Not a rustle of insect, not the slightest breath of wind to disturb the stale forest air. Nature itself seemed to hold its breath at the presence of the being who had just passed through it.
Foster stopped beside a stream, his gaze cold. His reflection reflected an image that no longer belonged to him.
Her white hair cascaded over her shoulders, as if woven from spectral light. Her luminescent green pupils seemed to see beyond simple reality. His skin was unnaturally pale, marked by golden veins that pulsed slightly, a remnant of the power of the World Tree Seed that now flowed through his veins.
He sat up slowly, watching his hands with cold intensity.
This body...
He was no longer an elf. No longer a normal woodland elf. He was something else. A new entity. An anomaly. A world tree elf
And he had to get to grips with what he had become because he hardly ever slept any more. His nights were punctuated by incomprehensible visions, whispers from the World Tree, as if an ancient consciousness wanted to pass on forgotten knowledge.
But the moment he tried hardest was when he pushed his body to its new limits.
His Ki had become a burning torrent, a force far beyond anything he had possessed before. He could sustain the level of a rank 5 knight, feel the energy flowing through his muscles, amplify every movement to a superhuman degree.
He wasn't just hitting any more. He was demolishing.
Trees fell under his blows, splintered like dead wood. Each impact created a wind of destruction.
And magic... that was a whole other dimension.
The World Tree had given him an affinity that hadn't existed before. His grimoire, floating at his side like an extension of his will, allowed him to cast spells without delay, with frightening efficiency and power.
He summoned roots at the speed of sound, weaving them like whips capable of crushing stone or disembowelling prey.
But what was most worrying was the mental change.
He was no longer fighting for survival. He was hunting. He was stalking. He was experimenting with his strength with increasing pleasure.
A toothy grin often appeared on his face as he tested his limits, as he crushed rock in his hands, as he felt raw power coursing through his veins.
He had no chains. No morals. No pity, and that frightened him. He didn't return to Volluä to see his friends in secret, or even to approach any form of pacifist life, because he was afraid of what he might do to them.
So he trained, every day, every hour, every minute, to rid himself of his emotions, his desires and above all to learn to control himself.
But his training had led him to some disturbing discoveries.
The more he explored, the more he came across signs of corruption. Remnants of experiments... of things that should never have existed.
- You black elf bitch,' he shouted in a fit of rage.
Animal corpses fused together in an indescribable monstrosity.
Even the corpses of his Wood Elf brothers, their limbs distorted, as if some unholy force had wanted to reshape them into something inhuman.
Unknown glyphs carved into the stone, pulsing with a black energy he didn't recognise.
And every time he looked at these clues, he felt something.
A presence.
Something, somewhere, knew he was looking.
And it was waiting.
It was during further exploration that he came across the ultimate horror.
Behind a waterfall hidden by vegetation, he found a hidden passage. A stone door, marked with ancient inscriptions and stained with dried blood. When he forced his way in, the smell that wafted up from the door made him grin with disgust.
Inside was an abandoned underground laboratory. Open cages, some still stained with decomposing flesh.
Instruments of torture mixed with scientific tools.
Pools of blackish liquid where deformed figures floated, the remains of failed experiments.
But worst of all...
The worst was this sealed chamber at the far end of the laboratory.
An incubator...
And inside, an Obscurus, still in gestation. A deformed being, its body almost complete, clawed appendages twitching uncontrollably.
- It's almost as I remember it, the power that comes from it is stable, not as powerful but the results are there,' he murmured.
A sinister pulse radiated from him, and as Foster approached, the thing opened its eyes.
A blank stare. Absolute hatred. Unspeakable hunger.
Foster didn't wait.
The roots shot out of his hands and pierced the creature before it could complete its development. An inhuman howl rang out, an agony that shook the walls of the laboratory.
Then he raised his hand and, in one swift movement, the whole laboratory exploded.
The flames devoured the documents, the containment cells, the unholy experiments. There was to be nothing left.
When the smoke cleared, Foster stood for a moment, watching the smoking ashes.
- The war is getting closer, let's get on with the training.
Meanwhile, Vollua was changing.
The new queen, Illynea Valthéris, had wasted no time. She had not mourned the death of her mother. She shed no tears. No cries of vengeance.
She simply acted. Her policy was brutal and uncompromising.
The mourning was dispatched in a sober ceremony, and the very next day she declared martial law. Military training increased.
The woodland elves, once a reclusive and protective people, were transformed into an army.
The kingdom's borders were sealed and patrols tripled.
The watchword was clear:
- 'Foster must be found. Dead or alive.'
But what few people knew... was that Illynea had sensed something else.
The shadow was growing. Something black was moving in the darkness, beyond Foster. Reports of monstrous experiences were multiplying. Whole villages wiped out without a trace. Unexplained disappearances. Reports of shadowy creatures prowling the woods.
She knew chaos was brewing.
- Mother, what would you do in my place,' she moaned.
Later, as the new queen sat in the throne room with an icy expression on her face, several woodland elf scientists in front of her laid out documents, samples and, above all, alarming reports.
- 'Your Majesty... what we have discovered is beyond comprehension'.
The scrolls unfurled before her showed detailed diagrams of corrupted organisms, living beings transformed into biological weapons under the effect of an unknown dark energy.
These creatures are no longer natural,' continued one of the scientists. They no longer feel fear or pain. All that remains is a murderous impulse... amplified by a force that bears no resemblance to any magic we know.'
There was a long silence. The Queen crossed her fingers under her chin, thinking. Her eyes scanned the writing, looking for a clue, a loophole that could be exploited.
She understood the implications of such a phenomenon.
It wasn't a simple mutation. It was an intention.
Someone, somewhere, was carrying out these experiments on purpose.
- 'And where did these corpses come from?' she asked in an icy voice.
One of the elves hesitated before answering:
- 'The southern forests... near the ancient ruins.'
The Queen's fingers slowly tapped the armrest of her throne.
- Fotiya.
She looked impassively at her advisers.
- We'll have to adjust our priorities.
The Queen stood up slowly, and a shiver ran through the room. Her charisma, her presence, her aura... she exuded terror.
- As of today, we are declaring these creatures a threat of extinction. Our military forces must be mobilised immediately. Any entity contaminated by this energy will be executed without hesitation.'
A murmur of concern spread among the high dignitaries.
But she continued:
- I want a hunt. Thorough. Systematic. Nothing must be left to chance. We will find the source of this taint and destroy it.'
She stood up at last, her golden eyes shining with a disturbing intensity.
- 'And if Foster crosses our path... he will suffer the same fate.'