One day the sun had barely dipped beyond the treetops when Aria stepped quietly into the clearing where Kira sat beside a flickering campfire. Her expression was unusually somber, her arms crossed as if weighing a question that had long been on her mind.
"Kira," she said, voice low, "your tenth birthday is almost here. Just a few days now. Have you… felt anything out of place lately?"
He blinked at her, puzzled. "Not really. I've only made progress with the animals."
To prove it, he raised a hand. A soft whistle followed, and from the shadows padded one of his silver wolves—larger than most, fur glinting beneath the moonlight. The beast came to a halt beside him, gaze fixed and unwavering, awaiting his next move.
"I want to show you something," Kira said, gently pressing his palm against the wolf's head.
There was a quiet hum—barely a sound, more a sensation in the air—and then a pulse of heat moved through his fingers. The wolf let out a low growl. One eye flared crimson, the muscles beneath its fur tensing, expanding. Its claws grew longer, sharper, slicing the dirt as it shifted. Then the other eye turned icy blue, and its fur shimmered, lengthening into threads of glowing silver. Wisps of blue vapor began to coil off its body like drifting fog.
Aria's eyes narrowed, not with concern, but curiosity. "That's… not something I've seen before," she murmured. "You can't conjure magic the way I do, but you're infusing it into your beasts. Kira, that's something else entirely."
He opened his mouth to ask what she meant—but a sudden thunderous boom rolled across the treetops like a Taitan slamming a drum.
Birds tore from the canopy in a flurry of shrieks. The ground beneath them shivered.
Aria stiffened. Her voice turned sharp. "Someone's breached the outer barrier." She stepped back. "Stay here."
Then she vanished—no flash, no sound—just gone, as though the forest had reclaimed her.
"Wait! Aria, don't go without me!" Kira cried. But he was already in motion, vaulting onto the wolf's back. The beast lunged forward, weaving between trees with fluid grace, barely touching the forest floor.
Ahead, the scent of burning wood grew thicker. Smoke rose in serpents between the trees. Kira ducked low, urging the wolf on.
Meanwhile, Aria stood at the edge of a ruined clearing. The earth was charred black, the grass scorched down to ash. Two figures waited at the center of the devastation.
One was tall, bald, and bare-chested, built like a mountain. His eyes glinted with a merciless chill. The second wore a crimson cloak, tattered at the edges. His beard was unkempt, wild hair falling over his shoulders. Tiny flames flickered between his fingers, dancing with malevolent glee.
As a spirit, they couldn't see her. And Aria didn't wait for them to notice.
She raised one hand, and the forest moved with her. Roots twisted from the soil. Vines slithered across the ground, surging toward the strangers like hungry snakes.
The cloaked man grinned. Without hesitation, he drove his palms into the dirt. Fire erupted from the ground, devouring the advancing roots in a wave of scorching heat.
Aria's eyes narrowed. Her foot pressed into the earth—and two towering stone giants emerged behind her, rising like sleeping titans awakened. One charged forward, arm swinging wide in a crushing blow.
The red-cloaked man vanished in a flicker, reappearing meters away. The second giant hurled a boulder the size of a house at the bald warrior.
He didn't move. Instead, he summoned a shimmering blue shield, crystalline and pure. The rock smashed against it with a thunderclap, then rebounded, slamming into the giant's chest with devastating force.
The bald man roared—summoning a glowing warhammer mid-air—and leapt toward the stumbling stone giant. With one clean arc, he brought it down. The giant's head exploded into stone fragments as its body crumpled.
Aria's patience snapped. With a wordless command, the woods answered her again. From all sides, beasts charged—lions roaring, bulls stomping, leopards and tigers tearing through underbrush.
The red-cloaked man laughed—a hollow, joyless sound. He dropped to one knee and struck the earth again.
This time, lava answered his call, bursting from the ground and surging like a wave of hellfire. The animals vanished beneath it, their cries lost in the roar.
Aria grit her teeth, throwing her arms forward. Great walls of stone rose to dam the lava's path, halting its advance before the flames could spread deeper into the forest.
And then—another sound, crashing through the silence.
Water.
Kira arrived as a wave surged through the woods, unnaturally fast, tearing through branches and roots. He leapt from his wolf's back just as the flood met the lava, steam blasting upward in a hissing cloud.
"Kira!" Aria's voice was sharp with both anger and fear. "I told you to stay behind!"
He didn't get a chance to respond.
A voice cut through the mist, cold as a blade drawn in winter.
"So, you really are here."
From the haze of steam and smoke, the red-hooded man emerged, his smirk barely visible beneath the shadow of his cowl.
Beside him, the bald warrior sneered, his voice like grinding gravel. "I still can't believe a runt like you killed Ramzy… My best student."
Before Kira could reply, a new sound slithered through the air—like bones being crushed underfoot.
The temperature dropped instantly. The steam sank to the ground, thickening like fog as the chill spread through the clearing. Frost crackled along the bark of nearby trees. And then came the voice—deep, rasping, laced with rot.
"Aria…" it breathed. "At last… I've found you."
A sickly green mist crept over the battlefield, curling across blackened soil. Dead animals—those lost in the lava and fire—trembled. Limbs twitched. Flesh reformed grotesquely, twisting and pulsing as if something inside refused to let go.
Aria's expression hardened. "Kira!" she shouted, turning to him. "Run! Now!"
Kira's instinct screamed to obey—but his legs wouldn't move. His body had gone rigid, paralyzed by the stench of decay, the pressure in the air… and the presence that followed.
From the shadows stepped a figure unlike the others.
He was tall, but gaunt—more bone than flesh. His skin clung tight to his skeletal frame, barely concealed by scraps of fur and tattered hide. Green smoke hissed from his eye sockets, trailing behind him like poison. And with every step he took, the dead around him rose—eyes glowing with foul, undead light.
Kira's mouth went dry. His heart pounded like a drum inside his chest.
Aria's voice faltered. "Kira… that's Varow. The Necromancy King." Her words trembled. "He doesn't just control the dead… he binds souls. Even I… can't protect you from him."
The green mist coiled around her ankles. Her fingers clenched as her eyes flickered, momentarily glowing the same toxic green. She growled, forcing the magic out, pushing it back through sheer will.
"I'm severing my bond with the forest," she said quickly. "It's yours now. The heart of the woods… I'll send you away with it. Far from here."
But before Kira could speak—before the weight of her words could even sink in—a burst of movement blurred behind him.
The red-hooded man struck.
Flames surged as he reappeared, hurling a fireball. The silver wolf darted in front of Kira, intercepting the attack. It yelped, scorched by the edge of the blast.
The bald man roared, raising his hammer high. He slammed it into the earth with titanic force. The ground split open beneath Kira's feet, sending him tumbling.
Above, the sky ignited.
The hooded man conjured a blazing fireball, drawing it down from the sky. It expanded as it fell, like a miniature sun. Kira braced for the end—but his wolf was faster.
It threw itself over him, shielding him with its body as the inferno struck.
The wolf screamed—a long, pained howl that tore through the forest.
"No!!" Kira shouted, and with a wave of his hand the Giant golden lion appeared. Towering, majestic, and furious.
It leapt between Kira and the red-hooded mage, its golden mane blazing. With one colossal swipe, it struck. The mage flew like a ragdoll, crashing into a tree with a sickening thud. Blood streaked his cloak where the lion's claws had raked deep.
The bald warrior bellowed and thrust his arms skyward. From thin air, a massive crystal lance materialized, crackling with deadly energy. He hurled it like a javelin.
The lion turned, too late to fully deflect it. The lance pierced its shoulder. The beast roared in agony, staggering, its paw crushing the earth beneath it.
And then, the world trembled.
The air grew still as every creature—living or dead—turned toward the center of the clearing.
Varow stood alone, arms outstretched, his voice like a funeral dirge. The ground beneath him split open with a sound like a grave being torn apart.
From the depths, a monstrous form rose.
An undead dragon—massive, skeletal, its wings tattered like sails from a ghost ship—emerged, its bones fused with fragments of ancient armor. Moonlight glinted off its skull as it let out a howl that curdled blood.
Its tail swept across the battlefield, striking the lion in a brutal arc. The golden beast roared again as a deep, jagged wound tore through its side.
"No!" Kira screamed, panic clawing at his chest.
In a final, desperate move, he thrust out his hand. A pulse of instinctual magic flared, and in a flash of light, the silver wolf and golden lion vanished—sent away, deep into the forest's Core where the ancient energies would keep them safe.
But even as he acted, Aria's spell completed.
She exhaled—softly, almost peacefully—and the bond she held with the Ancestors' Woods snapped like a thread. In the blink of an eye, the entire forest shimmered… and vanished.
The trees, the soil, the wind—all of it gone.
Only Aria and Varow remained in that scorched battlefield.
And Kira?
Kira stumbled forward, gasping as the truth hit him. The forest was gone. Aria was gone.
He was alone—stranded in a world he didn't recognize.
Before he could even take a breath, something slammed into the back of his skull.
A crystalline shield..
His vision tilted, the sky spinning, and then—nothing.
Darkness swallowed him.
His body collapsed.
The bald man loomed over Kira's unconscious form, panting. He turned to the red-hooded man, who leaned against a charred tree, his cloak in tatters and blood leaking down one arm.
"What now?" the bald man asked. "Can you open a portal or something to get us out of here?"
The red-hooded man wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, grimacing. "I don't even know where the hell we are anymore. That forest spell... it moved us. Warped the land."
He glanced at Kira's still body. "We finish the job. Orders were clear. Kill the boy. Lets do it before that lion comes back."
But while his body lay unmoving, Kira's mind drifted—far beyond pain, beyond place.
Meanwhile, within Kira's unconscious, dreaming mind…
Kira's voice echoed through the darkness.
"What's happening? Where am I? It's so dark... I'm scared."
A soft, soothing voice resonated,
"My son, don't be afraid. You can do this. I know you can."
Kira called out, "Mom! Is that you? Where are you?"
Laura's voice replied,
"I'm sorry, darling. I'm so sorry, but I can't help you this time. You have to face this on your own. But you're stronger than you realize. I know you can do this."
Kira pleaded, "Do what? Mom, what should I do? Answer me… What do you want me to do? … Mom!"
But no one answered.
It was just dark again.
A shape began to form in the darkness—blurry and indistinct.
Kira saw a man with long black hair and a strong, muscular build, sitting beneath a large tree, sharpening a great sword.
Kira asked, "Who are you? Are you one of them?"
The man looked up with a smile.
"One of who?"
Suddenly, Kira found himself sitting beside the man under the tree.
Hesitantly, he asked, "One of the men who want to kill me?"
The man laughed gently.
"My little boy, no father would harm his son. At least, not me."
Kira exclaimed, "You're my father?!"
The scene darkened once more.
"Dad! ... Mom! ... Where did you go?"
The darkness slowly cleared. Kira's father reappeared, his back turned. He stood on a field of fallen soldiers. He looked seriously at Kira and said,
"Why do you refuse to accept me, my son? I am a part of you now. Don't hold me back. Let me help you."
Kira responded, "What do you mean? I don't understand."
The darkness returned.
Kira, crying, said,
"Tell me what to do. Please, someone tell me what to do..."
Then he felt a warm hand on his cheek, wiping away his tears.
Looking up, he saw his mother.
"Mom," he whispered, leaping into her embrace and sobbing, "I miss you. I miss you so much."
Laura smiled and replied,
"And I've missed you too, my boy."
She held him a moment longer, then pulled back slightly.
"Kira, listen carefully. Do you remember that night when you were just a baby in my arms? You were the bravest and strongest newborn I have ever seen. You even defeated Arwan, the legendary beast tamer. I know I asked you to be normal and stop using magic so we could live together in peace… but things have changed."
She gently pushed him away, her smile fading into something more serious.
With a commanding voice, she said,
"It's time, my son. Unleash your power. Accept who you are. Fight, Kira. Fight!"
At that moment, all the chains binding his power shattered into pieces.