The Turmoil Forest

While walking in the direction of the castle, I was reflecting about everything I heard until now. Here's what I know so far:

So, Kiarathyto actually existed since forever it seems. There are myths about her being told for a few milleniums already. What does it mean for me? Am I actually a fake Kiarathyto? That'd be hard to believe... Did Tyargu lie to me? Are there more than one Kiarathyto? Or maybe my soul just invaded Kiarathyto's body? What I know for sure is that everyone seem to recognize me from the looks alone and they expect me to be something I am not: A resident from this world, Havell.

I see the castle getting bigger and bigger. I can see a wooden bridge ahead.

And then there's my powers. Louira said I am supposedly the Master of the Elements, which would explain the wind barrier that saved me from my fall. I have to find a way to test if that's true. Wait, where's it...?

When thinking about my fall from the place I met Tyargu, I looked at the sky searching for it and it was nowhere to be seen. That place was a floating mini-island, it'd be impossible to not spot it from here. But it's nowhere to be seen. Is it invisible? Or did it actually disappeared? I feel like something shocking happens in this world every ten minutes or so... But I guess this is not important right now. I need to focus.

Missing mini-island apart, the most important information I got is probably about the Sword of Essence. This'll be the first of the three relics I have to get. That's why I am heading to the castle. Louira told me the king knows where to find it in the Turmoil Forest. This relic seems to be capable of manipulating souls and spirits, if those glowing flying things are really what people call Spiriculus, that'd mean they are spirits and it'd explain their presence in the forest. Things seem to be starting to make sense now. Let's see what waits me.

As I reached the castle's gate, I see the guards tensing up. Of course, they didn't try to stop me so I entered the castle without problems. A servant was there clearly waiting for me.

"Welcome, Her Holiness Kiarathyto. The king waits for you in his room."

He seemed unease about something. That may be a sign the king does not treat well those hierarchically below him. I can't judge him yet, though.

We went up the stairs then went through a corridor full of rooms. At the end of the corridor, there was a big double door. The servant hit the door twice and said "Your Majesty, Her Holiness Kiarathyto is here."

"Bring her in."

Hearing that deep voice, the servant opened one of the doors and made a gesture to say I should enter the room first. I did so. The room had a few big bookshelves, some big plant vase, a big window, two big couchs facing each other with a table between them---In other words, it's big. But what made me raise my eyebrows was the four guards behind the king and the two guarding the door. They don't look like your typical guards too, their armors are made of a different metal, some parts made of gold and a golden eagle in their chests. All of them are holding spears. The king himself has a pale skin, a short brown hair, moustache and beard. His eyes are dark, though. Though he wears a big, fluffy robe, I can see from here that he's no ordinary man. His body is strong and the sword on his waist tells me he used to be a soldier.

"I'm glad I can finally have a talk with you, ma'am. You may seat."

I took a seat in the couch in front of the one he was sitting. He made a gesture to the servant that guided me and probably entered the room after me. He approached the king and stood a few steps from him.

"Bring us something to drink."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

Saying so, the servant leave the room.

"I am the king of Trasinto, Azotto. I welcome you to my town, ma'am."

 Something about the way he acts and speak is really uncomfortable. 

"I don't plan to stay here for long."

He was surprised with my answer.

"Is that true? I was actually expecting a partnership between us."

"... Partnership?"

"You see, Trasinto is not a big place. We're lucky we didn't get ourselves involved in any war so far, because we don't have the military power to survive for long. Since everyone here admires you so much, I thought we could work together to defend the town if one day the needs arise. Of course, you'll be rewarded. You should think about it."

Are this guy for real? Is he really asking me to be his soldier?

"I refuse."

"...May I hear your reasons?"

A punch in your face, that's the reason I want to give you.

"I have a mission to fulfill."

"...Is that so? O, our drink arrived."

The servant came with a silver tray that had two cups. Inside the cup was a green liquid. It has a pleasant smell. Azotto got his cup and drank everything in one go, then seemed to be enjoying the taste.

"I never drank a Shuasha Mix as good as the ones I can have in my castle. And I have been in a lot of cities before, it's just not the same."

No idea what a Shuasha Mix should be, but I got my cup and also emptied my cup in one go. It tasted horrible. I had to control my self to not make a disgusted face. It was strong and acid, this makes the medicines I had in my previous life look like hot chocolate.

"May I ask what you seek, ma'am?"

"I heard you had a information I need."

"Is that right? And what is it that you want to know?"

"The location of the Sword of Essence."

"..."

Azotto quickly became serious. He took a deep breath, got up and headed to the window.

"I'm afraid I can't give you this information."

"Why?"

"...It's in a dangerous place. No one should go there."

"I'm pretty sure you already know I came from the Turmoil Forest."

"...Listen to me. I know what I'm talking about. I am the king of this region, I know this place like no one."

"Are you doubting me?"

"I'm sure you are powerful, but this does not mean you're immortal. Am I wrong?"

This is going nowhere.

"Forget it. I'll go there with or without the information you have. I can find myself a way, I was just trying to not waste so much time."

I also got up.

"Wait."

"What's it now?"

"Are you really feeling well enough to challenge something like the Turmoil Forest?"

"I never felt better than I'm feeling today."

"...I see. Very well, I'll give you what you want."

My eyes were wide open. I did not expect this development.

"Fumato, go get what we know about the Turmoil Forest."

"Yes, sir!"

One of the soldiers standing at the door's side answered and left the room. The king looked at the servant and said "Bring her the best Bobui we have" and the servant also left the room again. Then, I sat again on the couch. Everything was silent for a while. Azotto then decided to speak.

"The Turmoil Forest is a mystical place. Legends say it was where Unkladesh, the God of Nature, went to have his eternal sleep. That's why it became the way it is. The forest has a big energy concentration that infect the energy in your body and controls you before you even realize you're not acting on your own."

"I see."

So is this like some kind of radiation? Is this why the trees had strange shapes and different colors?

The servant returned to the room before the soldier and gave me an other cup. This time it had a viscous yellow liquid. He bowed to me and left the room once again. I drank this thing expecting to be somewhat better than the previous one... I now feel like I'm being pranked.

"This is called Bobui, it's a sweet drink. Usually kids are the ones who loves it, but lots of adults drink it too since it has a lot of nutrients."

Yeah, sweet drink indeed. Like drinking a cup full of sugar with some milk in it. It's sickening.

The soldier returned with some archives in hand.

"Give it to her."

The soldier did as he was ordered and returned to the side of the door.

"You have what you wanted, I'll leave you now."

"Alright."

I answered without even looking at the king. He grunted something and left the room immediately. The soldiers stayed, though. Do they think I'm gonna steal something? Their presence is quite annoying.

While reading the archives, I found out a lot of important information about the place and about the Sword of Essence. They seemed to have a good idea at what directions to follow to find the relic, their real fight seemed to be how to traverse the Turmoil Forest. It says here the Sword of Essence was probably hidden inside a tomb. Oh, there's also some old record here, let's see what it says...

Farmer Juto report:
As we went through the multicolored forest searching for a way out, it's main feature started to change and we saw the landscape loosing its color. From the brown to the yellow, and from the yellow to the green... Soon, all the trees went white, as did the grass. While before we felt we were in a peaceful place, now the silence was eerie... Some say too much white is a sign of insanity. And I now know why. We were afraid. And then we saw what looked like an entrance to some place. It was on the ground and it had a stone ladder. We were so afraid we ran with all our might and before we realized, we were in front of the town's gate. That's all that happened.

This must be where they found out about the tomb. This document seems to be quite old...

As I kept reading, I decided to drink a bit more of that Bobui thing. Then I noticed something...

There's something in the cup...!

It looked like a piece of cloth. And looks like there's something written on it. I think I can read it...

Shuasha poison...Bobui drug...Wait, does that mean...?

I'm in shock. How could I be so naive? The way the servant was acting, how bad the drinks tasted, how Azotto simply started talking about them... That's why he asked if I was feeling well and that's also why...

I took a look at the four guards in front of me and the two behind. That's why they are here. They are waiting to see if the drugs are gonna affect me or not. The king wanted to control me, but since I refused, he decided to poison me instead. I put the cup on the table and got up.

"I'm going out. I have a relic to retrieve."

"W-Wait, ma'am! You...You should rest for a bit before going to the Turmoil Forest..."

One of the four guards by the window said.

"Don't worry. Your petty drugs are useless."

"...!"

All the guards got tense real quick. 

"And you all should listen to what I will say and deliver the message to your king: Forget the Sword of Essence. Next time you try something funny, I'll bring this castle down myself."

The guards are speechless. I took this opportunity to walk to the door. I was honestly expecting I'd have to fight them right now and I planned to use this chance to try to use my powers, but it seems---

"HAAA!"

One of the guards tried to pierce my face with his lance, but his attack was blocked by a wind shield I created. I was confident I could do something like that because the wind barrier from before and it seems I was right. The guard seemed to be shocked and I should say he has a reason to--His movement were quite fast and his attack would be lethal if I was not me. I then pointed the palm of my hand to him and concentrated. An air current gathered and quickly a air sphere appeared in front of it. Everything happend really fast and I then hit the air sphere with my palm, launching it in his chest. He barely had time to react, his armor shattered and he was throwed at the bookshelves. A huge gale blowed in the entire room, all the guards flew to the wall, the window broke and the doors were forced open. Everything was a mess after that. The guy that attacked me was unconscious, while the other five didn't get hurt much and were still conscious. I finally took my leave.

While walking down the corridor almost at the end of it, the king appeared in front of me in a hurry.

"W-What have you done!?"

"Nothing yet. But I may do if you don't behave yourself."

"What did you say!?"

He tried to draw his sword, but I got his collar faster than he could react and lifted him from the ground.

"I'll say once again: Do your better the people here and their town. You won't wanna see me angry."

"..."

I tossed him on the ground and kept walking. I did refuse his invite from before, but I can still defend the town on my own. Even if I had to fight the king himself. Is this the right way to use my powers, though? I can't say for sure. But it didn't sit right with me using divine powers against human beings. It was not fair. Having this much power is creating doubts in my mind...

I left the castle, talked to the people for a bit more before heading to my new destiny: The Turmoil Forest.

When I left the town, I was in front of that forest once again. This time is different, though. I know it's called the Turmoil Forest, I know a bit about its history and I know there's a tomb in there that's hiding the Sword of Essence. The first time I was here, when I fell from the sky, I didn't know anything, I was lost. I'm still pretty new to everything, but I now feel like I at least know what I'm doing. Something tells me I'll reach a new level of understanding when I enter the said tomb.

But for now, I entered the forest.

I'll never get used to this place. From big to small, from red to blue, there's a large variety of trees here. The lead I got is to first follow the brown trees.

A few minutes walking and I started to see the glowing flying things.

"Whoo-Whaa!"

"You again."

There were about four or five of them. They circled around me and started to flew in a certain direction, but not the one I need to follow.

"Sorry, this time I already have somewhere to go."

I continued on my way. And sure enough, the yellow trees started to appear. It's not a random thing like all the other colors. The brown trees followed an especific way and so did the yellow ones. It's like a row. It's hard to notice because they are mixed with all those colors.

Then, a few more Spiriculus appeared. About ten of them. I don't believe this is surprising, but the more I supposedly come closer to the tomb, the more these spirits seem to appear. And like before they tried to guide my way, probably to the city. I just kept walking.

The green trees showed themselves.

Now that's a familiar sight. I mean, I also used to saw the yellow ones, but green just feels more familiar.

I've been walking for more than half an hour even with a route to follow.

If those old records are right, I may be near the white area.

However. The Spiriculus came once more, twenty of them. And they were accompanied by something. It was a humanoid figure glowing and flying the same way as the Spiriculus. It had something similar to a hair in format, but still the same as the rest of the body and two big light blue eyes.

"Are you also a Spiriculus...?"

I asked, astonished by it's appearence. The thing raised its arm and the Spiriculus simply decided to tear me down!

"WHUU-WHOO!"

I put my arms in front of my body to defend my self since I didn't have the time to create a wind barrier. They hit like a truck! I felt my body flying in high speed until I hit a tree.

I didn't expect the thing to talk in my language---But it did, only that it speaks in violence!

I drew Astra out and leaped forward. Again, the thing sent the Spiriculus to attack me. This time I was ready to face them and easily slashed them down. Yet, my back was hit multiple times and my body hit the ground.

They are still alive!? No, wait... I never destroyed them to begin with!

The Spiriculus seem to be immaterial. Normal attacks are useless!

"WHUU-WHEE!!"

There they come again! I concentrated and tried something new--In a move of my sword, a fire blast was cast. Using fire in a forest may seem like a selfdestructive move, but that's actually my plan. The flames engulfed the Spiriculus and hit the trees around me, burning them down. There were about six of them that simply disappeared.

It worked!

When I looked back, that thing seemed to be furious at what I did and gathered all the other fourteen Spiriculus around its arm. They fused together to become a bow. It pulled the string and an energy arrow appeared out of nowhere. I felt a cold in my spine.

I need to dodge...!

My body moved on its own and I jumped to the side. I saw a light passing through where I was a second ago and everything went blue. When my eyes could see again, I saw the fire vanished completely. The thing was once again pulling the string--

Not this time!

I stomped on the ground and several earth spears grew out from the ground below the big spirit, piercing it several times. Though an earth spear is a physical attack, it seemed to have worked like other magical attacks. To my surprise, it didn't gave up and shoot a new arrow in my direction. I created an wind barrier just in time to defend the energy arrow, but as my instinct said to me before, I had to dodge---The arrow exploded, everything went blue again and I felt my body being smashed by a huge mass of energy.

It hurts...

I feel my body burning like it's on fire. But I have been in a far worse state before in my human days. I pierced the ground with Astra and used it to get up. The thing is still alive, the spears are holding it down but it can still shoot its arrows---In fact, it's almost ready for an other strike. I need to be faster than it, because for sure I can't evade the next attack. Faster...yes, there's only one thing faster than anything and I'll bring it down!

I pointed my hand to the sky and brought it down. With it, came a huge lightning strike! It hit the ground before the thing could pull the string again, and I saw the spirit disappearing inside the shining bolt. When I looked again, there was only smoke. No Spiriculus anywhere, no sound whatsoever. The path is open.

My body still hurts, but it doesn't look like I have any serious injury. It makes me think, though... Why I was attacked? Were the Spiriculus always this aggressive?... I believe they were not trying to guide me, but preventing me from reaching the tomb. The farmer report indicates he was not attacked at that time, so is this happening just now or there was an other reason? I kept following the green trees.

My walk went without any more problems and I soon started to see the trees becoming white. So did the grass. It didn't take long to see all the forest becoming of white color. The silence now really feels different, as the old record says. I know what the farmer means now... Before I felt I was really in a forest, there was life in it. This place, though? Seems lifeless. Creepier than a graveyard at night. I arrived in a open space.

There it is.

The tomb was in front of me. It's just an entrance. A long stone ladder going to the darkness. I looked around once more, but there's absolutely nothing in this place. Just white. I move my arms and legs to see if I'm really okay. There's some pain here and there, but nothing to worry about. My armor seems fine too. 

I'm ready.

I took a step ahead and stood in front of the stone ladder. I'm going inside the tomb.