Alnea did not understand anything. Or maybe, he just did not wish to understand anything. Whatever the Lotus clan wanted him to do, he would always do the opposite. Still, it was true that he did need to understand what was happening. Or at least, find a way to leave the strange world. So, even if the woman would not have said anything, he still would have looked around, and searched for clues that might lead him back to his team. The woman’s words only made him more wary than before.

  It was only when he had double and triple checked his surroundings, confirming that there were indeed no other Wanderers in his immediate vicinity, that he followed the woman’s gaze and looked into the distance. Into the Red and Black. The two sides of the same world. Or the origin of the twin nature of all things, as the woman had called it. The place where it all began.

  “Everything has two sides,” the woman said, in the most nonchalant voice ever, as if she did not care whether Alnea was listening or not. “Me, you, this world, even the Origin Sea. That is the nature of things. One of the most fundamental rules embedded in the Origin Sea. And the Rule that Goddess Quona was trying to make her own. Unfortunately, she failed in her attempt.”

  Alnea did not understand, or even care about what the woman was saying. His attention was all on the world, and the constant, eternal struggle between the Red and Black. And the more he looked, the more he felt mesmerised. The seed that bore the origin of twin nature, it was indeed a little overwhelming, even for him. If not for the Clear Heart Stance he had developed…

  “Still, her efforts were not completely fruitless. Although she did not succeed in mastering the Rule, at least she managed to glean some of its Mysteries, a few of which, she passed down to her favoured Wanderers. Like the Mysteries of Sins and Virtues that my clan is famous for. What many people do not know though, is that Sin without Virtue, and Virtue without Sin is incomplete. Only when they are brought together, do they form the complete Red and Black.”

  “…What does that have to do with me?” Alnea said, Slashing through the strange thoughts that kept popping in his Heart. The Blade of his Heart, however, cold nothing about the strange sensations bubbling within his chest. It was as if—

  “Everything,” the woman said, her voice matching the rhythm of the alternation between the Red and Black, forcing the thumps within his chest to follow along with its beats. “Do you still not get it?”

  “…Just say what you want, and get this over with. I have people who are waiting for me.”

  “…Let them wait for a bit longer,” the woman said, glancing at him with a smile, before turning back towards the depths of the Red and Black. “It is not everyday you get to enjoy a sight like this.”

  “…You have wasted enough of my time, Purplebud,” Alnea said, trying to ignore the thumps in his chest, getting louder with each passing moment. “I will not repeat myself.”

  “It looks like there really is nothing I can do about your impatience,” the woman said, and paused for a moment, before continuing with her words. “What do you think is this place, Alnea?”

  “…Your grave, if you do not let me out of here soon.”

  “Think again,” the woman said, paying no heed to the threat in his words. “Do you not find anything familiar?”

  “…The only thing that I find familiar is your yapping. It reminds me of a bastard from the Whitebud family,” Alnea said, and paused for a moment, using it to suppress the ever growing thumps, before finishing his words. “He died because he talked too much.”

  “…Are you talking about Reinhart Whitebud? He did indeed talk a little too much. But that is beyond the point. Look around, Alnea, and think a little harder. I am sure that you will find the clues that I am talking about. After all, this should not be the first time you have been to a place like this.”

  “…Is this… but no… how… this place… and the Ritual outside…”

  “That was not a Ritual per se. It was more like a sacrifice. An offering to the Origin Sea. And what you saw was only half of the sacrifice. The other half was on my side. This place represents both the good, and the bad, remember? It cannot be summoned with just the Sin of wanton slaughter. It also needs a Virtue to balance it off. Though, if I put it like that, I guess you can indeed consider it as a summoning Ritual. But that is not what I wanted you to focus on.”

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  The woman paused, and turned towards Alnea, withdrawing her thin smile for a tired face.

  “It looks like you still need a little push to jolt your memories.”

  “I—

  Alnea withdrew his hands from his sword, and clutched his chest, as the thumps finally grew loud enough—No, they were not just loud. The thumps were also painful. And overwhelming. Even more so than the world around him. It was as if his entire chest was trying to tear itself away from him. And there was nothing he could do about it, except let the Red have its way.

  And so, it did, reaching into his chest to pull out a bubble of the same shade as itself. Or was it a blob of red light? It did not matter. The end result was the same. The mass of light, heeding to the call of Red, withdrew itself from his chest. There was just one problem. As the light withdrew, it kept growing, so that a part of it was always inside his chest. Only when the bubble grew about twice as large as his chest, did it finally leave his body. But the transformation of the bubble itself was not complete.

  Ignoring Alnea, who was almost forced to kneel, clutching his chest, reeling from pain, the red mass of light, shimmering and rippling, as it kept spinning, began to greedily devour the fluctuations coming from Red, drifting even further away from its origin. And in just a fraction of a moment, it grew larger once again. This time, distorting in shape, taking on a more humane form, until it was about the same size as the body it had left.

  Yet, Red was still not done with the distorted mass of light. It kept beating on it, hammering it with its strange fluctuations, until even its shape was the same as that of its origin. But there was still something missing. So, Red continued its hammerings, forcing it to take on a solid form, and carving out its features, truly transforming it into a human. Then, and only then, did Red withdraw, giving the mass of light its freedom. And along with it, a red robe, that matched perfectly with Alnea’s black.

  “Do you finally remember where that familiar feeling is from?” the woman said, lifting the edges of her lips in a slight curve, as if enjoying the torture Alnea was being put through. Then again, what else could he have expected from a Wanderer of the Lotus clan? Fortunately, most of the pain in his chest had subsided with the mass of light being torn away from him, or else, he would have been left completely at her mercy.

  Though, he was not in a much better position at the moment. Even if the crippling pain wreaking havoc in his chest had subsided, just the sudden sense of weakness that hit him was enough to cut his fighting potential by half. And that was not even counting the strange figure that the light torn from his chest had transformed into. One against two… That too, in his current state… without knowing anything about his opponents…

  Tearing his eyes away from the Purplebud woman, Alnea shifted his attention to the second figure. The one clad in a robe, that was the same as his in everything but shade. Only then, did he notice that it was not just their robe that was similar. The way they carried their hair, the ornament hanging next to their ears, the sword and dagger tied to their waist, even their face, everything was almost the same. Almost.

  “Red and Black… is it?” Alnea mumbled, as he pushed himself back into a standing position, glancing around himself. “A Rule, or a Concept?”

  “You finally get it,” the woman said, nodding her head. “How do you feel?”

  “…Let me ask you that question after I gouge out a hole in your chest.”

  “There is no need to be shy,” the woman said, pursing her lips in a thin smile, before turning back towards the depths of the Red and Black. “Beautiful, is it not?”

  “…I think there is something wrong with your head,” Alnea said, stretching his hand back to his sword. “Do you need me to help you remove it?”

  “No, but there are other things that you can help me with. Like sharing your story with me.”

  “…I am sorry, but I am afraid I will have to refuse. I am very busy man, after all. There are so many things I need to do. Unless, of course, you agree to the offer I gave you. In that case, I will always be ready to make some time to help you.”

  “…Maybe, in the future, when I get tired with my body, I might come to take you up on your offer, but for now, I still prefer keeping my head attached to my body,” the woman said, before glancing at the red robed figure. “Do you not have anything to say to yourself?”

  “There is no need to talk to a fake created by a Fortune Spring. Not to mention that even the Fortune Spring is artificial. I don’t know how you people did, but—

  “I was not talking to you.”

  “…You do not expect—

  “It is nice to have a body after so long,” the red robed Alnea said, and took a deep breath, ignoring the dumbfounded look on his black robed self. Only when he had taken a few mouthfuls of air, enough to satisfy his curiosity of how breathing felt like, did he turn back to the man who had kept him imprisoned for years. “We meet again…”