Lesson.

Azhrael's gaze swept across his surroundings, his brows furrowing. The Forbidden Forest was notorious, a place where even seasoned warriors treaded carefully—yet here he was, untouched, despite the commotion he had caused.

His confusion deepened until Solas finally spoke, answering the unspoken question.

"Oh, about that—there was a rather impressive spatial barrier around you," Solas remarked, his voice laced with genuine admiration.

Azhrael turned to him sharply. "A spatial barrier?"

Solas nodded. "Yes. A finely crafted one at that. It worked by redirecting anything that tried to pass through—monsters, mana, even sound—to another location." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Whoever set it up was exceptionally skilled."

Azhrael stilled. His grip on the healing potion tightened ever so slightly.

There was only one person who could have done something like that.

His mother.

A small, barely perceptible smile ghosted his lips as warmth flickered in his chest, just for a moment. Even after everything, she had protected him.

But another thought struck him, and he turned to Solas with narrowed eyes. "Then… how did you get to me so quickly? Shouldn't you have been affected too?"

Solas, still absently scanning the area as if searching for something, gave a casual shrug.

"Hm? Oh, I just tore it apart."

Silence.

Azhrael blinked.

Solas flexed his fingers absently, motioning vaguely as if recounting something mundane. "It was well-made, I'll admit. But in the end, it was just a barrier." His smirk widened as he turned back to Azhrael. "Took me a moment, but I got through."

Azhrael's expression twitched, his mind struggling to process the sheer absurdity of those words.

'You just… tore apart space. With your bare hands. Like it was nothing.'

For a long moment, he simply stared.

Finally, his thoughts settled on a single, undeniable truth.

'What a monster.'

"Then, I arrived, and well, the monsters here don't have the guts to even stand in my presence, let alone attack you." Solas' voice was laced with amusement, but then he paused, his gaze shifting beyond the trees.

A rustling sound broke the eerie stillness.

"Then again," he continued, tilting his head slightly, "there are always exceptions. Some, like you, are insanely gifted… and some—" he gestured toward the emerging creature with a smirk "—are just insanely stupid."

From the underbrush, a massive wolf prowled forward. Its sleek black hide rippled with each movement, fangs bared, long claws sinking into the earth as it let out a deep, guttural growl. Its glowing red eyes locked onto them, brimming with primal hunger.

Solas exhaled, shaking his head. "Alright, kiddo. First lesson—always use your brain. Know when to attack, and more importantly, when to retreat."

With that, he lazily raised his hand, palm facing the wolf.

Azhrael barely had time to react before mana coalesced before Solas' fingertips, forming a small, swirling orb.

Tiny. Deceptively so.

Yet the sheer density of power emanating from it made Azhrael's breath hitch. The air itself seemed to tremble.

It felt as if reality was compressing around that single point, the weight of it pressing down on his chest.

Then, in an instant, Solas fired.

The orb streaked through the air like a shooting star, leaving a crackling blue trail in its wake before it made contact.

And then—

Destruction.

The world fell silent for a heartbeat.

BOOOOOOOOM!

Then came the blast.

A deafening roar shattered the stillness as an explosion erupted, sending shockwaves rippling outward. The very ground trembled beneath them. Trees, soil, and the wolf itself—gone. No remains, no trace. Just pure obliteration.

Azhrael staggered as the sheer force of the shockwave hit him, forcing him to raise his arms in defense as dust and debris flew in every direction.

When the destruction finally settled, the once-dense forest had been reduced to an empty wasteland spanning several kilometers.

Azhrael stared in disbelief.

Solas, unfazed, dusted off his hands and turned back to him with a smirk.

"And that, my dear disciple," Solas said, dusting off his hands as if he had merely swatted away an insect, "is what happens when you don't know when to back off. Understood?"

Azhrael could only nod, his mind still struggling to process what he had just witnessed. His gaze remained locked onto the obliterated land before him—an entire stretch of forest simply gone, wiped from existence as if it had never been.

Yet, before he could fully grasp the devastation, something even more shocking happened.

The ground trembled.

Not from an aftershock, not from another attack—no, this was different. It felt alive.

The cracked earth shifted, soil swirling and mending itself as though time had reversed. The trees, reduced to dust mere moments ago, began sprouting anew, their trunks stretching skyward at an unnatural speed.

Leaves unfurled, branches thickened, and within seconds, the forest stood as if it had never been touched.

Azhrael's lips parted slightly. "Damn." The word left him in an awed whisper.

Solas chuckled. "Interesting, isn't it? This is one of the mysteries of the Forbidden Forest. No matter how much damage it suffers—" he gestured lazily at the fully restored landscape, "—it always heals itself."

Azhrael nodded absentmindedly, his mind racing. He knew the reason behind this phenomenon from the game, had read about it countless times.

But seeing it unfold before his very eyes?

That was something else entirely.

Clap!

A sharp clap snapped Azhrael from his daze. He turned to see Solas watching him with his usual carefree smirk.

"Now then," Solas began, stretching his arms lazily. "I think you should rest. Awakening and fighting must have drained you. We'll start your training tomorrow. But—" He paused, his expression shifting ever so slightly.

Azhrael tensed. Somehow, that pause felt ominous.

"You'll have to find your own place to stay," Solas continued grinning. "I'll give you a location though. There's a cave up ahead—go and take it."

"Huh—"

Before Azhrael could fully register the words, a sudden force lifted him off the ground. His body dangled in the air, a firm grip around his collar.

His breath hitched "Wha—"

"M-Master! What are you doing?!" he stammered, flailing slightly.

Solas hummed, tilting his head as if the answer was obvious. "Hm? Well, it's faster to throw you than to walk. So, I'm helping you."

Azhrael's blood ran cold. "The hell—w-wait! You goddamn maniaa—!"

Before he could finish, the world around him blurred.

With a single effortless motion, Solas launched him into the air like a human projectile.