A few hours later, the once-sunny weather of early morning had faded to darkness, a storm rolling in to take its place. Inside, 'pouting' Yosho sat in the dining room around a wooden table, eating sluggishly, her mind lost in deep contemplation. Imuru, on the other hand, was active in his room, with Forcent watching as he tossed different outfits around, trying on one, discarding it, reaching for another.
Imuru had filled in Forcent on the day's discussions. After a long silence, of turning in circles at Imuru's constant and erratic pacing, the Ennom spoke.
"... A dangerous plan."
"Yeah, yeah… calling it a plan is oddly generous." Imuru held up a tawny short jacket marked with black spots. "What do you think of this?"
"I—" Forcent began, clearly ready to dismiss the question, but then, perhaps humoring him, he paused. "That would suit you."
"Really?" Imuru's face lit up, pleased despite Forcent's lack of enthusiasm in his voice. "Very sweet of you." He set the jacket aside, his tone shifting. "If we're going to speak about my decision… I can turn a blind eye to it, just for you."
"Allow me to go first. You were here in the past. Did you have any encounters with him? If so… you may gauge me against him?"
"Not viable," Forcent replied swiftly. "With my form and power then, a Great Force was of no interest to me. Only the Guardian held the capability to subdue me. If not for it… I would have been ruler of this forest decades ago."
"Decades…" Imuru nodded, processing. "That in mind… how old are you?"
"Two thousand and two," Forcent answered.
"Uh~!..." Imuru's eyes widened, his mouth falling open in shock. "And I thought Dark dividers live long… I've mistaken." Imuru shook his head, resting his hands on his hips.
"What would you even have done if you won? We had this conversation before, but I never dug into your reasoning since we were just getting to know each other."
"The ambient energy. Once upon a time this forest was rich with Perivállon beyond imagination… you could see it day and even more glorious at night. I traveled far from my home; Mount Criin. Leaving my mother and father behind I asserted my dominance, ending generations of the species that climbed land across Mount Criin."
Forcent articulated his information to Imuru's understanding, pleased to indulge him in the knowledge he possesses and his own history.
Imuru sat and crossed his legs left captivated by the origins of Forcent. "Please continue." Imuru larger insisted, the backdrop of the rain, oddly mixing in nicely with Forcent's voice to form a soothing blend. So beyond what Imuru had expected, he reached for his blanket to cover.
A pleasant smile expressed itself from Forcent, a sense of genuine low energy excitement building within him. He chuckled, and laid down to continue.
"I'll keep the important parts. No need to listen to thousands of battles I had one. My battle against the Sacred Forest Guardian, this should set ablaze a fresh sense of inspiration into you."
With Imuru eager and ready. Forcent began to recall his first ever arrival to the Sacred Forest and his battle against the Guardian.
Decades ago following the heavenly glow of visible green Perivállon—able to be seen by normal sight, the Ennom Forcent came upon the Sacred Forest, in the midst of night. Supposedly this entire forest was protected by a mysterious force, which renders any hostile take over… impossible.
"Impossible…"
A word loosely used. A favourite of the humans he's come across.
They chant… It fails 'Impossible'... They cast… It fails 'Impossible'... Their mystical weapon breaks against his body 'Impossible'....
In his travels this word had lost all its value and meaning… there was nothing to fear. And this would make an excellent domain for something of his stature.
He had been staring for nearly an hour, until he decided it was time for him to enter. If he does nothing of concern there shouldn't be an issue with his arrival in the Sacred Forest… or so he thought. As he stepped in he instantly felt the shift in weight and the thickness of the Perivállon… a particular feeling to have this brush around his body. Just a few hundred meters into his walk scanning the glowing trees with his senses attuning to the raw Perivállon flowing around him, a creature of the forest made their presence known.
"Halt!"
A voice echoed through the area, as the spirit of the forest showed itself—a Dryad… the one from the Prime Tree.
The female's green hair and eyes glowed with the radiance of the Perivállon around her. "For all who desire to enter the Sacred Forest you must first pass the test set by Milady. There are no exceptions to this rule, to the strong or the weak. To the wealthy or the poor."
Her voice carried this calming effect that even had Forcent's eyes feeling heavy lidded.
The Dryad 's warnings went through one ear and the next… This was below him... The Dryad was below him. He made a step forward, and his front leg is prompting entrapped with roots emerging from the ground. "Hmph?..." Forcent looked down at his feet in mild disinterest, then up at the Dryad .
"Intent… ill intent. It is unwise to walk this path, Ennom," The Dryad warned.
Forcent growled, the roots that held his feet became engulfed in the blaze of white fire. This was his evolutionary passive of his Flame Whip; burning anything the Ennom desires that dares to touch him. What makes it even more deadly, was the aspect that affects the soul… He was freshly awakened, so he hadn't mastered his toolkit completely, and everyone he had come across since then crumbled from just the brief release of his aura... They weren't worthy enough to push him.
Once again, he took a step forward, this time nothing happened…
"You've been judged. I will not be the one to deliver your punishment. Blame yourself for bringing down the wrath of Milady," The Dryad stated her final warning, fading away in the green of the Perivállon.
If Forcent cared enough he would've rolled his eyes and shook his head. At this point in his life he had seen and heard it all… nothing scared him. Even this Dryad he could've killed by releasing his aura for less than a second, that was the unfathomable gap between him and this creature, so he carried on.
At exactly 27 hours Forcent did what he came to do… set the status quo. He had made a demonstration with a small settlement built around a Lake. A town of beast people. All who stood up fell to despair from the sheer gap in strength… except for one. A very tiny girl of half cat blood, and snow white hair. Size in comparison; she was an ant. She attacked with the ferocity Forcent came to expect from her people, biting at his feet to no effect.
He didn't pay her any attention, walking off, leaving the burning village in the background. With his back turned, the child's mother came to stop the girl from chasing after Forcent any further, in fear of agitating the Ennom any more.
Night was on its way, and in those past hours Forcent knew he made the right decision coming here. This forest had an abundance of resources—more than he'd ever need, with him standing at the top of the hierarchy as the apex predator. The warning from the Dryad that had not exactly registered in his mind, was proved false it seemed to Forcent. If this so-called Guardian exists; then where was it?
The wrath he was supposed to suffer… Was this Dryad being untruthful? Spreading false rumors of this higher power that protects the forest… No evidence to support her claim.
In the end it didn't concern him, 27 hours—that was his grace period… he stress tested the response of the forest during his last assault… there was none… no one here was strong enough to be of concern. This was what he needed, now he can push forward with his plan to make this his permanent home.
…..
….
…
Forcent's ideal plan for his permanent home would have to wait. Because right behind him something was gathering. As Forcent turned, he faced the green materializing light into a sphere. That burst revealed an entity of nature, humanoid in shape, but lacks any distinct features, aside from its two pairs of wings.
This was it… The Guardian Of The Sacred Forest.
It descended to the grassy floor with delicate grace. Forcent made a guess as to what it was, but he was far from impressed… They both stood in silence, observing the other. Forcent had no interest in playing this game of patience between them so he first made his move.
[[
[[-Multi Circle Titanic Cluster-]]
An explosive art. A magic flaming orange circle appeared below the Guardian's feet, preceded by four more that began to circle the entity. In a matter of a few seconds, from those four magic circles a fireball emerged expanding and exploding in unison for a wide area or effect, swallowing up nearly 80 square miles (mi²). And instantaneously ejecting debris into the air, along with a mushroom cloud. If the rumours are true the forest would recover in a few minutes, but right at this moment he was taking no chances, opting to destroy the Guardian in one go.
For dozens of miles beyond the dead zero trees were left toppled from the shockwave… and anything nearby vaporized.
Some were set ablaze for less than a second, as the forest had already begun the process of regenerating, drawing energy from the remaining land to quicken the process.
The dead area around Forcent started to recover; trees pushed upwards from the forest floor, the scarred earth doing away with the blackness and filling the massive crater. It was mesmerizing… holding Forcent's attention as if she rose from the forest floor, grass, shrubs and bushes returned. At the end of this process no one would've known what had transpired here… it was like a massive organism of its own.
Bringing back his attention to the fight at hand, standing in the exact spot unmoved and unharmed was the Guardian… bringing this confrontation right back to square one. Forcent had achieved nothing with that attack, and he figured out quickly why that was the case.
[[
[[-Ariel Duke Of Harmony-]]
A specialized spirit summoning magic above the blueprint and caliber of the regular spirit summoning skill [[-Spirit Summoning-]]; while this allows the users to someone a spirit for offence and defense, [[-Ariel Duke Of Harmony-]] allows Forcent complete control over spirits he summons, like an arm or a leg, they become an extension of him… and with the two sub-skills [[-Harmonize-]] and [[-Zone-]] it is especially deadly to face for any regular opponent. Physical Spirit Plain: Is where a spirit exists between the spiritual realm and the Central world. Capable of roaming the lands but not interacting unless in someone's body or summoned. Known as a Natural Spirit, the most typical types of spirits.
To test his theory, in silence an earth armoured bound spirit burned to life, striking at the Guardian severing its right arm. Before the spirit could make another move it vanished, its displacement acting like a vacuum.
…. This single act set Forcent alert. For one reason… he could no longer feel that spirit… it wasn't under his skill any longer, nor in the [[-Zone-]]… it was removed from under his control.
… By a single swipe of the Guardian's hand.
From this display of power, Forcent decided to fight this battle on his own to avoid such another result.
At the sight of the Guardian initiating the gesture of that hand swipe, Forcent leapt to action tackling the Guardian. He wanted little time to be wasted ripping the Guardian to pieces; fangs and claws utilized with brutal efficiency of a predator, burning what's left in the process; in white flames.
Forcent stood tall above the burning pieces, a single thought crossing his mind at this instant, "It's Over."
Perhaps overconfident from his own power, after observing his flames fade at the complete annihilation of every fragment of the Guardian's body, Forcent turned…
"Huh?!"
Forcent involuntarily stepped back from the sight… the sight of the Guardian standing in perfect shape. This perplexed him so much he faced behind where he was certain the body was burned until nothing remained, yet here it was…
Surviving those flames changed the name of the game. For Forcent this was to be taken seriously right away. Options, what were they?
From his assessment of the Guardian so far, it proved impervious to non-spiritual attacks, yet even then it returned from being annihilated from his flames.
"Does it have that high of a resistance to spiritual magic… or is something else at play?..." His thoughts carried mild skepticism, that this entity was indeed operating on such a magnitude of power.
Whether or not it was, Forcent knew deep down he'd push it past its limits to climb his victory and this land.
He stomped his paw defiantly on the ground, a massive aura flaring up. Toward this action, the Guardian swiped its hand in the air, putting an instant stop to Forcent's actions.
"Huh!—Wha~t…"
His first words ever to be spoken in the presence of the Guardian. Strained words of his disbelief and frustration.
He went to attempt another attack… but paused. The feeling, that same feeling… only this time around it was his own skill that felt vacant—it couldn't be accessed, it couldn't be used.
Standing in realization of what this meant, Forcent switched up his tactics back to physical confrontation. Pouncing at the Guardian determined to tore it apart as long as it took… after all it seemed rather physically incapable.
Mid-pounce Forcent was left frozen in place, all his movements left sealed from another basic gesture from the Guardian. To further subdue Forcent the Guardian approached the massive beast and lifted its hand. A large magic circle appeared in front of the Guardian's hand, as rods materialized—each for a skill the Ennom possessed (most), and to seal his current strength to what it considered to be within reasonable limits.
Then with one last gesture…
"Milady."
A familiar voice called to the Guardian, the Dryad Forcent once paid no attention to.
"I would like to say my final goodbyes," She requested, bowing her upper body in deep respect.
She was allowed this request, not from verbal speech, but the Guardian giving her way.
"Thank you, Milady."
Smiling the Dryad scanned Forcent. "Magnificent creature… we did not wish to punish you, albeit the harm you caused today cannot go unpunished. If you seek to change, return… we'll be waiting."
Having said her peace, the Dryad gave way to her master to finish what she started. And with one last gesture of the hand the Ennom was gone.
Dropping Forcent back to his home land on Mount Criin. Forcent lifted himself from the snow, and performed a shake, as he glanced around his surroundings, lost for more than words.
He didn't know what he was looking at, or so he told himself, but deep down within his subconscious he knew what had transpired and where he was. Forcent breathed heavily, the scent and feeling of the familiar chill of the air, his heartbeat increasing, as his body started to react to the situation before his mind did.
Through his years of travel of the Sacred Continent he had never suffered a loss more humiliating than this… He shook his head in refusal. No, he refused to accept it… he refused to accept the state he was left in.
… So one step at a time, he began his journey back to the Sacred Forest… back to climb that land… back to defeat the Guardian.
Closing his tale, Forcent was gleaming, his smile shining through. Despite how it ended he couldn't help it… the time he had his true strength.
Imuru's eyes were riveted and unblinking. If he wasn't fascinated by the Ennom from his natural looks before he was all in now. His frozen expression screamed fascination and awe.
"Wow~..." Was the simplest word he could utter in his state.
"Imuru!" Forcent called out his name, trying to shake him from his mental block.
"Y-Y—Yes! S-Sorry… it's just." Imuru shook his head. "I'm back, I'm back."
Forcent sighed. "As your friend I trust your judgement. Unlike me, you have a different approach dealing with friend or foe, I know you'll find a way to bring Huln on your side. If—..." He paused, quickly realizing he had lost Imuru at some point in his statement.
To which he was correct. Imuru was sparkling; his mind having stopped processing any more data the moment Forcent mentioned the word 'friend'.
"We're friends?"
"Imuru focus!" Forcent was quick to try to get Imuru's thoughts back in line.
"Sorry," Imuru apologized, "I'm listening," He replied, realigning back his focus.
"Good." Looking on the ground for a moment, Forcent locked eyes with Imuru. "It seemed I used the right term… Uh…" He looked away, visibly becoming flustered at his own words. "I-... Never had a friend before…"
Imuru's smile faded from his face at Forcent's words… it was the first Forcent had ever expressed his feelings to Imuru. This was a moment he took seriously, and attempted to comfort him immediately; moving without thinking he stepped forward to embrace Forcent in a hug.
"That's fine… it's just me and you." His voice was soft, steady, filled with understanding and compassion. "Being a bit embarrassed about stuff like this is normal…" He pulled away, settling back down. "From the very beginning despite your troubles I always considered you my friend."
"...." Forcent expected that much, yet. "Back then I wouldn't stake myself to be worthy of your friendship. Nevertheless I am grateful for such gratitude."
From their locked gazes and the quiet words exchanged between them, a clear understanding passed—wordless, but deeply felt. In this rare, emotionally open moment, Imuru felt something settle in his chest. The weight of trust, earned and offered.
"Since we're sharing…" Imuru began with a bit of hesitation, "and for our new found friendship. I'd like to tell you my origin… at least from what I remember."
Forcent's ears perked at Imuru's suggestion. Seeing this as an intimate time of sharing he was more than happy to listen, pushed forward by his own curiosity.
So Imuru began from the start.
From the moment he woke up in a strange, lightless cave; disoriented, alone, with no memory of how he arrived. To the fairy that took him in: Le-va-none. He spoke of his training and of the strange entity Eld-onone, the one that forced the title upon him.
He didn't stop there.
He spilled everything. The T1 confrontation and how it all ended. His claimed authority over the Celestial Lake. And finally, Collon's words from a few hours ago regarding Huln, and their plan.