Morning rose gray and heavy, like the air before a storm.None of them had slept well.
The image of the creature dissolving into mist still lingered in everyone's thoughts—especially Ren's.
The dark stain left behind by the Shade pulsed faintly in the center of the clearing, as if it were breathing.
Draven approached it cautiously.— "It's… bigger."
Lyra swallowed hard.— "Don't get too close!"
Borin stepped in front of them, hammer ready.— "Corrupted. That's dead mana trying to live again."
Ren didn't speak.He walked toward the stain slowly, as if something were calling him.
His staff vibrated.And the closer he got…the stronger the vibration became.
Lyra stepped forward, panicked:— "Ren! Don't touch that!"
He looked back at her—his silver eyes sharp and unsettling.
— "I don't have a choice."
🌑 The Stain Calls Back
As soon as Ren extended his hand, the stain reacted.
As if it had been waiting for him.
Mist on the ground rose in thin dark tendrils, reaching toward the staff.
Draven lit his hands with blue fire.— "Ren! Get back!"
Borin took a step forward, but Ren raised his hand, stopping him.
The stain twisted…And a voice echoed inside Ren's mind.
"Bearer of the sleeping eye…""…awaken our silence."
Ren staggered.Lyra grabbed him before he collapsed.
— "Ren! What happened?"
He was breathing fast, as if someone had punched the air out of him.
— "That thing… it tried to enter my mind."
Borin narrowed his eyes.— "Shadows don't talk, boy. That's somethin' else."
Ren closed his eyes, recalling the sensation.Cold. Empty.Yet… somehow familiar.
It was similar to the feeling of the ancestral tree.
But twisted.
— "This isn't just leftover monster essence," Ren said quietly.He looked at the others.— "It's a spiritual residue. Something… left behind."
🌲 The Forest Reacts
Lyra knelt beside the stain, senses heightened.— "The wind… it's avoiding this place."
Draven groaned.— "Of course it is! I'd avoid it if I could!"
But Ren heard something else.
A faint tremor beneath his feet.A whisper between the leaves.The breath of the forest itself.
— "The forest knows what's happening," he murmured.
Borin frowned.— "And what does that mean?"— "It means this didn't happen by chance," Ren said.He breathed out slowly.— "That creature was drawn to us."
Draven clenched his fists.— "Why? We're just training! It's not like we're breaking forbidden magic!"
Lyra answered softly—worried.— "Because of the staff."
Silence fell.
Ren touched the staff lightly.The Guild's emblem glowed faintly, beating like a heart.
— "The ancestral tree reacted to it."— "And that creature reacted too," Lyra whispered.
Ren nodded.— "We're stirring forces that were asleep."
🔥 A Greater Risk
Borin, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
— "If more of those start wakin' up… they won't just be shadows."He tapped the corrupted ground with his hammer.— "We'll be dealin' with echoes of dead spirits."
Draven paled.— "Dead spirits? Like… souls?"— "Like leftovers of things that shouldn't exist."
Lyra grabbed Ren's sleeve, voice trembling:— "Ren… we should leave this forest."
Ren hesitated.
He wanted to leave too.He wanted to protect them all.
But… something inside him whispered that running wasn't the answer.
— "If we leave this stain here," he said, "it will grow."— "And it'll draw more of those things," Borin added. "Maybe worse."
Ren lifted his staff.— "Then we need to purify it."
Draven stared at him like he'd gone insane.— "Purify?! It almost swallowed your mind!"
Lyra's voice softened with fear.— "Ren… you aren't invincible. Don't try to shoulder everything alone."
Ren met her eyes.
And for the first time since entering this world…he let his vulnerability show.
— "I can't run from what's calling me."
Lyra pressed his hand gently.— "Then… don't go alone."
Ren felt warmth bloom in his chest.
For the first time, he smiled sincerely.
✨ The Purification
The four formed a circle around the stain.Ren lifted his staff.Draven ignited flames.Lyra summoned the wind.Borin anchored the ground with his hammer.
Wisps of corrupted mist rose violently, trying to escape.
Ren activated the system.
[Guild Formation – Spiritual Purification Initiated][Elemental Synergy: Fire + Wind + Earth + Mana]
Their energies intertwined.
Draven unleashed pure flame.Lyra guided it with focused wind.Borin stabilized the ground beneath them.Ren wove all of it into spiritual mana.
The stain screeched—a sound that should not exist.
A voice echoed again:
"The eye still sleeps…""…but the cycle shall awaken…"
Ren's heart tightened.
Then— life and death collided.
A burst of light erupted from the clearing.
When the glow faded…
The stain was gone.
And in its place—a small white flower remained.
Simple.Fragile.Glowing faintly.
Lyra covered her mouth, breath trembling.— "Nature… healed itself."
Borin nodded proudly.— "Nothin' beats the earth when it wants to live."
Draven sighed with relief.— "Finally… it's over."
But Ren stared at the flower with quiet concern.
— "No. This was only the beginning."
📜 [Status Window – Immortal Guild]
Event Recorded: Purification of the Corrupted StainOutcome: SuccessPermanent Effect: Area around the base temporarily safeNew Phenomenon: White Spirit Flower (???)
New Functions Unlocked:
Spiritual Purification (Lv.1): Cleanses small corrupted zones.
Guild Spiritual Link (Lv.1): Synergy grants bonuses during rituals.
Base Construction: 37%Status: Ongoing Spiritual Awakening