As Hong Chen set out for the wilderness, Moss City began to stir in an unprecedented way.
Ruiya ordered the mobilization of elite soldiers and spellcasters.
Not for defense.
Not for reinforcement.
But for an expedition.
Target: the Black Sea Forest.
He understood the elves too well.
And precisely because of that, he could not ignore one fact…
The elves had perished.
Yet Hong Chen remained.
"Black Sea…"
Standing atop the city wall, Ruiya gazed toward the distant forest shrouded in mist.
"Why was it called a sacred land…"
"Hong Chen… what exactly did you go through there?"
Several days later.
The army arrived at the edge of the Black Sea Forest.
The air here felt different.
Not cold.
But…
As if something was "watching."
A suffocating pressure.
Ruiya did not hesitate.
"Enter the forest."
The troops stepped into the Black Sea.
Each step…
felt like crossing into another world.
Light was swallowed.
Sound was muted.
Even breathing became heavy.
They went deeper.
The further they walked, the quieter it became.
Strangely…
They began to see beasts.
But those creatures, which should have been savage,
stopped at a distance.
They stared at them.
Then…
slowly retreated.
As if avoiding them.
As if… afraid.
The adjutant whispered:
"They're… afraid of us?"
Ruiya did not answer.
His gaze fell to the ground.
Bones.
A vast number of bones.
Some enormous.
Some twisted.
Some still bearing sharp claws and fangs.
But without exception…
All had been cut apart.
Clean cuts.
Ruiya's pupils shrank slightly.
"Hong Chen… was all this your doing…"
They continued deeper.
Time began to lose meaning.
Day and night blurred.
Fatigue became impossible to measure.
It felt like a single day had passed.
Or perhaps ten years.
Finally—
They arrived at an open clearing.
The depths of the Black Sea.
A plaza.
There were no trees here.
Only the ground, densely covered with
elven runes.
Silence.
Terrifying silence.
As if the entire world had frozen.
Ruiya raised his hand.
"You all wait here."
He stepped into the plaza alone.
One step.
Another step.
No wind.
No sound.
And no…
trace of any "elf."
This should have been sacred ground.
Yet it felt like…
a completely abandoned grave.
His gaze fell to the center.
There…
A rune-carved stone, weathered by time, had split apart.
And beside it,
lay a single bottle.
The bottle was ancient, its edges cracked like dry bark.
Inside, there remained traces of dark red blood, long since dried.
Ruiya stopped.
He slowly approached, his eyes sweeping over the stone—
Its hollow core still bore a perfect imprint,
as if the bottle had once grown from within it,
like a heart formed from stone.
He reached out
and picked up the bottle.
In that instant…
memories surged like a flood.
Shuya's voice echoed.
"Elven blood…"
"carries power."
"The blood of royalty is inheritance itself."
"Every elven king, before death,"
"will leave it behind."
Ruiya's hand tightened slightly.
He lifted his head, looking once more at the fractured stone.
The air fell completely still.
Ruiya lowered his gaze to the empty bottle in his hand.
Silence.
For a long time.
A very long time.
Then he spoke softly.
"Could it be… you all drank it?"
After another pause, he murmured:
"No wonder Shuya sent you into the Black Sea…"
He did not linger.
"Let's go. Back to the city."
His tone returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.
Outside the Black Sea Forest,
the soldiers were waiting.
The moment Ruiya stepped out—
they were all stunned.
"City Lord?!"
"You… just went in… how are you already back?"
The adjutant's face was full of disbelief.
"Just went in…?"
Ruiya looked at them, offered no explanation, and simply said:
"Let's go."
The adjutant froze.
"But we've clearly been here… for days… we've even run out of food…"
Ruiya slowly lifted his head, gazing back at the Black Sea.
His eyes were deep, his voice barely audible:
"This is…"
"the true terror of the Black Sea."
The wind swept across the forest.
There was no reply.
Yet it felt as though something,
deep within…
was quietly
awake.
红辰前往荒野之时,青苔国开始有了前所未有的动静.
瑞亚下令调动精兵与术士.
不是防御.
不是支援.
而是远征.
目标:黑海森林.
他太了解精灵.
也正因如此,才更加无法忽视一个事实...精灵灭亡了.
却留下了红辰.
"黑海..."
瑞亚站在城楼之上,望向远方那片被迷雾吞没的林海.
"为何会被称为圣地..."
"红辰...你到底在那里经历了什么."
数日后.
大军抵达黑海森林边缘.
空气,在这里变得不同.
不是阴冷.
而是一种...
仿佛被什么"注视"的压迫感.
瑞亚没有迟疑.
"入林."
队伍踏入黑海.
每一步...
仿佛跨入另一个世界.
光线被吞噬.
声音被压低.
连呼吸,都变得沉重.
深入.
越往里走,越安静.
诡异的是...
他们开始看到异兽.
但那些本该凶残的生物,
却在远处停下.
盯着他们.
然后...
缓缓后退.
像是在躲避.
像是在...恐惧.
副官低声道:
"它们...在怕我们?"
瑞亚没有回答.
他的目光,落在地面.
骨头.
大量的骨头.
有的巨大.
有的扭曲.
有的甚至还残留着锋利的爪牙.
但无一例外...
全部被斩断.
切口平整.
瑞亚的瞳孔微微收缩.
"红辰...都是你的杰作吗..."
继续深入.
时间,开始失去意义.
日夜不分.
疲惫难以判断.
仿佛走了一天.
又像是走了十年.
终于
他们来到一处空旷之地.
黑海深处.
广场.
这里,没有树.
只有地面上密密麻麻的
精灵符文.
安静得可怕.
仿佛整个世界,在此刻凝固.
瑞亚抬手.
"你们在这里等."
他独自走入广场.
一步.
又一步.
没有风.
没有声音.
更没有...
任何"精灵"的气息.
这本该是圣地.
却像一座...
被彻底遗弃的坟墓.
他的目光,落在中央.
那里...
一块符文巨石,不知经历了多少岁月,竟已被自然崩裂.
而在它的旁边,静静躺着一只瓶子.
瓶身古老,边缘干裂如枯树皮,
内部,残留着早已干涸的暗红血迹.
瑞亚的脚步,停住了.
他缓缓走近,目光扫过岩石——
石腹中空,内壁上那道完美的轮廓依旧清晰,
仿佛那瓶子,本就是从这坚硬的岩体中,生长而出的心脏.
他伸手,将瓶子拿起.
就在这一刻...
记忆如洪水般涌现.
修亚的声音.
"精灵的血液..."
"承载着力量."
"王族之血,更是传承."
"历代精灵王,在临死之前,"
"都会留下它."
瑞亚的手,微微收紧.
他抬起头,再次望向那裂开的巨石.
空气彻底安静.
瑞亚低头,看着手中的空瓶.
沉默.
很久.
很久.
然后,他轻声说出那句话.
"难道...你们都已经喝下了?"
再沉默片刻,他轻轻吐出:
"难怪修亚会把你传送到黑海里.
他没有再停留.
"走,回城"
语气恢复平静,像什么都没有发生.
黑海森林外.
士兵们正在等待着.
当瑞亚走出森林的那一刻...
他们全都愣住了.
"城主?!"
"您...才刚进去...怎么就出来了?"
副官一脸不可置信.
"才刚进去...?"
瑞亚看着他们,没有解释,只淡淡说道:
"走吧."
副官愣住:
"可是我们明明已经...好几天了...粮食都吃完了..."
瑞亚缓缓抬头,看向那片黑海.
目光深沉,声音低得几乎听不见:
"这就是..."
"黑海真正可怕的地方."
风吹过林海.
没有回应.
却仿佛有什么东西,
在更深处...
静静"醒着".