The soft crackle of firewood and the gentle chirping of morning birds filled the air as the first rays of sunlight bathed the forest in gold. Yun Lan stretched her arms above her head and blinked away the sleep clinging to her lashes. The scent of wood smoke and pine soothed her senses.
Leon was already gone.
She looked around, spotting Arin sitting cross-legged near the campfire, poking at it with a stick. "Where's Leon?" she asked, her voice still raspy from sleep.
"He went down to the river to catch some fish," Arin replied. "Said we should have a proper breakfast today."
Yun Lan smiled slightly, brushing her hair back. "He's getting better at being human."
A few minutes later, Leon returned with a confident stride, carrying three freshly caught fish on a long reed. His black tunic was damp at the edges, and droplets of water clung to his jawline.
"One for each of us," he said, tossing them near the fire.
"Nice," Arin said, his eyes lighting up as he took the fish and began sliding them onto sticks. Yun Lan helped him, spearing the fish and holding them over the fire with practiced ease.
As the fish sizzled, the smell of cooked meat filled the clearing. They ate in comfortable silence, the forest around them calm and peaceful for once.
"We should get moving after this," Leon said, chewing on a piece of meat. "The fourth object won't find itself."
"Do we even know what it looks like?" Arin asked, glancing between the two.
Yun Lan opened her mouth to answer, but before she could speak, a cold whisper brushed against her ear.
"It awaits... in the tree where stars never sleep..."
She froze.
Leon noticed the change in her expression immediately. "You heard it again, didn't you?"
Yun Lan nodded slowly. "The wolf's voice. It spoke to me. It said the next object is... in a tree. One where the stars never sleep."
Arin blinked. "That sounds… poetic. And also ominous."
Leon stood, brushing his hands off. "We follow the voice."
They packed up their things and set off, traveling eastward through the glowing forest. The trees whispered secrets as they passed, and light filtered through the canopy in streaks of blue and gold. As they crossed through a field covered in silver grass, they were greeted by herds of creatures that looked like deer but shimmered with translucent fur.
"Oh, look!" Yun Lan gasped, pointing at a group of odd-looking rabbits with long, feathery ears and tails that sparkled like stardust.
Arin crouched. "They look like a cross between rabbits and birds."
One of them hopped close to Leon's boot and sniffed curiously before darting away into the tall grass. They also passed a group of horses with silver manes running together like the wind itself. The sight lifted their spirits as they continued toward a darker part of the forest.
Hours passed until finally, in the distance, a giant tree emerged. It was unlike any they had seen. Its bark was black with blue veins pulsing like light through stone, and above, it stretched endlessly into the sky. Embedded into its trunk was something long and narrow—like a stick—glowing faintly with blue energy.
"That must be it," Yun Lan whispered, her heart racing.
They approached cautiously.
As Yun Lan stepped closer, a strange wind howled through the tree branches above, though no storm clouds were in sight. She could feel the energy pulsing from the object—it wasn't just a stick. It was something alive.
"I'm going to touch it," she said.
Leon stepped forward. "Wait—"
But Yun Lan was already reaching out.
The moment her fingers brushed the wood, a surge of blue lightning cracked from the sky and struck her in the chest. She screamed as her body was thrown backward like a ragdoll, crashing into the trunk of another tree with a sickening thud.
"YUN LAN!" Leon's voice was pure panic.
Arin ran to her side as she gasped for air. "Are you okay?!"
"I—I'm fine..." she groaned, holding her side. Her ribs ached. "Just a little injury."
"I'll try," Arin said bravely, his eyes burning with determination.
"Wait—no!" Yun Lan shouted, but it was too late.
Arin stepped forward and reached toward the object.
Lightning crashed again, this time even fiercer. It struck Arin's chest and sent him flying back violently, tumbling to the ground where he landed hard, coughing. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Leon knelt beside him, his hands trembling as he checked Arin's pulse. "You fool. You could've died."
"I just wanted… to help..." Arin muttered weakly.
Yun Lan held her bruised ribs and stared at the stick embedded in the tree.
None of them could take it.
Leon stood up slowly, his eyes narrowing. "If it's not Yun Lan… and not Arin..."
He looked at the stick again.
"No," Yun Lan said, reaching for him. "You can't. Let me try again later—maybe it's just too dangerous right now. You have to stay with Arin."
But Leon turned to her, his expression cold and certain. "If it chooses me, then this is the only way. Don't stop me."
He stepped forward and reached for the object.
Just as his fingers touched the wood, the storm returned.
A violent bolt of lightning struck Leon square in the chest, lifting him off the ground. Yun Lan screamed his name as light surged around his body. A powerful wind swirled through the clearing, and dark blue clouds spiraled overhead.
Then, silence.
The lightning faded—but something had changed.
Leon stood perfectly still, his hand still on the stick. His clothes were torn, scorched slightly, but he was alive.
And then…
A deep-blue aura began to swirl around him, wrapping his entire body in a glowing mist. The stick embedded in the tree began to tremble, and then—suddenly—it pulled free, as if released from the grip of the tree itself.
It floated upward into the air, turning slowly.
Then it dropped down—and landed squarely into Leon's outstretched hand.
The stick shimmered.
In an instant, it shifted—glowing, warping, changing shape before their eyes.
The stick transformed into a magnificent sword—long, with a sleek silver-blue blade and a hilt of stormy gray, wrapped in leather the color of midnight. The blade hummed with raw energy, as though it had been waiting centuries to be held again.
Leon's eyes glowed faintly, reflecting the power in his grasp.
Yun Lan stared, breathless.
"It chose him," Arin whispered in awe from the ground.
Leon turned slowly, the sword now glowing in his hand. The blue energy had calmed, but the power was still there—lingering in the air like thunder after a storm.
"This… this is no ordinary blade," Leon said quietly. "It's alive."
Yun Lan stood up slowly, her pain forgotten. "The sword… it was waiting for someone worthy."
And it had chosen him.
Leon sheathed the sword on his back, and for a moment, no one spoke.
Then Yun Lan walked up to him and touched his arm gently. "You scared me."
He looked at her, his expression unreadable. "I'm fine."
Arin sat up with effort. "Well… at least we have the fourth object."
Yun Lan exhaled. "Yes. Six more to go."
Leon's gaze drifted to the sword now secured to his back. "Then let's not waste any more time."
As the wind settled and the forest fell silent again, the three of them began to walk back through the field. The sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows.
The road ahead was still long.
But now… they had a weapon unlike any other.
And Leon… was no longer just a devil.
He was the chosen warrior of the storm.
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