiting for your true return."
After saying that, Dahan followed Emperor Thonias, disappearing into particles of light. Aldrian, who could only watch them disappear, bowed his head in silence, ushering in the departure of a legend.