The next morning, I left the temple even before the sun was up since I have to map and harvest everything I can from the western forests this time. I did not want to bring anyone with me so I can complete my task quickly thus the need to sneak out and leave quietly.

Just when I was about to reach the foot of the mountain, I saw someone sitting on the last step as if waiting for me. I stopped in my tracks in confusion at first as to why this person is here at this time but then I remembered how stubborn this one was when it comes to the words that he has already said.

I called on to the person’s name as a greeting then I intend to go on my way quickly. I greeted, "Darth, what are you doing here so early in the morning? There is no team mission today."

He slowly stood up and patted the area of his clothes that was dirtied from sitting on the ground then spoke without looking at me, "I am here to accompany you, saintess. I told you that I will be with you for any tasks that you have to complete for the church and whenever that other guy isn’t with you".

I walked past him and replied, "I do not need a companion for today though. I intend to sweep and map the whole westernarea of the forest before noon. Honestly, having you with me will slow me down a lot."

He chuckled and replied, "Then carry me on your back, make me float or teleport me with you or something. I won’t complain even if I feel queasy from it all."

I looked at him for a few seconds without any response. Looked up to the still dark sky and replied, "You do know that I can just knock you out, teleport you back to your hut and still leave alone just like in my original plan, right?"

For the first time, I saw a sad look in Darth’s eyes but he did not say anything and just looked down towards the ground. He did not cry or complain. He just turned around and started walking back up the mountain steps.

Ugh. I thought my only weakness was tears. I never thought that obedience, silence and a crestfallen expression were my weaknesses too.

I teleported right behind Darth, grabbed him by the waist and teleported us right at the periphery of the western forest. His reaction was delayed by a few seconds but he did scream after we reappeared from the teleportation. When I looked at his face, he was pale and shivering as if he had a near death experience.

I held him by his shoulders and turned him around so he would be facing me. I lifted his chin so I can check on him further but he seemed to be in a daze, trapped in some nightmare only he knows about. I called for his name but he wasn’t responding.

I had no choice but to place my hand on his head and get inside his thoughts. What I saw inside was quite complicated to tackle.

Once inside his mind, the first thing I noticed was how dark it was inside. I immediately realized that this must be how his world looked like when he finally lost his eyesight a few months back. As for me, I can at least see for a few meters from where I was. It was a similar situation when I first started the new world tree realm before.

I walked forward carefully but only after a few steps, I started hearing soft sobbing sounds of a young child. If this was a horror movie, I would have run since it sounded like a really creepy weeping ghost.

My initial reaction was to look around and try to pinpoint where the sobbing sounds came from. It was hard at first since everything was just darkness and the sound seems to be bouncing off all around the place.

I closed my eyes and tried looking for it through soul essence instead then it finally worked. After a few minutes of sensing my surroundings, I found a small child, about 4 years old, sobbing and crouched in one corner of Darth’s consciousness. The child was using his small hands to cover his ears.

I immediately approached the child but just when I was only a few meters away from him, I heard a sudden influx of noises, similar to being in a busy market with a lot of voices overlapping with each other. Noisy was certainly a very mild word to describe it.

I got curious so I listened in, trying to understand what each voice was saying. It seemed to contain a ton of careless comments that Darth heard while he was growing up, pressures given to him by his elders and even his own insecure thoughts.

Surprisingly, I can clearly identify whose voice is who even if this was the first time I heard most of them. The elderly man’s voice was from his grandfather, telling him to study and excel in everything and make sure he gets the pope position back under the family line.

The middle aged man’s voice was his father sharing the stories of his first love, his frustrations and even his anger at being powerless about his situation. Knowing that his father was heartbroken and depressed when he was growing up, his comments were full of anger and hate, the words not minced at all for a young child. The anger and the curses aren’t meant for Darth but as a little boy at that time, hearing all of these was bound to not have any good results in a child’s emotional and mental well-being.

The other voices are random members of the church that come from all ages, from young children to even members of the elder council. I do not know if all these people whose voices are recorded here are still in the church. Maybe some of them have already died of old age or have chosen to leave the church for good.