Green, Red, and white markers appeared everywhere. It had been a while since Dallion relied on those. The sight made him feel nostalgic. In this case, the markers weren’t his, they were Gloria’s. After becoming a Seer, Dallion’s markers were the ones trying to catch up to him.

A green ellipsoid cone emerged starting, from the Moon Echo’s mace arm and continuing along the corridor. It marked the area of attack. With his current speed Dallion could easily evade it even without using combat splitting, but for Gloria, it was a different matter entirely.

Without hesitation, the woman made a series of somersaults, shooting bolts between each flip. As expected, the enemy blocked them with no issue.

Dallion didn’t delay either, letting go of his harpsisword and summoning his whip blade instead.

“Slice him, Gleam,” Dallion whispered as he swung the weapon forward.

The blade extended, breaking up into sharp metal fragments. Noticing the attack, the echo reacted, though far too slowly to put up an adequate defense. While the initial strike was avoided, that only gave enough momentum for Gleam to swing the weapon around and fly back, slicing the echo in two like a ball of hay.

“A single hit would have been enough,” Dallion sighed.

I wanted to make you look a bit impressive, Gleam said.

COMBAT INITIATED

MOON ECHO has increased a level

Two red rectangles appeared in the air.

“What?” Dallion summoned the armadil shield, taking a defensive stance.

Before his very eyes, a new Moon Echo emerged. It was identical to the previous one in every single detail, with one notable exception: its level had gone up.

Interesting, Nil said. I’ve heard theoretical speculation on the topic, but I never thought I’d see it in person. Sometimes, dear boy, you make the most extraordinary things happen.

Tell me what’s happening, Nil. Dallion moved backwards, splitting into instances as he did. That turned out to be a good move, since the Moon Echo rushed forward at full speed, directly doing a multi-attack. Apparently, the Moons weren’t bound by the standard rules and could perform stat specials without even completing a sequence.

You might have triggered the trial, but you’re not the target. Thus, until Gloria defeats the challenge, it won’t be considered a success. The only thing you’re doing is making it more difficult for her.

Great…

Don’t you see how fascinating this is? The Moons have created safeguards to ensure their rules function even in the face of exceptions.

“Gloria, you’ll have to win this,” Dallion shouted. “I can help, but I can’t kill it.”

For a moment, it seemed as if he were acting like a guardian. Maybe this was what they felt? Both the armadil shield and Dallion’s harpsisword were far stronger than him, and yet were forced to watch him struggle against weak enemies while not being able to help out. The fact that they had done so on a few occasions was almost a wonder in itself.

Four more bolts zipped past Dallion aimed at the echo, and once again they were easily deflected.

“What’s wrong?” Gloria asked. “Can’t deal with him?”

“I can, but each time I kill it, it levels up.”

The echo spun the mace, then let it fly at Dallion. Instantly, he split into five instances. Three of them suffered minor damage as a result. Two didn’t.

“At least it’s attacking me. Take advantage of that and—"

Gloria rushed past Dallion. Leaping straight at the echo’s head, she spun mid-air, attempting to kick the echo while also shooting at it from close range. It was a good plan. Unfortunately, the echo had realized exactly what she was doing. Its speed, now slightly faster since it’s level up, was enough to evade the bolts while also hitting Gloria with a series of punches.

Five red rectangles stacked above the woman’s head as she was thrown back. The only reason there weren’t more was Lux, who had pulled her away fast enough to escape the brunt of the attack.

Immediately Dallion jumped between the two, preventing the echo from continuing with its attack. One question came to mind—why was the echo silent? Dallion knew from personal experience that the Moon avatars were quite talkative during trials. Even if they weren’t, thanks to his new stat he was supposed to be able to hear them.

The mace disappeared from the floor, reappearing in the echo’s hand. It didn’t seem to be in the mood for talking.

“Nothing to say?” Dallion asked, adding slowness to his words. Usually, it would take a lot more than a sentence for the music skill to take effect. In this case, Dallion knew straight off that it wouldn’t. The blue thread markers of his voice snapped almost the instant they were created. “I guess you don’t need to.”

“Dal, down!” Gloria shouted behind him.

Using his standard method, Dallion split, leaping both left and right, while also turning around to see what was going on. The instance that turned was instantly pierced by Gloria, who was flying at extreme speeds, the edge of the dartblade held in front of her. The suddenness was enough to startle Dallion, even as he switched to another instance. Fortunately, the Moon Echo was just as surprised. By the time it was able to move, the blade had already gone into its chest.

Gloria’s momentum suddenly stopped. The echo looked at her, then disappeared in a cloud of white particles. Moments later the green rectangle emerged. From his current position, Dallion couldn’t see what was written on it, but he had a pretty good idea.

“I think I’ll—” Gloria said, letting go of her weapons and covering her mouth with both hands.

“Lux can get that effect on people.” Dallion stood up. “Shallow breaths. Give it a while.”

Thanks, all, Dallion said to his familiars. Have fun at the beach.

Unsummoning all but Lux, who was still restoring Gloria’s health, Dallion went to the woman.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“Not sure.”

“It takes getting used to. Also, Lux has a good idea how to gage his speed now. When he was just a chick, he’d be pretty reckless.”

“I bet.” Gloria looked at the entrance. There was nothing blocking the way now. Even the opening had fully transformed into a normal door. However, the big question beyond it remained. “Let’s finish this.”

Straightening up, Gloria went forward. Dallion, however, didn’t.

“Not coming along?” she glanced at him, confused.

“I’ll wait for you here. I think you need to be alone for this.”

“Right.” Holding her head high, Gloria went on. The moment she stepped through the opening, it quickly reverted to the wall it had been before.

Wise move, dear boy. There’s hope for you, yet.

Without warning, Dallion found himself back in the Luor’s hall in the real world.

What happened? Dallion removed his hand from Gloria’s forehead and looked around. I didn’t leave the realm.

It’s her realm, Nil reminded. Her realm, her rules. For the most part.

Only a moment had passed in the real world, yet it was easy to tell that Dallion and Gloria had ventured into the awakening realms. As long as one knew where to look, they would see the moment of stillness, the confusion in their eyes as they looked around, trying to get their bearings, even the sudden tensioning of the muscles. It was as if they had been plucked out of water and left standing in the hall at a moment’s notice.

“Well?” Veil asked, looking at Gloria.

Tears sparkled in the corners of her eyes, then trickled down her face, beyond her control.

“It worked,” she said, standing up slowly.

Words were incapable of describing a better picture, but they didn’t have to. Gloria seemed to beam, as if an inaccessible future had been opened to her. Dallion could feel all the happiness and joy emanate from her like a chorus of bells. There was also a lot coming from him as well. Looking at her knew that he had done the right thing. Maybe this wasn’t enough to fully make up for the past, but it had put his mind at ease.

“Show me.” Veil went up to Dallion.

Dallion placed his hand on Veil’s shoulder and entered the blond’s realm.

Things went much easier this time. Dallion knew what to expect, so he didn’t go through the same mistakes. It also helped that the structure and appearance of Veil’s realm was much closer to Dallion’s. Having just seen that items and familiars didn’t affect the outcome of the trial, as long as it was the correct person who defeated the echo, Dallion lent Veil his armadil shield and Lux. He also offered to act as a distraction to help out, but Veil had adamantly refused; he was an attack focused after all, not to mention it wasn’t in his nature to let others win his victories.

The fight had been faster, but messier. Even before the Moon Echo had broken through, Veil had charged at it as recklessly as a freight train at full speed. His actions had caused him to suffer more than a few wounds, but that hardly mattered, since one hit was enough for the trial to be over.

Thinking about it, Dallion could see the extent to which such trials were in the awakened’s favor. Had this been a serious battle, every sliver of health and every useless action would be punished. When dealing with echoes, there were nearly no consequences. One hit and it was all resolved.

Soon enough, Dallion was back in the real world again. Only this time, exhaustion had set in. Apparently, unsealing required a lot of energy, even if it only showed in the real world.

“Guess I showed you?” Dallion attempted a smile, as Veil stepped away dazzled by what had happened. On the outside, he seemed far more reserved compared to his sister, but his inside emotions were exactly the same.

Congratulations, dear boy. You kept your self-imposed promise to yourself, Nil said.

It would have been nice to gain a level or two, Dallion said. But yes, I’m happy with the result. Now, it’s all up to them.

The same could be said about you. With your mind at ease, maybe you’ll finally be able to break your next barrier.

As much as Dallion hated to admit it, he had been in a sort of slump lately. It was all fine explaining that he was getting used to the wilderness in order to become a hunter, or that he was focusing on his real-world forging experience, but all those were just excuses. There was another reason Dallion had only leveled up a few times in the past few months, and it had nothing to do with his skills or the Star.

“What do you know?” Veil turned to Dallion with the same attitude he’d had before the festival. “You’re not a lost cause.”

“And you’re starting to act far too much like a noble,” Dallion laughed. “What’s next? Local tournaments?”

“Hardly,” Gloria said. “But a theater is possible.”

This wasn’t something Dallion thought he’d hear. While Gloria was in the Nerosal, he had helped her join a troupe, but it had quickly become obvious that she lacked the skills to become anything more than a backstage performer. The only reason she was accepted—other than Dallion’s arrangement with the city underworld—was because of her pure-blonde hair.

“Did Falkner suggest this?”

“No, but he agreed to support it. The only reason I didn’t pursue it was because I knew I wouldn’t have the skills. Now, things are different. As you said, it all depends on me.”

“I know, but…” Dallion struggled with words. “It takes more than one person to open a theater.”

“That’s true. But two can start it.”

“Two?”

“Me and your mother. There isn’t a village in the area unaware of her music skill. As long as I put in the effort I could match it, which will help us establish the first theater in the entire area. Entertainment is power after all, and through it we’ll have the village grow into a town.”

Dallion shook his head. Knowing her grandfather, he should have expected something of the sort. The current generation of Luors weren’t as vicious or spiteful as the old man was. They had put in a lot of effort to raise Dharma’s living standard, and the village itself. People liked them… Dallion liked them, but they had always been born to govern.

“You don’t approve?” Gloria asked, a ring of concern sounding within her.

“It’s not that. I just… I tend to spend most of my time in the wilderness now,” he avoided the answer. “I’m training to become a hunter now.”

“With Eury?”

“Yes, but that’s not the only reason.”

“You just don’t like feeling contained,” Veil said.

The description was good enough to make Dallion nod.

“Your grandfather used to say that at the time. At least if my grandfather is to be believed. And it seems you’re following in his footsteps. When Dherma became too small for you, you went to Nerosal. When the city became too small, you started roaming throughout the wilderness. What happens when the wilderness is too small for you? What then?”

Another good question to which Dallion had no answer. This time, however, he had no intention of even trying.

“It was good seeing you,” Dallion said, turning towards the exit.

“You can stay here as long as you like,” Gloria said, taking a few steps forward.

“Maybe I will sometime.” Dallion walked on, not even looking back. “Say hi to Falkner if you see him.”