Milo touched the polished surface of Taron's statue, his fingers tracing the lines that perfectly captured the determination in his friend's face.
The tree behind had grown a bit over these months, its branches extending like protective arms over the monunt, casting dappled shadows that seed to make the statue's expression shift with the changing light.
"You should see the city now," he murmured, a bittersweet smile playing on his lips. "All that ti we spent planning how to expand... it's happening."
The conversations they had shared during the crusade for the first ring resonated in his mory. Taron had always been the optimist old man of the group, even in the darkest monts.
When everyone doubted, he maintained faith that Elio… that they would achieve their goals. His laughter had been infectious, his spirit unbreakable until the very end.
"People are venturing out," Milo continued, watching how the tree's leaves danced in the breeze, their shadows playing across the morial.
"Building beyond the walls. Small settlents are springing up near each gate. They're even planting more trees, it turns out they grow slowly but we didn't need to spend so much mana after all… Well, you got the last expensive magic tree you know?"
A soft laugh escaped his lips, rembering how Taron had joked about Elio's obsession with monuntal trees. "There are so many small trees now," he mused. "You would have loved to see them grow."
The progress was undeniable. Citizens contributed more and more resources to help others level up.
Success stories multiplied, people overcoming tunnels six through ten with barely any difficulties, celebrating their victories with food and laughter. The community spirit that Taron had always believed in was flourishing.
"Casualties have dropped dramatically again," he noted, his voice mixing pride and lancholy. "The information we gathered during our own leveling up... it's saving lives. People know exactly what to expect in each challenge."
But even as he spoke, his eyes drifted toward the horizon, where the artromus were patrolling the second ring's boundary.
Always present, always watchful, like dark sentinels against the sky.
"Though I guess that's the part you wouldn't like," he sighed. "They're there day and night, Taron. Like shadows that never fade. No one ntions it directly, but everyone feels it, that sensation of being in a cage, no matter how large it might be."
The artromus had beco more subtle over ti.
Yet their constant presence served as a silent but effective reminder of the limits imposed on the city. Each patrol was precise, thodical, a threat through re presence rather than action.
"Elio took it pretty hard, you know," Milo continued, his voice softening.
"Your sacrifice... he tried to hide it, but we all saw how it affected him. He's beco more cautious with others' lives, if that was even possible. Your last words to him really stuck. He is preparing."
A stronger breeze stirred the tree's branches, creating patterns of light and shadow across the statue that seed to make Taron's determined expression co alive for a mont.
"But your sacrifice wasn't in vain. The first ring is ours thanks to you. People can venture out, can grow, can..." He paused, swallowing the lump in his throat.
In the distance, a group of children played near one of the new settlents, their laughter carried by the wind to where Milo stood. Life continued, expanded, flourished even under the shadow of constant threat.
The sound would have made Taron smile.
"We miss you, friend," Milo whispered, finally stepping away from the statue. "But you made the difference you always wanted to make. Just like you were proud Elio did… I hope that, wherever you are, you can see it."
As he walked away, he thought of the artromus on the horizon, a constant reminder that the current peace had a price, and that the real battle was just waiting to begin.
While walking toward the central building, Milo rembered Elio's attempts to eliminate the artromus.
He had only succeeded once, when one ventured too close to the barrier. It had been a lightning attack, a flash of power and speed from above that caught the monster by surprise.
Since then, the artromus maintained their distance. The mont they saw Elio transford, they fled toward the third ring at impossible speeds.
It would almost be comical to see such powerful creatures retreat in panic... if not for her.
Zahyla always reacted before Elio could reach any of the normal artromus. Like they could share thoughts.
Making him flee before she arrives.
It was as if she had a sixth sense for Elio's intentions. As soon as the artromus would be fleeing, she would be flying there.
The real problem was what this ant for the city's progress.
Levels eleven through twenty had beco practically inaccessible to every one. Each attempt ended the sa way, Zahyla or an artromus appearing mid-challenge, forcing an imdiate evacuation.
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"It's like an invisible wall," Milo muttered while climbing the central building's stairs. "No matter how much we try to prepare."
Elio remained the city's only level twenty.
His close group, Zara, Kriz, Brok, Diana, Lila, i, Aria and Valeria, had managed to reach level nineteen before the surveillance.
Milo's group, along with Lucien and Selene, and the Elite group had stopped at eighteen.
Each day more people reached level ten. It was almost a daily celebration to see new faces joining the ranks of 'fully' trained warriors with combined summons.
But there, progress stopped.
No one had managed to overco level eleven in months.
Elio had stopped attempting his surprise attacks a few weeks ago. Instead, he had begun accumulating mana. No one knew exactly what he was planning, but the determination in his eyes when supervising training suggested sothing was brewing.
Milo finally reached his living quarters in the central building's east wing.
In the distance, the artromus silhouettes continued their endless patrol. And sowhere among them, Zahyla waited, her presence a silent promise that true power would remain out of reach.
The day had been long, but tomorrow would be the sa. More training, more new level tens, more contained frustration as they watched the horizon and dread of overcoming the invisible barrier that Zahyla had created.
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