The rocky beach led uphill but another conjunction near a tiny, overgrown entrance, led to a statue nestled between various, llove trees, resembling a shrine, with various, small, praying mantis-like animals surrounding it.

Rowan eased out, putting their bow down, listening to the waterfall crashing behind. "The Overgrown Statue,"

"Can tell!" Chyuuichi added, smiling.

"No, and... yes. That is its literal name. It was supposed to erect a throne for a king of these steep hills, but with time, a realisation came that no one truly knew what this part of Orawood hid." Rowan walked around the statue. "Do you hear that waterfall?"

Atomu quickly nodded.

"That was the challenge. The one who was to name this forest was supposed to find it. Rivers go into caves, and such crevices don't have a way back. Most died trying, until they all stopped attempting to do so in the first place."

Lots of Orawood was named after the first people who conquered it. Not everyone was made for the dangers of this world, and there were still thousands of stories to be told, despite humanity thinking they conquered everything that could be seen.

Of all people, if Morio was there, he'd vow to find that waterfall and make it out alive. Chyuuichi just knew it.

After a rather cosy night stashed in between the vines growing down from the statue and creating a sort of plush bedding, their first goal for the day was finding a way out of the forest, which was much easier than expected. Turning back and moving uphill led to a long, trembling bridge, but if they were to cross it, they'd step out of the forest. The sun was already peaking its head out, and Chyuuichi ran forward, once again, falling into the streams.

However, having learnt from previous experiences, halfway through he whipped out his Guardian Demon and in turn saved the story from repeating itself, over and over again. Although it did, because Rowan crashed down on one of the planks, but fortunately, much closer to the other cliff.

It wasn't necessarily difficult for them to find a new point to follow, as right after the Scubba Mountain faded out of view, something else was revealed. Namely, on the open green fields with a coniferous hill in the back, stood a couple of ruined bricks and pebbles, eventually creating a strange path toward more coherent pieces inside large, dark-green copses and atop bushes.

Ruins of outposts were erected to connect what now is called Saprhith with Prope Portam. A part of unwritten history tells of a forty-day-long fight which happened in this very forest, and with people desperately avoiding going back to such memories, the ruined forts were completely abandoned.

Treading upstairs led the Paladian to discover a couple of big, heavy steel swords, and without a weapon to carry, he stuffed it right back in his big sheath.

Rowan waited on the other side, leaning against the grey doorway. "Asmaroth style."

"Huh?" Atomu turned his head.

"You know, Saphrith uses much lighter stones for its buildings, unlike these ruins. Although they share something in common. Overgrown and old. Did you find something?"

"Just a sword. Where is Chyuuichi?"

"Over here!" Chyuuichi jumped up from above. "I found a bone!"

Without anything else that would be of interest, the Klakunhoi left the outpost, heading down a path where the last, broken walls led and seemingly disappeared near a massive drop towards new forests.

With the other unnamed groves, they stood on mountainous terrain. Looking down, they spotted deciduous llove trees, creating a thick coat over a forest which led towards another river, and a few lakes and gradually faded with bigger mounts extending in the distance. Not taking risks around heading too far in, they took a turn towards south, now back on the road into further Kosmonia.

The trees opened a big, woodless path in the middle, seldom obscured by larger foliage or various flowers that Rowan swore they recognized but couldn't name. Chyuuichi smelled one and announced that it reeked of a certain musky aroma, which led to Atomu's conclusion.

This part of Orawood was called the Long Path. It stretched right from the cross into deeper Silva Tops and back into Kosmonia, spanning from one edge to the river that marked a change in everything concerning Orawood. So sudden, that some no longer call it Orawood, but the Lignorian Jungle.

For now, this was too much for Klakunhoi, as, only after a few steps, they decided to rest for the night, even when the sun was still far from setting. Various witchtales, told of a fairy that once stepped down near a group of travelling Erans and cursed their feet, to make the already abysmally painful stretch feel much longer. Nowadays, Paladians refer to this cautionary warning, because if you're too slow and sink into the bedding, you won't be able to run from potential dangers.

The Long Path was also home to the most varied creatures. One wrong step, and it could be over, but the Tributal, fortunately, informed them that the massive leaves they were to sleep under for the night were also present in Malikan.

...and the next days of their travels towards Orania were comprised of heading forward and through the mentioned part of Kosmonia. When the sun peeked out above the clouds and through the not-so-dense crowns of the various trees haphazardly splattered around, the road itself was drawn out not only by Atomu actively convincing himself of the witchtale truth, but also by Chyuuichi's attempts at running after the animals which observed from afar.

Rowan was, as usual, trying to avoid acknowledging their tomfoolery, but they fell down another rabbit hole when Chyuuichi mentioned spotting a cub. Now, everyone who didn't live under a rock would know that bear cubs always meant trouble, but considering that the only things Chyuuichi concerned himself with for most of his Mirillian life were if certain boulders would fall on his head or not, he started running after the young animal.

For the next hour, Atomu, Rowan and Chyuuichi were actively chased down by a brown bear, only for Chyuuichi to climb up a tree to try and escape, which was another foolish notion on the surface, but it turned out that when threatened, the Mirillian could climb.

Atomu and Rowan observed, for each meter the bear neared, Chyuuichi moved further up. The Paladian recalled the massive wall in the caves of Mount Aria, or the climb up the mountain itself, and wondered where that skill went back then, especially knowing that the last few days of travel were greatly exhausting to the three, yet, Chyuuichi's adrenaline sent him flying far.

This gave Rowan enough time to strike, as one shot penetrated its back and gave the two enough food for tonight's dinner.

Two, as in, the Tributal wasn't interested in consuming bear meat and rather focused on ripping out its bloody pelt and stuffing it into their medicinal handbag. Atomu thought it was gross, and then Rowan went on a rant about how Paladians are gross in general.

Their trouble was far from over, however. With stuffed stomachs, they continued, full of energy and caution yelled into Chyuuichi's ears. The Mirillian really wanted to pet that boar or chase after a few centuras, but felt, as if stepping over one more line would force Rowan to bury him in Orania as well. Life was granted, at this point, Chyuuichi wasn't going to risk having that taken away, and the other two came to the same conclusion upon witnessing a massive roadblock through the brown path they trod.

Namely, a huge skeleton, resembling a bear, only now seven times the size of the already girthy animal which almost killed them earlier. The ground beneath was of a darker colour, and roots spanned around the snapped bones that crashed beneath its ribs.

Either belonging to the past or more likely, a massive dark deformity, one of many treading through the forest. Chyuuichi swore he saw a big and cosy bee, but that's when he and Atomu had an hour-long conversation about caution and why you shouldn't risk everyone's lives because you want to pet something that isn't pettable.

With one collective glance, the Klakunhoi stepped away, vowing that, unfortunately, the area seemed a little too dangerous. Even if they headed in the direction of Westling, a loud growl was heard, not so far away. They made the right choice.

Avoiding the Long Path at all costs, they tried zigzagging their way around the Soprano Grove Collective, and back into the earlier trod roads of Kosmonia.

Rowan was quick to explain that the SGC was an artificial forest that appeared after the second war. Back then, the place itself was home not to an outpost, but the training ground of demons, as well as a primitive fort created by llove saplings, which served to trap the innocent and hold them hostage. After all, llove trees grow much faster than all, but in the SGC, they never reached their usual peaks.

A lot of Paladians were inclined to believe that growth itself only stems from love or happiness, and demons were the opposite of that word, so the SGC stood as an example of such.

When resting, Atomu mentioned a story he once read. It entailed a fictional tale where the protagonist woke up with a different name in a world with certain discrepancies only visible to those paying attention. It mentioned something along the lines of pots changing colour when the clay they were made out of always gave them a brown hue, but the thing the Paladian focused on the most was a telltale sign of something that went very wrong.

Trees, after all, were never supposed to be that massive, so upon bearing such a sight, the main character was convinced that something was very wrong with this world. People soon turned into wretched creatures, and what once was love only spiralled into hate. In the end, it was revealed that everything was a dream, which Atomu mentioned to be the only awful part of the story.

It had everything going for it at the beginning, the plot sucked him in but everything came to shambles at the end. He always avoided the last few chapters, pretending that it ended right when the trees started singing.

Atomu's words led Chyuuichi into a panicked state, where he constantly thought that the mentioned llove tree behind them was a sign of great corruption and evil peeking in. The two continuously convinced him that Errarion was real and he had nothing to be afraid of except for demons and greedy shopkeepers, but nothing seemed to break through, and he couldn't sleep through the night.

Rowan scolded the Paladian, and in turn, he became worried.

Was this the sickness showing its fangs? Was it already too late?

Did Chyuuichi really find a rip through time itself and end up in a different universe?

No, he didn't. ❤

Although, you could easily argue that his condition worsened with time. The next mornings came with paler skin and eyes that seemed a little hollow, yet, his mood wasn't dampened. Atomu spotted how thin his arms seemed, opposing the hefty bunch he always flexed despite having no muscles to show off. Time was running out, and Chyuuichi sang yet another song as they descended deeper.

The day concluded with a long stretch from the SGC, passing by a few, unnamed chestnut and birch forests, above a small river, and towards yet another outpost, which only seemed a little poorer than the last. In total, during the Second War, there were about seven, each varying in size and usage, destined for many things.

This one's purpose was to defend and shield the people rescued from the SGC, with evidence present in the form of a big, underground base, coated with the same walls. It was warm and insulated, remaining mostly unchanged, but there was nothing of interest except for another good night's sleep.

Afterwards, Chyuuichi's flexibility took a sudden dip. He had trouble moving through thicker foliage separating yet another body of water with a forest they'd never stumbled upon beforehand.

After a few hours, the light-brown barks changed shade and moved into a darker tint. The leaves were either crimson or with a purple tint when light shone from above. The sun was almost completely gone, replaced by a thick, grey mist soaring in the ever-present dense atmosphere.

The roots beneath their feet eventually grew enormous, and at times, they'd have to take a different route to step over a bigger hill. The water grew sparse, and when the various branches were leafless, Rowan squinted their eyes, turning back to the two.

"Where are we?" Chyuuichi asked, scratching his ear.

Atomu breathed out. A wind whistled through the leaves, halted in the distance, followed by bushes moving around, with a sudden step somewhere in the distance. "We... we should turn back," he added.