After Naty managed to calm Ophelia down, the tension inside the cave eased slightly. Ophelia eventually sat back down, clearly irritated, though she had finally brought her anger under control. Kenzo returned to his place as well, without lowering his gaze. He knew perfectly well that he had no chance of defeating the Phoenix in a real fight, but he would rather risk his life than let himself be stepped on. The lantern lit the rocky walls, casting uneven shadows over their tired faces.
Naty took a breath before beginning, her voice returning to its usual calm.
— « Before I start telling you what I know about this forest, let me first explain what the blessing [Touched by the Unique] does to you. »
Kenzo and Lucian exchanged a brief look, both immediately on guard. Naty continued:
— « To be honest, I suspected you two had that blessing, Kenzo and Lucian. I know you're not from any clan. I spent two years waiting before I could enter the Royal Academy, so yes, I know roughly eighty percent of the Awakened our age who come from important families. The simple fact that you're here… means you're special. »
She paused for a moment, as if to let her words sink in. Lucian looked almost delighted. Kenzo did not. He felt a new weight settle over his shoulders. A rare blessing carried by the royal families? A blessing tied to "great achievements"? That could only mean one thing: a target had just appeared on his back. If one day he dared become a Manifested… or worse, a Sublimated… some people might decide he was a threat that needed to be removed.
Naty continued, unshaken.
— « This blessing appears fairly often among the Awakened of the Phoenix generation. Everyone who has it is destined to accomplish great things… assuming they survive long enough, of course. It's very subjective, but that's how it is. All the royal families have this blessing. »
Lucian gave an awestruck smile, but Kenzo sank a little deeper into the cave's shadows. He was already struggling enough with being a Deviant… and now this? A blessed Deviant from nowhere, with mysterious origins? That was far too many dangerous labels for his liking.
Naty's tone grew more serious.
— « Now, about this forest… I believe we're on the territory of the Empire of Florenthel. Or rather, a version of the country from an age long before modern human civilization, long before Void Creatures began appearing systematically. In our history books, no tree this gigantic has ever been mentioned. Which means we're probably inside a Fragment dating back tens of thousands of years, maybe even more. An era when the gods still walked our world. »
Kenzo's heart tightened. Gods living in their world? Why had they disappeared? How? Had there been a war? And if so… who had won?
Naty continued, as if she could read the questions forming in their minds.
— « The royal family of that empire received its power from the Goddess of Life. Or rather, from one of her aspects, because she had several names. One of those names was also the Goddess of the Forest. The fact that people called Priests of Life tried to help a forest-dwelling people only strengthens my theory. Every royal family knows there was once a war between the gods and the Void Creatures. And I think we've landed in an era when this territory had already fallen. »
Kenzo was truly stunned. So gods had once existed in their world? Why had they vanished? Had they lost the war? And if they had, why had humanity not fallen with them? How much time had to pass for all of that to be forgotten… by everyone except the royal families?
And then there was another, even more troubling question: the Phoenix. Had the Phoenix already existed back then? How long had that being truly been reincarnating?
Thinking about it, Kenzo cast a brief glance toward Ophelia.
Naty's voice turned resolute.
— « I think that if we want to get out of here, we'll have to destroy the one thing that isn't mentioned anywhere in our records. We need to destroy the Cursed Tree. At least, I believe that's one possible solution. »
A heavy silence fell.
Kenzo did not like that idea at all. A simple Young Shoot had nearly killed him… and they were talking about a tree several kilometers tall? It was absurd. Impossible. Pure suicide.
Lucian had gone pale. Ophelia, on the other hand, seemed to burn with a dangerous determination, the kind heroes carried when they charged forward without thinking.
Kenzo sighed inwardly before answering.
— « Alright, but we can't go there now. »
Naty narrowed her eyes.
— « Why not? »
He breathed in deeply.
— « Because we're weak. We need to go deeper into the forest, get stronger, and prepare ourselves. You said it yourself: that's only one possible solution. We're inside an unstable Fragment, with probably around two hundred Awakened still scattered somewhere. Going toward that tree now would be suicide. »
Ophelia frowned.
— « Are you scared? »
— « Tomorrow, we'll go toward the fog, » Kenzo replied calmly. « Once you see it for yourself, if you still decide you want to enter it, fine. Otherwise, we'll head toward that treeless area you mentioned. »
Naty grimaced.
— « Isn't that the same thing? This whole forest is dangerous. »
— « Exactly. I'd rather move toward a danger that can teach us something or make us stronger. We could even stay in this region for a few days. With the five of us, we can probably defeat many more creatures. »
Lucian nodded timidly. Naty fell into thought. Ophelia stared at Kenzo without blinking.
Eventually, Naty said:
— « Kenzo, it's a good idea. But like you said, there are other Awakened here. The longer we wait, the more their numbers will drop. We were lucky to find each other. I hope others manage to do the same… but I still think we're probably the strongest group. The only other Awakened capable of surviving this are Navinne Corvanys, prince of Navis Colossum, and Shaka Durakhan, prince of Kar'Thum. They were with Ophelia when we entered the Fragment. »
Two princes in the Fragment.
Good news.
But Kenzo was thinking of someone else.
— « There's also Yareth Solenyra. He was in Lucian's and my group. »
His tone changed slightly. As though he had spoken a name that mattered. Instantly, he saw suspicion slide across Naty's face… and even Ophelia's.
— « You were in his group? He's here? »
— « Yes. »
— « That changes nothing. We still need to get out of here as fast as possible. »
But for the first time, Ophelia nodded.
— « He's right. We're inside this Fragment to become stronger. True, it's far more dangerous than expected… but I don't plan on dying here. We'll come out stronger than most Transfigured. So yes, I agree with Kenzo: let's stay in this region for a few days. Then we'll go look at his fog and decide based on what we find. »
Naty blinked, surprised. Then she let out a long sigh.
— « Haaaaaa… Fine. You're the chosen one, after all. »
The decision was made.
And for the first time since they had entered this Fragment…
they had a plan.