After several exhausting hours spent navigating the twisted, corrupted paths of the forest, the group finally emerged beneath the suffocating canopy of blackened trees and stepped onto the open road leading back toward the capital.
The moment they crossed beyond the forest's edge, the oppressive atmosphere that had clung to the air for so long began to loosen, lifting just enough to allow the soldiers and mages to breathe more freely than they had in many hours.
Even so
None of them felt victorious.
The soldiers moved slowly along the road, their armor scratched and dented from the brutal battle that had taken place deep within the forest. Many of them walked with careful, uneven steps, still recovering from injuries sustained while fighting corruption.
Some supported themselves with their weapons whenever their legs threatened to give out from exhaustion, gripping their swords or spears tightly as though they were the only things keeping them upright. Others remained completely silent, their expressions distant, as they struggled to process everything they had witnessed.
The royal mages travelled near the front of the group, guarding the strange black crystal that had been recovered from the battlefield. The object had been wrapped carefully in thick cloth, yet even through the layers of fabric, it seemed to emit a faint, unsettling pulse of corrupted energy that made several soldiers uneasy whenever they glanced at it.
Their destination was clear.
They needed to return to the capital as quickly as possible.
The wounded soldiers required proper treatment from palace healers, and the discovery of the black crystal raised far too many troubling questions for the royal mages to ignore.
Yet even as the forest slowly faded behind them, the head mage could not shake the uneasy feeling that had settled deep within his thoughts.
Something about the entire situation felt profoundly wrong.
The appearance of multiple manifestations of corruption in a single location should not have been possible. Creatures born from concentrated cursed energy typically appeared only in the deepest and most dangerous regions of the Cursed Lands, places where corruption had gathered for decades without interruption.
Yet the forest they had just left lay dangerously close to human settlements.
Worse still
Hidden within that same forest, they had discovered an abandoned house.
Inside that house, they had found research notes.
Someone had clearly been studying the curse itself.
The thought alone caused the head mage's expression to darken as he walked.
If someone had truly been conducting experiments involving cursed energy, then the battle they had fought inside the forest might have been nothing more than the beginning of something far more dangerous.
The silence among the soldiers eventually broke.
One of them spoke, unable to hold his thoughts any longer.
"Those creatures were far too strong," he said quietly, glancing back toward the forest that now lay far behind them. His voice carried lingering disbelief. "Whoever defeated them must have been incredibly powerful."
Several others nodded slowly.
Another soldier frowned.
"But who could it have been?" he asked. "We were all there… and everyone collapsed before the monsters were defeated. If someone appeared and killed them while we were unconscious…"
He hesitated before finishing.
"…then that person must be stronger than the heroes."
The suggestion unsettled the group.
The summoned heroes were meant to be the strongest in the kingdom.
The idea that someone stronger existed and had acted unseen was not easy to accept.
"Maybe it was a wandering mage," one soldier suggested uncertainly.
"Or some kind of spirit," another added.
A third soldier shook his head.
"Whatever it was… we're alive because of it."
No one argued.
The head mage continued walking ahead of them in silence.
He offered no answer.
Because he had none.
Clara rode several steps behind the others, her posture steady but her thoughts unsettled.
While the soldiers spoke, her attention remained elsewhere.
Her gaze occasionally drifted toward Lucius.
He walked near the back of the group, separated just enough to go unnoticed by most.
His pace was slow due to being unconscious a while ago which is enough to stand out if someone was paying attention.
Clara noticed.
Something about him didn't sit right with her.
Ever since the battle
A pattern had formed in her mind.
Something she could not ignore.
Every time something strange happened…
Lucius collapsed.
And after that
The situation resolved itself.
The monsters died.
The danger disappeared.
And he was always found nearby.
The connection felt too precise to be a coincidence.
Yet it made no sense.
He didn't look capable.
He didn't move like someone strong.
Everything about him suggested weakness, and yet she couldn't explain
So she said nothing.
She turned her gaze away.
For now, she kept her thoughts to herself.
After several more hours of travel, the group stopped in a wide clearing beside the road to allow their horses to rest. The animals had been pulling supply carts for hours without pause, and forcing them to continue further would only slow them down later.
The soldiers settled wherever they could.
Some removed pieces of their armour while stretching sore muscles, letting out quiet sighs of relief. Others leaned against rocks or tree trunks, resting in silence.
Several of the wounded were treated by the royal mages using basic healing spells, enough to stabilise their injuries until they reached the capital.
A short distance away, the head mage stood alone.
The black crystal rested in his hands.
Even wrapped in cloth, it pulsed faintly with dark energy.
He slowly unwrapped it.
It was unnatural.
The energy inside it was dense.
Compressed.
This was not something that formed on its own.
It had been made.
The thought settled heavily in his mind.
An experiment.
His grip tightened slightly.
Not far from him
Lucius lay motionless.
Unconscious this time.
He did not move for a while
Eventually, the soldiers finished resting, and the group resumed their journey toward the capital.
The road stretched quietly ahead of them as the last light of day slowly faded from the sky.
By the time the walls of the city finally appeared in the distance
Night had already fallen across the kingdom.
They believed the battle was over.
But far behind them
The corruption had not died.
It had only begun to grow, and whoever is conducting the experiment doesn't plan to stop any time soon