He began to sigh to himself. He tried remembering what had happened before he was sealed but his memory was blurry. Who would have thought. He let the idea drift away as he pushed himself to his feet. Lounging around for too long, especially there, will just bring more trouble. Idris stepped forward, and into the forest of Ardonia.

At once, the world seemed to soften.

Towering trees arched overhead, their trunks ancient and thick, bark etched with natural sigils formed by time rather than magic. Their canopies intertwined like cathedral vaults, leaves filtering the sunlight into drifting motes of gold and emerald. Each step he took stirred the scent of moss and damp earth, rich and alive, so different from the sterile stone and confinement he had known for so long.

He slowed without realizing it.

Flowers bloomed in impossible hues along the forest floor, deep violets that shimmered like dusk, pale blues that glowed faintly as if holding fragments of moonlight, and crimson petals veined with silver that pulsed gently when he passed. Some curled inward shyly, others tilted as though watching him. The grass brushed against his boots, cool and soft, humming faintly with latent mana.

Birdsong echoed through the trees, layered and melodic. Somewhere deeper within the woods, something chittered and bounded from branch to branch, laughter-like and light. Idris tilted his head, listening, momentarily forgetting the ache in his limbs, the gnawing hunger twisting in his gut.

For a moment he wasn’t a weapon.

He wasn’t a survivor of a bloodbath. He wasn’t a vampire clawing his way through restraint and rage.

He was simply walking.

Sunlight spilled across his path, catching on dew clinging to massive spiderwebs strung between roots and ferns. Each strand refracted color, tiny rainbows trembling with the forest’s breath. His magenta eyes traced them absently, captivated. How long has it been since I noticed things like this?

Too long.

The forest watched him with a patient curiosity, as though weighing his presence rather than rejecting it. Mana, energy, flowed here freely, not forced into rigid shapes by twisted incantations, but drifting naturally, like a slow current beneath the skin of the world. Idris could feel it brushing against his senses, soothing where it touched, easing the tight coil in his chest.

The path ahead curved gently, swallowed by shadow and light in equal measure. Idris adjusted his cloak and continued onward, steps unhurried now, thoughts drifting with the rustle of leaves overhead.

The forest thickened the farther he went.

Trees pressed closer together, their roots knotting and overlapping like the bones of something long buried. The light dimmed beneath them, shadows pooling over Idris as the air grew cooler and still. Vines hung low, heavy with broad leaves and pale blossoms that exhaled a faint, sleepy fragrance. He brushed past them carefully, mindful not to tear anything that looked like it had taken decades to grow.

Then—space.

The trees thinned abruptly, opening into a narrow path bathed in sunlight. Grass grew short here, trampled and rebounding, and wildflowers clustered along the edges as if the forest itself had stepped aside to breathe. Idris slowed, senses sharpening.

Someone was there.

Ahead, near the edge of the path, a woman stood half-hidden among tall stalks of silver-green leaves. A black veil draped over her head and shoulders, sheer enough to catch the light but dense enough to obscure her features. She was reaching upward, stretching on her toes, fingers straining for a pale flower growing just out of reach from a low branch.

She missed it, again.

A soft sound of frustration slipped from her as she huffed and tried once more, nearly losing her balance in the process.

Idris cleared his throat.

Not loudly. Just enough.

The woman stiffened instantly, spinning toward him. Her hand dropped to her side, posture tense beneath the veil.

“Easy,” Idris said calmly, lifting one hand in plain view. “I’m just passing through.”

Silence hung between them, broken only by the wind stirring the grass. The woman studied him for a moment, unreadable behind the dark fabric. He could only assume her eyes were glued on his. Figuring out what he was. Surprisingly, her shoulders eased.

“…I didn’t sense you approach,” she said. Her voice was soft, cautious, but not afraid.

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to hide,” Idris replied. “Just walking.”

Her gaze flicked past him briefly, then back. After a pause, she turned again toward the plant, fingers curling in her veil. “I need that flower,” she admitted. “But it refuses to cooperate.”

Idris followed her line of sight. The blossom in question was delicate—thin white petals tinged with gold, swaying just beyond reach. He recognized it faintly, though the name escaped him. Rare. His apothecaries were fond of them. Useful. Fragile.

“Mind if I help?” he asked.

She hesitated, then stepped aside with a small nod. “If you’d be so kind.”

Idris approached the plant, movements careful. He extended his hand, steady despite his fatigue, and gently bent the branch downward. The flower dipped obediently.

He plucked it cleanly and straightened, offering it to her.

The woman accepted it with both hands. “Thank you,” she said, genuine warmth entering her voice. “You saved me quite a bit of embarrassment.”

He shrugged lightly. “Didn’t look embarrassing. Just… determined.”

She tucked the flower away in a small pouch at her waist. “Safe travels, then. And thank you again.”

“You too,” Idris replied.

He didn’t linger.

With a final nod, Idris turned and continued down the path, the forest gradually closing in behind him once more. The encounter faded as quickly as it had appeared, like a passing breeze, but the calm it left behind followed him, lightening his steps as he disappeared deeper into the woods. 

Even so, he couldn’t help but wonder what a woman was doing in Ardonia. Ardonia had nothing useful for humans. What good was it now? Had so much really changed?