Chapter 34: Chapter 34- Temple (Part 1)
Chapter 34- Temple (Part 1)
For the rest of the evening, the two tried to rest and recover as much as possible. With the help of the magical leaves, their recovery went extremely fast. So much so that by the time the sun was setting, Zen only felt some discomfort, and he could very much move however he wanted.
He knew that he was still far from his peak condition, but if he had to fight again, then he was confident he could fight without a problem. That idea alone sounded so mind-boggling for normal humans, but in the world of hunters, recovering speed was simply that ridiculous.
It is said that at the highest level, Hunters could recover from deadly injuries within minutes. That was the disparity in power between the normal folks and the evolved hunters.
Zen and Cipha were well on that road, and they could already feel it.
It was truly a matter of time before they also started healing their bodies instantly from bad injuries.
***
"Ugh, I can finally move like a proper person again." Zen stretched his limbs with a groan as he looked through the window. "It’s already dark outside."
"Mm, yeah," Cipha said as she looked at him. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Way better. It’s like I was completely paralyzed for two days. Being able to walk without feeling immense pain is just... ugh, such a blessing." He replied. "What about you?"
"Mhm, I’m more or less back to full health. The injury has healed completely." Cipha replied.
"..." Zen nodded silently. "Hey, do you want to go out? I want some fresh air."
"Hm? Garn hasn’t come back yet." Cipha replied.
"We won’t go far. Besides, we are going to leave in the morning anyway, so we might as well just go out."
"You..." Cipha didn’t know what to say as she watched Zen open the door and walk outside. She then sighed and followed him. The village outside was dark, illuminated by torches hanging from every tree. It had a completely different charm at night.
The beautiful trees appeared like looming giants in the darkness, making them even more intimidating. The silhouettes of the Wood Folks walking around filled their vision. The village was as active at night as it was during the day. People didn’t go back to their homes yet.
Zen leaned against the rails as he watched the scenery silently, the wind rustling his hair gently. He sucked in a deep breath. ’I can finally breathe without my chest hurting like hell.’
"It’s a really nice evening," Cipha said as she stood next to him.
"Yeah," Zen replied. "It’s a really peaceful village. Almost mystical, in a way."
"I don’t wish to disturb their peace further. They are good people, and they don’t deserve our cruelty."
"Sigh, well, let’s hope the Hunters don’t discover their location. If they come to know where this rune is, they definitely won’t waste any time trying to try and take it, and judging from the way they see that rune and that temple... It’s not hard to imagine what would happen."
’A bloodbath.’ Zen added in his head. ’These people will definitely fight tooth and nail for their sacred items. I can’t imagine them letting the hunters take it. But... I doubt they can truly fight against them. They would get wiped out.’
Just that thought made his expression darken. A part of him just felt that something wasn’t right. He should’ve heard about something as important as the Rune of reality in his past life. He should’ve known if someone had taken it or not, and the fact that it had never been talked about just rubbed him the wrong way.
He was certain the pillar clans knew of its existence, and they weren’t stupid enough not to try to get it. So, the possibilities are two: they either tried, failed, and then gave up... Or...
’No, no, Zen. You can’t think that way.’ He clenched his teeth and shook the idea away. He didn’t want to even entertain it.
"Zen?"
"Hm?"
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I’m fine..." Zen sighed as he leaned forward. "I was just thinking for a bit."
"..." Cipha didn’t reply and simply stared down too. At that moment, her eyes landed on something rather peculiar. She leaned forward and stared even closer. "Hey, Zen, look over there."
"Hm?"
Zen looked where she was pointing, and he saw it too. In the distance, a group of Wood Folks was walking through the village, carrying torches in their hands. They were walking in unison and carrying something above their heads. They stood out immediately as it didn’t appear like a normal walk.
"What are they doing?"
"Who knows..."
"Hm, they seem to be walking out of the village," Zen said as he leaned against his hand. His eyes wandered with the group silently. Then, in a split second, an idea popped in his head. So, he stood up.
"Zen?"
"Do you wanna go on a small adventure with me, Cipha?" Zen asked.
"... Don’t tell me."
"There is no harm in being curious. We should just remain lowkey and watch." Zen replied. "I feel like we might see something interesting."
"..."
"I can tell you’re curious too."
"But..."
Before Cipha could even speak, Zen had already started descending the tree. Cipha could only sigh and follow him. She can’t just let Zen go alone, even if this is a very stupid idea. Deep down, however, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t also curious about what they were doing. After all, this was a completely different race of creatures.
With that, the group snuck through the village, avoiding the eyes of the people to not cause any ruckus. It wasn’t that hard considering their abilities. Eventually, they saw the group again as they exited the village and walked deep into the woods.
Zen signaled for Cipha as they took a longer route, using the tree to cover their presence as they got closer to them. That was when Zen noticed something he didn’t realize earlier.
’Their attire is very different.’ He thought. All the Wood Folks were clad in white robes that seemed to be ceremonial in a sense. ’Are they actually going to the temple?’
Judging from the nature of what he was seeing, it appeared like a religious march more than anything else. At the same time, he could hear them muttering and saying things he couldn’t understand.
For several minutes, all they did was walk behind this group, making sure not to disturb them. Eventually, they emerged from the thick woods into a vast, open area in the forest. There were no trees around, only grass plains for several hundred meters in every direction.
The wind rustled the grass blades gently, creating a peaceful sound. In the heart of this open area was a large, old structure.
Zen and Cipha stopped as they stared it with awe. ’Is that... the temple?’ They thought.
It appeared like a large, rectangular pyramid that reached at least 200 meters in the air. It was all built out of what seemed to be green rocks that shone under the moonlight. Zen was certain that rock isn’t just any rock... Purely from the sine and color.
’That’s... Emerald, no?’
