Strings Of Domination

Inside the Sargon Family's primary palace which stood as majestically in the center of their vast domain as ever, King Helio sat on his great throne with his wife sitting on his left and his three sons standing on his right.

The five currently were looking at a video feed projected by a small device, showing the sight of the Lost Forest from high above. However, although it was a live feed that was recorded by a drone, they could only see the tops of each tree and nothing else as everything below those was completely concealed by the dense white fog!

Though, despite only seeing nothing but a literal white sea, the five were still able to listen to the sounds from inside the forest such as footsteps, conversations, or even the rustle of leaves and the grass!

"How long will it take for us to reach the Lost Ruins?" as King Helio and the others were staring at the projection in front of them, suddenly the familiar voice of Amy resounded in the hall.

While listening to the conversation between Amy and Nash, Serio who stood the closest to his father asked quietly, "Father, do you really think they have what it takes to retrieve our relic from the ruins?"

King Helio crossed his arms before his chest and was ready to reply when suddenly the three came to a halt followed by Amy's seemingly shocking voice that was abruptly cut off in mid-sentence.

King Helio frowned when he heard how everything suddenly became so silent and almost believed that Nash and the rest suddenly were ambushed by a Lost Soul. But luckily, that was not the case at all as it was not long before Nash's usually calm and indifferent voice sounded, indicating the three was on the move once again.

"What happened just now? Did they meet with a Lost Soul?" Ayanna frowned gently, a little confused about what she has just heard.

"I don't think so. There was no sound that could have indicated that they have been attacked while the silence only lasted for a few seconds, meaning they didn't start a fight either." Flake on the side exclaimed his thought, his brows too lowered into a puzzled frown as he tried to think about an answer.

King Helio stared at the projection for a moment before he gave a sideways glance at Serio and said, "Although I am not confident in their success, if I have to be honest, they have a pretty high chance to obtain the relic."

"I see. Then let's hope for the best." Serio nodded and without saying anything else proceeded to listen to the conversation between Nash and the other two in silence.

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On Planet Amnar, somewhere inside the Lost Forest.

It has been about an entire day since the three have entered the Lost Forest and walked deeper and deeper inside, but except for the occasional sound of breeze that always appeared from different direction, causing the leaves on the bushes and the grasses on the ground to sway, nothing unusual was heard much less happened.

The only thing that was perhaps weird, was the fact that despite for walking for almost a whole day without almost any rest, the entire Lost Forest was still engulfed in thick fog to the point where it was extremely hard to tell if currently it was night or day!

Of course, this didn't hinder Nash and the rest at all to go deeper into the woods, and with the help of the map they have been given by King Helio it was not long before they finally saw something different than woods!

"Look! Over there!" extending her hand toward a specific point, Amy pointed her slim and delicate looking index finger forward, right at a small building which now was only in the shadows of its previous glory as it was almost completely in ruins!

Furthermore, there were many other buildings in similar conditions as that, the only difference were their sizes as there were ruins which previously consisted a massive and huge construction while others were only a part of a smaller buildings!

Nash looked at the ruins in front of his with a slightly glowing eyes and after placing the map into his pocket he said, "Let's rest for a little bit before we go inside."

Amy and Miles nodded and without any objection they quickly sat down and took out different foods and drinks from the Slayer Token they have been given by Flake which previously had the role of containing their clothes and weapons but now was used as a food container!

"Mrgh... This is so delicious! Feels like my tongue is gonna melt!" once everything was prepared, the three began to stuff their mouths full of food while also letting out satisfied and joyful groans.

Or at least that was what one would think if one heard the way they were talking, but in truth, the three only acted that way while using small branches found on the ground to communicate with each other by writing!

As a fact, they have been communicating with each other like this since Nash summoned his Soul Swallowing Raven and everything else that they were saying out loud was just an act and nothing else.

This, naturally, was all because of Nash. He was the one who noticed that they were listened to in secret, thus allowing him to inform the rest without saying a single word out loud!

Of course, this wouldn't have been possible if he didn't 'accidentally' happen to overhear the conversation between two soldiers about small drones capable of recording any sound from a mile away and transmit them forth when he was still on the spaceship, or else their privacy inside the Sargon Family wouldn't have lasted long.

'Brother Nash, that green bird... Are you sure it can kill the Lost Souls inside the Lost Forest and the Lost Ruins?' letting out a fake delighted moan out loud, Miles moved the branch in his hand to ask his question.

Though, even before Nash could have answered, Amy quickly answered, 'Do you really think it can't despite meeting with no Lost Souls until now? It obviously killed every one of those creatures that tried to approach us.'

'Amy is right. My Soul Swallowing Raven can consume souls as if it just breathing air in. Although at first I was skeptical if it can kill these Lost Souls, now that we have met none it is pretty obvious we don't have to worry about getting ambushed even by a single one!'

The three continued to eat and communicate with each other through the ground while also asking pointless questions aloud just to avoid suspicion, and once their stomachs were filled they quickly packed everything away and entered the Lost Ruins.

"Feels like we are in the remnants of a city after a chaotic battle where hundred of thousands have fought and died." Amy exclaimed her thoughts out loud as she looked left and right, looking at different ruins and trying to guess what kind of purpose they held in the past.

Currently, the three of them were walking on a small street, or at least on its fragments which happened to still remain intact, while checking out each and every ruin in hope they will be able to find the small golden tree.

Needles to say, as they walked Nash made sure to note down the path they were walking on, just in case of they happen to get lost know which path they should go back on.

Time passed and although the three found nothing, at the very least they met with no enemy thus allowing them to move quite swiftly and check out every crook and canny of the Lost Ruins.

They even found small items such as rusty swords, shield, and other armaments, indicating that their guess that this place was in the past a battlefield was indeed right!

"I wonder what happened here." Miles mumbled quietly as he crouched next to pile of debris and picked up a small, almost entirely burnt book from the ground.

"Just how big is this place? We have been walking around almost a whole day and we have yet to reach the other side much less find that golden tree!" Amy asked with visible annoyance, but just as she was about to turn around a corner to check out the next ruin, suddenly her body suddenly froze.

"Huh? Is there a probl-" Miles seemed to notice Amy's weird behavior and was ready to ask her what happened, but once he arrived next to her side his complexion and body stiffened too.

Though, it only lasted for a second as the next his arms moved subconsciously and with a quick and swift move opened his book which was always in his hand.

"Easy. Don't act so rashly." just as Miles was about to form several symbols using his Domination Art, Nash's voice resounded in his ear, quickly calming his tense nerves down.

"I.... am sorry." Miles apologized as he gradually lowered his hand, but still, his eyes never left the creature's figure in front of him which not only looked grotesque but also had a ridiculously huge size too!