A week after their escape, the Aztec party had started organizing themselves.

Knowing the dangers of the Dark Forest, they had given themselves duties.

The regular citizens would be responsible for cooking and other related stuff. While the cultivators and soldiers were united under one force to serve as the party's protection.

Thanks to the preparation the kingdom had left in the underground system in case of emergency, they were able to sleep in tents, unlike Jake who slept on trees.

Part of the duties given to the new defense force was scout duties. It involved ascertaining whether their path was safe. In that way, they would move faster than those that traveled solo, like Jake. 

Also, the party possessed [Realm-3] warriors, which aura scared off any lower beast, granting a safe and fast journey.

Coincidentally, Cheyenne Aztec, along with a few other knights, was on scout duty at the same time Jake was conversing with the phantom.

.......

While marking their path, Cheyenne had stumbled upon the remains of a brutal fight.

Following her duty, she traced marks left and found an indescribable scene. 

Spotting a phantom beside a boy that looked just like Jake, she gaped in utter shock.

First, the phantom. It resembled her dead mother, but its translucent body said otherwise.

However, that didn't stop Cheyenne from having strange thoughts. It had been a week after the invasion and her father had already told her and her siblings about the appearance of a phantom that saved them.

He had relayed to them how the phantom bore a striking semblance to his deceased wife. 

It didn't take Cheyenne to be a genius to know that she was seeing the same phantom.

The second reason she was surprised was actually not the appearance of Jake.

Back during the invasion, she had gained an inkling that Jake had already escaped. If not, he would be fighting with them as they were the only chance at survival.

He was too unique to be hidden in the background!

However, Jake was not the reason for her shock.

The main reason was the fact that the phantom and Jake were conversing!

The phantom, a Netheran creature, reported by her father to only speak the [Netherspark], the language of Netherans, was engaging in a smooth conversation with Jake.

Being doubtful, Cheyenne concentrated her ears to hear the two, but all she heard were strange sounds, "#######################"

She couldn't even understand what Jake, a human, was saying.

This led her to believe that Jake was actually speaking the [Nether spark], a language so difficult to learn.

Yet, someone was speaking it in front of her.

Cheyenne waited, hiding quietly, to assess the situation further.

After seeing that Jake was about to go away, she couldn't hide anymore.

He was possibly the only hope her family had to communicate with the phantom.

"Stop!" Cheyenne shouted as he came out of hiding, along with the other knights who were just following her.

...….

"Stop."

Jake stopped in his track as he heard Cheyenne's voice.

He turned his head and coldly asked, "What?"

His wounded right eye became evident as he looked at her, yet it only further increased his danger level to Cheyenne.

Putting aside her pride, Cheyenne begged, "I know you don't like it, but please come with us. We are willing to pay any price for that."

She spoke on behalf of her family as she was quite sure they would have chosen the same decision if they were in her shoes.

'Ohh…..' Jake thought as he heard Cheyenne.

It was quite unlike her to speak in this tone. However, it also showed that she took the matter seriously.

Being cautious, he asked, "Why?"

"I don't know where you learn [Netherspark] from, but we are in need of a middle man that can communicate with a phantom, that one exactly," Cheyenne softly said as she pointing at the phantom.

Her words made Jake realize that he had been speaking [Netherspark] all along.

'How could I forget that my mind is finetuned to communicate in all languages?' reasoned Jake.

It was mostly due to the fact that he had been speaking the general Universal language. It made him think that everyone he meets would speak the same.

Thinking of Cheyenne's offer, he found it attractive as he had single-handedly experienced the dangers of the forest.

However, he could not accept it due to the reason for the offer.

Analyzing everything, he gained a better understanding, 'Hmmm...for her to be so humble, it must mean a lot. She also involved her family. Plus, I have noticed that the phantom looks like the late Queen Lillian. This is troublesome…..Ok!'

Having made up his mind, he gave his answer to an optimistic Cheyenne, "No."

Cheyenne was baffled as she didn't expect the answer, "No?"

"No," confirmed Jake.

If he accepted the offer, he would be relied upon for a very long time, hence restricting his freedom.

This was something that was capable of making the prideful Cheyenne kind and soft. It would definitely be a matter of importance, so important that freedom would be akin to an illusion.

Jake would be like a kidnapped young man that believed he was free.

"Please, rethink again," begged Cheyenne.

She had just seen the hope of her mother being alive, and yet, someone was in her way.

She didn't know how to treat this issue. So, he could only lower her voice and ask kindly.

"No," coldly replied Jake.

Tagging along with their group would be akin to picking a side in the grand scheme of things. Plus, they would rely on him for years to come.

He had no idea what they intended to do with the phantom, but he knew it was time-wasting, at least to him.

'Moreover, it seemed that it was not a matter of choice,' Jake coldlt smiled.

He watched as Cheyenne appeared to have changed her mind, but in the next moment, she brought out her spear from her [Spatial Ring].

'Just like I thought. She is desperate enough to do this,' mused Jake.

He had already prepared himself as a plain longsword materialized in his hand.

The two long rivals looked at the eye of one another and understood.

Jake didn't want to follow them. Cheyenne insisted and was desperate enough to force him.

It all now boiled down to who had the strongest power, enough to force the other to agree with them!

Cheyenne's eye glinted, 'I have not seen my mother in a long time. If the phantom is related to her, i must secure the key to communicate with her!'