The forest whispered secrets on the wind, and Liam stepped forward to meet them.
Dawn broke fully as Liam slipped beyond the Tree's outermost wards, the golden thread of his bond with Ti pulsing steadily at the edge of his awareness. He traveled light—sword at his hip, a satchel of elven provisions, and the encrypted map fragment secured in his inventory. The southern pass lay two days' hard march away, through terrain that grew wilder with every mile. Towering ferns gave way to jagged ridges where mana veins pulsed erratically, corrupted by the opposition's influence.
'Stay focused,' he reminded himself, Devil King Mode simmering just beneath the surface. The new Title—Guardian's Consort—warmed his steps, making the undergrowth part slightly easier, as if the land itself recognized his claim. Yet the red glint from the previous night haunted him. It wasn't random. Something was watching, testing the boundaries.
