Jiang Chen stood amidst the remnants of battle, the blood of the Shadowfang Ravager still fresh on his hands. His body was battered, bruised, but his golden-amber eyes still burned with defiance.
The valley around him remained eerily silent. The once-chaotic spiritual energy from the battle had settled, yet something… something unseen was watching him.
Then, it happened.
"You… are worthy."
Jiang Chen's pupils shrank.
The voice did not come from the air. It came from within his very mind.
His instincts flared, Chaos Qi surging around him as he immediately scanned his surroundings. There was no one.
Yet, the voice was clear. Powerful. Ancient.
"What the fuck?" he muttered under his breath, his heart pounding.
He had encountered countless beasts, killers, and even the overwhelming presence of true power before… but never something like this.
"You have fought. You have endured. You have conquered."
Jiang Chen's expression darkened.
He didn't know what this voice was, but he didn't like the feeling of being spoken to inside his own head.
"Who are you?" he asked aloud, his voice calm but sharp.
There was silence.
Then—a shift.
The air warped.
From the shadows of the mist-covered valley, they emerged.
The Veilborn Sentinels
Jiang Chen's fingers tightened around his spear.
Towering figures stepped forth from the fog, moving with an eerie fluidity that did not belong to this world.
They were humanoid in shape, yet not human.
Their bodies were wreathed in flowing mist, their faces hidden behind smooth, expressionless silver masks. Their arms were elongated, their fingers tipped with razor-like claws that gleamed with prismatic energy.
"Guardians."
The voice returned, heavy with meaning.
Jiang Chen's gaze flickered between the figures. These were not ordinary creatures.
He could feel it—they weren't fully in this world.
Half real, half something else.
The Veilborn Sentinels moved with an unnatural grace, encircling him like wraiths. There was no hostility—only silent judgment.
Jiang Chen's stance remained firm. If they attacked, he would fight. But… something told him they wouldn't.
Then, the mist around him rippled.
A single figure descended from the air.
Jiang Chen's breath hitched.
It was massive.
A towering beast of shifting, multicolored fur, its body flickering in and out of existence as though reality itself could not fully contain it.
Its silver eyes gleamed with unfathomable intelligence.
The Prismatic Phantom Ape.
A legendary being, a creature that was said to exist between worlds.
Jiang Chen clenched his fists. This wasn't just a spirit beast.
This was a ruler of this land.
The air itself seemed to bend around the ape's presence. It stood with the posture of a monarch, yet there was no arrogance in its gaze—only cold, undeniable wisdom.
"You stand before the last of my kind."
Jiang Chen's heartbeat quickened.
"I have watched over this land for ages untold. I have seen conquerors rise and fall, mortals break themselves against the abyss, and empires crumble into dust."
The ape's voice was neither loud nor quiet. It was simply absolute.
Jiang Chen exhaled slowly, keeping his mind steady.
This creature was beyond anything he had faced before.
It could have killed him without effort. Yet… it had called him here.
"You have fought beasts beyond your level. You have endured wounds that should have killed you. And yet, you stand. Unbroken."
Jiang Chen met its gaze. "If you called me here to test me further, just get on with it."
A rumble echoed from the ape's throat—not anger, but amusement.
"You misunderstand. You have already passed."
The Veilborn Sentinels lowered their claws.
The mist around them grew still.
"You speak… without speaking," Jiang Chen muttered, his eyes narrowing.
A deep rumble came from the Phantom Ape's throat. Not a growl—an amused exhale.
"You are the first to stand before me and still question what you do not understand. Others would kneel."
Jiang Chen scoffed. "I don't kneel."
The air rippled, as though reality itself acknowledged his defiance.
"Yes… I see that now."
The beast took a single step forward. The very ground shuddered, but Jiang Chen did not flinch.
They stood face to face.
A mortal.
And a legend.
The Last of Its Kind.
The Phantom Ape regarded him for a long moment before speaking again.
"You are not the first to reach this valley. But you are the first to survive its baptism."
Jiang Chen remained silent.
Jiang Chen's expression remained cold, but inside, his mind was racing.
His golden-amber eyes flickered as he recalled everything—his battle with the Shadowfang Ravager, the overwhelming brutality of this land, the way everything seemed to push him to his limits.
Was it a coincidence?
Or had this valley been molding him for something?
Jiang Chen tightened his grip on his spear. "Was this all planned?"
The Prismatic Phantom Ape shook its head slowly.
"No. The forest does not think. It does not plan. It only acts."
"And what does that mean?"
The Phantom Ape's silver eyes gleamed with ancient wisdom.
"It means this land does not gift its blessings freely. It baptizes those who enter, breaking those who are unworthy, sharpening those who survive. You were shaped by its chaos. And in return, you have shaped it."
Jiang Chen exhaled through his nose.
"Then why am I still here? If I've passed this 'baptism,' why are you speaking to me?"
The beast's gaze darkened, its expression unreadable.
"Because I am the last of my kind. And when I die, my duty dies with me."
A silence stretched between them.
Jiang Chen stared at the Prismatic Phantom Ape, studying it with newfound depth.
"Duty?"
The ape's voice was quieter this time, its massive head tilting slightly.
"To guard this land. To watch. To test those who come. And to remember what the world has already forgotten."
Jiang Chen frowned.
This wasn't just some beast.
It was a guardian. A remnant. A monument to something lost.
And now, it was the last.
"And when you're gone?"
The Phantom Ape closed its eyes.
"Then nothing will remain."
A breeze passed through the valley, rustling the trees at its edges.
Jiang Chen took a slow breath. His body still ached from battle, but something else burned inside him.
Curiosity.
"You say you've watched this land for generations."
The Phantom Ape opened its silver eyes.
Jiang Chen's gaze sharpened. "Then tell me. What else lurks in these depths?"
The air turned cold.
A deep, endless weight seemed to settle in the valley, as if even speaking of the creatures beyond this place carried a risk.
"You wish to know what lies ahead?"
Jiang Chen nodded.
The Phantom Ape's expression turned solemn.
"There are creatures in this forest that do not belong to this world."
Jiang Chen's heart skipped a beat.
"The Verdant Monarch Stag rules over an ecosystem untouched by man. Even the land bends to its will, shaping itself around its presence. The ignorant seek its antlers, never realizing the moment they step into its domain… they cease to exist."
Jiang Chen's fingers twitched slightly. That was in the guide.
But reading about it in a book was one thing.
Hearing it from something that had lived long enough to witness it?
That was different.
The Phantom Ape's next words were even heavier.
"The Howling Death."
Jiang Chen stiffened.
The Phantom Ape's silver eyes locked onto his.
"You have felt its presence, have you not?"
Jiang Chen swallowed.
He had.
Deep within the forest, there had been a sound. A distant, haunting whisper that had pressed into his bones. He hadn't thought much of it then, but now—
"No one has seen it and lived. Only the dead hear its voice clearly."
A silence fell over the valley.
Jiang Chen slowly exhaled.
"And what of the Titanborn Warden?"
The Phantom Ape's expression turned unreadable.
Then, after a long pause—
"It is not of this forest. It is not of this time. Its duty has long since ended. But it remains."
Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes. "What does that mean?"
The Prismatic Phantom Ape shook its head.
"Even I do not know."
Jiang Chen didn't move.
His grip tightened on his spear.
The deeper he went, the less he understood.
But one thing was clear.
This forest was more than just a test of survival.
It was something ancient. Alive. And filled with things that should not exist.
He took a step forward, his eyes burning with newfound determination.
"Then I'll find out for myself."
The Phantom Ape let out a slow exhale.
"Perhaps you will."
A breeze passed between them.
Jiang Chen didn't know what would come next.
But he was beginning to understand—
This land had shaped him for a reason.
And he would soon find out what that reason was