One Final Thing Before We Leave

I looked back at Lionheart once before leaving.

Five months haa.

Somehow, I had already spent five months there.

The air outside the barrier felt different. It reminded me of the day I fought Guliath the king of the forest that's what he called himself.

I still remembered that defeat, and it never left my mind from then.

Yeah. I really need to get stronger.

“Which way should we go old man?” I asked.

Ryan pointed ahead.

“North.”

“Whattt North again?”

I looked at him.

“Why does everything dangerous in this world seem to be in the north?”

Ryan laughed.

“Maybe you just have bad luck.”

“I’m starting to think that.”

We continued walking towards North.

After a while, Ryan spoke.

Kid,

“There are a few things I want you to remember.”

“What is it old man?”

“If things get out of hand, you leave first.”

I stopped walking for a moment.

“Old man, we haven't even reached the shrine yet.”

“Just listen.”

“Fine.”

Ryan looked ahead.

“And if I don't come back alive…”

I didn't let him finish.

“Alright, old man. Let's save the heroic and no-return talk for some other time.”

I started walking again.

“This time, you're coming back safely.”

Ryan smiled.

“I hope so.”

“Not hope. You're coming back.”

We continued towards the north.

After some time, I asked,

“How long until we reach the Forgotten Shrine of the Guardians?”

“First of all, it's called the Shrine of the Guardians. I call it the Forgotten Shrine because everyone forgot about the Guardians.”

“That's… not exactly a short name.”

Ryan ignored me.

“According to the old records in Lionheart, there should be a stone somewhere along the way. It should tell us the direction to the shrine.”

“A stone?”

“Yes.”

“And where is it exactly?”

“That's what we have to find.”

I looked around at the huge forest in front of us.

“Great.”

So we're looking for one random stone in this giant forest.

And it looks like Searching for sugar in salt.

“By the way… does this world even have sugar? I haven't tasted anything sugary.”

Wait... I haven't eaten anything sweet since I came here.

We continued walking for a while.

The forest was quiet.

I suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, old man.”

Ryan looked at me.

“You told me that you were a wanderer yourself, right?”

“Yeah i did.”

“Then tell me something.”

“What is it?”

“How does the outside world look?”

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

“And what does this world really face right now?”

For a few seconds, Ryan didn't answer.

Then he smiled.

“A fellow wanderer like yourself should already know how the outside world looks, kid.”

He looked at me for a few seconds.

“Or…”

“You don't belong to this world, do you?”

My body froze.

...What?

I started sweating.

Before I could say anything, Ryan suddenly burst out laughing.

“Hahahaha! Got you!”

“I think that incident really did something to your memory, kid.”

“Why else would you ask such questions?”

I looked at him.

“Or were you testing me?”

I immediately became defensive.

“I was just checking if your story about being a wanderer was actually true!”

Ryan smiled.

“Sure, kid.”

He started walking again.

“It looks nice when you chicken out, kid.”

Ryan continued walking.

“Well, since you're so interested…”

He looked ahead.

“I'll tell you what I saw during my travels.”

I followed him.

“What is the outside world really like?”

Ryan took a breath.

“It's much bigger than Lionheart.”

“That's obvious.”

“Don't interrupt me.”

“Alright.”

“The world is divided into several major regions…”

While we were searching for the stone, time flew by without us noticing.

By the time I looked at the sky, it was already noon.

We had been walking around for quite some time, so Ryan suggested that we take a short break.

We found a nearby rock large enough for both of us to sit on.

The top of the rock was surprisingly clean, while the bottom and the area around it were covered in moss.

I climbed onto it and sat down.

While climbing, my shoe accidentally scraped some of the moss.

The moss fell down.

I looked at my shoe.

It was dirty.

Great.

I sat down and took a deep breath.

We have been searching for one stone for hours.

I looked around the forest.

There were trees everywhere.

And not a single stone that looked like the one mentioned in the records.

Ryan, however, didn't seem too worried.

He continued telling me about his travels.

“And one thing that I knew the best about was the Southern Fortresses.”

“Southern Fortresses?”

I looked at him.

“What are these things you call fortresses?”

Ryan looked slightly surprised.

“You don't know about them?”

“No.”

He shook his head.

“Well, I suppose you really have forgotten quite a lot.”

Here we go again.

“The Southern Fortresses are crucial for this world,” Ryan continued.

“Their main purpose is to stop the Demon forces from advancing from the south.”

“So they're military bases?”

“Something like that.”

Ryan looked toward the direction we had come from.

“Way back when There are eight fortresses.”

“Eight?”

“Yes.”

He paused for a moment.

“Another one was also under construction before I came back to Lionheart.”

“So there were going to be nine?”

“That's right.”

I thought about it.

“Then why are they so important if there are already eight of them?”

Ryan gave me a strange look.

“Because each fortress has a different purpose.”

“Different purpose?”

“Yes.”

“They were not built simply because someone thought having more walls would be useful.”

I nodded.

“Each fortress exists for a reason.”

“And the fall of each fortress also has a meaning.”

That caught my attention.

“What kind of meaning?”

Ryan looked at me.

“If the First Fortress falls…”

He paused.

“It means the approaching army is stronger than expected.”

“So the first fortress is basically the first line of defence?”

“Exactly.”

“And what happens if the Second Fortress falls?”

Ryan's expression became more serious.

“If the Second Fortress falls…”

He looked toward the distant horizon.

“…then it means only one thing.”

“The continent has lost one-third of its land.”

I immediately looked at him.

“Why one-third of the land?”

Ryan sighed.

“Because of how the fortresses are positioned.”

“The Royal Capital is surrounded by four of them, while the other four fortresses are spread across the continent.”

“They were built in places where they could protect important regions and prevent the Demon forces from advancing further.”

I looked at him for a moment.

“So they're not just protecting the Royal Capital.”

“No.”

Ryan shook his head.

“They are protecting this entire continent.”

I looked toward the forest again.

So that's why the Southern Fortresses are important.”

Ryan leaned back against the rock.

“I've seen most of them with my own eyes, you know.”

“You have?”

“Of course.”

Ryan smiled proudly.

“I've travelled farther than most people in Lionheart could even imagine.”

“I've crossed mountains, forests and even—”

I looked down.

My shoe was still dirty.

Damn it.

Some moss was still stuck to it.

I tried rubbing my shoe against the rock.

Nothing happened.

I rubbed it again.

Still nothing.

Ryan continued talking.

“There were places where I was the only person who had ever—”

Blah blah blah.

I scraped my shoe against the rock again.

A piece of moss fell away.

I stopped.

“...”

There was something underneath it.

I leaned closer and looked at the side of the rock.

Some of the moss had already fallen off when I climbed up.

I brushed away a little more.

There were carvings.

And beneath them were letters.

I stared at them for a few seconds.

“Old man.”

Ryan stopped speaking.

“I told you not to interrupt while I'm speaking, kid.”

“I think you should look at this.”So that's why the Southern Fortresses are important.”

Ryan leaned back against the rock.

“I've seen most of them with my own eyes, you know.”

“You have?”

“Of course.”

Ryan smiled proudly.

“I've travelled farther than most people in Lionheart could even imagine.”

“I've crossed mountains, forests and even—”

I looked down.

My shoe was still dirty.

Damn it.

Some moss was still stuck to it.

I tried rubbing my shoe against the rock.

Nothing happened.

I rubbed it again.

And Still nothing.

Ryan continued talking.

“There were places where I was the only person who had ever—”

Blah blah blah.

I scraped my shoe against the rock again.

A piece of moss fell away.

I stopped.

“...”

There was something underneath it.

I leaned closer and looked at the side of the rock.

Some of the moss had already fallen off when I climbed up.

I brushed away a little more.

There were carvings.

And beneath them were letters.

I stared at them for a few seconds.

“Old man.”

Ryan stopped speaking.

“I told you not to interrupt while I'm speaking, kid.”

“I think you should look at this.”

Ryan immediately looked at me.

“Fine. What is it?”