Chapter 20: I Am Here To Dance Around It.
A full year passed within the solitude of the ancient tree, nestled in the heart of the Deep Havoc Wilderness.
The haunting presence that once tested John’s sanity had vanished like a nightmare driven off by morning light.
Since that day, no other ghost or beast dared trespass upon the tree’s hidden dominion.
It was as though the spirit’s destruction had left a scar in the spiritual fabric of the place, a warning to all others.
John took full advantage of the peace.
Days melted into nights, and seasons shifted without fanfare.
He cultivated relentlessly.
He hunted with quiet precision.
The wildness of the forest seeped into his bones, and the flickering light of the system panel guided his every breath, every movement.
Now, after hundreds of nights meditating on cold stone and bear pelts, John sat cross-legged in the center of the hollow tree.
The once-bare interior had changed.
The soft fur of a giant black bear he had hunted months ago now cushioned his body, its thick pelt stretched across the ground like a throne.