The journey toward the heart of the forest was both mesmerizing and deeply unsettling.
As the giant ape carried him farther inward, Ieros could feel the terrifying weight hidden within the ancient woods. Every step they took seemed to plunge them into a world where the laws of nature no longer applied.
The deeper they went, the heavier the air became.
It was then that a frightening thought crossed his mind.
If the monsters living here ever decided to attack the city... it wouldn't even be a battle.
It would be a massacre.
A completely one-sided slaughter.
Yet despite possessing such overwhelming strength, the monsters remained strangely disciplined. None of them attacked one another out of hunger or territorial instinct. They merely watched the giant ape pass before respectfully lowering their heads.
Perhaps it wasn't so strange after all.
If the young ape carrying him was capable of issuing commands throughout the forest, then maintaining order among the monsters wasn't impossible.
Still...
The hierarchy within the forest fascinated him.
The strong ruled.
The weak obeyed.
Those with enough power were granted freedom to act as they pleased, while the weaker monsters accepted their place without resistance.
It was eerily similar to human civilization.
That realization sent chills crawling down his spine.
If they had begun imitating humanity...
Who's to say they wouldn't one day surpass it?
Ieros' face gradually paled as they ventured even deeper.
Unlike humans, the monsters made no effort to conceal their auras.
Every beast unleashed its presence without restraint.
The pressure blanketing the forest was so overwhelming that it felt like countless mountains pressing against his body simultaneously.
Only when the giant ape approached would those terrifying creatures lower their heads and suppress their overwhelming presences out of respect.
To remain conscious, Ieros bit his lips repeatedly.
Blood slowly trickled down his chin.
Pain.
That was the only thing keeping him awake.
Whenever the pain faded, darkness crept back into the corners of his vision.
His consciousness swayed like a candle caught in a storm.
The ape seemed to notice his condition.
A gentle yet incomparably powerful aura spread from its body, enveloping Ieros completely.
Instantly, the suffocating pressure around him lessened.
It wasn't enough to remove the pain entirely, but breathing became easier.
Even so, his face remained ghostly pale.
As they continued forward, Ieros carefully observed the monsters they passed.
The sheer variety left him speechless.
There were goblins.
Dire wolves.
Horned boars.
Stone lizards.
Forest serpents.
Most of them were common species that hunters regularly exterminated outside the forest.
Creatures considered weak.
Creatures whose bloodlines were said to possess strict limits.
Yet every single one of them radiated terrifying power.
Even more shocking...
They stood shoulder to shoulder with legendary monsters as if they had always belonged there.
No discrimination.
No oppression.
Only strength.
A lone goblin casually walked past them.
The creature glanced toward Ieros before the corner of its lips curled upward into what could only be described as a smug grin.
Ieros nearly questioned his own eyes.
He...
He actually felt inferior to a goblin.
The realization dealt a heavier blow to his pride than he cared to admit.
Questions flooded his mind.
How had they grown this powerful?
Their bloodlines should have limited their growth.
That was common knowledge.
Unless...
Common knowledge was wrong.
Or perhaps humanity had discovered the truth long ago...
...and buried it.
Ieros shook his head.
Speculating wouldn't give him answers.
His eyelids grew heavier.
His thoughts became sluggish.
The world around him slowly faded into darkness.
Finally...
He lost consciousness.
---
The giant ape looked down at the tiny sleeping human resting between its fingers.
For a brief moment, it simply stared.
Then it lifted its head.
Stretching before it was an endless body of crystal-clear water.
At the very center stood a single colossal tree.
From a distance, it appeared to grow from a tiny island no larger than a cottage.
But appearances were deceiving.
The ape stepped into the lake.
The water instantly swallowed its enormous body.
Only its raised arm remained above the surface, carefully keeping Ieros dry.
As the ape walked deeper, the true scale of the tree gradually revealed itself.
Its trunk alone stretched thousands upon thousands of feet beneath the water.
Its roots spread endlessly across the lakebed like an underground continent.
The visible portion towering above the water resembled a mountain piercing the heavens.
Yet even that was only a fraction of its true size.
More than half of the colossal tree remained hidden beneath the lake.
Upon reaching the trunk, the ape bent its knees slightly.
Then...
It leaped.
The single jump carried its gigantic body completely out of the water.
A tremendous shockwave rolled across the lake as it landed upon the grassy island surrounding the ancient tree.
Only now did the island reveal its true size.
What had appeared to be a tiny patch of land was, in reality, a vast field hidden beneath illusions created by distance.
The ape gently lowered Ieros onto the soft grass.
Afterward, it walked toward the enormous trunk.
Resting its back against the ancient tree, the ape released a long, satisfied breath.
Its eyes slowly closed.
Within moments...
The guardian of the forest had fallen asleep.
---
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
The familiar sound of the System echoed inside Ieros' mind.
His eyes shot open.
He immediately sat upright, instinctively reaching for the sword that was no longer at his side.
The first thing he noticed was the giant ape sleeping peacefully against the trunk of the massive tree.
His gaze slowly traveled upward.
Higher.
Higher still.
The tree seemed endless.
Anything capable of supporting the weight of that ape without even bending couldn't possibly be an ordinary tree.
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
Carefully, he stood up.
Every movement was slow and deliberate.
He wasn't foolish enough to wake something that could probably flatten a mountain with a casual slap.
Taking one cautious step backward...
Then another...
A strange feeling suddenly crept over him.
For some reason...
Walking away from the sleeping ape felt even more dangerous than poking it in the eye.
His instincts screamed at him to stop.
Confused, he quickly turned around.
A vast expanse of water stretched endlessly before him.
Its crystal surface reflected the sky like a flawless mirror.
Swallowing nervously, Ieros slowly crouched near the edge.
He leaned forward, hoping to catch a glimpse beneath the water.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The voice was soft.
Elegant.
Gentle enough to soothe the soul.
Yet it startled him so badly that he fell backward onto the grass.
At that exact moment—
Splash!
A massive fish erupted from the water.
Its mouth was lined with countless razor-sharp teeth, snapping shut precisely where Ieros' head had been only an instant earlier.
His pupils shrank.
Cold sweat drenched his back.
Had he leaned just a little farther...
He would have lost his head.
Scrambling backward, he searched frantically for the owner of the voice.
His eyes swept across the island.
Nothing.
The lake.
Nothing.
The sleeping ape remained completely motionless.
"Over here, silly."
The melodious voice rang out again, carrying a trace of playful laughter.
Ieros instinctively looked upward.
High among the countless branches forming the tree's endless canopy sat a little girl.
She swung her legs back and forth as though she were enjoying a peaceful afternoon.
A warm smile adorned her delicate face.
To anyone else, she would have appeared harmless.
Cute, even.
But the moment Ieros met her eyes...
Every instinct in his body screamed.
His blood froze.
His breathing stopped.
His soul itself seemed to shrink.
Running?
There was no point.
In front of that smiling little girl...
He wasn't even an insect.
He was less than dust.
And yet...
She continued smiling at him with innocent, childlike warmth.