God's Tree-Chapter 98: The Long Road to Power

They moved at a steady pace, the barren Black Plains stretching endlessly before them.

The further they walked, the stronger the pull became.

By midday, Argolaith's skin tingled, a strange sensation crawling beneath his flesh, as if unseen eyes were measuring his every movement.

Kaelred wiped the sweat from his brow. "I don't like this."

Argolaith nodded. "Neither do I."

Malakar merely smirked. "That's because you can feel its influence."

Kaelred scowled. "I thought the trees were supposed to give power, not mess with your head."

Malakar shook his head. "They do not simply grant power. They judge. They choose."

Kaelred's expression darkened.

"And if it doesn't choose him?"

Malakar's grin widened. "Then we'll be in for a very interesting show."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, they made camp once more.

The air was thick now, charged with something unseen but undeniably present.

Argolaith sat on a stone, staring at his hands.

They were trembling.

Kaelred noticed. "Are you alright?"

Argolaith clenched his fists, forcing the shaking to stop. "I don't know. It's like… my body knows something is coming before my mind does."

Malakar's hollow gaze studied him. "That is because it is not merely a trial of strength. The trees test your will, your mind, your very essence."

Kaelred exhaled sharply. "Fantastic. No pressure or anything."

Argolaith forced a chuckle. "Yeah. None at all."

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Tomorrow, they would continue south.

And with every step, the tree's presence would grow stronger.

Argolaith closed his eyes, exhaling slowly.

He had no choice but to face whatever awaited him.

Because if he failed—

There would be no second chance.

The morning air was crisp and dry, the sky above a pale shade of blue as the first rays of sunlight stretched across the Black Plains.

Argolaith stood at the edge of their camp, his gaze fixed southward, toward the unseen destination that called to him.

The tree was still far.

Thousands of miles separated him from it, but its presence was constant, a distant heartbeat thrumming in the back of his mind.

Kaelred stirred beside the dying embers of the fire, stretching with a tired groan. "You're up early."

Argolaith nodded, still staring into the distance. "I can feel it."

Kaelred blinked sleepily. "Feel what?"

"The tree. Even from here."

That woke Kaelred up. He rubbed his face, then turned to Malakar, who was still resting against a rock with his eyes closed. "Is that normal?"

Malakar didn't open his eyes, but his smirk was evident. "Ah, it begins."

Kaelred scowled. "That's not an answer."

Malakar tilted his head, finally looking at Argolaith. "You say you can feel it?"

Argolaith nodded. "It's faint, but it's there. It's not pulling me toward it, but it's like I just… know where it is."

Malakar exhaled. "That is the beginning of attunement."

Kaelred frowned. "Explain."

Malakar stood, brushing dust from his cloak. "The Five Trees do not merely sit and wait for you. They test you long before you arrive."

He gestured at Argolaith. "You are already being judged."

Kaelred sighed. "Why do I feel like I'm going to hate every part of this process?"

Argolaith chuckled. "Because you probably will."

They broke camp and began their journey south once more.

The landscape was bleak, vast stretches of blackened earth and jagged stones. No trees, no rivers—just emptiness.

Kaelred kicked a rock absently. "How long do you think it'll take to get there?"

Argolaith adjusted his pack. "At this pace? Weeks."

Kaelred groaned. "Of course. Can't be easy."

Malakar chuckled. "It wouldn't be worth it if it were easy."

Argolaith felt the tree's presence growing stronger with each passing day, but it was still so distant.

And yet, the sensation remained unchanging—it did not waver or fade.

Like a star in the night sky, ever-present, ever-watching.

Days blurred together, the monotony of the journey broken only by occasional conversations.

Kaelred spoke often of the Grand Magic Academy, of what they would learn once they arrived.

Argolaith, meanwhile, kept his thoughts focused on his Five Trees.

Every night, he sat in silence, eyes closed, focusing on the distant pulse of his first tree.

Trying to understand it.

Trying to hear what it was telling him.

Malakar, ever the observer, watched him with quiet amusement. "You won't hear its voice yet."

Argolaith opened one eye. "And why's that?"

Malakar grinned. "Because you are still unproven."

Kaelred scoffed. "Always with the cryptic nonsense."

Malakar chuckled. "Call it nonsense if you wish, but it is the truth."

Argolaith exhaled. He knew Malakar was right.

He wasn't ready yet.

But he would be.

A week passed.

Then another.

The land began to change.

The cracked earth softened, dark soil appearing beneath their feet.

The air grew heavier, richer—as if magic itself flowed through it.

Kaelred slowed his pace, glancing around. "This feels… different."

Malakar nodded. "You are entering the tree's domain."

Argolaith felt it too.

The once-distant pulse was louder now, no longer a faint whisper at the back of his mind.

It was calling to him.

But the closer they got—

The more he felt the presence of something else.

Something watching.

That night, as they made camp beneath the first few scattered trees they had seen in weeks, Argolaith sat alone by the fire.

He could feel it now, more than ever.

The tree was still thousands of miles away, but its presence was undeniable.

And something else lingered just beyond the edge of his senses.

Watching.

Waiting.

Testing.

Malakar sat across from him, watching him closely. "You feel it, don't you?"

Argolaith nodded. "Yeah."

Malakar's grin widened. "Then the real test is about to begin."

Kaelred, overhearing, sighed. "Why does that sound bad?"

Malakar's eyes gleamed. "Because it is."

The fire crackled softly, the tension settling between them.

The road to the first tree was still long—

But the trials had already begun.

The night air was thick with tension.

The fire crackled softly, casting flickering shadows against the twisted trunks of the sparse trees that now dotted the landscape.

Argolaith sat with his arms resting on his knees, staring into the flames.

The presence of the first tree was undeniable now.

It was still far, thousands of miles away, but its essence was woven into the very air around them.

And something else had begun to manifest.

A watcher. A test.

Something just out of reach, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Kaelred stretched his arms with a yawn. "Alright. If you two aren't going to talk, I'm getting some sleep."

Malakar chuckled from his spot on a nearby rock. "Sleep lightly."

Kaelred gave him a dry look. "Comforting. Really."

Argolaith hadn't moved.

His eyes narrowed, focusing on the flickering flames.

His senses had been sharp since childhood—honed by living alone, hunting for his own food, surviving on wit and instinct.

And every instinct in him was screaming now.

They weren't alone.

He hadn't heard anything.

Hadn't seen anything.

But he could feel it.

Something was hunting them.

Malakar seemed to notice his stillness.

"You sense it."

It wasn't a question.

Argolaith slowly nodded.

Kaelred, halfway to his bedroll, froze.

"…Since what?"

Malakar grinned, his skeletal fingers tapping idly against his knee. "A test."

Kaelred groaned. "Of course it's a test. Why wouldn't it be?"

Argolaith ignored them. His body tensed, muscles coiling like a predator about to strike.

Then, he spoke.

"It's close."