The Original Realm

The morning they set out was unusually quiet, the air thick with the scent of dew and the faint hum of magic lingering in the grass. The towering tree marking the border of the Abnormal Kingdom was visible even from the Elven capital, a dark silhouette against the horizon. But its distance was deceptive—it would take days to reach on foot.

Luke adjusted the straps of his pack, his boots crunching against the dirt road as he followed Eleanor. Her steps were light, almost gliding, as if she belonged to the land itself. In contrast, he felt clumsy, like every step was a reminder he didn't truly belong here.

"Keep up, slowpoke," Eleanor called over her shoulder, her golden hair catching the morning light.

Luke muttered something under his breath but quickened his pace. "Why are you so cheerful? We're walking straight into enemy territory."

Eleanor smirked. "Cheerful? Hardly. I just know how to enjoy a journey. Besides, I'm not the human here. They won't have any reason to attack me."

Luke gave her a sidelong glance. "And what would happen if I got targeted?"

"Then you'd better hope you've learned something since the shadow bear," she quipped.

Luke winced at the memory. That monstrous creature had been unlike anything he'd faced before, its massive form made entirely of shifting, living darkness. Controlled by the Hand of Fate, it could probably tear through most Elven ranks besides Sylveria and the elders. Luke had barely managed to survive, and even that was thanks to Eleanor assistance as well as his essence awakening at the last second.

"That wasn't exactly my finest hour," he admitted, his tone laced with self-deprecation.

Eleanor glanced at him, her expression softening slightly. "It wasn't anyone's finest hour. We survived. That's what matters."

Luke didn't respond, but her words stuck with him as they continued down the road.

---

The first day passed uneventfully, though the landscape began to shift as they traveled. The dense, ancient forest surrounding the Elven capital gave way to open fields, the golden grasses swaying gently in the breeze. Luke found himself marveling at the beauty of it all—the way the light played on the hills, the distant calls of unseen creatures, the sheer vastness of the horizon.

"You're staring," Eleanor said, her tone teasing.

"Can you blame me?" Luke replied, gesturing to the view. "This is... incredible. It's nothing like Earth."

Eleanor tilted her head. "You don't talk about your world much."

Luke shrugged. "Not much to say. It's... different. Less magical. More concrete."

"Sounds boring," she said with a grin.

Luke chuckled. "Sometimes. But it had its moments."

They walked in companionable silence for a while after that, the sun sinking lower in the sky.

---

That night, they camped by a small stream, its water clear and cold. Eleanor set about building a fire, her hands deft as she arranged the kindling. Luke, meanwhile, opened his pack and made a decent shelter with some branches and rope.

"You're surprisingly good at this," Eleanor said, staring at him as she struck a spark.

Luke sighed. "I'm used to this. I would frequently go hiking and camping on a mountain with my parents. Granted I still make dumb mistakes."

The shelter fell apart as if mocking him. 

Eleanor laughed, the sound light and genuine. "Well, consider this your crash course. Don't worry, I'll keep you alive."

"Comforting," Luke muttered, but he couldn't help smiling.

As the fire crackled to life, they settled in, the warmth warding off the chill of the night.

---

Later, as they sat by the fire, Eleanor turned to Luke, her expression curious. "So, your essence. What's it like?"

Luke hesitated. He hadn't talked about it much—not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't fully understand it himself. "It's... hard to describe," he said finally. "It's like... I'm not really changing things. I'm convincing the world that they were always supposed to be that way."

Eleanor's brow furrowed. "Convincing the world?"

"Yeah," Luke said, trying to find the right words. "Like... if I reshape something, I thought that I was forcing it to be different. However, it actually feels like I'm tricking the rules into thinking that's how it's always been."

Eleanor tilted her head, considering. "That sounds a lot like Resonance."

"Resonance?"

She nodded. "It's... well, I don't fully understand it, but it's something about knowing how to use your power without really understanding why it works. Like... instinctively tuning into the rhythm of the world."

Luke thought about that. "It's like gravity," he said after a moment.

"Gravity?"

"On Earth, gravity is this force that pulls things toward each other. It's what keeps us from floating away. So if someone had the ability to pull or push things away, they would use their power without understanding that they are actually changing the gravitational force between objects."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "That's... weirdly insightful for you."

Luke laughed. "Don't get used to it."

---

The second day was harder. The rolling fields gave way to rocky terrain, the air growing cooler as they climbed. The path narrowed, forcing them to walk single file, and strange plants began to appear—glowing fungi that pulsed with an eerie light, thorny vines that seemed to shift when no one was looking.

Luke paused to examine one such plant, its petals shimmering like molten gold.

"Careful," Eleanor warned. "Some of these things are more dangerous than they look."

Luke pulled his hand back quickly. "What do they do?"

"Depends. Some are poisonous. Some will explode if you touch them. Some might just bite your hand off."

Luke gave her a wary look. "You're messing with me, aren't you?"

She grinned. "Maybe."

---

By the time they stopped to rest, Luke's legs ached, and his feet felt like they'd been put through a grinder. He collapsed onto a flat rock, groaning.

"How are you not tired?" he asked, watching as Eleanor calmly inspected her bowstring.

"I'm an elf raised in the slums," she said simply.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Right. Of course."

Eleanor chuckled, then tossed him a waterskin. "Drink up. We've got a long way to go."

---

By the time they stopped to rest, Luke's legs ached, and his feet felt like they'd been put through a grinder. He collapsed onto a flat rock, groaning.

"How are you not tired?" he asked, watching as Eleanor calmly inspected her bowstring.

"I'm an elf raised in the slums," she said simply.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Right. Of course."

Eleanor chuckled, then tossed him a waterskin. "Drink up. We've got a long way to go."

---

By the third day, things felt eerie as the sun never seemed to shine through the clouds. The sky was gray which matched with the fog that seemed to overcome every single location. They had stepped foot into a forest filled with scary looking trees. They twisted in all directions, blocking all light.

"This is creepy," is the only thing Luke could say through the dull pain he was feeling around his head.

Eleanor pictured the giant tree in her head and how small they were in the grand scheme of things. "The tree is beyond the forest."

It became more and more difficult for him to breathe and he gulped which wasn't helpful. There was a fear of them not being able to stay safe in what was to come next.

As they exited the forest, they finally were face to face with it. The gnarled fingers that were directed towards the sky matched with the fog that stood around them as they shifted through the shrubbery towards the biggest tree either of them had ever seen.

Eleanor felt the fog grow stronger so she said, "Well it is right there," trying to ignore the pain.

While looking up and being surrounded by awe, Luke had shifted emotions as a knot started to grow in his stomach. "We are doing this," he said to Eleanor while pushing the words out of his mouth.

Instead of trying to overpower him, Eleanor remained serious. "We are," she said.

Luke took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. The tree towered over them, its presence almost suffocating.