All the roads of the forests were surrounded by walls on each side by which Liothan was to drift. Carlos del Puente Stories

All the roads of the forests were surrounded by walls on each side by which Liothan was to drift.

When was the last time someone went here?" Liothan whispered, his eyes scanning the dense trees that rose on each side of the road. The silence was thick and only the soft creak of the dry leaves and the murmur of the wind responded. The road, which once had to be wide and busy, was now crushed by weeds and twisted roots.

"I don't know, mess. It may have spent a week, one month or a year. The forest is capricious over time." His friend, Eilif said, with a tone of concern in his agitated breathing. His feet slid carefully in the shadows that moved in the dim light of the sunset.

Liothan stopped dry, his ear perceived a strange sound, different from the habitual mutter of the forest. "Do you hear it?" He asked in a whisper.

Eilif nodded. "Yes. Something is approaching."

A chill ran through Liothan's back, it wasn't a sound he knew. It was a rhythmic, slow and constant noise, which became closer and closer. Suddenly, the forest around him came to life. The branches stirred and the foliage opened, giving way to a vision that the two friends could never forget.

After the opening that formed, shadow figures emerged, their contours were drawn in the light that leaked through the trees. They were anthropomorphic beings, dressed in animal skins and decorated with bones. Carrying torches in his hands, illuminating the way with a dim and ominous glow. Liothan swallowed and squeezed the handle of his sword.

"Are...?" Eilif's voice began to tremble, without finishing his phrase.

Liothan nodded slowly. "Yes, they are what we feared."

The figures approached, their eyes shining with an internal fire that did not correspond to the light emitted by their torches. The smell of smoke and wet earth permeated the air, making them cough. "What do you want?" Liothan asked in a firm tone, trying to hide the fear that seized his guts.

One of the beings was advanced, his skin worn by the passage of time. "We come to show you the way, Liothan. The path you must travel."

"Which path?" Eilif inquired, doubt and distrust in each of his words.

The old man smiled, showing yellowish tooth. "The path that will lead you to the truth you are looking for. To the answers you yearn."

Liothan exchanged a worried look with Eilif. Silence was seized again from the forest, the Earth trembled slightly and the sound of a distant choir resonated in the air.

"Come?" He said the figure with a tone that was not quite human. "Everything aligns."

With a gesture of his bony finger, the earth opened before friends's feet, showing a bottomless abyss. From the inside of the crack emanated a bluish brightness that blinded them.

"Do you think ...?" Eilif began to speak, the disbelief in every letter he formulated.

Liothan could not answer. The blue brightness emanating from the abyss attracted him with an intensity that he would never have imagined. The wind calmed down and the light of the torches became bright and blinding. The shady beings became more clear, revealing deformed and fleshy faces.

"Be careful, mess. This is not normal." Eilif whispered, gently pulling his friend's sleeve.

Liothan felt inexplicably attracted to light. His heart was beating a thousand per hour, and his mind faced the reality of fear and fascination he felt. "Maybe ... maybe it's the answer I am looking for."

Without prior notice, one of the beings extended his arm, wrinkled skin and meat hanging from their bones, pointing to the crack. "This is the price to pay for wisdom. You must enter."

Eilif interposed. "Why do you know who you are, don't trust them. "

Liothan hesitated her sword trembling in her hand. He looked at Eilif, the concern drawn on his face, and for a moment he doubted. But the thirst for truth was too great. "I have to try. You ... you will cover my backs."

With a sigh that resonated in the stillness of the forest, Liothan approached the crack. His gaze noticed the light and, slowly, raised his foot to cross the threshold.

Eilif grabbed his arm, his eyes full of horror. "Are you sure what you are doing?"

Liothan looked in the eye, the decision made. "Yes, I'm. If I don't go out, don't follow me."

Without more delays, Liothan rushed into the void. His friend shouted his name, his cry went out in the echo of the forest.

When falling, Liothan realized that the light was not just light. It was a torrent of memories, voices, images. A cyclone of emotions that overwhelmed it. He felt life, earth, heaven, all the secrets of the universe around him.

The impact against the earth was dry, and the ground cracked. The Earth trembled and the forest was filled with screams of scared birds. Liothan joined, panting. The abyss closed behind him, and the shady figures disappeared.

"Are you ... are okay?" Eilif approached him, the concern in each step.

Liothan nodded, still disoriented. "Yes ... I think I'm. But ... it wasn't what I thought."

Eilif helped him get up, his face reflecting relief. "What did you see?"

Liothan ran her hand down her face, trying to assimilate everything. "I saw ... life. Life in all its cycles. The cycle of earth, life and death. Every cycle, every moment ... all interconnected."

"AND...?" Eilif stopped, fearing the answer.

Liothan smiled, understanding in his eyes. "And ... now I know that life is not just what we believed. There is a cycle that continues, even beyond the earth that a warrior steps on. "

Together, the two friends started, the night falling slowly and the earth trembling at every step they took. Liothan walked with the certainty that the forest was no longer the mysterious labyrinth that used to be. Now, every sound, every shadow, every breeze that passed around him, seemed loaded with a hidden meaning.

Later on the road, the forest opened to a clearing, and there, in the heart of the Moon Light Circle that rose in the sky, a ruins was erected. The climbing plants covered their stone walls, and the remains of what was once an altar raised inside.

"This is the place." Liothan said with certainty. His heart was beating in his chest, he knew that the answer he was looking for was there.

Eilif approached cautiously, his eyes scanning the environment. "What's here?"

Liothan did not respond, he simply approached the altar. His trembling hands got up and touched the cold stone. At that moment, an image formed in his mind, a vision of an eternal cycle that was repeated incessantly.

"Eilif ... Look." He said in a whisper, his finger pointing to an engraving on the stone, which seemed to move alive.

His friend approached and his face lit up with astonishment. "Is...?"

"Yes, it is the life, the cycle I saw."

The engraving images seemed to dance, showing interconnected life and earth, the cycle of life that was constantly regenerated.

Liothan fell to his knees to the altar, the weight of the wisdom that was revealed too great to be supported. "Everything I am, everything we were, is reduced to this cycle."

Eilif looked at him, disbelief fighting with understanding. "And what do we do with this knowledge?"

Liothan stood up, the decision made. "Protect it. We must make sure this cycle continues. "

With the full moon illuminating the way, friends set out to get out of the forest, their path was no longer that of doubt, but that of understanding. The cycle of life accompanied them, their voices rising in a vote of protecting the sacred.

As they moved away from the temple, the noise of the forest went out, giving way to a silence that was no longer scary, but reassuring. Liothan knew that he was now part of something bigger, and that his own life was just a sheet in the current of an endless cycle.

"Do you join me, Eilif?" He asked, looking at his friend with the determination burning in his eyes.

Eilif nodded, the decision made. "Always, mess."

And with those simple words, they undertook a trip that would mark them forever, a trip that would face the unknown, what life held them in each cycle.