Alnea panted heavily, as sweat trickled down his face, but he did not stop. He could not stop. His body kept moving on its own, adapting the three stances of the Oathkeeper Arts into the Oathkeeper Style he had always envisioned, infecting his Heart with confidence. Not in his strength, but in his conviction. In the promises and Oaths that he had made. In the new stances he was creating.

  As a Martial Style he was creating to protect the people he loved, it had to focus on the Concept of Protection. After all, he was Alnea Oathkeeper, the man who lived for the people he took his Oaths for. Naturally, his Oathkeeper Style also had to follow his conviction. If the core of his Martial Style was only Slaughter, even if that Slaughter was aimed at the hesitations of his Heart, then how could he call the Martial Style as his own?

  Fortunately for him, his work was already half done. Whether it was the Slaughtering Human Stance, the Slaughtering Blade Stance, or the Slaughtering Dragon Stance, he had already introduced a hint of the Concept of Protection and Guarding in all three of them. Next, he just needed to blur the difference between the two different types of Concepts permeating the three stances…

  Slaughter the hesitation to fight and kill, the first stance said. Protect and Guard, Alnea told it instead. He could fight, and even kill, but he would not kill unnecessarily. He was not a Heterodox Wanderer. Neither was he like the sadistic Wanderers of the Orthodoxies, who searched for excuses to torture those beneath them for the slightest of grievances. He was Alnea Oathkeeper, and he would Slaughter only to Protect. To Guard against anything that might hurt what he cared about.

  Slaughter and Protect; Slaughter and Guard, the two went hand in hand, transforming the Slaughtering Human Stance, and by extension, the Slaughtering Blade Stance, into the First Stance of the Oathkeeper Style—his Oathkeeper Style, the Clear Heart Stance. He would not kill needlessly, but as long as his conscience and Heart were Clear, let alone some mere humans, he would dare to fight even against the whole world. That was the essence of the Clear Heart Stance. The essence of Alnea Oathkeeper.

  Though he was not done just yet. After all, having the intention to Protect, and no hesitation to Slaughter did not mean that he would not feel fear. Fear was one of the most primal emotions of humans. Or any living being for that matter. Except the Thralls. But they did not count. And he was not creating the Oathkeeper Style for the Thralls. He was creating it for himself. So, the fear he had to Slaughter was also his own. Like the fear he had been living in for the past half year, without even knowing about it. The fear of—

  Slaughtering the fear in his Heart, Alnea reminded himself of the essence of the Slaughtering Dragon Stance. A stance that taught him courage. But courage without an aim was meaningless. Courage, without a direction, without a cohesive force to bind it all together, and point him into the right direction, would only serve to turn him into what he had always despised. So, he did not want just courage. He wanted the Courage to Protect. He wanted the Courage to Guard. And he would get it only by Slaughtering his fears.

  Thus, was born the Courageous Heart Stance, the second stance of his Oathkeeper Style. A stance, that was not the culmination of his essence, but one that added something to his Heart. A shackle of sorts. Like the chains of his Oaths binding his Spirit. He did not feel weakened by the shackles though. On the contrary, as Alnea moved, adapting the two Concepts of Protect and Slaughter into his moves, he felt himself growing stronger, growing sharper.

  Soon, Alnea told himself, as he finally came to a stop. With his Oathkeeper Style, he would finally not have to be afraid of his Heart, of the hesitation buried within himself. It would still take some time, but he was sure that very soon, he would be able to defeat the Shadow of his Heart and attain true Clarity. Till then, he would just have to practice a little more. Get more familiarised with the two stances of his Oathkeeper Style. A Martial Style he had created by himself.

  Alnea closed his eyes, subduing the emotions surging within his Heart, and the strange sense of exhilaration flowing in his veins. In vain. The more that he tried to subdue his surging emotions, the more he thought about what he had just done, the more excited he became. In the end, he just let go, allowing his emotions to run their course and vent their excitement. And so, they did.

  Finally, his Heart told him. Finally, he had created his very own Martial Style. Not borrowed, not copied, but created. At worst, he had just referenced it from a few other Martial Styles. Sure, it was still in its infancy, and had only two stances, but every Martial Style had to start somewhere. And he had already taken his first step. Next, he needed to flesh out the two stances he had created. Filter out what those two stances needed from thousands of other Martial Styles he had mastered, and then incorporate them into them into his moves.

  It was a long project though, that would not be completed any time soon. And he was also exhausted from all the moving around. Even the little Spirit Power that he had recovered had been squandered away to facilitate his creation of the Clear Heart Stance, and the Courageous Heart Stance. So, for the moment, as the emotions running in his veins finally calmed down, Alnea decided to rest a little. Or rather, meditate.

  Meditating was not hard in his state, and neither was finding his Serenity. Drifting in that Serenity was even easier, addictive even. Especially after what he had achieved. His Heart was in so much peace, that when the time to stop meditating came, he had to deliberately excite a few of his most primal emotions, reminding himself of Yuri’s face, before he could finally wake up.

  Glancing out of the window, he noticed Enn going past his zenith, and beginning his descent. It was too late to give away the Glyph Tokens he had created, so he did not bother going out of his room. He did, still, chat with Yuri, sharing the things he had done, the things he had created. But that was it. After a while, when he was feeling refreshed once again, he threw himself back into his daily routine. It was not until the dinner time came, that he finally walked out of his room.

  “Someone is looking happy,” Vestia said, smiling back at him, as he greeted her with a grin. “Let me guess. You made another breakthrough?”

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  “…I broke through just a couple of weeks ago.”

  “Who said anything about Spirit Power? Can you not breakthrough in other things?”

  “…I guess you can say that I made a breakthrough,” Alnea said, with his grin getting even wider.

  “What is it?” Cecilia said from the side. “What did you break through in? Do not tell me it is your Heart? Have you gained your Clarity already?”

  “…I did indeed make some progress in my Heart, but no, I have not gained my Clarity yet. That should still take some time.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “…I made a breakthrough in two things. One, I will tell you later, in tomorrow’s meeting. And the other…”

  “Stop being so melodramatic, and just say it already.”

  “…Let’s just say that I have finally taken a large step towards finally fulfilling one of my dreams.”

  “Now, you are making me even more curious,” Vestia said, with the edges of her lips curling upwards in a grin. “Do we know what this dream of yours is?”

  “You do not, but Lia should.”

  “…Do you?”

  “…Why should I tell you, vixen?” Cecilia said with a snort, turning her face away to hide the flush on her cheeks. Vestia did not mind her actions though. On the contrary, she played along with her, turning towards Alnea with misty eyes, and trembling lips.

  “So, am I the only one who knows nothing about your dreams?”

  “…Alright, stop acting. I was talking about creating my own Martial Style. I have always wanted to create one myself, and I have finally made some progress.”

  “You created your own Martial Style?”

  “Sort of. It is still in its infancy, and needs a lot of tuning, but I finally have something to work with.”

  “That’s still amazing!” Vestia said, staring at Alnea with wide eyes, before finally resuming her grin. “As expected of someone I chose.”

  “…Shameless,” Cecilia said, before turning towards Alnea. “You really did it?”

  “I did.”

  “Is it the same one you have been working on?”

  “…It is, but it is also a little different.”

  “…Don’t be too smug. I will be creating my Martial Style in no time either.”

  “…I believe in you.”

  “…And… congratulations.”

  “…Thank you,” Alnea said, laughing heartily, while pinching Cecilia’s cute red cheeks. He did not go too far though, withdrawing his hands after a couple of moments, retreating a few steps away from her. “Let’s go to the canteen. I am starving.”

  The next day, Alnea gathered everyone for a meeting in the morning, and gave them the Blood Spirit Tears he had created the day before.

  “Always keep it on your body. It will help you defend against a full out attack of an average Peak Stage False Wanderer, and will also help you recover some Spirit Power. In short, if you keep it by your side, you can be regarded as having an extra life. And if you use it wisely, then it can even help you turn the tides in critical situations.”

  “…This is too precious…”

  “Nothing is more precious than your lives.”

  “But…”

  “If you really feel burdened by accepting the Blood Spirit Tears, then work hard to increase your strength. There is still some time before the Final Trial. Use this time to improve yourselves in all ways possible. The stronger that you are, the better our chances of entering the inner city will be. And if we can really enter the inner city, then that would be the best way you can repay me.”

  “…We will.”

  After giving out the Blood Spirit Tears, Alnea shifted the discussion of the meeting towards the rumours that had been floating in the city, and asked everyone to be careful once again. When the meeting was over, and everyone began dispersing back towards their rooms, he asked the girls to stay back, and gave them the things he had prepared for them.

  “These can help you defend against all attacks below the Rank of True Wanderers… These can heal your injuries, and restore your Spirit Power… These can launch attacks beyond the scope of average Peak Stage Wanderers… These are all the things that I could prepare with what I had. I will see if I can get my hands on a few more treasures—

  “Enough,” Yuri said, shaking her head with a helpless smile. “These are enough, Alnea. There is no need to prepare anything else.”

  “But we do not know what the Final Trial is going to be about. What if we are forced to fight against hundreds of Wanderers?”

  “Then we would face them head on,” Cecilia said. “You do not think that we are just pretty vases, do you?”

  “…But—

  “Although I am happy that you worry about me—about us, but I would be happier if you would believe in us,” Vestia said, looking him into his eyes. “We are not just your treasures to protect. We are your friends, your partners, who are willing to fight by your side.”

  “…Fine. But we still need to prepare accordingly. And you will have to keep these Glyph Tokens by your sides at all times.”

  “Of course,” Yuri said, as she stuffed the consumable Glyph crystals into the folds of her robe. “That goes without saying…”

  Though Alnea agreed with the girls on the surface, a thought at the back of his mind kept telling him that what he had prepared was not enough. Especially with the month of Inkah coming, he did not know what more surprises his Fate would have for him. So, just as precaution, he secretly prepared a few more protective measures for them. Yet, he still did not think that was enough.

  In the end, Alnea traced the problem to its roots. Since he was worried that the girls, or even his other teammates for that matter, might get hurt in the Final Trial, he just had to make sure that they made ample preparation before challenging the Trial. He had already done the best he could though, so next, he asked his teammates to return the favour.

  From increasing their training intensity to familiarising themselves with their Concepts in the Arena, and even taking time out for increasing their tacit understanding, he did not spare anything that could help them in the Trial. And with time, his efforts finally began showing their results. At the very least, everyone became more confident in themselves. Even Norren and Ralph.

  A time came, when the Star Seekers became so confident in themselves, that they truly began to believe that nothing could stop them from entering the inner city. Not the Lotus clan, not its alliance, and not even a super team like the Dark Priests. That was until Fate came knocking on their door. On the midnight of the thirty fifth day of Orn’s month, the moment that Death became an inevitability, the city sent out messages to everyone’s Blood Cards, causing strange symbols to appear on its back side.

  Infighting amongst the Blood Soldiers is henceforth, banned. Any violators will be punished accordingly.