A faint Resonance
Tenebrea handed back the bracelet to Anastasia.
"I doubt I'd need that bracelet anymore, so it's all yours. If you travel the world, you can sell it or something. I am pretty sure some people will pay big money for a suppression device."
Anastasia just smiled at her queen and nodded. She kept the bracelet for Tenebrea, just in case. She was like Tenebrea's daughter, so there was no other place he would rather be than beside her.
"Well, that was a nice workout. I think we are done in fallen land." Tenebrea looked at her disciples and nodded.
"Fallen land?" Talia asked.
"Well, the elder said you guys never really named this place, so I am calling it fallen land." She chuckled.
"Hmmm, that's a terrible name, though," Talia commented.
Talia spoke to Tenebrea not like a master and disciple but instead like friends, and Tenebrea did not seem to mind. Julius watched the exchange and felt like he could get away with it.
"Tenebrea?" He called
Tenebrea shook a bit, looked at him with a bit of shock, and then replied with a smile, "Yes, Julius."
Scarlet and Anastasia's mouths were so wide open that you could fit an entire egg in there. Julius, who spoke, felt cold auras emitting from the bodies of Scarlet and Anastasia. He immediately apologized, saying, "It did not even feel right. I am sorry for being informal, Master."
The auras retreated, and Tenebrea replied, "I don't mind. It's just been a while since I heard my name without a title; actually, no one has called me by my name without a title, so I was shocked."
"Anyways, less of that. It's about time we leave." She said it with a yawn.
The head elder appeared in the room and had a fawning look.
"Well, the other elders have no problem with letting the young one become your disciple and leaving with you."
"That's great. I was already planning a rampage if you all refused, but at least you guys are as wise as elders should be." Tenebrea nodded
"May I ask what route you are planning on using?" The head elder asked:
"Down the mountain. Isn't that the easiest route?" Anastasia replied
"It looks like It has been a while since you've actually been around here. Well, I can tell you it is not the easiest path; in fact, it is one of the most perilous places on the entire continent. Most people haven't heard of it because the people that pass there never come out alive, and the only reason we even know about it is because of our close proximity to the location." The head elder said:
"What exactly happened?" Tenebrea was curious.
"It seemed like the forest was just normal. Our ancestors used that as a path to travel to the dark dwarves domain, but about two thousand years ago, the sounds within the forest stopped, and animals that were commonly known to howl and roar within suddenly seized. Our clansmen went to investigate, but they never came out. Other people who also investigated the forest never emerged. A rumor later spread that we kill anyone who gets close to our territory."
"It helped us reduce intruders, and we knew not to send people into the forest, so we just left it be. I am telling you this as a warning. Use the long way instead, as going through that forest might be the last thing you ever do." The head elder warned.
"Oh, now I am curious. What could cause even gold ranks to be worried? Ana, we're moving as planned. I feel something good will come out of this; after all, I have been recently lucky."
"I feared you'd say that, your highness." Anastasia sighed
Julius and the others just shook their heads, as they expected that their master would actually want to go in that direction, as opposed to what the head elder said.
"Is she always so hardheaded?" Talia asked Julius and Davina, as he seemed like the more approachable one compared to the cold vampire.
"Yeah, Master is like that. Once she has her mind set on something, not even the gods can make her change her mind." Julius laughed and shivered as he felt Scarlet's gaze.
"Okay then. I guess It is the forbidden forest we are heading to." Talia raised her hands in submission.
"Please wait as we at least pack some provisions for you." The head elder at least tried to make them comfortable as they embarked on a journey of certain demise.
Tenebrea shook her head, signifying he should not worry. The group headed out not long after.
After hours of walking, they had finally reached the forest.
"It doesn't look scary." Julius stared deeply into the forest.
"Exactly my thought. Even the safest forest on the Daemon continent looks scarier than this. This looks like a normal forest that would be on other continents." Anastasia inspected the forest with her aura but did not sense anything dangerous.
She then looked at Tenebrea, who surprisingly had an expression of joy and confusion.
"Your highness, what is the matter?" Anastasia quickly asked. Had the queen sensed another great treasure within? Would that be the mystery as to what caused the disappearance of the people?
"I can sense his aura." That was all Tenebrea said as she slowly walked into the forest. The rest were confused as to who "he" was, except Anastasia.
'It makes sense that he would cause this phenomenon. After her highness, only he can cause havoc like this, She pondered as she quickly followed behind Tenebrea. Julius and the rest also followed, as they did not want to be left behind.
Tenebrea walked faster as they got deeper into the forest. They could all feel like they were being watched, but when Anastasia used her aura to probe, she came up with nothing.
They just continued to follow Tenebrea until they could no longer move forward. They had not reached the center of the forest yet, and they were obstructed. Seven beings stood in front of the group. They looked identical to the group, and they also had their level.
"Grass clones??" Julius said in confusion: