Lyle had a dream, under a sky where emerald green and deep blue devoured each other, two monstrous giants towered before his tiny, insignificant figure like chaff.

Bubbles drifting in the ocean and twinkling lights in the starry sky existed simultaneously, creating a profound environment where Lyle couldn’t tell if he was breathing air or seawater.

On the Deep Sea Giant’s body, with a surface like barnacles, tendrils stretched out from the cavities within, advancing step by step towards Lyle.

The Omen Giant squatted in the void, black malice flowing from the empty eye sockets, watching Lyle with a sinister smile.

Unlike before, perhaps his own will was now strong enough to withstand Their filth; Lyle simply watched calmly as the tendril festooned with hook-like claws and a myriad of barnacle-like eyes occupying his entire field of vision.

Not afraid, or rather, Lyle already knew what would happen next.

In the distance beyond his sight, from a corner only faintly touched by his perception, came an arcane chant, a twisted hymn that began to resonate throughout the whole world.

Affecting Lyle, affecting the two giants.

"Goodbye."

The Deep Sea Giant retracted its tendrils that were nearly about to engulf Lyle, revealing a grotesque orifice like that of a seven-gilled eel within its arm, spraying the salty, moist sea breeze onto Lyle’s face.

With every movement stirring up the fine sand and silt, the Deep Sea Giant went off towards the source of the hymn and disappeared from Lyle’s dream.

A sense of relief filled Lyle’s heart, and he shifted his gaze to the other giant.

The Omen Giant’s tendrils were plucking the stars hanging in the night sky, just like picking fruit from a tree, sprinkling crushed light dust onto its pitch-black body.

"Not leaving?"

The distant sacred light grew increasingly intense, carrying a magical power, calling to all "Strangeness."

The body of the Omen Giant began to tremble, and combined with the smirk on it, it seemed like a person laughing madly.

"Anticipation"

"Lyle"

These two words were etched into Lyle’s consciousness, and the Omen Giant’s body twisted, forming a "hole" in the sky, swallowing the dream.

Lyle opened his eyes.

An unimaginable piercing pain emerged in his mind, especially after inhaling the cool, bitter-tasting air of plant life, the pain became even deeper.

Lyle slowly propped himself up from the hammock, feeling like a sailor on a deck battered by a storm, with the entire world swaying around him.

"What... what’s happened to me?"

A glass of pungent grass juice with floating leaf fragments was placed before Lyle.

Ralph’s cold gaze carried a hint of helplessness.

"You got drunk last night, drink this to sober up."

Lyle took the bizarre glass of grass juice, and with the smell, every cell in his body revolted.

"Wow, what is this, it’s even worse than medicine."

"Bitter grass juice, it’s for detox."

Poison?

Lyle, feeling the sharp pain in his head, looked at his uncle in surprise.

"Someone poisoned my drink last night! But I survived thanks to my exceptional constitution?"

Ralph rolled his eyes, grabbed the bowl, and forced the dreadful liquid down Lyle’s throat.

"Everyone was poisoned."

In Liveser, there was only fruit wine, but to add excitement, they had developed their own special liquor industry.

Zhen Wine, which is poison wine.

Every glass of wine contained a small dose of toxin that intensified the drinking experience. The people of Liveser, living long in the jungle, had built up a certain tolerance to animal and plant toxins, so a little bit of venom mixed into their drinks was a small price for contentment.

However, Lyle was still a normal person.

Ralph looked at Lyle, who was contorting in pain, and he sighed in relief.

"King Echel was negligent; we are not people of Liveser, so you were affected. We have to stay in Liveser a few more days for them to continue the detox treatment on you."

Ralph looked pityingly at his frail nephew, seemingly attributing the blunder to his weak physique.

Lyle was speechless.

"Then why are you fine, Ralph? You’re not from Liveser either."

Ralph lowered his cap’s brim, crossed his arms, and leaned against a post, his eyes shining brightly in the shadow.

"Because I am Ralph."

"..."

Lyle’s interrogation was interrupted as Ralph walked towards the door.

"Anyway, rest up. I’ll stay in Liveser a few more days until you’re better, then head back," he said.

Ralph disappeared from Lyle’s view.

Lyle looked at the empty bowl beside him and once again felt an urge to die rising within.

He had somewhat grasped the situation.

This was definitely no accident; it was certainly Echel’s doing. He had deceived Ralph and Lyle too.

Echel had no intentions of simply getting Ralph drunk. He wanted to poison him!

He had indeed succeeded, even though Ralph didn’t know the reason why he resisted the toxin, but as Lyle who had joined in the drinking, was also affected. Ralph had to stay to take care of Lyle.

This was the strategy concocted by the King of the Liveser Rangers: poison.

What a cunning old bastard.

Lyle cursed Echel in his heart for harming a friend, but he also had to accept that it was all for the sake of Uncle Ralph’s happiness. As a nephew, he should just silently endure it.

With the time bought by this unscrupulous move, King Liveser would surely be able to stop Verlet’s wedding.

The house where Lyle was staying was still gently shaking, and with the effects of the herbs, his dizziness had lessened quite a bit.

Lyle looked out of the window at his side. Due to the angle, he could only see the shadows of trees swaying in the wind outside.

Then, a black and red paw appeared on the windowsill; its five slender, bone-white claws bit into the wood like puppy teeth.

"Heave-ho."

Nia’s big eyes appeared on the sill, and she squeezed through the window with a cute exclamation.

Her body turned into a fluid and connected to Lyle, as Nia first glanced around.

"Ralph, not here, safe," she murmured.

Nia raised her arms and twirled in the air. The skirt made of Shadow Tendrils drew a strange arc in the air.

"Nia! Making an entrance!"

Lyle obligingly clapped his hands, his heart also filled with joy. Nia, after a night of battling delicacies, still remembered him. Lyle shed tears of gratitude.

"Lyle, poisoned? Nia will help you detoxify," said Nia. She was about to transform into Shadow Tendrils to enter Lyle’s body and devour the toxin.

"No, no, let’s not," Lyle stopped her. To keep Echel’s plan secret from Ralph, whether detoxified or not, he had to drink the bitter grass juice in the following days. Since that was the case, it was better to maintain the poisoned state to prevent Ralph from detecting anything odd.

Nia nodded, and then, as if she remembered something important, her body shook, and she began to pat Lyle’s cheeks with her tendrils.

"Nia has something very important to tell Lyle!"

Lyle took note of Nia’s uncharacteristically serious demeanor, her chest-eye squinting, leaving only a sliver of light, which could be taken as a serious look, perhaps.

"What’s the important thing?" he asked.

The big eyeball suddenly opened wide, staring straight at Lyle.

"Nia forgot."

"..."

"But it’s really important! It’s just that Nia can’t remember it!" Nia’s arms and tendrils waved frantically in the air, her agitation apparent.

"Okay, don’t worry, Nia, take your time," Lyle soothed her, preventing the rampaging Nia from tearing down the treehouse.

In the sunlight, Kayla’s gentle form fluttered through the woods.

Her boots landed on the wooden plank as quietly as fallen leaves.

She knocked on the little house, making her way past mountains of pots and pans, looking at the cooks.

"You’ve all worked hard. Taking care of Lyle’s little monster all night must have been tough."

The royal chefs of Liveser replied with a smile to their queen.

"Taking care of the child of the Savior of Liveser is our pride, Princess Kayla," they said. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"The food consumption of that little black creature scared us at first."

"But it turned out that feeding it was simpler than we thought."

"Working the first half of the night, we managed to cope."

Kayla blinked.

"The first half of the night?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, didn’t you know?"

"That little one named Nia ran out in the latter half of the night and never came back for a meal."