The rest of their walk fell into an oddly soft silence, the kind that lingered just a touch too long, not too far from the corner.
I guess?
Only the quiet rhythm of Liam's boots echoed faintly across the stone path, the noise rippled faintly.
Mize, as usual, barely touched the ground.
She drifted along the path's edges with slow, lazy motions, the hem of her robe fluttering as if caught in a breeze.
Every now and then, she would dip to the side, fingertips reaching out to gently pluck a blooming flower, wearing it on her head and hair.
It had become something like instinct for her, gathering flowers.
Their colors, their shapes, even their faintest fragrances seemed to draw her in.
One by one, she slipped them into her storage ring, without a single thought to whether they would wither or fade inside.
Liam noticed, of course.
He watched the little habit with a quiet smile, saying nothing as he continued on.
His steps led them steadily toward the looming entrance of a well-trimmed bush maze ahead, a soft glint of metal from the archway marking the threshold.
Mize caught up, resting her chin on her palms as she floated forward like a spirit from a dream.
No glimmering light, no theatrical aura, just her, perfectly poised in her natural habitat, the world.
"The battle training's inside the maze?" she asked, brows raised slightly, voice carrying a faint note of disbelief. "Wouldn't there be... not enough space for anything serious in there?"
"I don't want to hurt the plants"
Liam pushed aside the iron gate with a metallic groan, the sound trailing off into the garden's quiet air.
"Most of this garden is Halb's handiwork," he said, giving the cane in his hand two light taps against the ground. "But here, in particular... I did a bit of my own tweaking."
"Oh?" Mize hovered closer, rising slightly as she poked at a low-hanging branch above the entrance arch.
The plant responded instantly, its soft, velvety flowers curling back, retreating from her touch as if shy.
"Let me guess," he said, amused. "Space formation?"
Liam gave a short nod. "Space formation," he confirmed. "It's what I've put the most effort into. Being a formation master and all... this is where most of my work went."
"Ah, classic" Mize chuckled, her lips quirking into a grin.
Liam didn't bite back.
He merely pushed forward.
As they stepped beneath the arch and into the maze proper, the world shifted.
The transition was subtle but undeniable. One step changed everything.
The pale blue sky above dissolved into something hazy and grey, and a fine mist began to creep from the corners of the hedges, curling around the ground like tendrils of smoke.
It wasn't thick enough to obscure vision, but enough to give the air a dreamy, almost quality.
Mize slowed, glancing around with wide, curious eyes.
The flora here was different.
Vivid blues and deep purples bloomed in patterns.
Strange fruits hung from crystalline vines, and glowing insects flitted between leaves like living lanterns.
Everything about the place whispered magic, 'Is this the entrance to Hogwarts?' Mize mused, her eyes trailing the vines along the maze wall.
Still, a maze was a maze. The towering hedge walls stood tall, far above average height, their leafy forms twisting and turning in an elaborate design.
Mize floated higher for a better view, her gaze stretching across the winding corridors but the mist thickened above, cutting off her vision before she could make sense of the layout.
"No need to go up," Liam called from below, the tip of his cane giving the earth a firm, deliberate tap.
Mize dipped down without question, and just as his feet brushed the ground, the path ahead shifted.
With a soft grinding of hidden mechanisms, the earth parted.
A secret stairway unfolded where there had been only solid stone seconds before.
Wide, carefully carved steps led down into the hidden depths, spacious enough for people to descend shoulder to shoulder.
Mize let out a small sigh, arms crossing loosely. "Honestly... where do you even get the time to build all of this?" she muttered, hovering just above the ground again. "Now there's even a secret place?"
"I am began to suspect you are secretly a hidden beta player"
"The reincarnated beta player strikes back?" Liam chuckled, "Should be a nice name, no?"
"Meh" Mize rolled her eyes.
Liam chuckled under his breath, the sound light and easy as he turned to descend.
"Secret place?" he echoed. "I suppose I've hidden quite a few little surprises like this across the territory."
He tapped a finger against his lips, feigning thoughtfulness, before motioning with a casual sweep of his hand for Mize to follow.
With barely a sound, the two of them disappeared into the earth beneath the garden, swallowed by the passage.
The passage wasn't dark, not completely.
Faint blue torches lined the stone walls, their flames flickering softly with a ghostly shimmer.
It wasn't much, but it gave just enough visibility to make out the smooth, narrow path that stretched ahead.
'Blue torches again, can't they change to the other colour once in awhile?' Mize clicked her tounge, floating ahead.
Their steps echoed faintly in the hollow space, the sound carried gently by the cool, still air.
Neither of them was in a hurry. Their pace was even, deliberate.
Liam walked steadily at the front, black cloak trailing behind him in slow sways. The silver tip of his cane clicked rhythmically against the stone floor.
The sound reverberated off the walls in sync with their footsteps, and for some reason, deeply irritating to Mize.
She didn't know why.
There was just something about the repetitive clack, paired with the dampened echoes and lingering scent of stale air, that unsettled her.
The moment she crossed into the tunnel, her delicate nose wrinkled, brows furrowing.
The smell here was... old, musky, almost chemical.
With a slight flick of her fingers, a thin ring of air shimmered around her face, purifying the scent as she exhaled softly.
Fresh air rushed around her nose and mouth, lifting her mood just enough to bear the walk.
Liam said nothing, seemingly unaware. His pace never faltered.
Eventually, Mize broke the quiet with a string of casual questions, her voice light.
She asked about the state of the territory, recent affairs, movements among the people.
Simple but important matters.
She wasn't just wandering through the land aimlessly, after all.
As she often liked to joke, though she was half-serious, she was the self-proclaimed "empress" of this territory.
She had every right to know the basics.
"So," she continued, floating effortlessly beside him, her feet just a few inches above the ground, "have you been gathering the people like I asked you to?"
Her tone was smooth, tinged with curiosity.
Liam's eyes narrowed slightly, amused by the sound of her voice.
He shifted his grip on the cane, and the tapping sound beneath him softened slightly, made quieter under his control.
"I've been sending soldiers to bring them in," he answered easily, his tone casual.
"According to Elias, we're projected to hit fifty thousand by next weekend."
He chuckled lightly. "That's his estimate, anyway."
Mize brightened at the news. Her ruby-red eyes shimmered faintly in the dim torchlight, lips curving upward in a satisfied smile.
This was good. Exactly what she wanted.
Every new people brought into the territory meant more points.
And now that her movement, her budding belief system, was beginning to take shape, she needed those numbers.
She needed people, lots of them, to think of her, pray to her, feed the mechanism she was trying to build.
More points!
She can farm Liam peacefully without having to find another man.
And having a passive income on the side, 'I am smart!'
"That's great," she said, voice smooth with delight. "But again, I hope you won't interfere too much with what I'm doing here. Especially with the belief system I'm trying to build."
She gave him a side glance, her tone growing firmer. "If possible, I'd prefer if you helped promote it, too."
But Liam only shook his head. "I can protect you," he said, eyes trailing across the tunnel walls with a distant, unreadable gaze, "but I won't support something that dangerous."
"But I will leave them be"
He didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the strange smell that had prompted Mize to cast a purification filter just minutes earlier.
Not even a wrinkle in his nose.
And perhaps noticing the brief flicker of confusion in Mize's expression, Liam continued, his voice quieting just a notch.
"You see... there were others," he murmured.
"Awakeners, some with strange, rare professions tied to belief systems. Not all of them were strong. Most had limits. Their power depended entirely on how many people believed in them."
"That is... until something changed"
He kept walking, each word rolling forward like a warning coated in dust and memory.
"But numbers... they change things. A handful of believers won't get you far. But if you get enough, if you reach the masses, there will always be devout ones. And that's when things shift."
Mize listened quietly, her expression calm but serious as his words grew darker.
"Soon, more followed their path. More tried to claim divinity. And eventually, it wasn't about beliefs anymore. They stopped seeking something divine. They just... wanted more."
His voice hardened.
"More power. More control. More worship. And it turned them into monsters."
"Power, it fueled them. And they became something that wasn't a creature anymore"
A faint glow flickered ahead, the end of the tunnel.
A sliver of light shining through, signaling their approach to the exit.
Still, neither of them slowed down.
Liam continued, his tone low.
"War broke out. The kind you've probably read about in the old documents or expected to see, the War of Gods."
"Other Awakeners joined the chaos. Greed, ambition, madness, it devoured them. They couldn't stand the idea of another 'god' beside them. So they killed. They massacred. They tore entire lands apart, just to remain the only name on someone's lips."
"But of course, those happened in the area under their sphere of influence. The warp is too big, too vast, even if this war involved billions, it was merely a speck of dust compared to the whole picture "
"Though such an issue brought the attention of the whole world, even from the other races"
He stopped walking.
Mize, startled, slowed to a halt beside him.
Liam turned slightly, his eyes locking onto hers with a stillness that made the air feel heavier.
"You've seen the videos, haven't you?" he asked quietly.
Her expression stiffened. "W-what videos?"
Liam looked forward again, gaze sharpening.
"The ones where they lose themselves. Screaming. Slaughtering. Doing things no sane person should"
"Whispers, they heard these strange whispers. In fact, these whispers came from those banished taboos, beings that should have died and yet couldn't be killed no matter what"
"That chaos... it's not random. Those people," he said, voice now barely above a whisper, "were believers."
"Or... Tried to be. Borrowing power... Accidentally seen or corroded by taboo items, voices, artifacts"
He gave a bitter chuckle, a dry sound that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Well, more accurately, they were what we call Taboo followers"
"So be careful" Liam warned, "The path you are taking right now is similar to those beings, and they... would stop at nothing to cause you trouble in your new beliefs"
"B-but we are in our own area, why would they even come to us to cause trouble?"
"I am not sure... " Liam shrugged, "If we knew the answer, we would have been able to resolve the issue long ago"
"But for now, don't delve too much. Just be aware that there are dangers lurking everywhere"
"Be safe, those beings are extremely powerful. After all, who knows just how long they had lived"
As they resumed walking, the torchlight dimmed behind them and the glow of the exit ahead grew brighter.
"False deities," Liam muttered, "but still... people knelt at their feet. And many still do."
"They are corrupted"
"T-then, we don't have good deities?"
"We have" Liam nodded, "And because of their existence the warp still exists in a slightly controllable situation"