"So, do you want to see it?" Livio activated his PBV.
"No, you're already strong enough. There's no need. We should head somewhere instead," Ethan said, moving ahead.
"What? Why so sudden?" Livio followed him, confused.
"Did you forget? Zelen is a higher-up now. We're going to meet a blacksmith."
They were moving south from the waterfall.
Ethan and Livio leaped from branch to branch, moving at full speed.
"You're right, but we didn't inform Oliver. If he needs to find us, how will he?" Livio asked, concerned.
They stopped on a thick branch, where a parrot perched on Ethan's shoulder.
"What's with the parrot?" Livio finally asked.
"It's our messenger. Oliver will find us thanks to it."
The parrot took off, soaring into the distance, while Ethan and Livio resumed their journey.
Ethan landed in a remote clearing...just grass, no large trees, nothing in the way.
A vast grassland lay like a silent oasis, encircled by the deep forest, where towering trees stood as sentinels on every side.
"Where are we?" Livio grabbed Ethan's shoulder.
"He lives here. Since he works with all kinds of forging and….... other things, he prefers to be alone," Ethan replied, brushing Livio's hand off his shoulder.
Crouching down, Ethan called out, "It's me, Ethan! Open the door!"
"What is he...?" Livio stepped closer, confused.
Ethan extended his right arm, stopping him.
The ground suddenly split open in a perfect three-meter-wide circle.
"Come in," a voice called from below.
"Let's go." Ethan stepped onto the descending staircase.
Livio hesitated but followed quietly. As he reached the bottom, the only thing visible was the glow of roaring flames.
"Isn't that the General's dog?" a voice echoed in the dimly lit space.
"What do you want?" Another voice came from deeper inside the tunnel.
The empty passage filled with the sound of their footsteps as Ethan and Livio advanced.
While walking, Livio glanced at the strange objects displayed behind embedded glass cases along the walls.
A bird's skeleton with horns protruding from its skull.
A portrait of a woman flying, bathed in sunlight, her white garments billowing like waves.
A glass case containing seven miniature floors, each with a different kingdom.
The sixth glass case suddenly caught his eye.
It displayed seven distinct terrains—a vast sea, a deep forest, a volcano, a single floating cloud, a gaping hole in the ground, and a shifting desert. But something about it felt….... off.
"What the…....? I thought I saw something else." Livio rubbed his eyes.
His gaze fixated on the deep forest.
"I could've sworn I saw something there."
He leaned in, observing closely.
"Maybe I'm just imagining things."
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. A kingdom flashed in his mind.
"What?"
He looked again, but the scene was unchanged.
"Guess I'm losing it."
Moving ahead, he spotted another portrait—this one depicted a seven-headed horse striking a three-headed black horse with lightning.
A peacock with a horse's body and a snake as its tail.
Shaking his head, Livio jogged forward to catch up with Ethan.
When he reached him, the sound of their steps multiplied.
Meanwhile, elsewhere…...
"I want you to bring Ethan and his two friends to me."
Zelen stood before a cheering crowd, addressing five soldiers clad in skeleton masks. Their wide, circular hats had a conical structure above, and golden dragons were embroidered on their backs, swords at their sides.
"They failed to attend my promotion ceremony. I want them to beg for forgiveness," he declared, raising his fist in a show of dominance.
"Get them!" The crowd erupted in support.
"This bastard is crazier than I thought," Miles muttered from the shadows, watching alongside his group.
"Sir! I saw Ethan and Livio heading toward the fountain in the middle of the forest!" A soldier raised his hand.
"Excellent." Zelen smiled as the five soldiers vanished into the air.
Perched on a tree branch outside the army castle, Oliver observed the situation.
"Look at us...… cornered rats," he muttered.
He studied his left palm, where Ethan's parrot sat.
The moment he stood up, the bird burst into a flurry of feathers.
"If the trap activates, my palm will tell me." Oliver closed his palm.
Back at the underground forge…....
An old man with long white hair, a thick beard, and piercing blue eyes stepped forward.
"So, what do you bastards want?" he asked bluntly.
Behind him stood a rock platform, where blue flames flickered above its base. Seven stone pillars surrounded it, each adorned with intricate carvings.
One pillar depicted a peacock mid-flight, its feathers falling. Each feather contained the same person, engaged in different actions—throwing an apple in one, eating it in another.
Another pillar showed a woman pouring black ink over a chained female, who was forced to watch a bound man in front of her.
One portrayed a man stabbing two fighters at once, tears streaming down his face.
Another displayed shattered stones while three women watched, unmoving.
Ethan sat in a chair. "We need something that allows three people to communicate privately."
The blacksmith glanced at him. "Why not use a speaking leaf? You can buy one anywhere."
"No. The game records conversations and tracks locations. We need something untraceable," Ethan explained.
"Ah, don't want to be tracked, huh?" The old man slammed two blue rods together, sparks flying. "I don't have anything like that."
"There has to be something," Ethan pressed, standing.
The blacksmith paused his work.
"Maybe…... but it'll cost you."
"What do you want?" Ethan asked, eyes narrowing.
Livio, meanwhile, paid no attention to their conversation. His focus was on the bizarre items scattered around.
One glass case contained a golden liquid.
Another held peacock feathers attached to a fish.
Outside the forge, the wind howled.
"What do we do?" Livio asked as they emerged from the underground base.
Before Ethan could answer, a shadow streaked across the sky.
Oliver landed in front of them, his PBV deactivating.
"I've got bad news," he said, catching his breath. "Five shadow guards are after us. Zelen wants us alive."