Spirit Soul

After the devouring tree seedling began to recall more memories, things got a lot easier for Kyle and the others.

They received many important pieces of information in exchange for a simple promise; to plant the devouring tree seedling above the Cave of the Lost Arc.

"So to summarize everything the devouring tree seedling said, we are currently on our way to the Cave of the Lost Arc. The Lost Arc is some sort of device that teleports to the dimension called Fallen Olymp…right?" Selene spoke in a uncertain voice, only to receive help from Beatrice, who continued where Selene stopped,

"The Lost Arc is not activated, or possibly even defect, which is why the key and the person who can activate the key needs to activate the Lost Arc to enter the Fallen Olymp. The Dragonscale map is the key and Kyle can activate it…because he is one of the Old Souls. The last part is just a guess but it's highly likely."

Everyone was deep in thoughts as they combined the information they had collected.

"The moment the Lost Arc is activated, others will notice it. The Fallen Olymp is everywhere mentioned as one of the greatest Artifacts in the entire Universe. Everyone, who can sense the activated Lost Arc will try to get their hands on it. We shouldn't activate it by any means…" Jaden said in all seriousness. The Fallen Olymp might be a great opportunity for them to become stronger but it was equally dangerous.

Being considered a grandiose place, the Olymp had been the place where Gods were born, nourished, and raised. New Gods could be raised in it as long as one was capable of entering the Fallen Olymp and finding the remnants of former Gods.

With enough time and energy, it was impossible not to become a Godly existence, even less if one had the same powers as Kyle.

"Does that mean all our efforts were in vain?" Aurora's high-pitched voice resounded in the ears of everyone around.

However, Kyle just shook his head.

"We will still go to the Cave of the Lost Arc, even if we won't activate the Lost Arc immediately. The forbidden forest is a great place to become stronger and as long as we plant the devouring tree seedling and nourish it, the surrounding area of the Cave of the Lost Arc will be well protected as well.

We can become stronger as slowly as we want, create a small place to stay and open the Lost Arc once we're ready!" Kyle was quite optimistic about their current situation.

It was great that they got to know so much new information. The devouring tree seedling was very helpful and it sounded truly apologetic for not remembering everything earlier. Kyle felt bad because he had thrown a tantrum at it even if it was not as like he had actually been mad at it.

The entire situation that ought to be a treasure hunt changed a bit. They slowed down the speed at which they traveled and focused on collecting more Souls of Low ranked Acerta stage beasts.

"By the way, what will we do about our pursuer? Maybe she is after us because she knows that Kyle has the key and that he can open the Lost Arc!" Selene asked one day, she was clearly worried.

However, Yasmine shook her head as she pointed out one obvious point.

"Our pursuer is weird. She could have taken Kyle by force, brought him to the Cave of the Lost Arc, or make him activate the Lost Arc before killing him, or brought him back. 𝙛𝐫e𝚎wℯ𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵ𝙚l.𝒄o𝚖

With her strength all of that would have required a few minutes at most," Yasmine explained calmly and everyone nodded their head in agreement.

"That means we have yet to figure out what our pursuer truly wants. I doubt that she is bored, and even if she were to be bored, it doesn't really make sense for her to follow us. We are not exactly an action-packed group," Beatrice concluded in frustration.

She was annoyed at the pursuer because the mystery about that woman could mean something good or bad. However, because they had no idea what the woman might wand from them, it was impossible for them to feel safe anywhere they went!

"I don't think we will have to be too worried about her. I don't think that she will do anything to harm us. Since she follows us, we never really faced any problems…at least not life-threatening situations which we could hardly escape. Just ignore her for now. She will reveal herself when it's time…" Kyle said calmly just to quiet down at the end as he added a silent, 𝐟𝘳𝑒𝗲𝘸e𝒃𝘯𝒐𝐯e𝚕.c𝒐𝒎

"...I'm more worried about something else…"

He was not loud but everyone heard him. The others had noticed that Nial looked in the air more often than before. At first, Yasmine and the others thought that Kyle saw some aerial beasts that worried him.

However, they weren't attacked and Yasmine couldn't see any threats in the air even after she soared into the air to give the all-clear.

But that made the situation only more confusing for the others.

"What are you worried about then?" Everyone asked one after another. They looked at Kyle in confusion, including Arashi, who had no idea what was going on.

"I cannot say anything for sure but I think I perceived the Quetzalcoatl's hues of developments not too long ago….though I cannot be certain about that…I just think it was the same Quetzalcoatl's hues…" Kyle said in all honesty.

He didn't really want to tell the others about it but it would be bad to lie to them.

"You mean that winged serpent that initiated the Brawl in the Sadorla Forest? That thing you told me about?" Selene asked, still confused and not sure if she understood correctly.

She knew what happened to Kyle and the others when they were separated but what she forgot was the relation between the Quetzalcoatl and the Guild Master of the Shalivra valley. However, Yasmine and Beatrice knew about this very well.

"Wait…so the Guild Master is after us now as well?!" Beatrice blurted out, while feeling a heavy weight weighing down on her shoulders.

"I guess it is not like the Quetzalcoatl follows us…but that it took a look who entered the forbidden forest…" Yasmine concluded after she connected the dots.

"And that means the Guild Master might know about the Lost Arc and that he is just waiting for the key…and the person with the ability to use the key to run into his trap…"