The memories that stormed his mind were so sudden that they left him stunned. If he surrendered to their pull and remained where he was, reviewing every detail, he would drown in them for a very long time. But time was not on his side at all. His spiritual farm was facing a real danger.
Jumanji decided to obtain an embryo for his farm as quickly as possible. As the memories of the other boy flowed and settled within his mind, the image of that particular Leech flashed clearly in his thoughts.
He began searching more deeply for the essence of that Leech. He did not settle for just one. Instead, he discovered two more, leaving him with three pulsating gems in his possession.
Since he was not certain the process would succeed on the first attempt, he decided to keep two of them as a strategic reserve in case anything went wrong.
Jumanji walked calmly after emerging from the dense trees. Suddenly, a fragrant and refreshing scent slipped directly into his senses.
Before his eyes stood a massive well unlike any ordinary well. A halo of dense spiritual energy clearly hovered around its mouth, so intense that Jumanji could feel it prickling against his skin—even though his spiritual farm had only just awakened.
The spiritual energy there condensed in the air, invisible to the naked eye, yet its presence was overwhelming. It gave him the strange sensation of being reborn.
For the old Jumanji, this well had been a mysterious puzzle.
But now, after bathing in the flood of a thousand years of memories, it felt familiar—almost like a natural part of his existence.
He approached the edge and muttered calmly and coldly.
"The Spirit Well… one of the fundamental pillars of the farm."
The well was built from solid black volcanic stones, appearing as though it had been carved from a single block. Its rim was covered with delicate carvings resembling the veins of a tree, faintly pulsing with dim light.
There was no water inside the well.
Instead, a nebula of spiritual mist boiled silently within, pressing against the walls as if trying to shatter them and escape. This pressure formed a vortex of spiritual gravity that pulled everything nearby toward the center.
At the heart of that misty well rested a crimson spiritual seed.
From it sprouted a single glowing petal, burning like an ember in a pitch-black night.
Jumanji closed his eyes for a moment, exploring the depths of his own spiritual farm.
In the past, ignorance had concealed many things from him. But now he knew exactly where to look.
Beneath the base of the Red Mountain, he found what he sought.
His own Spirit Well.
It was dormant, completely devoid of any pulse of energy.
At its bottom rested a coal-black seed. From it emerged a single withered petal, shriveled and pitiful, as though it were silently dying.
A cold smile slowly appeared on Jumanji's lips, carrying within it a terrifying determination.
"It seems I have a great deal of hard work ahead of me to bring life back to this ruin."
The moment Jumanji opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by an enormous number of Leech gems.
They hovered around him in far greater numbers than before, as if they were being drawn toward him.
A mysterious smile curved across his lips as he asked in a low voice.
"Do you truly wish to enter my farm?"
The small phantoms began dancing happily in the air, as if expressing their excitement and eager agreement.
Jumanji nodded and waved his hand in silent permission.
Immediately, the gems rushed forward in a frenzy, each one competing to claim the best place inside that spiritual space.
But the bitter truth struck them the moment they crossed the threshold.
As soon as the gems settled inside the farm, they saw a pale and desolate landscape—like a place cursed long ago, where spring had been transformed into an eternal autumn.
Jumanji easily understood their horrified reaction.
Their excitement quickly turned into a desperate urge to flee and escape from the ruin they had just entered.
But Jumanji had no intention of allowing them to leave so easily.
With chilling calm, he sealed the entrances of the spiritual farm completely, trapping them inside.
He muttered mockingly,
"Did you think entering the bathhouse was the same as leaving it?"
Although these gems were not particularly powerful, they still carried fragments of spiritual energy—something the farm might need, even if only a little.
The gems began darting left and right in panic, crashing against the misty walls of the farm in frustration, bitterly realizing the deception they had fallen into.
Jumanji looked at them indifferently.
"You chose to enter on your own," he said calmly. "I forced no one."
The allotted time eventually came to an end.
As time passed, everyone deep within that mysterious land completed the awakening of their spiritual farms.
The moment of departure had arrived.
****
In the outside world, an entire day had passed.
The cave containing the gate to the spiritual farm once again filled with life and anticipation.
Everyone waited outside for the youths to emerge, their eyes fixed on the entrance.
The awakening of a spiritual farm was no trivial matter.
It was the cornerstone upon which a cultivator's future would be built.
The quality of the farm at the moment of its birth determined the limits of their power in the future—or so it was widely believed.
At that moment, the elder stood once more before the entrance, observing silently as he awaited the appearance of his grandchildren.
Suddenly, the misty wall trembled.
Three majestic gates split open within it, each glowing with a different color.
One was blazing red.
Another shone with vibrant green.
And the last was wrapped in mystery, glowing with a deep violet hue.
Whispers quickly spread through the crowd.
All eyes turned eagerly toward the violet gate.
Everyone secretly wished that even one youth would emerge from it, for it symbolized a rare and extraordinary quality.
Inside, the youths prepared for the decisive moment.
Gates began forming before each of them, shaping the outline of their futures.
Before one boy, a red gate appeared.
His lips twisted with displeasure.
Beside him, another identical gate emerged for a different boy. He simply mocked himself silently, as if he had expected this outcome all along, patting his chest in an attempt to calm his disappointment.
Red gates appeared before most of the youths.
Accepting reality, they hurried out through them.
After a short while, a bright green gate appeared before the boy wearing the faded yellow robe—the same one who had previously tasted failure within the hollow of the tree.
Soon after, the second green gate appeared.
It belonged to the white-haired boy.
He entered it with a smile on his face, as though he had already known what awaited him in the future and saw no reason for dissatisfaction.
The youths began emerging one after another.
Meanwhile, the elders watched closely, waiting for the appearance of their own children.
Galvan stood among them, anxiously anticipating his son's return.
After a moment, the green gate lit up again.
The boy in the yellow outfit stepped out smiling and was immediately welcomed by his mother, the forty-year-old elder Kiona.
Another figure soon emerged from the same gate—the white-haired boy—who was greeted by Elder Jorko.
Aside from these two, the green gate released two more youths.
The total number of those who had awakened good-quality farms reached four.
The old elder nodded in satisfaction and murmured softly,
"Not bad at all… this harvest is even better than the last."
After everyone had exited, only two remained inside.
Jumanji.
And the golden-haired boy.
Just as everyone's hearts reached their throats with anticipation, the violet gate suddenly burst into dazzling brilliance.
It announced the arrival of the owner of an "Excellent-Quality Farm."
The sight ignited the excitement of the crowd gathered within the cave.
Shouts erupted in shock.
"An excellent-quality farm?! Could someone among us really achieve such an unbelievable feat?!"
Another voice replied, trembling with excitement,
"It's not imagination! You're witnessing the truth with your own eyes!"
Jumanji's brother and his cousin stood among the younger spectators who had arrived earlier.
They watched with awe and unease, anticipating the emergence of a person who might one day surpass them all and stand at the unreachable peak.
The old matriarch smiled cunningly as she watched the violet gate glow.
Her intuition was already whispering the identity of the one who would emerge.
As the light intensified, the silhouette of a figure began forming behind the veil of mist.
Suddenly, a shout shattered the tense silence.
"It's Kairos!"
The name echoed through the cave.
"Kairos! The golden-haired one actually did it!"
Silence fell for a few brief seconds before the cave exploded with astonished murmurs.
Eyes froze in disbelief.
One elder even dropped his staff without noticing.
Several youths instinctively stepped back from the gate, affected by the heavy pressure of the energy radiating from it.
Their faces reflected a mixture of denial and amazement.
The appearance of someone with an "excellent" quality farm was not something that happened every day.
It was the manifestation of a living legend before their eyes.
Even the air around the gate seemed to tremble in reverence.
Kairos left everyone standing in stunned silence as they stared at the aura of power surrounding him like a cloak of violet light.
Gradually, the majestic aura faded.
Kairos walked forward with calm, measured steps toward his grandmother, the matriarch.
When he reached her, he bowed respectfully and spoke in a low voice.
"I did not disappoint you, Grandmother. I succeeded."
She responded with a gentle smile filled with pride.
"Well done, my child. A valuable reward awaits you when we return."
Kairos merely nodded silently, maintaining the composed demeanor that made him appear even more imposing.
On the other side, the elders looked toward the matriarch with disbelief.
She had previously told them with certainty that Kairos would awaken an excellent-quality farm.
Though they knew she rarely spoke without reason, they had not truly believed her.
After all, an excellent farm had always been a legend to them.
Yet seeing it with their own eyes left their minds struggling to comprehend the sheer talent with which the boy had been born.
Meanwhile, as everyone's attention remained fixed on Kairos, a faint glow suddenly flickered from the red gate.
From within that modest light, Jumanji quietly stepped out.
He revealed his presence in complete silence—far removed from the noise, celebration, and astonishment filling the cave.
End of Chapter