White light flared into her vision, and when Altera could see again, she was staring at the checkboard field. A few meters away from her, a mirror reflected the thorn circle she had raised, and Moon Moon was running towards her.

“Moon Moon.” Altera’s face lit up, and she kneeled. She let her partisan float behind her back, opened her arms, and the wolf jumped into her embrace.

“What a good boy.” Altera smiled.

She patted him on the head, and Moon Moon howled, letting his tongue out. Thuds echoed from the rose thorns. Altera’s eyes wandered across the plane and stopped at a mirror growing from a wall. On its reflection, Lacie was kicking her boots against the stakes.

Altera walked towards the circle.

It seemed that when Lacie had tried to evade the thorns, she had opened the mirror portals. Since the stakes had trapped her, she couldn’t escape and must have forgotten to close them as she tried to get out of her prison.

Though her plan hadn’t worked out as she had expected: Altera had intended to provoke Lacie into a fight and catch her once she entered this plane. Just like how Moon Moon could jump through portals out of the Mana Realm into Aes, Lacie could access the Mana Realm’s deeper parts through her mirrors. Since Moon Moon would instinctually want to jump through a new portal, he would notice if Lacie would try to attack her. Moon Moon howled at everything that seemed fun to him. Instead, he had jumped from portal to portal until he had found her.

Altera glanced at Moon Moon.

A puppy shouldn’t be able to perform such complicated tasks, yet he single-mindedly executed her will with excellence. And when he had found Lacie, she could feel her presence as if she had been there instead of Moon Moon.

The circle reverted to the ground, and ice emerged from the ground. It wrapped around Lacie’s arms and bound her like shackles.

She could have used the ice from the beginning. But then she would have risked freezing her by accident.

Lacie grimaced and fletched her teeth. She pulled her arm, trying to free it from the ice’s trap but to no avail. Altera took the rapier out of her hands. Balancing the weapon on the palm of her hands, she inspected the blade.

Vines and fleur-de-lys decorated the hilt and surrounded the Fehu rune, giving it a regal appearance. It looked like it had once belonged to a Midgardian noble or general from a time before the Great War. Lacie must have stolen the weapon from somewhere. The rune didn’t emit any Mana, so Lacie hadn’t discovered the secret of the runes.

Moon Moon jumped out of her arm, a portal opened, and the nether wolf ran through it.

Altera gave him a parting look and chuckled. “That little mutt can’t stand still, and I don’t think he would be happy with a leash.” Moon Moon’s Mana resonated with her, confirming his safety, and Altera’s focus returned to her opponent. “Lacie Servelf.” Her voice hardened. She kneeled in front of her opponent, their gazes connecting. “I ask you again. Can you please let me go? I wish to help my friends.”

Lacie knitted her brows as if to ask if Altera was stupid.

“Yeah, I know. Why should you care about my friends?” Altera raised her hand and caressed Lacie’s cheeks. “You’re not some egoistical b…bad girl. So, I’m not gonna ask you to do it for yourself. Do it for Clockwork.”

As Altera drew lines on Lacie’s skin, a red blush spread across the girl’s face, and her expression froze.

In response, Altera presented her a smile. “As I said, I don’t know your relationship, but I understand at least that much. He’s important to you, isn’t that so? You don’t care what the world thinks about Clockwork.”

Lacie nodded.

“That’s why I’m asking you to let me go for his sake. Clockwork has only his revenge. Right now, he might focus on his hunt for Ragna and ignore the emptiness. But once he’s done, what’ll happen? He has to face reality. Do you think he can handle it, or will he succumb to despair?”

Lacie’s eyes shifted to the side.

She knew the predicament Clockwork had found himself in, but inside Lacie, fear brewed, as well. If emptiness consumed Clockwork’s life, what about her? Why wasn’t she able to help him? Questions like that had to go through her head.

“So, wouldn’t it be the best if he continued to hunt for all eternity? To let vengeance and a desire for destruction consume him, wouldn’t that be preferable to the void?” Altera stood up and offered her hand. “So, let me out. I’ll help Ragna, and thus, I’ll allow Clockwork to hunt her for another day. And I’ll promise that I won’t harm him unless he decides to attack Ragna.”

Of course, she would never let him hurt Ragna, but Lacie should be smart enough to understand the implications.

Lacie gulped visibly and accepted her offer. The stakes disappeared, freeing Lacie.

“Then, please show me the way out.”

Lacie nodded, and with a hand gesture, she told Altera to follow her. Together, the two walked through a portal.

֎

The waves crashed against the rocks, back and forth, submerging the stone one moment and retreating the next. Not a single sound emerged from them. In the sky, a colorless gas giant loomed over them. Rings encircled it, and not a single spec of light shone from the celestial body. Yet, a clear azure greeted them in the sky.

“Why did you bring me here?” Altera looked at Lacie. “Is the exit here?”

Lacie nodded and pointed at the sand. It glittered in a world without a sun and presented to Altera the crystal Twice statue in the church. They looked back at Altera, the effigy concealing its thoughts.

“A mirror within the sand. Did lightning strike the beach and turn this patch into glass?”

Lacie rocked her hand and head and turned around, facing the sea.

Altera could have left Lacie alone. If she jumped through the glass, she would have returned to Aes and could have concentrated her efforts on locating and helping her friends.

Instead, she chose to stay. Altera turned around as well and walked to Lacie.

Why did she do that? It didn’t make sense to spend another second in this realm. Her friends might be in danger, and she had to ensure their safety. Yet, accompanying this girl felt right. Did her gut instinct tell her to do this? Lacie seemed to want to say something, and she should listen.

Altera gazed upon the sea.

If she traveled over the water, where would she arrive? Would she meet Mimir again, or would she find a wonderland that could reveal the mysteries of the gods? On Aes, humans had mapped out the planet and explored most regions. But the realms of Mana brimmed with secrets and surprises. In the past, the Trutner siblings had given the continent of Viking the name “New World.” After the kingdom of Midgard had taken it over, the kenning stopped applying to it. The Mana Realms deserved the moniker, and she would call them the new world.

“What do you think lies beyond the horizon?” Altera turned to Lacie.

Lacie’s head jerked to her side. Exhaling, she pressed her palm against her chest before she regained her composure and shrugged.

“Have you ever thought about exploring this world?”

Lacie’s eyes sparkled, and she nodded her head with enthusiasm.

“Say, if I survive my journey, do you want to explore this world with me?” She offered Lacie her hand. “So, until that day comes, promise me you’ll live as well.”

Lacie gulped and looked down. The implications of her words had reached Lacie’s ears: She had to live beyond Clockwork’s existence.

She took a deep breath and took Altera’s hand. Lacie then removed her hand and took out a hand mirror from her jacket. She opened it, and the crystal face of Twice looked at them.

Altera raised her eyes. “Wait, that’s the real exist? The other was a fake?”

Lacie nodded and drew a line with a thumb over her throat. The message was clear. Had Altera gone through the other exist, the trap would have killed her.

“You’re quite a cheeky girl.”

Lacie closed her eyes and grinned when the island began to shake.