“…Alnea?”

  It was not the first time Alnea had felt the Mysteries of Space act on him. Neither was it the first time he had jumped from one world to another. Just his presence in the Final World alone was evidence enough of his familiarity with traveling through the worlds. And that was not even counting his trips to the Origin Sea. Or stepping into superimposed spaces, like those found in the Trials of the Lost City.

  “What was that red and black light? And why can I not lock on to your position anymore?”

  Yet, despite his familiarity with ‘Space’ and its Mysteries, Alnea still could not understand what he had just experienced. Or where he had been brought to. Though it looked similar to the corridor that he passed when stepping into the Final World, and even brought him a similar sense of disunity, it was anything but the same. For one, it was not a yellowish world, but a world of red and black, with walls that conformed to its shade. Sometimes black, sometimes red.

  “Will you talk to me?”

  “…I think I might have fallen into their trap.”

  More importantly, the corridor did not stretch towards infinity. Instead, it seemed as if it was being compressed, expanding in scope the deeper he went. Unfortunately, he was moving too quickly for him to observe anything in detail, let alone understand what was happening. Just a few moments after he was dragged into the corridor, he was already at its exit. Though, rather than an exit, it looked more like the corridor’s end.

  “…You were supposed to just look for our enemies, not rush into their trap.”

  “…I swear, it wasn’t my fault this time. I was careful, and—

  “We will figure out whose fault it was later. Right now, tell me, where exactly are you?”

  “…I don’t know.”

  There was no vortex of red and black, no sense of disunity or nausea, not even a change in the world around him. He just came to an abrupt stop, just as the world stopped expanding. And yet, the world still seemed to be infinite. Kind of like the superimposed spaces that he often encountered in the Lost City, with no skies or ground. Or limits. For as far as he could see, all he saw was a world of red and black. Or was it a chaotic mix between the two? He did not—

  “…Wait for me.”

  “No, don’t! Don’t come here. Though I doubt you can come here even if you want to…”

  “…Where exactly are you?”

  No, it was not that he did not know, but that he could not know. Because the world he had been dragged into, did not have any Concepts beside the two shades. Red and Black. And they existed at the same time, without interfering with each other. Yet, they could not exist without each other. Almost like two sides of a coin. A restless coin, that kept flipping, constantly switching sides.

  “…A different world? A subspace? I don’t know. It is hard to tell. In any case, you don’t have to come look for me. And don’t go near that mound—the place from where that black and red light came from. Although I do not think the trap should work anymore, we should still not take any chances. Also, stop Lia from doing anything reckless. I will find a way back as soon possible. Till then, I will leave the team to you.”

  “…Be careful. And come back soon.”

  Though, if the world was like a coin, then he was like an ant that had been dragged on top of it. He could see only the side of the world that he was in. Of course, he could still see both the sides. Just not at the same time. But did not make any sense either. It was as if something, or some force was isolating him from the rest of the world, as it kept flipping between its two sides. Red and Black.

  “Beautiful, is it not?”

  Alnea paused in his thoughts the moment a voice rang out in his ears. Tearing himself away from the impossibility of the world, he quickly spread his senses around him, barely taking a fraction of a moment to find the source of the voice. A woman, clad in a purple robe, with the crest of a lotus on her chest, standing—if anyone could even stand in the strange world— some twenty to thirty metres away.

  “Purplebud?” Alnea said, but the woman ignored him, and continued staring into the distance, into the world that kept flipping.

  “Red and Black, the origin of the twin nature of all things. Of course, what we see is just a seed. Still, for False Wanderers like us, it can be overwhelming. Especially for those, who have not evolved enough to see its two sides. Only those who can understand the twin nature of the world are qualified to look at it directly,” the woman said, and paused for a moment, before turning towards Alnea.

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  “But I knew that you would not disappoint me.”

  “…What have you brought me here for, Purplebud?”

  “Vaniya,” the woman said, pursing her lips in a thin smile. “Vaniya Purplebud.”

  “I could not care less whether you were Vaniya or Taniya. For me, you are just Purplebud.”

  “That is not a very polite thing to say to a woman you have just met.”

  “And yet, it is the only greeting you will get.”

  “…It does not matter. I already knew that you would not be pleased to see me.”

  “But you still brought me here.”

  “Because I have been waiting for a long time to meet you, Alnea Tresting.”

  “That’s just Alnea for you, Purplebud,” Alnea said, urging his Aspects awake, asking them to be on hold. “Though I would prefer if you do not call my name at all.”

  “Then how should I call you?”

  “You do not need to call me anything. Because there is no need for us to talk.”

  “I would not be so sure if I were you,” the woman said, as she stepped—drifted towards him, only to stop in the very next moment, when she noticed him moving his hands to the hilt of his sword. “I do not think I have done anything that would warrant the use of your sword.”

  “…Think again,” Alnea said, still keeping his hands on his sword, ready to draw it at a moment’s notice. “If you want, I can even give you a hint.”

  “…If I had not brought you here, you would not have agreed to talk with me.”

  “And you thought bringing me here by force will convince me?”

  “I understand your distrust, but I really just want to talk.”

  “…You colluded with who knows how many clans to introduce the Final Trials to the Lost City, forced me to give up the Black Desert Trials just so that I would not enter the inner city before the Final Trials could be implemented, spread rumours about me throughout the city to ensure that I would be isolated in the Final Trial and would not have time to pay attention to you, while you used all your time in the Trial to kill thousands of Oren Beasts and arrange their bodies in strange patterns, before luring me into your trap, and dragged me all the way here, just to have a talk?”

  “…Although it sounds a little unbelievable when you put it like that, but it is the truth.”

  “Even a child would not believe a lie like that.”

  “…What should I say to make you believe me?”

  “…Stop wasting your words, Purplebud,” Alnea said, narrowing his eyes at the woman. “Tell me, why did you bring me here?”

  “I already told you. I just want to talk.”

  “Do you think that you can defeat me if you separate me from the rest of my team?”

  “…Personally, I think defeating you with your team would be much easier. But that is not the point here.”

  “How many people did you bring to ambush me? Twenty? Thirty?”

  “…That would be an overkill, even for you. But no, I have not brought anyone with me,” the woman said, shrugging her shoulders—

  “Don’t move,” Alnea said, calling for his Aspects and unsheathing his sword by an inch, only to stop his movements and send back his Aspects when he noticed that woman was indeed just shrugging her shoulders. But he was still not sure about her intentions, so he kept his Aspects agitated, and his sword a hint out of its sheath, ready to slash through whatever the woman sent at him.

  “Are you afraid of a lone woman like me?”

  “Afraid? No, this is called being cautious. Besides, are you really alone?”

  “I really did come alone.”

  “Do you think I will believe anything you say?”

  “…As someone who wishes to have a talk with you, I hope you will, but if your trust was earned so easily, you would not be the man you are.”

  “…It looks like you have done your research, but there is one thing you forgot,” Alnea said, suppressing the agitated Aspects. Maybe urging them too much, without letting them vent, was not a good idea. “You are a Wanderer of the Lotus clan.”

  “…I think there is a misunderstanding here.”

  “Any misunderstandings that I had were cleared away the moment Amira stabbed me,” Alnea said, taking a deep breath, as he finally subdued his restless Aspects, urging only the ones with a calm temperament. “Thank you for reminding me that I can never trust the people of the Lotus clan.”

  “…You should not resent her. Amira… She is a poor girl. If not… In any case, it was not her fault.”

  “What does that have to do with me?” Alnea said, Slashing away any and all hesitations that dared to rear their heads. “All I know is that she is my enemy. Just like you.”

  “…I can understand where you are coming from, but I really just want to talk with you.”

  “And have your people sneak up on me?”

  “…How many times do I have to repeat the same thing?”

  “If you are trying to hold me back, then give up. Your teammates cannot beat mine.”

  “…It is as if nothing I say can get across to you,” the woman said with a sigh, before smiling once again. “But that is what makes you so interesting. I really want to hear your story.”

  “…And I want nothing to do with you. Stop wasting everyone’s time, and just get to the point, Purplebud. What do you want?”

  “What I want is to have a good talk with you. But you refuse to listen. So, how about I just show it to you?”

  “Stop!” Alnea said, when he saw the woman turn away from him. “Don’t move!”

  “Relax,” the woman said, only glancing at him, before turning back to the world around them. “I am not going to attack you.”

  “…What are you doing?”

  “I am not doing anything,” the woman said, lifting the edge of her lips slightly in a curve. “Just watch. You will understand everything.”