Following the earlier departure of Le-va-none, Imuru had not much to do for the rest of his day, so lay ideally beside Forcent, caressing his fur. He gradually shut his eyes, ready to soak up this quiet time.
This time of tranquility for Imuru didn't last long, with the abrupt arrival of Arken and Roll.
Arken took his time to take in his surroundings, a grumpy look he couldn't contain on his face. "Foolish winged creature," He grumbled under his breath.
Imuru spaced out from the mere presence of Arken, yet he prepared himself for what's to come.
Roll cleared his throat. "Sir Arken if you'll excuse me." Roll swiftly excused himself from Arken's side, and hurriedly along over to Imuru.
"Lord Imuru, pardon me for disturbing you." He bowed, and revealed a sealed parchment in his hand.
This woke Imuru up immediately. He retrieved the parchment, and removed the wax that sealed it in order to read this letter he received.
He read through the note and it made Imuru seem more and more alert. "'Rising emergency'… Collon… Collon!?" The read was short and Imuru stood up promptly, panic stricken.
"Oh, Roll." Imuru swiftly composed himself. He held his head up slightly and crossed his arms across his chest. "Thank you Roll, appreciate it."
"Roll, the prestigious leader known as Collon, Will be making his appearance here, please make sure everyone welcomes him with respect," Imuru politely ordered.
"Yes, of course, Lord Imuru!" Roll enthusiastically exclaimed. He spun on his heel and headed off to prepare for Imuru's guests arrival.
Arken quietly approached Imuru, his curiosity piqued. "Who is this Collon?" Arken asked, looming over Imuru.
The Demon Lord nonchalantly looked up at Arken, and raised an eyebrow. "Uh." His gaze drifted onto Slite, meditating, with his granddaughter behind him. "You know, come here."
Even though he was perplexed, Arken trailed behind Imuru, up onto the porch. Imuru pointed down on the ground, beside Slite, and told Arken to sit.
Arken refused in practically an instant. He had no interest in following through with this mediation lesson, so just stood in place, and stared Imuru down.
"Arken, sit," Imuru said once again, calmer than the last. Arken looked down at Slite, and Imuru just took this as his answer.
"Okay, first cross your legs, each foot should be placed on the opposite thigh, back straight, and your palms open laying flat, simple," Imuru explained Slite's form to Arken.
"I'm not flexible, and a Dark Devider needs no such thing as this," Arken promptly and firmly replied.
Imuru's smile subsequently widened. "Uh-huh." Imuru playfully cocked his head, and waved his hand back and forth dismissively.
"Ori, if you'd be so kind as to assist our non-flexible friend Arken," Imuru gleefully gestured, and stepped aside.
Ori stood up from caressing her grandfather's hair. "With pleasure," Ori said, offering a helping hand without resistance.
"I am fully capable of doing this myself," Arken angrily replied. Imuru nodded and walked away without a care in the world. Ori, as requested of her, dragged Arken down to the ground, so she could assist him with his meditation form.
With Arken handled for the time being, Imuru made his way over to the sleeping Forcent. "Forcent," Imuru gently whispered into The Ennom's ear, in an attempt to wake him up.
Imuru began to caress Forcent which inadvertently woke him. "Guess what?" Imuru whispered. "Collon will be here. Pretty good opportunity to express your change."
"Change?" Forcent whispered in retort, perplexed by Imuru's words.
Imuru looked at him blankly. "Well, you have, right?"
"... Right," Forcent replied ominously.
Imuru shook his head. "Okay… Reassuring," Imuru murmured sarcastically, trying to make light of the sudden uncomfortable situation.
Forcent's ears perked up, and eyes widened. The odd quiet uncharacteristic scene of Arken meditating, caught him completely off guard.
"Just ordinary mediation. He was resistant at first, but hey look he's a natural," Imuru said in a lighthearted tone. "Alright, that's enough goofing off for today. Collon will be here so let's go get my office sorted out, hm?"
Forcent didn't waste a second to climb to his feet at Imuru's wishes. They quietly made their way on the porch, and past the mediators, light on their feet.
Slite abruptly opened his eyes. He inhaled deeply and stood up, then walked off the porch. Ori swiftly followed behind her grandfather, sticking to his side.
They got to the office in a moment, where Imuru hopped around his desk. He took a moment to reflect on his office, and a thoughtful thought came to mind. "Maybe… I do have some renovation ideas?"
Imuru sighed. "I wonder what this will be about?" Imuru thought, a hand on his jaw, as he pondered on the matter that will be discussed. "If it has to do the Persudos… Then is something I could handle. Maybe it's something worse? Hm, likely."
He leaned back and sank in his chair. "The wait is gonna make me anxious… Oh," Imuru sat up swiftly. "Forcent. I never asked, why exactly were you, you know… Doing what you were?"
"This is perfect. I can get some insights on how Forcent thinks, maybe even his reasons." Imuru leaned all the way forward, his ears prepared to take in all the information he's likely about to receive.
Forcent picked up on what Imuru was referring to without issue. "It was an attempt to lure out the guardian of the forest. That thing sealed the vast majority of my skills and apparently my strength," Forcent revealed.
"Oh." Imuru took a moment to process the information he received from Forcent, "The Forest had a Guardian?" Imuru sat up in his seat, as he carefully processed his thoughts. "Now that's something… But."
"Thank you, I'm happy you trust me enough to say that. So here, I'll make one promise to you…" Imuru stood to his feet and locked eyes with Forcent. "If this 'Guardian' does show up again, I'll have a talk with it. Even if things don't go as planned, I'm sure there are other ways to help you."
Forcent was unsure of what to say at first, he just stared into the depths of Imuru's eyes, the silence made it felt longer than it actually was. "I wouldn't recommend it… But it is well appreciated."
Imuru gave Forcent a bright smile. "You're much welcome," He said, taking a seat. "And if those go sideways, then I can always work something else out."
"That's likely a lot of pressure I'm taking on… For Forcent I'll bunker down and take it," Imuru thought, with mild confidence.
In order to occupy his time, Imuru checked over his desk equipment. He moved his quill and inkpot closer to him, then tore a part from his roll of parchment.
He twiddle a little with his quill, trying to storm up an idea. He looked up at Forcent, then down at his parchment in front of him. He drew a stroke, another, then another, in an attempt to illustrate the mighty Ennom in ink form.
An abrupt knock came at the door, removing Imuru's thoughts from his fit of artistry. He straightened, and speedily checked himself, before he decided whoever it was could step in.
The door opened slowly, behind it was Yosho. She stepped aside to reveal the real reason for the knock and her presence, Collon.
Collon's smile widened. He glanced at Forcent, his eyebrows raised up in one swift motion for a mere second in surprise. "Imuru. It's quite interesting. Who would've thought I'd come to you in such a circumstance," Collon exclaimed, to the confusion and subsequent recoil of Imuru.
"U… T—Take a seat." Imuru stammered. Quickly regaining his composure he gestured for Collon to sit, which the leader happily obliged.
Collon's eyes explored Imuru's office, absorbing every intricate detail. "You've done quite well here for yourself." He locked eyes with Imuru. "You even have Dark Deviders of all things, cooperating with you."
"...Hm." Collon blinked, he had just picked up on how tense Imuru seemed to be. He laughed out loud and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that… That was a bit rude now, huh?" He asked, turning to his sister. Yosho gave a head tilt in response.
"Right. Now onto why I'm here." As this is said by Collon the mood of the air dramatically shifted once again. Imuru looked more lax, though with the build up of a few trickles of sweat.
"We're having an urgent meeting. And what I mean by 'we' is The Sacred Forest Council," Collon said in an articulate voice.
Imuru tried to keep a straight face, but showed he was gravely confused. Collon sighed, and let out a little chuckle. "I know this is sudden, and you're probably confused why you? Well I have my reasons, good ones at that, for why I've chosen to invite You to join us."
"The issue at hand?..." Collon paused dramatically. "...A storm. A storm is coming. Unfortunately for us it's heading this way."
"A storm?" Imuru probed, perplexed. "Did he mean metaphorically? Not like it makes it better or anything," Imuru thought.
Collon nodded. "To clarify, it was due to the disturbance of the Celestial Lake, not just a mere natural phenomenon. The closest civilization to it, Fernum became a victim to its wrath. It altered the citizens, and now they're bringing chaos along with them."
"Fernum?" Imuru muttered under his breath. "Fernum?" He muttered again, until it clicked. "Collon, Does the name Ori or Slite ring a bell?"
Collon raised an eyebrow. "Yes, it does. That's the Princess and the King's father. Why do you ask?"
Imuru sighed deeply. He wanted to envelop his head in his hand, but for his image sake he held and composed himself. "I… They're here."
Collon waited a moment, then he started to rub his chin. "Here? Really now." He spaced out a bit. "Them coming to you, not really surprised," Collon muttered.
"Collon. You said something about a Celestial Lake, correct. Care to explain that a bit more?" Imuru requested.
"Umm. Yes, sure. The Celestial Lake from my knowledge is supposedly as ancient as the Sacred Forest. It's said the contents of the Celestial Lake could do almost anything; Grant you power, heal wounds, cure the ill…" Collon smiled. "But, that is of course you're able to get close to it."
"That's the catch," Imuru thought, unsurprised. "The Celestial Lake… I'm getting deeper into this aren't I?" Imuru pondered with disinterest.
"Oh." Collon gained an abrupt sunshine expression, as he recalled something. "It's also sentient in some ways… Just thought you might wanna know that."
Imuru nodded. "Thank you, I appreciate that." Internally exasperated, Imuru shook his head. "Trouble follows me everywhere I go. Maybe after this, I'll take a vacation and fake my own death… Because you can't tell me it gets worse after this," Imuru calmly thought defeated.
Collon leaned forward, a hand on his jaw. "Found anyone you fancy yet?" He said in a sudden and abrupt fashion.
This strange and out of place question derailed any serious train of thought Imuru had in an instant. "How Am I Supposed To Answer That!?" Imuru expressed internally, in vast confusion.
Yosho's mind went blank, unsure of where exactly Collon's last sentence fits in place of this discussion. Forcent made no effort to conjure a thought, and just absorbed Collon visually, a dead plain look on his face.
Collon cheekily chuckled. "Alright, alright. My bad, my bad. I'll be leaving tomorrow, so will you be able to attend?"
"Y-Yeah. Yeah. Yeah," Imuru expressed, bemused. "To hell with you and your subject switching," Imuru embarrassingly thought, as he slowly regained his composure.
"I'll accept your invitation. I'd also like Yosho, Forcent and, Mmm." Imuru pondered for a few seconds. "Yeah, that's just it… To come along with me," Imuru said.
Imuru looked over at Yosho. "Yosho, could you locate Ori and Slite for me? I'd like Collon to meet them," Imuru requested.
Yosho bowed, and left to do as Imuru asked. Whilist that happened, propped up his hands, intertwined them together, and rested his head on them.
The room gradually filled with silence. Collon observed Imuru, his eyes beaming with curiosity. This was cut short once Yosho arrived with Ori And Slite.
Collon wasted no time and stood to his feet and approached them. "I am Collon Kanugami, leader of The Village Of Collon." He stretched out a hand.
Slite eagerly accepted it. "I never fully introduced myself, I am Slite Aerie, and this here is my granddaughter Ori Aerie. My pleasure to meet you again."
"Oh?" Imuru raised an eyebrow. "They've already met?" Imuru thought, a curious glimmer in his eyes.
"Surprised?" Collon said with a cheeky smile. "I met them, when they were passing through. Hard to forget." He chuckled. "Especially the granddaughter."
Ori shook her head dismissively upon hearing herself being mentioned. She raised her head, and crossed her arms across her chest. "How you got to be a leader, baffles me," Ori remarked condescendingly.
Slite retaliated with a swift knock from the butt of his sheath, for the disrespectful remark from Ori.
"Stand by my words," Ori mumbled without a care in the world, discontent laced in her voice, as she begrudgingly stared down Collon.
Imuru cleared his throat. "Alright. Let's cut to the chase. We were having a conversation about your home, Ori, and Slite. The situation is a lot more than I expected, honestly."
A brief and eerie silence fell between Ori and Slite, though the news came off as a shock, they seemed highly composed. "I'd expected, It would've gotten worse," Slite murmured.
"I've been invited to…" Imuru thought about it for a couple of seconds. "...It's a meeting to address the situation. Collon could these two also join us?"
Collon looked back at Imuru. "Of course. I don't see why not," He assuredly replied.
Imuru nodded. "Now that's settled. I look forward to this meeting, Collon." Imuru stood up. "It's an honor meeting you again."
Collon bowed. "Pleasure seeing you again. Now, I shall take my leave, Imuru." He turned around to Ori and Slite. "Slite, and of course your Highness."
At such pleasant words, Ori's shoulders went lax, but she remained firm in her expression.
Collon gave his sister a nod. "I won't be far. Though you've seen me a little over the years."
"Dear, you don't say," Yosho replied, wide eyed, with an amused smile.
With his final words said, and thoughts expressed, he stepped out of the room. Outside stood Roll, there to guide him. Collon gave Roll a pat on the back, to the confusion of the Dark Devider.
He was escorted by the Dark Devider through the village, to which Collon took it from there and walked himself back to his campsite.