The object that had dropped from the sky writhed in a seething mass of darkness that swirled restlessly around it before exploding outward.

From its centre, a tall familiar figure came into view. From within the swirling cloud of darkness, his dark membranous wings unfurl with a gentle breeze. The dark armour he wore slowly unraveled, dissolving into faint shades of shadow that scattered with the wind.

The figure slowly walked forward, then fell to one knee, facing the ground

"My Lord."

Valerius stared at him for a few moments in silence, and then eventually sighed.

’Why are you here, Sye?"

"I couldn’t allow you to go without an escort, rt my Lord. You know better than anyone how dangerous the Zeregran Ranges are. Going without an escort would be dangerous. Even for you."

Valerius’ gaze hardened.

"So you’re here to protect me then?"

Sye remained silent, his expression turning to one of discomfort for a few moments, before he eventually spoke.

"I’m here to be of service."

Morgan’s gaze shifted back and forth between the two men.

Just then, hen a strong whirlwind rose from the ground. Morgan’s hair stood on end, but despite his instincts, he remained seated in the saddle.

Even without taking a closer look, it was a presence that he’d grown used to and knew all too well.

Having fought this particular foe countless times in Azaroth, his mind had grown acquainted with the feel of this particular foe’s presence.

"It appears we had more than a few tails," Sarenus noted, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

A woman of arresting beauty emerged from the shifting air, her gaze sweeping over them with a glint of amusement in her eyes.

Her skin was unusually pale,e and her eyes were of a molten crimson colour, like the sky at dusk.

Her hair spilled in a cascade of molten red, falling in soft, silken waves to her waist, each strand catching the light like fiery embers.

Beside him, Raven let out a low whistle.

Morgan threw her a furtive glance, then turned back.

He tracked her every movement keenly, ready to draw his blades at a moment’s notice.

Clad in silky robes of the purest white, she resembled an ethereal spirit conjured from their imagination.

She advanced toward them unhurriedly, taking slow, deliberate steps until she was right in front of Valerius’ steed.

She gently caressed the large creature, then turned her gaze to the man-eaten atop it.

Valerius stared at her with an inscrutable expression, his golden eyes momentarily turning a vivid molten gold.

What was even more impressive than her beauty was that she’d managed to stay undetected for so long.

Morgan’s own instincts and sixth sense were nothing to scoff at at this point,t but even though she’d managed to bypass them.

From the jumble of options on Valerius’ face, Morgan could safely assume that even he hadn’t known about her presence.

Morgan remembered the bewitching woman all too well.

Despite her appearance, the memory of her was firmly imprinted in his memories.

"Angel..." Valerius whispered.

"My Lord," the woman said, giving him a slight curtsey. Her lips curled into a small smile.

"Surely you didn’t think I’d allow you to leave me behind once again?"

Despite her petite figure, Morgan remembered the monstrous strength within her small frame and the terrible speed with which she was able to move.

After he’d defeated Azaroth, the enchanting woman had nearly ended him in a dream that had most likely been Velagrew’s doing.

A dream that had turned out to be all too real when he met the people,e the creatures that were supposed to be fragments of his imagination.

"Is she supposed to be his wife..."Raven whispered.

Morgan subtly shook his head.

"No idea."

He was just as clueless as she was.

From the look of things, she was quite close to the young Lord, and aside from that, from his own memories, she shared a particular dislike for him.

"These ranges Sye spoke of...have you been there before this..."

Raven shook her head.

"This is the very first time I’ve moved out of the city myself."

From the short exchange between the tough Lord and his self-appointed bodyguard, Morgan surmised that the place that they were headed to was perilously dangerous.

"Why are we even here?"

A place that was bound to be dangerous for a person at VVaValerius ’ evil was a guaranteed death zone for him and Raven.

Morgan found himself stealing glances at the golden-eyed lord more and more the more the journey progressed.

"What the hell is he thinking? Is he trying to lead us to our deaths?"

As it turned out, the enchanting Veliscera was Valerius’ consort.

Morgan found out as much from her conversation with Raven.

He’d found himself listening in on the two while steadfastly pretending to focus on the road ahead.

The two women quickly hit it off, gossiping away merrily despite the trainers of the situation that they seemed to be in.

Their small group had entered the forest without any resistance.

The trees towered over the m, stretching several hundred feet into the air. In truth, they were the largest that he’d ever seen.

Their bark shifted in tones of deep umber and ashen gray, but beneath that, veins of dim silver and bruised violet pulsated vividly, threading through the wood like blood through veins.

In places where the bark split, a faint inner glow seeped through, as though the trees bled light instead of sap.

Their trunks twisted skyward in unnatural spirals, and the dark tenebrous surfaces were ridged and layered from age. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Even weirder, the forest was eerily still. No wind or breeze rustled through the forest.

Every once in a while, vague silhouettes moved in the fog, staying still for a while before disappearing into the distance.

"Angel..."

Morgan bit his tongue after mentioning the name.

The beautiful woman laughed, the melodic sound carrying through the unnatural stillness of the forest.

"Bella, you may call me Bella. Only Val calls me Angel."

Morgan bit his tongue harder, nodding somberly.

"What are those... things?" He asked, gesturing vaguely at the disappearing silhouettes.

She smiled, and for a few moments, Morgan found himself entranced by her unnatural beauty. A moment later, he shook his head, his gaze hardening.

In the next moment, it felt as though he’d just come out of a deep sleep.

"She’s a tricky one..." Sarenus whispered.

"Perhaps even much stronger than Kazarax was..."

"Those are the guardians of the forest. You may have noticed that this is no ordinary forest. It is not one of Lord Velagrew’s creations. In fact, it is believed to have existed even before the creation of the Realm Between."

Morgan’s eyes widened,d then narrowed, a slight frown appearing on his face.

"That doesn’t make sense...How..."

Bella laughed, shaking her head.

"There are a lot of things that your mortal mind was never meant to comprehend, child. The Eternal Forest is one of them. Legend has it, it exists beyond time."

In hindsight, what she said made sense, but also brought up more questions about the World that they lived in than he’d ever dared imagine.

Already, he’d discovered that there were more than human beings living in the World.

There existed a separate realm outside of the one that the Earth resided in, and even more shocking was the fact that they were occupied by other living creatures and even more diverse technologies. Frankly, it was quite the humbling experience.

The Brotherhood had definitely done a magnificent job of keeping the whole world blissfully oblivious of everything that was going on behind the scenes.

Just then, the fog receded, and from within it, a tall pale creature stepped out.

Morgan instantly felt trapped and breathless. Suddenly, his lungs strained to get air. His limbs felt like lead, and his heartbeat instantly skyrocketed.

"What...is this...."

Beside him, Raven was also frozen in place.

Draped in pale, bark-like skin that shimmered faintly with a wet, bone-white sheen, the creature silently stared at them.

Darkness slowly shifted where its eyes should have been.

Its face was eerily human-like,e and what passed for its mouth was pressed in a thin line.

Behind it, more shapes stirred within the fog.

Massive silhouettes and dark shadows eerily flitted between the drifting curtains of mist.

Some bore antler-like crowns of petrified wood. Others dragged long, dragging limbs that left faint glowing silvery trails in the grass.

At the same time, Valerius’ eyes ignited with golden radiance that quickly spread to the rest of his body.

The light hummed rhythmically, slowly chasing back the darkness around them.

From the canopy above them, a dark shape of shifting darkness swiftly fell to the ground them slowly rose, unfurling his wings.

"We come in peace," Sye spoke.

"Will you let us pass?"

The pale figure stared at him for a few moments, then turned its gaze to the rest of them.

Morgan’s breath caught.

He felt his chest tighten even more.

For a few moments, nothing happened, then, slowly, the pale figure stepped aside.

The eerie silhouettes disappeared into the fog, the silver radiance left in their wake the only sign that they’d been there.

Morgan turned, giving Raven a peculiar look, and then slumped on his steed, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"Damn..."

*****

In the distance, the Zeregran Ranges loomed obscured in a thick blanket of fog.

Morgan paused, staring at the ominous mountains with a somber expression. While the fact that their allies were much stronger than he was was quite comforting.

While Valerius had shared much about the trip, he’d revealed that it would be beneficial for their learning, which could hasten the process of Morgan’s recovery.