Sylara, the Warden of Greenheart, stared at me in silence. Her gaze, shifting and ancient, waited for my answer.
What could I even say?
I killed myself and ended up here?
Yeah, no. That wasn't going to fly.
Even if I tried to explain it, how would it sound? "I impaled myself because a creepy voice told me to?" That's not divine wisdom. That's just unhinged.
Besides, how many desperate people had done the same throughout history? Why would I be different?
I exhaled slowly. There was no hiding it. I had to tell the truth, as much of it as I understood.
***
"So… what you're saying is that you performed a sacrificial ritual in hopes of obtaining a weapon?"
Sylara's voice echoed faintly, like wind moving through leaves.
Her body continued to shift branch to antler to vine to hair; it was never still, never the same.
"I see," she murmured, nodding slightly. "I understand."
Then she turned to face me fully.
The weight of her gaze hit like a mountain. My heartbeat spiked. My throat tightened.
And then came the question.
"Visitor from afar," she said, her tone both gentle and absolute, "Why do you seek the weapon so desperately that you would offer your own life?"
I hesitated.
Images flashed through my mind, my trembling hands, the blood, the spear, the altar. That voice. That instinct.
I swallowed and answered truthfully.
"I… I don't know," I said. "It felt like instinct. Like I just… had to do it."
For a moment, Sylara said nothing.
The silence stretched. Then she nodded once.
"Follow me, visitor."
With those words, she turned and began walking toward the lake.
I followed, unsure of what to expect.
As she reached the water's edge, her foot stepped onto the surface and didn't sink.
She walked across the lake like it was solid glass, each step graceful and effortless.
My eyes widened.
'No way.'
Excitement flared in my chest. Every fantasy nerd's dream: walking on water. And now I was about to do it.
I stepped forward, heart pounding, ready to feel the magic.
My foot touched the surface and I plunged straight in.
Cold water slapped me across the face.
Damn it.
It didn't work, sputtering as I surfaced, soaked and shivering. This lake was not solid.
I looked toward Sylara, hoping she'd turn back, offer a hand, maybe throw me a vine or something.
But she just kept walking.
Grumbling under my breath, I started swimming. Stroke after stroke, I dragged myself through the calm waters of this strange, silent lake.
By the time I reached the small island at its centre, I was drenched, out of breath, and thoroughly humbled.
Sylara stood waiting, perfectly dry, her shifting form calm and unbothered.
She stared at me as I hauled myself onto the shore.
Then I heard her calm and distant voice again.
"Then go inside. Take what you seek."
Inside?
I blinked, confused. But then I saw it.
The enormous tree before me began to shudder. Leaves trembled, branches creaked, and with a deep groan, the entire trunk began to shift.
The bark twisted open, revealing a glowing, greenish path that led deep into the heart of the tree.
I'd heard of Greenheart fragments being mystical, but this... this was something else entirely.
I inhaled deeply and stepped onto the path.
It was silent, sacred.
A short distance in, the trail opened to a small pond. And there, right in the centre, was a sight that made me stop cold.
A sword.
Its blade was translucent blue, glowing faintly, embedded in a stone rising from the water.
Then, a familiar and eerie voice echoed in my mind.
*You are finally here, Seeker. Thy one has been waiting.*
That voice
"The altar... It's you. Y-you're a guardian spirit?"
*Indeed, I am.*
*My master, the one who wielded that blade, passed down neither his knowledge nor his legacy.*
*He wished for no unworthy successor.*
*So he created these trials to find one mad enough to deserve it.*
*Not talented. Not devout. But mad enough to know what should not be known.*
*Thy one knows you are no fool. Thy one knows you came with knowledge of the future.*
*So I ask you, Seeker... can you carry my master's legacy?*
I stared at the sword.
How does it know that I know the future?
The only thing I was after was to take away the demon's supposed spear and get body reformation by bonding with it.
But this? This was a jackpot.
So, I can't say no to such an offer.
"Yeah," I said, nodding. "I'll carry your master's legacy."
*Good. Then lift the sword, Seeker.*
I stepped into the pond, expecting to sink again, but this time the water held me up. Solid underfoot, like walking on glass.
But strangely, it didn't excite me.
I reached the stone, placed my hand on the hilt, and pain shot through me like lightning.
My entire arm went numb.
Still, I gritted my teeth and pulled the sword by using every bit of pathetic strength I had.
The blade came loose.
And the voice returned, softer now.
*Bond with that sword. With it, you will receive my master's legacy and may the blessing of nature always be with you. Thy one's duty is complete. Now, thy one may rest.*
My vision blurred.
***
When I opened my eyes, everything was shaking.
The dungeon. No, the entire structure was crumbling.
There is not a single injury on me.
In my hand was a glowing droplet, pulsing with a strange power, in shades of red and blue.
I looked around.
The altar had begun to disintegrate into dust. And there was the black and gold-coloured three-spiked spear, or should I say.. a trident?
I hesitated for half a second. Then I smirked.
"Am I greedy? Of course I am."
Carefully, I pocketed the droplet.
Then I grabbed the trident.
It was heavier than I expected, brutally so. My arms screamed under its weight.
But I didn't let go.
I turned and sprinted toward the portal, heart pounding. I didn't know how long I'd been out.
Time was running out.