During this time, Nicos repeated the process over and over again.
"Not by force nor by strength... but by the Spirit."
The words became his sole focus.
Again.
And again.
And again.
He immersed himself in the process, refusing to rush it.
At first, his connection with his Inner Spirit was fleeting. There were brief moments when his hand would phase through the barrier as though it no longer existed, only for the connection to vanish an instant later, causing the barrier to reject him once more.
Each time that happened, Nicos didn't become frustrated.
Instead, he sat down, calmed his breathing, cleared every distracting thought from his mind, and started over.
Slowly...
Almost imperceptibly...
His connection with his Inner Spirit grew stronger.
The brief moments became several breaths.
Several breaths became several minutes.
With each attempt, the amount of time he could maintain that mysterious connection increased.
Completely absorbed in the process, Nicos lost all sense of time.
Or perhaps...
He simply no longer cared how much time had passed.
Back at the house where they had settled in the Forgotten Region, Alfonso walked toward the pergola behind the building.
It was a pleasant surprise that such a place existed there.
Despite being condemned to spend the rest of their lives in the Forgotten Region, some people had chosen to make peace with their circumstances, building small comforts to preserve what little tranquility they could find.
For Chloe, the pergola had become that place.
Whenever she sought a moment of peace, this was where she came.
She sat quietly beneath its shade, gazing into the distance.
"It's been seven days since Nicos went into the forest and never returned," Alfonso reported respectfully as he stopped a few steps behind her.
"I've asked everyone nearby, but no one has seen him since that day. Nakita and I have been waiting for your permission to go in after him. Tabitha and Barnabas are already growing restless, but neither of them wishes to go against your instructions."
He paused before adding with visible concern,
"Nicos has never stayed away this long before. Everyone is beginning to fear the worst. What if something happened to him... or worse, what if he did something to himself? You know how withdrawn he's become since everything happened."
"You don't need to worry, Alfonso."
Chloe's voice remained calm.
"Nicos is fine."
"How can you be so sure, Mother?"
Tabitha hurried over, unable to hide the worry written across her face.
"For all we know, that guilt-ridden blockhead might have done something stupid." She folded her arms anxiously before continuing, "Let's go look for him. Uncle Alfonso and Uncle Nakita will be with us, so nothing will happen. Besides, Uncle Nakita knows the forest better than anyone."
"But Nakita already went looking for him and couldn't find him."
Chloe's words were calm, yet they struck everyone like a bolt of lightning.
Nakita blinked.
"How... did you know I went looking for him?"
His usually composed expression cracked with surprise.
He had deliberately gone into the forest alone without informing anyone.
He knew the others wouldn't search without Chloe's approval, so he had quietly taken it upon himself to look for Nicos.
Both Alfonso and Tabitha immediately turned to stare at him.
"Uncle Nakita..." Barnabas said, his eyes widening in disbelief. "You told us you were waiting for Mother's permission before searching for Brother."
Nakita gave an awkward smile and quietly looked away.
Caught red-handed.
Even if Chloe had merely guessed, he had confirmed everything himself.
"I'm not blaming you," Chloe said with a faint smile. "But there's no need to worry."
"He'll be back very soon."
She slowly lifted her gaze toward the endless dark clouds hanging over the Forgotten Region.
A gentle smile touched her lips.
"He hasn't even begun the mission destined for him..."
"How could he possibly fall here?"
"Don't underestimate him."
"My son is far more resilient than any of you realize."
"Soon... he'll surprise all of you."
"Even here..."
"Even in the Forgotten Region."
Meanwhile, the very person everyone was worried about remained inside the hidden cave.
Nicos stood before the transparent barrier, completely detached from the outside world.
His Inner Spirit had become increasingly active with every passing day.
The connection no longer flickered as violently as before.
It remained steady.
Stable.
Growing stronger with each attempt.
"I'm almost there..."
Nicos murmured softly, carefully maintaining his tranquil state of mind.
Years of fruitless meditation were finally bearing fruit.
Because he had spent countless years disciplining his thoughts, he could now enter a state of absolute calm with remarkable ease.
His breathing became slow.
His heartbeat steadied.
His consciousness gradually merged with his Inner Spirit.
Step by step...
He moved forward.
This time, the barrier offered no resistance.
His body slowly phased through the transparent wall as though it no longer existed.
With one final step...
He entered the hidden space.
"Yes! I fi—"
His words came to an abrupt halt.
His jaw slowly dropped.
His eyes widened so much that they almost seemed ready to leave their sockets.
The scene before him completely overturned everything he thought he had seen from outside.
What appeared to be nothing more than a small pond was merely the edge of an entirely different world.
Before him stretched a flowing stream of crystal-clear Spiritual Water, winding its way through a vast landscape overflowing with life.
Ancient trees towered into the sky.
Rare flowers bloomed in every direction.
Countless spiritual herbs flourished across the fertile ground.
Spirit Beasts wandered peacefully through the lush surroundings as though this paradise belonged solely to them.
The entire space pulsed with immeasurable Spiritual Essence.
If the concentration of Spirit Essence within Silversky Shelter could be compared to a glass of water...
Then this place was an endless ocean.
The difference was simply beyond comparison.
Nicos looked around in complete disbelief.
There were spirit flowers...
Spirit herbs...
Spirit trees...
Treasures so rare that even after the Great Emergence of Spirit Essence three thousand years ago, the Human World had never possessed anything comparable.
For one fleeting moment...
He almost believed he had entered the Spirit Realm with his physical body.
His breathing quickened.
His eyes darted from one wonder to another, unable to take everything in.
Life flourished here in overwhelming abundance.
Compared to this paradise, the Forgotten Region was nothing more than a lifeless wasteland.
The contrast was so great that finding such a place hidden within the Forgotten Region felt almost impossible.
It was as though a fragment of heaven had been forgotten beneath a land abandoned by the world itself.
A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
What would happen if this hidden space merged with the Forgotten Region?
The image that flashed through his imagination was enough to make his heart race.
Just as quickly...
He shook the thought away.
Now wasn't the time for fantasies.
He had finally stepped into the hidden space.
What awaited him next...
Was far more important.