One hour… Two hours… Three hours… Alnea did not know how long he had been sitting in silence. And neither did he care. Not even when he felt his Spirit Power recover and go beyond its peak. The Serenity that came to him… The Clarity that he felt… It was just too overwhelming. He had always known what he had to do achieve his Clarity—

  Maybe not always. Still, it had been over ten days since he last saw the crumbling world of his Heart. Ten days since he knew what he had to do. Yet, he just could not bring himself to make his decision… to make a choice. That was until Fate came knocking on his doors. The Final Trial—

  “Wake up,” Alnea heard a voice whisper into his ears. “It is time.”

  Opening his eyes, Alnea saw Vestia flashing her dimples at him. A smile that only served to further strengthen his decision, and solidify his Clarity. Nodding back with a smile, he asked her to wake up the rest of their teammates, before getting up from the ground, and stretching out his limbs to rid them of their numbness. And while he was at it, he did not forget to observe their surroundings.

  Upturned earth, scorched branches, fragments of bark and wood lying around the ground, and the slightly agitated fog, with a hint of a foreign shade around their edges. The forest, it seemed, had yet to heal from the aftermath of the Spatial Storm. Though even if the forest was indeed a living organism, it probably still could not recover the trees that had been lost in the folds of space.

  Then again, the hint of scorch on the trees, and the burnt smell in the air suggested that the black thunders he had seen earlier were probably more than just simple cracks in space. Or maybe spatial cracks tended to release intense heat in their immediate surroundings. He was not exactly an expert in the matter. Ignorant as he was though, even he could see that the forest was not going to heal anytime soon.

  Consequently, the green, blue and white shade in the fog was not going away anytime soon either. Not to mention the other changes in the forest. The cold in the air, the creaking noise of the trees, the roots swinging from their branches, or the loose soil hiding the roots sticking out from the ground, some of which seemed to have been sharpened by the cracks in space. On second thought, just being hidden by the upturned soil was enough to make those roots a nuisance. If they were not careful…

  Clearing away the images of his days in the Bright Light Forest from his head, Alnea glanced at his teammates. They should not be so careless as to trip from just some roots. Probably. After a moment of thought, he decided to warn them anyway. Both about the roots, and the trees. Especially those that looked as if they were on the verge of falling over.

  “…How about you try talking to them again?” Karl said. “Ask them if they can lower the standard of their test, or give you a clear goal in exchange for helping out of their brethren.”

  “…This is not the first time the Final World has suffered such a catastrophe,” Alnea said, as he glanced at the forest. “I am sure that the forest has its own means to deal with the aftermath.”

  “One that might take weeks, or even months,” Karl added. “If you offer to shorten that time—

  “Nothing will change,” Yuri said, answering for Alnea. “Like I said before, the way these trees, or rather, the forest in general, perceives time is different from how we see time. To them, weeks and days are the same.”

  “…We can at least try—

  “I did,” Alnea said, turning back towards Karl. “Not negotiating with them, of course. I just tried talking to them.”

  “When—

  “After the storm. After I recovered my Spirit Power.”

  “…What did they say?”

  “…What do children do when they are hurt?”

  “…Beat the ones who hurt them?”

  “Bear it.”

  “Read the theories of Arcanas.”

  “Get up and practice Martial Styles once again.”

  “…I am asking for normal answers.”

  “…But that is what I did.”

  “…Me too.”

  “…I never got hurt.”

  “…I never got hurt either.”

  “But you just said that you read theories of Arcanas.”

  “…I was talking about other kids in my clan.”

  “Right…”

  “…You do not believe me, do you?”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Do you—

  “Stop,” Alnea said, motioning with his right hand for everyone to shut up, while using his other hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I was not asking about your childhood… And neither of your clansmen. Use your common sense, and think from the perspective of normal humans… civilians… or your clansmen who have yet to begin their training. What would they do when they get hurt?”

  “…Complain?”

  “And?”

  “…Probably cry.”

  “There, you have your answer,” Alnea said, glancing at the trees once again. “Right now, they are not in the mood to talk about anything.”

  “…Is that what the creaking noise is all about?”

  “Probably, but we should still not take any chances. Just beware of the trees when we explore the forest.”

  “…It looks like we cannot take advantage of the trees.”

  “…Is there anything else that anyone wants to ask or share?”

  “…Are we not going to change our strategy?”

  “Why do we have to change our strategy?”

  “…The Spatial Storm—

  “Is over. We need to shift our focus back to our Final Trial.”

  “But the other teams—

  “Will not be a problem. Sure, they might be more cautious than before, and will surely be more prepared to deal with us, but do not forget, the more cautious they are, the less likely it will be for them to cooperate with other teams. Rather than waiting for them to let down their guard, and regroup up with other teams, our best option would be using this opportunity to take down more challengers.”

  “…What about the Oren Beasts?”

  “…There is nothing we can do about them. But that would have been the case whether or not we experienced the Spatial Storm. After all, Oren Beasts are creatures of instinctive emotions. There is no point in predicting their behaviour. Especially for ones that have been cut off from the real world for who knows how many years. Hinging our plans on their behaviour would be the most stupid decision we can make. Though, on the brighter side, their numbers are sure to be lower than before.”

  “…That should be true for the Wanderers too.”

  “That is all the more reason why we should not change our plans. With fewer enemies hindering our paths, we should be able to cover greater area in a day. And the sooner we can complete our task, the sooner we can leave this world.”

  “…That sounds like a good idea.”

  “…Is there anything else that anyone would like to ask?” Alnea said, ignoring the expectant look on Ralph’s face, receiving only silence in answer. “No? Good. Then let’s stop wasting our time, and get back into formation. Lia—

  “I am always ready,” Cecilia said, as she got back into her position, with the rest of the Star Seekers soon following suit. Moments later, the Star Seekers began rushing into the depths of the forest. One broken and scarred by tendrils of the black thunder. Even the Oren Beasts, as Alnea had expected, were traumatised by the thunder. But that did not stop them from defending their territory.

  “Vestia! Hundred metres to our front. Towards the right.”

  “The Thunder Wing Snakes, got it,” Vestia said, as she slid her bow into her hands, and released a warning shot. One that the snakes seemed to ignore. Instead, they raised their head, and hissed at the invaders, as they released a purple glow from their bodies.

  “Fran!”

  “…On it,” Fran said, as he rushed in front of Cecilia, before bringing his shield in front of himself, just in time to block the three bolts of thunder rushing towards their team.

  “Zain!”

  Zain answered by urging the ground underneath the snakes to rise in spikes, aiming for their bellies. A futile effort, considering how sensitive Oren Beasts were to fluctuations of Mysteries. Especially beasts like the Thunder Wing Snakes, which were known for their agility and flexibility. Not to mention that the snakes also had wings to fly. Attacks that could not even leave the ground held no threat against them. Not that the snakes needed to fly to deal with the earthen spikes.

  Maybe it was overconfidence on their part, or maybe they did not have enough time to fly, but for some reason, instead of flying away from the undulating ground, the snakes just twisted their bodies in place, easily dodging the spikes aiming for their lives. It was as if they were displaying their abilities to the invaders, showing them how their efforts were useless. Their attacks could not even hurt the snakes. All they had to do—

  The earthen spikes, while still rising from the ground, changed in shape, becoming more narrow and streamlined, increasing their reach by at least twice their initial range. The change was so sudden, and quick, that by the time the snakes could react, the tip of the spikes had already pierced their wings. Not by much, but enough to hamper their flying abilities. A perfect attack to scare them away.

  Yet, instead of deterring the snakes, the bloody hole in their wings served to only further enrage them. Shrieking to show their grievance, and vent their frustration, the snakes quickly freed themselves of the earthen spikes, and gathered together, probably preparing to release their second Innate Ability. One that Alnea had no intention of facing. Besides, there was no point in prolonging their battle any further. So, when the snakes refused to back down, Alnea let go of his restraints, and signalled the Star Seekers to do the same.

  In the next moment, before the snakes could summon the Mysteries of the Origin Sea to release a Lightning Storm, they were met with a storm of Arcanas and Glyphs released by their enemies. And unlike the storms that the snakes had planned, the storm released by the Star Seekers was organised, confined within a metre of the snakes, and released in order, first disrupting their Innate Abilities, then restraining the beasts, before spelling their end, all with little to no collateral damage. Just like he had asked of his teammates.

  Yet, Alnea did not feel proud. There was nothing to be proud about taking lives. Even if those lives were of their enemies… Giving one last glance to the bloody remains of the beasts, he motioned for his teammates to continue with their exploration, leaving the cleaning work up to the forest. The Thunder Wing Snakes were not the first beasts that the Star Seekers had dealt with in the Final World. And they would not be the last either.

  No, it was not just the beasts. There were many Wanderers who had also lost their lives at his hands. Stubborn Wanderers who refused to admit defeat, but Wanderers, nonetheless. Humans. Dead humans. Was it ten, or twenty? He did not know. At some point, he had stopped counting. Intentionally. But that could not wash away the blood on his hands. Though he had no intention of denying the blood in the first place. He just wished to stop thinking about it… about the lives he had taken…

  Not anymore. He would never look away. He would never cower. And he would never forget. That was what he had decided, had he not? The lives he took, the deaths he caused, he would bear them all… Look them into their eyes, and accept all their grievances… their Cause and Effect… Be it humans, Oren Beasts, or some abominations of the Origin Sea… Even…