Old man and the flower

Yong-Sun had been freed by him, and he somehow sensed some sort of change happening inside him the more he spent time with Liam.

The two brothers were feeling similarly. They were a bit warry and angry at Liam. This was just in their nature. They were children and couldn't help but feel this way.

Haru always liked the boy, so there had been no change in her view of the white-haired boy. The old man was new to all of this, but all that he had seen thus far was… he couldn't even put the things he had felt into words.

Maybe it could be said to be magical?

He didn't know, but he wanted to see more of it. He wouldn't say anything about it. He just collected his thoughts and went to look at the collapsed boy who was now placed on the black creature. He had asked the kids what the black one was and had gotten an answer, but he had never heard of this creature.

He understood the snake, but the tentacle from the river was something else. He knew of that existence; he just didn't know it was traveling with them. After all, he hadn't seen the creature the previous night.

None understood what Liam had done, but they knew that it had been extremely difficult for him. The old man didn't even know what Liam had done to it. He had never done anything like that.

He had used the energy gathering to fight with the monsters if he needed to. But, he only knew how to use it to fight. He didn't know how to use it in any other way.

He watched as the kids took care of him and felt somewhat helpless. What was he supposed to do? How can he help? Then he thought of something.

"I'll be back soon," he just said to the kids and left the area.

He returned to his previous place and started backing up his things.

He wasn't sure when he had concluded that he wanted to move with them. He only knew that it was the right decision to make.

He had lived in this forest, in this tree, for fifteen years. He used to be a free citizen of Meira, but he had to run far in case they could find him. So this here has been a good place.

Maybe it was time to stop hiding and start fighting. Perhaps it was time to take control of his own life and start living a life he wanted to live.

Maybe he could see if his family had survived the incident. Then, he could take revenge on those who harmed them if they didn't. Thinking like that, his blood started to boil in excitement.

He didn't have such a thought before. He was content with basically being exiled and hoping that his family had managed to survive this damn curse of his.

He believed it was a curse, that he had somehow managed to form that thing inside him. But, after meeting the kids and the white-haired boy, he had started to doubt that. Instead, the courage that had been hidden away was rising rapidly inside him.

He was thankful that he had gotten out of that hole last night. He was grateful that the boy had been this persistent. He was thankful for everything, it was a small thing, but he was grateful that he could see those small things that made life suddenly seem to have color imbued to his otherwise dull life.

Why had he gathered all that energy, he hadn't known it at the time, but he felt that he could get the answer when he was with the kids and the white-haired boy.

'It was probably time for him to stop calling him a white-haired guy,' he thought and recalled what his name had been. 'What had the kids called him again?'

Something with an L… Lin, Lint, Liam, yes, that's it. Liam.

A strange name.

Either way, it wasn't necessary. He had packed all the things he wanted to bring and harvested all the vegetables he could carry. After that, he traveled another hour until he reached a cave.

A snake lived there. He had become friends with it. The snake allowed him to take some of the plants that grew there. Occasionally it would attack, but that was only when the plant gathered energy to bloom.

The plant bloomed every two years, and the bloom was something very beneficial to him.

Thankfully for him. The snake seemed to have been out. Three plants were growing there, and the old man decided to dig out one of them. After some time, he left with that strange plant and left a chunk of fish meat behind. The snake living there would be furious and come after him if he didn't at least leave something behind.

It took him about three hours to return to where the kids were.

He found them the same as he had left. The only thing different now was that the fire had been lit, and they seemed to have been attempting to cook something.

This made the old man smile. He dumped all his stuff somewhere around the fire and approached Liam. He pulled out the hidden plant from his pocket, and instantly, the giant snake was beside him.

He gulped loudly and took Liam's hand. The knife in his other hand suddenly sliced his finger, and a drop of blood fell on a petal of the flower. Making it bloom immediately.

The old man's eyes widened in surprise, but the next moment, the flower returned and gave the boy a drop of its milk.

It dropped on Liam's cut and seeped itself into it.

No one understood what was happening.

Nio had seen something similar before with the boy. He was just wondering if he could have the plant when it reacted this way.

"Thank you, take it back. The plant's best habitat was that place. It wants to return," a weak voice emerged from the boy's lips, and everybody was shocked that he was awake.

A moment later, he was gone again.

An even weaker message reached Nio. This message was inside his mind.

'Nio, take it back, sacrifice a drop of your blood, and have your reward.' it was sent to him when he said those words out loud, but with some more detail.

He saw Liam slump back down, and the hand he was holding fell to the ground again, limp and lifeless.

"I don't know what else to do. This was the only thing I could think of," he mumbled. Then he remembered. The blood pulses. He grabbed his hand yet again, feeling his blood pulsate stronger than before. He sighed in relief.

The kids somehow understood that he would be okay now.

The old man suddenly fell over. He looked back to see the large, spiked snake taking the flower and slithering off to the forest. Nio was giddy inside. He could have a great reward for such a little task. He had never encountered a flower or a plant that smelled so delicious.

Inside Liam's consciousness.

He was looking at the Avatar of Pollen and his surroundings.