314 Improved Awareness (2/2)
”Ah, what fun times.” Raven murmured as he shook his head. ”But that was the past. In the end, I was completely outclassed by the Abyssal Emperor. I even had to opt for mutual destruction. A last ditch effort to out with a boom, but I had no way of knowing if he would survive my self destruction or not.”
”Well, not that I would ever know since I'm here now.” Raven muttered.
”Needless to say, it would be different this time.” He proclaimed as he looked up with gleaming eyes. ”If you thought I was annoying with my rocks back then, let's see if I would still be outclassed by you again.”
*Grumbles*
”But first, lunch.” Raven looked at Venus and said: ”Come girl, I'll prepared some boar stew.”
***
”It's seems that I was right. Something really did change here.”
In a vast forest filled with gloom and decay, a man could be seen walking gently like he was at his yard. This man is evidently old, proved with the fact that his back was bent and he needs the assistance of a cane to keep him stable.
His head was mostly bald, except for a few strands of white hair left on the sides. His forehead was wrinkled, so much so that it drooped down and was almost covering his eyes. His brows as well as his long facial hairs were also white. His nose was large and has a couple of warts, his long earlobes dangled down and almost reached his shoulders, he's also wearing three hollowed earrings on each ear.
He wore a loose grey robe with white hems. He's also wearing loose pants and a pair of wooden sandals.
The old man looked around at the dead forest which appeared to be calm and undisturbed on the surface. He was indifferent about the fact that he was surrounded with decayed skeletal remains of beasts who tried became the victim of this hungry forest.
His steps were light and even, but each step he made carried him closer and closer to the depths of the forest with incredible speed. This alone proves that this old man was far from being ordinary.
It only took him a total of five steps in order to reach the core of the forest from the entrance. He suddenly found himself looking up to a tall black tree with dark leaves and pulsing purple core.
He took normal steps and arrived closer to inspect this told tree. His eyes concentrated at its core since it was the source of the irregularity that he felt.
”Would you look at that.” The old man smiled and laughed out loud, causing him to wheeze and clutch his chest to calm his troubled heart.
He cleared his throat and look at the core of the tree. More precisely, the color at the center of the core.
The core was still mostly purple but at it's center, there is a trace of blue and pink colors that chased after each other in an endless cycle.
This caused the old man to show a kind smile and say: ”The Young Bud finally has the courage to correct it's ways. What a joyous day it is.”
He stepped closer to the tree and caressed the trunk fondly. ”I cannot wait until you bloom once more so that we could dream together. Until then, I'll wait for you.”
He then turned around and looked at a distance. A smile crept up to his face once more as he said:
”Well then, I should pay a visit to this young man so that I could thank him personally.”