“Again? Who are you fooling?” Alnea said, tightening his grip on the dying man’s robe, refusing to let him go. In vain. He was not his master. He was not even as strong as the Purplebud Patriarch. And strong as he was, even the Purplebud patriarch failed to save the Whitebud Patriarch from the Origin Sea’s claws. How then, could a weak man like him stop the Red and Black?

  In the end, he could only shout empty threats into the Red and Black, as the glow around the red robed Alnea grew stronger and stronger, until he could not see the man any longer, only for the dazzling light—or was it an all-encompassing dark? It did not matter. Nothing did.

  After the dark glow around the red robed Alnea completely devoured him, he lost sensation of the robe he was holding. And moments later, the dark disintegrated into countless tiny wisps, that flew into his chest, returning to him what the Red and Black had taken away. But he was not happy. How could he be happy? How—

  “Congratulations,” the Purplebud woman said, breaking Alnea away from his thoughts, reminding him of her presence. “How do you feel about becoming one once again?”

  “…You are still here,” Alnea said, turning towards the woman drifting towards him from the distance, stopping only when she reached about ten metres away from him.

  “What? Are you not happy to see me?”

  “…I would be even happier if you had left.”

  “And miss such a splendid battle?”

  “…That was not a battle for you to enjoy.”

  “Regardless, it was a battle worth watching. Such a pure, unadulterated display of raw strength… I must say, I have seen quite a few battles, even those between True Wanderers, but this was, by far, once of the greatest battles I have ever seen. Maybe even the greatest battle between two False Wanderers, ever.”

  “…You have already seen my strength,” Alnea said, as he reached out to the dagger drifting in front of him, and putting it away, before grabbing his sword and putting it back into its sheath. “Are you not afraid that I will kill you to keep my secrets?”

  “Not afraid,” the Purplebud woman said, shaking her head. “Except for trying to peek at your story, I have not done anything that might warrant your hostility. And I have done you so many favours. How could you be so ungrateful as to attack me without any reason?”

  “…Peeking into someone’s Heart is plenty of a reason for Wanderers to kill.”

  “…I was just a little curious about your story. And I did not even succeed. Not to mention that you agreed not to pursue me for my curiosity.”

  “I do not remember agreeing to anything.”

  “Women do not like stingy men, you know? Besides, we already know so much about each other. What harm could knowing a little more do?”

  “…I do not know anything about you. And I do not want to know anything either.”

  “Are you trying to get rid of me since I am no longer of any use to you?”

  “…I am in mood to play around with you, Purplebud,” Alnea said, glaring at the woman. “I can let you go for the sake of your help… and your current state. But do not test my patience.”

  “Tsk. You were much more fun when there were two of you.”

  “…What do you want?”

  “…Nothing. I just felt like I should say something to you.”

  “…Is there something wrong with your head?”

  “Is that what you say to a lady worrying about you?”

  “…I am not so desperate as to have my enemies worry about me.”

  “…You should learn how to talk to ladies from your other self. Especially when the lady in question is showing so much care for you.”

  “…I am afraid that I cannot afford your care. Now, if you will excuse me—

  “Wait!”

  “…What now?”

  “…I just want to talk to you.”

  “…Like I said, do not test my patience, Purplebud. My other self may have asked you for some favours, but that does not mean that I will not kill you if push your limits.”

  “…Threatening a lady is not good manners,” the Purplebud woman said with a pout, only to put on a helpless smile when she noticed the glint in his eyes. “I really just want to talk to you.”

  “…What do you want?”

  “…What I want most desperately, is of course, your story, but I am sure that you will not give it to me. So, I will settle with asking a few questions. You will grant me at least this, right?”

  “…Be quick.”

  “My first question is the first question I asked of you,” the Purplebud woman said, glancing at the Red and Black. “Beautiful, is it not?”

  “…Are trying to mess with me, Purplebud?”

  “Vaniya,” the Purplebud woman said, with the edges of her lips curved upwards ever so slightly, but showing no signs of amusement on her face. “Call me Vaniya Purplebud.”

  “…Is that really the question you want to ask?”

  “A question. There are many more questions waiting in line.”

  “…I do not have time for your little games.”

  “Then be quick. Or do you want to keep your teammates waiting?”

  Alnea took a deep breath, suppressing his urge to beat up the woman. Although she was still his enemy, he did owe her a few favours. And since she had asked, he could not leave the world of Red and Black before repaying those favours. Even if those favours were not initiated by him… Stupid bastard. Leaving his mess behind for him to clear. Did he already know that he was going to die?

  “…Beautiful? All I see is ruthlessness.”

  “But that is its beauty. Do you not see it?”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “…I don’t want to see such a beauty.”

  “…Forget it. You will know when the time comes,” the Purplebud woman said, shaking her head, as she turned back towards him. “What do you feel about your experience of the Fortune Spring?”

  “…Disgusting. That is all I have to say about this place, and your clan.”

  “…You know, even if I sympathise with you, it is still my clan you are talking about.”

  “And?”

  “…Can you be a little more reserved in your words?”

  “Do you want me to answer your questions or not?”

  “…With how stingy you are, how did you manage to capture the Hearts of three girls?”

  “That does not concern you.”

  “…What if I want to capture your Heart? Would it not concern me then?”

  “Are you done?”

  “…Tsk. Fine. I have just one last question.”

  “What is it?”

  “How did you defeat your other self?”

  “…What?”

  “How did you—

  “I heard you the first time.”

  “Then—

  “Are you sure that is what you want your last question to be?”

  “…I am.”

  “…Well then, I am afraid you are going to be disappointed,” Alnea said after a moment of silence, prompting the Purplebud woman to put on a pleading expression on her face.

  “Can you really not tell me?”

  “It is not that I don’t want to tell you, but that there is nothing for me to tell,” Alnea said, shrugging his shoulders. “You saw our battle. You know how I defeated him.”

  “…I was too far away, and you moved too quickly—

  “But you used your Spirit to watch our battle, so you should have seen everything.”

  “…I apologise. It was indeed my fault for peeping into your battle. I should have held back my curiosity. But I promise you, I will not reveal your secrets. At least not until your Trial is over. And I will also leave the Final World as soon we leave this place. In short, I will ensure that what I saw today will not affect the rest of your Trial.”

  “…I am not blaming you for watching my battle. And I don’t care if you reveal what you saw to the rest of your clan. I did not use any of my Martial Styles and Arcanas anyway. The reason I pointed out your use of your Spirit was to remind you that there is nothing more for me to add to what you have already seen.”

  “Please,” the woman said, biting her lips, with a hint of pleading in both her tone, and her eyes. “It is very important to me.”

  “…Why?”

  “…It is related to one of the special lineages handed down in my clan.”

  “And that special lineage involves defeating your other self?”

  “…Kind of.”

  “Just reconciling with it will not do?”

  “…If it would have, I would not have been asking you this question.”

  “…Why not just try fighting it head on then? That’s what I did.”

  “Do you think we do not want to?” the Purplebud woman said, with frustration leaking into her voice, and onto her face. “In the millions of years that my clan has been in possession of this Fortune Spring, no one has been able to defeat their twin nature head on. Only you… And as my ancestors guessed, you really are not showing any signs of the usual side effects of reconciling with your twin nature. Do you know what that means?”

  Alnea did not. But the Purplebud woman did not have any intention to pause for his answer anyway. Instead, she glanced at the world around them, and continued talking.

  “A stable path to the Mystic Rank. That is the essence of the Red and Black. Anyone who successfully reconciles their twin nature would gain a stable path to the Mystic Rank. And that is just a conservative estimate. But reconciling one’s twin nature is not easy. And it comes at a great cost. Especially for False Wanderers like us.”

  The Purplebud woman paused, and turned back to Alnea, with a self deprecating smile on her face.

  “I look very relaxed, right? And why should I not be? Having reconciled my twin nature at the False Rank, I would have received a heavy tilt of resources even in Grand clans, much less mine. As long as I do not die midway, I am all but set to become a Mystic Wanderer. But what if I tell you that all my glory comes at the cost of living with the threat of being devoured my own Aspects and Mysteries at any time? A small mistake in judgement, a small twist in my choice, and everything would be over for me.”

  “Then why did you come here? If you knew that you would be stepping into such danger—

  “Because my clan needed me to,” the Purplebud woman said, losing her wry smile for a solemn face, shining with pride and hope. “Not just to guide you… Even if the Grand Elder had not asked me to guide you, I still would have come here in a few months at the latest. Because this place is the hope of my clan. Only if we have more Mystic Wanderers, can we stop our clan from declining. And the effect of reconciling their twin nature is the greatest for False Wanderers. Doing it at the True Rank would barely have any effect. At least not enough to guarantee advancement to the Mystic Rank. Only at the False Rank…

  “Still, at least I am lucky to have successfully reconciled my twin nature. There are countless others like me, all striving to revive our clan, who will never be able to leave this place. And countless more, who will be buried here in the future. Though even those who succeed would have live their lives in fear. All, but you. Only you will not be threatened by your twin nature lying dormant within you. Only you… can help me.”

  “…Even if I assume that all you said is true, do you think I will help your clan?”

  “…You may not help the Lotus clan, but I am sure that you are not the kind who will just watch others blindly walking towards their death.”

  “…It is their fault for courting death. Why do I have to help them?”

  “…Because you are who you are… And because I am also one of the many Wanderers you will save.”

  “…I don’t know whether to be flattered, or laugh at your naivety,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “Regardless, I cannot help you.”

  “Please….”

  “…I really did not use any special means to defeat him.”

  “…Are you sure?” the woman said, not bothering to hide the anxiousness on her face. “Maybe you missed something. Or—

  “Give up, Purplebud,” Alnea said, and let out a sigh. “Stop looking for secrets where there are none.”

  “But that does not make sense…”

  “…Few things ever do,” Alnea mumbled, more to himself than to the Purplebud woman. “If there is really anything that I did, then I can only say that I did my best.”

  “…If that was all it took, then my clan would not have had only a few False Wanderers reconcile their twin natures in thousands of years.”

  “But you did it.”

  The Purplebud woman paused, and let out a sigh, finally letting go of her anxiousness, quickly regaining her composure, and her Serenity, before putting on a feigned annoyed look on her face.

  “…I am one of the best of my peers in my clan, alright? And even then, it will take me months to get used to the side effects of forcibly reconciling my two sides.”

  “…On the bright side, it is better than being devoured by the Red and Black.”

  “…That, it is.”

  “…Are you really going to be alright?”

  “Are you doubting one of the only few Wanderers of the Lotus clan in the past thousands of years to reconcile her twin nature at the False Rank?”

  “I did it too.”

  “…I am not talking about a monster like you. For normal people, reconciling their twin nature is ten or hundred times more difficult than gaining their Clarity.”

  …Really? He thought that gaining his Clarity was much more difficult for him.

  “Speaking of which, you should have already gained your Clarity. Do not deny it. This is not a guess, but a fact that has been verified over millions of years by my clan. Even with the help of the Red and Black, only those who have a Clear Heart can reconcile their twin nature.”

  “…I did not exactly reconcile my two sides.”

  “True, but if you did not have a Clear Heart, you would have been devoured by the Red and Black before you even fought your other side.”

  “…So, was this the original plan of your clan? To have me devoured by the Red and Black?”

  “I do not know. Like I said, my only job was guide you. As for the rest…”

  “…I understand,” Alnea said, withdrawing his gaze from the Purplebud woman, and turning towards the Red and Black. “If you do not have anything else to add, then it is time for me to head back.”

  “…How about a goodbye first?”

  “…No need,” Alnea said, glancing at the woman one last time, before closing his eyes, and reaching out to the Red and Black. “We are still enemies after all.”

  “…You are such a heartless man.”

  “…And you are an annoying woman.”

  “…Till next time then.”

  “…May we never meet again, Vaniya Purplebud.”