«We call those types of monsters Demons now.» Lian said.
«Demon.» Aren looked at him for several seconds and then repeated the word very quietly.
It was as if his tongue was tasting a word for the first time, a word that should have always existed.
«Demon...»
The old fear appeared in his eyes again, for Lian, Demon was a Tier, a class of Monsters.
Very strong, very dangerous, but still something that could be measured.
For Aren, this word reminded him of creatures that had destroyed nations and Kingdoms.
«What happened next?» Seris asked, it was clear that she was curious about the experience of a civilization.
Aren looked forward for a while.
«When we all thought it was over...the gods finally answered.»
«In several places around the world, pillars of light came down from the sky.» The lands touched by those lights changed.
«Huge Barriers formed around the areas, the Monsters could not pass through them.»
«At first no one believed it, people were afraid to enter the light, but when the first groups found out that the Monsters could not pass through the Barrier, everything changed.»
Millions of survivors from all over the world moved toward those areas.
Some died on the way, some never arrived, but those who arrived found a place where they could sleep at night without fear of being attacked for the first time in years.
«If I remember correctly, then seven areas like this were formed.» Lian added.
«That’s right.» Aren nodded.
Seven Blessed Regions, the last seven shelters of humanity.
Inside the Barriers, civilization began again, survivors from different Kingdoms gathered together.
New walls were built, armies were organized, food was rationed, and combat training began.
«Everything happened very quickly, people who had been farmers, merchants or even children suddenly had no choice but to fight the Monsters.»
«We thought that maybe one day we could take our world back.» Then that smile also disappeared.
«We were still in the early stages of rebuilding when a new Rift appeared.»
«The one that led here.» Lian said.
«Yes.»
This Rift was different from the others, no Monster came out of it, no corrupted energy came from it and at first some people even thought it might be another gift from the gods.
But when several people tried to enter, another problem became clear.
«The Barrier at the entrance only allowed people within a certain age range to enter, the younger generation, people almost my age.»
Older people could not pass through, so the commanders and scientists of the Seven Regions decided to choose talented young people.
Aren was one of them, the mission was simple.
Enter the Rift, investigate the other side, collect possible resources, record the way back and return.
«The last part never happened.» Aren gave a short, bitter laugh.
Lian said nothing, this was exactly the Special Area, but the natives of the Ruined Realm did not know what they were facing at that time and did not know how they could find a way out.
Unfortunately, they also did not have a System like them that could explain all of this to them.
«When we entered, the Rift remained behind us, but from this side there was no way to pass through it.» Aren continued.
At first they thought the problem was temporary.
They waited for days, then weeks, then they tried to find another way and encountered the Cindari.
Tension began, then conflict, then war, the humans’ supplies ran out, some attacked Cindari cities to steal resources.
The main group broke apart.
Some went to the Giant’s Forest.
Some went to Emberroot.
The rest went to Glassthorn.
Each group hoped to find another way back, most of them never returned.
«Twenty-five years have passed for me, but two hundred and fifty years have passed for home.» A short silence appeared and Aren gave a bitter smile.
«I guess the world has nothing in common with what I remember now.»
Then a calmer expression appeared on his face.
«But at least I’m glad that the Seven Regions are still standing.»
Lian said nothing, Aren had learned this from the information that Lian had intentionally given him before in a vague way.
The problem was that the truth was different, he was not from the Seven Regions, even Aren’s world was not his world.
But even so, he felt a little sorry for the natives of the Ruined Realm, they had faced a disaster almost like theirs.
But unfortunately, they were not as lucky as them to have a System called The Will come to help them and save them from falling and collapsing.
Even so, they learned to adapt and found a way to survive, on the other hand, it seemed that they had also been given a blessing.
Those same seven safe regions that the Monsters could not enter.
Aren stayed silent for a few moments, then looked at Lian, then curiosity replaced nostalgia.
«Now you tell me, what happened while I was gone? How did the Seven Regions change? Do the Demons still attack?»
This time Lian really had no answer.
But this was a question about a world that he knew nothing about. A simple lie could be exposed in the second sentence.
If he said the wrong Region name, if he talked about something that had already been destroyed.
If Aren asked a more detailed question, the trust he had worked to gain would disappear at that moment.
Lian stayed silent for several seconds, Seris also noticed his silence and gave a short look at his face.
«Lian?» Aren raised his eyebrows slightly.
Lian opened his mouth, trying to build a vague answer.
Something like «Many things have changed.» or «I’ll explain everything later.»
But before a single word came out, One suddenly stopped, the stop was so fast that Aren was thrown forward.
Lian grabbed him and stopped him from falling.
Seris kept her balance on One’s armor at the same moment, her hand moved to the handle of her sword.
«What happened?»
One made no sound, its antennae were completely fixed toward the front.
Lian checked Predator’s Instincts, there was no warning of immediate danger.
So there was nothing nearby, but One had sensed something from far away.
The young Vorhelm stood on its back, the forest ahead of them was dark, at first nothing could be seen but then an orange point moved between the tree trunks.
Then a second one.
A third.
Dozens of lights.
They were not the natural light of Ember Crystal, their movement was organized, Lian narrowed his eyes, a sound could also slowly be heard.
Footsteps.
Hundreds of footsteps.
Metal hitting metal.
The sound of wheels.
And the roar of several large creatures.
«An army?» Seris had heard it too.
Lian got down from One without answering, the group moved toward a higher path on the right.
A huge root stood several meters above the ground like a natural wall. He climbed up first.
Seris followed him, Aren pulled himself up with the help of One and Lian.
From that point, they had a wider view, at first only columns of light could be seen but after waiting for several minutes, the first lines of the army appeared from between the trees.
Cindari.
Hundreds of them.
Rootbound Wardens moved in organized lines.
Large shields were attached to their backs, spears were pointed upward and archers moved on both sides of the column.
Behind them, Flame mages wearing red robes could be seen.
Several armored War Beasts pulled heavy carts.
The bodies of the Beasts were covered with Steel plates and their horns had been reinforced.
Three moving Ballista were also visible among the army, each one was mounted on a large cart and pulled by several Beasts.
It was not a small force, the military column was moving for a real battle.
«How many are there?» Aren asked in shock.
Lian checked the approximate number, at least several hundred, maybe more than six hundred.
And then he saw the flag above the main line, a golden Forge was placed on a black background.
Two separate flames rose upward from the center of the Forge, the symbol Maelor had talked about several hours earlier.
Cinderhold.
«Are they going to the place I think they’re going to?»
Seris checked the direction of the column, the army was moving from east to west.
Not toward the Forgotten Tree or toward Rootcrown, but directly toward Vhalaris.
«They’re going to the city.» Then she looked at Lian and said.
Lian said nothing, news of Vhalaris’s fall had reached Cinderhold.
Or maybe this force had moved before the battle ended.
Maelor had said Cinderhold was two days away, but fast units could arrive earlier.
This army was probably the same advance force that had been sent to free the city.
«If they reach Vhalaris, Rindo and the others will enter another war before we reach the Forgotten Tree.» Seris said.
«With this number, it might be more than just a war.» Aren looked at the number of soldiers.
Lian took his eyes away from the army and looked east, toward the place where the Forgotten Tree was waiting for them.
Main Quest.
Corrupted Titan.
The Black Silence.
Evolution Quest.
Everything that could truly decide the fate of this Special Area and even Earth was in that direction.
Then he looked west again, Vhalaris was behind them.
Rindo.
Serafina.
Liana.
Marcus.
Ethan.
Cassian.
Dozens of Awakeners.
And an army that was now moving directly toward them.
The Forgotten Tree was waiting in front of them.
Vhalaris was behind them.
And between the two, an army of several hundred people from Cinderhold was moving toward Lian’s friends.
For several seconds, he only stared at the military column and then lightning slowly began to form between his fingers.
Maybe this was a chance that could help him reach his maximum Stats...