One Hundred Years Ago > The Nightmare Forest.
Towering trees and dense foliage darkened the forest, leaving only small gaps for light to filter through. The chirping of insects and a gentle breeze created a peaceful ambiance.
That quiet atmosphere was shattered by the sound of a 5 year old boy's cries. He had golden hair and round, sage green eyes.
"I'll go find help, please hang on." The boy's voice was hoarse from crying for quite some time. His small hands gently pulled the edge of the green clothing of an adult woman who looked exactly like him, but her body was terribly thin and her skin was very pale as she lay on the wooden bed. Her lips were dry, and her eyes were faint as she gazed at the innocent child.
Zarsan, a high level Wind Spirit who was close to death, couldn't help but feel fear and sadness. She couldn't leave her young child alone, and she still bore the responsibility of guarding this forest.
She had to wait for 'that person' to arrive so she could finally let go of everything.
However, in her current condition, her time was running out.
"My son, Zephyr..." Zarsan called.
Zephyr immediately responded. "Yes, I'm here."
"Forgive your mother for not being able to stay with you longer."
Zephyr shook his head. "No, don't say that. You still have plenty of time, so wait here. I'm going to find help."
Zephyr didn't wait for Zarsan's answer and chose to leave the simple wooden house to find assistance.
Zephyr ran with his small legs, gritting his teeth. He had to get help as fast as possible so his mother could recover.
He didn't want to be abandoned, he didn't want to lose his mother.
Right now, there were many monster hunting groups entering this forest. But when Zephyr called doctors from some of the groups, none of them could heal his mother.
All those doctors gave the same reaction after examining his mother's condition. They shook their heads with sad expressions and said they couldn't do anything.
"If you can't do anything! Then how can you call yourselves doctors!" Zephyr screamed in frustration.
"Zephyr..." Zarsan whispered.
Zephyr ran once more to find someone who could help his mother.
'I must find a great doctor or a powerful witch who can heal my mother. I must find them immediately.'
Zephyr kept running until he unconsciously stepped out of the forest area.
*Thud*
Zephyr bumped into someone ahead of him, which sent his small body reeling backward, landing hard on the ground.
"Ouch," Zephyr winced, feeling a sharp pain from the sole of his foot. When he looked, his sole had a long cut running from side to side, bleeding profusely.
Perhaps due to his overwhelming worry for his mother, Zephyr hadn't realized he might have stepped on sharp rocks that wounded his foot.
Seeing the blood on his foot, and also remembering his dying mother at home, Zephyr's tears burst forth again.
"Waaah, someone please help my mother. Please heal her illness."
Zephyr didn't even realize that someone had been staring at him all along. It was the person Zephyr had just collided with, the one who sent him tumbling to the ground.
That person remained silent throughout Zephyr's crying, until Zephyr gradually stopped and finally noticed the stranger's presence.
First, Zephyr saw a pair of feet covered by a robe, and a simple wooden staff as tall as an adult's waist. Then, he slowly looked up and met eyes with a pair of sage green eyes that were similar to his own.
Zephyr sniffled and instinctively said. "Mother?"
Then he snapped out of it, realizing the person in front of him wasn't his mother.
"No, you're not my mother. Your eyes just look similar." Zephyr tried to stand up on his still injured foot, then bowed towards the person. "I apologize for running into you. I'm in a hurry to find a doctor to heal my mother."
The person was silent, not responding to Zephyr's words at all. However, the person's hand lifted slightly, and Zephyr felt a surge of magical energy from them.
But nothing happened.
Seeing no response from this person, Zephyr eventually decided to leave. He still had to find help to heal his mother.
However, as he took a step, he suddenly felt that his previously injured foot didn't hurt at all.
"What the-"
When he looked at his foot, the long cut was now completely gone.
"Whoa, how did it heal so fast?"
Zephyr stared in awe at his own sole. Then, a second later, he immediately turned towards the stranger he had just bumped into.
"Did you do that?"
The person didn't answer but simply nodded their head.
Zephyr's eyes immediately sparkled with joy. Then he bowed to the person as low as he could and pleaded. "Please come with me to see my mother."
The person nodded, and Zephyr quickly led the way to his mother's location.
Upon arriving at the simple wooden house on the edge of the forest, Zephyr invited the person inside.
Zarsan, lying weakly, struggled to open her eyes. She only felt her hand being touched by a cold hand, then slowly, a warm flow of mana traveled from that cold hand throughout her body.
Zarsan's previously irregular breathing gradually calmed down.
Then, when she opened her eyes, her still-blurred vision caught the silhouette of a woman in a black robe, holding a simple waist-high wooden staff, and possessing a pair of eyes the same color as her own.
Zarsan smiled faintly, then she spoke. "You finally came, Singing Witch."
Hearing that, the woman in the black robe flinched, and her eyes widened as she looked at Zarsan.
"How do you know?"
★★★
Zephyr went outside to look for tea leaves, leaving Zarsan and Tsana to talk privately.
"I apologize for not being able to fully cure your illness. I can only temporarily relieve the symptoms."
Zarsan, sitting propped up against the headboard, smiled gently. Although her skin was pale from illness, her elegance was still evident. High level spirits do not age, but as their lifespan approaches its end, their bodies become weaker. "Singing Witch, you don't need to feel guilty. My ailment is not due to sickness, but because my time is simply running out. I am only grateful that the person I have been waiting for has finally arrived."
"The person you've been waiting for?"
Zarsan nodded, then looked at the person in front of her. "The curse on your body, I can smell its strong, evil scent, Singing Witch, Tsana Norton."
Tsana lifted her head, and her face became visible bit by bit. Her wavy green hair was hidden under the hood, and her sage-green eyes looked gentle. "How do you know my identity? And my curse? Did we know each other in the past?"
Zarsan shook her head. "We do not know each other, but I am the one who knows you."
"I see. In that case, are we of the same age? Do you know my past?"
Zarsan shook her head. "I am 200 years younger than you, and I know nothing about your past. However, I was given a responsibility by someone."
"A responsibility?"
"Yes, I was tasked with guarding this forest while waiting for your arrival."
"And who is that person?"
"He is my Master, but I cannot disclose his identity, as I have promised him."
Although Tsana was very curious about the Master Zarsan referred to, she chose not to press the matter. She valued respect for her conversation partner. Tsana nodded, then asked again. "Then what was his reason for asking you to wait for me to come to this forest?"
Zarsan continued. "To free you from that curse."
"How?"
"I don't know. One day you will surely find the way. The Light Dragon will emerge soon."
Tsana's eyes widened upon hearing that. "Really?"
Zarsan nodded, then her sage-green eyes looked directly into Tsana's. "Now, could you tell me your story? Since I was a child, I have always wanted to hear the tale of the Singing Witch from the Witch herself."
Tsana looked down at the wooden staff in her hand and smiled bitterly. "Although you deeply wish to hear my story now, I cannot tell it to you. The memories of my past are gone, and all I remember is my name."
Zarsan nodded understandingly. "That's alright. I understand."
Tsana continued. "I don't remember where I came from, how I was born, or how I lived before I got this curse. But when I woke up for the first time in a territory at the edge of the continent, I heard the voice of heaven saying that I must find the Light Dragon to release my curse."
Zarsan nodded in understanding. "I see."
Then, Zarsan tried to get up, and suddenly, she knelt before Tsana. "My time is running out. I beg you to accept Zephyr as your spirit. You will be better helped if you form a Master-Servant bond with Zephyr."
Tsana was silent for a moment, then asked. "Do you trust me?"
Zarsan nodded. "Yes."
★★★
Zarsan finally got to enjoy the rest of her time with Zephyr, though it was only two days.
Meanwhile, Tsana went off somewhere unknown.
When the day of Zarsan's death arrived, she had already explained the situation to Zephyr, that the end of her life was near, and Zephyr would become Tsana's spirit, who would replace her as the guardian of this forest. Zarsan also explained who Tsana was and everything about her.
Zephyr had no choice but to understand the circumstances.
Zarsan's last words were. "The Singing Witch is not here, even though I wanted to say goodbye. Be respectful to her, because from now on, she will be both your Master and your Teacher."
In his final moments with Zarsan, Zephyr could only cry by her side, clutching his mother's hand as she gradually disappeared into faint yellow lights. The faint lights floated and twirled in the air before exiting the house.
Zephyr cried loudly, following the light and occasionally calling his mother's name.
Until he reached the middle of the forest, a magnificent ancient gate suddenly appeared, with intricate carvings on its pillars and covered in moss.
His mother's faint lights entered the gate, and then the gate suddenly vanished.
Zephyr tried to reach the gate, but it was too late.
Now he could only kneel on the grass and sob uncontrollably.
★★★
Since then, Tsana took over Zarsan's duty as the guardian of the Nightmare Forest, while raising Zephyr. Initially, she didn't make Zephyr her spirit because she still gave him time to think. Becoming someone's spirit means binding one's entire body and soul to that person, and that is a very difficult choice.
However, when Zephyr reached the age of 10, he firmly decided to become Tsana's spirit.
Tsana then became a teacher figure for Zephyr, teaching him magic and everything related to knowledge.
Tsana also did not stop searching for clues about the Dragon's whereabouts. One hundred years passed, and finally, the Light Dragon finally emerged.
Marking the beginning of a new journey for Tsana and Zephyr.