Avaln put the broom away, wiping his forehead. It had taken him the whole morning, but he had finally managed to clean the entire orphanage.

“Thank you, Avaln.”

He turned to see Arthur’s kind gaze, then dismissed his comment with a wave of his hand. “It’s the least I can do. You keep buying minor heal potions just for me…”

His answer became a sigh. During the past year, their situation had become quite awkward. On the one hand, Arthur could be said to be the closest thing to a father Avaln has ever had, and he truly loved him… but on the other, when he turned sixteen years old, the rules of the orphanage became an obstacle for the two of them. Avaln managed to live with them for another year before he was forced to leave.

Arthur was constantly under the pressure of Lord Hallen, the owner of the place, and when the man was informed of a seventeen years old orphan still living there, even though all children were to leave the place at the age of sixteen and enter someone’s tutelage, he sent a letter threatening with cutting funds if he didn’t expulse Avaln.

And normally, that wouldn’t have been a problem... but no one wanted a disciple with a “sickness” like his. Much less someone whose essence was stuck at the Nascent Essence first stage.

Hence, they arrived at their current situation where Arthur could only “employ” him to clean the orphanage and allow him to live in the makeshift hut in front.

“Forget it.” Arthur shook his head. “Ran will prepare lunch in a bit. I hope you are hungry.”

“Yes. I think I am.”

Arthur smiled, then went inside his room once again.

Avaln erased with his hand the bitterness on his face, counting the number of thoughts neither of them were able to voice in that brief exchange.

It had been a year since the situation with the son of Lord Hallen began. Every few days, he would appear followed by his lackeys, and beat Avaln for no apparent reason…

Sometimes everything would end after just a few punches, but the occasions like the one from last week were happening more and more often, forming a crevice between Avaln and the two people he was closest to: Ran and Arthur. Both were like family to him… yet neither of them could help him, creating an endless and vicious cycle of frustration, depression, and dark thoughts.

And Avaln just wanted to finish the damn book before it was too late. He didn’t even dare to think about what might happen if the last page was empty. Or what he might do.

He cursed his lack of strength, his lack of vision, and couldn’t but wonder if the blue book was just a curse, and the woman who saved him actually sealed his future on a whim...

And even if he did reach the last page… could whatever was written on it actually help him overcome his meagre essence refinement level?

Or, as he had been suspecting for a while now… Was the book the cause of his essence not increasing?

Probably due to such thoughts plaguing his mind, Avaln ended up closing the entrance of the orphanage with a bit too much force.

“Avaln?” A female voice called, a few steps behind him.

He recognized that voice, and like a sudden spring breeze, it cleared the dark clouds haunting him. Even something resembling a smile threatened to curve his mouth.

He turned, and calmly walked towards a blonde young woman who had her hair tied in a ponytail, was wearing leather armor with a sword hanging from her left hip, and held a paper bag between her arms. When about five steps away from her, he bowed and said solemnly, “May the Sun always shine in my lady’s path.”

She rolled her scarlet eyes. “Oh, stop it!” her gaze then set on Avaln’s hut. “Did that brat Hallen… do that?”

Avaln grimaced briefly. Even though he had managed to fix it, it was still quite easy to see it had been patched in various places. “My lady is indeed correct.”

She looked back at him, slightly annoyed. “I thought we agreed you’d call me by name.”

The corners of Avaln’s mouth twitched slightly, then he shrugged and whispered, “I’d do it, but I fear your team may dig a hole through my head if they stare any harder.”

The young woman absentmindedly glanced to the side, gave an understanding nod, then turned towards the three men waiting for her a few steps back: enough to give her privacy, but close enough to catch a bit what they might be talking about.

“Wait for me at the entrance. Alice should be there already.” She ordered with a sudden change of tone.

The three men didn’t move.

“But leader... “ Began to say one who seemed to be the most reliable.

“No buts, Harold. I’ll be there briefly. Gallathorn, prepare the horses in the meantime. Garry, inform the guard we’ll be departing.” She cut him short, then quickly glanced at the other two men.

After one or two breaths of hesitation, the trio finally moved. They passed right by them while trying to dig a hole through Avaln’s head with their stares. Luckily for him, they failed.

Once they turned a corner and left their field of view, the young woman cast her scarlet, bright eyes on Avaln once again, as if expecting something.

Avaln scratched his cheek, embarrassed, and said, “Hello, Alary.”

Her expression flourished into a happy smile, then she offered her paper bag to him. “Good! Now choose one. You’ve earned it.”

Avaln’s brow furrowed. “What am I? A pet in training?”

She showed a confused look.

“You don’t want any?” Her hands swiftly opened it, causing a rich smell of recently baked bread to spread in front of Avaln’s nose. “If so I guess it was too presumptuous of me to think you’d like to share them with me… “

Avaln’s appetite growled inside his stomach, forcing him to reach for one of the two loaves inside.

“Good boy!” Alary teased, at which he couldn’t but chuckle.

They took a few bites while sitting by the fence.

The bread was slightly hot, and seemed to have some extra butter added to it.

A warmth spread throughout Avaln’s chest, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Tasty, right?” said Alary with her mouth half-full.

“You’ve tried another baker this time?” He inquired, ending the phrase in a question.

She nodded, happy he noticed. Avaln was one of the few people in the city who treated her like a friend, without pretensions or ulterior motives. In fact, when they met for the first time a few months back, he really didn’t know who she was even after she told him her full name, which was an incredibly refreshing experience for her.

Where had he been living all these years? Under a rock? She thought back then.

That was one of the reasons why these brief exchanges were so precious for her. However, as she harbored such thoughts, her gaze inevitably arrived at the mistreated hut in front of them.

“I’m sorry…” She couldn’t help but mutter.

“What about?” He asked, oblivious to her internal struggles… albeit it didn’t take him long to guess an answer.

“I know the situation you are going through, but even though I asked my father for advice, I’ve been unable to do anything about it…” Her gaze fell to the ground.

Avaln shook his head. “There is nothing for you to feel sorry about.”

“But... AAAHG!” She let out an exasperated cry and began punching the air. “If only I could just beat his face against a wall and be done with it!”

Avaln laughed lightly.

“But you can’t. Lord Hallen is probably just looking for an excuse to strip your father of more of his power. And you beating his son half to death is definitely something he’d toast for. I’d join that toast for completely different reasons though.” He finished with a smile, and took another bite.

“You think I don’t know that?” She sighed, then released a chuckle after processing what he had said at the end.

They silently munched for a few breaths, the laughter of children echoing on the background.

Alary then opened her eyes, shining with an idea. “Why don’t you join my guild? Hallen would definitely not dare treat a Greenleaf member like this.”

However, right after she said it, her face sank.

Avaln looked at her, awkwardly. “If I could do that, I wouldn’t even need to be a member, I could just trash him around myself. Given his pride, I doubt he’d report to his father that a “beggar” sent him crying back to his mother’s lap.”

Alary nodded, already aware of how naive her idea had sounded. Not only what Avaln said was right, but with his sickness, not even a minor guild would accept him. It was not impossible to admit a person with his Essence level, much less with her influence, as guilds always needed hands to manage paperwork and other logistic tasks, but no one wanted an employee who could pass out at any moment…

A sickness that affected the soul. Such was the description she heard from Miss Lizbell herself when she had inquired about it. It seemed not only he could pass out every few hours of being awake, but his Essence refinement would never rise.

Of course, she was not aware that Avaln would lose consciousness due to him trying to reach the last page of the blue book, which was not random but completely up to him. He had not told her anything because it was too bizarre to believe, and even if she were willing to trust him, he had no way to prove the existence of the blue book, for no one except him could perceive it.

Avaln stared at the bread he held in his hand, with a bright yearning burning in his eyes. “I wish I could become an adventurer though…”

But how could he? Right now, his future was as uncertain as a drunk’s aim. And even if he were to somehow finish the book, he still needed to find a way to refine his essence without dying in the process…

For the only way to do so would be by killing monsters. Yet he was too weak to do so, and there were more variables at play than his strength alone.

“It’s a promise then!” Alary proclaimed then, to his shock.

“Uh?” His mouth betrayed his disbelief, his thoughts cut in half.

“I know you have it in you. That’s what my gut tells me… and it has carried me so far, so I’ve learnt to trust it.” She explained with a smile, as she saved her bread in the paper bag and stood up. “And when you become one, we’ll go adventuring together!”

Avaln was dumbfounded.

Where did she find such confidence?

Right now, she exuded a light which almost hurt him.

“You’ve got bread crumbs on your beard, by the way.” She added, signalling to her chin. “I should go, or else Harold is gonna give me an earful. He is probably already rehearsing in his head.”

He immediately cleaned himself, still dumbfounded. Alary turned to leave, but before she took a step, she glanced back. “You should shave. You’d probably be quite handsome if you did. Who knows, you might even enchant a rich mistress who can pull you out of this mess!”

Avaln furrowed his brow at her upon hearing this, only to see her sticking her tongue out. Alary said goodbye then, and departed in a hurry.

All he managed to do was to watch her leave, while trying to calm his heart.

“Lunch is ready!” He heard Ran cry out from behind, with great timing. Avaln wondered if she had been watching them this whole time, but he quickly dismissed the idea as him being overly conscious every time Alary stopped by.

He looked at the bread, stripped it from the parts he had bitten in, and headed inside the orphanage with a subtle spring in his step.

“Let me go!” a ragged voice screamed.

“Calm down, you old drunk!” A man cried back, holding an elderly man by his arms. “They are gone!”

The elderly man, upon hearing this, dropped his gaze to the ground and stopped resisting. Once he no longer was restrained, he fell on his knees, defeated.

“Those fools…” He muttered, covering his face in frustration.

The man who had been restraining him also wore a painful expression, aware of his own impotence.

In front of him laid the outskirts of a forest, at the bottom of a massive mountain they knew as the Demon Boar Mountain range.

“Uncle Robert… “ A little girl called out behind him. The voice was referring to the old man.

She was his daughter, and had celebrated her fifth birthday not long ago.

“We sent a quest to the Greenleaf guild… why would they… ?” The old man pondered out loud, with a weak tone. “Why haven’t they dispatched adventurers already?”

Suddenly, a woman came running. Her clothes were untidy, as if she had dressed in a hurry in the middle of the night.

“Dear?” She called, but the man showed no sign of having noticed her. “Garon? Garon! What happened? Where is Rei?”

The woman’s expression went from shock to sadness as soon as she saw his expression.

“Rei and the others went inside the forest... “ He explained, his fists clenched white. “I told them it was too dangerous... We told them to wait for the adventurers to come... “

A couple of tears escaped his eyes.

“But they robbed the armory and… “

The woman covered her mouth in shock. Her body moved on its own, and her husband caught her before she could make the same mistake.

“What possessed them to do such a foolish thing... ?” She muttered, suddenly losing her strength.

Behind them, a road sign had a name carved.

Gale.

That evening, Avaln sat cross-legged inside his hut. The blue book was in his hands, but he hadn’t opened it yet… in fact, he had been stuck in that position for quite a while.

For the first time in ten years, he hesitated to do so.

Why? Why couldn’t he just finish it?

That day marked the fifth month since he had last been able to turn a new page. In that time, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he struggled and willed himself awake despite the slicing headache he’d suffer in doing so, he had not been able to get past the three pages left.

He couldn’t help but wonder if that was his limit.

A cold drop of sweat ran down his face, as he felt like the whole world came down on his shoulders.

“Am I afraid?” He realized. His hands were trembling, and the book slipped from his fingers and hit the ground with a dull sound.

He had so many things to solve. So many things that were chasing him because of his obsession. And as long as he remained powerless, he’d only be used by Lord Hallen’s son, and that bastard would eventually catch his friend Ran...

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the nightmarish possibilities haunting him.

What if...

What if he could never finish the book?

What if...

What if he had wasted ten years of his life, crippling himself in the process?

What if…

What if the truth was something he couldn’t handle?

What if…

“Finish it, and you might have a chance.”

The world was vast. So vast, he may never see his saviour again.

And by her words, the blue book only represented a small, tiny chance in the ocean of possibilities currently threatening to drown him.

It was then that he wondered…

Did she ever feel like him at that moment?

Avaln knew the answer even before finishing the question.

No one gets that strong without pain.

He recalled the events of that night, years ago. Her figure against the chaos and the flames, dancing amidst hostility, dirt and blood. He recalled the grace and cruelty she wielded with an almost fearful naturality…

His heart began to pound against his chest, his eyes darted from place to place, in complete trance.

She was beautiful.

He hated himself for being unable to find a more accurate word to describe her, and wondered if maybe the fault was in the people who hardly ever used the word with true meaning.

A light laugh escaped his lips, suddenly noticing something as his mental odyssey stopped at a certain moment, when his saviour first glanced at him…

Her eyes were of a deep scarlet colour, much like Alary’s.

He doubted there was any real connection, and the feelings they evoked in him were completely different, but he couldn't help but play with the thought.

He smiled. His hands were no longer shaking.

He had actually forgotten about it. His obsession had never been to finish the book. Not really.

All he had ever wanted was to see that scene again… but by her side. To dance in that same chaos, gaze at the same enemy and strike together.

All his fears were dispelled once he thought of this.

He’d find a way to see her again, as surely as the Sun rising the next morning.

And the book… if he was not able to finish it tonight, he’d leave it aside.

He’d find a way.

Once he found his resolve, he felt a change, a threshold of sorts loosening. The only reason he recognized it was because he had felt such a change before...

Could it be?

He quickly grabbed the book and opened it. His eyes darted through the pages at first, then by the half mark, they felt heavier…

It wasn’t until he reached the last ten that each of them became a struggle.

And once there were three left, a headache was already running rampant inside his skull, like a tiger trying to break free. But even so, he managed to turn one more page.

And another.

But the last one proved to be a tough challenge. His consciousness began to slip through his fingers like grains of sand as he tried to grab the next page, willing himself to move…

But his vision became hazy, and soon a familiar curtain of darkness enveloped him.

However...

He bit his lower lip bloody.

The sharp pain jolted him awake for a brief breath...

That night, after a long and painful struggle that threatened to split his skull apart, his eyes were finally able to catch a glimpse of the last page.

As he did so, his mouth widened into a mad smile.

For, as he suspected, there was nothing written on it.

Next, he finally let go, and forgot about the world.