Above the desert, black in its natural form but glowing in red, fighting against the silvery blue glow of Orn and her stars, searching for the people it needed to bless, the ‘speck’, black and barren, drifting with the winds, yet staying in the same place, expanded once again, spitting out the Lady of Thorns, before contracting back into a small dot. And this time, it did not continue staying fixed in mid air.

  Instead, like the ‘speck’ of dust it was supposed to be, it drifted down towards the ground, just as the red glow of the desert began fading away. And by the time the ‘speck’ reached the sands, the desert had become black, like an abyss, once again. One that devoured the ‘speck’, with no intention of giving it back. Not that Alnea cared anyway. He did not even bother looking for the ‘speck’, keeping his eyes, and his Spirit, fixed on the figure that the sphere had spat out.

  “Master!”

  Nyssa suppressed the unease and discomfort brought about by using the Sword of Chaos and the ‘First’ Spirit World, as she turned towards her disciple with a smile.

  “I am back,” Nyssa said, nodding at her disciple, before facing the Lady of Raining Thunder. “Thank you for taking care of my disciple, Daena.”

  “I did not do it for you,” Daena said with a snort. “And you owe me an explanation.”

  “…I do,” Nyssa said, nodding solemnly, before glancing back in the direction of the Lost City, still shining like a red dot on the horizon. “But it would be best if we leave this place first. I do not want to go through any unnecessary battle again. Neither do I want to empty the city’s defences… How about we continue this in Rian?”

  “Have you not brought me enough trouble as it is? Do you want to pull me even deeper into your quagmire?”

  “…You will be visiting the Serpia clan as a guest, Daena. A secret guest, that only a select few will know about.”

  “…Forget it. I will not be going to Rian,” Daena said, shaking her head, before glancing in the direction of the Lost City. “But you are right. We do need to leave… Well, I guess, just straying a little into their territory should not alert those old snakes. As long as we stay near their border…”

  “…I know of a place,” Nyssa said with a nod, before glancing at her disciple and the girls. “We will talk later.”

  Alnea answered with a nod, as did the girls. Subtle as it was, they could feel the slight tension between Daes’ mother and his master. And they did not wish to make things difficult for either of them. Not that they had much of a say anyway.

  “Then please, Lady of Thorns,” Daena said, gesturing Nyssa to lead the way. In return, Nyssa nodded back, before releasing her Spirit Power, and wrapping it around her disciple and the three girls. And the two women. Then, and only then did she began flying towards the place she had described. A small mountain range, that lay along the borders of Rian and Canner province.

  Though, it was small only from high above in the sky, and that too, from a distance. As they neared the range, Alnea could not help admiring the majesty of the mountains. Especially since he had not completely gotten over the influence of the forest in the Final World. For a few moments, he even wondered if the mountains were alive…

  They were not. Unlike the forest of the Final World, the mountain range they descended on was just a simple mountain range, with barely any Oren Beasts roaming its cliffs and forests. Most of the creatures hopping and slithering around were just normal animals, like some rabbits and snakes. Or some monkeys. He could not even see any signs of the more ferocious animals like lions or tigers in the mountains.

  Still, the mountains were indeed a part of the wild, with no signs of any human activity. Probably because it lay between the borders of two provinces. In any case, the mountains were indeed a good place to talk without any disturbance. All it lacked was a proper place to sit, and some refreshments. But neither of the two Grand Wanderers were any mood of refreshments, so they just cleared an inconspicuous peak with a wave of their hands, and summoned some cushions to sit, as they landed on the ground.

  “Now, can we talk?” Daena said, as everyone sat in a circle, with her daughter sitting to her left, and Tia to her right. On the other end, Alnea sat to his master’s right, while Yuri took the seat towards the left, with Cecilia sitting next to Alnea, and Vestia to the left of Yuri, completing the circle of eight.

  “First, let me begin with an apology,” Nyssa said. “I should have made a few things clear in the beginning. But because of my identity, I could not reveal any details about myself until we left the Lost City.”

  “…I do not mind you hiding your identity from me,” Daena said. “Everyone has a few secrets. And the Thunderbirds have never had any problems with the Union. As long as you keep your promises, I could not care less about your origin. No, what bothers me is the way you handled that Heterodox Wanderer. Do you not understand dangerous your situation is?”

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  “…I do.”

  “Then why did you let that rat reveal your origin? Why did you give him the chance to attack you?”

  “Because if I did not let him seal my Roots, and reveal some of my secrets, then the people hiding in the desert would not have shown themselves.”

  “And what is the problem with that? It is not like they can follow you all the way to the Union. As long as you left the Lightning Region, they would have given up chasing after you.”

  “…That is the problem. We still have to spend a few months in Rianra. And I might even have to separate from my disciple for a while. How then, could I allow half a dozen Grand Wanderers, with evil intentions towards my disciple, to lurk around in the dark?”

  “…I understand your concern about your disciple. But you should also understand my concern for my daughter… Why did you have to drag her into your mess?”

  “They did not drag me, maa,” Daes said, prompting both, her mother, and Alnea’s master to glance at her. “I was the one who chose Alnea. He even warned me that he would be going to the Union. But I still chose him. Because I believe in him… and myself.”

  “…Silly girl. You do not understand the mess you are getting into.”

  “And I do not need to understand anything. All I know is that I am his Dependent. And that is enough.”

  “…Sometimes, ignorance helps people see things more clearly,” Nyssa said, nodding at Daes with a smile, before turning back towards Daena. “Besides, it is exactly because I understand your concern, that I did not stop my disciple from making his promise. That should be enough to show my—our sincerity, right?”

  “…If just sincerity alone was enough to solve all problems, then the world would have been united by the Union long ago.”

  “Even though the Union has not united the world, it did use its sincerity to save it.”

  “…Let us leave it at that for now. Right now, the most important thing for us to do is to handle the aftermath of your battle… You did not kill those Wanderers, did you?”

  “I am not that reckless,” Nyssa said. “Though they deserve death ten times over for daring to plot against my disciple, I understand how precarious our current situation is. Even if they have little to no contact with their clans, they are still Grand Wanderers. Their deaths would be a grave loss for the entire Tes Domain, or at least, the Lightning Region. And if they died at the hands of a Union’s Wanderer, then that loss might soon become the trigger of a war.”

  “…Where are they right now?”

  “Sealed, within the ‘First’ Spirit World.”

  “First Spirit World? Is it—Forget it. It does not matter what it is. I do not even want to know. Just tell me, how long will that seal last?”

  “As long as I want it to exist. This seal is a little different from other seals…”

  “I do not need to know. And neither does anyone else. Just make sure that they cannot leave their seal, or contact their clans for the next ten years. No, ten years is too short… Make that a hundred years. By then, these kids should have also grown up enough to take care of themselves.”

  “I had the same plan,” Nyssa said with a nod. “But on the side of the Lost City…”

  “I will take care of the matters in the Lost City. And even in their clans. You do not have to worry about it. But you cannot make any commotion while you are still in the Tes Domain, or everything would have been for nought.”

  “I know… Thank you, Daena.”

  “Do not thank me. I am not doing this for you,” Daena said, glancing at her daughter. “Just keep the promises you made earlier. And do not make me regret my decision.”

  “…Like I said, I am sure that you will be proud to see your daughter in ten years.”

  “…I hope so,” Daena said, and paused for a moment, before continuing her words. “Can you answer a question for me?”

  “Of course,” Nyssa said, and paused for a moment, before adding, “As long as it does not pertain to any of the Union’s secrets.”

  “I have no interest in the Union’s secret,” Daena said. “All I want to know is how did you guess that I would not turn on you after knowing your secrets?”

  “Because just like you, I am also a mother,” Nyssa said, glancing at her son with a smile, before turning back to Daena. “More importantly, I am very proficient in the Mysteries of Fate.”

  “…A prophet?”

  “No, but similar.”

  “…A Whisperer of Fate then?”

  “And an Explorer of Time.”

  “…Fate and Time?” Daena said, nodding to herself. “No wonder you are so confident.”

  “Now, you can rest assured about your daughter, right?”

  “…Indeed,” Daena said. “Please, take care of my daughter.”

  “I will,” Nyssa said, nodding back at Daena. “Do you have anything else you wish to ask or add?”

  “…Just a few little things, like what kind of things my stupid daughter likes to eat—

  “Maa! You said that you would not embarrass me anymore.”

  “I just do not want my little girl to suffer too much…”

  “I can take care of myself!”

  “…You… When will you grow up?” Daena said with a sigh, before back turning towards Nyssa. “Since I already have all my answers, it is time for me to leave.”

  “Are you sure that you do not want to come to Rian?”

  “…Forget it. I do not want to cause a scene. Not to mention that I also need to hurry back to the Lost City to take care of the aftermath.”

  “…My apologies for all the trouble we caused.”

  “It is alright. I am already used to it now,” Daena said, glancing at her daughter. “Till we meet again then, Lady of Thorns.”

  “Till we meet again, Lady of Raining Thunder.”