Steve
After a prolonged session of exploration, Gaige had been left with a multitude of findings in his trek throughout the root-corrupted forest.

Initially being positioned within the general proximity of Roqaa-Che's shed, Gaige found himself entrapped within the dense forest of azure corruption, with trees being more akin to the almost spectral nature of the ghostly, blue-glowing root, lacking the distinct brown-and-greens that Gaige was once familiar with. The azure forest sprawled for tens of meters on end, each individual tree interconnected by meticulous arrangements of the blue root at their trunks — as if the root had been *Purposefully grafted* Into the surrounding biome. Burrowing deep in-and-between the roots of the silver-barked trees, the blue root appeared initially to possess a parasitic link to the surrounding flora; however, upon closer analysis, it appeared more *Symbiotic* Than anything else. The trees towered at heights growing much farther beyond the trees he had seen in the forest earlier, and possessed a more vigorous, hardened exterior shell, as if reinforced by the presence of the blue root.

Perhaps it was not so dangerously poisonous as he had first thought. Che, a human, seemed to coexist peacefully with the so-called Divine Root, and so too did this forest of azure 'corruption'.

The azure forest did not last long, however. After traversing about thirty-five meters beyond Che's shed, and piercing a boundary formed by the incredibly dense presence of trees via careful, calculated maneuvers, Gaige would oncemore find himself within the midst of the normal — or, at the very least, relatively normal — forest, of a more traditional and smoggy nature. The strange, auric, cold atmosphere of the azure forest was replaced by a humid, mildew-y and generally dirty smelling forest. While the almost frightening chill of the azure forest wasn't exactly pleasant, neither was the dense atmosphere of the typical forest, either...

`[...]`
_ _

Extensive exploration of the forest would, again, reveal a multitude of interesting facets of its nature. Che's lesson came... *Somewhat* In handy, allowing Gaige to, very vaguely, catch sight and recognize the nature of the forest's unique flora. Despite the bountiful knowledge the Root-Tender had imparted unto Gaige, it would be no easy feat to recognize each and every single valuable herb that Che mentioned. *Especially* The poisonous root utilized to craft the Desecrated-slaying herbal venom. *Overconfidence is, indeed, a slow and insidious killer.*

Growing more and more familiar with his surroundings, Gaige would likely swiftly come to a conclusion — he was *Far, far from where he had initially started.* After being transported in a blue flash by the Root-Keeper's magic, he found himself in an entirely foreign region of the forest (though he'd have a tough time recognizing any landmarks in the first place), and would rapidly come to the conclusion, upon seeing the figure of the **Embrace of Sol** Beyond the forest roof, that he had **Swapped sides within the forest.** Initially he had gone far *East,* But now he found himself far *West* Of the tower. It wouldn't be much of a setback, yet was something to note nonetheless.

No notable clues up until this point about the nature of the Heir had been found. Yet, progressing deeper throughout the forest, Gaige would catch the glimpse of something vaguely **Manmade;** And, upon further approach, the structure would be revealed to be that of a decrepit, seemingly-abandoned **Church,** Quite small — being no larger than about the average house — constructed out of what appeared to be the same cobblestone that the **Wall about the Embrace of Sol** Was construed of. The strange presence of **Danger,** Evident only to one as battle-hardened as the hero Gaige, clung to the rugged figure of the church. *He'd ought to watch his step...*

Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow, and insidious killer.
Yoshiko
The hero sped through the azure forest, still avoiding the spreading corruption out of caution, despite Che's apparent bond with it. He had no interest in becoming what the root-tender was, therefore he continued his evasion of the root. The root appeared to be a sort of nourishment to the flora, but as shown by the Desecrated... It can be harmful to living creatures. His cloak waved in the vortex of wind that trailed his movements, his speed now beginning to top even 60 mph. It was as if the very gale itself was being commanded by the hero. As he reached the divide that separated the root-infested forest from the traditional forest, he paused in his sprint. The hero took note of the sharp partition between the two forests, his once 60 mph sprint lowering to a 20 mph dash.

As he darted about the forest, he stopped every so often, harvesting various herbs that Che had described to him. _Unfortunately..._ Che's lesson was given at such a speed that Gaige wasn't able to memorize everything the root-tender had said. Luckily, he was able to discern what was safe to eat, and what wasn't. Luckily—despite Che's speedy teachings—he was able to acquire a _small_ amount of the poisonous root; a majority of the root was located in areas that Gaige would never think to look, but some of it was perceptible by the hero. Of course—his exploration of the forest didn't go _unimpeded._

**SWOOSH**

**SWISH**

**CHKKK**

Desecrated that stood in his path fell to the ground in mere seconds, the second iteration of _Okaarum_ moving throughout their bodies as if it were needle and thread. By now, over ten of the beasts had met their end against the renowned hero, Gaige barely having broken a sweat against the mindless creatures. Eventually however, the constant bother that was the Desecrated began to grow tiring. Trying to eat in peace had become a nigh impossible task, the beasts stalking him from the trees at every moment. He had learned a possible counter to the beasts throughout his time in the forest however. How exactly were they tracking him? Smell could be a possibility, but what if it was _sound?_ Focusing his telekinesis, Gaige lightened himself using it by applying a weak upwards force upon himself. His footsteps mimicked that of a trained assassin—that of a mouse even. The Desecrated still continued their hunt of the man for a while, but eventually... _they had stopped appearing._

With a smirk, his genius plan had worked, the Desecrated no longer having a way of trailing him it seemed. Finally was he able to eat in peace, not having to worry about a Desecrated ambushing him as he crunched down on a less than delectable herb.

_ _
The man halted his dash, slowing down to a walk as he prepared to stop for another food break. Something was strange though, the hero gazing up towards the Embrace of Sol through the foliage of the trees. The ever-so slight difference in construction gave away the anomaly: _was he on the other side of the tower?_ This would mean he was on the complete opposite side of the forest from where he had first entered. He sighed at this realization, taking a seat on a nearby log as he reached into his satchel and removed an olive green root. Biting into it, he reflected on his progress so far. _`Nothing still... Maybe the Heir really isn't here. If that's true, I'd be surprised if the Heir was inside the village. She must be in a pretty damn good hiding place if Ukue was willing to leave her in a run-down village like that.`_ He had taken note of the shameful looking village from the view he had had at the top of the tower. He shut his eyes, tired of seeing the same, damp and dreary scenery that was the forest. Upon opening them though, _something stood out in the distance._

He quickly stood up from his seated position atop the log, squinting his eyes at the structure which stood out like a sore thumb from the foliage of the forest that he had grown accustomed to. Hastily, he grabbed his satchel and the broken blade, taking off with an incredible burst of speed towards the structure. Slowing down into a full stop at around five meters away from the entrance, he immediately felt the diabolical aura that was _danger._ He stared at the church-looking building with a blank expression upon his face, waiting to see any movement, yet nothing moved. Gaige wasn't one to make complicated plans outside of battle however, beginning his approach towards the entrance of the church.

"_Okaarum,_ come to me." The legendary weapon manifested within his hand as the second iteration, **Gaige entering the church through the front entrance.**

As Gaige neared the door, his eyes glanced every direction—up, left, right, and _even down._ Unfortunately, his alertness did not account for a _trap,_ a weapon of nefarious nature. The arcane humming resonated throughout the forest surrounding the church, Gaige's head snapping down to face the trap below him. An immense amount of mana surged at Gaige's feet, the hero pushing off his right leg with inhuman might.

***```diff
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***```diff
Crimson stained the ground as the hero bounced back with all his might.```***

***```diff
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"Gghk...!" The hero grimaced as he tumbled back against the ground, a trail of blood following his retreat. He recovered to a seated position with haste, staring down at his right leg—the source of the sanguine fluid. **Despite the hero's inhuman reactions, his right foot had been mangled by the blast.** He gritted his teeth together, grinding them back and forth. Desecrated were sure to be on their way from the sound of the blast, but the hero did not seem worried. With a pained expression, **The brand that rested upon the back of his neck began to let off a radiant glow.**

**It was as if time had begun to rewind, his mangled foot starting to twist and bend in a grotesque manner.**

**CRKKKK...**

Various pops and cracks reverberated throughout the nearby forest, Gaige's pained expression worsening... Before a breath of relief. Opening his eyes, the hero gazed down at his foot. **His foot had been repaired through the power of the Order's prophet.** Although, the process took almost a full two minutes, Gaige neglecting his prophet abilities over the years. Ardrold—the former prophet—likely could heal his injuries in mere seconds. The hero stood back up, stretching out his now repaired foot. **Oddly enough, his boot had been replenished as well.**

_ _
"Bastard..." He mumbled under his breath at the usage of traps. He approached the church once again, staying back from the entrance as he pondered solutions. An epiphany struck him eventually, Gaige speaking, "_Okaarum,_ return." The first iteration of _Okaarum_ was called upon. The hero approached where the first arcane trap had activated, dropping the bone pillar down with a **Thud.** Using telekinesis, he then began to roll the dragon bone pillar down the interior of the church from safety. In theory, the indestructible relic would activate any remaining traps inside the church, allowing Gaige to enter without worry. To prevent the bone from flying back at him, a downwards force was applied to it as well. It'd be best to do this quickly in order to avoid having to deal with more Desecrated, albeit them being only mere annoyances.
Steve
Having recuperated from the damage inflicted by the sudden and unseen arcane trap — which hadn't a mundane and visible presence nor even an arcane presence, instead being entirely invisible to any form of sense until it had been triggered — Gaige would now be granted with the understanding of the origins of the potent sensation of *Danger.* This church, from top-to-bottom, was rigged with similar types of traps, each waiting to unload upon an unwary intruder the moment they attempted to step foot in its boundaries. How odd. Despite being apparently abandoned, it appeared that whoever was here last really, *Really* Did not want someone coming in after them...

Now with a formulated plan, Gaige sent Okaarum into the midst of the church. As it rolled across the floor...

***```fix
𝐇𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐌𝐌𝐌𝐌
 𝐇𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐌𝐌𝐌𝐌
 𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐌𝐌𝐌𝐌
 𝐌𝐌𝐌𝐌....```***

_ _

An echo of that similar hum — the accruing of extreme amounts of arcane energy, as several traps were simultaneously triggered, reverberating throughout the interior of the church. From the broken doorway, Gaige could see the brilliant flash of several yellow lights, the forms of arcane traps — spear-like spikes, upwards-slashing arcs of energy, and outright magical detonations of flames — erupt forth from the figure of runes arrayed across the cragged floor, a dazzling display of compacted magical prowess in the form of dozens of miracle-based traps, harshly striking against the indestructible exterior form of Okaarum.

Mana-based blades clatter, and detonations rumble the ground, kicking up dust, sparks, and flames throughout the interior of the church, obscuring Gaige's view inwards in a haze. As time passes, however, the obfuscation clears, the traps quiet, and it seems the way is clear...

**Were he to enter,** He would be greeted with the rather plain interior of the house-size stone church, abandoned, decrepit, and without anything of any value or interest. There seemed to be a place for one to pray positioned at the far-end of the church, however — there were the *Massive* Impressions in the floor, depicting the place-of-contact of a prostrated person's legs and hands on the stone floor, bowed before an image inscribed into the wall, seemingly representing the image of the **Sun.** A damaged tablet of stone is positioned on the ground just behind the place of prayer, with a rather vague inscription upon its surface:
_ _

```fix
𝑴𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏
𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒆.

𝑺𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓
𝑻𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏
𝑻𝒐 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍, 𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚
𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.```

So it reads.

Were Gaige to analyze the interior of the church further, he would notice that, **Above him,** There seemed to be the destroyed, wooden flooring of what was once a **Second floor.** Mostly torn apart, some chunks of the second floor still remained suspended above him, supporting what seemed to be a **Discreet cove;** A stowaway which was positioned about three meters above him, furnished with a single table and chair, and two bookshelves alongside the aforementioned furniture. The bookshelves were mostly empty, save for a few, shoddy, leather-bound books, filled with dirty notes.