Chapter 154:
The Forest of Crossroads was suffocatingly quiet. There was an eerie silence but it was not from the absence of life oh no, the deeper they ventured, the more it beca clear that sothing was watching them. Stalking them. The twisted remains of the off a small city of the Dragon Kingdom lood over them like a specter, an endless graveyard of shattered hos and broken dreams. Skeletons all over the place. Broken toys of children. The air was heavy, reminding everyone who entered this part of past bloodshed to the point you can still taste the iron of the blood sll the sll of blood, and the further they walked, the more iyo found herself unable to push away the lingering ghosts of a history she never once cared to question.
Of the genocide her parents ordered with her great grandfather the founding king.
Akari walked close beside her, her usually teasing, confident deanor completely gone. She was pale, her hands trembling slightly. She hadn't spoken since Kouki disappeared into the Shadow Realm, and every so often, iyo could hear the sharp, uneven breaths she tried to suppress.
iyo was just as shaken, though she refused to let it show.
Ahead of them, Rika led the group, eyes constantly flickering between the trees, her presence unusually subdued. Hakashi and Duck were walking a few paces ahead, whispering sothing between them, while Kaito stayed closer to Akari, his hands at the ready in case she collapsed again.
The only sound was the distant rustling of the wind through the dying trees.
Then, the ground trembled.
A deep, resonating boom echoed through the ruined landscape, shaking the earth beneath their feet. Small rocks shifted. Cracks split along the ground. The Vanguard ca to a halt instantly, eyes darting toward the source of the disturbance.
The entrance to the Forest of Crossroads was close. They could see it—a massive archway of intertwined roots and stone, pulsing with ancient energy. The forest itself was dark and sprawling, its towering trees stretching endlessly into the sky, their twisted branches blotting out all but the faintest hints of light.
But they weren't alone.
A shadow moved at the entrance. Sothing impossibly large.
Then, with another boom, it stepped forward.
A monstrous Earth Golem a monster from the 5th dinsion stood between them and their only path forward.
It was massive, nearly thirty feet tall, its entire body composed of layered stone and thick, jagged rock, ancient runes glowing along its surface like veins of molten gold. Its movents were slow but deliberate, each step causing another quake beneath their feet. Its eyes—if they could even be called that—were hollow, glowing pits of amber light, burning with an unwavering, silent vigilance.
It was a guardian.
A sentinel.
And it would not let them pass.
Rika's eyes narrowed. "We've got a problem."
"No shit," Kaito muttered. His hands twitched, already preparing his blood magic, but he hesitated—his earlier injuries from the Hydra still hadn't fully healed. He knew he wouldn't be at full strength.
Duck clicked his tongue. "I don't suppose we can just... walk around it?"
The Earth Golem shifted, massive stone arms dragging against the ground as it planted itself firmly in front of the entrance. Its entire form pulsed with ancient energy, its presence alone warping the air around it.
Yeah. Definitely not letting them pass.
iyo took a step forward.
She didn't hesitate. She didn't question.
This was what she was supposed to do.
If Kouki were here, he would have charged in already. If her mother and father were watching, they would be expecting her to act.
She wasn't just the daughter of the Phoenix Kingdom.
She was iyo Chikara.
A ruler.
A warrior.
The destined one.
The Child of destiny who will rule over all existence.
She could feel the Sky Hawk's power still coursing through her veins. That 12th Dinsional Power. She had touched it, had felt it, had used it to stand against the Hydra.
She could do it again.
Without a word, she launched forward.
The wind exploded around her as she surged toward the Golem, golden energy crackling in her wake. Her Sky Hawk-enhanced eyes locked onto the target, her mind already calculating every possible angle.
She vanished.
Reappeared above the Golem's head in an instant, blade of pure wind forming in her hands.
And then—
She swung.
A precise, perfect slash, aid directly for the Golem's core.
And then—
Nothing.
The mont her blade made contact, a pulse of force erupted from the Golem's body.
The Sky Hawk's energy was gone.
Like a candle snuffed out in an instant.
iyo's entire body seized up, a violent shockwave slamming into her mid-air. Her sky hawk like eyes widened in horror as her limbs gave out, the power that had surged through her veins monts ago now nothing more than an aching void.
She was falling.
She couldn't catch herself. She couldn't move.
She wasn't fast enough.
The ground rushed toward her.
She braced for impact—
And then—
"iyo!"
Akari moved on instinct.
Despite her exhaustion.
Despite the pain screaming through her veins from bending reality itself to save Kouki.
She moved.
A burst of golden light erupted from her hands, her soul magic activating just long enough to slow iyo's descent.
She caught her.
They hit the ground hard, rolling across the scorched dirt, dust kicking up around them.
iyo gasped, her entire body trembling, a cold sweat breaking across her skin.
She couldn't breathe.
The Sky Hawk's power—it was gone.
Like it had never been there.
Her borrowed power.
The power she was never ant to have.
And now, she was weak.
Akari's breathing was labored, her hands trembling as she struggled to push herself up. "iyo... what the hell were you thinking?"
iyo coughed, her fingers gripping the dirt beneath her. "I—I thought I could still—"
"You thought?" Akari's voice cracked, her exhaustion turning into anger. "You almost got yourself killed, iyo! Just Like Kouki! You're not invincible!"
iyo's eyes snapped to her. "I was trying to protect us."
"You almost got yourself killed."
Silence.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Because the Golem was still there.
Unmoving. Unbothered. Watching.
It had not attacked. It had not retaliated.
Because it did not need to.
iyo had been so outmatched that it didn't even acknowledge her as a threat.
The weight of that humiliation crashed down on her like a stone.
Rika's voice broke the silence. "I can't fight."
She was shaking slightly. She didn't like admitting that. But they needed to know. "I'm still focused on Kouki. If I use my abilities now, I might lose my connection to him."
Kaito clicked his tongue. "Akari's out of energy, iyo's down, Rika can't fight."
Duck took a cautious step back. "...So who's actually gonna fight that thing?"
The Earth Golem shifted.
Its hollow amber eyes locked onto them, its massive stone arms rising.
And then—
Hakashi stepped forward.
iyo blinked, still dazed. "Hakashi-Kun?"
Hakashi didn't respond.
His eyes were cold.
His aura shifted.
He raised a single hand.
A faint, eerie golden glow pulsed from his fingertips.
This was his chance to show iyo why she was his girl.
With Kouki gone he was the one she can rely on.
And then, with absolute certainty, he spoke.
"I'll handle it."
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