The Ruin's Forest did not welcome them.
It watched them.
Twisted branches bent unnaturally overhead, forming shapes that almost looked intentional. Mist curled low across the forest floor, hiding roots and dips that tried to trip the unwary.
Ivandoe Horntail moved carefully through it, adjusting his grip on a training sword borrowed from Bert.
They were no longer running.
But survival was still uncertain.
Lucas Camelous had left them with simple instructions:
"Learn the forest. Or it will consume you."
And so, they did.
Days passed in structured struggle.
They built shelters from broken wood and thick leaves. They gathered food cautiously, learning which berries were safe and which burned the tongue with bitter poison. They trained in silence broken only by wind and distant animal calls.
Ivandoe trained harder than anyone.
Every strike of his sword became sharper.
Every movement more controlled.
But something else was happening too.
Something he couldn't explain.
At night, when the fire dimmed and the others slept, he felt it.
A faint pulse.
Not from the forest.
From within him.
Narissa noticed it first.
During a supply run near the edge of a stream, she stopped suddenly.
"Do you feel that?" she asked.
Ivandoe paused.
At first—nothing.
Then—
A pull.
Deep beneath the ground.
Like something calling his name without words.
"…Yeah," he said slowly. "It's like something's trying to lead us."
Narissa frowned. "That's never a good sign in a place like this."
They followed it anyway.
The deeper they went, the quieter the forest became.
Until they reached a forgotten section of the woods.
Stone ruins lay half-buried beneath roots and moss. Ancient carvings lined broken pillars, glowing faintly as if reacting to Ivandoe's presence.
Narissa stepped back.
"This place… it's old. Really old."
Ivandoe approached slowly.
The pulse intensified.
And then—
The ground beneath a collapsed altar began to glow.
A crack of violet-blue light spread through the stone.
Narissa tensed. "Ivandoe—don't touch it!"
But it was too late.
His hand reached forward.
The moment his fingers made contact—
The world shifted.
A surge of energy exploded outward.
Visions flashed in his mind:
Battles across collapsing realms.
A blade cutting through time itself.
A voice speaking without a mouth:
"You have been chosen."
Ivandoe gasped, stumbling back as the energy vanished into him.
A faint mark appeared on his arm.
A symbol.
Unfamiliar.
Alive.
Narissa grabbed him. "What happened?!"
Ivandoe struggled to breathe. "Something… answered me."
The forest remained silent.
But somewhere far deeper—
Something had awakened.
And it was now aware of him.