“I am the one those Heterodox Wanderers are looking for.”

  “Alnea—

  “But I do not accept the responsibility for your family’s death,” Alnea said, looking directly into Fran’s eyes, leaking his Aspects from its corners, making it seem as if he was shedding tears of greenish black lights. “You of all people should know how crazy Heterodox Wanderers are. Both those who were born in Heterodoxies, and those who were tricked into it. The things that those people in the name of their missions…

  “Think again. Were they really searching for me? Or were they just killing wantonly? Did they even ask anyone about me? I am sure that they did not. Because searching for me was just an excuse. All they really wanted was to wreak havoc and spread destruction. Spread fear. Which they would have done even if they had not been looking for me. They would have just found some other excuse. So, no, I am not responsible for your family’s death.”

  “You lie!” Fran said, almost in a shriek, with his Aspects raging along with him, spilling out of his body, and wrapping it in flickering red and black lights, that flared along with his voice. “It was you… You killed everyone!”

  “…Let’s stop it here, Alnea. You don’t have a good record of talking to people on the verge of losing their Hearts,” Cecilia said, summoning her Aspects to get ready for a clash, but Alnea did not heed her words. After all, Fran was different from the Whitebud Patriarch. He had not really lost his Heart. He was just a little confused.

  “…Why would I kill your people? What would I gain from killing so many people, except being branded as a Heterodox Wanderer, and chased all over the Orthodox world?”

  “…It was you…”

  “No, it was not.”

  “…Then who was it?” Fran roared, taking a step towards Alnea, prompting all the Star Seekers to raise their guard even further, but he did not care. He just roared in anger, as did his Aspects, wrapping him completely in their lights. Literally. Black, green, red, and yellow lights surged around him, engulfing his entire body, obscuring it from everyone’s vision. Almost as if it had devoured.

  Thankfully, the lights were not too stable. They kept flickering from time to time, revealing Fran’s body, and the twisted face hidden beneath his mask of rage. A rather incompetent mask, Alnea noted, as he saw the guilt and shame evident on the man’s face. Just as he thought, Fran understood what he was trying to say, but the guilt in his Heart made it hard for him to accept those words. After all, it was always easier to blame someone one could see, than to curse Goddess Ilea for bestowing them with an ill fortune.

  “Who brought the Heterodox Wanderers to my city?”

  “…Fate,” Alnea said after a moment of silence. “Fate brought them to your city.”

  “…Fate, you say?” Fran said, tilting his head towards the canopy of trees above their heads to let out a laugh, turning back towards Alnea only after a few moments had passed. “Was it also Fate that killed everyone in my city except me?”

  “…It was not your fault, Fran,” Alnea said with a sigh. “You did not do anything wrong.”

  “…Why me?”

  “…I don’t know. Maybe it was Fate. Or maybe it was just one of Goddess Ilea’s whims.”

  “…Why not just let me die? Why keep me alive?”

  “…Maybe you still have left something to do in this world.”

  “The only thing I have left to do is to take revenge!” Fran roared once again. “To avenge everyone’s death. To kill all those who attacked my city. And now you tell me that the one responsible for my tragedy is Fate? That it was just a matter of bad luck? That the Heterodox Wanderers just happened to be passing through my city?”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “…Not just passing by, but in a nutshell, yes, it was just your bad luck,” Alnea said, recalling his own experience with Fate. “That is just how Fate works. It comes when we least expect it, and knocks the air out of us. But we cannot let it win. We must fight back and—

  “Fight back against Fate?” Fran said, laughing even more hysterically. Or maybe he was crying. It was hard to tell with all the lights covering his face. “What if I fight against Fate? Can I kill it?”

  “…That is not—

  “If I cannot even have my revenge, what is the point in me being alive?”

  “…To prevent more tragedies like yours from happening,” Alnea said after a moment of silence. “And to live for the people in your memories.”

  “Don’t bring my family into this!” Fran roared, causing the lights around him to inadvertently surge towards Alnea, only to be blocked by the rest of the Star Seekers. But he did not care. “Don’t you dare bring my family between us.”

  “…Fine. I will not bring up your family again. But what about other families? What about the families of thousands of other Frans? At least you survived. There were countless other cities which did not have even a single survivor. Forget it. Let’s not talk about what has already happened. Instead, let’s talk about what will happen. Let’s talk about the families that will be destroyed in the future.

  “You do not think that after the Heterodox Wanderers found me, they are done attacking Orthodox cities, right? They have been wreaking terror on the Orthodox world since time immemorial, and they will continue to do so for all the time to come. So what if they do not have to search for me anymore? They will just find some other excuse. That is what they have always done, is it not?

  “Destroying cities, devastating families, all on their whims. Maybe some Heterodox Wanderers will destroy a city because it did not look pleasant to their eyes. Or its name dd not suit their taste. Those lunatics never care about the consequences anyway. It is people like us, who are left behind in the ruins of their destruction, that have to suffer. People like me and you… Are you willing to let this tragedy continue, Fran? Are you going to just stand aside, and watch, as the Heterodox Wanderers create another Fran?”

  Fran stood in silence, staring intently at Alnea, as the lights raging around him began to calm down, slowly receding their tides, retreating back into his body, back into his Spirit World, until he was finally back to normal. At least externally, he did not look as if he was going to be Enthralled by the Origin Sea at any moment. Though what exactly was going on in his mind, only he could know.

  “…I do not agree with what you said,” Fran said a few moments after he had resumed his control over his Aspects, finally breaking the awkward silence hanging around them. “I still think that you are responsible for the attack on my city… for the death of my family.”

  “There must be a misunderstanding,” Norren said, when he saw that Fran was finally willing to talk. Withdrawing his Aspects, and putting his swords away, he added, “How about we all sit down and—

  “But you are right. The Heterodox Wanderers are not going to stop their terror just because they have found your clues.”

  “That’s right,” Norren said, nodding his head. “Let’s talk about how to deal with the Heterodox Wanderers. They are our true enemies. We—

  “Stop being so naive, Norren,” Karl said, narrowing his eyes at Fran. “Do not let down your guard just yet. And it would be best if you do not get too close to him until we can be certain that he is safe.”

  “Is his current state not enough to tell us that he is back to normal?”

  “…It is not difficult to deceive our eyes. Besides, just because he has regained his control over his Aspects does not mean that he is not dangerous anymore. On the contrary, I think he is even more dangerous than before.”

  “What are you trying to insinuate?” Norren said, glaring at their grey robed teammate, but he did not care. Not when his actions concerned the safety of their team.

  “…Can we still trust you, Fran?”

  “That’s too much even for you, Karl. After all that we have been through, how can you still doubt Fran? He is our teammate. Our—

  “He is right,” Fran said, glancing at Norren. “Stay away from me.”

  “No, I will not,” Norren said, shaking his head. “Like I said, you are our teammate. Our companion. And I never abandon my companions.”

  “…You really are naive,” Fran said, before turning back to Alnea. “Although I agree that we need to deal with Heterodox Wanderers, and stop more tragedies from happening, I do not want to have anything to do with the person responsible for my family’s death.”

  “Are you an idiot? How many times does he have to—

  “Lia,” Alnea said, and shook his head, before turning back to Fran. “So, what do you want to do now?”

  “…I want to leave the Star Seekers.”