CHAPTER 76: MALADY’S GARDEN (2).

Within Malady’s Garden, there were several different paths that but through large biomes.

Most of them were created by rather large Abominations or herds of Abominations. Most of them also followed along the river and eventually branches out to various sections of the forest.

Nero had decided to take the path along the river since it was sure to bring him close enough to Liedenstorm without him having to worry about losing his way.

However, the path was fraught with danger and all manners of wicked creatures.

The beast that had just chased him off the main path was just one of many that had attacked him a long the way.

Still, it did allow him to hone his sword and spear skills.

Nero grimaced as he stared down at his blood soaked body.

He let out a butter chuckle,

"Who am I kidding?" He muttered to himself.

In the end, most battles with the Abominations devolved into mindless chaos and a battle of instincts, with human and monster clawing at their necks to see who would fall first.

His control of most battles often slipped away faster than he could even realize. Al in reality, he truly was learning the subtleties of brawling with his bare hands for the most part.

He let out a sigh.

The scent of the moist earth clung to his throat.

In just a few days, he had become relatively accustomed to the relative changes within the forest.

The mornings and nights were foggy and cold, with most Abominations hunting during this time.

The afternoons on the other hand, were hot and humid.

Taking a sip from the Waterskin of Purity, he let out a sigh.

Opening up his satchel, he pulled out his map.

The map was surprisingly detailed. However, it did not contain the intricate paths within Malady’s Garden. This was because such paths were subject to change over time.

However, it did have the path of the dark river mapped out to a tee.

What that meant, was that as long as he kept following the river, he would get to his destination.

The only problem with this, was that the river was not linear at all— it branched off into multiple streams and creeks. Most of those were not detailed on the map.

Some times, the path forward would deviate from the true path of the river. In order to make sure he stayed true to the river’s path, he had to constantly check his map.

A few minutes later, he stumbled back onto the river path.

The river path was muddy, with all sorts of strange flowers and plants growing at its bank. The water was as putrid and rancid as ever, but the creatures living within the forest seemed to love it for some reason.

It was the sole reason for the lush, corrupted abundance within both the Purple Evergrowth forest and Malady’s Garden.

In a sense, it was the source of life. Profane life, but life nonetheless.

When he felt exhausted, he would rest or have a meal— strips of Abominable meat he had preserved by roasting and drying out.

By doing so, he wouldn’t have to make a fire to have meals all the time.

And despite the foul taste, the flesh of the Abominations did in fact contain a lot of vital energy— more than sufficient to sustain him through his treacherous journey.

Having pilfered a few books from the fallen civilization of the Elkerlings, he was opportuned to have his mind occupied despite his circumstances.

The written reality of an ancient people was like taking a step into the river of time and looking back as the wind swept your hair back.

At least, that was how it felt to him.

Their folklore was particularly interesting and told of how they saw the gods of the time.

Some gods were benevolent and kind like Sariel. Others were mystical and elusive like Orion.

And it showed in their descriptions. Although Sariel’s main form was that of the godtree, he appeared to them in multiple forms from what he had seen— a young, golden buck. A man with fair skin and lush, golden hair. A voluptuou, beautiful woman dressed in white garbs, her hairs decorated with beautiful flowers and vines.

And then there was Orion. Most descriptions of him were strange. And often times, he was depicted more as a concept to be understood and less of an actual being that was manifested.

His most noted and most direct description however, was how he had been recorded in a particular tome.

According to the time, Orion was depicted as,

"A being of the void with wings that spanned the heavens. The stars were written into his sash, and as a crown he wore the helm of clouds. In his right hand he leashed the Great Beast. And in his other, he held the scroll of knowledge."

Such a description seemed rather in line for a god of astral divinity.

However, it left him with more questions than answers— the Great Beast. The Scroll of Knowledge. These things were things he had never heard of before. And there were no descriptors of these things. Or the records of them had been destroyed.

And so because he has little to no knowledge of what those things were, he had no idea how to visualize them, leaving him with just his imagination.

However, leaving things to his imagination filled his mind with things to do, allowing him to maintain his sanity for the most part.

And this his journey continued.

A grueling process of survival and chaos that slowly melted into a complicated dance of maintaining the balance of his sanity.

Every other battle he fought was more dangerous than the last, with some ending with him almost losing his life. However, with every victory, his skin thickened. His combat techniques were even more refined, and his path forward became even clearer.

A few hours later, Nero arrived at a fork in the road.

Normally, such a thing would have filled him with dread. However, this time, he was filled with excitement instead.

After all this fork represented that he had reached the halfway point along the river.

The moment he left Malady’s Garden, Liedenstorm would be in view.

That meant one of two things— he would finally be returning to human civilization, or he would be on his way to witness the aftermath of a catastrophe.

The swarm that had levelled Gor, he was certain, could definitely level out a city like Liedenstorm.

He sucked in a deep breath.

There was no point in stalling now.