Luke pulled himself to his feet, and for a moment, the sight before him stole the air from his lungs. The behemoth tree loomed ahead, its colossal branches reaching high into the heavens, piercing the clouds like spears of living wood. The tree moved with an eerie rhythm, its veiny tendrils twitching and pulsating, seemingly alive and in pain. The temporal distortion around it warped reality—time flailed wildly, speeding up and slowing down in erratic waves, giving the impression that the tree itself was breathing.
"That tree was Kael's home?" Luke asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.
"Not exactly," Kuro replied, his tone steady. "The tree appeared after the relic war. After Kael's death."
The trio moved closer, their steps deliberate as they approached the monstrous entity. With every step, the world around them seemed to slow. The rushing winds came to a halt, the clouds froze in place, and even the flailing tree itself settled into a more measured, rhythmic motion. Its pulsations slowed, each one accompanied by a low, almost imperceptible thrum that resonated in their bones.
The texture of the tree became clearer as they neared—its tendrils were thick and gnarled, like exposed veins, and its surface shimmered with an oily sheen. It was less erratic now, its movements more methodical, like a living heart beating in slow motion.
"Kuro, how long have you been here?" Eleanor asked, breaking the silence.
"Since its creation," Kuro replied, his gaze fixed on the tree. "But I rarely came close enough to be caught in its temporal effect. In fact, meeting you two here was pure coincidence. You could have been trapped in its field and gone before I ever arrived."
They stopped a few feet from the tree, its sheer size making them feel insignificant. The base of the trunk was a landscape of its own, riddled with cracks and cavernous holes where roots had once been but had since shifted away.
"If Kael's home still exists," Kuro said, his voice quiet but firm, "it's most likely beneath the tree."
As they approached one of the gaping holes, the air grew thicker, heavier with each step. A strange energy saturated the atmosphere, pressing against their bodies like an invisible wall.
Luke's breaths became labored. Each inhale felt like drawing in lead. The energy was unlike anything he had felt before—it wasn't just Advent. It was something more potent, more primal. What is this? This can't be just Advent… It must be some kind of essence. It's getting harder to breathe. Eleanor doesn't look good either. He glanced at her, noting the pale tint to her skin and the sweat beading on her brow. Actually, I'm feeling a bit woozy myself…
The oppressive force surged, pushing them back. Luke's vision blurred, and he stumbled, his knees buckling. Eleanor was faltering too, her movements sluggish and uncoordinated.
Just as they were about to collapse, a massive figure moved in front of them, shielding them from the brunt of the energy.
It was Kuro.
His form had shifted—his ribcage expanded outward, encasing his body in an almost skeletal armor. His posture was hunched, and his exposed ribcage pulsed with a faint, protective glow. It was his defensive specialization, and it was the only thing keeping them upright.
"Stay close," Kuro growled, his voice strained but determined.
They followed behind him, taking small, measured steps as Kuro pushed through the overwhelming surge of energy. The journey was grueling. Every step felt like dragging their bodies through a storm of molten air, but slowly, painstakingly, they advanced.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally emerged into a chamber beneath the tree. They collapsed along the edges of the room, gasping for breath as though they had just surfaced from deep underwater.
The chamber was small, roughly the size of a living room. Its walls pulsed faintly with the same strange energy as the tree above, but the oppressive force was lessened here. It was just enough for them to move and breathe.
Luke looked around. The space was barren, every sign of life or habitation long decomposed. The faint outlines of furniture were visible—ghosts of a home long lost to time.
"Alright, so what now, Kuro—" Eleanor's words faltered as her eyes widened, staring at both Kuro and Luke. Her voice sharpened. "Why do you guys look like that?"
Luke frowned, confused by her reaction, until he noticed her hair—it was longer than it had been before, strands of it brushing against her shoulders. He raised a hand to his own face, his fingers brushing against the unfamiliar scruff of facial hair.
Kuro, standing off to the side, had also changed. His fur was longer, more unkempt, and his body had shifted again. An eye had appeared on the back of his hand, swiveling to examine his own reflection.
Did we… age? Luke's mind raced. Judging by Eleanor and myself, we've aged, but not by much—maybe a few months, a year at most. But Kuro was shielding us. Why does he look so different? His fur's grown out, but only slightly.
"I've aged five years," Kuro said matter-of-factly, his tone calm despite the revelation.
Luke and Eleanor stared at him, stunned.
"Five years?" Luke blurted. "How can you be so calm about that?"
Kuro shrugged, his claws flexing idly. "Abnormals age differently. Five years isn't much for me."
Luke blinked, trying to process the information. It made sense, in a way. Humans were fragile by comparison, reaching adulthood at 18 and living only about a century. Elves, by contrast, also matured at 18 but could live for millennia. Abnormals were on an entirely different scale. Their aging varied wildly—some could age a decade in a matter of months, then remain unchanged for centuries.
Kuro, at 17 years old, had just become 22, but in human terms, he was still equivalent to a 16-year-old. His aging was erratic, like all abnormals.
Luke exhaled, his exhaustion weighing heavily on his shoulders. "Alright," he said, his voice firm. "I don't think I need to point out the obvious, but we don't walk into that Advent stream again unless it's absolutely necessary."
Eleanor and Kuro nodded in silent agreement.
Their immediate goal was clear—they were in what was likely Kael's home, or what was left of it. Now, they had to determine if the Abnormal Relic was here or if their search would continue.