{Altar of the Goddess of Light — Embrek Forest}

  The ruined altar stood silent beneath the tangled canopy. Moss crept along its cracked stone, and faint carvings of spreading light barely showed beneath years of neglect.

  Olric noticed the faint smile on Aleck's face.

  "So," he said quietly, "you have a plan?"

  Aleck stretched his arms as if shaking off tension.

  "A plan that should work… if I'm right."

  Olric raised a brow.

  "You don't sound very confident."

  Aleck looked toward the narrow path leading away from the altar.

  "Why do you think the monkeys didn't chase us?" he asked.

  Olric folded his arms, thinking.

  "They had the numbers advantage," Aleck continued. "It should've been easier for them to surround us while we were running."

  Olric's eyes sharpened.

  "…Only one of them knows resonance," he said slowly. "The stronger one."

  Aleck nodded.

  "And when it saw us running while using resonance," Olric continued, "it realized it couldn't handle two of us at once."

  "Exactly."

  Aleck glanced toward the trees.

  "It didn't want to risk fighting all three of us together."

  A faint breeze stirred the leaves above them.

  "So," Aleck said, lowering his voice, "we take away its advantage."

  Olric looked at the altar's narrow entrance.

  "You want to lure it here."

  Aleck nodded.

  "If one of us draws it in close, it'll follow. It's confident. But once it steps inside this narrow space, we attack together. No room to maneuver."

  Olric considered it.

  At the end of the day, it was still a monkey.

  Even if it used resonance.

  It wouldn't expect an ambush from children.

  "So," Aleck asked lightly, though he already knew the answer, "who has the stronger coating between us?"

  Olric answered without hesitation.

  "I do."

  Amber stepped forward suddenly.

  "Let's just go home," she said, her voice trembling. "Forget the flower. It's not worth this."

  Aleck gave her a small, almost teasing smile.

  "Then I'll lure it."

  Olric frowned.

  "If I trip… or get caught…" Aleck continued casually, "don't try to save me. You two are different from me anyway."

  Olric's expression hardened.

  "That's not your decision to make."

  Silence hung between them.

  Olric turned to Amber.

  "You stay out of sight," he said firmly. "See those bushes? Hide there. Don't move until it's over."

  Amber's eyes shimmered, but she nodded.

  She didn't want to leave.

  But she also knew she couldn't fight.

  The forest grew quiet again.

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  "So," Olric asked, cracking his knuckles lightly, "are you ready?"

  Aleck glanced at him.

  "As long as you are."

  The altar felt colder than before.

  No wind.

  No insects.

  No distant animal calls.

  Amber's voice trembled.

  "Don't… don't go die."

  Aleck gave her a small nod — not playful this time.

  Then he stepped out from the altar's shadow.

  The pond came into view again.

  Several monkeys lingered near the water's edge.

  The larger resonance monkey stood slightly apart from the rest, watching the surface of the pond.

  Aleck slowed his breathing.

  Too many near the center.

  He shifted his path.

  There — one monkey slightly isolated near a tree trunk.

  Without hesitation, Aleck stepped forward and drove his fist straight into its face.

  Crack.

  The monkey stumbled backward, shrieking.

  Heads turned instantly.

  The larger monkey's gaze locked onto Aleck.

  They locked eyes for half a second.

  Then it moved.

  Aleck turned and ran.

  Partial resonance coated his body as he pushed off the damp ground.

  Branches scraped against his arms as he sprinted toward the altar.

  Footsteps pounded behind him.

  Closer.

  Faster.

  He glanced back.

  The stronger monkey was gaining on him.

  But—

  Another monkey followed behind it.

  Not as fast.

  But present.

  An anomaly.

  Aleck's thoughts sharpened.

  It adjusted.

  But it's manageable.

  He burst through the narrow entrance of the altar.

  Olric was already braced, resonance coating his body like a faint shimmer.

  Aleck dove aside the moment he crossed the threshold.

  The larger monkey lunged through—

  Olric stepped forward.

  His fist drove forward with everything he had.

  Thud.

  The impact echoed against stone.

  The monkey crashed to the ground, stunned by the unexpected strike.

  "Another one's coming!" Aleck shouted.

  The second monkey scrambled through the entrance.

  It was weaker.

  Slower.

  Olric turned sharply and struck again.

  This time the resistance was minimal.

  Aleck didn't waste time.

  He jumped onto the fallen stronger monkey and began driving his fists down repeatedly.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  Each strike heavier than the last.

  The monkey's movements slowed.

  Then stopped.

  Silence returned to the altar.

  Only their breathing remained.

  Olric stepped back from the second body.

  "It's done."

  Aleck stood slowly.

  "It's done."

  For a brief moment, both of them turned toward the moss-covered statue of the Goddess.

  Instinctively, they lowered their heads.

  Amber emerged from her hiding place, eyes wide.

  "…Is it over?"

  Aleck nodded.

  "Yes. Let's go get the flower."

  Olric wiped sweat from his brow.

  "We still need to be careful," he said. "There are more out there."

  Neither of them argued.

  The forest beyond the altar waited in silence.

  And the pond lay ahead.

  All three of them approached the pond again.

  Strangely—

  Very few monkeys remained.

  The clearing felt almost empty.

  Too empty.

  Olric scanned the trees.

  "It doesn't look as dangerous now," he said cautiously. "I'll go pick the lotus. You cover me."

  Aleck nodded.

  Just as Olric stepped forward—

  The air shifted.

  A larger monkey emerged from the trees.

  Not bigger than the one before.

  But different.

  Its posture was upright.

  Its eyes steady.

  It glanced at the three of them.

  Then lunged.

  This time—

  Aleck was the target.

  He barely rolled aside as the monkey's strike shattered the ground where he had stood.

  Olric's eyes widened.

  Aleck scrambled up.

  "What happened?"

  Olric's voice lowered.

  "…Full control."

  Aleck froze.

  Olric didn't take his eyes off the creature.

  "I can feel it," he said. "It's controlling resonance precisely. Not coating blindly."

  His throat tightened.

  "This one is better than most soldiers at my mansion."

  Amber felt it too.

  The pressure in the air.

  The weight.

  The meaning of "monster" Olric once mentioned.

  The monkey did not attack recklessly.

  It watched.

  Calculated.

  Olric stepped slightly forward.

  "Run," he said quietly. "I'll cover you."

  Amber hesitated—but when she saw the look in Olric's eyes, she turned and ran.

  Aleck did not move.

  He stood beside Olric.

  As if they were walking toward death together.

  The monkey's gaze shifted.

  It understood.

  One was fleeing.

  Suddenly it leapt—not toward the boys—

  But past them.

  Straight toward Amber.

  "What—!" Aleck's voice cracked.

  Terror surged through him.

  Olric's heart dropped.

  They both turned—

  The monkey's fist descended toward Amber—

  BOOM.

  The impact landed—

  But not on her.

  A hooded man stood between them.

  The monkey's strike collided against his raised arm.

  The force rippled through the clearing.

  The hooded figure did not move.

  White skin.

  A tattoo etched along the right side of his face.

  His eyes met the monkey's.

  Calm.

  Cold.

  The monkey froze.

  Then—retreated instantly.

  It vanished into the trees without hesitation.

  Silence swallowed the clearing.

  Aleck and Olric stood stunned.

  Amber slowly pushed herself up from the ground.

  She looked up at the hooded man.

  "Th-Thank you, mister… You saved me."

  The man glanced down at her.

  His expression unreadable.

  "What are children like you doing this deep in the forest?" he asked.

  Aleck and Olric exchanged a glance.

  Caution returned.

  Amber sniffed and wiped her tears.

  "I… I wanted a white lotus," she admitted. "So I brought them here."

  Her voice cracked.

  The man's gaze shifted toward the pond.

  "That one?" he asked quietly.

  Without moving toward it—

  A white lotus lifted gently from the water.

  Its stem sliced cleanly.

  The flower drifted through the air and landed softly in Amber's hands.

  Aleck felt his chest tighten.

  He had seen something like this before.

  Father Lucen.

  But he said nothing.

  The hooded man adjusted the flower slightly in Amber's grip.

  "Here," he said softly. "For you, little princess."

  Amber looked up at him with wide eyes.

  "Thank you…"

  Olric stepped forward and bowed slightly.

  Aleck followed.

  The hooded man shook his head.

  "No need," he said calmly. "I'm only a passerby."

  He set Amber down gently.

  "It's late. You should return home."

  There was warmth in his voice.

  The three of them began walking toward the forest's edge.

  After several steps, Amber turned back.

  "You never told us your name!"

  The hooded man paused.

  For a brief moment—

  His expression shifted.

  Then he answered.

  "…Fritz."

  He turned away and walked deeper into the forest.

  The trees swallowed him whole.