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"Why are you doing all this all of a sudden? And don\'t try saying that it\'s just business, there were… safer ways of handling this," Asclepius whispered, hinting at the fact that Lucius brought the leaflings along. "I thought you said I wasn\'t a part of your commune, yet you gave me some weird title," it added.

"You\'ll be part of it in a few hours. I\'m heading into the Dark Forest after this," Lucius replied as he began digging up the soil.

"I see," Asclepius replied in a more serious tone, as Lucius sprinkled the soil with some of the remaining water they got from the springs.

"If you know anything about the Shri\'kilian tree, now\'s the time to tell me."

"What I know are only the ramblings of my former Elder. And he wasn\'t exactly a \'trustworthy\' one," Asclepius said after some thought.

"That will have to do. Anything that can help me prepare," Lucius replied, digging deeper into the ground to loosen up the soil even more.

"He said that the Shri\'kilian tree was bigger than any tree he had ever seen before, and that it stood alone, just at the entrance of the Dark Forest. Its branches were apparently large enough to house even the biggest creature in the forest," Asclepius started.

~Hyperbole, an obvious exaggeration,~ Lucius thought to himself.

"He said that the tree\'s entrance was marked by the remains of a large creature, and that past that was a darkness darker than the night. He claimed that the darkness descended so deep that it went past the very ground itself. And he apparently had to climb down for many days and nights before he finally got to the bottom,"

~This guy, ~ Lucius thought to himself, wondering if it was even worth listening to this.

"Once he got to the bottom, he said that the space got so large that it was at least twice the size of any one of the tree\'s branches. And that those tunnels went on forever, with many different paths all seemingly leading to nothing. It nearly drove him insane he said," Asclepius continued.

"Apparently the worst of it wasn\'t even the pitch black darkness that made him think he had gone blind. No. He said that it was the screams, the cries of a million different creatures. He said it tormented him, and that he could still hear them to that."

As Asclepius was telling the story, Lucius ordered Pagan to collect all his tools and take everything back to the camp.

"He said that he met many creatures on his journey. And had to fight them off without even being able to see them, and that only his strength got him through it al-"

"Please cut all the parts where you feel he was exaggerating. Did he speak of any enemies? Maybe of how he found the fruit, or where it was located? Did he have a method or a plan?" Lucius interrupted, having enough of the fairy tale.

He already had a rough idea of what the place was like from Asclepius\'s description. It seemed like a sort of maze, that ran within the tree\'s roots. Whether its size was being exaggerated or not, he would have to find out. But one thing was certain, there were others lurking in the maze, so he would have to be prepared.

"He said that he found the fruit after stumbling around for a few days, that time holds no meaning in that space. The place he found the fruit had a trail of red light running along its walls. As for methods, I think the fool just got lucky," Asclepius explained.

"Lucky? I\'m guessing Elders aren\'t that rare then," Lucius chuckled.

"They are rare. There are perhaps only 4 elders for every 400 of us," Asclepius replied seriously.

"Then how many people are in a clan?" Lucius asked, the math not making sense in his head.

"Less than 50. Most clans don\'t have Elders. Those are the clans that die off after a few generations… if they don\'t find an elder to cling to,"

"Elders can\'t be that important. Sure they are larger and more powerful than everyone else, but surely the others can survive without one. I mean, all you have to do is find food," Lucius counterargued.

"All you have to do is find food? I guess that\'s a way of living. And I bet most of us start out with those thoughts," Asclepius said, looking to the sky.

"But after living for a few years, what point does eating even have? If you are always stationary, and every passing day is the same, is that living anymore? And I think that\'s where the Sh\'killian\'s story began. A reason for our kind to live, a hope that maybe one day life will be more than just eating," it continued.

"The Shri\'kilian was not designed just to give power, it\'s there to give hope. And every time someone passes the trial, every time a new Elder is born, it\'s a new \'what if\'. And I know the story is dumb, probably made up, but sometimes I hope that maybe it\'s real. Or else… what\'s the point?" Asclepius asked.

~What is the point of it indeed? Why am I doing all this again?~ Lucius wondered for a moment.

~Sure, he decided to help the leaflings, to grow this little community into something larger, to protect them, but why?~

Was it because he could never spend time with his family in his old world? Did he want to spend time with one here?

Was it because he was responsible for the death of his wife and child? Was he trying to make up for it now? To prove to himself that he could save people past being the pawn of a corrupt nation?

Or was he just bored? Did he do all this because he had nothing better to do? And at the time helping the leaflings and growing a community seemed like the most interesting thing do?

Maybe it was all those things… or none of them. If Lucius had to answer, he would remain silent. Even in his old world, questions such as \'what do you want to be when you grow up?\' would always leave him speechless.

He studied engineering because he liked it, but that was it, he had no plans on what he wanted to do with it, no world-changing ideas. And in the end, he joined the army anyways, again on a whim because it seemed interesting at the time.

His whole past life he wandered from place to place, from scenario to scenario. Thoughts such as \'if I just continue pushing, continue trying, it won\'t matter what I chose. It\'ll all work out,\' were what filled his mind. He was the \'get things done\' guy, even if he couldn\'t give a fly\'s arse about why he was even doing it.

And for the most part, it worked. He achieved everything he never set out to do. He got a beautiful wife, got into a high position in the military, he had money, comrades, and sometimes he was happy.

But at the edge of his mind, there was always this lingering thought, whispering to him that he was lost, that he had no idea what he was doing. And he knew that if he hesitated for even a moment, that if he took time to rethink anything, it would all come crashing down.

And eventually, it did.

And he paid for it dearly.

"Lu…"

"Lucius!"