At the dawn of the fourth day, Barn finally crossed the border of the desert, reaching the verdant outskirts of a completely different territory: The Kingdom of Astris.
Nestled near the outermost edge of this magical realm was a quiet, unassuming farming village.
Barn walked past the small, thatched-roof cottages until he found an open plot of dirt directly adjacent to an old villager's barn.
He carefully lowered the heavy metal ball to the soft grass, his muscles steaming from three days of continuous, unyielding exertion.
Placing his palms flat against the dirt, Barn closed his eyes and focused his remaining Earth-Zheki.
He pulled the deep clay and stone upward, molding it with his mind.
Within minutes, a small, sturdy, single-story house materialized from the earth.
It was smooth, solid, and secure—but it didn't have a single window.
Glass required high-tier thermal refinement, and Barn was no glassmaker; he preferred the absolute privacy of solid stone anyway.
With the shelter built, Barn approached the metal sphere.
He tapped the surface, letting his Zheki dissipate.
The metal peeled back like the petals of a flower, revealing the interior.
Hanjun and Jayhon were huddled together, wrapped in a tight, subconscious hug, their breathing deep and rhythmic.
Sitting up in the center was Elena.
Her white hair was still matted, and her face was incredibly pale, but the moment her emerald eyes locked onto Barn's tired face, a brilliant, relieved smile lit up her features.
Barn didn't say a word.
He stepped into the sphere, carefully hoisted Elena onto his broad back, and then used his massive right hand to scoop up Hanjun and his left hand to gather Jayhon.
Moving into the windowless stone house, he gently laid them down on the smooth earthen floor.
Thanks to Barn fixing their bones three days prior, the boys' skeletal structures were intact, but the lingering muscular trauma and deep psychological exhaustion made every minor movement incredibly painful.
Elena slid off Barn's back, collapsing into a sitting position between the two boys.
She had been continuously channeling her Life-Zheki for seventy-two hours straight inside that sphere.
Even though elves possessed a massive, legendary capacity for internal energy, she had completely emptied her spiritual reservoir.
"Barn..."
she wheezed, her voice incredibly weak as she clutched her side.
"I've used everything I have to keep them stable... but my own internal wounds are still raw. Go into the village. Get a doctor... please."
Barn nodded solemnly, his face turning serious.
"Rest. I'll be back."
He turned and strode out of the heavy wooden door, leaving the three of them in the dim, cool shadows of the secure stone room.
Hanjun was laid flat on his right side, staring blankly at the wall, while Jayhon lay on his left side, his face angled toward the door but looking away from it, his small shoulders shivering.
"What... what even happened?"
Hanjun muttered, his flat, gray eyes blinking slowly as he looked around the windowless room.
"Where are we?"
He braced his elbows against the dirt, attempting to force himself into a sitting position. But the moment his muscles tightened, the vivid, phantom memory of Rodolf's bone-crushing punches flashed through his mind.
His jaw throbbed, his vision spun, and he collapsed heavily back onto the floor with a low gasp.
Elena let out a soft, strained chuckle from the middle, lying flat on her back as she stared at the ceiling.
"Wherever we are... we are completely safe if Barn is around. And besides... didn't I tell you boys before? Your big sister got this."
She turned her head slightly, a playful, injured smile on her lips.
"You two lost consciousness pretty early, so you didn't see it. But after you went out, I stood right up, bypassed his little fire trick, and punched that flaming guard—what was his name? Rodolf?—I hit him so incredibly hard that he literally peed his pants right there in the kitchen."
Jayhon's eyes widened in the dark. He shifted slightly, wincing.
"No way... you're a healer, Elena. How could you do that? You don't even like saying bad words."
"It's true!"
Elena insisted, her voice full of theatrical confidence despite her ragged breathing. "And those other two heavily armored Iron Vanguard guards? They saw what I did to their leader and tried to run away out the door. But I chased them down, gave them both a fierce kick to the shins, and they fell to their knees, crying and begging for their lives! They were shaking under their armor!"
Hanjun's flat expression didn't change, but a faint crease appeared between his brows.
"I don't believe you. You don't look this strong."
"If you don't believe me, then just wait until Barn comes back and ask him yourself,"
Elena said proudly, crossing her arms over her chest before immediately wincing from the pain in her ribs.
"He'll tell you exactly how terrifying your big sister can be."
Outside, Barn walked down the dusty main path of the village, his massive frame drawing curious glances from the locals.
A young boy with messy brown hair was standing near a wooden fence alongside his older sister, who wore a simple villager's apron and possessed the same matching brown hair.