Dimension Walker: The Veiled Paragon

After defeating the Panther King, Norian and Garuda walked.

The forest had changed.

Gone was the bioluminescent wonderland of the night, replaced by a world thick with the scent of wet bark, damp moss, and something heavier — the faint rot of time. Trees towered like ancient titans, their twisted roots clawing across the uneven terrain.

They weren't just big; they were old. Each gnarled trunk seemed to breathe slowly, as if holding secrets too ancient to speak aloud.

The path was no longer a path.

The ground sloped unpredictably, rolling into dips and sudden rises. Rivers sliced through the land like forgotten veins, their water brownish in daylight, but fast-moving and alive.

Norian spotted carcasses near the riverbanks — half-eaten beasts with bones picked clean by the sun and teeth. And still, birds chirped. Insects clicked. Somewhere far off, a beast howled low and long, almost like it was mourning.

The forest felt... mythical.

Even the air shimmered with heat and strange glimmers. Not the soft glow of magic, but a mirage-like haze, where you weren't sure if what you were seeing was real — or just memory leaking from the trees themselves.

There were chasms too. Not cracks, but yawning mouths in the earth, their sides overgrown and moss-slick. Some were narrow enough to jump over.

Others forced them into detours — around twisted ridges and fallen log bridges that creaked too much for comfort.

Norian stood at the edge of one deep gully, staring into its shadowed depths.

"Wow..."

He whispered, unable to stop himself.

"I've never seen anything like that. All I ever saw was stuff like this in shows, or maybe online. Not like this."

Garuda didn't say anything, but the quiet sound he made — hmph — carried a rare sort of agreement.

They kept walking until dusk painted the sky with streaks of red and gold. The forest darkened again, not with mystery this time, but with silence. There was a stillness to dusk that made everything feel far away.

They came upon a small pond nestled in a gentle hollow. By now, the light had faded and the moss had begun to glow again, casting a pale shimmer over the water.

They washed up quietly. Drank water first — like cautious beasts — then bathed. It felt good. Cold, but good. Then they found a spot between a rock outcrop and two thick trees. It wasn't exactly safe, but it was safer than the rest.

And there, under the faintly glowing moss canopy, they slept.

By dawn, they were on the move again. Their pace was faster now, feet a little more certain on the soft, rising soil. The trees were still monstrous, the terrain uneven, and the air heavier than ever. But they walked.

It was then Garuda said,

"This journey is going to take us three days if we walk."

Norian, who was lazily swatting a low-hanging branch out of his way, froze mid-step and looked at him.

"…Three days? You didn't tell me that. We could have ran and saved lot more time, you know."

Garuda scratched his cheek, eyes looking away.

"I don't know. Maybe I thought you were gonna walk there anyway."

Norian raised an eyebrow and smiled with mock sympathy.

"Ohhh, or maybe… you just wanted to hear more stories?"

Garuda coughed.

"Heh. Maybe I was being considerate. You know, you — a human from modern society — if you ran all day, you'd probably keel over. Small body, weaker lungs, soft limbs, and all that."

Norian stared at him like he was watching someone lie to themselves in real time.

"…Do you even believe what you're saying right now? Be honest with yourself, man. Don't be a tsundere."

Garuda looked at him with wide eyes and a half-open mouth.

"Did you just call me a tsundere?"

Norian shrugged.

"Yeah. You're hiding your feelings. You just wanted to hear more stories. And instead of saying that, you're out here spinning nonsense about protecting my human body."

Garuda let out a loud breath, almost a growl.

"Fine, FINE. I did want to hear stories. So what? If you didn't want to tell me, you could've just said it."

He stomped ahead with exaggerated steps.

Norian grinned and called after him,

"Did I ever say I didn't want to? You could've just said it, you know. No need for the dramatic march."

Garuda didn't respond.

They kept walking, and Norian adjusted the strap of his spear over his back.

"All right,"

He said,

"Three days, huh? We'll walk it. Storytime's on."

And with that, he launched into another tale — this time, the chaotic, over-the-top drama of a harem war in an all-girls school run by demon queens. Garuda listened with rapt attention.

And so, the forest swallowed them again — one story at a time.

*****

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✶ Dimension Walker ✶

✧ The Veiled Paragon ✧

⊱ Eternal_Void_ ⊰

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*****

The second night of their journey.

The Moon hung overhead, pale and veiled, like an old god watching them from a distance. The air was cool, and the forest had sunk into its strange, quiet version of life. This part of the woods was different — the trees were growing sparse, but their trunks thicker, reaching higher than before.

Branches stretched like withered arms across the night sky. The terrain was rougher now. Slopes, sudden drops, hills that rolled up like the backs of ancient beasts. Sometimes they'd have to slide down a muddy edge or climb with fingers clawing into moss and rock.

Norian and Garuda walked, sleep-deprived but steady.

They hadn't slept much — only four hours in shifts. No full rest, just enough to dull the weight under their eyes.

Even the miracle water only dulled the weariness — it didn't erase it. Still, they trudged on, letting the rhythm of movement carry them. And as always, words kept them awake.

"I still couldn't 't believe that idiot turned down the Demon Queen again when I first Watched it."

Norian said with a groan, hand brushing aside a low branch.

"I know!"

Garuda threw his hands up, voice rising.

"She literally burned half the continent for him! And he just— walks away, all like, 'I want to protect everyone equally.' Hmph. I would've married her, no questions asked."

"Hahaha! That's what I'm saying!"

Norian grinned, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Dude, if I had even half her affection, I would've dropped everything—"

"Wait—"

Norian froze. He squinted into the dark, head tilting slightly.

"Did you hear that?"

Garuda looked around, ears perking.

"Hear what?"

"Something like… I don't know. A thump... like a heartbeat."

Norian paused. Listened. But it was gone. He frowned.

"Maybe it was my imagination."

Garuda eyed him.

"Human… are you okay? You need to sleep?"

Norian waved it off, stepping ahead.

"Come on. I'm fine. We have miracle water, remember?"

Garuda nodded and followed, glancing around once more.

They moved again. A few paces. Then—

Norian stopped again.

"There it is again."

Garuda blinked.

"I still don't hear—"

"It's like— like a tub... then wind. A hollow, dragging wind."

Garuda stood still, listening. The forest around them was full of life — the rustling of leaves, chirps of night creatures, skittering paws. But nothing else.

Then Norian's eyes widened.

"You heard that, right?! That one was clear."

Garuda shook his head.

"Still nothing."

Norian didn't wait. He turned—about seventy degrees to the left—and took off running.

"Hey—! HUMAN!"

Garuda yelled.

"What are you doing?! What if that's dangerous!"

Norian slowed just enough to glance over his shoulder.

"What do you mean dangerous? Didn't you say the night forest is safe?"

Garuda grimaced.

"I did. But that doesn't mean everything here is friendly!"

"We can run if it's bad,"

Norian called out, waving for him to follow.

"Come on!"

Garuda grumbled but followed anyway.

"Argh… If we die because of you—!"

They kept running, slipping down a leafy hill, pushing through thick ferns. The deeper they went, the quieter the forest became — unnaturally so.

That's when Garuda finally heard it.

A low thud. Not just a sound — a pressure.

It didn't echo through their ears. It rolled through their bones.

Then came the next one.

Thump.

The air itself wavered. Not wind. Not tremor. It was like reality shivered — a subtle ripple in the world, like looking through heat haze, except in perfect rings moving outward. The forest didn't move, but space did.

"What in the…"

Garuda stopped, brows furrowed.

"How the hell did you even notice this earlier?"

Norian turned to him, grinning just a little.

"I guess my senses are just that sharp. What can I say?"

That's right. After power from Conviction Nexus, Not only Norians Strength and Dexterity increased but his other senses as well. Likely to keep up with the growing strength.

Garuda stared.

"Are all humans like you?"

Norian shook his head.

"Nope. Most of them back home — especially in my continent — are soft. Weak. You flick them, they bruise. You yell at them, they cry. They'd probably explode just hearing a sound like this."

He laughed quietly, but then grew serious.

"Anyway… we're close."

And they were.

The forest ahead was shifting again. With each pulse, the surroundings warped — not the trees, not the grass, but the space between them. Like ripples in water, each heartbeat-shaped shockwave undulated gently through the air, distorting vision ever so slightly.

The moonlight bent around them. Trees in the distance seemed to sway from side to side, but they weren't moving.

Garuda stepped back instinctively.

"It's not the ground that's shaking… it's everything else."

Norian's smile faded. He stared ahead, eyes narrowing.

"This… this doesn't feel like a beast. It feels like… something else."

The pressure wasn't aggressive. It wasn't even malicious.

But it was wrong...or not.

It was the kind of thing you feel before something old wakes up. Something that shouldn't be alive anymore.

At least that's what they felt at the moment.

Garuda readied his spear, muscles tense.

"You still want to go in there?"

Norian didn't answer immediately.

Then he took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Yeah. I want to see what's inside the ripple."

Garuda exhaled, muttering,

"You're insane."

But he followed.

And so they walked into the undulating forest, swallowed by soundless waves and trembling moonlight.

-To Be Continued