Exploring the forest, Alnea could not help noticing how gloomy it was. The damp and humid air that he breathed, the wet and loose ground that he stepped on, the vast network of trees spreading their roots both in the ground and the air, and the large array of water bodies they kept finding one after another, all could be ignored for a moment, but the strange air looming over him and his team at all moments…

  It was not as if Alnea had never felt such a strange atmosphere before. Whether it was the Bright Light Forest, or the Night Canyons, both the Forbidden Areas had a strange air looming in their territories. Even the Black Desert, to some extent, carried some of that same strange air of danger. An air of oppression, that made all those who dared to step into those areas feel weak and insignificant.

  Just like how Alnea had felt when he had stepped into the Bright Light Forest for the first few times. Weak and insignificant. Even later, when he gotten used to running around in the forest, he still could not adapt completely to the pressure bearing down on him, and had some troubles in breathing from time to time. In comparison, the air around him, no matter how damp and humid, almost seemed tame. Almost.

  There were no Adult Stage Oren Beasts in the Final World. At least not after the purge that it had went through. Especially so in the areas designated for the Final Trial. Like the forest. Consequently, the air around him did not have the pressure formed by countless Beasts in their Adult Stage and above prowling about in the forest, like those in the Forbidden Areas. Instead, it had a strange rhythm, a fluctuation of sorts, like those of Mysteries, that could not be seen or observed through any direct means. Only when he observed the forest as a whole, could he observe its rhythm, its breath…

  It was almost as if—

  “What are you frowning at?” Yuri said, breaking him out of his daze, bringing him back to his senses. Or was it the senses of his Spirit? No, why should he distinguish between the two in the first place? They were both his senses, were they not? Why then, did he have to make a distinction? Was it because one consumed his Spirit Power, while the other did not?

  No, it was because that was how he had been taught. Not by his master, of course. She had not mentioned much about the senses of his Spirit in her lessons. Other than the fact that he should not use the senses of his Spirit to observe other Wanderers, especially those stronger than him. Then again, when he had met his master, his Spirit had been restrained by the Lotus clan, making it impossible for him to use its senses. Talking about it back then would not have made much sense.

  She could have taught him about the use of his Spirit later, when he had gotten rid of the restrictions, but she probably just wanted him to explore it on his own. After all, unlike the secrets and foundations of the path of Wanderers, the use of one’s Spirit and its senses was much more intuitive in nature. And harmless too. Unless he broke the code of conduct between Wanderers. She had already warned him about those unwritten rules though, leaving the rest for him to explore.

  “…I was just thinking about a few things,” Alnea said, glancing towards Yuri and shaking his head to ensure her that he was alright, before turning his attention back to the part of the forest within the range of his senses. To the trees and patches of uneven grass near their roots, to the small lake they had just left behind, and the swamp that lay ahead of them… Why were there so many water bodies in the forest?

  “Still worried about the strange nature of the forest?”

  “…A little.”

  “Did you not decide to leave it be for now?”

  “I did, but that does not mean that I cannot worry about it,” Alnea said, just as their team passed the swamp, and headed towards a river. “I just hope that what I am worried about does not come true…”

  “If you keep worrying about it, it will definitely come true,” Yuri said, with a hint of amusement in her voice. Alnea, however, was too occupied by her words to pay attention to her voice.

  “…My curse?”

  “…I was just trying to tease you, but now that you say it…”

  “…Forget it. If it comes, it comes. It is not as if this will be first time I will be facing my curse. I have defeated it before. I will just have to defeat it once again.”

  “…Are you not forgetting something?” Yuri said, lacing her voice with dissatisfaction.

  “…What?” Alnea said, wondering what he had done wrong this time.

  “…We. We will defeat it once again,” Yuri said in a firm and confident voice. “Just like we defeated it the last time.”

  “…That we did,” Alnea said, laughing out loud, drawing everyone’s curious gaze towards himself. Using his Aspects to hide his embarrassment, he quickly made up a few excuses for himself. From how everyone looked at him though, it did not seem as if they believed him. Especially Cecilia and Vestia. Fortunately, they were still in the midst of their exploration, so they did not ask him any questions.

  “…What was so funny about what I said?”

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  “…I was not laughing at you,” Alnea said. “I was laughing at myself. At my foolishness.”

  “…That, I cannot argue with. Though I do want to know why you suddenly became so enlightened.”

  “…I always keep telling myself that I am not alone anymore,” Alnea said, ignoring Yuri’s jibe. “That I have you and Cecilia, that I have master, big sis Serena, and my mother… even Vestia and the others… Yet, whenever something happens, I try to solve all the problems on my own, only to end up failing, and fall back to your help.”

  “…It is good that you understand,” Yuri said, in a feigned solemn tone. “Next time something happens, just talk to us in advance.”

  “…Do not worry. I will. If not for the enlightenment that I just had, then for the promise that I made earlier.”

  “…Can you do anything without your promises?”

  “…I can make you laugh.”

  “…Go ahead then. Make me laugh.”

  “…Once, there was a cat, an Oren Beast, who used to live in a…”

  While talking with Yuri, Alnea did not forget his responsibilities, keeping the senses of his Spirit stretched, observing everything within its range, be it the Oren Beasts or the forest itself. The gloomy forest, that turned even more gloomy at night. At least during the day, he could still see around ten to twenty metres with his naked eyes. At night, the forest became so dark, that for a moment, it felt as if he had returned back to the Night Canyons. Only for a moment though.

  The Night Canyons were not as damp and humid as the forest around him. Neither were they so strange. And though they held numerous Mysteries, those Mysteries were hidden within its Fortune Springs. The forest around him, on the other hand, did not seem to have any Fortune Springs. At least he had yet to see one. What then, were the fluctuations in the fog around him? What was the rhythm hinting at? Why did it feel as if the forest was breathing? Was the forest truly alive?

  Alnea did not know. And he did not wish to know. Curiosity was a good trait for Wanderers, but only if channelled correctly. If channelled without any regards, it could result in disastrous consequences. Both for the curious Wanderers, and those around them. A fact that he knew very well. And as such, he had always kept himself restrained when observing the forest, doing just enough to meet the goal of his Trial, ignoring all the strange things he observed. Like ground repairing itself, or the roots squirming around in the fog…

  Any time he saw such strange scenes, Alnea would lead his team around those places. He even asked Yuri and Cecilia to do the same. Exploring the forest was difficult as it was, he did not wish to add even more troubles to himself. Unfortunately, trouble seemed to have grown too fond of him, and came back to him whenever it could get the chance. Be it through the Oren Beasts stupid enough to charge at them, through other Wanderers whom they met along the way, or through the forest itself.

  “Cretes’ boots,” Norren cursed, as the Star Seekers came to a stop just in front of a river. Not because the river happened to be on their path. They had met with many such rivers over the past week to even keep count of them, and had crossed all of those rivers with ease. Just as how they had been planning to cross the river in front of them. Until it began raging the moment they came to its bank.

  No one saw how it began. Not even Cecilia, who had been using her Arcanas to enhance the sense of her Spirit. It just happened. One moment, the river was flowing as peacefully as the other rivers they had encountered on their way, and in the very next moment, its waves turned turbulent, breaking through its surface, tearing their way through the bluish fog hanging over the river’s length, reaching up to almost twice their height.

  Surprisingly, as the Star Seekers forced themselves to stop right next to the edge of the river, they did not feel even a single drop of water fall onto their bodies. It was as if all the water of the river had been confined within its banks. No matter how the waves raged, no matter how high the waters reached, they just could not leave the confines of the river. Just like the fog hanging above them.

  Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Alnea thought to himself, most of the Star Seekers were too stunned to notice the notice the peculiarity of the river. They just noticed the abrupt change in the river’s flow, and assumed the worst, quickly assuming their positions. And as one of their vanguards, how could Norren let his teammates react faster than him? Stepping in to fulfil his responsibilities, he summoned his twin swords, and unfurled his Spirit, while putting on a defensive stance.

  “What just happened?”

  “How would I know?”

  “The river…”

  “Optah’s stink,” Norren cursed once again, before glancing towards Cecilia. “Did you find them?”

  “Find whom?”

  “Who else, but the Wanderers who are ambushing us!”

  “…What are you shouting for?” Cecilia said, not even bothering to turn around, staring intently at the river with a frown. “There is no ambush here.”

  “…What did you say?”

  “I said, there are no ambushes here, so you can let go of your guard,” Cecilia said, glancing towards his teammates with a frown, noticing their bodies glowing in the light of their Aspects. “There is no need to waste your Spirit Power like this.”

  “What about the river? Can you not see how much it has changed?”

  “…I can see very clearly, but you might need some help to open your eyes,” Cecilia said, before turning back to the river. “The river did become turbulent very abruptly, but did it attack us?”

  “No, but—

  “Did you even feel any fluctuation of Mysteries?”

  “…No.”

  “Then where did you get the idea that we were being ambushed?”

  “…But the river…”

  “…That is something that all of us want to know,” Fran said, taking a step closer to the river. “How can a river transform so much with no external influence?”

  “…I have always said that there is something wrong with the forest,” Ralph mumbled, only for Zain to walk up to his side, and slap him on his shoulder.

  “Do not steal my lines,” Zain said, expressing his dissatisfaction with a frown, before turning towards the river. “Besides, just because we cannot see how or why the river transformed does not mean that it transformed on its own.”

  “…What do you mean?”

  “He meant that there might be some beasts or Wanderers fighting somewhere along the river,” Karl said, glancing upstream the river.

  “Should we search for them, and lay an ambush,” Aren said. “Or—