A week passed after Limbo's visit to the guardian's nest.
Naval recovered The way it always did quietly, and steadily.
The forge resumed it's rhythm, with new order, just in case to be prepared.
Fishermen returned to the riverbanks, farmer to their field, luckily last battle didn't damage to fields.
From a distance, nothing had changed.
But something had, which wasn't noticed yet.
Whispers no longer carried fear, they carried curiosity.
"Did you hear? The guardian called him."
"They say the elders went before dawn."
"He walked back from the forest."
"He stood in front of.....shhh."
The tone had shifted.
Not a dread...or the admiration.
But something uncertain...
When limbo passed through the village square, conversations didn't stop anymore, they lowered.
A guard near the watch post straightened unconsciously as limbo walked by.
Not a salute, but instict...
The guard seemed to realize it only after Limbo had passed.
Children bo longer dared each other to follow him.
They watched in silence.
Limbo noticed, he said nothing.
Just turn and smile waving hand...
Some run and some... smile as they were looking for it. Those sparkling innocent eyes... unaware of adults hesitation and was carefree.
He sat at the edge of the farmland that morning, near where wild herbs grew thick along the irrigation channel, the soil was warm under his palm.
He closed his eyes.
Meditating on the guardians voice lingering in his mind.
You are not choosen, you are positioned.
Positioned for what?
He exhaled slowly and let his awareness sink into the earth beneath him.
The mana here flowed differently than before.
Faintly strained.
Like water forced his way through narrowed stone.
A faint pulse brushed his sense, not from above, but from below.
He opened his eyes.
The soil in front of him looked normal.
Dark.
Rich.
Alive.
But when a small beetle crawled across one particular patch, It paused.
It's legs twitched.
Then it went still.
Suddenly LIMBO tightened his jaw, seems he noticed something.
He brushed the soil aside gently.
Beneath the top layer, the earth was slightly darker.
The hint...A warning of guardian suddenly emerged.
Sudden a sound came atrracting his attention.
"You're thinking too loudly."
Rin's voice broke the stillness.
He didn't turn immediately, but it was enough to clear her presence.
She approach from behind, arms crossed, studying him.
"I heard," she said quietly. "About the battle...and the guardian."
LIMBO glanced at her.
"And?"
"And you didn't tell me."
"Didn't you heard enough from everyone..?" Limbo taunt.
That's not an answer.
He almost smiled.
Rin stepped closed and crouched beside him, examining the soil.
"You're thinking about something, with that your crazy brain... didn't you?" She said with strange look.
"I....i .. "
Footsteps approached from the field path.
Ela stood in front.
She carried a woven basket, half-filled with greens and root vegetables. The moment she saw the disturb soil, her expression shifted.
"What is it? Words escape.
Limbo stood.
"Nothing dangerous," he said first.
That was a lie.
She knelt, touching the soil herself.
For a heartbeat her fingers lingered there longer than needed.
Memory flickered in her eyes.
Blood... lightning...
His scream.
Her hand tightened slightly around his sleeve. Just slightly.
She almost said something.
Huff huf...a heavy breath.
Manges to hold back infront of her child,
"Come back before dusk...both of you."
They nodded while exchanging glance.
"I will." Rin and Limbo in sync.
An afternoon, next day.
In mid-day Rin returned, this time she was
Came running in rush.
"Limbo!"
He turned instantly, a shout.
"Elder chaya is calling you."
First it was unclear, as distance closed, I became clear.
"Now?"
Rin nodded, breathing unevenly and huffing...Huff huff..
"The soil beyond the north ridge... it's spreading."
Ela stood.
Her eyes met his.
Not protesting this time, nor any kind of command.
Just trust and understanding.
"Go," she said softly.
The gathering was small this time.
Not the entire village.
Only elders.
Two scouts.
A pair of earth affinity mages, responsible for safety.
And Limbo.
"What's he doing here?" Someone asked.
"I call him.." elder chaya said.
No one object anymore.
Soon they walked beyond the northern fields. Past the usual boundary markers.
Beyond the usual plane.
A Pop updated.
Unusual mana source.
Caution recommended.
As he moved.
The air felt different.
Heavy. Not oppressive but, Forced...
When they reached the ridge, limbo felt at before he saw it.
The ground ahead was discolored in thin veins stretching outward like cracks beneath glass.
Not black.
Not yet.
It seems like it was drained.
Another message shown.
Soil vitality loss.
Chaya knelt, pressing her staff into the soil.
"It moving," she said.
Chaya exhaled slowly. "It wasn't this wide yesterday." Limbo said while stepping forward.
The moment his foot crossed into the affected patch, the air shifted.
Not violently.
Aware.
The veins pulses faintly.
Once.
Like something had noticed pressure against it surface.
The earth mage beside him stepped back instinctively.
"It reacts."
A vine suddenly attempt to bind his legs while his distracted.
Boom...
Something within him reacted instantly.
But limbo only felt, a rustling vine sound, unaware of what happened.
He crouched and placed his palm falt against the soil.
Cold, a deep cold..like a rotten corpse feeling.
There was a flow beneath it.
Not random corruption.
Directed siphoning.
He closed his eyes, focus his senses, the faint pull was clearer now.
Downward.
Opposite to Village and guardians clearing.
But somewhere beyond, unclear, something was drinking.
Chaya watched him carefully.
"You feel it."
"Yes."
"Can it be traced?"
He didn't answer immediately, because the truth was uncomfortable and unresolved.
A light surged from his hands, The ground reacted and it shows the faint sign of life.
Not long.
It faded.
"It isn't trying to spread fast," he said slowly.
"It's trying to swallow, remaining unseen."
The air tightened.
Rin's breath caught, her emotions unstable, as the ground screamed as if she can feel.
Chaya's grip on his staff hardened.
"And now?" Chaya asked.
Limbo opened his eyes.
"He knows."
Chaya grasp the hint.
A faint tremor moved beneath their feet, not an earthquake, or instability, more like a pulse.
Distant and responding.
Enough for everyone to feel.
Silence was followed.
Then, from somewhere far below, a thin almost inaudible hiss...
Not from the forest, nor form the surface, under the soil.
Only few heard.
Rin stepped back.
"That wasn't wind."
"No," limbo said.
The veins in the dirt shifted again.
Subtle.
Chaya slowy rose.
"We're heading back."
No argument or delay.
As they turned toward the village, limbo glance once more at the cracked earth.
The pulse did not stop.
It steadied.
They walked back.l, with heavy feeling.
Near the outer watch post, two young guards straightened.
They noticed the elders expression first.
One of them swallowed.
"Is it bad?"
Rummors spread after sometime, supply were gathered, water barrel were filled.
Near his home chaya stopped.
"You saw more than you said," she murmured.
"Yes."
"We have to meet him..
...arange the meeting, as soon as possible.."
We need, Guardian's Insights...