Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

The trail of this eyeball monster was far more obvious than that of the grass sprites. In the vegetation behind it, withered plants extended in a crooked line.

Lake and Poro followed the line, and before they had gone far, they saw a withered tree.

Due to its inherent height, the tree still seemed towering even after being withered by the eyeball monster.

"Is that a human corpse? Someone killed by the eyeball monster?"

"But why isn't he lying on the ground?!"

Poro widened his eyes, focusing on a figure beneath the withered tree. The figure was in mid-air, arms outstretched, as if frozen in a crucifixion, or like a drowned corpse, suspended in nothingness.

The corpse was dressed in a dirty, yellowish-white robe.

Its skin was dry and covered with spiderweb-like black纹路, with dense, bulging veins.

The traces of the eyeball monster's corruption extended to beneath the corpse.

Lake and Poro held their breath, circling the corpse to see its face clearly—

No eyeballs, just two lines of black fluid flowing from its empty eye sockets.

But that wasn't the most surprising thing for Lake and Poro.

"How did he die?"

Poro's eyes widened as he saw a black hole in the corpse's chest, empty inside. The corpse was a husk!

It was like a chrysalis, and the eyeball monster had emerged from this shell!

"I feel like I've seen this person before..."

Poro wrinkled his nose, sensing an extremely similar aura to that of the eyeball monster emanating from the corpse. The appearance of the corpse gave him a sense of déjà vu.

"I think I've seen it too."

Lake nodded, agreeing with Poro.

"But where? I shouldn't forget something like this!"

At that moment, Poro suddenly felt a wave of stinging pain in his mind. Under the influence of [Spiral Beacon: Sage], a memory illusion gradually became clearer.

A cracked magic mirror, a fallen paradise.

Countless angels, suspended in mid-air, those corpses resembling hanged men, swaying, their dirty wings dripping black blood.

"These eyeball monsters, and this corpse, are they really—angels?!"

The horrifying thought flashed through Poro's mind.

The distant sky grew darker, the blazing sun dimmed, and the gloom felt like midnight. A long wind swept in, and Poro detected a hint of putrid stench within it.

Poro's pupils suddenly contracted.

He slowly raised his head, looking towards the sky. The turbid clouds became increasingly distorted, forming a vortex, entwined with dirty floating light, like the maw of an abyss, with many tiny black dots suspended within.

What were those black dots?

Their footsteps grew closer to the dark clouds.

Looking closely, the black dots vaguely resembled the shape of a cross.

Could those all be…

Poro and Lake exchanged glances, both connecting to a horrifying possibility.

They gently crossed the gap between two sky islands, and then crossed a protruding hill. A putrid wind howled past their ears.

The surrounding vegetation appeared withered and lifeless, on the verge of death.

The outlines of those black dots became clearer.

The corpses of angels floated in mid-air, the yellowish-white clouds like an inverted abyss, spewing out twisted corpses one after another!

And beneath that black vortex, Lake and Poro saw—

An extremely large castle, standing in the middle of the grassland!

It was the giant's castle.

...

One day before, the giant's castle.

Before Lake and Poro could climb the vines, at the edge of the forest in front of the giant's castle, a sharp axe chopped down towering branches, and a strong man staggered onto the plain beside the castle.

"The Giant King's castle is indeed magnificent!"

The red rune on the strong man's forehead flickered with a faint light, guiding him so that he wouldn't get lost in the forest. His eyes showed fanaticism as he walked step by step towards the castle gate.

Pushing open the gate, the sound of footsteps echoed within the empty palace.

Clouds and mist swirled within the palace.

He saw the mountain-like shadow behind the clouds, and the star-like eyes above—

Under the immense pressure, he knelt down, prostrating himself on the ground.

The small pouch in the strong man's arms floated up and disappeared into the clouds.

"Great Giant King, I, your most devout believer, have brought you this rare treasure.

Now the world is in chaos, only you possess the power and majesty to rule the world. Please accept this offering and lead us to a new order, so that this world—crawls at your feet!"

The strong man shouted loudly, looking at the ground with words and praises he had prepared for a long time, his eyes flashing with uncontrollable ambition, "Giant King, I want to follow you to break through the cage, rule the earth, and re-dominate all things and living beings—"

But the Giant King behind the clouds remained silent, without saying a word.

Only the heavy pressure and shadow still pressed on the strong man, letting him understand that the Giant King's gaze was still focused on him.

"Well done, devout believer, you have brought this gem to my presence—I allow you to stand up."

The Giant King's voice was like a thunder without joy or sorrow.

The strong man's face showed joy, standing up, trembling as he looked at the mountain-like shadow. Behind the clouds, he seemed to hear a loud bird cry.

Beside the Giant's shadow, there seemed to be a golden shadow.

After a while, the clouds parted, a pillar-like hand stretched out from behind, the Giant King's skin like a bronze pillar carved with patterns, and in the palm, three golden eggs were placed.

The clouds rose from the depths of the Giant King's skin patterns.

They lifted the three golden eggs and placed them in front of the strong man.

"Giant Chosen, this is your reward, the power of the giant within you will never disappear, and nothing can take away your identity as a Giant Chosen!

These three golden eggs can give the eater thirty years of life and heal injuries except for death. With them, you will have enough success in the human world."

The strong man put the three golden eggs into his arms, nodding wildly with joy:

"Thank you, thank you—"

But soon, he raised his head again, and then said:

"Giant King, I am willing to use the power you have given me to conquer mankind, build a ladder to heaven for you, until the entire earth trembles in the sound of your return!"

But who knew, after hearing the strong man's words, the Giant King did not respond immediately.

After a while, the thunderous voice continued to sound:

"Sorry, Chosen, I still cannot leave this castle.

Now, all wars are meaningless to me. If you want to be the king of humans, go conquer it yourself."

"My King, why is that?!"

There was a hint of surprise and unwillingness in the strong man's voice.

But the Giant King's ruthless voice sounded again, this time filled with the meaning of expulsion:

"Now, Chosen, you should leave here."

The strong man wanted to use the power of the Giant Chosen to resist, but it was useless.

In the blink of an eye, the castle gate closed heavily in front of him!

Deep in the Giant Palace, clouds swirled.

Eyes the size of stars stared at the blue gem in his hand.

"As for conquest? Other kings are already trying this method... to contain the distortion and decline, and slow down the chaotic fall."