They spent the next two days inside the hollow… in silence—an eerie, suffocating silence. So complete that Rolin began to wonder if he had already died, and this place was nothing more than a waiting room before being dragged into hell.
But then Likath's idiotic jokes would break the stillness from time to time—crude, ridiculous, and annoyingly alive—reminding Rolin that, no… he was still breathing. Still trapped in this cursed hell.
Rolin couldn't stop replaying the battle with the hyenas in his mind.
That moment.
That hand.
A burning hand that had erupted from the ground without warning.
No matter how many times he turned the memory over, no answer came. Everything about it felt… wrong. Blurred. As if reality itself had slipped.
If it was someone like them… why didn't they reveal themselves and join us?
And if it was a creature of the forest… why help at all? What would it gain?
Could it be… Selen?
His gaze drifted toward the girl, asleep against the wall, her breathing soft but uneven. His eyes settled on the wound in her shoulder.
He slowly shook his head.
No… impossible.
If she could do something like that, she wouldn't have been trapped in that spider web. She would've used it from the very beginning…
So what was it…?
His thoughts were violently interrupted when a sudden heat flared beneath him.
Rolin jerked, then spun around and kicked Likath hard, clutching his burning backside with a pained grimace.
"What the hell are you doing, you bastard?!"
Likath burst into laughter.
"Trying to invent a new cure for hemorrhoids."
Rolin scoffed, eyes narrowing.
"I swear I'll kill you."
And just like that… they were fighting again.
Two hours later.
Selen stared at them both, her expression caught between confusion and disbelief.
"Why do you two look like that?" she asked. "You look like filthy alley cats. Did something happen while I was asleep?"
Both of them answered at the exact same time:
"Bad dream."
She blinked… then simply shrugged it off, not caring enough to press further.
And so, they continued moving.
They walked beneath towering trees that swallowed the light whole. The strange energy flow in the forest had already faded, and for now, no beasts crossed their path.
But that didn't comfort Rolin.
If anything, it made him more uneasy.
The deeper they went, the stronger the creatures should be. It wasn't the present that worried him…
It was what lay ahead.
When we reach the center… what will be waiting for us?
A gate? And if it is… how do we open it?
A monster? Then how strong would it be?
Something I can't kill… not now… maybe not even in years.
Likath walked in front—for two reasons: he was currently the strongest… and if he got injured, he could simply retreat and recover inside Rolin.
Selen stayed in the middle, clad in her light crimson armor, her sword sheathed at her side. Her shoulder injury forced that decision.
And at the rear…
Rolin guarded their backs.
At some point, Rolin lifted his head.
As always, all he could see were endless trunks—colossal pillars piercing into the sky.
For his entire life, he had believed that as long as there was even the smallest gap… he would be able to see the sky.
But this forest had shattered that belief.
Even without seeing the treetops, he knew their branches and leaves couldn't possibly cover something as vast as the sky itself.
And yet…
He couldn't see it.
It wasn't the trees that blocked the sky.
It was something else.
Something their minds simply couldn't comprehend.
Selen's voice cut through his thoughts.
"I always thought you had lie-magic."
Rolin glanced at her, surprised—but not offended.
If anything, the idea amused him.
A magic that made every lie absolute truth… irresistible… undeniable.
Wealth. Power. Respect.
All of it, effortlessly within reach.
Stand before the world and say: Entrust everything to me.
And they would.
Rolin spoke calmly.
"Why?"
Selen answered without stopping, her voice steady as she walked.
"When you came to the academy, rumors spread that you killed the Devil-Claw Beast. Then you befriended that famous guy… and even got close to the professors. It made sense."
It did make sense.
Who would believe that someone like him had killed a monster like that… when even hardened criminals and elite guards had died trying?
As for the rest—
Coincidence.
Kael approached him first, not the other way around.
The professors placed expectations on him—he never asked for them.
But Rolin had no intention of explaining any of that.
"So," he said, "what do you think now?"
Selen glanced at him.
"You don't have that kind of magic," she said simply. "You're genuinely strong. But I'm curious… what is your magic?"
He had expected that question.
And he had already prepared an answer.
"I can create spiritual entities… like Likath."
A lie.
A deliberate one.
Rolin didn't trust Selen—not completely. Revealing the truth—that he had no core, no magic—would be like handing the strongest liquor in existence to a man drinking for the first time.
Dangerous.
Unpredictable.
And he was certain of one thing…
Selen wasn't showing her full hand either.
She nodded slightly.
"I thought so."
Then, after a brief pause, she added:
"My magic… is the Weave of Imagination."