After Ard, Milia, Mirea, and Pyria headed back onto the forest trail, the lizardmen stopped following. They stood in total silence, watching until the group began to fade from view. Ard turned back and raised his hand to wave, but the lizardmen just stared back with flat, expressionless faces. Mirea, Pyria, and Milia felt a bit creeped out; even though they were far away and no longer being pursued, those lizardmen were still watching them from the distance.

"How long are they going to keep staring at us?" Milia whispered.

"I don't know... just ignore them," Mirea replied.

"Ugh... I really want to walk next to Ard again," Pyria added.

"You're not the only one," Milia snapped back.

Ard, hearing the three girls whispering behind him, looked over his shoulder while keeping his pace.

"What's up? What are you three whispering about?" Ard asked casually.

"It's nothing... are we still far?" Mirea asked, trying to change the subject.

"Hmm... we should be close. Pyria knows the way," Ard answered, sounding a bit puzzled.

"Be careful, there are guardians up ahead," Pyria warned.

"Stone giants, right?" Ard replied.

"Yes. There's a stone giant nest up ahead. The most important thing is that we don't touch them. Whatever you do, don't ever grab onto any large mounds of rock covered in vines, because that's what they are," Pyria explained.

"Ok, got it," Milia replied.

They kept walking. Along the way, they began to see numerous massive boulders at the edge of the road, blanketed in moss and creeping vines. They simply walked past them without even turning to look, because they knew exactly what those stones really were. After passing many of them, they finally reached a section where the path narrowed and sloped upward. Suddenly, Ard held out his arm to stop them; right in the middle of the road, a massive rock blocked their way.

"Hmm... looks like we'll have to fight this one," Ard said, pulling Exgrandal from his dimensional storage.

"Yeah, judging by the size, it's quite big," Mirea noted.

"Yep, let's get started," Milia added.

"Wait a second," Pyria interrupted.

Pyria leaned down and picked up a pebble from the path. Then, "trok," she tossed the pebble at the massive rock in the middle of the road. Everything went silent. There was no reaction at all from the boulder they assumed was a stone giant. Pyria leaned down once more and grabbed another pebble. This time, she threw it with all her strength until it bounced high into the air, but still, there was no reaction, and silence returned.

"It seems this rock isn't a stone giant after all," Pyria said.

"Ok, let's just go around it," Ard replied.

But before they could move, a bird suddenly landed on top of the rock. "Grek." Suddenly, the rock moved, extending two long arms made of the scattered stones around it. Two legs began to take shape, and the massive boulder split in two, forming a torso and a head. Ard, Milia, Mirea, and Pyria looked way up, as the stone giant was enormous and standing right in front of them. The bird that had perched there immediately took flight, soaring away from its head. The stone giant stood frozen, staring at the bird as it disappeared into the sky.

"Ok... he's definitely a stone giant," Mirea said.

Hearing Mirea's voice, the stone giant immediately turned and looked down, spotting the four humans. His eyes, which were originally green, instantly flared red. He clenched his fists and raised them, ready to crush the four people in front of him.

"Get back!" Ard shouted.

They all leaped backward just as "boom," the stone giant's fist slammed into the ground. He raised his hand again and stepped forward, preparing to stomp on the four of them.

"Scatter!" Ard yelled.

The four of them immediately darted to the left and right of the stone giant. "Boom," his massive foot struck the earth, causing the ground to vibrate and sink. As he landed, Ard immediately sprinted toward the giant. The creature spun around, swinging a fist to meet him, but as the punch came, Ard jumped and ran right up the giant's arm, reaching its shoulder in a flash.

"Clang," Ard struck Exgrandal against the stone giant's head, but the rock was incredibly hard. The giant opened his hand and slapped his own shoulder, intending to catch Ard, but Ard had already jumped. He swiped his arm across the blade of Exgrandal; as the blade began to glow black and white, Ard plummeted back toward the giant's head with his sword held out in front of him.

Ace emerged and flew out to distract the giant, drawing its attention away from Ard. "Clang!" This time, Ard successfully drove his sword into the giant's head and stood firmly on its shoulder. "Braaak!" Ard twisted his blade, and the stone giant's body instantly turned into gravel, shattering and falling to the ground. Ard landed on the pile of rubble and raised his arm, allowing Ace to perch there.

"Clap... clap... clap."

Ard turned to see Milia, Mirea, and Pyria applauding with looks of pure admiration. As he hopped down from the pile of rubble, he brushed himself off.

"Alright, that's that. Let's keep moving," Ard said.

"You made taking down that stone giant look so easy," Mirea remarked.

"If it's just one, I can handle it alone. But if all of them back there decided to wake up... I wouldn't place any bets," Ard said, hitching a thumb over his shoulder.

Mirea, Milia, and Pyria turned to look at the rows of massive boulders scattered along both sides of the path. A sudden chill ran down their spines, and they quickly turned back to stay close to Ard.

"Good thing it was only one," Milia muttered.

"Yeah, though the elders and my father can handle them one-on-one too," Pyria noted.

"That's true. Back when Esmeralda, Velvet, Elidyr, Bledvolf, and I came through here, we each took one on," Ard added.

"Wow... real legends. That seems impossible for us," Milia replied.

"Not necessarily. You just have to know the weak spot—it's right at the crown of the head," Ard said, pointing to the top of his own head.

"Yeah, my dad said the same thing. But he also said it's better to just walk past them since they aren't aggressive as long as they aren't touched," Pyria said.

"I'm really grateful we took this path. It feels like walking through a memory of everything that happened here," Mirea said softly.

"Well... that's the way it is. Come on, we're almost at the seal of Qoaldriog," Ard urged.

They continued their trek. The path grew narrower, forcing them into a single-file line on a steep incline where they had to help one another climb. Once they cleared the forest, they were greeted by a massive stonehenge, its giant pillars etched with ancient runes. The four of them stood before the monument. In front of the structure sat two stones, one black and one white, each featuring a slot to hold the swords Exgrandal and Exelion.

"Is this the seal?" Mirea asked, examining the stonehenge.

"This is it. The seal of Qoaldriog. The sacred tree is just beyond this," Pyria answered.

"Finally. This has taken nearly the whole day," Milia sighed.

"This is where... my mother died. And it's also where I was moved into Mother Velvet's womb," Pyria whispered, her eyes fixed on two twin stones within the stonehenge.

Ard, Milia, and Mirea fell silent. Ard stepped over and pulled Pyria into a side-hug as she stood there frozen, while Mirea and Milia flanked them on either side. They stood in silence, staring at the black and white stones. A tear escaped Pyria's eye, which she quickly wiped away before resting her head against Ard's chest.

"Let's keep going," Pyria said.

"Okay, let's go," Ard agreed.

Ard glanced at Mirea and Milia, who nodded back. They walked through the stonehenge and came to the edge of a staggeringly deep abyss. A long, swaying suspension bridge was the only way to reach the other side.

"Wait... we have to cross on that?" Milia asked, staring at the terrifying bridge.

"Um... yep," Pyria replied.

"But the drop is incredible. How deep is this?" Mirea asked, peering cautiously over the edge.

"Deep enough. We're about to cross onto the body of the sleeping Qoaldriog," Ard said, staring straight ahead.

Mirea and Milia snapped their heads toward him, faces full of confusion and questions.

"What do you mean? Didn't you say he was trapped inside a lake?" Mirea asked.

"Yeah, why are we crossing onto his body? What does that even mean?" Milia added.

"Just look at the landscape ahead," Ard said, pointing across the void.

Milia and Mirea looked toward the far side of the canyon, then traced the lines of the cliffs. They realized that the landmass in front of them actually looked like a gargantuan dragon—so massive it was now covered in soil, rock, and a forest's worth of greenery, making it look like ordinary terrain.

"Wow... then what's under the lake?" Mirea asked.

"Just his head. Right, Pyria?" Ard said, glancing at her.

"According to the stories... yes," Pyria confirmed.

"So you're saying the sacred tree grows on top of Qoaldriog's head?" Milia asked.

"Exactly. That's why the seal must never be broken. If the lake dries up and the tree—which provides nutrients and breath to Qoaldriog—withers away, he will wake up. Given his size, you can imagine what would happen then. That's why it's called a sacred tree; it's so massive because its job is to keep a giant monster contained," Ard explained.

"Oh... I see," Mirea and Milia murmured. They stood there in shock, staring at the land across the abyss and the long bridge they were about to walk across.

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