Following the blonde’s lead, they strolled past the enormous mountain—weaving through a narrow rocky route and finally climbing the shortest edge to the mountaintop.
Past their battered fingertips after the tiresome climb, they were welcomed by bent trees, their branches leaning over the cliff, overflowing with green pigments as their leaves swayed gently in the breeze.
The sight was quite unusual, and yet, they could tell the bent nature of the trees was only a plus. Raiden’s eyes scanned around, taking in their surroundings, and though stunned, he couldn’t trust the blonde. Not yet.
Distance away, through the bent trees, was a massive pavement, stretching in curves within the greenery. Its surface, smoking with heat from the sun.
Not a single word was shared, but watching the blond man maneuver his way to the pavement, everyone else followed.
However, the silence was loud enough for Raiden. Though he could feel from within the serenity, the air was gentle and calming, and his senses struggled to detect the slightest danger—he couldn’t shake a sense of unease beneath the tranquility.
His fingers rubbed against each other repeatedly, uneasiness settling in. They had trusted the blonde too easily, and though nothing was apparent, he found himself hoping for proof of his doubts.
This sensation made him wonder: was he accustomed to bad luck?
However, his dark thoughts were disturbed the moment they stepped onto the pavement.
"By the way, call me Iron." The blonde spoke, a soft smile playing on his lips.
"Why are you shirtless, though?" Aeris asked, starting a casual conversation. But through this lightweight atmosphere, Raiden couldn’t help but glance around in suspense.
The curved pavement seemed endless, its snake-like body vanishing into the greenery.
This briefly deepened his uneasiness; his hands searched for the skeletal mask around his neck and began brushing against it.
"I already told you... calm down." Levi loomed from behind and whispered. "I won’t be killing you anytime soon..."
Raiden gave him a lazy look before letting out a soft sigh. Levi was right; he needed to calm down and trust in his comrades’ judgment.
Noelle believes we’ll be safe. I should believe that too.—he thought and steeled himself.
"Now, let me take you to the princess." Iron said, leading the way once again.
Without a moment’s hesitation, everyone followed. Though he agreed to let his doubts go, he knew they wouldn’t simply disappear, and with each passing moment, he braced himself to accept their situation.
Silence was a myth in their walk now. Aeris, for once, was more talkative than ever. She found herself more intrigued in a conversation with Iron. The questions were subtle from the start, but as time passed, she dug deeper into Iron’s personal life.
Iron, however, handled each question with measured words. Not too much to answer Aeris’s questions and not too little to leave her unsatisfied. The most update n0vels are published on NoveI(F)ire.net
After taking in Iron’s measured responses, Raiden found himself admiring the man’s composure. Iron was every bit the person he hoped to become.
And for the first time since arriving on the island, he smiled, finally allowing himself to relax in this sanctuary.
A few minutes into their walk, Raiden began to see an unusual pattern in the greenery surrounding them. White two-leaf clover trees began making sudden appearances. Once in a few steps from the beginning, and before he knew it, the bent trees were extinct, leaving only the white trees.
"The Rulekeeper and her guardian are familiar with this, but you... I’m not so sure." Iron settled Aeris’s curiosity with a smile.
"That’s the Aether Tree. Basically, it’s where all magic comes from." Iron added.
Aeris walked toward a branch, an unusual smile etched across her face as she attempted to pluck a leaf. Before she could, Iron stopped her.
Raiden began massaging his forehead, finding her sudden actions unusual and also feeling sorry for her lack of self-control. But Iron continued to wear a gentle smile, as though he was trained for this kind of situation.
"You seem very pleased with yourself, being here." Iron said with obvious sarcasm, and Aeris’ expression shifted.
"The tree itself is ordinary, and so are the leaves... only the fallen ones count as aether."
Aeris attempted to speak up, but before she could, Iron hurried his words."Relax... they’ll only fall when they’re ready to."
Aeris raised a startled eyebrow. "Even if I cut off the tree?"
Iron, still smiling, gave her a subtle nod. "Yes..."
Raiden didn’t know he was going to be this interested in their conversation, but Iron’s words cleared up a thought he had when he first saw an aether tree.
When the Rulekeeper, Noelle, was explaining the tree’s origin, he saw MK crouch beneath them, picking up the leaves on the floor instead.
"Makes sense... it is the mother of magic and mana, after all." Raiden muttered, but something golden abruptly caught his eye from the distant sky and disappeared.
His body shook for a moment, as though something parried his heart. Yet, his danger detection was quiet.
He began to feel the coldness of his fear. His eyes scanned the sky, searching for what he saw, but there was still nothing. But he could have sworn he got an enormous glimpse of a golden aura. Even for a millisecond, he couldn’t mistake an aura.
Were his doubts eating into his mind? Or was there indeed a threat?
Still, he couldn’t help but calm himself down. His danger detection was off, and the peace and serenity within the distance was evident. He must be hallucinating.
"We are here, everyone." Iron said as they took their final turn on the snake-like pavement, leading in the direction Raiden supposedly had his illusion.
He began bracing himself, one gentle breath after another, clearing all dark thoughts. He must indeed be paranoid.
However, his mind calmed, and his grimaced expression faded as a faint relief coursed through his heart the moment they went past their last curve.
Before him was a four-story rock mansion, with long stairs leading to its doorway, as the building was surrounded by the white trees, aether, giving it a divine appearance.
But what truly warmed his heart was a little girl with brown hair, covered in a white cloak, glowing in a golden aura with a choker-like tattoo across her neck.
"That... is the Laughing Princess, isn’t it?"