Newland Village, South River State

“So, you’re telling me that if I put my money in this building, it will grow on its own?”

Irked, the Clergyman kept his patience and explained again. “It’s called interest, my friend. If you place your money in this bank, you will receive an interest amount on it. Just like how one pays interest on loans.”

“You want me to give you a loan? But you’re the bank.” “…”

“Listen, old man. Unlike the other banks, our bank is different. Besides safety, we reward people for putting their money here. Tell me, do you want to travel with Gold Graces in your pocket? Do you know how easy it is for people to steal?” the Clergyman, clerk of the newly established bank, responded. “Ten Gold Graces? How much is that? I haven’t even held a Gold grace in my entire life,” the old man replied. “But I understand you. I heard the neighbor’s son was mugged when he was returning from selling crops. Poor fellas, if not for the Monastery’s help, they’d have died from starvation this year. Son, tell me, are you married?” “…”

The Clergyman felt like his patience was being tested by the Lord. “Why are you asking?” “I have a granddaughter, and you look like a well-mannered young lad. Why don’t you take retirement like many others I’ve seen and settle down?” the old man said, rubbing his beard. “Is your granddaughter pretty?” “Heavenly beauty.” “How old?” “Oh, she’s a widow.” “NEXT!” The Clergyman shouted for the next customer in line. The old man sighed, “But she is indeed a beauty. Six foot five tall, built like a warrior because she trained as a knight for a few years an—”

The Clergyman suddenly jumped over the counter and stopped the old man, a smile plastered on his face. “What’s her biceps size?” “G-God Lord!” The old man exclaimed, almost in fright. “How short are you, son?” “Five foot five—tell me, how big is she?” The old man grinned. “You won’t be disappointed. Come with me, son. She must be at home right now.” .𝒎

“…”

The crowd of people waiting for their turn silently watched the strange play unfold. ‘The damn bank clerk was poached by a customer. What in God’s name is going on with the world?’

A tall old man standing far back in the line thought of the same thing. His long white beard fluttered, and his white shoulder-length hair appeared like silk, no worse than the silky gold embroidered robes he wore. The invisible cat sitting on his shoulder was similarly in awe of the scene. “Maxy! Alergyman likes big aunties.” Disguised, Sylvester sighed. “Clergyman, Chonky… And that right there is a man whose dreams are coming true.”

“Dreams of aunties?” “No, a strong, muscular, martial woman… I guess.” Miraj curiously tilted his head back and forth. “But… won’t she hurt him if he’s too smol?” “My friend, some men just like to feel that pain. Never forget this, all sorts of people exist out there. Today, you saw a unique one.” Sylvester nodded at the scene. “That young man must have done some good deeds in his last life to be this blessed in this life.”

Still confused, Miraj simply accepted it the way it was. “Umm… Maxy likes big aunties too?” “Why are you calling them aunties? That’s not a word we use,” Sylvester asked him while exiting the bank, having done his inspection. Miraj melted on Sylvester’s shoulders lazily. “Dagorith said that they call old ladies ‘aunties’ in his country.” “He’s from Warsong, so it’s their culture… probably. But we don’t do that here. All ladies are ladies… unless they are annoying and evil, then they are hags.” Sylvester shared some wisdom with him and got on his horse to go further south, towards the Central Continent. An initial report had been sent to him, and it detailed some utterly problematic things. It was revealed that as soon as one steps inside the Central Continent, their moral compass takes a dive for the worse, and things ordinarily evil start to seem normal. The traders who had gone to the Central Continent and returned were interviewed, and they told a similar story. Likewise, the team sent by Saint Seer had reported a similar thing. Hence, they retreated before the corruption could fully take over their minds. As for why he was riding, and not walking in the air. He hoped to inspect the new policies he had implemented and see if everything was going smoothly. So he checked the monasteries that were teaching and feeding kids while their parents were away for work, ensured the subsidies on fertilizers were being given out without corruption, and many other things. “Chonky, do you still feel an itch on your back?” Miraj lazily turned his head fully around to look at his proud wings. “Sometimes. It only increases when I push myself or use my powers too much.”

‘Another mutation?’ Sylvester theorized. “What else can grow besides wings?” He wondered. “One more head?” Miraj suggested excitedly. “Then I can eat more bananas and Big Mum’s tasty food at the same time. Yesss~ I want one more head!” ‘Why did I even ask?’ Sylvester sighed, and made his way to the south and arrived at Wailing City, the capital of the old Blackhart Kingdom, now known as the Blackhart State. It was the only place where official ferries traveled to and from the Central Continent. However, as soon as he arrived at the port, he found no boat or ship willing to take him there. A scent of distrust, hatred, greed, and anger was in the air, all around the port. The docks were filled with all sorts of ships, and the crowd was more than what he had seen in the past. There was even an abundant presence of the guards and Clergymen, yet something felt wrong. Being quick to deduce things, Sylvester thought of all possible things. ‘Considering the Central Continent is home to all sorts of deviancy, I won’t be surprised if people are being abducted from Sol and sold as slaves in the Central Continent.’ “Why don’t you just say you’re Poopy? They’ll make a bridge with their own drowning bodies for you,” Miraj suggested a possible idea. “Haha, I can imagine that happening.” Sylvester had a good laugh at the goofy cat. “Or I can simply jump across the sea. We may not be able to see the other shore, but we know the general direction, don’t we?” And so, Sylvester first moved to a secluded place and, from there, jumped straight into the sky like a shooting arrow, piercing the air, reaching above the clouds with no effort. From there, he simply walked toward the southeast. Choosing to reach the Soul Tree in the center right away, he didn’t bother going below the clouds and simply tried to sense the solarium in the air to see how far he was from the Soul Tree. ‘They have quite an abundance of farmland. Almost all of the land towards the sea has been deforested.’ Sylvester noticed the view. ‘But the solarium here… it’s certainly contaminated.’ Soon, he found himself passing over dense forests, and eventually noticed a huge tree protruding out in the distance, going way up into the sky and almost touching the clouds. In size, it was comparable to the Soul Tree in the Holy Land. ‘But the mist around it isn’t natural.’ He could feel the demonic presence all over his body. Being so highly tied with Light Magic and having almost no talent in Dark Element, he felt sensitive to every minute change. “Do you feel anything, Chonky?” “It smells bad.” “Smell?” Sylvester took intense sniffs and looked straight down near the base of the Soul Tree. “It smells like… burning flesh.” He decided to go down and take a look. Then, eventually, he landed on one of the thick branches of the Soul Tree and started to climb down physically. The further down he went, the stronger the smell became. ‘The tree bark feels odd.’ He noticed as his hands touched the surface. ‘It’s too fragile… as if it’s drying up. But what could be strong enough to dry out a Soul Tree?’ “Ugh… I feel like vomiting,” Miraj complained at the nasty scent. Sylvester quickly tore off a piece of the sleeve of his robes and tied it around Miraj’s little nose. Then he hid the furball inside his robes, just beside his chest. “Try to only breathe from your mouth.” Down and down, it was a long climb, and Sylvester felt his senses tingling. He didn’t feel threatened at all, but the strong scents made him second guess, taking any further step downwards. The scent of death, denoted by its utter bitterness, was as strong as the time he met with Nehilius. The scent of hatred, the bitterness with a slight burning sensation, was enormous. Along with that, the foul smell of rotten meat, denoting sadness, was also high, but this was separate from the smell of burning flesh that even Miraj could notice. “Aaaaaaargh…”

“Noooo…”

“Mother…”

Sylvester stopped for a moment as the faint, distant screams became noticeable. He also noticed the temperature rising the further down he went and the darker the area became under the shade. ‘What in God’s name is going on here?’ He wondered and took out his spear to keep it ready. Soon, he jumped many more branches down and approached the lower parts of the tree. From there, he noticed the crimsonness of the flames, and it wasn’t just one, but the fire appeared all around the thickness of the massive tree. ‘Why are they burning the tree?’ He wondered and blocked his own senses of smell as it became too much. Woosh!

At last, he reached the lowest branch and got a perfect, open view of the area covered under the massive canopy of the tree. And the word speechless came nowhere close to describing what he saw. The screams had multiplied, and the fire had intensified, but the fire wasn’t just in one single place; rather, multiple lit pyres were there. Thousands upon thousands of them, and on them were human bodies. Some were still alive and screaming. ‘What in the Lord’s name is this?’ “Aaaaaargh… Save me!” Sylvester almost jumped at the oncoming scream but stopped when he noticed something. The entire ground between the pyres was covered in something shining red—crystals, from what he could sense. “Nooo…”

Right before his eyes, one of the dead bodies melted away, but its blood didn’t evaporate. Instead, a shining bulge of red crystals formed where the pyre stood. It was all a massive sea of fire, death, and blood everywhere. ‘For what?’

Sylvester had no clue. _________________