The forest itself was littered with tall and lush trees, sparse enough to allow easy passage to any human. There were few bushes, mainly around the roots of the trees. Birds could be heard chirping from above and a blur at the edge of one's vision revealed squirrels moving around.

Another notable thing was the sheer amount of butterflies and flowers around, as well as the abundant amount of magic energy in the air, allowing even the non-magicians to feel it.

Sting crouched down and scooped some dirt in his palm. He sniffed it and widened his eyes in surprise. It had a faint yet pleasant smell, like a small flower. This scent discretely permeated the entire forest, not enough to be overwhelming and not too little to go completely unnoticed.

All in all, the forest was as if designed to appear beautifully magical, creating a sense of wonder in any traveler. It made just crossing the forest feel like a violation of nature's beauty.

Heartilia had stepped out of the wagon and was looking around wide-eyed, trying to take in the amazing spectacle around them. She extended her arms and a wandering butterfly landed lightly on her finger, fluttering its wings. "How beautiful..." she whispered without realizing.

Ashter was the least affected of all, smiling and nodding his head gently at his companions' reactions.

Unfortunately, time was of the essence, but he promised them that they could stop for a while on the way back.

A little deeper into the forest, the memory wolves appeared. They weren’t really wolves; they looked more like a cloud of smoke shaped to look like a wolf. But they were awe-inspiring creatures of extreme beauty. They were three times the size of real wolves and their eyes were glowing, demonstrating an immense flow of magic.

Would you look at that, there are wolves like that. It truly is a strange world, this one we live in, Vreil relived his previous sentiment.

“Who are you, who dare step into our forest?” They didn’t make any sound, but this phrase appeared in the minds of everyone present. Only Ashter and Sir Arnold, who apparently had been there before, didn’t step back from surprise.

“We are mere travelers,” said Ashter as he slightly bowed his head, “wishing to make our way through this place. Is there anything we could offer to satisfy you, and make you allow us to cross this forest?”

Laughter echoed inside their heads. “We are aware of your identity, Ashter, Flood Bringer, as you are aware of our usual demands. But do not forget that we are creatures of shadows, who live only to serve our master.”

“Oh mighty wolves who feed on memories, do not allow past grudges to cloud your desires. My story with your master is in the past, and in the past it shall remain. We would be honored to offer you our humble memories if you would gracefully accept them.”

“The past shall not affect the present, as you request. But archmage Ashter, how could we believe that you are standing before us unaware of what you are carrying? How could we believe that the light you have brought with you is one that you do not recognize? No, Ashter; you can be allowed to go through here, but he won’t.”

“I am afraid I really do not know what you are talking about”, Ashter asked confused. “Who do you not want to allow past you?”

The wolves’ words were not transmitted exclusively to Ashter and everybody paled. This was not going as it should have.

The voice in their minds sounded again, but now it was throbbing with anger, it was like their head was going to break. “You dare defy us, Flood Bringer? You dare deny the existence of the blinding light that sleeps within the young man behind you? When that light awakens, our master will be held responsible. We cannot allow that to happen. You die now, young man who goes by the name Vreil Light!!!”

“What the…” gasped Vreil. Everyone, except Ashter, turned and looked at him. The memory wolves took a step towards Vreil.

Suddenly, the whole forest was flooded with magic of such strength that Vreil had never experienced before. The wolves growled and took a step back.

Ashter’s clothes were whipping in the wind and his whole body was glowing with a brightness that overshadowed the one in the wolves’ eyes. Strong winds blew through the forest, ripping bushes and small trees apart. The forest swiftly turned from the very picture of beauty into one of awe-striking disaster. The wolves immediately ignored Vreil and surrounded Ashter.

“Foolish immortal. Do you realize what you are doing? Can you not see your time is past? You were once strong, but now you are weak!”

“It is you who cannot see properly if you believe that you can stand against me. And only a fool would believe that my power is already spent. If the boy is what you want, I will not allow it!" Ashter shouted and suddenly he was no longer old. His back was straight, his eyes glowing like they contained the stars themselves and his body was shining like a beacon in the dark. His face was no longer wrinkled, his hair was no longer white, and he now looked like he could hold the world in his hands.

His staff seemed to change in front of their very eyes and suddenly it was not made of wood, but rather of a strange, glowing, transparent material. At its end was an enormous red jewel and it shined even more brightly than even Ashter himself. It was like every other light had faded out of existence and Ashter was the only figure left in the onlookers' eyes.

The wolves, not to be outdone, began to glow even more brightly, and more and more of them started to spring into existence around the archmage.

"On my name as the tenth archmage of the Southern Kingdom of Humans, you will die here, memory wolves. Everyone, run!” Ashter shouted and an invisible ripple ran through the forest, forcing every single living being to step back. The magic in the air was almost visible now, a racing current of blue being drawn in a whirlpool around Ashter.

They were stuck in fear, overwhelmed by the magic that gathered around them. Everybody had goosebumps and their hair stood on end. Sir Arnold was the first to act. “Run!” he said. “Ashter can’t fight with us here.”

He picked up Heartilia who was just standing there and ran to the edge of the forest, where they had left the wagons. Ashter had told them that it would show disrespect to appear in front of the memory wolves riding horses and wagons, so they’d entered the forest on foot. They were planning to go back and retake them after they had received permission from the wolves.

Seconds later, everyone followed Sir Arnold, running as fast as they could. It was not that they didn't want to help Ashter, but the sheer amount of power on display made them realize they were nothing more than a drop of water in front of an ocean, a sand grain in front of a desert. How could humans affect a battle of such magnitude?

As they were distancing themselves from the battle that was about to unfold, Vreil looked back and saw the memory wolves jumping on Ashter. Ashter moved his hands and huge flames covered the entire area, stopping at a hair’s width behind the legs of those who were running. Sounds that resembled thunder, but much louder, echoed while they were running but the flames stopped them from witnessing the fight itself. A big explosion happened near where Ashter was when they last saw him and the shock wave that followed sent them flying towards the convoy. They landed roughly, but nobody seemed to be hurt.

Meanwhile, the colossal battle carried on. The air suddenly became filled with moisture and the flames were stifled as dense fog covered the forest. Occasionally, a bright flash of light would pierce through the fog and a loud bang would follow right after. Looking up, they saw that the sky was suddenly filled with clouds that seemed to form a spiral, with its center right above the battle of immortals.

The moisture subsided and a vast amount of pure, unadultered magic fell from above and filled the whole forest and the area around it, flowing outwards from the location of the battle and tossing the remaining trees aside as if they were made of paper. The effect of that attack wasn’t that big where they were standing, but they still had to dodge the trees that were flying at them at extreme speeds.

Then another huge wave of magic struck them from behind. It had a reverse flow, countering the previous magic. When the second wave of magic reached the point when it had the same power as the first, they both vanished, and for a second everything was at a standstill. Vreil saw Ashter, who had lost his hat and was bleeding, facing less than half of the wolves in a scene of utter destruction. Then the magic everywhere around them exploded and they lost consciousness.

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In the middle of a now-empty area, Ashter was standing above the half-dead body of the strongest of the wolves. It was bleeding from many places, losing smoke as one would lose blood.

“What you said before,” Ashter panted, his hair slowly graying again as his back hunched, “was it true? Or was it just an excuse to fight me?”

“Ah... I have seen the power that once challenged my master. I was by his side that time, and I told him that he shouldn’t have shown mercy on you. I was right after all.” The wolf’s body of smoke was pulsing and it began to vanish. “You won’t be spared again. He will come for you and this time you really will die.”

“If my death serves to show the light to the new generation, then so be it. I ask again. Was it true?”

“Yes. It was all true. You are wise, Ashter, but even you cannot see the world of gods. But he might. Protect him, Ashter, with your life.”

Ashter smiled with warmth and hugged the head of the wolf, the only part of it that hadn’t vanished yet. “Good luck in the other world, my friend. It won’t be long before I see you again.”

“To think that I would betray my master at my final moments. I am still a mortal, after all”, the wolf laughed in joy as the last hints of its existence faded from this world.

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Vreil opened his eyes. He was in a white space, white as far away as his eyes could see. He couldn’t hear anything, he couldn’t feel anything. Is this the end? he thought.

“Stand up, Vreil Light”, came a warm, feminine voice. Vreil realized his body was still there, and he stood up. Across him was standing a blurry, tall figure.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I am the soul of one of the memory wolves. I betrayed my master and came here to talk with you properly.” The voice was soft and smoothening, so much that Vreil felt like he was losing himself in it.

“Why do you want to talk to me?” he asked, powerless.

“You may not know it yet, but inside you, you carry a light strong enough to brighten the heavens. I wanted to see you. The person with the power to change the world.”

“You say you are the soul of a wolf, but you seem human.”

The figure smiled. “You can ask Ashter later. Our time is not enough for me to tell you everything. But I was once like you, a human with the power to change the world. Don’t end up like me, Vreil. Be stronger. I will give you one gift, and one piece of advice to help you in your way.

My advice to you is to always stay true to yourself, even when the whole world is against you. If you lose yourself, you lose everything. And when the time comes that you have to choose between darkness and light, remember everything that led you to become who you are. Remember all the faces, the situations, the friends, the sacrifices. Then the answer will come naturally, like the leaves know that they have to go down, not up, when they fall from the trees. And my gift is this.”

A small ball of light came out of the figure’s chest and went into Vreil’s.

“This is what little light I have left”, continued the figure. “When you really need it, it will appear to guide you. Our time is up. I have to go now.”

“Thank you,” said Vreil, “whoever you are. May the light always be with you wherever you go now.”

The figure smiled. “I thank you, Vreil. Farewell”. The figure disappeared, and Vreil opened his eyes again, this time in the real world.

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“Oh thank god”, he heard Jeffrey’s voice. “Heartilia, bring some water already.”

Vreil tried to get up, but a pair of strong hands laid him on the ground again. “Don’t get up yet, boy. We must check you for more injuries first”, said Sir Arnold.

“More?” he asked and then felt a sharp pain in his left leg. “Yes, as you can see you hurt your leg. It’s only a scratch, it will heal in a couple of days.”

“Where is Ashter?”

“He hasn’t come back yet.” As soon as Sir Arnold said that, Ashter appeared from the clouds of dust that were floating around. He seemed to have trouble walking and was bleeding from several places but, despite that, he looked fine.

“Ashter”, shouted Vreil and tried to stand up but Sir Arnold’s hands held him down again. Ashter sighed and, with a movement of his hand, he completely healed Vreil’s injury. “He’s okay now.”

“Could you always do that?” Vreil asked. “What happened?”

“I defeated them like I said I would. Although I destroyed the forest in the process, a real pity. It was truly beautiful. And I only healed you because the air is still full of magic. Otherwise, it would be far more difficult.”

“Thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

“You 're really strong! This was nothing like the air magic I have seen you using before.” Vreil was practically hopping around.

“I will explain everything you want, but not now. Right now I need to rest.” With that, Ashter laid down and fell asleep on the spot.

“Hey, Vreil. What are you doing up? Arnold, I told you to hold him down didn’t I?” Linda had just approached them.

“It’s okay, Linda, Ashter healed him.” Then Linda noticed the sleeping Ashter.

“Ashter! What’s wrong? Is he out cold?”

“Relax Linda, he is just sleeping”, Vreil sighed.

They were behind the wagon which had somehow managed to stay mostly intact. Around them was a sea of wood, made up of broken trees and branches. A hundred meters away was the beginning of a huge empty area with black dirt on the ground, the result of Ashter’s battle. Only the edges of the forest had avoided annihilation by the clash of the two colossal forces. Ashter had fought one hell of a battle.

“I brought water, father”, Heartilia appeared carrying a bucket of water.

“Right on time”, Jeffrey laughed.