When Lucian stepped out of the hut, he was surprised to see an entire settlement of aboriginals moving in and out of the various huts that covered the entire landscape.
It was like a small village, with aboriginal children, men, and women roaming around the area.
Lucian followed silently behind the Grandmother, who was greeted by every passing man and woman.
Only now did he realize that she wasn't just respected by Theo and Leo; she was respected by everyone in the settlement.
All of them, both men and women, called her "Grandmother" as she passed.
Perhaps it was some form of title rather than the actual meaning of the name.
Eventually, the two of them walked out of the settlement gate and up toward a mountain slope.
Surprisingly, Grandmother was more agile than she looked, scaling the slope with ease while Lucian felt his back straining slightly.
They both walked silently through the woods for some minutes before Lucian heard the sound of water flowing.
When they finally arrived at the top, it was a green grassy plain, with a small river flowing beyond it, winding into the distance like a giant anaconda.
'So here it is. The water...'
Lucian thought to himself.
He knew well his hopes of ever finding it on his own without clashing with the Aboriginals was close to impossible.
In front of them in a little distance was the place where the village was, and Lucian saw it was indeed a very small settlement, not even a quarter of the size of his sect's grounds—though his sect was also the smallest of all the Supreme sects.
The cool breeze gently blew through the area as Grandmother sat down on the grass.
Lucian simply stood to the side, feeling his formerly chaotic heart finding peace from the peacefulness in the area.
"A small place, isn't it?" Grandmother asked with a chuckle.
Lucian nodded silently.
"Very small…" he unconsciously added, realizing his error a few seconds later.
But Grandmother only smiled brightly instead of feeling offended.
"It's small, and to deny that is to choose to be blind even in the light."
"But it possesses things that the larger world lacks and will never find," she muttered, and Lucian's eyes furrowed.
"And what is that?" he asked.
"Peace, harmony, and happiness, all in equal measure to every man and woman."
"A rare quality, isn't it?" she said.
When Lucian truly looked at the village, he realized she was right.
It did seem peaceful, and he could see genuine happiness in the eyes of the people.
It was something the outside world lacked.
There was never harmony or peace in the world outside, especially with the Supreme sects constantly at odds with one another.
They only banded together like allies to destroy his sect.
Now that his sect had been destroyed, he was sure their alliances had already broken.
Humans lived in fear of the demons, and the demons also lived in fear of the humans.
The smaller creatures were always afraid of being bullied by the larger factions, and one could be dead in an instant just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There was no true peace or harmony at all.
That was something even Lucian himself couldn't refute.
"My sons told me they found you near the borders of our area."
"They said you were carrying the Void Stone and lying in the top of a tree, where they guessed you were living because you hung some Apple at the side."
"But it's also suspicious because we know this entire range like the back of our hands."
"If there was a person like you lurking, we would have found you long ago."
"It must mean you're not originally from around here in the forest…" Grandmother said, confirming what Lucian already suspected.
It seemed the aboriginal footsteps he had sighted were this group's, and they had tracked him down, finding him unconscious and bringing him back to their settlement.
It was no doubt mystifying.
Lucian had heard stories of people finding aboriginal clans, but no one ever returned to tell the tale.
Only rumors circulated, and many doubted the clans even existed, dismissing them as mere fairy tales.
It was a surprise that he had found himself in one—and wasn't being held as a slave either.
"So, what about the place you came from?" Grandmother asked as she picked up her staff, tightening the knots that stuck out from its sides.
Lucian eventually sat down on the green grass.
Standing for too long brought pain to his knees.
He looked into the far distance, thinking of various ways to answer, but eventually, he spoke the truth, the cool breeze having something to do with his decision to be honest.
"It's gone…" he whispered.
"I'm sorry for the loss of your sect. Unfortunate, indeed…" she said softly to Lucian, who looked silently into the distance.
But soon, he noticed something and turned to her with a questioning gaze.
"I know you're from a sect, and my sons reported finding nothing but ashes of the God's Fall Sect when they brought you back," she answered his unspoken question.
Lucian nodded, her words making sense.
Since the aboriginals lived in the forest near the sects, it wouldn't be wrong to assume they knew of the sect's destruction.
And to find a person living among the trees just days after—it was reasonable to assume he was a fugitive from the destroyed sect.
But still, it surprised Lucian that they had let him live.
Why did they care for him?
And why had they helped him fuse with his artifact?
The reasonable choice was to have killed him, and then find a personal from amongst them to fuse with the artifacts.
Since they had the map, they eventually knew just as much as Lucian himself.
They could have simply replaced him and improve the strength of their clan with his belongings.
But somehow, they had chosen to leave him alive and even aid him a little. It was truly mystifying.
"Your patriarch…" she said, pointing her staff toward him, and Lucian's ears perked up unconsciously.
"He's an old friend of mine."
"An old friend?" He asked in surprise, and Grandmother nodded with a chuckle, her gaze seemingly lost in her memories.
"Luther Void. I knew him very well, and every time I think of him, I feel like I didn't know him at all…"