Chapter 213: Symbols and Branches

Towards the far left, which was actually by pure coincidence towards the west, there was a small, thin, visible pathway leading out of the illuminated, majestic little slice of heaven that the trio had found themselves in.

The tall, deep purple wide ferns seemed to die off at that area only to give way to some aggressive lichens that slid around, from left and right towards the top, creating an arching pathway, creating an entrance to yet another picturesque but equally as eerie of a world for them to step into.

As they continued to trade on the soft ground beneath them. On the side, they could see the continuation of dead trunks of trees engulfed completely by the strange, and aggressive lichens around them.

"Are we... being led?" Sarah voiced her concern looking at the almost too perfect scene guiding them towards a particular direction.

"Yes. Keep at the ready. Aiden, do you see or sense something nearby?" Naybeah responded, keeping her attention to the path ahead. She continued tightly gripping the thick handle of her colossal war axe, ready to swing it at the first sign of trouble. Her pure strength and the incredibly sharp edge of her weapon was a guarantee that whatever decided to block their way, would meet a brutal and premature end.

"Uhm." Nodding, Aiden only gave a curt grunted response, focused on his surroundings. He could feel the buzzing of particles in the air, and with the addition of the continuous beeping of his system's warnings, he was sure that his earlier premonition was probably spot-on; this whole area was not natural, it was part of something greater. The dark thick canopy of dreadful trees above them, the illuminated, colorful, psychedelic display of strange lichens, the strange and vastly different vegetation further out… Everything pointed to something at play… and judging by the feeling Aiden felt, it was probably something sinister…

Crossing through the picturesque 'hallway' of this strange part of the forest that seemed to gradually transform into a jungle biome, they eventually reached an 'end', a natural blockage, a sort of door-like separation created by a thick clump of overgrown branches blocking the path ahead.

Activating his [Dark Sense] skill and sending it on overdrive by using a bit more of his [Soul Power] Aiden's eye lit up with their now-usual golden luster, trying to penetrate the path ahead and get some information for them.

However, similarly to how he felt back in the underground parts (and even in the Guild Back Offices) of the City, his vision and attempts were thwarted by some strange runes lighting up, seemingly only visible to him.

Still, even with this failed attempt, he received an important bit of information and further confirmation of his earlier theories. This whole path was not natural, it was created, most likely by the use of some magic. Whatever is ahead, they need to tread very carefully.

Stepping forward Aiden raised his arms in front of the two girls, blocking the way for them.

"What is it Aiden?" Sarah, knowing a bit about his companion by now, immediately knew that there was something important that the boy had noticed. Grabbing the hilt of her sheathed weapon, Sarah put her left leg behind her and leaned a bit more against it, entering into a battle-ready state.

Naybeah simply continued gripping her weapon, but the straining strands of muscles in her arms gave away that she was also alert and ready for anything.

"I'm not exactly sure what is ahead." Aiden began, giving a surprising revelation to the girls. Before any of them could ask about his words though, he continued. "And this fact is the most troubling. There's some spell that blocks me from trying to see what's ahead." 

Turning his head sideways, he glanced at Sarah as he went on.

"It is actually quite similar to the spell that I noticed inside the guild hall, and in the underground arena. It's some sort of runes that just blocks me…"

"Uhm… I don't know what you are talking about… I didn't cast any spell similar to your descriptions inside the guild, nor do I have any knowledge about such magic…" She replied with a wry expression. From the look of her eyes and the slight blush on her cheeks, Aiden was sure that she was telling the truth.

"Maybe your mother knows more?" He asked, thinking about it for a while. That woman was powerful, dangerously so. The elaborate trap or 'test', as she mentioned, was similar in nature to his Master's Pocket World in a sense. The masked madame was mysterious and most likely quite powerful. Knowledge about old and forgotten magic might not be too far away from her reach.

"I…" Sarah wasn't sure how to answer the boy's question. She couldn't outright deny the possibility, but at the same time, she couldn't go against her mother's wishes and orders. However, thinking about it a bit more, she never said anything about something like this and did say that she should do her best to get closer to this boy… 

Taking a deep breath, she shook her head, answering Aiden.

"I… don't know, to be honest. The Mistress never told anything like that to me, but she has extensive knowledge about magic, so she might know a little."

"I see. I guess I will need to ask about this at some point. But for now…" Turning his head, Aiden focused on the blockade ahead once more. Clenching his fists, he took in a large gasp of air, before taking a step forward and reaching for the branches.

"Both of you stay here for the time being, and let me check this out myself…" 

Hearing his sudden statement, startled both women.

"No, there's no way I will let you go there alone-" Naybeah was the first to voice her thoughts but was interrupted by Sarah who chimed in midway.

"Yeah, just like she said, Aiden, we are not leaving you alone!"

Raising both of his hands in front of the girls, Aiden turned his head sideways, looking at the girls behind him. His lips curved into a smile, that gave his whole side-profile such cool that both girls had to avert their eyes with a tinge of pink coloring their cheeks.

"Don't worry, I just want to check it out. If there's trouble ahead, I will call for you both don't worry, but we need to be cautious. We don't know what awaits us there and we need to be cautious, all of us shouldn't walk into a potential trap."

Seeing that both girls wanted to raise their argument to his words, Aiden shook his head and continued with a calm and reassuring tone.

"Don't worry about me, you both should know that I can handle myself quite well. You should just wait here and look around, see if there's any other way around."

Turning his head again, he focused his attention back on the blockade ahead. Reaching out with both hands, he spoke up again as he began to push the branches to the side, creating a thin hole in their defenses, to squeeze himself through.

Both Sarah and Naybeah couldn't utter another word and kept on looking at the boy as his figure slowly slid through the natural barrier. Once his figure vanished, however, Naybeah suddenly stepped forth, raising her axe high above her head. 

Giving out a loud and energetic cry, she swung her weapon down at the strange branches with great ferocity, so fast that Sarah couldn't even voice her concerns or interject in any way.

As her weapon coursed through the air, rapidly approaching the dry, old, overgrown branches ahead, the only thing in the blonde amazon's mind was that the boy was at the other side without her protection. She couldn't possibly leave him by himself, he was her chosen mate! He had to be safe and the best place for that would be with her!

Expecting that the ornate, circular head of her colossal weapon would easily carve a path through the bush, both girls were surprised when the weapon collided with the seemingly frail surface only to see a strange white runic symbol to lit up and throw the metallic head of the weapon back, causing the tall amazon to take a few steps back to regain her composure and not fall down.

Shocked, both girls looked at the wooden branches once again, with an increased focus this time.

While Naybeah took a few moments to compose herself, Sarah walked forth, and slowly reached for the branches. Looking at the spot where the strange runic symbol appeared just a moment ago.

As her delicate fingers reached the first twigs, the same runic symbol lit up again, creating a tangible but invisible sort of barrier of energy, blocking her from further reaching out.

She gave a few pets and caresses to the air-formed wall of energy in front of them, revealing a frown shortly after.

"What is it? Can we get through?" Naybeah asked with concern in her voice, seeing Sarah's reaction.