"Ahhh!!"
Sage suddenly sat up and burst out of water, gasping and disoriented. He looked around frantically, he was in the middle of a crystal-clear lake surrounded by lush, green landscape. Everything here felt peaceful, untouched by the darkness and corruption of other realms.
"Where am I?"
He was still naked. Standing up in the shallow water, he waded toward the shore, water dripping from his transformed body.
The sound of gentle splashing caught his attention, and he looked ahead. His jaw dropped.
He saw the most beautiful sight he had ever witnessed.
On the far side of the river sat a woman. She wore a simple, elegant dress of flowing white fabric. A delicate veil covered her face. But even obscured, there was something ethereal about her presence.
Sage felt drawn to her, but not in the way those apparitions during his trial had attempted to seduce him. This wasn't lust or desire, this was something deeper. She didn't feel sexual or sensual at all. She just felt... like coming home after a long, painful journey.
Yet beneath that comforting presence, he sensed something else. An oppressive aura, as if she were somehow fundamentally opposed to his very existence. Like she was his natural enemy, despite the inexplicable pull he felt toward her.
Without realizing it, he had begun walking toward her through the water.
When the woman turned and noticed him, her eyes widened in what looked like shock, or perhaps disgust. She stretched out her hand toward him.
Sage felt an invisible wave of force slam into his chest, sending him flying backward through the air. His vision darkened as he hit the water, and that was the last he saw of her before—
"Hahhhha!"
He sat up with a gasp, back in the cavern. The vision, or whatever it had been, was gone.
"Good, you're finally awake. Hours I've been waiting for you to get up. I was even tempted to go outside and start a conversation with that blue demon." Baelor shook his head in exasperation.
But Sage was barely listening. His mind was still fixated on what he'd seen.
'Who was she?'
"Hey, you listening to me? Did the ritual make you more brain-dead than before?"
Sage snapped back to reality, focusing on Baelor. He stood up slowly, and immediately felt the difference coursing through his body.
He was transformed. Stronger. The power flowing through his veins was intoxicating.
"This power..."
"I know, right? Your parents really aren't nobodies, huh? I've seen blue lightning, gold lightning, maybe heard of black lightning... but I've never heard of red before. Ironic, considering the son of th—" He paused abruptly and changed direction, not wanting to spoil the mood. "So, you feeling good?"
Sage flexed his hands, feeling raw energy crackling just beneath his skin. He felt like he could defeat ten of his previous self without breaking a sweat. More than that, he felt like invisible chains that had been binding him his entire life had finally been shattered, restraints he hadn't even known existed.
He also became aware of hair brushing against his shoulders and back, there was also a tattoo on his arm, of circles interlocking.
'I wonder what it is'
And...
"What the hell?"
"I know, right? I was surprised too," Baelor said with amusement.
Sage reached up and touched his chin. A full, thick beard had grown during his transformation—soft, smooth, and surprisingly well-groomed.
"Actually fits you pretty well. You look like your name now... Great Sage Styrmirson." Baelor laughed.
Sage chuckled despite himself, running his fingers through the unexpected facial hair. 'Yeah... I'm cutting this off. I don't want to look like an old man.'
But even as he said it, part of him wondered if this new appearance was somehow connected to the power now flowing through him, and to the mysterious woman he'd seen by that pristine lake.
He was certain the Heart of Sins had everything to do with his transformation—the increased height, the muscle mass, the facial hair, all of it. The power flowing through him felt ancient and corrupted, fundamentally changing his very essence.
As for the woman... he was sure she had nothing to do with his physical changes. Maybe she was connected to the Heart somehow, but despite all logical reasoning, he couldn't get her out of his mind. She lingered there like an echo, raising more questions than answers.
'Who was she? Why did she feel like home and enemy at the same time?'
"Now if you're done daydreaming, we should leave. I've had my fill of caves," Baelor said impatiently.
Sage nodded, suddenly remembering he was naked again. Looking down, he grabbed his pants, which now stretched uncomfortably tight around his larger frame. They sat well above his ankles, barely fitting his lengthened legs. As for his shirt—it didn't fit at all. He took it anyway, holding it in his hand.
He looked at Baelor hopefully. "Don't you have any spare clothes? These are a bit tight."
"No... and yes, you do look a bit ridiculous. Let's just leave."
As they began walking out, Sage noticed the golden veins of light that had marked the cavern walls had completely disappeared.
'Was it because we took the Heart?'
He began to wonder how such a powerful artifact had ended up in a cave in this desolate realm in the first place.
"So what's next after this?" he asked.
"Leaving this hellhole realm. Hahaha, can't wait! To travel to another world, we need to get to this world's branch of the World Tree and use a nexus stone. Then we're good to go."
"World Tree?"
"Yes, the World Tree—Yggdrasil. It's the tree that holds all realms and worlds on its branches, magical and non-magical alike. It's the biggest tree in existence, and the first."
"Yggdrasil..." Sage had heard fragments of stories about it. "How does that work? If all worlds are connected to it, how do we know which one we're going to?"
"We're going to the Central World, the first world to ever exist, and the strongest, most powerful realm in my humble knowledge. There you can rise through power and influence. In fact, many demigods have walked those lands and grown to incredible strength. I'll tell you stories about them later. As for how it works, the nexus stone will take us exactly where we want to go as long as we know our destination, and it will protect us during transit through the Tree. So don't worry about it."
Sage nodded, anticipation building in his chest. He honestly couldn't wait to test his newfound strength.
They finally emerged from the cavern and found Kito sitting on a stone in his small humanoid form. His blue eyes were unusually wide, and he kept blinking rapidly and gesturing frantically.
"Is your friend okay?" Sage asked, confused by the demon's behavior.
"Hey, blue bastard, you can close this place up—we're done now. Sage, watch out!"
Suddenly Sage saw something leap from above, diving straight toward him. It looked vaguely human but moved with predatory speed. He had no time to think—he simply reacted, meeting the creature's gaping maw full of razor-sharp teeth with his fist.
The attacker's head exploded like a melon, spraying dark blood across the red mountainside.
Immediately, Sage felt danger approaching from multiple directions.
"Ahh, you idiots! I was blinking so much trying to signal you!" Kito shouted in exasperation.
"What's going on?" Sage demanded, adrenaline surging through his enhanced body.
"Ask your smart friend. I'm out, I don't want any part of this!" Kito transformed into his blue smoke form and vanished.
Sage looked at Baelor, who wore a grim expression. The red demon hadn't spoken since the attack began, and his silence was more alarming than any explanation.