Defiance of the Fall

However , not even critters were present , making the forest eerily silent except for the occasional rustle from the wind . This stillness felt quite jarring to Zac as his life had been accompanied by the sounds of the forest constantly since the world changed . From critters in the bushes to the calls of the birds . Even the deep roars of the barghest .

That all these sounds were gone didn’t feel natural , and his vigilance only increased , instead of having a soothing effect on him .

As he walked he noticed that he didn’t recognize most of the trees or plants in the valley . Now he wasn’t any botanist , he only knew of the staple flowers and trees . But he felt he should at least recognize some of the vegetation if it was from earth . There were a few trees he assumed were maples but the leaves were as large as his torso .

He didn’t know if the forest had mutated or evolved from the extremely dense cosmic energy in the area , or whether this forest came from another planet , but it felt like the old earth wasn’t able to produce a forest feeling so vibrant .

He was debating whether he should collect samples from the various flowers and herbs like the demon parties did , but soon decided against it . He had no immediate use for them , and the valley would still be here if he managed to kick out the demons .

He soon arrived close to the small lake he glimpsed from the mountain peak . With how pristine the rest of the forest was he had expected that the lake to have clear beautiful waters . While it didn’t look or smell stale , it also wasn’t clear .

The lake was a mysterious shimmering blue , and he could barely see a decimeter into the water before everything was obscured . The water itself seemed to be packed with cosmic energy , as though the lake consisted of liquefied Nexus Crystals .

His body almost instinctively reached down to drink a mouthful of the enticing water before hastily stopping himself . It seemed like such a good natural resource , but still , there were no animals or monsters around , which was very eerie . Perhaps there was something lurking in the depths , prowling on anything stupid enough to come too close to the shore .

He couldn’t let the water go to waste though , and tied a string to one of his magical canteens . He then threw the canteen into the water , and waited some time before dragging it out . It now contained the cosmic water , but he wouldn’t try it before he could feed it to some beasts and see its effects .

Feeling uncomfortable by the mysterious lake Zac continued onward toward the center of the valley . The mysteries of the azure pond would have to wait until another day .

He was almost at the core of the valley by now and slowed his pace . If the Herald was in this valley then it would stand to reason that he was somewhere in the center . Slightly nervous he gripped his axe for comfort , as memories of the struggle with the last herald still haunted him .

Not far ahead it seemed that the forest gave way to open fields , so Zac crouched down and slowly made his way to the edge of the forest . What met his eyes from his hidden vantage point shocked him .

It was a large field , filled with shrunken and desiccated fallen trees . There were signs of bushes and flowers having existed as well , but they too looked like they had been baked in an oven . The only thing still standing tall was a solitary tree in the center .

It wasn’t very large , only being roughly 5 meters tall , but it was spectacular . The trunk and branches had a crimson hue and a smooth exterior . The leaves weren’t red or green but a pristine white , making it look like crystals adorned the branches .

It was a spectacular sight , and Zac didn’t for a second think that this was a normal tree . It was something created with a lot of cosmic energy . The tree virtually hummed with power , making Zac wonder if it actually was alive .

Zac guessed that this tree was the reason for the desolation in the vicinity . The tree seemingly had absorbed the life or cosmic energy out of everything in its surroundings . Perhaps it even had killed all the animals in the forest as well , explaining why it was so quiet . It was a scary thought that the tree wasn't satisfied with the huge density of energy in the air , and needed to drain its surroundings to be satiated .

It took Zac a second to register that something else was next to the tree . A monkey , roughly two meters tall with a build somewhat slimmer compared to its brethren , sat cross-legged with closed eyes under the tree . What made it stand out apart from its build was its color . If the other monkeys in the mountain were made of anthracite rock , then this monkey was made of lava . Red shining streaks ran along every part of the monkey’s otherwise black body , emanating a heavy pressure .

It was the monkey king .

Chapter 47 - Collision Course