The sun drifted towards dusk, painting the red and black mountain range in tranquil hues of purple and blue, wrapping it in quiet mystery.

Rion still sat at the cliff's edge, and no one was there to accompany him anymore.

His excited eyes were locked at the drowning sun as he thought about everything that had happened in the last few days.

'The Remnant... how is it connected to the Corrupted Abysmal Flame?'

Unlike others, Rion knew that the Corrupted Abysmal Flame was the item that created the purple miasma by devouring the nearby life essence. However, he didn't know the connection between the two.

'Does The Remnant have it?' They might have used the Corrupted Abysmal Flame to control the purple fog forest as they liked.

For now, he couldn't be sure, as he knew nothing more than the existence of both.

His expression darkened for a moment, and he whispered under his breath, "They also talked about having the revenge for their Mother..."

He knew that Zaelyane, whom he was nearly sure of being an elf, also revered an entity called Mother (rethoM), but she didn't seem to be looking for revenge like The Remnant.

"They must be different entities. The Mother of Elves and The Mother of Purple..."

'I may be wrong, but the possibility of them revering the same entity doesn't sound that convincing.'

He didn't have a solid reason, yet he was sure of his conjecture and decided to push away that thought for now.

'How many times has Father met The Remnant?'

The way both of them had regarded each other was as if they had known each other for a very long time, which could be true considering Haden had become the sovereign at the age of twenty-three, just a couple of years before the war against the Leonara kingdom.

These were the thoughts that he could make sense of, or at least knew something about.

However, there were a few things that he couldn't understand at all.

'Why are we trapped in the red and black mountains?'

According to Haria, when she had tried to take the last step down the mountains, everything darkened, and she felt as if her body was being ripped apart... but why? What was the reason behind it?

'Who trapped us here?'

'Why did Father not kill the Remnant? What is he waiting for?'

'Why is Zaelyane here and why did she choose me?'

His thoughts spiralled from order to chaos, and a single question slid down his tongue, "And why did you tell me to accept Yuura?"

He turned his head to the right and looked at the man standing beside him.

His wild, white hair was like a wolf's mane, and his strength-quenched body was pale like marble, his eyes sharper than a blade and more bestial than any beast — He was Varok, the Den Lord.

Varok stood beside him with his hand folded across his chest and stared at the northwestern forest with a calm gaze.

A few moments later, he turned his head towards Rion and said, "You used to shudder just from my gaze."

Rion's lips arched up into a smile, and he answered while kicking the air with his dangling legs, "I don't need to fear you, do I?"

Varok's eyes sharpened, and he hissed, "What makes you think that you don't?"

Rion chuckled, and a dumbfounded expression appeared on Varok's face. Seeing that expression, Rion added, "You answer me, why do I have to fear my own protector? There are so many things for me to be fearful of, then why should I fear what keeps me safe?"

The corners of Varok's lips twitched in irritation, and he growled, "You seem to be misunderstanding my silence for weakness—"

"I am not," Rion cut him off with a raised finger and continued, "I do not think that you are weak... I can feel the weight of your presence after all but I don't necessarily fear you anymore."

Rion turned his head towards the setting sun and added with a quiet smile, "As a kid, I feared you because you were more of a beast than a human, but with the passing time, I discovered that all of us are the same in that regard."

Varok fell silent, and the corners of his lips arched up into a smile as he said, "I told you to accept him because we need a change in the tribe..."

'You already told me that,' Rion inwardly shook his head and asked in a curious voice, "What kind of change?"

Varok stared into Rion's eyes and contemplated whether it was the right time to tell him or not. A few moments passed in silence, and he finally made his decision.

"How much do you know about the dark king?"

Rion frowned and answered, "I only know that he was the one who ruled the Dhaevrak before Father, and Father had killed him."

Varok nodded and sat down beside him. Rion's frown deepened even further, and Varok spoke, "The dark king had also left the mountains."

'Nothing surprising about that,' Rion commented inwardly. He already knew of it from Lara.

Seeing that he did not react, Varok added, "Before leaving the mountains he wasn't the dark king but a prodigy who would've changed everything only if he wasn't cursed by the knowledge."

"What do you mean...?" Rion mumbled in deep confusion, and Varok answered, "He found out who trapped us here and began to search for a way to free us."

His answer, however, only deepened Rion's confusion.

"How's that a bad thing?" He asked with a tilt of his head. He himself wanted to do the same thing, after all.

Varok's eyes darkened, and he added sombrely, "He found the way — the dark phantom gauntlets — a weapon that allowed them to use the purple miasma to weaken the barrier."

'What?' Rion's eyes widened in disbelief, and he stammered, "He was able to control the purple miasma?"

Varok nodded and added in a voice painted with everything that he had witnessed,

"But he lost himself to it... they were no longer what they used to be — they no longer cared about our freedom. Instead, they chose to take revenge, and for that, they needed an army."

The light drained from his eyes. He paused for a moment before he asked in a grim tone,

"What army could be better than one that never dies, grows endlessly and... has the bloodline of gods?"

Rion's face paled instantly, his heart beat rose to the eruption, and he mumbled with quivering lips, "He... he turned the tribe members into cursed...?"

Varok nodded.

"Yes, they did."

And the sun dipped down the horizon.

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