“The Final World,” Cecilia mumbled, turning towards the place Alnea was pointing. Ahead of them, where the last of the stairs met a large landing, similar to the landings of the floors below, were a pair of doors that took up most of the space on the walls. Unlike the doors below though, these doors did not seem to be as archaic. But they were just as large, if not more. And one of the two pairs also had the same cylindrical scanner placed in front of them.

  “It is finally time.”

  “The last step in our journey of the Lost City.”

  “…To be honest, I am a little scared right now.”

  “Scared? Of going to the Final World?”

  “Of the Final World, stupid.”

  “…That makes sense.”

  “…I would not say that I am scared, but I cannot deny that I am nervous,” Aren said. “We are so close to fulfilling our goal… Just one last step… If anything goes wrong, then everything we have done until now will be in vain. And there are so many things which can go wrong in the Final Trial. Leaving aside the Wanderers who will be trying to stop us, we know nothing about the Final World, and what we might face on the other side.”

  “There is no need to be so pessimistic,” Alnea said, letting out a laugh in hope of calming everyone’s tense nerves. “Walking into a Trial without knowing anything about it is not as scary as you think it is. In fact, it can even be a little thrilling, and add a little fun to the Trials. That is how Cecilia, Yuri, and I challenged our Trials anyway. And we never faced any problems. We even managed to break quite a few records.”

  “…Is he trying to show off?”

  “He is.”

  “…I was just telling the truth.”

  “He is doing it again.”

  “…What is there to show off about just some Trials of the Lost City?” Zain said with a scoff. “If I wished to do so, I could have easily broken all the records of the Trials, and be recorded in the city’s history. It is only because I thought that it might affect your self esteem that I held back a little.”

  “…As far as I know, Captain has already been recorded in the history of the city for creating some historical records.”

  “And I would have set even more historical records!”

  “Right, right. We believe you.”

  “A day will come, when you will regret mocking me.”

  “Let’s wait for that day to come first before talking,” Karl said, before turning towards Alnea. “How are we going to arrange our entry in the Final World?”

  “Do we still have to discuss about something as trivial as entering the Final World?” Norren said, tilting his head in confusion. “There should be no problem in going in however we wish, right?”

  “As Aren said earlier, we know nothing about the Final World. It would be better if we decide on an order to go through the gates of the Final World, lest we fall into a chaos on the other side.”

  “You people are worrying too much,” Alnea said, drawing everyone’s attention to himself before they could delve into panic and hysteria. “We have made plans for all sorts of situations, and even prepared a few life saving measures, just in case things go beyond our control. As long as you do not panic, there is nothing to be worried about just a mere Final World.”

  “Have you forgotten about the lesson you learned already?”

  “But we still need to be careful,” Alnea said, replacing the confident smile on his face with a pensive and solemn look. “Like Karl and Aren said, the Final World is indeed prone to changes that we cannot predict. Rather, after what the world has been through, it would surely have elements beyond our expectations. So, before we enter the Final World, let’s set some rules first.

  “First, unless we are sure that there are no potential threats in our surroundings, we must keep our protective measures active at all times. And even when we are sure, we must always have someone on the lookout. To that end, everyone must activate the Glyph tokens I gave you before entering the Final World. And we must also enter the Final World in an order that would maximise our security and safety.”

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  “According to that logic, the strongest of us should enter the Final World first?” Ralph said, a bit hesitant of his words. And rightfully so.

  “How do we decide who is the strongest one amongst us?” Alnea said, glancing at Ralph. “Is the one with the greatest Spirit Power amongst us the strongest? Or is it the one with the best results in the Trials? Perhaps, you think it should be the one with the greatest combat power. But as Wanderers, our combat power varies according to our surroundings, and other external factors. How do we decide who is the strongest one amongst us then?”

  “…I do not know.”

  “As Wanderers, our strength may be important, but it will never become our defining characteristic,” Alnea said. “Unless of course, you become the greatest Wanderer in all means possible. Then, you can call yourself the strongest Wanderer. Till that time comes though, we can only rely on each other to survive. In other words, the basis for our survival is our cooperation, and how well we fulfil our roles.”

  “Then the order of going to the Final World…”

  “For now, we know nothing about the Final World. The only thing we can be sure about is that we will be sent to approximately the same location, with an error of around a hundred metres or so. Normally, that would not have been a problem, but in an unfamiliar environment, these hundred metres can be the line between our life and death. So, the first person to the go through these doors must be someone with exceptional lifesaving skills, and a decent level of reconnaissance abilities.”

  “…I guess that would be me,” Karl said sheepishly, when he noticed everyone turning towards him.

  “Do not worry, Karl. Even if there is some danger, the Blood Spirit Tears should be enough to ensure your life,” Alnea said, before continuing with where he had left off. “Once Karl goes to the Final World, we will give him a couple of minutes to adapt to the situation, before sending someone to help him figure out the environment. As such, the next person should be someone with exceptional reconnaissance skills.”

  “Let me go then,” Cecilia said, glancing towards the doors with a bright light shining in her eyes. “Although you and Yuri are also good at reconnaissance, that is just one of your abilities. I, on the other hand, am good at only fighting and scouting. The best arrangement would be letting me go second.”

  “…Then the second person to go the Final World will be Lia. As for the third person, it needs to be someone who can provide a varied range of support, in case Lia and Karl need help.”

  “Are you talking about me?” Zain said, sifting his hands through his hair, while raising his chin. “Fine. I get it. Although I would rather be first in anything that I do, since you are insisting so much, then I guess I will just sacrifice my pride for the team, and go in the third place.”

  “…I hope you will be just as confident when you go to the other side,” Alnea said, before glancing at the rest of his teammates. “Zain will go in after Lia, followed by Fran, Norren, Ralph, Vestia, Aren, Yuri, and then finally me, each with a difference of a couple of minutes. If you want, I can give you an explanation as to how I arranged that order later, but for now, let us hurry up. The sooner we get to the other side, the sooner we will be able to adapt to our new environment, and prepare for the Final Trial.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?” Norren said, injecting some Oren into the Blood Spirit Tear hanging around his neck, before retrieving his twin sword from his storage equipment, and twirling them in his hands, with the rest soon following his actions. Swords, spears, shield, stick, and daggers, all sorts of weapons flashed into the hands of the Star Seekers, as they completed their preparation.

  “…Be careful when you get there, Karl,” Alnea said, as Karl placed his Blood Card on the black cylinder, prompting the giant doors to open on their own, allowing slivers of yellowish light to escape through the gap, along with a strong smell of damp mud and rotten flesh. “Remember, saving your life is your priority. Everything else comes next.”

  “…You do not have to remind me,” Karl mumbled. “I am always very keen on saving my life.”

  “That is why I am relieved by sending you first.”

  “…Is it a little too late for me to change my ways?”

  “Oh, just shut up, and get going already,” Zain said, pushing Karl through the gap between the doors, before glancing at the rest of his teammates. “What? He was wasting time.”

  “…Since Karl has entered the Final World, then Lia, you are up next.”

  “If anyone pushes me, I swear will kill you,” Cecilia said, glaring at the Star Seekers, before stepping in front of the doors, with Forne following along with her, and placing her Blood Card on the black cylinder. She did not go through the doors immediately though. Instead, she waited for the two minutes to be over, before finally stepping through the doors. As did the rest of the Star Seekers who went up after her, until the only ones left on the twelfth floor were Yuri and Alnea.

  “You know, I have still not forgiven you,” Yuri said, as she stepped in front of the doors.

  “I know.”

  “So, next, I will have to punish you.”

  “…Are you going to take care of me for the rest of my life?”

  “You wish,” Yuri said, letting out a snort, and paused for a moment, before continuing. “First, let us see if you can regain my trust.”

  “What do I have to do?”

  “Have you not said it already?” Yuri said, glancing towards him with a smile. A radiant smile, that she had not shown him for a long time. As such, he was not surprised, when all the immunity he had built against that smile vanished like smoke, allowing the smile to push him into a daze.

  “I am going to watch you… for a long, long time. And if you can truly regain my trust, then I would not mind taking care of you for the rest of Time.”