Noctem

The forest moved in a blur as the silhouette of a person whooshed by at an extremely fast pace.

Eren moved quickly, carrying an unconscious Nox. It had been less than a minute since he emptied the vial containing the blood of the shadow god into Nox's heart, Now here he was, currently running with the effeminate boy mounted on his back.

The reasons? One might be curious as to why he didn't just allow his student to rest in the cabin. Well the answer to that would be due to the fact that he was about to be hunted by some unwanted guests who were after him because he had been in possession of the blood of a god a while ago, now that said blood of a deity was running through the veins of his student who was breathing softly but shallowly.

He increased his speed, maneuvering the forest with ease despite carrying the unconscious boy.

The cursed forest was a dangerous place, Not only was it home to terrifying beasts that possessed insane abilities but here even the plants were equally as deadly, although not to him. While the forest was quite dreadful, Eren was a much more terrifying entity, after all one had to be able to overwhelm the forest itself to be able to live in such a place.

As he went deeper into the dreadful woods, he felt the space trembling behind him from a distance, the same place where his cabin was, or rather where his cabin used to be.

He silently muttered under his breath.

" Curses!"

The unwanted guests he had been avoiding had finally appeared and Even faster than he had anticipated, if he wasn't careful he could end up being caught by them, after all, in his current state there was no way he could handle several gods vessels without dying and it was only a matter of time before he'd end up being fished out.

His pursuers or rather the gods' vessels were individuals chosen by a god and then granted a portion of the power and authority of that god in them.

As their name suggested they were merely vessels for the said god whose powers dwelled in them and when needed, the god manifested on the mortal plane using their body as medium.

He gazed at the unconscious Nox who was resting motionlessly on his back. Now that he had the blood of a god in him there was no guarantee that he would be left unharmed, if not killed if he was ever found out by them and that was precisely the reason why Eren never wanted to resort to using it but alas, there was nothing he could have done at that moment, he couldn't just leave Aurelia's child to die, not after the promise he made to her.

Although he couldn't afford to bother about that right now, push comes to shove, he would gladly give up his life if it meant protecting the young lord. What really bothered him were the changes that could occur in the body of the effeminate boy, after all, Eren had added a blood containing divinity into his body, surely there was no way Nox would remain the same.

Without chanting or uttering a single word, Eren used a body strengthening magic on himself to boost his physical prowess twice its usual state, then he used concealing magic to completely erase his and Nox's presence while navigating the forest as he moved swiftly.

The intensity of the rain increased a lot, countless droplets tore through the canopy of the dense trees of the cursed forest creating small puddles in various places on its soil.

The scent of damp earth wafted through the forest and the distant but strangely soothing sounds of trickling waters could be heard as the rain relentlessly fell and its chatter roared, the intensity of the heavy downpour increasing which worked in Eren's favor, now he didn't need to worry about being found as the rain covered his traces and masked his and Nox's scent.

It wasn't long until Eren ventured into a particular section of the cursed forest, a place which seemed so mystical that one would begin to wonder why such a place existed in a cursed forest to begin with.

Through the thick emerald foliage of the cursed forest, raindrops crashed down in torrents and the forest responded with a chorus of rushing water and constant rustling of leaves.

Amidst it was a hidden lagoon nestled deep within the forest. Its water was impossibly clear, it shimmered with various hues of blue and sapphire creating an enchanting and mesmerizing vibrancy of colors on the tranquil water. Vines dangled lazily from a few towering trees dipping into the crystalline waters, massive leaves swayed fiercely by raging winds created by the relentless onslaught of rain meanwhile the lagoon remained perfectly still, not bothered by the heavy downpour nor the raging winds that blew fiercely.

The lagoon held an almost sacred stillness as if it existed on a different plane from the forest, it seemed like a sanctuary that held within its depths something ancient.

Eren warily gazed at the lagoon as if something deadly was residing in its waters.

To any other person, it might have looked like this tranquil lagoon was completely devoid of any presence that would pose a threat to anyone but they couldn't be more far from the truth.

Eren knew the danger that hid within the clear water which stood perfectly still. He had encountered it when he ventured into the cursed forest on one of his voyages as a young wizard but that obstacle was the only thing he needed to pass to reach his intended destination.

At the far ends of the lagoon, a towering tree stood rising from the forest floor, its trunk were a complex weave of twisting roots and glowing veins pulsing with a strange energy. The bark of the tree held an arched entrance emanating a gentle energy within it which glowed a deep ethereal blue as if it was created from the very essence of a star. Its branches– thick and strong spiraled upwards until it was out of sight.

This was the destination of the eccentric wizard, a tree which served as the gateway between the mystic realm to a plane where time worked differently.

****

" Damn that slippery wizard! He's been hiding his ass away in this accused forest where that fiend died!" A gorgeously handsome man with slightly elongated ears and fierce fiery golden reptilian eyes, uttered in frustration as he kicked the debris of the destroyed wooden cabin.

He was dressed in a tight suit style tunic which had a few loose buttons at the top, revealing his chest beneath.

Alongside him a few others were present as well, one of them was a dark skinned man with a pair of round sunglasses and a hat which obstructed his face. He was wearing a white tuxedo and within his right hand he held a pitch black cane, although he tried to hide it, he still couldn't stop the fearsome aura oozing out of him.

Another was a man with little presence, he had a black hair which seemed more like a dark blue color, his eyes were black and unamusing, he lay on the ground looking at the raining sky lazily with a bored look on his face.

Standing beside him was a gorgeous elven beauty with long flowing silver hair and eyes which seemed like the moon. She wore a plain white dress with a silver mantle on top. Her eyes seemed unfocused as she stared into the forest.

" Rheya, have you found him yet?" The dark skinned man with sunglasses, after a while decided to ask the elf .

The gorgeous elven beauty lingered for a few seconds, sighed, and answered in an even tone.

" No, I couldn't detect his presence yet."

" Alright then, let's search the forest!" The dark skinned man announced and began walking deeper into the woods.

The rest followed behind him, well all except the elven beauty who had a confused look on her face.

' Why did the goddess ask me not to reveal their whereabouts?' she pondered silently as she too began trailing the others from behind.