Chapter 42: Return From The Forest of Despair
On the outskirts of the Forest of Despair, nobles from all factions awaited Aldrian's return. A red dot on the map indicated Aldrian was near and moving at a fast pace toward them. Emperor Ladwin and the imperial teacher felt glee at his success, as did the liberal faction. However, the conservative faction members had rigid and pale faces. For them, it was over when Aldrian crossed the border of the Forest of Despair.
The Oath of the Heavenly Tree of the World was absolute, and breaking it would have severe consequences. They regretted not giving him another test or agreeing to the oath, but now, there was nothing they could do. They had not anticipated that a human would have the means to complete this test.
They stood on the outskirts when they finally saw a young man walking toward them with a calm expression. Many elves applauded when Aldrian emerged from the forest, having accomplished what was thought to be an impossible task. As he stepped outside the border, everyone in the conservative faction who had sworn the oath felt the restriction in their souls. There was no visible change, but karmic bonds were now strictly placed in their souls.
Aldrian saw many familiar faces and smiled, walking first to Emperor Ladwin.
"Welcome back! You are truly amazing! No, that's still not enough to describe you—you are truly a singularity," Emperor Ladwin said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I'm just lucky to have passed this test; it truly taught me a lot," Aldrian replied.
"You don't have to be humble. Your feat will undoubtedly be recorded in our imperial archive. There's no way you could have relied solely on luck in there," Imperial Teacher Elthar said.
"Well, what can I say? It's an honor to be acknowledged by the imperial family. Maybe now the elves will acknowledge me too, esteemed nobles?" Aldrian looked at the nobles, especially those from the conservative faction.
"Of course, we acknowledge you. You are truly the chosen one."
"As expected, our imperial teacher was not wrong in his judgment."
"The rise of a legend is before our eyes."