Life went on as they gradually adapted to living in the Forgotten Region, a place utterly devoid of Spirit Essence compared to Silversky Shelter, where the air itself brimmed with abundant Spirit Essence.
One by one, they learned to adjust to this new life, taking each day as it came while hoping for a better tomorrow.
Everyone managed to adapt in their own way...
Everyone except Nicos.
Ever since they entered the Forgotten Region, he had changed completely. The once cheerful young man had become a shadow of his former self, speaking only when absolutely necessary before retreating back into silence.
Every morning, he would leave the small house beside Nakita's residence and make his way toward the nearby forest, only returning after nightfall. Some days he would quietly eat his share of dinner—a simple meal that consisted of little more than conjured vegetables and water—before disappearing into his room without another word.
Over the years, Chloe had tried countless times to convince him not to shoulder everything alone.
Alfonso had spoken to him.
Nakita had done the same.
The man who had once challenged him with a single question—whether he was truly willing to accept his fate—had gradually become someone who advised him every day to stop blaming himself and take life one step at a time.
Even Tabitha and Barnabas made sincere efforts to pull him out of his shell.
Yet with every passing day, Nicos only withdrew further into himself.
Eventually, after seeing that nothing seemed to reach him, Chloe could only sigh helplessly.
"Leave him be," she had said.
"He'll come around when he's ready."
And so...
Three years passed.
The year they were banished had originally been the year Tabitha was supposed to undergo her Spirit Affirmation Ceremony.
Now, three years had gone by.
She still had yet to enter the Spirit Realm.
Because the Forgotten Region had no connection to the Spirit Realm, the ceremony could not be performed.
That fact became another unbearable burden for Nicos.
Every time he looked at his sister, guilt gnawed at him.
She didn't possess a decayed Spirit-Root like he did.
She was talented.
She had every right to enter the Spirit Realm and begin her journey like everyone else her age.
Instead...
She remained trapped here because of him.
Like every other morning, Nicos quietly left the house and headed toward the nearby forest.
Along the way, he encountered several residents he had become acquainted with over the past three years through Nakita's introductions.
He greeted them politely.
They returned his greetings with weary smiles.
Looking into their eyes, Nicos saw resignation.
They had accepted their fate long ago.
To them, life inside the Forgotten Region was simply waiting for the inevitable end.
It wasn't because they had never searched for a way out.
Quite the opposite.
Countless people had tried.
Some never returned.
Others lost family members during those desperate attempts.
Eventually, hope faded.
All that remained was survival.
Living each day as it came.
Nicos wished he could tell them there was still hope.
That one day they would leave this place.
But even he couldn't convince himself.
Their Spirit-Roots remained intact. If the connection between the Forgotten Region and the Spirit Realm was ever restored, they could still continue the paths that had been stolen from them.
His own situation was different.
His decayed Spirit-Root had already condemned him.
Unless a miracle occurred...
Or some unimaginable supernatural phenomenon intervened...
That fate would never change.
Passing deeper into the forest, Nicos eventually arrived before a hidden cave.
It was a naturally formed cave concealed beneath thick vegetation. Vines and overgrown shrubs completely obscured the entrance, making it resemble nothing more than an uneven mound of earth to anyone passing by.
The deeper he ventured into the forest, the quieter the surroundings became.
An eerie silence lingered beneath the ancient trees, broken only by the distant howls of beasts echoing through the wilderness.
The forest served as the primary source of food for the Forgotten Region.
Its mushrooms and hardy vegetables sustained the people living there.
The beasts, however, were inedible.
Historical records of the Forgotten Region told of those who had attempted to eat their flesh in the distant past.
Every single one of them had died.
The only fortunate thing about the forest was that the beasts rarely attacked unless provoked.
It was almost as though an invisible law bound them, preventing them from harming the inhabitants without cause.
The entire Forgotten Region felt less like a prison...
And more like a colossal correctional facility where people were forced to live the lives of ascetics until the end of their days.
Nicos brushed aside the curtain of vegetation and stepped inside the cave with practiced familiarity, a clear sign that this had become part of his daily routine.
Contrary to what the narrow entrance suggested, the interior opened into a spacious tunnel wide enough for two people to walk side by side without difficulty.
Natural crevices lined the stone walls, while moisture dripped rhythmically from the ceiling, producing the only sound within the silent cavern.
After walking for some time, he arrived at a clean, carefully maintained area.
He sat down in a meditative posture.
This had become his daily routine ever since he was five years old.
After learning that his Spirit-Root had decayed, his determination only grew stronger.
To everyone else...
The cause of his decayed Spirit-Root remained an unsolved mystery.
But Nicos knew the truth.
And deep down...
He was certain his mother knew it as well.
When he was only five years old, curiosity had led him into his father's study while Aeneas was away.
Inside the heavily secured safe was a strange fruit.
He remembered asking his father about it once.
Aeneas had casually told him it was a precious fruit capable of purifying one's spirit channels.
Believing it would give him an advantage over the other children his age, the young Nicos had secretly stolen the fruit and eaten it.
What he thought would become the beginning of his rise...
Instead became the beginning of his downfall.
It was only much later that he learned the truth.
The fruit had been obtained after his father killed a member of the Dark Faction during a campaign at the territory border.
Whether it had been corrupted...
Or whether it had never been meant for someone like him...
He didn't know.
All he knew was that ever since that day, his Spirit-Root had begun to decay.
Taking a slow breath, Nicos pushed the painful memories to the back of his mind.
His thoughts gradually settled like ripples fading across a still lake.
He began to meditate.
Just as he had done countless times before.
He already knew today's attempt would most likely end the same as every other one before it.
Without results.
Without hope.
Yet he continued.
Not because he expected a miracle...
But because the act of meditating itself had become the only thing capable of calming the storm within his heart.
Even if it yielded nothing...
It allowed him to remain standing.
And for now...
That alone was enough.