I turned in fury and saw Reta sitting on an ice spear.

  “Acceptable?” I snapped.

  “Yes, acceptable. You didn’t prioritize this forest as a guardian would, but you acted rationally, making sure witnesses were dead before mobilizing your guardian and the Bramble. Even if you injured Hadrian, the Drokai would’ve been able to kill him with ease.”

  “You’re seriously going to grade me?” I yelled.

  “Yes, I’m going to grade you. Or did you come here to have tea?”

  I held my tongue, staring at Kline. “Are you at least going to heal him?”

  “He’ll heal himself,” she said. “Or you can aid him. It’s not as though you lack the means.”

  I clicked my tongue and took off my backpack, pulling out a flask of Diktyo water from it. I splashed it on his wounds and into his mouth. He licked his lips, and his breathing steadied.

  I drank next, and the rest of the ice broke off my body and legs.

  “So did I pass?” I asked coldly.

  “You passed. That said…”

  I eyed her nervously.

  “You shouldn’t feel confident,” Reta said. “I’m an illusion master, not an ice mage. If I can do this, imagine what Hadrian could do.”

  Her words etched a horrifying reality into my soul. This… all of this… all of those people, those Dante guards, Hadrian… they were all fake. The way they felt when I slashed them. The blood. Everything physical—it was aura. That was both impressive on Reta’s front and horrifying, as Dante guards wouldn’t have died so easily.

  “All of that… that was just… aura?” I whispered.

  “And mana,” Reta said. “All of that was a direct reenactment made of solid illusions—a similar skill to your “Dreamscape.” Though, I’m sure with Brindle’s memories you realize that this isn’t how soulmancers really do battle.”

  A haunting series of screams rang out all around me as the souls of hundreds of fourth evolution beasts and colossi formed around me. Illusions wrapped around their bodies, making them look as real as they were.

  These weren’t illusions—they were physical augmented souls. Each was likely stronger than the original beast. The only limitation to a soul army is having enough soul force to feed them to their full strength, but it seemed like Reta’s core was boundless.

  Brindle couldn’t use Dreamscape or a variation—and he never wanted to.

  Brindle fought with soul armies and militarized forests. Everything else was to protect his gardens.

  “Never forget, Mira,” Reta said. “No matter how strong you and Hadrian think you are—you’re still children.”

  Kline looked away, resentful that he wasn’t even mentioned.

  “But we’re going to change that.”

  We both looked up.

  “Whether Brindle aided you or not, you have passed our tests.”

  The world shifted again, and our world turned dark, illuminated by glowstones in the far distance. There were still over five miles of space between the walls, but it was dark and closed off.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “Harlock Tunnel. It will lead us to lake Nyralith.”

  —------

  The tunnel narrowed after the illusion grounds and wound up the mountain for what seemed like an eternity. It took us over a day’s ride through narrow passages to make it out of the passage, and it was so steep that Kline and I took turns holding each other while the other slept. It was a long, grueling road—but it was worth it.

  The second we exited Harlock Tunnel, I was enchanted with what I saw.

  A beautiful crystal blue lake spread out in front of me, covered with a transparent silver sheen like glass. Sprites flew above it like massive fireflies, picking up lilies and planting flowers or simply gliding across the water in their tiny, human-like forms.

  Drokai flew above towers that were similar in general structure to Chinese pagodas, though they were many stories high despite their height being similar to a two-story suburban home. There were also intricate pathways and gardens as far as the eye could see.

  This was a true spirit and soul garden—and it spread for miles in all directions. I could only imagine every resource in the world present here.

  We weren’t out for fifteen seconds when a twenty-foot beast that looked like a minotaur on all fours walked up to us.

  I was afraid, but a Drokai sitting on its head called down.

  “Who’s this?”

  “A guardian.”

  He looked at me. “You mean someone actually passed your trial?”

  “Brindle’s apprentice.”

  “I see. Tinus is in the amphitheater. I’ll alert the others.”

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  I was shocked. There was no great shock. There was no distrust. There were no threats of killing. And while I think that people just respected Reta, it didn’t feel like the case. This man spoke like Reta—cool and aloof. Respect was part of it—but there was something wrong with him.

  Reta led me through the trees around wondrous, multi-colored trees in the forest. And only then did I realize that it was warm.

  “It is still winter, right?” I asked.

  “It is,” she said. “But the Drokai protect Nyralith with a grand ward to keep it spring year round.”

  “I see…”

  I watched Drokai move flowers into buildings, cut into thick trees. One was hollow like my tree house, and there were alchemy labs within it, and workers hauled crates throughout the forest. Everyone stopped to glance at me briefly before returning to their work.

  “You’d think they’d be a little more curious,” I said.

  “In Helfine, we do not interfere in elder business. We do not speak of it. We do not watch it. We do not speculate. In Helfine, elders are absolute.”

  “And you’re an elder.”

  “I’m a low elder. The Drokai here have lived for hundreds of thousands of years.”

  I swallowed.

  Kline walked around nervously, and the closer I got to a round colosseum, the largest structure around the lake, the higher his hackles raised.

  That colosseum had iron gates that were surprisingly large enough to fit a grown man under, and I thought of Brindle as the gates opened and Reta led me in. It was silent inside, and when we came out into an amphitheater and saw hundreds of Drokai on bleachers that could fit thousands, I felt like both a prisoner and a giant.

  “Is there an event going on?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Reta said. “Your arrival.”

  “So you expected me to make it?”

  Reta looked at me. “No.”

  I shivered as I stepped into the center, and the silent crowd waiting in anticipation began to speak amongst themselves. I was so big, but I felt so small.

  A sudden voice silenced everyone, and when I turned, I saw a small skybox the size of a large bird cage and three people sitting within it. The man in the center had a black crew cut and wore sharp robes, making him feel more like a modern business leader than a grand elder of an ancient land.

  “Speak your name,” he ordered.

  “Mira,” I said, as if in a trance.

  “State your business in Helfine.”

  “I was invited here.”

  He looked at Reta. She said, “By Brindle.”

  “Or so she has stated to Nethralis—but is it true?”

  “Mira walked through Harlock Forest in less than twenty four hours, and passed my test as a guardian within reasonable margins,” Reta said. “Emael has also spoken to Yakana and confirmed that he has aided her numerous times. He has judged her an asset to this forest.”

  “What was his reasoning?”

  “Partially desperation. Serenflora’s forces are weak; another conquest could break our hold of the forest. The other reason...” Reta turned to me. “Is because Mira loves plants and has no other motivation other than to live a good life and protect her family. He trusts she won’t harm the forest and therefore finds value in training her as a guardian, especially since she has access to the new Oracle system that has increased the magical potential of lower beings. While those on Dronami are weak, there are still empires of staggering strength we expect to be bolstered by this system. It’s only a matter of time before it kills us all. That’s what he’s concluded since its founding.”

  He turned to me. “You have access to this system?”

  “I do.”

  “And you do not think it will betray you?”

  “That’s a complicated question. The greater Oracle seems to be interested in conquering this forest, but the individual system is fair. If I stop listening to its recommendations, I can obtain great magic and resources. I have already gained both. Proof of which is that I’m alive.”

  A noisy wave of discourse spread through the Drokai after my words.

  “It’s bold of you to admit its motivations so explicitly,” he said.

  “The Oracle will do what it can to conquer this forest with or without me,” I countered. “Utilizing it has vast potential, and the more resources I gain, the more I can stifle the system. The Oracle runs the multiverse through a reward system. It’s similar to currency in that it exchanges goods and services between others—and you can ask for anything.

  “I have already protected information about me and you through a Diamond Request, and I still have an epic request that I could potentially use to protect the whole forest from all information gathering. The Oracle has motivations, but I trust that its rules are absolute. If they weren’t, the system would collapse. Everyone would exploit it for gain, and the multiverse would crumble. Such is the danger of creating a machine to run millions… trillions of planets and empires.”

  The Drokai fell silent again.

  “And you would use this epic request of yours to protect his forest from information gathering?”

  I winced. “I could get god class magic for that request…”

  “So you would prioritize power?”

  I sighed, regretting saying anything.

  “No… I wouldn’t. If you wish me to use my epic request to suppress all information on Areswood Forest, I will. I’m not sure how far it will extend, but it could at least prevent the Oracle from using any information regarding me or my villagers. And that includes Helfine.”

  “Then prove yourself and do it.”

  “Once the Oracle is present—I can’t use it past the Keliam River.”

  He smiled.

  “Okay. If you do that, we will trust in you on behalf of Brindle, Reta, Nythralis, Emael, and Yakana.”

  I nodded solemnly.

  “It’s strange to see someone so young,” he said with a gentle smile. “It’s easy to forget how children think, so allow me to rephrase the nature of our request. If you will do us this kindness, if you will give up godly magic to use this Oracle against itself, then you will gain our favor, our resources, and our respect. And I assure you, young one—it will be more than worth it.”

  That changed my perspective completely. By using my last epic request, I would be obtaining the trust and resources of Nyralith.

  “That was surprisingly gentle,” I chuckled, looking at the ground. “After the trials I had with the other guardians, I expected you to put me on trial to determine whether you would kill me.”

  He laughed once and rubbed his forehead. “Do you think we would’ve killed an individual who passed our trials?”

  I laced my fingers through my hair and kept silent.

  “I see,” he said. “Well, you needn’t worry. You’re a guest of Helfine, and you have our gratitude. Allow us to treat you to a feast and prepare you for the lake.”

  I looked around and swallowed. “Prepare?”

  “Yes. You will understand soon enough.”

  Just like that, I was ushered away and treated to a hero’s welcome. Drokai brought me goblets of wine and cooked soul meat that filled me with profound energy, and gave me fruits that restored my vitality and healed wounds I didn’t know I had. I spoke to Drokai, and they asked me about myself and my life.

  I created illusions of my backstory and struggles, and my tiny village. And presented memories of my life on Earth, a simple life where I grew plants and snuggled with Kline and lived a simple life.

  And when the elders came and spoke of business, I recreated illusions of Hadrian and Brexton and the elusive Glaves that I knew would come, but still felt like a fevered dream, a concept that I knew but I couldn’t comprehend.

  I may have been able to kill normal mages with soulmancy, but Glaves specialized in killing soulmancers. A soul army wasn’t enough.

  Once I finished, Tinus, the grand elder of the forest, showed me to a bedroom and gave me an elixir.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “It’s a cleansing elixir that will remove impurities in your cores,” he said. “It will not be pleasant. But you cannot enter Lake Nyralith without a pure body and core.”

  “What is Lake Nyralith?” I asked.

  “It’s a lake that forces perfection,” he said. “They call it lake symmetry because it removes all genetic abnormalities and forces the purest state of mind, body, and soul—including your cores.”

  Kline and I shared concerned looks, and we turned back. “You mean it’ll change us?”

  Tinus smiled distantly. “Your personality, memories, and being will not change—but everything else about you will. And once your mind, body, and soul reach perfection—it will make you see yourself and the world differently as well. But I promise you this—these are changes you want to make.”

  I lifted the cleansing elixir nervously—and drank.

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