God's Tree-Chapter 103: A New Direction

The forest remained still, as if holding its breath.

Argolaith stood before the First Tree, the small container of its lifeblood resting in his palm.

A single drop.

Yet it felt as if he was holding the weight of an entire world.

His thoughts raced—his very existence had been questioned, rewritten.

He wasn’t part of the Grand Design.

He wasn’t even fully from Morgoth.

His parents came from the Greater Realms, a place he had only heard whispers of, a place mortals were never meant to reach.

It made sense now—why he had always felt different, why the world seemed to bend around him in subtle ways.

And yet—

Did it change anything?

Argolaith clenched his jaw.

No.

He was still himself.

This truth didn’t change his goals.

It didn’t change his purpose.

He would find the rest of his trees.

He would claim their power.

And he would forge his own path.

With that resolve, he turned away from the First Tree and began walking back toward the sealed path, where his trial had begun.

The moment he stepped through the veil of trees, the oppressive energy vanished.

The forest brightened—the air felt lighter.

Kaelred and Malakar were waiting.

Kaelred was sitting on a fallen log, arms crossed, looking irritated.

Malakar stood nearby, his skeletal fingers tapping idly against the hilt of his sword.

The moment Argolaith emerged, Kaelred pushed off the log, stepping forward.

"Well? What happened? Did you almost die again?"

Argolaith exhaled, shaking his head.

"Not exactly. But I did get answers."

Malakar tilted his head, his glowing violet eyes narrowing.

"Interesting. And?"

Argolaith held up the container of lifeblood, the deep violet liquid still faintly pulsing inside.

"I took what I needed."

Kaelred’s gaze flickered to the container, then back to Argolaith’s face.

"…You look different."

Argolaith frowned. "How so?"

Kaelred studied him for a moment longer, then shrugged. "Can’t explain it. You just do."

Malakar, however, was watching him far more intently.

And Argolaith knew—Malakar suspected something.

But the lich said nothing.

Not yet.

Instead, he motioned toward the path ahead.

"Then it’s time to move. We still have four more trees to find."

Argolaith nodded. "Yeah. Let’s go."

And with that, they left the First Tree behind—but its truth followed them.

They walked in silence for a long while.

The forest stretched endlessly ahead, but the tension weighed heavier than the air itself.

Kaelred, of course, was the one to finally break it.

"Alright," he said, throwing up his hands. "I can’t take it anymore. What the hell happened back there?"

Argolaith exhaled.

Then, slowly, he told them.

About the trial.

About the Tree of Eternal Night.

About his parents and the Greater Realms.

Kaelred listened, his usual smirk vanishing as the weight of the revelation settled.

Malakar, however, remained unnervingly silent.

When Argolaith finally finished, Kaelred let out a slow breath, rubbing the back of his neck.

"…Huh."

"That’s all you have to say?" Argolaith raised an eyebrow.

Kaelred scoffed. "Look, I don’t know what you want me to say. ’Oh no, my best friend’s not part of the Grand Design, how tragic?’"

He rolled his eyes.

"Who cares? You’re still Argolaith. It’s not like you suddenly grew a second head or something."

Argolaith blinked.

Then, to his surprise—he laughed.

Kaelred grinned. "There it is. See? Nothing changed. You’re still the same reckless lunatic I’ve been traveling with."

But Malakar, who had been eerily quiet, finally spoke.

"…Not everything is that simple."

Both of them turned to face him.

Malakar’s gaze was sharp, his expression unreadable.

"You have no idea what it means to be outside the Grand Design, Argolaith."

Argolaith frowned. "Then tell me."

Malakar’s fingers flexed, as if weighing whether to answer.

Then, in a low, quiet voice, he said—

"Not even the gods know what lies beyond the Grand Design."

Silence.

A cold wind swept through the trees, sending a chill down Argolaith’s spine.

He had expected Malakar to mock him, to tease him about how ’special’ he was.

But this—

This was something else entirely.

"Do you know anything more?" Argolaith asked carefully.

Malakar met his gaze.

"…Not yet."

A cryptic answer.

But Argolaith knew Malakar well enough by now.

If the lich didn’t want to say more, it meant even he didn’t fully understand.

And that alone—was unsettling.

As the sun began to set, they found a place to camp.

Kaelred, eager to change the mood, started preparing dinner.

Argolaith took out his notes on runes, his mind still swimming with questions.

Malakar sat nearby, seemingly lost in thought, his fingers idly tracing runes in the dirt.

For now, there were no immediate threats.

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No fights.

No trials.

But the weight of what they had learned—remained.

Argolaith glanced at the container of lifeblood, its glow reflecting in his eyes.

One down.

Four to go.

And with each step forward, he knew—

More truths would be waiting.

Truths he wasn’t sure he was ready for.

But he would face them.

No matter what.

The fire crackled softly, sending small embers drifting into the cool night air.

Kaelred leaned back against a fallen log, chewing on a strip of dried meat as he stared into the flames.

Argolaith sat nearby, sharpening his sword with slow, deliberate strokes. The rhythmic scrape of steel on stone filled the quiet space between them.

Malakar, as usual, was a little further away, seemingly disinterested but still listening to every word exchanged between them.

They had settled in for the night after a long day of travel—one filled with silence, occasional banter, and an unspoken tension that neither Argolaith nor Kaelred felt the need to address.

But then—

Kaelred felt it.

It was subtle at first, like a faint whisper at the back of his mind. A tug, a pull. An unseen force calling to him.

At first, he tried to ignore it, brushing it off as exhaustion or the lingering effects of their last battle. But the feeling only grew stronger.

It wasn’t something he could push aside.

It was insistent.

Persistent.

And then, it clicked.

His Five Trees.

One of them was calling to him.

Kaelred sat up suddenly, eyes widening.

Argolaith stopped sharpening his sword, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

Kaelred took a slow breath, placing a hand over his chest, as if trying to physically feel the pull within him.

"…One of my trees."

Argolaith’s expression shifted instantly.

Malakar finally looked up from the rune he had been tracing in the dirt, his glowing violet eyes narrowing.

Kaelred clenched his jaw, closing his eyes for a brief moment. He focused on the feeling, on the strange but familiar force calling him forward.

"It’s not close," he admitted. "But I can feel it pulling me. It’s in that direction."

He lifted a hand and pointed southwest.

Argolaith followed the direction of his finger, his gaze settling on the vast, open wilderness beyond.

"…How far?"

Kaelred shook his head. "No idea. Could be thousands of miles."

Argolaith exhaled, glancing down at the container of lifeblood he had obtained from his own tree earlier that day.

"Well, I guess that settles our next destination," he said, slipping the container back into his storage ring.

Kaelred smirked. "Just like that?"

Argolaith grinned. "Why not? You followed me to my tree. It’s only fair I do the same for you."

Kaelred gave a small chuckle, shaking his head. "You make it sound so simple."

Malakar, watching them from the shadows, finally spoke.

"It is simple. You both need to gather the lifeblood from your trees. Whether you find them one at a time or together, it makes no difference."

Kaelred shot him a look. "And what about you? You planning on tagging along for all of them?"

Malakar smirked, his skeletal fingers tapping lazily against the hilt of his sword.

"For now, you amuse me."

Kaelred snorted. "That’s not creepy at all."

Argolaith rolled his eyes and stood up, stretching.

"Then it’s decided," he said. "Tomorrow, we start heading southwest."

Kaelred nodded, still feeling the pull of his tree, like a steady heartbeat in his mind.

It wasn’t something he fully understood yet.

But he knew one thing—

He couldn’t ignore it.

And he wouldn’t.

By sunrise, they were on the move.

The wilderness stretched endlessly ahead, vast and unrelenting.

They moved with purpose, weaving through dense forests, traversing rocky terrain, and avoiding the occasional predator lurking in the distance.

Hours turned to days, and the pull Kaelred felt only grew stronger.

At first, it was faint, like a whisper on the wind. But as they traveled, it became something more.

A feeling that settled deep in his bones.

It wasn’t just a direction.

It was guidance.

Like the tree itself was reaching out to him, drawing him closer with an unseen force.

He didn’t know what to expect when they finally arrived.

Would the trial be like Argolaith’s?

Would the tree speak to him?

Would it reveal secrets he wasn’t ready for?

He wasn’t sure.

But he would find out.

And no matter what waited for him at the end of the journey—

He would face it head-on.

Just like Argolaith had.

Just like they all would.

Together.