Fate and Fortune. Two of the most esoteric and ephemeral forces of the Origin Sea, and the ones most likely to influence each other. Or at least that was what Alnea knew about them. And not just from reading scrolls and hearing stories. He had personally experienced Good Fortune after encountering a stroke of good Fate. Of course, he had also experienced the opposite. Though he was not the only one to experience the influence of the two forces on each other.

  Amongst Wanderers—No, not just Wanderers. Humans in general, and some of the more intelligent Oren Beasts, those who could ponder upon the Mysteries of the Origin Sea, and break through the shackles of their blood to become Beast Lords, believed that those who experienced a stroke of good Fate were more likely to encounter Good Fortune, just as those who experienced Good Fortune were more likely to see their Fate turn for good. If their stroke of good Fate and Fortune could hold on long enough, that is.

  More often than not, before anyone could enjoy their Fate and Fortune turning for the good, they would first experience the ill sides of their Fate and Fortune influencing each other. Those with ill Fortune would have their Fate turn for the worse, while those with an ill Fate were bound to experience some ill Fortune. It was only when one could withstand the ravages of Time while enduring the ill strokes of their Fate and Fortune, that they could get to harvest the fruit of Good Fate and Fortune.

  That harvest, however, was not the same for everyone. Just as how the forces worked was not the same for everyone either. Some, blessed by the Gods, did not have to bear the ravages of Time to reap their Good Fate and Fortune. Others, Cursed by Fate, could not harvest the fruit of their efforts even if they endured the ravages of Time for the rest of their lives. Just like him and his master.

  Though, technically, it was not as if Fate and Fortune were never on their side. For Alnea, meeting Yuri and his master was the biggest Good Fortune he could ever ask for in his life. Similarly, his master too must have had her own share of Good Fortune. They just had to endure a little more than others. Go through a few more challenges than the rest to reap their harvest. Sometimes, even impossible challenges, that could possibly force him to sacrifice all that he stood for.

  That was what having a Cursed Fate meant. Being constantly haunted by his Fate. Only when he would become strong enough to stand up to his Fate, would he be able to break the shackles of his curse. Though that was easier said than done. Breaking the shackles of his curse… of his fate… Anyways, that was not something that he had to worry about right away. For the moment, his focus was not on his Cursed Fate, but on the forest around him.

  “A group of Mud Rats, thirty metres to our left,” Alnea said, not even glancing towards the rats, as the Star Seekers sped through the forest. Though Mud Rats were a menace, they were not a threat. Especially since—

  “On it,” Vestia said, slipping her bow into her hand, and pulled back its string, invoking the Glyphs engraved on her bow, as she unfurled her Spirit, locking on to the rats. Twenty three in total, she noted, not counting the ones hidden under the ground. Taking them out one by one would be a chore, and releasing a large attack might damage the forest. Not to mention that killing these beasts was not even a part of their Trial in the first place.

  Yet, just because they had no desire of fighting the beasts did not mean that the beasts shared their intentions. After all, Oren Beasts, in general, had aggressive tendencies. And they were very territorial. They would fight anyone, and anything, invading their territories, refusing to back down unless they suffered some losses. Especially the ones living in a pack. Some of the more aggressive ones even dared to fight until their death. And though Mud Rats were not of the aggressive kind, they could still be a nuisance.

  With the Innate Ability of diving into wet and moist ground at a moment’s notice, without even breaking the soil, normal attacks would be of no use against the Mud Rats. Rather, it might even fuel their courage. Their best option to deal with the rats was to kill at least one of them in a single attack. After all, Beasts with such lifesaving skills often tended to exploit their abilities to harass their enemies. Only if they could feel their lives being threatened, would such beasts retrain themselves. But killing the rats…

  Had they encountered the beasts a couple of days ago, Vestia would not have hesitated to kill all of them, let alone just a single rat. After what they had experienced though… After what Alnea had experienced… The Star Seekers had decided that it would be for the best if they did not kill Oren Beasts unless necessary. So, when water gathered around her bow, coalescing into a bluish arrow, instead of releasing it at the rats, Vestia shot her arrow a couple of inches away from their supposed leader, warning them to stay away.

  Thankfully, the rats seemed to understand her intention, and stopped in their tracks. They still screeched in defiance, and some of them even dived back into the ground, but they did not charge at the strange beasts passing by their territory. Unfortunately, not all beasts were as perceptive as the rats. Then again, what else could they have expected from the beasts?

  After dealing with a pack of Fog Wolves, a den of Flying Green Horned Snakes, and a few other beasts, the Star Seekers finally felt the drain on their Spirits, and decided to take a rest. After clearing a small area of all the beasts, they sat down in a circle, and began meditating, recovering their Spirit Power, while taking turns in keeping a watch. And Alnea, as usual, took the last turn of the watch.

  “Did you see anything unusual?” Alnea said to Yuri, as she woke him up from his meditation.

  “Depends on what you describe as unusual,” Yuri said, as she glanced at the forest around them. “In a sense, the entire forest is unusual.”

  “…You know what I mean,” Alnea said, following her gaze.

  “And you know my answer.”

  He did know her answer. Still, he could not help staring into the fog for a while. Although their exploration had going well, he did not forget the Curse of his Fate. If his guess was correct, Amira’s betrayal had just been the beginning. The true challenge that Fate was going to throw at him must be hidden within the forest. Sealed within the forest, ready to erupt at any moment…

  “It’s time to wake them up,” Alnea said after a while, withdrawing his gaze from the forest, before going around his teammates, waking them up from their meditation one by one. Only when everyone had opened their eyes, did he turn his attention back to the forest around them, pick up his thoughts where he had left them.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  More than a couple of days had passed since the trees had asked him to protect the balance of the forest. Yet, Alnea still had no clue as to what they were asking of him. Not that he was curious about what they were thinking. He had no intention of becoming their guardian. At least not actively. He would not mind if they crowned him their guardian. But he would not go out of his way to guard their domain.

  Still, that did not stop him from being curious about the forest. About the illusive seal… and what lay hidden beneath its surface. Normally, he would not have been so curious about the forest’s secret. However, the Final Trial just so happened to coincide with Inkah’s month, the time when his Cursed Fate seemed to become extra sensitive. He was not afraid of his fate. Not after he had already dealt with it couple of times. But he did not mind having some extra contingencies in place either.

  Keeping the threat of what lay sealed within the forest aside, Alnea did not know what the title of the forest’s guardian would bring him, and whether it would prove useful for the Trial or become a hindrance to complete his goals. He did not even know how to achieve that title. Were the trees asking him to just get rid of the Wanderers wreaking mayhem in their domain? And if so, why did they not show any reaction when he forced all those Wanderers to leave the Final World? Did he really have to kill them all? Or…

  “What are you thinking about?” Yuri said, tearing Alnea away from his thoughts, bringing his attention to herself. She was standing just hand’s distance away from him, looking at him with her crystal blue eyes, peering into his Heart, prying it open with a slight tug at the corner of her lips, while the rest of the Star Seekers were stretching out their limbs in preparation for rushing into the depths of the forest, and resuming their exploration.

  “…Nothing,” Alnea said, shaking his head to Clear his thoughts. He had a hunch that it would for the best if he left his question remain unanswered. Better yet, he could just bury his question in the broken realm of his Heart. Let it sink in the Infinity that was on the verge of crumbling, and reorganising into his new Infinity. Becoming a guardian of the forest, of the trees was well and good, but he did not wish to kill people for a promise of some illusory benefits. More importantly, he did not wish to let Yuri know about his evil thoughts.

  “…Are you sure?”

  “Sure about what?”

  “…Nothing.”

  “…I see where this is going.”

  “Do you?”

  “…Don’t think that you can make me spill out my thoughts by inducing my curiosity.”

  “…To spill out your thoughts, you would first have to admit that you are hiding things from me… even though you promised not to…”

  “…I do not remember making any such promises, not to mention that it is physically impossible for me to break my promises.”

  “…You did not take an Oath for it. And do not change the subject. You just admitted that you are hiding things from me.”

  “…I am not hiding anything from you.”

  “Then what were you thinking about?”

  “…I was just a little confused.”

  “About what?”

  “About what the tress… the forest wants from me.”

  “Did we not discuss that already?”

  “…We did. But I still cannot help feeling that something is wrong. That things are about to get out of our control.”

  “…No one can say that things will always be in their control. Not even the Gods. Or they would not have been forced to leave our world.”

  “…Still, the forest… the tress… and the seal they were talking about…”

  “Have you seen the seal?”

  “…No.”

  “Have you seen anything that might suggest the possibility of something being sealed under the forest?”

  “…The way that the forest seems to be a whole—

  “I am asking about direct evidence, and not something you inferred from circumstantial evidence.”

  “…Not yet.”

  “Then why do you think that there is something sealed within the forest?”

  “…The trees—

  “Just because the tress reached out to you with their pleas does not mean that they need your help right away. Or that there is even a need to help them. Maybe, everything will return to normal if you let Time do its work.”

  “…Are you saying that the trees are misleading us?”

  “I am saying that you do not have to take their words as the gospels of truth. I thought that something was wrong when you first told me about hearing the voices of the trees, but I could not put my finger on it, so I kept quiet. I have been thinking about it in the past couple of days though, and finally found some clues. These trees, they may be sentient, yet that does not change their essence. In the end, they are still just trees.

  “We, on the other hand, are humans. The way we perceive time is very different from how trees see the world. Especially these trees… Judging from their thickness, and the way their voice sounded, they should all be hundreds of years old. Maybe some of them have even reached the mark of thousand years. They should see things in the scale of years or decades, while we will be here for only some twenty more days. The balance that they were talking about…

  “How many Oren Beasts have we encountered in the past ten days? Thousands? And that is just the part of the forest we have covered. Not to mention the beasts that were scared off by the ruckus we made. How many beasts do you think there are within this forest? And do you think those beasts would not wreak destruction in their battles? Is that destruction not a threat to the balance of the forest?

  “Again, I am not saying that the trees were lying. There may indeed be something sinister sealed within the forest. And yes, the destruction we Wanderers are causing in our battles may be affecting the balance of the forest, and quite possibly, may even break the seal. Still, it is also possible that we might leave the Final World long before the seal breaks. Of course, we should still be careful.

  “Be it to guard against other Wanderers, or against what is sealed within the forest, it would indeed be best if we restrain ourselves. But we cannot let the ominous words of the trees affect our judgement. Especially you. You are our leader, our Captain. Even your most trivial decisions may decide whether we live or die. Anyone among us can panic, but not you. You can never let anything disturb your Heart.”

  “…Just so you know, I was only being careful because of the promise I made to you. I have to make sure that you always keep your eyes on me. Besides, I would never let anything affect my decisions. Except for you, of course.”

  “…Pervert,” Yuri said, and backed away from him, taking her position on other side of their team’s flank. And though her actions were natural, and expected, for some reason, he still could not help himself from grinning. He knew what was important though, so he suppressed his urge to laugh, and glanced at the rest of his teammates.

  “Is everyone ready?”

  “We are always ready.”

  “Very well then. Cecilia—

  “Leave it to me,” Cecilia said, mirroring his grin with her own, before turning around, and rushing towards the depths of the forest.