The air in the forest was unlike anything Leo had ever breathed. It was clean, with the scent of damp earth and a thousand kinds of vegetation, but there was something more. A subtle hum in the air, a palpable energy that made the hairs on his arms stand on end. His new aura scanner showed dozens of small green dots blinking on his smartphone, all marked "Ethereal - Minimal Tier." It was the flowers, the insects, the trees themselves. Everything here was alive in a way he had never understood before.

He walked with exaggerated care, his eyes jumping from the dirt path to the radar screen and back. The radar showed his target, the "Ethereal - Low-Tier" dot, about five hundred meters away. He focused on the instruction: Do not step on the blue flowers. It seemed simple, but the flowers were everywhere, tufts of luminous blue that seemed to follow their own mysterious pattern, pulsing in unison with the forest's hum.

The silence was the other rule. It wasn't an empty silence, but one full of sounds. The rustling of leaves seemed to form words at the edge of his hearing. The snap of a distant twig, the song of birds he didn't recognize. He felt like an intruder, a loud, clumsy element in this sanctuary.

As he went deeper, the trees became larger and older, their trunks thick and gnarled like sleeping giants. The sunlight dimmed, filtered through an ever-denser canopy. The path led him to a clearing.

In the center of the clearing stood a tree that made all the others look like mere shrubs. It was an oak, but on a monumental scale. Its trunk was as wide as his small house, and its branches stretched out like arms, creating a canopy that covered the entire clearing. Its leaves were a deep, dark green, and they seemed to whisper to each other, even without a wind. This was the Elder Oak.

Sitting with his back to the trunk, cross-legged, was the Guardian.

It wasn't human. It was a creature made of living wood, moss, and leaves. Its body had the shape of a thin, elderly man, but its skin was tree bark and its hair was a tangle of vines and small flowers. Its eyes were two soft, glowing amber stones. It held a small, rectangular object in its branch-like hands: an old smartphone, its screen cracked and worn.

The Guardian raised its head slowly as Leo approached. Its voice sounded like the creaking of old branches and the whisper of dry leaves.

"The courier... has arrived," it said. "You were respectful. The woods are grateful."

Leo, unsure how to address a humanoid tree, just nodded and held out the power bank. "I brought... uh... your order."

The Guardian took the battery with a gentle curiosity. "The technology of mortals. So fleeting, yet so... captivating." It plugged the power bank into its old smartphone. The screen lit up, showing the image of a simple puzzle game with colorful jewels. "Ah... excellent. I was about to lose my daily win streak."

Leo stared, dumbfounded. He had crossed a magical forest, risking stepping on enchanted flora, to deliver a power bank so an ancient tree could play a mobile game. The absurdity of his new life hit him with full force, and he had to suppress a hysterical laugh.

"Thank you, courier," the Guardian said. It held out a hand, and a single seed, glowing with a soft golden light, fell into its palm. It offered it to Leo. "A promise for a promise. The [Seed of the Elder Oak]. Plant it in soil in need, and a fraction of this grove's strength will flourish."

Leo's smartphone vibrated.

DELIVERY COMPLETE! Customer Rating: ★★★★★ Payment Received:

• +700 Karma Points

• +1x [Seed of the Elder Oak]

Leo carefully pocketed the seed. As he was about to give his thanks and leave, the Guardian tilted its head.

"Your aura is... noisy, courier," it said. "You carry the scent of many places. Fire, darkness, stories... and cold steel. There is an echo that follows you. One that does not belong in this wood."

In that same instant, Leo's aura scanner beeped softly. A new dot had appeared at the edge of its 50-meter range. It wasn't green. It was a metallic grey, labeled: Mortal - Undetermined Tier.

The dot was motionless, hidden behind one of the ancient trees at the edge of the clearing. It was watching him.

Kael.

The Guardian looked in the same direction, its amber eyes narrowing. "The woods do not like uninvited metal," it whispered. "Go now, courier. Your presence brings conflict. And conflict disturbs the silence."

Leo needed no further encouragement. He turned and started back the way he came, this time with a renewed urgency, the grey dot on his radar tracking his movements from the shadows. He didn't run, remembering the blue flowers, but every step was quick and calculated. He could feel Kael approaching; he couldn't hear him, but he felt his presence like a sudden drop in temperature. The dot on the radar began to move faster, closing the distance. The game of cat and mouse had begun again.