Visitor from the Other Side

Devos spread her wings and soared through the sky.

Her wings were white as snow, her skin as pure blue as the sky after rain. Her face possessed a woman's gentle beauty, yet retained a rare hint of sharpness, giving the Paragon an upright, valiant air and making her seem stern and incorruptible.

She held a gilded spear and wore a simple robe adorned with unassuming yet elegant patterns, complementing the noble purity of the Paragon of Loyalty.

Those pristine symbols seemed to portray an inviolable holiness. With her wings spread wide, she hovered above this desolate wilderness like an angel fallen into hell.

In truth, she had come from hell.

More precisely, Devos came from the Shadowlands, from one of its great realms.

Beyond that distant veil stood a place like paradise, with magnificent skies, radiant spires, and breathtaking, ethereal scenery.

That glorious realm welcomed every noble soul who had embraced courage and virtue. Once their weary souls were freed from mortal burdens, they would cleanse away their stains in that peaceful bastion and find tranquility and harmony.

Lost souls, meanwhile, would discover their purpose through exploration and embark upon a new journey.

This was called a great ascension. The noble ascended devoted their afterlives to a selfless cause, helping every soul safely reach its destined home.

Those souls—whether kind or wicked, selfish or noble—would all travel to the Eternal City of Oribos, where they would face their final judgment before proceeding to their own realms.

Naturally, not every soul was noble enough to earn entry into Bastion, so there were many such realms. Yet only four realms as vast as Bastion existed beyond the veil, representing nature and life, glory and strength, sin and redemption, and... the unmentionable torment of eternity.

That story could wait. For now, let us return to the trouble Devos faced.

The Paragon of Loyalty came from the mysterious Shadowlands, but what she was experiencing now was hundreds of times more troublesome than even the strangest tale from that realm of the dead.

The enormous barrier did not seem intended to stop enemies. Devos had just watched a group of mortal champions charge into it, but when she tried to follow, she was ruthlessly barred outside.

Devos had no way to break through the barrier. She raised her spear and thrust with all her strength, but the abundant anima attached to it seemed to provoke an even fiercer reaction. Sparks and ripples burst across the barrier before it erupted violently, blasting the Paragon of Loyalty backward again and again.

"Archon above! What kind of terrible magic is this?!"

Devos gripped her weapon in disbelief. This had never happened before! The ascended were no ordinary spirits, yet ordinary forces could not stop them either—unless that power came from beyond the veil, or from some even higher existence!

That power stirred fear within Devos. As the Hand of the Archon, her position was exalted as well, granting her access to certain forbidden knowledge, including the prison of that exile whose name could not be spoken.

Faced with a power she could not comprehend, Devos had every reason to suspect it came from that terrible place!

At this moment, Devos could hear sorrowful souls crying out in agony. They could not transcend, nor could they leave this place that bound them.

Devos could ignore the brutal conflicts of the world of life, but she could never betray her duty. That was the very meaning of the ascended's existence—the destiny and righteous path of the great Kyrian!

"I cannot allow this to continue. I must report this to the Archon!"

The Veilwing Horn hung at her waist. The great ascended had been trained to use this ancient horn to open the veil between life and death and travel directly to Oribos, but the Paragon of Loyalty had no intention of doing so.

Because she had a faster method. Devos beat her wings, raised her gilded spear toward the heavens, and unleashed a torrent of anima, lighting a brilliant beacon in a realm invisible to mortals.

Before her eyes, a portal slowly opened. For the first time, the veil connecting life and death lifted its mysterious mask!

"Please wait!"

Just as the Paragon of Loyalty prepared to fly through the portal, a girl's clear, childlike voice called out to stop her.

"Who is it?!"

Devos turned around in alarm. Even when cleaning up the mess caused by her unfortunate subordinate, the Paragon of Loyalty had never expected matters to develop this far.

This operation had been undertaken alone and had not been part of the original plan. An unexpected visitor was enough to put Devos on edge.

"Th-that's great... I finally caught up!"

The visitor gasped for breath several times, as though she had spent a long time rushing here.

"Please wait, honored Kyrian Paragon. Please slow your steps and heed this call from Ardenweald."

Devos relaxed slightly. The visitor's introduction put her somewhat at ease. Though she did not understand why Ardenweald was involved in this matter, suspicion was never the first choice when dealing with those who served nature.

Devos solemnly offered the ascended's greeting to this adorable little creature. Though the other party looked like a mischievous sprite from a fairy tale, her status was enough to earn Devos's respect.

She therefore put away her spear and gave a formal bow. "Noble Night Fae, the Paragon of Loyalty, Devos, offers you her deepest respects. May the glory of Ardenweald endure forever!"

The little faerie scratched her head in annoyance and muttered under her breath, "This is exactly why I don't like field assignments. Isn't this the Wild Hunt's job? Stupid deer, stupid big-horned cows..."

"And these Kyrian, seriously, why do they have to be so formal? Wouldn't everyone be happier pulling pranks..."

Devos wore an awkward yet polite smile. She had heard that.

The little faerie cheerfully circled the Paragon, then formally introduced herself.

"Hello, serious Paragon. I am Lady Moonberry, loyal servant of the Winter Queen. Sorry for interrupting your work!"

"I did not come here to take anything away. I came to witness the birth of a seed..."

Lady Moonberry's voice gradually fell, making her seem completely different from the lively little faerie she had been moments ago.

Devos was curious about Moonberry's sudden change in mood, but she cared more about the lady's words. What did she mean by witnessing the birth of a seed?

"I know a little of Ardenweald's noble mission. You diligently use precious anima to cultivate the life-bearing soulseeds, protecting them through winter until they welcome a new spring."

"May I ask, Lady Moonberry, is a noble soulseed sprouting beneath this ominous veil?"

Lady Moonberry hesitated, then gently nodded.

Devos frowned. She had always despised behavior that profaned one's duty, and her tone toward Moonberry grew less friendly as a result.

"Forgive my presumption, but why did you allow such a precious soulseed to leave the Queen's garden and end up in this anima-starved mortal world? You know everything about it, do you not?"

"It is precisely because we know that we..."

Devos's rebuke greatly agitated Moonberry. She flew up angrily, seemingly wanting to argue, but her agitation was soon replaced by sorrow.

The faerie murmured despondently, "No one ever wanted to let that good child go. The Grove Warden, the ladies, the big-horned cows, even the Queen herself..."

"Everyone knew how painful this road would be, but it was his choice. So at least... at least let me accompany him through this part of the journey..."

The sorrow Lady Moonberry revealed made Devos hesitate. Suddenly, she thought of something and sharply turned her head back.

She finally understood. Those souls left behind in the mortal world had not been forced to remain. On the contrary, that soulseed was sharing its precious anima, little by little helping those pitiful souls escape the fate of fading away.

It had never stopped them from leaving, either. They stayed where they were because those souls had chosen to do so. They still had ties they had not severed, and so they remained here for a long, long time.

Devos fell silent. Her strictness did not stem from a lack of emotion. On the contrary, she was someone with deep feelings. She could hear the pain and struggle in Moonberry's words, along with a certain hope.

She suddenly felt a little envious.

For the first time, Devos felt a trace of curiosity toward the memories she had already abandoned.

"Forgive me for speaking rashly. I will not report this matter to the Archon."

"But I have my own duty as well. So I will remain here and watch, witnessing all of this as an observer until the last soul sets out upon its own journey."

Lady Moonberry raised her head and looked at the Paragon of Loyalty with gratitude. Devos noticed that faint glimmers of light were shining in the faerie's always-smiling eyes.

Shadowlands, Ardenweald.

Today was not a day for a gathering at the Court of Night, yet some people had come voluntarily to the Heart of the Forest to visit their beloved Winter Queen.

Lady Moonberry had said that no one wanted to face it, but she had been wrong.

Lord Herne, Nia, Hunt-Captain Korayn, Ara'lon, Grove Warden Elothir, Te'zan, the Great-Horned Hunter Huln Highmountain...

So many famous figures had gathered together, every one of them anxious and hopeful as they waited for the same news.

"Miss Moonberry must be very angry with us. She has ignored us for an entire month, spending every day buried in books at Miss Droman's archive, and she even searched all over for that awful Bwonsamdi..."

Nia spoke worriedly. She had never met that glib troll death god, but from the conversations of others, she could tell that he did not have a particularly good reputation.

"Don't worry, Nia. Lord Herne is secretly watching over her. With the Wild Hunt around, no ill-intentioned person can hurt Miss Moonberry!"

Ara'lon had just finished handling the affairs of the Grove of Nokrul and hurried over, looking travel-worn. However, he was well-informed and was just able to comfort the muddled Nia.

"Do you think it is really all right for us to hide this from the lady?"

Captain Korayn asked worriedly, "The Great-Horned Hunter spent so long finding an abandoned beacon stone. If the lady accidentally learns that everyone pooled their anima together to activate the portal, she will definitely feel terrible about it."

A gentle voice drifted over. A beautiful great bear draped in starlight walked gracefully into the Heart of the Forest. On her back sat a tiny wolf spirit, an even tinier translucent squirrel, and an even, even, even tinier little gorm.

"Ardenweald's crisis has passed, but our anima remains far from abundant. One person is already the limit. Traveling to the world of the living is not our duty, but Moonberry and the little one were closest. She deserves this gift."

"That's right, that's right! Little Sian still owes me an entire anima debt! The next time I see him, old Te'zan will... will make sure he enjoys the most delicious anima pinecones in Sez Forest! He will never have to repay it again!"

"Wow! Te'zan is actually being this generous for once! Qadarin cannot believe his eyes! Pogogu, you cannot believe it either, right?" the little squirrel said excitedly.

"Meow~" That was Pogogu's answer.

A tiny mushroom cap sprouted from atop Grove Warden Elothir's head, blooming into a little mushroom on the adorable bear's crown. The mushroom spoke in a decrepit old voice.

"Ah, forgive me for being unable to leave my home. After all, an old mushroom has no feet, hahaha!"

Marasmius seemed to have no respect for ladies at all. Not only did he grow mushrooms everywhere, he had even made the beautiful great bear's fur all messy.

"Do not mind those spores, adorable little bear. That is merely one of my avatars, because I am a mushroom. Hahaha, mushroom jokes never go out of style!"

The Grove Warden helplessly scratched her head. The mushroom made her feel itchy, while the old mushroom laughed endlessly and shook his stalk nonstop, spraying clusters of sparkling spores that made her want to sneeze.

"I have always wanted to come hear news of my favorite little mushroom employee. He has been gone for so long. Ever since he left, no one has talked with me anymore. Old Marasmius has been terribly lonely."

"How strange. This quiet life has continued for countless ages, yet recently I have found it a little dull. Hmm, perhaps a little noise would not be such a bad thing."

From the Queen's terrace, one could see directly toward the Grove of Awakening. Several years had passed since the soul who saved Ardenweald had been reborn. Back then, he had stood here, saying farewell one by one to these familiar people.

The residents of Ardenweald would never forget the sacrifice that hero had made for the Great Drought.

Yet fate was so cruel. He was destined to forget the faces and voices of the past, forget happy memories, even forget his original purpose, and struggle desperately to survive in a cold and cruel world, all to prevent a merciless and elusive future.

This had never been his responsibility, yet he had accepted it willingly.

"Bless me, everyone!" He smiled sincerely. "I believe this world will surely become a better place!"

He leaped forward, transformed into a free eagle, and vanished amid the tides of anima.