“That makes eighty-four losses. Isn’t it time you gave up, Airen?” Fieluri mumbled as she replaced a blue leather-bound book onto a shelf high in the air. She flew down towards the ground where Airen laid and pulled out the long katana that had been run through his heart and tossed it aside. Instead of blood, a yellow aura accompanied by wisps of purple light flew out, and afew moments later, Airen’s eyes opened.

“I lost again, didn’t I?” Airen sighed as he stared across the field. A man garbed in a black uniform faced at him, one scabbard on his back and two on his waist. A red headband covering the man’s eyes was the telltale sign that he was blind.

“How can a blind swordsman be so strong?” Airen sighed. “I’m done for today, Fiel. Thanks.”

“About time...” Fieluri grumbled. She waved hand and a magic circle surrounded her wrist. Writing a few runes in the air, she snapped her fingers and the blind man’s silhouette shimmered and turned transparent before vanishing. In his place was an ancient obsidian tablet.”Why can’t you sleep like a normal person?”

“Well… this realm of yours seems to restore my vitality at a similar rate. I may as well use the time to do some training.” Airen shrugged.

“Training? You say that but you lost every time...” Fieluri smirked. “If not for the fact that you’re in this realm, you would have been died eighty-four times already.”

“I prefer learning from experience.” Airen shrugged. More often than not, his defeat was instantaneous, and his opponent would quickly put him out of his misery.

“The experience of being hurt? Are you a masochist, Airen?”

“No… I don’t think so at least.”

“If you wanted to practice, then why don’t you spar with your friends? You have no chance fighting against the heroes of the past that you keep throwing yourself against.” Fieluri rolled her eyes. “Although it does take a certain degree of stubbornness to end up like you.”

“You were the one who told me, one only improves when fighting against those that are stronger.” Airen stared at Fieluri incredulously.

“I did.” Fieluri nodded as she conjured up an armchair and leaned back on it. “But as things are right now, Airen, you are the weakest among your friends, and you’re trying too hard to overcome that difference with experience instead of refining yourself.”

“What does that matter? There’s something I need to do.” Airen gritted his teeth. Fieluri’s words struck a chord within him. After Loys and Eullina had experienced his Blooming and Ald techniques, they started to plan for them, and Airen’s brief streak of victorious sparring matches came to an end.

“What you lack, Airen, is the power to back it up.” Fieluri shrugged. “Experience will let you survive a battle, but it won’t let you win one. Unless of course, you’re me.”

Airen rolled his eyes. He had thought having access to the Archive’s memories would be a boon to him, but apparently it has limits. Still, he knew he was being a nuisance, so he bid Fieluri farewell.

“Strength is an illusion, Airen. What you trade for it may be greater than the benefits.” As Airen left the Archive through a portal, Fieluri watched him go, his back appearing smaller than ever.

With a sensation of falling, Airen felt his consciousness returning to his sleeping body. He quietly sat up on his bed as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. It was barely morning, and not even a trace of sunlight filtered through the opened window. However, he was neither tired or sleepy.

As quietly as possible and with the ease of experience, Airen slipped out of bed, his bare feet hardly making a sound as it scraped across the ground. Shooting several glances at the sleeping figure of Eullina to make sure that he did not disturb her, he tiptoed over to the table. Hovering his palm over the blank surface, Airen concentrated and opened a small wormhole to the Archive, more specifically, to the vault that Fiel had given to him. A plate of food, the dish offered at the mess hall four days ago, slowly fell into his hands, and he placed the dish on the table. It was to be Eullina’s breakfast.

The vault space that Fieluri had given to him had some interesting spatial properties Airen thought when Fieluri first explained it to him. He still did not fully understand how it works, nor the fact that the dimension inside the vault can be adjusted to his needs. Airen was simply not powerful enough to comprehend it yet. But for now, it was a good form of storage for him.

After covering the dish with a cloth, Airen left through the door towards the training grounds.

A few minutes afterwards...

Eullina sat up as soon as Airen’s footsteps had drifted away.

What sort of magic was that? Eullina gulped as she watched Airen materialize two food dishes out of thin air. More so, where is he going at this time of day?

Eullina was troubled with her thoughts. For the past week since their return from their successful expedition, she had awoken to find Airen missing from the house and breakfast prepared.

“... I can’t go back to sleep now.” Making up her mind, she quickly get dressed and slipped out the door, while the two dishes on the table remained untouched.

Like a thief, Airen crept through the sleeping streets of Tel'naraa with nary a sound. Unknownst to him, a figure flitted from shadow to shadow while trailing behind him.. Like this, two silhouettes proceeded towards the training grounds.

Practice? When did Airen take training seriously…? Eullina was astonished. He was always fighting half-heartedly whenever they sparred nowadays, easily admitting defeat whenever things started to turn bad for him. Of course, this was frustrating for Eullina, who believed that there is a lot to learn in defeat.

Contrary to Eullina’s thoughts, Airen suddenly turned left and started to walk towards the blacksmith’s area. Just before he pushed aside the leather skin that served as a makeshift door, Airen turned around and peered into the darkness where Eullina was hiding.

“Eullina, you can come out now.”

Shocked at being discovered, Eullina sheepishly skipped down off the rooftop of the nearest shelter. “When did you realize?”

“From the very beginning. Normally when you’re sleeping, your breathing is slow and has a steady rhythm, but this morning it sounded rather forced.”

“... Watching when a lady sleeps, that’s inappropriate Airen! Are you really a highborn noble with manners like that?” Eullina tried to joke, but it only came out forced. She scratched her head for a moment before going straight to the point. “What are you doing here?”

Airen jerked a thumb to the furnace behind him. “I was going to forge myself a weapon. I thought that Loys’ words about hiding one’s strength would be useful for the future.”

“You know how to forge a sword?”

No, but I’m not the one doing the forging. “I learned it after watching it for a while.” Airen lied. It was one of Fieluri’s rules that she must not be made known to the world.

“...Shouldn’t you ask one of the blacksmiths to help you? Maybe Horly?”

“It’ll be fine.” Airen pretended to shrug, but it only raised Eullina’s suspicions.

“Great, now you’re starting to sound like Duncan when I went to ask him if he can contact Loys for us.”

“Lina, the reason-” Airen quickly hid his hand behind his back, materializing a certain item from his vault in the Archive, “is this.” He proceeds to show Eullina the geode he had obtained two weeks prior.

“What is that supposed to be? Some sort of pretty rock?”

“Apparently it’s a rare ore called Soul Silver.” Airen explained.

“Eh….It doesn’t even look like silver at all. And how do you even know about this?”

“I…” Airen hesitated. “I read it in a book.”

“A book…here?” Eullina cocked her head. There were no libraries in Tel'naraa, and the few books in possession are all privately owned. “Who did you get the book from? Duncan?”

Airen opened his mouth to respond, but before a sound came out, Fieluri had appeared behind him, he felt a cold weight against the back of his neck.

Airen, you may use the knowledge you obtain within my Archive as you see fit, but you do understand that no one may know of the Archive without my permission, right?

Fieluri took hold of Airen’s hand behind his back and placed a heavy object on it. For your sake Airen, and just this once, use this as an excuse.Airen felt the weight lifting off his shoulders, and he moved his hand in front of him to see that it was an old and tattered book.

“Is that… yours Airen?”

“I found it a few days back, buried in the sand.” After making a convenient excuse, he handed it over.

Eullina stared at Airen for a moment before looking at the cover. The strange words were unfamiliar to her, but when she turned the first page, a drawing of the metal geode Airen had in his hands was there.

“Are you blessed by the Goddess, Airen? It seems likely you’ve been running into several strokes of luck….” Eullina thought back to the event during their last expedition. While they were filling their bags with water from the Seafoam oasis, Airen had pointed out some hidden oysters buried in the sands. And while they were enjoying them roasted over a fire, he found a pearl in them. Of course, it was all done to satisfy Fiel’s curiosity.

“Perhaps… it is someone even more powerful than the Goddess herself.” Airen glanced at Fieluri who was smirking at him while floating above his head. “Or so she would have you believe.”

“Airen, if you ever start a religion, let me into it.” Eullina rolled her eyes. “I’d love to have a little bit of luck for myself.”

“I don’t think that’s a great idea….” Airen shrugged.

“Why not?!”

“Because this ‘Goddess’ of mine is lazy, sleeps whenever she feels like it, acts like a know it all and complains about everything,” Airen smirked as he recounted Fieluri’s faults. Behind him Fieluri smiled eerily as she brought out a large heavy tome and landed a blow on Airen’s head.

“Haha, Airen what’s with that face? Did something fall on your head?” Eullina laughed.

“It’… nothing.” Fieluri, I was just speaking the truth! “Just not used to waking up so early and having a bit of a headache.”

“Do you really have to hide this Soul Silver from the others though?”

“That’s not it. During the forging process, the weapon will familiarize itself with whomever is around it. Anyone else that will try to use the weapon will suffer a draining effect.” Airen weaved lie after lie, praying that Eullina would not press the matter further.

“That’s…how do you even know that?” Eullina questioned.

“The book.” Airen lied onc again. In truth, Fieluri had told him about it, and looking closely at the letters, they were in Fieluri’s particular curly way of writing. It was obviously a compilation of Fieluri’s findings after she had stolen the geode off his hands.

“…I can’t read this at all. Who wrote so illegibly like this?”

Airen glanced to Fieluri, who’s behind him, she eerily smiled at him and applied pressure to her grip on his shoulder. For someone with such a small form, Fieluri’s strength was enough to cause his bones to ache in pain.

“It’s like some child wrote it!”

Spare me, Eullina! Airen felt his arm starting to go numb, he quickly changed the subject. “Either way, the book is very detailed, so whoever wrote it must have been intelligent!”

Airen sighed inwardly for a moment as the pressure on his shoulder lessened, but right afterward Eullina said, “...More like obsessed.” Airen’s facade almost crumbled from the renewed pain. “But it’s very intricate and detailed, so I’ll give you that.”

So Airen. Are we doing this or not? Fieluri grumbled.

“Anyway, that’s what I was doing. Do you want to watch?” Seeing that Fieluri’s soured mood and hoping to prevent it from getting worse, Airen tried to wrap up the conversation.

“Of course!” Eullina clapped her hands.

Twenty minutes afterwards, inside the smithy...

Good, now throw the geode into the molten furnace. Fieluri pulled her hand away and the flames stopped expanding.

Shying away from the heat, Airen quickly tossed the geode into the furnace. It was a good thing that Eullina had fallen asleep, otherwise, it would appear strange how things were floating in the air around him, much less the fact that Fieluri was using magic in substitute of fire and water.

“...Fiel, aren’t you afraid that Eullina’s going to wake up?”

“She’s not going to unless I say so.” Fieluri replied nonchalantly, as she used a bit of magic to mix the lava like liquid inside the forge as it quickly consuming the geode. “Be grateful I did not cast anything beyond a simple sleeping spell.”

“Can’t you teach me that spell? It seems useful.”

“No. And it’s not a spell. It’s similar to how your soul visits the Archive in your sleep.”

“...You sent her to the Archive?!”

“No you dimwit! Her soul is in a frozen dream-like state.” Fieluri scoffed. “It’s an ability called Invitation to an Endless Sleep.”

“….That sounds way too powerful.” Airen murmured as he watched the Soul Silver slowly melted in the air. The droplets of silvery liquid caught the glare from the molten furnace, and was mesmerizing.

“The condition for using it in battle is impossible. For one, the spell can only affect someone that does not have their guard up, but is still cautious. Another is that the target has to have both darkness and light affinity. A third requirement is that the person must be within fifty meters. They will also wake up if any form of ill intent is in the area.”

“...Is that why you’re being so nice?”

Fiel stared at him while putting her finger on her lips. Then she made slashing gesture against her throat using her two fingers. She then pointed to Eullina who was dozing away, then pointed to the raging furnace.

“Get to work Airen. Otherwise, I might be ‘inclined’ to make your impolite friend over there, to never wake up.” As Fieluri turned around, Airen could barely catch her grumbling to herself. “My handwriting is perfectly legible, and was perfected over thousands of years. It’s a form of art!”

“Eullina, Wake up!”

Horly knelt down in front of Eullina, who was leaning against the smithy wall. He’s lightly shook her shoulders, but she simply would not stir.

“Mmm...” Eullina responded sluggishly. “Oh. Horly? What do you want?” She grumbled, discontent at being woken up. Just as she was about to close her eyes again, she felt an unnatural wave of magic vibrating behind her.

“What-” Startled, Eullina glanced upwards, where bright light’s shining out from the window.

“You tell me. I came here to warm out the forge and I saw you passed out here. What the hell is going on?”

“Airen said he was going to try to forge a weapon.” Eullina confessed, her memories a bit hazy.. “I… must’ve fell asleep sometime after he started?”

“Airen. Forge. Weapon.” Horly repeated. “Are you telling me that Airen, with his skinny arms, is trying to forge a weapon? Other than how ridiculous it sounds, what the hell is with all the light?”

“...No idea.” Eullina picked herself up and shielded her eyes from the blinding light.

The two of them retreated several yards and stood still as the light grew in intensity. Horly tore his eyes away from the prismatic array of colors and turned to Eullina. “I’m going to go get Duncan. He’s the most familiar with light magic.”

“...I don’t think it’s going to be necessary.” Eullina pointed towards the smithy. The light was starting to fade and the darkness of the night crept back in.

Horly and Eullina approached the makeshift door. Before they entered, they hesitated.

“Ladies first.” Horly gestured.

“Horly, you’re a big coward, you know that?” Eullina sighed as she pushed aside the flap and went inside.

“Airen, what is going-” Eullina suddenly halted as she saw the spectacle in front of her. A blade hilt, a sword edge, a pommel, a scabbard and a fore grip all floated in the air above Airen, who had his hands held towards the sky. Tiny runes etched themselves onto the edge of the blade in fiery letters, almost invisible to the naked eye. Each of the objects started to vibrate rapidly, sending a hum that continuously rose in frequency against the ear. And like items being sucked into a black hole, they converged in the center, parts snapping together and assembling the final product.

“Heavens…” Horly’s mumbled, walking in just in time to see the completed weapon fall into Airen’s hands.

At the sound Airen turned around and walked towards them, a silvery-red. A light smile on his face. “It was a great success.”

“Whenever you are ready.” Airen drew the silver-red cutlass and pointed it across the field at both Eullina and Horly.

“I’m sure you’re really proud of that blade, Airen” Horly shouted from afar. “But what makes you think you can beat two of us at the same time?”

“I don’t, but it’s worth a try!” Airen responded, sticking the blade into the soft sand. Lowering his voice so they wouldn’t hear him, he whispered. “Fieluri Archive, grant me a bow that can pierce the heavens.”

Your requests sound more and more cliched each time Airen. Fieluri grumbled. I said you had to ask me whenever you want to request items outside of the Archive but why do you always word it like some half-assed protagonist in a light novel?

Cause it annoys you. Airen thought smugly to himself. She was constantly making jabs and mocking him, and this was his rebellious form of revenge. A few moments afterward a red longbow was deposited into his hands.

Number two hundred and ten. Red Hound. A bow used by an officer who betrayed his nation. He single handedly stopped their advance on a small state by assassinating his general. It is said that those that master the bow can have the shots track its target like a hunting hound.

“Hey hey, Airen are you really planning to use a bow against us?” Eullina asked.

Airen nodded and nocked one of the blunt training arrows onto the bow. The pair in front of him had given him the first strike, but they were perfectly capable of easily closing the distance as soon as the arrow was let loose.

Hey hey, Airen. You realize that one shot from a bow like that can kill a person even with a blunt arrow, right? Fieluri added. Not that I would mind, why don’t you aim for that girl first?

“...So venomous.” Airen said quietly. All of the weapons Fieluri had deemed worthy to collect were dangerous artifacts, some used by villains, some by ancient heroes. Fieluri had called him several terms from ‘Forgotten Artifacts’ to ‘Aeon Armaments’, but refused to explain when Airen asked her to clarify.

Sucking in his breath, Airen drew back the bowstring. Some of the artifacts required him to invest soul power in them to function with the power of the artifact was directly proportional to how much magical power he invested into it. When he first learned about this, Airen was severely dissapointed since he could not use magic at all.

However, there were some that could use magic without his beckoning, and this was one of them. He trained the sights onto Horly, who had already donned his armor. As the arrow glowed a furious red, he released it, sending a spiral of crimson light in its wake.

And the battle began.

Eullina leaped into action, tossing one of her daggers at the incoming projectile in hopes of deflecting it. However the raging arrow knocked the dagger aside like a leaf before a storm, and continued onwards.

“I’ll leave it to you, Horly!” Eullina shouted as she sprinted forward towards Airen, who had already returned the bow to the Archive and was drawing the Soul Silver cutlass from the ground.

Horly dug his feet into the ground held up his shield to deflect the incoming arrow. He had thought to quickly charge after Eullina, but the impact of the arrow said otherwise. Crashing into the shield yet not splintering, it pushed Horly back twenty yards and boring a hole deep into his shield. Black smoke drifted out and Horly watched in shock as his Earthen Shield cracked and splintered into fragments.

“Shit. That Airen is full of surprises.” Horly grumbled as he tossed aside the pitiful bit of what was left of his shield. It would take some time before he can create another one. With a sigh, he sprinted towards the practice grounds from which he was blown away from.

Meanwhile Eullina and Airen were exchanging blows. Thanks to Fieluri imparting the strange mixed style of combat, Airen had quickly adjusted to the newly-forged cutlass and was now pushing Eullina back. The Soul Silver cutlass was light and the speed was on par with that of Eullina’s daggers, but it's true advantage was the range it gave him. With a particularly strong upwards blow Airen pushed Eullina back two steps, and raised the blade overhead in preparation for the Blooming weapon art.

However, Eullina was accustomed to that move. As soon as she saw it coming, she quickly somersaulted backwards. Tossing her daggers into the air, she conjured up dark intimations of her blades and hurled them at Airen in a continuous flurry. This skill of hers, Fan of Shadows, was something she came up with as her version of Shadow Bolt, drawing on the strengths of her familiarity with her dream weapons.

Like usual, Airen simply evaded the incoming projectiles. Although his battles in the Archive never resulted in victory, he had learned to read projectiles and arcs of all sorts of weapons. Evading and blocking twenty consecutive daggers was nothing to him, even without the use of his Ald kinetic blast.

“For the love of all that is holy. Airen.” Eullina complained as she caught Hummingbird and Nightingale from the air. “Are you some sort of monster?”

“Damn right he is.” Horly huffed as he walked up and stood next to her. “Knocked me twenty yards away while I was in full armor. Don’t you know how heavy this armor is, Airen? Making we walk all the way back…”

“You’re the monster, Horly. What sort of man can walk around wearing all that armor that is as heavy as he is?” Airen retorted. He had tried to use Ald once on Horly, and the blast had absolutely no effect.

“He’s got a point there. Horly why are you always wearing that armor all the time? Is that even fair when nobody can land a hit on you?” Eullina was quick to turn on Horly as well, remembering how much trouble she had with it back when she dueled him for the right to create an expedition team.

Horly shrugged and flexed his arms. “Real men always go into battle in armor!”

“If you ask me, you’re just overcompensating for something...” Eullina laughed.

Airen took this opportunity to point at Horly and try out his new blade’s enchantment. The ruins along the blade glowed white and a bullet of energy shot towards Horly.

“Wha-” Horly shouted and pushed Eullina aside as the bullet slammed into him, exploding into a charged form of Ald. Even Horly was not entirely resistant to this version as he stumbled and almost tripped.

Airen quickly closed the distance and pulled off Horly’s helmet with the tip of his blade.

“For the third time, I managed to best you, Horly.”

“You may have won the battle, but not the war.” Horly shrugged.

As I thought. Airen sighed as he felt Eullina creeping behind him. She was not caught in the blast. He quickly crouched and rolled a feet forward to evade Eullina’s jab.

“Tsk, I was sure I was in your blind spot.”

You were, but there was one opponent in the Archive that specialized in attacking from blind spots. Airen thought. He was a fearsome enemy.

Airen shrugged and pointed the blade at Eullina. She saw what it did to Horly while he was in full armor and prepared her body to dodge. Just before Airen shot the bullet though, he change the trajectory to the ground, sending the sand into the air.

“A distraction?” Eullina quickly vaulted backwards away from the sand, not wanting to come within sword distance, tossing several shadowy daggers in the direction where Airen was standing before in the process.

However she realized it too late what Airen’s plan was. As soon as the dust cleared, Airen released another Ald bullet at Eullina, hitting her dead on. She crashed into the wall of the smithy.

As Airen turned around to deal with Horly, Fieluri nodded her head in satisfaction. As expected from a weapon I crafted. It was a simple enchantment, but it’s definitely powerful.

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’m telling you. That weird bow of Airen’s actually manage to move Horly.”

“As much as as I hate to admit it, it didn’t just ‘move’ me. It blew me back several yards...”

The three of them were seated around the mess hall’s counter, retelling their sparring match with Lilrim after the morning hustle. Airen quietly sipped the broth without commenting.

“So did he win in the end?” Lilrim asked.

“Almost. Horly managed to imprison him with a strange spell.”

“It’s called Armor Coffin for heaven’s sake. Not ‘strange spell’. I never thought that I would be forced to use it.”

Pft. Spells meant to encase people to hinder movement are very common, and yet he gives it such a grand-sounding name. Fieluri mocked, but only Airen was able to hear her. Still, I would not mind a piece of that armor, since it bears similarities to Dullas’.

Airen gave the slightest of shrugs that only Fieluri noticed. Seeing this gesture she puffed out her cheeks and flew over to where Airen was.

But you. You. Airen Casteya. To be granted a weapon forged by yours truly, tailored specifically to your current abilities and still fail to obtain victory… She pelted Airen with her fists in mock anger.

“I count it as a victory.” Airen shrugged. He had predicted his loss, but he wanted to see how far he can go against two powerful opponents at once. Airen was rather proud of the result, as it gave both Eullina and Horly some trouble to defeat him despite the odds.

Airen. It is good that you realize that not all fights are fair, but not so if you do not learn to deal with it. Fieluri shook her head. But even with a custom forged weapon and access to the Archive of Bows… you did not even beat either of them.

“…. I’ll do better next time.”

Sooner or later, there will be no ‘next time’ if you mess up. Fieluri replied icily.

“Hey Airen, are you still sulking?” Horly clapped a hand onto Airen’s shoulder, unknowingly interrupting their conversation. “What’s this ‘next time’ you were saying?”

“I’m not sulking. I’m just taking notes on our battle.” Airen lied. “For next time.”

“Oooooh? You guys hear that? Airen here says that he’s going to win next time!” Horly chuckled and picked Airen up with both arms. “Come over here, Airen, you’re the man of the hour!”

“Da- Put me down, Horly!” Airen groaned as Horly lifted him flailing into the air. Several laughs and whistles echoed around the mess hall as Horly lifted him over to where the group was. Luckily they were only a table away and his embarrassing journey was short lived.

“Horly! He’s just a skinny kid! What if you break something you big brute?” Lilrim chided.

“Airen’s a tough man. He’ll be fine.” Horly shrugged. “Plus I hear that he can hold his liquor....”

“Hmmmmmmmm?” Eullina’s eyes narrowed and a scary smile crept on her face as she turned to Airen. “Tell me about this rumor...”

I too, would like to hear about this… Fieluri chipped in. It may or may not be a side effect of the spell I cast on you when you were dreaming away, and now would be a good item to verify it.

So it was you all along! Airen replied inwardly. He shot a pleading glance at Lilrim.

“The rumor’s true.” Lilrim nodded, adding more fuel to the fire.

“Ohhhh?” Both Eullina and Fieluri drew closer, and Airen felt like a rabbit before lions.

“Lilrim you should tell them the entire story instead of-”

“Not only did Airen even manage to out drink me, he managed to clear the entire three casks of moonshine….”

“Airen…” The two friends placed a hand on his opposing shoulders.

“But it was my fault for mixing up the casks in the first place~” Lilrim clapped her hands. “But the nerve of Airen! He downed two casks before we noticed the strange smell from his cup.”

“And he got drunk, I’m assuming...” Eullina scoffed.

“That’s the thing.” Horly sighed. “There was only the slightest tinge of red on his cheeks. Now the thing is, this brew would have most men deep in slumber after six pints. The boy must have been drinking alcohol from his mother’s teats instead of milk...”

“Horly. What did I say about watching what you say in front of the kids?” Lilrim pointed her cleaver at him, which would have been quite intimidating if it was notcovered with potato peels.

Horly shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure anything I say would pale in comparison to the things Loys says.”

“Darn right. He’s supposed to be teaching these two young ones but instead he just upped and left. That fiend said he had to check up on some things, but he probably found a new mistress somewhere...” Lilrim shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t understand why these two look up to him”

“Loys is an idiot, but he’s alright.” Eullina defended.

“And even Lina is defending him!” Lilrim threw her hands up with an overly dramatic sigh. “What has the world come to?”

“Hm, I think the young ones are just looking up to someone that is close to their age yet much stronger than they are.” Horly shrugged. “If not for that scar on his face, he would probably look to be around his twenties.”

Hooo? Is that true, Airen? Fieluri poked at Airen’s face with a finger, and he could only wordlessly smile back. Of all the stories and memories of heroes stashed in the Archive, you admire this nobody?

“We don’t admire him at all.” Eullina replied, wrapping an arm around Airen’s shoulder and shaking her head. “Isn’t that right, Airen?”

“Of course not.” Airen replied without thinking, caught between the two questions. “If it’s a matter of strength, I know several people that are much stronger...”

At his words, the other three turned and stared at him.

“‘Several people’… is it?“ Lilrim repeated.

“Back in… my prior days, my teacher would tell us stories of heroes from the past. It made me realize that there are many people capable of changing the world through their own power.” Airen explained quickly, trying to fix his mistake.

“Airen. Sometimes you say strange things.” Eullina replied after a moment of silence.

“Lilrim, I have a favor to ask.”

“What do you need me for, boy?” They were standing side by side, and were cleaning up after the dinner rush. Lilrim was scrubbing the plates while Airen wiped them down with a dishcloth.

“I was wondering if you would spar with me while in your masked form.”

Lilrim’s hands stopped moving. “…Airen you do realize that once I fully release my beast blood, it’s impossible to control it, right?”

“I do.” Airen replied. He clearly recalled the image of Loys sprawled on the ground while Lilrim was laughing demonically. Lilrim’s masked form gave her unnatural strength, endurance, and agility while healing her wounds. It was a shocking transformation.

“And you still ask for a duel?”

“I have some confidence in winning.” Airen admitted.

“...” Lilrim’s hands started moving again as she considered his request.

Time passed as the two finished up cleaning the area and preparing the food for tomorrow’s breakfast. Just before Lilrim closed down the mess hall, she responded.

“Fine, but Duncan and Horly must also be there to oversee the match. And in case something goes wrong, they will interfere and end the duel.”

“Of course.” Airen bobbed his head in acknowledgement.

“Good night, Airen. Do prepare yourself, you hear me?”

Airen nodded and bid Lilrim good night. As he slowly walked back to his home, Fieluri appeared beside him.

So how did it go?

“She agreed but with some limits. Fiel, do you actually think I can beat her?”

Of course, she is the perfect opponent for you. While her ability gives her immense physical abilities, it does not grant her any special techniques.

“...I hope you’re right.” Airen rubbed his arms with his hands.

The next morning.

Airen picked himself off the bench as four figures slowly made their way towards him.

“Good morning.” Airen greeted.

“And to you.” Each of them responded in return.

“We’re prepared on our end, you can start whenever you feel like it.” Duncan stated.

“Hey Hey Airen, are you really going to do this?” Horly added.

Eullina clapped Airen on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. Airen nodded and took up position halfway across the field. A few moments later, Lilrim also approached the training field.

“Please advise me.” Airen saluted.

“Whenever you are ready, Airen.” Lilrim sighed.

“Fiel, please give me a bow.” Airen whispered quietly, planting his sword, Force, into the padded sand.

As you wish. Fieluri shuffled randomly through the Blank Book and stopped. I give you, Onislayer. A great bow used by ancient stone knights to battle titans many times their size.

At her proclamation, a bow the size of Airen appeared from a rift above them and embedded itself into the ground.

What a shame Airen... Although this bow is probably possible of defeating this Lilrim in a single blow, you lack the strength or the physique of the stone knights to use it. There goes your single bow summon for the day. Shall I return it to the archive? Fieluri smirked, and Airen almost started to suspect her of intentionally giving him his bow.

“Please do. The others are staring.” Airen frantically nodded his head in acceptance. All of the onlookers were gawking at the great bow next to him. “In return, please bestow me a sword.”

Hmph. As you wish. Fieluri replied, placing a finger on the Onislayer and causing it to vanish back into the Blank Book. Flipping through it with her eyes closed, she stopped on a random page. Serpent Tongue, a sword with an edge as flexible as a whip used by a wandering swords-woman from a desert city beneath the sands.

Airen grabbed the weapon by the hilt as it fell from above him. The Serpent Tongue was slightly longer than Force, so he swapped it to his main hand and wielded Force at his left hand.

“I am ready!” Airen shouted, imitating the pose of a warrior he had fought in the Archive, arm extended downwards and pointing the Serpent Tongue towards the enemy’s heart, while the shorter blade crossed his arm diagonally in a defensive posture.

“Then, do take care, Airen.” A menacing red aura surrounded Lilrim’s cleaver as it grew in size, and when it finished, a terrifying mask also materialized on Lilrim’s face. She took a deep breath.

“Ag Ha HA HAA HA HA!” Lilrim laughed maniacally as she started rushing towards Airen.

Airen used Force, the name he decided to give to the weapon, to shoot several bullets of concentrated Ald energy towards Lilrim, their impact hitting her dead on but merely staggering her for a moment before she resumed charging.

“ANNOYING!” Lilrim crouched down, and leaped into the air.

Airen side stepped the overhead blow that left a deep impression in the ground, slowly walking backwards and keeping some distance between them. He swung the Serpent Tongue towards Lilrim, and was surprised when she did not even try to evade the blow, leaving a large gash on her forearm.

Airen watched as the wound instantly healed over, the result of his attack making it seem as if he was wielding a cypress stick instead of several meters of cold steel. Lilrim stretched her arm as if nothing had happened, and the face on the mask switched to an eerie smile. Lilrim leaped towards Airen, recklessly swinging the huge cleaver.

“Seems like it's Airen’s first time dealing with Lilrim’s transformation.” Duncan noted as Airen deftly dodged Lilrim’s attacks, taking care to fight defensively.

“Indeed. Are you sure it’s alright?” Horly gripped the shield he had conjured. He had thought to hurl it in case things went south. “Airen seems to be being pushed back…”

“It is fine.” Duncan replied. “Lilrim’s transformation only has one weakness, and for some reason, Airen seems to be moving like a seasoned fighter. Has he always moved like that?”

Indeed it was true. Airen was easily reading Lilrim’s attacks and had no problem evading or deflecting them. Although the blows were powerful enough to kick sand into the air, they were predictable and lacked any refinement.

“The problem… is her insane regeneration.” Airen mumbled as he caught the cleaver between his two blades and redirecting the force off to the side. Even though he had not received the blow head on, his arms still shook and he could feel blisters forming on his hands. Fieluri had returned to the Archive after giving him his weapon, and was not there to give hints to him as she usually did.

“Ald!” Airen shouted, the result blast staggering Lilrim just before she meant to take a swing.

“Grr. IRRITATING!” Lilrim shrugged off the blow and resumed her assault.

However, her renewed swing was overly wide, and Airen stepped inside the blow and performed his Blooming skill, this time with six consecutive blows. Sensing something was off, he quickly leaped backwards after delivering the fifth blow.

Where he was standing prior, the cleaver had embedded itself into the ground. The five blows quickly healed over, again showing the fruitlessness of Airen’s efforts.

“Seems like Airen is having some trouble.” Eullina noted.

“I don’t think trouble is the word...” Horly rejected as Airen ducked under a swing and back with a thrust.

“It’s fine.” Duncan said quietly. “...As long as Lilrim does not use any spells or weapon arts, he may have a chance after all.”

Two more hours passed as Lilrim and Airen dueled, or rather it was simply Airen avoiding, blocking, and parrying Lilrim’s blows without dealing with any of his own.

“You said the it would be fine, but how has he lasted so long?.” Horly grumbled. A large crowd had gathered now as nobody was operating in the mess hall. They had prepared simple fare for breakfast, but had not anticipated for the battle to be long enough to stretch into lunchtime. Hungry onlookers had come to complain, but was rather mesmerized at the sight.

“I did. The battle is already over.” Duncan replied. He pointed towards the two of them, Airen had built up a heavy sweat while Lilrim was panting heavily. After picking up her weapon and preparing to swing, she stopped midway.

“A battle of attrition… is it?” Horly shook his head.

The gigantic cleaver quickly shrunk to its normal size, and the mask vanished.

“Since I have to make lunch, it is my loss. Well done Airen.” Lilrim congratulated, causing Airen to drop in a heap in exhaustion. “...But I’m afraid you’ll still need to help me.”

“Your proposal is possible, but I don’t want to.” Fieluri complained, jotting down notes on an orange plant that was snapping at her fingers. It was a common parasitic Sandloix, a plant that grew in the Tel'naraa desert near water. It has a nasty bite to it when eaten, but the petals had anti-oxidant effects.

“...But why not?” Airen asked. A few hours after his victory, he was barraged with questions about how he had managed to beat Lilrim, and where did he learn his moves from. Airen had tried to pass it off as self-taught, but he could see that more experienced hunters and fighters like Duncan and Lilrim did not believe him. As a result, tonight he had come to consult Fieluri.

“I already said I don’t want to deal with the outside world. As long as you send me samples, it’s fine. That was our agreement for you being able to access the archive, mutual benefit.”

“But…how will I explain to the others about my abilities?”

“Magic is volatile and highly expressive. Each person has their own form and style of using it. Your spells may be flashy, but so are some of your friends.” Fieluri suggested. “In the eyes of history, you have not learned anything that truly stands out.”

“No, but my rate of improvement is not something that can be so easily shrugged off...”

“...That is true.” Fieluri turned away. “I cannot heed your proposal and show myself in your world as your teacher, but I know someone that may. Your predecessor.”

“My pred- I thought I was the first?”

“You are. By your predecessor, I mean someone that underwent the same trial you did, but did not manage to break free. Even now she is dreaming away in an illusion. However, unlike most of the ones that fail the trial and their body slowly withers away, she was… different.” Fieluri leaped up from the pile of cushions on the floor she was sprawled over. “Walk with me Airen.”

Airen groaned and started to trail behind Fieluri. “Where are we going?”

“To pay sleeping beauty a visit.” Fieluri replied without turning around.

After what seemed to be an hour traversing between the bookshelves, Fieluri finally stopped and turned around to face a large painting of a fog covered lake, and the towers of a castle peeking out in the distance. It was decorated by a brown-red frame, and towered over Airen.

“Here we are.”

“I thought we were-”

Fieluri sighed and snapped her fingers before Airen could say anymore. A wave of force slammed into Airen’s back and knocked him towards the painting. As Airen yelped in surprised, he closed his eyes and extended a hand to brace for the inevitable impact. Yet all he felt was bitter cold water splashing against him. When he opened his eyes, he was on all fours on the shore of a misty lake.

“Not a painting Airen. A story.” Airen turned behind him to see Fieluri slip out of a door. “Do you remember the perfect illusion you were thrown in before you met me?”

Airen recalled the incident. Despite that if he would have died if he had not broken out of it, he could not harbor any ill feelings toward Fieluri. She had given him a chance to meet his mother for the first time.

“Yes….” he replied quietly.

“This is the dream of someone else.” Fieluri explained. “A world I created for their dream to manifest.”

“I am… not quite following here.” Airen scratched his head. “My proposal was for you to show yourself momentarily in the real world and I would introduce you as my teacher and the reason for my improvement. What are we doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m saying the person living in this story, someone who had great potential six centuries ago, is suitable for your proposal.”

“…You do realize that you’ve trapped them in here for six hundred years. What makes you think that they’re even going to listen to you?” Airen pointed out.

“Because they’re not going to listen to me.” Fieluri’s eyes were twinkling. “They’re going to listen to you. But let me get one thing straight Airen, I did not trap her here. She did so herself.”

“What if they don’t want to wake up?” Airen replied quietly. He clearly remembered the contentment and warmth that he had experienced in his own dream, and even recalling it caused his heartstrings to tremble.

“Then, if my prediction is correct, the spell that they have sustaining them for these past centuries will run out sometime within two weeks, and they will die.” Fieluri said flatly, without a hint of emotion in her words. “And then I can finally get rid of that bothersome painting. Maintaining a world, even if imaginary, takes quite a toll you see.”

Airen’s hand clenched, no matter how familiar he got with Fieluri, there were times where he was shocked, even angered, at her ruthlessness.

“Now Airen. Are you going to stand by while someone dies?” Fieluri goaded him on.

“No, I’m not like you who plays around with people like toys.” Airen retorted angrily. “If I have the power to do so, then I will gladly use it to save others if I can.”

“I thought as much.” Fieluri nodded in approval and clapped her hands. The next instant she had reappeared next to Airen, and he felt a searing sensation over his arm. The plain was as if white-hot iron was tearing his flesh off, and he passed out.

When he came to, he was back in the Archive. He raised his hand up and was shocked to see a strange pattern over his hand. Quickly sitting up and pulling up his sleeves, he found out that the tattoo ran all the way along his arm, up to his shoulders and near his heart.

“Oh, you’re up.” Fieluri’s voice drifted over from the right, where she was sipping some green liquid from a cup. “It appears that the spell worked fine.”

“What spell- no what the hell did you do to my arm?” Airen pulled back his sleeve, but to this surprise, the tattoo was gone.

“A personal enchantment developed by yours truly. As for the effects… you can think of it as a form of defensive enchantment. The side effects of the spell is what you experienced before, great pain. It will take a week for the sigil to be fully functional, until then I advise you not to engage in any sort of battle.”

“Didn’t you say that the time limit was two weeks?” Airen suspected that she was not quite telling him everything, but at the very least, he trusted her not to damage his well-being.

“I did.”

“Why do I need such a powerful defensive spell?”

“Because if my prediction is correct, then you will need it to deal with sleeping beauty.”

“I thought I was just going to wake her up...”

“You are. But it isn’t going to be so easy.” Fieluri tossed over a small book. “These are her memories. Familiarize yourself with them if you wish to save her.”

“...Isn’t this an invasion of privacy?” Airen grumbled, but Fieluri had already vanished.

After searching the Archive to only find Fieluri asleep on a pile of books, he decided to leave her to it. Not matter how she acted, Airen realized that she was still looking after him. Returning from the Archive, it was almost morning, and with complex thoughts preventing him from sleeping, he stared at the grey ceiling.

“Airen, are you awake?” Eullina’s voice disturbed his dark thoughts.

“I am.” Airen replied, sitting up. “I was just thinking of some things.”

“Like what?” Eullina replied quietly while shuffling around in the darkness to find her shoes.

Airen hesitated for a moment before replying.

“I’m thinking about how I could become stronger.” Airen admitted honestly.

“You’re plenty strong, Airen, for someone your age.”

“No, I am not. Unless I come out with a dazzling new move or spell, I am always the one losing when fighting against any one of you. And I don’t have the option of waiting several years. “

“But you did manage to outlast Lilrim.” Eullina protested.

“She went easy on me. I had seen her use weapon arts and spells against Loys, yet she did not use any of them against me.”

“Airen… what do you need so much power for?” Eullina’s voice held a touch of sympathy, and a touch of an emotion Airen did not recognize.

Airen did not reply at first, or rather, he could not. He had admitted he was once a noble, but not that he was the prince of a major country. Or rather… was he still considered a prince? He had no news outside Tel'naraa. At this time, he recalled Fieluri’s words.

“To challenge the world.” Airen replied. There was some truth in his words, he thought.

Fieluri did not reply, instead she stood up and walked over to where the table stood. Kneeling onto the ground, she dug at one of the stone tiles.

“There we go...” Eullina pulled back the tile and revealed a small chamber inside. From it she pulled out a small chest. With a bit of effort, she placed the chest onto the table.

“Eullina?” Airen asked, curious at her actions.

“Sit, Airen.” Eullina gestured towards the seat in front of her, and when Airen sat down across from her, she opened the chest.

“Airen. I know you’ve been hiding things from me.” Eullina started. When Airen opened his mouth to protest, Eullina reached out and placed a finger onto his lips. “Listen to me first.”

“I do not know if it is because they are things that cannot be said, or you are afraid of being betrayed once again. However, you should know that I am your ally.”

Eullina turned the chest over and showed the contents at Airen. Inside was full of gold coins and jewelry, and on top laid several folded parchments.

“Just like you, I am fallen nobility. My father was a simple herbalist, while my mother was a daughter from a rather prominent family. Many in that family was not content with their relationship, and as my mother ultimately renounced her name to leave with my father. But they didn’t stop there.” Eullina’s eyes held a deep seated grudge.

“Ten years after they left, the family wanted my mother to return. She was one of the strongest warriors, and the family had started a feud with another and sought her strength. When my mother refused, they plotted against her. One person can only do so much while protecting non-combatants. They killed her while using me and my sister as a shield. And you know the rest of the story of my sister and I being sold into slavery.”

“That is my story Airen. I tell you this because I want you to understand that the two of us have likely gone through similar things.” Eullina picked out two pieces of parchment from the chest and spread them out onto the table.

“Here I have two letters of admission from the Red Slate Republic’s official military academy, Stonewall. I had planned on leaving to attend, and if it is power you seek, would you like to come with me?”

“I…” Airen did not know what to say. “I will need some time to think about it...”

“As you wish, Airen.” Eullina returned the chest in its chamber and closed it with the stone tile. “These past few weeks your level of improvement has been shocking. I fear that you’ll surpass me soon...”

“Someone… has been teaching me.” Airen replied honestly, touched at Eullina’s actions. “I can’t say who it is yet without their permission...”

“Ah.” Eullina realized Airen was revealing things to her, and decided to probe no further for his sake. “Why don’t you introduce me to this person when you can?”

“I will.” Airen replied quickly.

Eullina smiled and stretched. She felt as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders after having this talk. Airen had been distant lately, and she was afraid something had happened to him. She was glad her fears had been dissipated.

“But really Airen, now that you know, you’re in the presence of a Lady right now. I won’t tolerate any inappropriate behavior!” Eullina hit him playfully. “Why don’t we grab some breakfast?”

“As you wish, Lady Eullina” Airen stressed the word.

“...I don’t sense respect from your tone.” Eullina hit him again.

“I don’t think ladies are supposed to attack defenseless men...” Airen shrugged.

As the two argued back and forth on the way to the mess hall, the somber mood had vanished.

“You will go.” Fieluri declared. After helping Lilrim prepare and serve the midday meal, he had excused himself and went to the Archive, relaying Eullina’s proposal to Fieluri.

“You realize that I can’t actually use elemental magic, right?”

“If there is ever a time where you absolutely must use it, then I will do it in your place.”

“...What’s in it for you if I go?” Airen accused.

“You know me too well.” Fieluri threw her hands up in mock protest. “These magical academies have libraries that I would like to have a look at. Plus, you are finally moving to a civilized hub of human activity with actual books. It’s not a bad idea to know where you stand against your peers, so it’s a win-win situation!”

“I don’t know...” Airen replied.

“You worry too much.” Fieluri grumbled. “No matter how you look at it, going to the academy will only have good things in store for you. If you’re worried about being recognized… Airen have you looked in a mirror at all these past weeks?”

“No? Why?”

Fieluri sighed and snapped her fingers. Without a tremor, a large mirror, the same size as the story painting, rose from the ground. “Have a good look.”

Airen stared at the figure in front of him. “Is this… me?” he muttered quietly. Having not looked at his reflection for a long time, there were stark differences. His hair which was usually stiff and frazzled was smoother and shorter, His white skin had lost it’s luster and his arms and face were lightly tanned. His arms were longer and he was a few inches taller. Compared to the young pampered noble he appeared before, he was now a well-accustomed dweller of the desert.

“One can change much with time.” Fieluri nodded. “Unless you go actively looking for trouble, I doubt anyone would second guess that you are the prince of a nation. It’s a common story, and a common disguise.”

“I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not...”

“It’s subjective. Think of it as you will.” Fieluri waved him off. “Anyway, for your best interests, I’d advise you to go, but I would not advise staying too long.”

“What’s wrong with overstaying?”

“Who knows.” Fieluri said ambiguously. “Come with me Airen. There is something I would like you to sample.” She stood up, and like usual, started walking away without sparing him a glance.

Sample? Airen trotted quickly behind her. Despite the length of their strides, Fieluri’s feet seemed to bounce lightly off the ground, and no matter how fast Airen increased his pace, he could not catch up.

Luckily she did not travel far, and they stopped in front of a large circular door. Airen was panting lightly.

“Tsk, Tsk, Airen. Running for a little while and you’re already out of breath? You’re going to have to train your body sooner or later.” Fieluri noted.

“Or, you can just teach me how to move around like you do all the time.” Airen grumbled. “I’d love to oh, levitate, and fly over everything.”

“Maybe if you get on your knees and beg, I’ll consider it.” Fieluri placed her hand onto the door and the outer edge lit up a green color.

“What are you going to show me this time anyway? It better not be some strange collection again...”

“How rude! What I have stored in here will make any collector offer their body and soul for!” Fieluri indignantly pushed the door open. The musty smell of mildew and wood permeated the air as they walked in.

“Illuminate.” Fieluri mumbled, and a floating orb of white light floated above her head, lighting up an endless corridor of bottles.

Unlike the previous ‘collections’ Airen had seen, the bottles were seemingly well sorted. While Airen gaped in awe at the size of the collection, Fieluri had already selected a blue-green bottle that she held in two hands.

“So impressed that you forgot how to speak? Good. Be grateful that you are the only one to ever see this collection of fine liquors” Fieluri said smugly.

“I… so this is where you get your drinks from...”

“Are you a fool? That’s in the Codex of Teas” Fieluri retorted, gesturing for him to leave so she could close the door.”Did you think I can magically summon tea from thin air?”

“I actually did.” Airen admitted sheepishly. All the times Fieluri had conjured up a drink along with the utensils had given him that impression.

“See now Airen. You do realize magic isn’t all omniscient right? Spells are cast with certain steps, and how you change those steps changes the spells.” Fieluri lectured as she led him to a different part of the Archive.

“Gather, change, and then control, right?” Airen recalled the words from a lesson long ago.

“So you are not a total fool and do know a bit of magic theory.” Fieluri nodded. “That would be correct… if you were simply using elemental magic.” Fieluri stopped in front of a small table made from polished redwood, and placed the bottle down. Snapping her fingers, two white porcelain cups appeared on the table. The bottle floated in the air, gracefully uncorking itself and pouring its contents into the cups. “Well, I don’t feel like explaining it, so you’ll have to ask some other time. Try this.”

Airen peered into the cup he was given. The liquid was mostly clear, but the edges was tinged with green. With Fieluri peering intently at him, he brought the delicate cup to his mouth and took a sip.

“This stuff is strong!” Airen exclaimed. It tasted of berries and left a minty aftertaste as he downed the entire cup. He felt the warmth spreading to his fingers and toes.

“As I suspected.” Fieluri sighed. She had only taken a few sips of the drink, and a light shade of crimson was apparent on her cheeks. “Airen, how often do you defecate?”

“Wha- what sort of question is that?” Airen stuttered out. After realizing that Fieluri wasn’t making fun of him, he replied embarrassingly. “Once every week or so... Why?”

“Listen to me carefully Airen. As a side effect of the spell I used to keep your body in a hibernation state during your time in the dream, your body seems to have gained an ability to break down food with less waste. That would explain your unnaturally high tolerance to alcohol.”

“I’m not trying to doubt you, but I can’t help but feel skeptical about that. What if I just have a high tolerance to alcohol?” Airen stared at the bottle, wondering if it would be appropriate to refill his cup.

“If that was true, you would be dead.” Fieluri replied. “This certain liquor is originally brewed by a race of giants. Before a deep frost came to their lands, they came up with this Firelight drink to fight off the cold.”

With her finger, Fieluri tapped the edge of the cup. She lifted her finger while deposited a small flame into the Firelight. But before it even dropped an inch, the entire cup burst into flames. Airen watched in horror as the delicate white porcelain was stained pitch black, and even started to melt. However, before it turned into a horrifying abomination, Fieluri reached into the flames and tapped the cup, causing the flames to vanish and the cup to slowly resume it’s normal form. Airen was not sure what was more astonishing, the intensity of the flame, or how she managed to fix the cup.

“Your body’s ability to decompose consumables will weaken if you take in too much at once.” Fieluri added on. “So it’s not an all powerful side effect. Also in theory, you can consume poison without it affecting you, since Firelight is unfit for human consumption.”

“Tell me such things before you use me as a guinea pig.“Airen grumbled. Nevertheless he was content knowing that he would have no fear of poison.

Fieluri’s words interrupted his train of thought. “It only applies to someone poisoning your food. It’s your stomach and liver that is all-mighty, not your body.”

A very obvious look of disappointment on Airen’s face caused Fieluri to start laughing.

One week later.

“Eullina... Like I mentioned before, I’m going to be gone for a while.”

“Alright. Hopefully you can convince your teacher to come meet with us.”

Before Airen pushed open the door, Eullina pulled on his arm.

“Be safe, Airen. And come back alright?”

“I will...”

As Airen walked into the growing darkness, Eullina watched his figure fade.

“Off he goes again...” Eullina sighed. “Stupid men and their mysterious games. First Loys, now Airen. When he comes back I’m going to give him a stern talking to, and wring the secrets out of him.”

As soon as Airen was out of sight, he ducked within the hidden alleys of two stone houses. With a quick chant, he opened a large rift to the Archive, and the next moment, he stood in front of the grandiose painting of a foggy lake, and forlorn castle.

“Welcome Airen. Have you prepared yourself?”

“No, Not at all.” Airen replied, taking out the book Fieluri had given him about the one sleeping in the dream. “As I thought, I have no right to read this.”

“If you wish to enter blindly into a story, then so be it.” Fieluri tutted. “Time moves differently in the story than the real world. When, or if, you manage to return, one week will have passed. One month Airen. That’s your time limit in the painted world.”

“Now then, goodbye, Airen. A week for me, a month for you. When you return, I expect a fitting and accurate story to the end of the painted world.” Fieluri reminded him.

“Thank you, oh great one.” Airen saluted deeply, in the same respectful form that Dullas had done, causing Fieluri to roll her eyes. She snap her fingers and vanished without seeing him off.

Airen smiled at his little act of rebellion, but it quickly faded away. With a solemn expression and tense shoulders, he walked forward to place his hand on the painting.