Dyne, Vahn, and Gala were running as fast as they could.

Soon, several monsters could be seen on the distance, and Dyne gave his orders.

“Hit those monsters once, but don’t engage! We are running away after hitting them once!” Dyne ordered, and the Golden Compass began to work.

Dyne ambushed the three monsters, and the group delivered their attacks.

The attacks staggered the enemies, but the moment they recovered, they were already gone.

Dyne had used the attack to activate the Chicken King.

Gala was surprised at the powerful energy the Chicken King made and allowed them to sprint even faster.

“Gala, Vahn, tell me in advance if you are feeling tired! We will look for a place to rest!” Dyne ordered, and the group continued to harass and flee, allowing them to move at an extremely fast pace.

What should’ve been days’ worth of travel would now be finished with hours.

Soon, Vahn mentioned that he could no longer run, and the group sought a place to rest.

They were already halfway through the journey because of the extremely fast speed that they did.

Even Strafe was surprised at their speed. In those hours, Strafe had already understood Dyne’s intention.

The trio was resting and seated on a lotus position recovering their stamina.

Meta was watching guard and would inform them if there would be enemies nearby.

The group had brought an extra outfit full of the grassy plains that were found outside. This was part of their preparations. Since they would be journeying through a place with no large towns in between, and hugging the river was not an option since it would have a longer route and they feared the Basilisk, they prepared to be able to rest and sleep in the middle of the area with their camouflage outfits.

Dyne was an expert in making a camo suit as his many missions made this a necessity.

“So this was your plan! You lied to me! You were after Jedo! Not Mule!”

“Sorry for hiding it from you. But I didn’t have a choice!”

“What do you mean, you didn’t have a choice?”

“You explained it! You said that this world has its fate! Songi was fated to have Jedo! And I’m practically fighting fate! Didn’t you tell me that? I am a mortal who doesn’t even complete my Severing! Fate will work against me! That’s why when you told me that, I never showed the true powers of the Chicken King! I kept making excuses not to use it to trick you and fate that I won’t use it like this! I am working to be several steps ahead of fate, who is trying to stop me!” Dyne explained.

“And you had to keep this a secret from me. Otherwise, fate would have worked ahead of schedule. You’re becoming more of a Cultivator! Then you decided to bring Gala along and left Tetsu in Biron because of fate! How ingenious! You’ve managed to deceive me!” Strafe laughed.

“You said Tetsu’s fate has changed, and Biron’s fate has also changed. I intentionally depleted the army of the Basilisk and made Biron stronger because of the fate you left for them! You’re right! I guess I do have this Eyes of Destiny. I can feel threats and dangers when I peer into another soul. The fate of Biron was to succumb to the Basilisk. And so I made sure to weaken the Basilisk and make Biron’s strength stronger! I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but this will allow me to assure their safety! As for Gala, he is destined to survive until he gets Ozma. So bringing him is a far better option.”

“So, do you know what you’re up against?”

“I have a few guesses. The East Voz forest has plants that are hard as rocks. It might be similar to the petrified forest of Final Fantasy IX. Or, it could house a monster or an energy source of great Earth power. Why else did the Basilisk go there? So apart from a forest that could want to petrify us, it will surely have the Basilisk there!” Dyne guessed.

“You’re very smart. And you are right in doing what you did. The Basilisk had already returned back to the south. But fate’s workings are making it move back here again. You have outsmarted fate. At least, for now. The question is if you can overcome the fate of this world.”

“Cultivation has always been about going against fate! If I can’t win here, I might as well die in your world.”

“Well said. You are acting more of a Cultivator now, instead of a nostalgic gamer!”

“I am in a cultivation world. Various changes on how I play this game comes naturally.”

The three began to eat as they were finished recovering their bodies. They took healing leaves to restore the pain in their bodies.

“Thankfully, the Speed Elixir has given us a large boost of stamina! We should keep running. I brought enough for four vials each! Gala, how far are we from the forest?”

“We are about more than halfway there. If we take another vial of Speed Elixir, then it should be more than enough to get there.”

“No. We won’t be taking another. We will be using the Chicken King to move closer and closer.”

“What a miraculous monster-crafted item! It grants me such speed!” Gala praised.

“Master Dyne, why are you here in the first place?” Vahn asked.

Dyne already had a lie prepared for this scenario.

“Vahn, it’s ok. You can show Meta from now on. Meta, show yourself.” Dyne ordered.

“As you will, Lord Dyne.” Meta answered, and his body flashed white, removing the white scaly paint on Vahn’s arm.

“A Seru? But how? You are not driven mad by the Mist!”

“It’s a Ra-Seru. The same creature that Lord Biron became. These are Serus, which Tieg created to guard and protect all of Legaia. And the reason why I hid this from all of you is because of Songi.” Dyne explained with a grim expression.

“He is destined to cause great pain and will probably create a disaster that could destroy all of Biron. As such, I had to instruct Vahn to hide Meta from him. His desire for power is so great that he will lust after a Ra-Seru and end up being used by the enemy. I don’t know whether you believe this or not. But it will happen!”

Gala was shocked at his words.

“I knew it! He was the bad guy!” Vahn expressed.

Gala was stunned at Vahn’s words.

“I’ve reached a higher stage in Soul Cultivation because I have Meta to help me.” Vahn raised his right arm to show Gala.

“The moment we arrived, I could see a strange darkness in his soul.”

“Oh wow. Having Ra-Serus sure is convenient. Even I couldn’t see that! I did have a strange feeling and could see a dark aura behind him…” Dyne nodded.

Vahn gave Dyne a look that had a bizarre expression. From someone who has an Elemental Spirit Seed, it seemed bizarre to feel inferior to what Vahn had to train alongside Meta.

Gala was silent. Gala was shocked and was in denial at first when he found out that Songi betrayed him. He believed that the Mist must have controlled Songi. But now, here was a prophet of Tieg telling him such a future. He couldn’t help but face the feeling of uncertainty he had been feeling around Songi.

In the game, three years would pass since Songi cheated on the tournament. But here, it just happened, and the feeling of betrayal was fresh. Songi would later hand over the Master Teacher position after that tournament. But Gala knew that there was something between them ever since that day. And now, Songi’s eyes only became darker and darker.

His secret cheating suddenly became public. In Gala’s view, Songi should not have accepted Dyne’s proposition. He was five years older than Dyne, and yet he took in several Elixirs. That alone proved that Songi was not the Monk who everyone thought to be.

Gala took in a deep breath and asked the only question that mattered now.

“Is there a way to save him?” Gala asked.

“I have been trying to push him to the brink of desperation. The problem is the lusts after power too much. That was why I gave him the taste of such defeat. He will think that I have my powers from Tieg and Rem. So there are two possibilities. He will either seek out these two gods, which Lord Biron honors. Or he will seek out something else entirely. But what we are doing now is to find a way to save him. That which lies in this forest is a Ra-Seru destined for Songi. I can feel it.”

“Feel it?” Meta asked.

“Oh. Gala. Don’t be surprised if we start talking to ourselves. Meta, Vahn’s Ra-Sare can communicate in a way similar to Guardian Kin. But just like Guardian Kin, you need to know how to do this or should be a Soul Cultivator yourself.” Dyne explained.

“Cultivate hard, Gala. Anyway, Meta, haven’t you noticed that Tieg destined you for Vahn? He has Fire Elemental Affinity. Gala has Lightning. If we get a Ra-Seru that is Lightning, I’ll definitely make him wear that! I’m sure you know who is in this forest. Since I assumed that he is destined for Songi, I’m sure you know which of your brothers or sisters that is.” Dyne smiled.

“You can’t mean… That Ra-Seru? He nearly sided with Rogue!”

“What? Jedo is that bad?” Dyne was stunned. His plans would be for naught if Jedo was that cruel.

“So Tieg even told you his name? Well, Jedo isn’t evil. He just believed that Rogue was right on his philosophies. Serus and Ra-Serus were incomplete beings. Now that I am attached to Vahn, I could see his point in all that. Jedo wanted to become whole. He did not like Rogue's method and didn’t side with Rogue during that era. But Jedo also didn’t help us in that battle!” Meta expressed with an angry expression.

“I am even surprised to know that Tieg sent him into Legaia! He shouldn’t have been a Ra-Seru! The only reason he accepted this mission was that he wanted to become stronger by uniting with a human!”

“Oh. Sounds like a problem child. What do you think will happen if he finds a host?”

“Unless the will of his host is strong, I have a feeling that Jedo will try to control him! But honestly… I cannot imagine what it will be if Jedo becomes the Ra-Seru of Songi!” Meta shuddered at this thought.

“What if… I become Jedo’s host?”

Meta was silent. Then Meta trembled.

“Yes… Yes… That’s brilliant! That’s perfect! He’ll definitely get what he deserves! I can’t think of a worse destiny for him! That will definitely be his hell!” Meta started to rant with a crazed sound.

Vahn was surprised that he even stretched his arm to put Meta away from Meta's almost evil aura.

Gala stood up and assumed defense position as he could feel a strange vibration of wicked and insidious intent surrounding the area.