Chapter 79 — The Road Into Death

Narrator

Morning came quietly to Restart Village.

The river moved beneath the pale sunlight.

Mist still rested between the mountains, slowly disappearing as the warmth of the morning touched the earth.

Birds flew above the rooftops.

The villagers continued their usual work.

But near the village entrance...

things were different.

Several horses stood ready.

A royal carriage waited beneath the trees.

A small group of soldiers wearing the crest of the Kingdom of Heart stood beside it.

Their armor reflected the morning light.

And among them stood a woman whose presence alone made the soldiers straighten their backs.

The Queen of Heart.

She had arrived.

Brald walked toward her.

Lily remained a short distance behind him.

Alistair stood nearby, watching silently.

V stood beside Tiami.

Kai and Nefi had come to see them off.

Lak was there too.

Mostly because he had discovered that royal journeys apparently came with free entertainment.

The Queen looked toward Brald.

Then bowed her head slightly.

"Chief Brald."

Brald returned the gesture.

"Your Majesty."

"I thank you for accepting our request."

Brald glanced toward the soldiers.

"You are paying for our assistance."

The Queen smiled faintly.

"That does not make your decision any less valuable."

Brald nodded.

"The road through Death Forest is dangerous. Your soldiers will need to follow instructions."

The captain immediately stepped forward.

"We understand."

Brald looked at him.

"No."

The captain paused.

"You don't."

Brald's expression remained calm.

"Not yet."

He pointed toward the forest in the distance.

"Death Forest doesn't behave like an ordinary battlefield."

The soldiers became silent.

Brald continued.

"Do not leave formation."

"Do not chase anything."

"Do not touch unfamiliar plants."

"And if I tell you to stop..."

His eyes hardened.

"Stop."

The captain nodded.

"Understood."

The Queen looked toward Brald.

"I trust your judgment."

A small voice interrupted.

"Why?"

Everyone turned.

T stood near Lily.

She looked genuinely confused.

"Why does everyone listen to Brald?"

Kai covered his mouth.

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Lak whispered,

"Finally, someone asked the important question."

Brald sighed.

Lily smiled.

The Queen looked amused.

Then the princess stepped down from the carriage.

She was around V's age.

Her eyes immediately moved across the group.

She looked at Brald.

Then Lily.

Then Alistair.

Then V.

Her gaze stopped.

For a moment...

she said nothing.

Her eyes had fallen on the pendant around V's neck.

The pendant Liza had left him.

Something changed in her expression.

Anger.

Not fear.

Not curiosity.

Anger.

She walked toward V.

"Where did you get that?"

V looked down at the pendant.

Then back at her.

"It was given to me."

"By whom?"

V remained quiet.

The princess's expression hardened.

"Answer me."

Brald immediately stepped forward.

"Princess."

She looked at him.

"Yes?"

"You are speaking to my son."

"I know."

Her eyes returned to V.

"Then perhaps you should teach him how to speak properly to royalty."

The air around them became slightly heavier.

Lily's expression changed.

Alistair's eyes narrowed.

V, however, remained calm.

He looked at the princess.

Then politely said,

"Sorry, ma'am."

The princess raised an eyebrow.

V continued.

"But I'm not an adult yet."

He paused.

"I'm still a child."

Kai immediately looked away.

Lak's shoulders began shaking.

The princess stared at V.

V continued innocently.

"So if I'm going to be scolded..."

He looked toward Brald.

"...shouldn't you scold my father too?"

Silence.

Kai finally whispered,

"That was dangerous."

Lak nodded.

"Extremely."

The princess's face tightened.

Brald slowly closed his eyes.

Lily covered a smile.

Even one of the Heart Kingdom soldiers looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh.

The princess crossed her arms.

"You are surprisingly disrespectful."

V tilted his head.

"I apologized."

"That doesn't make it better."

"Then I'm sorry again."

"Stop saying sorry!"

"Sorry."

Kai turned around.

He was finished.

Lak whispered,

"Brother, you're fighting a battle you didn't even know you entered."

V looked at him.

"What battle?"

Lak smiled.

"Exactly."

The Queen stepped forward.

"Enough."

Her voice was gentle.

But everyone immediately became quiet.

She looked at her daughter.

"We have a journey ahead of us."

The princess looked away.

Then glanced once more at V's pendant.

Her expression darkened.

There was clearly something about it that disturbed her.

But she said nothing.

Not yet.

The preparations continued.

Brald checked the equipment personally.

Water.

Food.

Medicine.

Maps.

Ropes.

Torches.

Everything required for the journey.

The Heart Kingdom soldiers prepared themselves.

The Queen entered the carriage.

The princess followed.

V remained outside.

Tiami stood beside him.

She looked toward the forest.

V suddenly heard her voice inside his mind.

"You are thinking too much."

V blinked.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"How do you know?"

Tiami smiled.

"Because I am your sister."

V looked at her.

Nobody else seemed to notice anything.

V scratched his cheek.

"You could have just said it normally."

Tiami's smile widened.

"Then everyone would hear us."

V nodded.

"That's true."

A soldier passing nearby suddenly stopped.

He looked at V.

Then Tiami.

Then V again.

The boy had clearly said nothing.

Yet his expression had changed several times.

The soldier frowned.

"Was he talking to someone?"

Another soldier shook his head.

"No."

The first soldier looked confused.

V and Tiami continued their silent conversation.

"He noticed."

"Who?"

"The soldier."

"Should I wave?"

"No."

Tiami laughed silently.

V tried not to smile.

The soldier walked away, still confused.

Lak had seen everything.

He slowly approached V.

"Brother."

V looked at him.

"What?"

Lak narrowed his eyes.

"You weren't talking."

"No."

"But you were having a conversation."

V stared at him.

Lak stared back.

Tiami quietly smiled.

Lak pointed at V.

"I knew it."

V looked confused.

"Knew what?"

"Nothing."

Lak stepped away.

"Your family is getting weirder every day."

Before departure...

the Queen stepped out of the carriage again.

She looked toward Tiami.

And froze.

Her eyes widened slightly.

The Legendary Dragon Queen stood beneath the morning light.

Tiami looked back at her.

The Queen's expression slowly changed.

Not fear.

A strange sense of wonder.

She looked at Tiami's horns.

Then her wings.

Then her small figure.

The Queen's daughter stepped beside her.

She also stared.

For several seconds...

neither spoke.

Then the princess quietly said,

"...She's adorable."

The Queen looked at her.

The princess's eyes remained fixed on Tiami.

"Mother..."

"What?"

"I want one."

The Queen blinked.

"One what?"

The princess pointed at Tiami.

"A dragon."

Tiami looked toward V.

"Did she just ask for another me?"

V almost laughed.

"I think so."

"Tell her I'm not for sale."

V looked at the princess.

"I'm sorry."

The princess frowned.

"For what?"

"Tiami isn't for sale."

The princess stared at him.

"I wasn't buying her."

V nodded.

"Good."

Tiami quietly laughed inside his mind.

"You made it worse."

"I know."

The princess turned toward her mother.

"I still want a dragon."

The Queen sighed.

"Let us survive the Death Forest first."

The princess looked at Tiami again.

"...Fine."

Finally...

the moment came.

Brald mounted his horse.

V climbed up behind him.

Tiami remained close beside them.

The Queen and Princess entered the carriage.

The Heart Kingdom soldiers formed their escort.

Lily stood at the village entrance.

Alistair stood beside her.

Kai raised a hand.

"Be careful!"

Brald nodded.

Nefi smiled.

"Come back safely."

V looked back at the village.

T was waving both hands.

"V!"

V waved back.

Lak stood beside her.

He looked toward the road.

Then toward the mountains.

Then toward the distant forest.

"Well..."

He sighed.

"This is definitely going to be one of those days."

The group began moving.

The village slowly disappeared behind them.

The road narrowed.

The mountains grew larger.

The air became colder.

Birdsong gradually disappeared.

Even the wind seemed quieter.

The trees ahead became darker.

Older.

Larger.

Their branches twisted together above the road.

Like fingers reaching toward one another.

Brald looked ahead.

"From here..."

He paused.

"We enter Death Forest."

The soldiers tightened their grips on their weapons.

The Queen's carriage slowed.

The princess looked outside.

V stared at the enormous trees.

Tiami remained calm.

Lak swallowed.

"Okay."

He looked at the forest.

"I officially don't like this place."

Kai wasn't there to answer him.

So Lak had to suffer alone.

The group crossed the invisible boundary.

The moment they entered...

the temperature dropped.

The sunlight became weaker.

The forest swallowed the road behind them.

No one spoke.

The deeper they went...

the quieter it became.

Even their footsteps seemed strangely distant.

Brald raised one hand.

Everyone stopped.

A bird flew overhead.

Then disappeared between the branches.

Brald waited.

Nothing happened.

"Continue."

They moved again.

Hours passed.

The forest grew darker.

The trees became denser.

The road almost disappeared beneath roots and fallen leaves.

V occasionally looked toward Tiami.

Their silent conversation continued.

"Do you sense anything?"

Tiami answered after a moment.

"Not yet."

V looked ahead.

"You sound worried."

"I'm not worried."

"You are."

Tiami smiled.

"Maybe a little."

V became quiet.

Then she added:

"But I'm with you."

V smiled.

"Then I'm not worried either."

The two continued walking.

Nobody else heard a word.

Yet the soldiers noticed something strange.

The boy and the little dragon seemed to understand each other without speaking.

One soldier whispered,

"How are they communicating?"

Another answered,

"I have no idea."

The captain looked at them.

"Don't ask."

Far deeper within Death Forest...

something moved.

A large branch snapped.

Then another.

The forest became still.

A masked figure stood between the ancient trees.

His face was completely hidden.

Only his eyes could be seen.

Calm.

Focused.

Watching.

Beside him stood an Iron Fang Bear.

Its enormous claws pressed into the earth.

A little farther away...

a dragon moved through the trees.

The masked figure watched both creatures.

He didn't attack.

He waited.

Then the dragon raised its head.

It sensed something.

A distant presence.

Another dragon.

The creature turned.

Its eyes fixed on the deeper forest.

A low growl escaped its throat.

Far beneath the ground...

something answered.

The earth trembled.

The masked figure slowly lifted his head.

His plan was beginning to move.

He glanced toward the dragon.

Then toward the darkness ahead.

The Iron Fang Bear growled beside him.

The masked figure remained silent.

And deep beneath the forest floor...

an Earth Dragon awakened.

The ground shook once.

Twice.

Then a massive roar echoed through Death Forest.

The masked figure's eyes narrowed.

The dragon began moving toward the sound.

The Iron Fang Bear followed.

And somewhere beyond the trees...

Brald's group continued forward.

Unaware.

The forest had begun to move.

And tomorrow's danger...

had already found its prey.