Swamp Behemoth
The group continued to advance slowly, with Lirian's footprints serving as the only markers imprinted on the layer of decayed leaves, guiding everyone through the arduous trek. Every step required extreme caution—was the ground beneath a soft, slippery humus, or a hollow concealing a deadly quicksand trap? Only by closely following her tracks could they avoid disaster. The air grew thicker with a sickly sweet scent of decay, mingled with toxic miasma; even through the masks, that cold, slimy sensation seemed to seep into the skin and burrow into the bones. A dismal green glow trickled stingily from the leaf gaps high above, casting flickering, claw-like shadows on the twisted roots covered in moss and fungi, and on the scattered bones littering the ground. The surroundings were deathly silent, broken only by the group's suppressed breathing, the rustle of clothing, and the scalp-tingling, persistent hum of poisonous insects hidden somewhere unseen.
Yuyuer suddenly halted, the crystal orb at the tip of his dragonbone staff emitting an extremely faint blue ripple, almost swallowed by the environment. He lowered his voice: "Lirian, ahead... the water flow is abnormal! It's not a stream, it's... stagnant water! There's a huge hollow sensation... it's a swamp! The area is vast!"
Almost as his words fell, Lirian raised her hand. Her emerald eyes peered through the mask, fixed intently on an area ahead obscured by dense, phosphorescent ferns. The ground there was darker in color, and the humid rot in the air was so thick it nearly condensed into droplets.
"Stop!" Her voice was taut like a bowstring. "The 'Swamp Devourer'... it's right behind there. It's awake, sensing the vibrations on the ground."
The group instantly held their breath. Through the gaps in the massive fern leaves, they could vaguely see a bubbling, eerily oily black mire. In the center of the mire, a hill-like mound covered in thick dark green moss and slimy algae was slowly writhing. Two dull yellow, lifeless giant eyes faintly visible beneath the moss, coldly staring in their direction. A nauseating fishy wind accompanied its muffled, thunder-like breathing. Every subtle movement of its colossal body caused the surrounding mud to surge silently, as if ready to erupt at any moment and drag anything nearby into the bottomless abyss.
On Kayla's thunder claws, ice-blue arcs crackled uncontrollably. Gorg gripped the handle of his chainsaw battle axe, nearly letting out a low growl. TISK's lava hammer glowed faintly with heat.
"Don't move!" Lirian's voice pierced the tense atmosphere like an ice spike. "Any energy fluctuations, lights, or sounds will immediately attract the dark night elves! And it will completely enrage it!" Her sharp gaze swept over the group, finally landing on fa. "Trust me, I'll handle it. Everyone, hide in place, absolute silence!"
In fa's right eye, the star pupil flickered with silver light deep within, instantly reading the resolve and profound understanding of forest laws in Lirian's eyes. She nodded firmly, signaling her companions with decisive gestures. The group immediately retracted all their auras, blending like stone statues into the shadows of nearby massive roots or dense fern clusters, even suppressing their heartbeats.
Lirian took a deep breath, as if drawing some hidden power from the depths of the forest. She slowly crouched down, her movements as gentle as a falling leaf. From a nondescript pouch at her waist, she carefully extracted a small clump—not herbs or minerals, but a dark brown gelatinous mass emitting a strong, peculiar fishy odor, like the viscera remnants of some massive worm, its surface still coated in blackish slime. She placed this clump gently on a broad, already withered dark green leaf. Then, from another small pouch, she took out a few shriveled, deep purple berries emitting a faint acidic rot scent, crushing them with her fingers and carefully smearing the juice onto the foul gelatinous mass.
An even more intense, bizarre aroma—mingled with decayed proteins and plant enzyme acidity—immediately permeated the air, temporarily overpowering the surrounding miasma. Lirian placed the leaf bearing this "bait" gently on the ground, condensing a thread of emerald light at her fingertips, so faint it was almost imperceptible, like the gentlest breeze, propelling the leaf silently into the muddy water at the swamp's edge along a slope at an acute angle to the team's direction. The leaf, carrying the mixture with its fatally alluring scent, slowly drifted toward the deeper side of the swamp on the opposite end.
Having done this, Lirian retreated like a ghost into the shadows where the team hid, holding her breath.
Time passed second by second, each one stretching like a century. The massive mound in the swamp's center ceased writhing. Those dull yellow giant eyes rotated, locking onto the direction of the scent. A low, guttural rumble like the earth's bowels churning echoed from the depths of the mire. Then came the viscous, slow sloshing of mud stirred by a huge body. The "Swamp Devourer" moved! Its mountain-like form submerged with a dexterity and silence belying its size, leaving only expanding ripples and bubbling surges. It was firmly drawn by the carefully concocted scent representing a "rotten feast," stealthily heading toward the other direction of the swamp.
Only when the swamp's surface returned to near-deathly stillness, with only edge bubbles testifying to the recent heart-pounding event, did Lirian exhale in relief, whispering: "Quick! Now! Follow me around the swamp's edge! Steps light!"
The team, like a startled herd of deer, followed Lirian along the foul-smelling swamp's perimeter, treading on slippery roots and barely firm ground, bypassing this death trap with the fastest speed and lightest steps, silently. Everyone could feel the lurking terror in the black mire behind them, and those dull yellow giant eyes that might resurface at any moment.
After the crisis was averted, fa walked to Lirian's side. "Lirian..." fa asked in an extremely faint voice, almost lip-reading, to the elven guide ahead, "I can clearly 'sense' countless cold, numb, rejection-filled gazes projecting from all directions—those twisted trunks, moss-covered boulders, even the slippery decayed leaves underfoot. It's not the gaze of living beings, more like... the forest itself manifesting malice. Is it the dark night elves? Or... those 'stones and woods'?"
Lirian didn't turn back, her steps uninterrupted, responding in a similarly near-silent airflow: "The dark night elves' gaze is sharp and filled with killing intent like poisoned arrows... but what envelops us now is older, heavier, more omnipresent 'surveillance.' This is the forest's own 'consciousness'... or rather, the lingering perceptions of ancient tree spirits and mountain stone souls that have slumbered too long, their bodies fused with the earth and forest. They are the foundation of this decayed land, silent witnesses, and potential judges. What you call 'Doomsday Rebirth,' that group's intrusion and destruction, has already disturbed their long slumber... We must tread carefully, absolutely avoiding 'conspicuous' powers like light, fire, intense lightning. Not just to evade the dark night elves, but to... not awaken these sleeping 'guardians.' We are mere passing ants, and we must not let them sense a threat."
The silver light in fa's star pupil flickered intensely; Lirian's explanation perfectly confirmed her ever-present sensation of being watched. This forest itself was a living, colossal entity filled with malice and ancient resentments! They weren't just evading elven hunters; they were traversing the veins of a slumbering behemoth!
Horrifying Moments
The subsequent journey was like dancing on a knife's edge. The malice of the Ink Dark Dense Forest was omnipresent, and the death web woven by the dark night elves was layered densely.
First encounter: The team was crossing an area filled with massive, hollow decayed logs. Lirian suddenly crouched, her gestures lightning-fast—ahead in the forest gap! Nine ghostly black shadows were silently gliding through in a triangular formation, their oil-painted faces like demons in the dim light, poisoned daggers at their waists glinting coldly. The group instantly pressed against the cold, slippery inner walls of the decayed logs, even ceasing to breathe. The dark night elves' footsteps were as light as a cat on fallen leaves, their icy gazes sweeping over the hollow logs where the group hid, lingering for heart-stopping seconds before drifting away like smoke.
Second encounter: While climbing over a natural barrier formed by massive plate-like tree roots, Rex on the flank had his electronic eye flash red, silent data streams projecting on his retina: "Warning: High heat source reaction, upper left canopy, distance 60 meters, stationary, inferred as lurking sentinel." The group immediately froze, crouching in the roots' shadows, not daring to move even their eyes. High above, a dark night elf archer perfectly blended with the tree shadows, squatting like a stone statue on a sturdy branch, his poisoned arrowhead glinting faintly in the gloom, aimed at the mandatory path below the root barrier. Time seemed to solidify. It took a full five minutes before the archer, like a true shadow, silently slipped into deeper canopy shadows.
Third encounter: This one was even more perilous. The team was advancing along a narrow "beast path" with bottomless decayed leaf ravines on both sides. Lirian halted abruptly, her face paling, urgently gesturing to retreat! But it was slightly too late! From the mist ahead, five dark night elves emerged as if from underground, fanning out in a semicircle! Distance less than thirty meters! They had clearly spotted the tracks, their cold eyes flashing with hunting excitement! zhamisi reacted fastest, her ink-green vertical pupils contracting instantly, her venom fang curved blades flashing out like lightning! But she didn't attack; instead, she crossed the blades and thrust them fiercely into the decayed leaves below! "Poison Mist · Mirage!" A dense yet silent ink-green poison mist erupted instantly from the blade insertion points—not spreading, but masterfully controlled by her into a roiling wall, instantly blocking between the team and the dark night elves! This mist carried strong corrosiveness and hallucinogenic effects, more importantly, perfectly mimicking the common toxic miasma eruptions in the forest depths! The five dark night elves, caught off guard, were immediately enveloped in the poison mist, emitting suppressed, throat-clutching coughs, their movements clearly sluggish and chaotic. Seizing this fatal barrier, Lirian pointed to a nearby slope: "This way! Jump down!" She indicated a steep incline beside the beast path. The group didn't hesitate, following closely, tumbling and scrambling down the slope, using the intricate roots and dense vegetation as cover to narrowly escape the encirclement. As the poison mist dissipated, only the bewildered figures of the dark night elves remained in place.
Each harrowing evasion deepened the group's understanding of this forest's terror and the dark night elves' lethality. Kayla's fists clenched white, Gorg's eyes grew fiercer, and even TISK shed his carefree demeanor.
Just as the team's taut nerves neared their limit, ahead in the impenetrable darkness, a hint of... unusual faint light finally appeared.
"Ahead... there's light?" Arya whispered in astonishment, her tone laced with disbelief.
Indeed, above the dense canopy dome, as if torn open by some invisible force, a small gap allowed a few extremely faint rays of warm golden sunlight, like divine swords, to stubbornly pierce through the eternal ink darkness, sprinkling onto a small clearing surrounded by massive stone architectural ruins. Clearly, an ancient elven relic.
Companions of the Faint Light Relic
Collapsed massive stone pillars were overgrown with deep green vines, broken arches half-buried in decayed leaves, exquisite carvings long eroded by time and moisture into blurriness, yet still conveying their former grandeur and solemnity. At the relic's center was a relatively intact small circular platform, with a dried-up shallow pool at its core, etched with arcane runes. Those precious rays of sunlight fell precisely on this platform, dispersing some of the miasma and creating a comforting "light" sanctuary about a dozen meters in diameter. The decayed scent in the air faded here, faintly replaced by an ancient and serene atmosphere.
"This is it, the 'Faint Light Courtyard.'" Lirian's voice carried a hint of relief and deep reverence. "In the ancient era before the elven tribes split, when they collectively revered nature, this was one of the sacred sites for important rituals and communing with nature spirits. As ages passed and the kingdom divided, it was forgotten in the depths of this cursed forest, but the lingering holy power still stubbornly resists decay, preserving this sanctuary." She led the group into the sunlight-enveloped platform area. "We'll rest here; the faint light can dispel the miasma's erosion and provide some shelter. But time is limited—the sunlight's angle is shifting, and this sanctuary will soon be swallowed by shadows again."
The moment they stepped into the sunlight, everyone couldn't help but sigh in relief. The warm rays dispelled the bone-deep chill and dizziness, allowing taut nerves to relax slightly. Even the ever-present sensation of being "watched" seemed diminished in this ancient holy site, becoming more like distant, neutral observation.
fa stood at the platform's center, bathed in the faint sunlight, the stellar flow in her star pupil seeming smoother, resonating oddly with the relic's lingering, faint stellar power. She felt an ancient call from the earth beneath her feet and the surrounding silent stones.
Lirian walked to the platform's edge, where two relatively intact massive steles stood. The steles' material was neither metal nor stone, flowing with subdued luster under the sunlight, densely inscribed with text. One stele's script was elegant and fluid, full of natural rhythm—ancient elven writing. The other was starkly different, with simpler, harder lines, as if containing the trajectories of stellar motion, an unfamiliar script unknown to anyone present.
"This is one of the 'sources' I sensed." Lirian pointed at the steles, her expression solemn. "They record the history and secrets of this holy site. But much of the ancient elven language has been lost; I can only recognize scattered words. As for the other script..." She shook her head, indicating complete incomprehension. "Don't touch them; any improper action could disturb slumbering guardian forces or attract unnecessary attention."
Out of curiosity and some indescribable pull, Arya approached the stele with the elven script. As a half-elf of elven and dark elven blood, she had a natural affinity for elven writing. Though many phrases were ancient and obscure, under focused scrutiny, she gradually deciphered their meaning.
"This says..." Arya recited softly, her ethereal voice echoing in the silent relic, carrying a hint of compassion and reminiscence:
"The stars drape a veil of silver glow,
The fountain of life surges here in joyful song.
Roots delve deep into the earth's dream,
Branches touch the vault's promise.
Our kin gather, hearkening to the whispers of all things,
Hearts and souls intertwined, co-weaving nature's veins.
Yet... the dark moon breeds fissures,
Greed blinds the spiritual bond,
Oaths shatter on suspicion's blade,
The holy fountain dries in betrayal's fire.
Alas! The radiant courtyard gathers dust,
The harmonious notes sever...
Only this stone remains, etching glory and fall,
Warning descendants:
Division is the dawn of decline,
Those who forsake nature... are ultimately forsaken by nature."
Arya's voice trembled slightly; this was a lament recording the elven tribes' golden age glory, and their split and decline due to internal strife and deviation from nature's path. The desolation of this "Faint Light Courtyard" was a witness to that history.
Lirian stared at Arya in shock, her emerald eyes filled with disbelief: "You... you can actually interpret such ancient elven sacred script?!" This level of archaic language was decipherable by few even among existing forest elf elders! Arya's mixed heritage seemed to grant her extraordinary potential to commune with the elves' ancient origins.
At that moment, fa, as if drawn by an invisible force, involuntarily approached the other stele with the unfamiliar script. When her gaze met those simple, hard lines, her right eye's star pupil suddenly lit up! In the deep blue pupil, the stars' rotation accelerated instantly, as if resonating with the stele's script! Those originally alien symbols, under the star pupil's gaze, began to twist and reorganize, transforming into comprehensible streams of intent filled with vast will, surging directly into her mind!
She instinctively raised her hand, her fingertips hovering above the stele without touching, yet her mouth clearly recited aloud, her voice carrying an ethereal echo as if from the depths of the starry sky:
"The stars as guide, the contract eternal.
The earth's bones, bearing the ancient promise.
The forest's breath, witnessing cycles of rise and fall.
The sands of time, etching marks of encounters.
Lost children, seeking the light of return.
Hearken to this call..."
As she reached the final line, the star pupil's glow nearly burst forth, her voice taking on a commanding majesty and earnestness:
"...Roots heed the summons, oath-keeper Lin Ya, answer the stellar pact, recognize me as master!"
Hum—!
The instant fa uttered the final syllable, the entire "Faint Light Courtyard" relic, along with the surrounding Ink Dark Dense Forest, seemed to tremble slightly! Not a physical quake, but a resonance of space and energy! Those rays piercing the canopy suddenly brightened a bit, like stage spotlights, fiercely focusing on fa's position before the stele! At the platform's center, the dried rune shallow pool's long-sealed patterns began to flow with faint, star-like silver-white radiance!
Lirian, Jack, Gorg, and all of fa's team were stunned by this sudden phenomenon! The decayed miasma in the air was forcibly dispersed by a fresh, vibrant, boundless vitality-filled wood-element energy! This power was ancient and gentle, yet carried an unquestionable authority.
Immediately after, before fa, on the ground illuminated by both sunlight and stellar power, the thick layer of decayed leaves rolled apart like living things. A verdant, glistening tender sprout broke through the soil at visible speed! It rapidly grew, branched, extended... In moments, a humanoid outline about human height, formed of pure vitality, coalesced in the group's astonished gazes!
The emerald glow gradually receded, revealing a peculiar entity. Its "body" seemed composed of purest emerald and warm ancient wood, flowing with life's textures. The head resembled a plump acorn, adorned with fresh tender leaves as "hair." Its "face" wasn't features, but a serene and wise aura naturally outlined by soft light, shadows, and wood grains. Arms and legs were gnarled, powerful branches, ending in root-like flexible "fingers" and "feet." Countless fine, star-point-glinting mycelia spread from its "feet," silently merging into the earth. Overall, it emanated a tranquil, gentle, all-encompassing aura, as if the embodiment of the forest's spirit.
This wondrous being slowly "opened" its "eyes"—two pure, dew-like orbs glistening with faint light—its gaze first landing on fa, where the star pupil's glow hadn't fully faded. A clear and gentle intent, like spring wind over new leaves, resonated directly in everyone's minds—not as sound, but pure consciousness flow:
"Guide of the stars... Reciter of the contract... The ancient alliance has been awakened. Forest oath-keeper Lin Ya, responding to the summons, abiding the eternal promise, comes to aid you in traversing this... land of sorrow and anger."
The treant druid—Lin Ya—formally appeared before fa's team in the depths of the Ink Dark Dense Forest's ancient relic, summoned by the stellar tongue! It stood there quietly, like an ancient tree rooted in time, becoming a miraculous light of vitality and hope in this decayed forest. And the trials of the Ink Dark Dense Forest, with this ancient ally's joining, would usher in a whole new turning point.