Ryan ran toward that golden light almost instinctively.
The damp, cold fallen leaves beneath his feet crunched continuously.
The entire Glory's Wood seemed to be covered in a layer of gray.
The whispers behind him drew closer and closer.
“...Seen it...”
“...Let us in...”
“...The Glory...”
The faceless, grayish-black shadow slid slowly through the woods.
Its speed wasn't fast.
Yet, no matter how fast Ryan ran, it always followed right behind.
Like a shadow clinging to his dream.
Ryan's chest tightened.
But during his run, he suddenly noticed—those pale golden glimmers in the air were constantly gathering toward him.
Previously, when he entered the wood, these glimmers of light only floated quietly, requiring him to take the initiative to touch them.
But today, as if stimulated by something, they began to approach Ryan on their own.
One speck.
Two specks.
More and more.
As those tiny points of light merged into his body, Ryan clearly felt his spirit recovering.
His throbbing head cleared slightly, and even his vision stabilized quite a bit.
He suddenly realized that he was being “answered” by the wood.
Or rather—something had detected the intruder.
And right at that moment, the golden light ahead finally became clear.
It wasn't a lantern. Nor was it a fire.
But rather, a blurry “white figure.”
It stood deep in the woods.
A figure clad in a white robe. Yet upon closer inspection, it had no concrete form at all.
It was too bright. So bright it seemed to be made of pure white Glory.
The surrounding trees were cast in a pale gold.
Ryan suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Because he suddenly realized. This wasn't a “person.”
It was a part of Glory's Wood itself.
Or rather—a residual existence clinging to the domain of the Lantern.
Like a guardian. Like a reflection. Or perhaps it was merely a “shadow” left behind by some higher existence.
At this moment, the grayish-black wraith stopped as well.
For the first time, it didn't continue to approach.
The whispers in the air became sharp and chaotic.
“...The Glory...”
“...Refuse...”
“...Burn...”
In the next second, the white figure slowly raised its head.
There were no facial features. Only a blank space of pure white.
But Ryan suddenly had an extremely strong feeling—it glanced at him.
To be precise, it was verifying.
Verifying that Ryan belonged here. Or at least—that he was tainted by the Lantern.
Then, the white figure moved.
Without any sound. Without any physical motion.
Yet the glow throughout the entire wood suddenly began to flow.
Like wind blowing across a lake, countless pale golden particles slowly rose.
The faint, low chime of a bell echoed in the air.
And that Winter-aspected wraith suddenly began to writhe violently.
The grayish-black on its body rapidly spread.
Cold. Hollow. Deadly silent.
A massive amount of grayish-white frost mist spread from its body.
Frost even began to form on the surface of the surrounding trees.
For the first time, Ryan truly felt the flavor of “Winter.”
It wasn't ordinary coldness.
But rather—an ending, decay, and a death of absolute silence.
The entity suddenly split open.
Its originally blurry humanoid form abruptly tore apart.
Like a torn piece of black cloth, countless grayish-white threads stretched out from within.
The whispers in the air instantly turned into shrieks.
Yet the white figure remained quiet.
In the next second, the glow throughout the entire wood brightened simultaneously.
There was no explosion. There was no impact.
It was simply “illuminating.”
The pure white glow flowed slowly through the forest like a tide.
Wherever it passed, the grayish-white frost mist began to melt rapidly.
The wraith shrank back violently, like a bug scorched by fire.
The Winter aspect on its body was being stripped away bit by bit by the glow.
Harsh static echoed continuously in the air.
It wasn't a scream of pain, but more like some “concept” being forcibly dispelled.
Ryan stood in place, not even daring to breathe.
There were no fists. There was no magic.
Only the purest suppression between aspects.
The Lantern illuminates. Winter extinguishes.
Winter brings endings and silence. While the Lantern peels away concealment, forcing all things to be exposed under The Glory.
The two were naturally in conflict.
The wraith began to retreat frantically.
But the surrounding glow grew brighter and brighter.
Wherever it retreated, the light followed.
Finally, the white figure took a step forward.
Just a single step.
A massive bell chime instantly rang out across the entire wood.
“Clang—”
The wraith's body froze instantly.
In the next second, upon its blank, featureless “face,” a slender crack suddenly split open.
Closely followed by a second, and a third.
Countless pale golden cracks spread rapidly, as if some truth was forcibly tearing it apart.
The whispers in the air instantly turned into a chaotic shriek.
Then—
Pop.
The entire grayish-black shadow shattered directly, turning into a massive cloud of grayish-white debris.
Like ashes after being burned away, it slowly vanished into the air of the wood.
The surroundings fell quiet once more.
Only countless pale golden glimmers slowly floated.
And that white figure stood back deep in the forest.
Quiet. Blurry.
The wood returned to quiet.
The glow in the air floated slowly, like countless extremely fine golden dust motes.
Ryan stood in place, panting heavily.
The “conflict” just now had actually lasted only a very short time.
Yet his mind was almost completely drained.
Especially when that final bell chime rang out, he felt as if his very consciousness was about to split apart.
But at the same time, an unprecedented feeling of clarity was slowly emerging from deep within his body.
Ryan looked down at his hands.
A faint golden shimmer was slowly flowing along his skin.
It wasn't obvious, but it truly existed.
Those specks of light in Glory's Wood.
During the running and suppression just now, he had already absorbed a great deal of them.
Even more than the past few days combined.
At this moment, those tiny glimmers were sinking into his mind bit by bit, like a cold body finally starting to regain its warmth.
Ryan slowly let out a breath.
Then, he carefully raised his head and looked at the white figure deep in the forest.
It still stood there.
Ryan hesitated for a moment, before finally speaking in a low voice:
“...Thank you.”
There was no response.
The white figure just stood quietly deep in the forest.
Yet Ryan had a vague feeling.
The reason that thing had intervened just now wasn't to save him.
But because—the wraith had “intruded.”
It was a stain that had broken into the domain of the Lantern, and so it was purged.
He had only survived as a byproduct.
Thinking of this, Ryan became even more clear-headed.
This wasn't a safe zone.
It was equally dangerous. Only the nature of the danger was different.
He remained silent for a few seconds, then slowly crouched down.
He began to collect those floating glimmers once again.
By now, he already had experience.
He couldn't absorb too much, otherwise his mind would easily lose control.
He reached out his hand.
A pale golden speck of light slowly landed in his palm, then merged into his skin.
A slight buzzing immediately echoed in his mind.
Some blurry images even flashed briefly before Ryan's eyes.
A burning lantern. Flipping pages of paper. And a vast amount of unfamiliar text.
But they quickly vanished.
He absorbed a few more specks.
Only when his head began to throb again did he finally stop.
He couldn't continue.
Ryan now understood.
The path of the Lantern wasn't a matter of “the more power, the better.”
But rather, the more one “saw,” the easier it was to be seen in turn by something else.
Rate on N.U.
