The rest of the day drifted by without anything happening. Sure, a few sparrows had learned about the nice couple who liked to feed them with a bag full of bread, but other than the little spectacle of these birds lining up to receive their share of breadcrumbs, nothing extraordinary happened.

“I’m not sure if birds learning to line up is an ordinary event, though,” Lily pointed out. “But whatever you say!”

“That’s not a habit you should fall into,” Claud replied. “I don’t know how long my Second Tutorial will take. It might take a day, or it might take forever.”

Lily looked at him, hesitation in her eyes, and then sat down on the bed. “I won’t dissuade you from this. But…”

She patted her lap. “Want to rest here for a while before you start?”

“I’d love to.” Without any hint of shame, Claud climbed onto the bed and laid his head on her lap. “To be honest, I would very much prefer to just be a normal person with lots of time, but I don’t think we can afford to be normal people right now. The Third Godsfall saw the appearance of incredibly powerful mana-users, but few from their number remain alive. It’s a lesson to us all.”

“I know.” Lily squeezed his cheeks. “I’ll watch over you first. I’ll catch up soon enough too, so expect your legs to be numb!”

“Wait, you’re going to let me lie on your lap for the whole time? It might take weeks, you know,” Claud replied. “I’m told that people sit cross-legged when they’re tackling this Second Tutorial.”

“Forget them. All that matters is us,” Lily replied.

“Don’t forget to eat and everything, at least.” Claud held her hand and brought it to his lips. “Please don’t feed me, though. I don’t think we’re supposed to be eating while doing the Second Tutorial.”

“I’ll just slip a few sweets into your mouth.” Lily shook a bag. “And don’t worry about the eating part. I brought lots of rations here. If need be, I can stay here an entire year.”

“Oh, come on.” Claud rolled his eyes. There was still some noise from the first floor — the little inn had livened up ever since Claud and Lily had brought back the villagers that had intercepted Count Lostfon and the Moons’ convoy — so he held off on that last step.

The din would die away soon.

“Are your clothes comfortable? Is it too warm or too cold?” Lily asked.

“I’m fine as I am. You’re the best pillow I can ask for,” Claud replied, taking slow, steady breaths. His heartbeat continued to slow down with every passing second, and he fixed his eyes on Lily’s worried visage. Ever since his mother passed away, Claud had never expected someone to be this concerned about him, until he met Lily. While he did feel bad about imposing on her love and care, Claud couldn’t help but feel happy that he was loved by someone.

“Lily,” Claud called out.

Her hands, which were busy rubbing his hair, paused. “Yes?”

Claud sat up. Turning around, he held her hands and looked into her eyes. “I love you. I…thank you for everything. You know, I never really expected to have someone care for me ever since I lost my mum, but…you’re the first.”

“Why are you saying all this now?” Lily asked. “You now sound like someone who’s saying their last words and sending off his love for the final time. That’s ominous, alright?”

“I’m just scared that I’ll never get to say that to you,” Claud replied. “Sometimes, I feel that you’re uncertain about me too, so I want to let you know that you’re irreplaceable in my heart. You fill up a void that I never knew existed. You’re important to me. And I’m important to you. Therefore, I will never chase you away. I’ll always care for you, hold you close and protect you. I—”

Lily placed a finger over his lips, her eyes glittering slightly. “I know. But anymore, and you’re going to disturb your mental state. Don’t worry about me. Don’t forget that I’m the person who avenged an entire town by killing her family. I’ll always be here for you.”

Something seemed to fall in place in his heart, and Claud relaxed. “No matter what matters to me, I’ll fight my way back.”

He clenched his fist. “After all, the Trial of Aeons is waiting. And when it starts, I’ll bring you there and we’ll trample our way to eternity.”

“That’s a promise, then.” Lily lowered him back down onto her lap. “Good luck, Claud.”

At those words, a velvety box bounced onto his chest. “Meep! Meep. Meep!”

He looked at the box, and then exchanged glances with Lily.

“Oh, you little lovely fellow.” Lily rubbed Crown’s top. “Where’s Throne? I want you guys to be sleeping on my love tonight. And I’ll hold his sleeping frame and drift off to sleep with him.”

A silvery sphere rolled over a few seconds later, bumping into Crown. The two of them burst out into little meeps of anger and outrage immediately, and they spent the next three minutes bumping into each other until Lily put her foot down.

“Such rowdiness,” Lily murmured.

Her voice, though soft and gentle, carried a warning behind it, and the two squabbling shapes settled down.

“…When we have kids, I’ll have to trouble you to teach me that trick.” Claud rubbed his nose. “That was plenty awesome.”

A hint of red coloured her cheeks. “I-it’s nothing much…anyway, the inn has fallen silent. Now’s a good time.”

Cradling his head, Lily whispered a few words of good luck in his ear, and then kissed him on the lips slowly. Breaking it a few seconds later, she took out a pure-ranked lifestone and offered it to him with two hands.

Claud didn’t say anything about that gesture. While he didn’t need it, this was Lily’s last way of showing her support, and he placed the lifestone into his mouth. Sweet, scintillating life flooded his body, and Crown lit up.

[Your Mana Circuit Superimposition has reached 4.00]

[You have achieved the qualifications to ascend in the hierarchy of life. Second Tutorial has been loaded. Start?]

He looked at the azure screen floating in front of him. Something told him that if he refused, the seething mana within him would dissipate, and part of his fourth mana circuit would wither away. He had the feeling that it would not be a pleasant feeling to behold; it would likely involve a bout of wrenching pain.

Making a mental note to tell Lily about it after he was done, he looked at Lily, whose eyes met his immediately. “I’m starting. Will be back soon.”

Lily nodded. “Good luck, my love.”

“You’ve grown a bit more forward, haven’t you?” Claud smiled. “I like it.”

The smile vanished. “I’ll be in your care, then.”

Claud held her hands one last time, and then released them gently. Raising his arms, he placed his hands together on his chest, trapping Crown and Throne into a small, impromptu enclosure.

“Start.”

His words echoed oddly in the air for a moment, and the world began to swim all around him. Lily’s worried face, the little fellows as they quivered and shivered, the bed they had shared…everything in his eyes began to vanish, crowded out by a pure white light.

[Checking qualifications. Qualification of being alive has been met. Qualification of a calm mind has been met. Qualification of an unperturbed heart has been met. Qualification of having mana circuits has been met. Qualification of having four mana circuits has been met.]

[All qualifications have been met.]

[Initialising Second Tutorial.]

The white world shimmered and glittered as each sentence appeared in his vision, and wind began to whisper. Colours began to appear all around him, eating away at the white light, and Claud took a deep breath. He was conscious, but this body he was in right now wasn’t his.

His mana had vanished, for instance. His hands were far smaller, and a glance was enough to reveal that his frame was that of an undernourished teenager. Before he could confirm his hypothesis, however, golden light flashed through his eyes, and a screen appeared.

[A Bearer of Destiny has been det—]

[Irregularity detected.]

Claud only had three seconds to take in the two screens, before white and black dots washed across his vision. Like a flash flood, the monochrome wave vanished moments later, leaving nothing behind.

A chill ran down his spine a heartbeat later.

[The Omen has descended.]

Claud gazed at the message, and at the box that these words had been written on. He couldn’t discern the colour of the box. Nor could he do the same for the words. He just knew that they existed, just as how air existed. There was no questioning it. He knew that they were there, that this message was there, but he didn’t know how.

It simply existed. Without form or shape, nor colour and size.

As he looked at the message, the white world began to burn. The colours that had been painted on this pure canvas began to run, flowing out chaotically into the false world around him.

“Entropy,” Claud murmured, his lips moving on their own, “has set in.”

All around him, the chaotic, runny world of colours began to solidify.