Fate. It was not just a word, or a concept. From taking their first steps to Wandering in the Origin Sea, everything that people experienced in their lives could be described as just a mere expression of Fate. And it was not just for humans. As one of the basic principles that the Origin Sea itself was formed of, Fate expressed itself in all things linked with the Origin Sea. Even for inanimate objects, Fate never shied away from expressing itself in their destiny.

  Though it was not just Fate which expressed itself as such. Other basic principles of the Origin Sea that formed its twelve lineages, like Life and Death, expressed themselves just as much as Fate did. Rather, Fate never expressed itself on its own. It always came with others of its kind. All the principles did. It was just that Fate…

  Some people called it inevitable, while others dared to fight against it, but only those who had faced their Fate could understand how overwhelmingly terrifying it could be. Especially since it never came alone. Fate and Time, Fate and Life, Fate and Death, Fate and Decay… Sometimes, it even brought a whole group with it, crashing down on unsuspecting people, bringing them all sorts of troubles. And if their Fate happened to be Cursed, then what awaited them could only be despair. Utter despair, the kind of which they could never imagine.

  Alnea himself had faced that kind of despair once. No, not once. There was also the Heterodox Wanderer in the Night Canyons. And had it not been for his master, his despair would have been greater during the Spirit Test of Anneve. And if he went back a little further… Maybe, everything was destined from the day he was born. Even before he took his name. His new name. Maybe, his father’s death too, had been because of his Fate.

  In any case, he was well aware of the despair that the Curse of his Fate could bring him. But it was exactly because of that reason, that he dared to fight against it. Because he had already won against his Fate once. And if he could win once, he could win once again. After all, if he could not even win against his Fate, how would he help Yuri change the Fate she was fighting?

  Before fighting against his Fate though, he had to first defeat himself. More specifically, he had to defeat the Shadow of his Heart. Only then, would he be able to Clear his Heart. It did not matter that he had already lost hundreds of times against the shadow buried within his Heart. That could not stop him from facing it once again. And again. And again. And every time he failed, he learned a bit more about himself, about the reason for his hesitation, and the reason for his helplessness. His weakness in front of absolute strength, and the overwhelming force of Fate…

  Last time, he was able to tide over the danger with the help of his Oaths, but what would he do this time? Rely on his plans? Maybe, it would have worked if his enemies were just the Orthodoxies, but against his Fate… Just those plans would never work. So, what should he do? Fall back on his Oaths? On the blade that came from the depths of his Heart… of the Origin Sea…

  Alnea fell silent, as strange thoughts surfaced within his Heart. Normally, he would have just suppressed his thoughts, but he could not do it anymore. Not when he was so close to the Final Trial. It would have been fine had he not known about it, but since he had learned that his Heart was still hesitant, he had to get rid of his hesitations. After all, when in battle, any hesitation, no matter how small, could prove to be fatal.

  That was one of the most basic lessons that Wanderers learned when laying their Roots. Though just because it was a basic lesson though did not mean that it was easy to follow. Or else, no one would ever get stuck in the bottlenecks of their Heart. Unfortunately for Alnea, the lesson of getting rid of his hesitations happened to be just one such lesson. Or else, he would have taken care of his Heart long ago. But it was not exactly his fault either.

  From the time he had first begun tempering his Heart, the only thing he had been thinking about was to protect the people he loved, and fulfil his Oaths. It was not without reason that he had comprehended the Concept of Protecting so easily, and had even begun incorporating it into his ideas, creating his very own Martial Style. The idea of Protecting was deeply ingrained into his very being.

  The more he thought about Protecting though, the more the hesitation within him grew. If he could do anything to protect, then why could he not accept his Roots? Why could he not just accept his Oaths, and become one with what he had summoned a year ago? What was he more afraid of, to lose the things he wanted to protect, or to lose himself?

  Alnea had no answers. And so, he could not defeat himself, returning back to the point where he had begun. Just with a little more knowledge about himself, about what he feared. And a faint premonition of what the Curse of his Fate may force him to face this time. But that was something he would have to face later on. For the moment, he focused on the Shadow in front of him, and fought with all his strength, trying to learn something more about himself…

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Opening his eyes, Alnea let out a heavy breath, and glanced out of the window at Enn’s first rays tearing through the darkness of night. Was it time already? Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he pushed himself off the ground, and did some stretching to relieve himself of the numbness of his limbs, before walking into the bathroom to take care of his daily chores.

  Unlike his usual days though, he did not finish with just his chores. Instead, he put away the robe he was wearing, and took out a new robe, along with a new pair of sandals. He even took out a mirror to check whether or not his hair was perfectly set. It was. Just not in his usual style. He had gone to Cecilia and Yuri to get his hair trimmed a few days ago, only for Vestia to join in on the fun.

  “Are you going to just trim it?”

  “That is how we have always done.”

  “What about trying something new?”

  “What if it does not look as good?”

  “Then we will just not trim it too short. Let us keep it longer than usual. And if it does not look good, we can just go back to the old look.”

  “…Looking at how long his hair has grown, we should be able to experiment at least a couple of times.”

  “Three, if we are careful.”

  “Three, just like us.”

  “…Should we do it together, or see who can give him the best look?”

  “A competition?”

  “That sounds like a good idea.”

  “A competition it is.”

  “I think we should ask his opinion first…”

  “It is alright. I will just exchange some of the contributions I made to the team for this competition.”

  “…Are you sure that you are going to use your contributions for this?”

  “It is not as if I can use it anywhere else anyway.”

  “He said that he would compensate us later…”

  “…You do not mind us giving you a new look, do you, Alnea?”

  “…Can I say anything else at this point?”

  “I will take that as a no. Alright, we are good to hold our competition now. The only thing left is deciding the prize for the winner.”

  “Prize?”

  “That’s right. A prize. Since there is a competition, there should naturally be a prize.”

  “I do like the sound of a prize…”

  “Let’s see… How about the winner gets to tie a hair ornament of her choice in his hair?”

  “A hair ornament?”

  “…I am in!”

  “…I can agree to that prize. But first, we need decide the rules of the competition.”

  “We need to have rules for cutting hair too?”

  “…How else are we going to decide the winner?”

  “Since it is his hair, then it is only fair to let Alnea decide which look suits him best.”

  “I disagree.”

  “Why?”

  “If we let him pick, then he will always choose you.”

  “…That is not certain. Do you not trust your Captain to be fair?”

  “I trust my Captain. I just do not trust Alnea. Especially when it comes to you.”

  “…Then let us decide with a vote.”

  “…Actually, this time, I agree with Vestia.”

  “…Fine. We will just let the others decide.”

  “Good. Then next…”

  Roughly three hours later, when Alnea looked at himself in a mirror, he almost failed to recognise himself. And it was not just because of how short his hair had become, or how the place where they parted had changed from the side of his head to its middle, though the latter certainly contributed considerably to his changed looks. No, it was because of how smoothly his hair flowed towards the back of his ears in overlapping waves. Almost as if they were alive.

  Alnea never knew that a person could change so much by just changing the way they wore their hair. Or by wearing a ribbon in their hair. A golden ribbon, matching his robe, with streaks of blue matching Vestia’s, tied to a lock of hair just behind his left ear, falling an inch shy of reaching his shoulders. Though the ribbon was added only after they had lost, he had to admit that Yuri and Cecilia had not lost unjustly. He did look—

  Putting away the mirror before it could transform him into a narcissist like Zain, Alnea quickly walked out of his room, trying to forget about how he had just spent over a tenth of an hour admiring himself in the mirror. He was still thinking about the ribbon though, so the moment he saw the figure of the two girls sitting in the hall, he went into a daze, recalling what they had said about the ribbon.

  Whispers of Fortune, Vestia had called it, explaining the ribbon’s significance, as she tied it to his hair. Apparently, the women of Erwein Forest would tie such a ribbon for the men they chose, wishing them Good Fortune, while also tying their Fortune with the men. Superstitions, of course. Or so Alnea had explained to Yuri, who had been looking at him with a dissatisfied pout, only for the latter to point to their Fingers of Fate. Even if the Whisper of Fortune was not a Divine Treasure, some things just could not be underestimated.