He thought of Alary.

It had been a long time since she had occupied his thoughts, yet as his body sat on the edge of the bed, his mind recalled the promise they’d made back in Greenleaf, in what felt like a lifetime ago.

“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.” Her smiling features, the intent in her scarlet eyes… it all ran through his mind in a vivid image. “And when you become one, we’ll go adventuring together!”

At the time, Avaln had been shocked by her enthusiasm and trust, two lights that pierced a hole through the dark clouds plaguing him, obscuring the path he now saw so clearly before him. And the prospect of fulfilling their promise gave him the push he needed to finally leave Gale.

His gaze turned to the dark outside the window of his room, a night with no moon perfect for his plans. His ivory spear laid on the bed, and beside it, was his new knapsack containing his rations and one more thing: the tome titled Monster Smithing, by Fastus Therone. The knapsack and the tome had been given to him by Jeff just yesterday, right after he voiced his intent of leaving Gale the next morning.

The tome, he explained, had all the knowledge a smith needs to become a first ascension artefact crafter, and he stated he had high hopes of him reaching even higher heights, adding that once he did, he should tell everyone whose disciple he was. Avaln chuckled at that, while old Jeff released a hearty laugh before smacking his back and turning around.

“Take care, kid.”

Avaln smiled, out of his memories, and stared at his two possessions, finding that unique value that some things have when you’ve earnt them by your own hand.

Yet those two weren’t the only things he obtained during his time in Gale…

He shook his head. There would be time to reminisce on the way.

His hands worked quickly, enveloping the spear on a cloth, tying it with a strap, then crossed his knapsack around his shoulder and jumped out the window.

The idea was, after all, to leave before morning.

“Going somewhere?” Asked a female voice, one he recognized as grandma Mira’s.

“W-What are you doing here?”

“I asked first.” She stated, not bulging a bit, while her back leaned against the wall right beside his window. It was clear she had been waiting there for a while, which made him curse internally for his lack of caution. He could have used his seventh sense.

“Why ask if you already know the answer?”

She shrugged. “True. You may be a bit unusual, kid. But young men are always the same: they think acting mysterious gives them character.” A knowing smile lifted the corner of her mouth. ”So I knew you’d sneak out in the night.”

Avaln sighed. “I’m just not fond of goodbyes.”

She gave him a side glance. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to stop you. I just want to have a last chat before you go.”

He nodded at this, giving up on his secret plan, and sat on the mark of the window as he leaned the spear against the outside wall. “That, I can do.”

Grandma Mira made an exaggerated bow. “Thank you.” Leaning against the wall again, she threw him something in the dark, which he caught on the fly. “Keep that. It’s a good luck charm.”

Avaln examined it briefly. It was a tiny sack that was closed by a string, and albeit light, it weighed more than what one would expect from something that he could close his hand around. Under his seventh sense, it yielded no mysteries beyond a pale-blue essence, a hue he had never perceived before. He guessed it was a sort of round stone. “Thanks.”

“Did you erase the traps?”

“I did.”

Under the moonless night, they remained silent for a few breaths, their gazes lost in the far swallowing dark of the forest. Then, as if waking him from a dream, Mira asked, “What about Rei?”

Avaln features winced. “What about her?”

“Why not take her with you?”

He released a sigh, then answered, “Why would I take her with me? She is fine here.”

“Why not ask her?”

“Because she may say yes.”

“What would be so wrong with that?” Her voice remained calm, as if having expected the answers she received. “Right now, this village will only bring her pain. Even if it was more than a month ago, and the barrier being up again has drowned it, their loss will resurface again, and she will become the target of their grief.”

Avaln closed his eyes, then pondered his next words for a breath. “She has you to protect her. And old man Jeff.” A part of him felt like a child making excuses.

“She could have you.”

He shook his head. “She wouldn’t.”

“How so?”

Avaln took a deep breath, reminiscing. A little more than a month ago, he was someone who was starting to lose hope, someone whose future had been as uncertain as the night in front of him… yet when his determination finally paid off, it also tempered his resolve, and the weeks he spent in Gale, training, learning… sharpened it.

He realized he wasn’t the same person who left Greenleaf. He wasn’t even the same as yesterday. And so was Rei.

Suddenly, he stopped seeing himself as the child making excuses, and his voice lost all hesitation. “I have a debt to repay. There is a shadow I’m chasing, and I don’t know where it will take me. To bring someone selfishly with me just because I cherish their company… would be irresponsible. Unforgivable.”

“But what if she chooses to go with you?”

Avaln smiled ruefully. “Is it really a choice if a debt is in the way?”

He had saved Rei, and she was determined to repay it tenfold.

Mira nodded, her features hidden in the dark, yet for a reason he couldn’t explain, he felt she looked younger. “Good answer.” Her body stood up straight then, and her hands undusted her clothes. “It has been a pleasure meeting you, Avaln.” She extended her hand, and he took it.

“The pleasure has been mine.” Her hand felt tender, soft, and his fingers found no wrinkle to play with.

Their silhouettes turned in opposite directions then, yet before the distance was too great, he heard her call out to him. “What?”

“That shadow you are chasing… is it only because of a debt?”

Avaln blinked a few times at this, not knowing how to answer… yet after a few breaths, his lips and tongue moved on their own, as if sure of their next word, “No.”

He didn’t release his seventh sense, but could imagine her nodding. “Good luck then.”

Taking a deep breath, cold and refreshing and full of memories and expectations, his steps began to move him forward once again, and what was but a walking pace, speed up all the way to a sprint, his seventh sense swirling and guiding him towards the east side, past the forge, and into the path leading to Greenleaf.

He didn’t mention it to grandma Mira, but there was another reason why he chose to depart during that moonless night…

He did so because that way…

There would be no point in looking back.

“So, he is gone.”

“Indeed.”

“Did he say anything about me?”

“Only that he didn’t want to alter the path of your choice.”

“That sounds like him.”

“No longer ‘Master’?”

“Tonight… I feel like being daring. Even if just a little bit.”

One of the voices chuckled.

“...”

“...”

“We should relocate.” Said the elderly voice.

“Why? It’s not like anyone that matters has seen us.”

“But the villagers won’t see it that way. They may make things difficult for us.”

“Still… “

“I know you don’t like to move around, but we have no other choice. Besides, it is better to be safe than sorry.”

“I know. I know…”

A few breaths of silence.

“He won’t come back.”

The owner of the next words gazed up, to a moon no one else but she could see. “I know.”

“...”

“...”

“We’ll need to prepare first anyway, and it may take a week or so…”

“...”

“Thanks, Mira.”

Her hands acted deftly, fastening every belt, tightening her leather armour around her waist, thighs, arms and chest. Then, unleashing her seventh sense, she examined her sword, Garuda, and winced at the amount of mana left in its green crossguard.

High quality weapons made of monsters had a tiny string of lifeforce, and so their mana would replenish over time. Alary could also use her own wind Essence to speed up that process, yet right now they didn’t have such leisure.

With a sway of her hip, she sheathed the weapon, then turned around and looked at her team. Garry stood at the ready, his hammer wielded by both hands; Gallathorn sat by the fire, cooking the meat they had left before it spoiled, while Harold was sealing as best he could the various cracks on his towershield by filling them with stones. Not a very useful method, yet better than nothing.

“I wish these tasted like strawberries.” A female voice said then, and she recognized it as Alice’s. As she met her figure, she caught sight of an empty bottle on her hand, which must have been the last mana potion they had. “But instead, they taste like… lemonade. Without sugar, nor lemons. Just bitter water.”

Alary smiled then, amazed at how her friend seemed to never run out of humour. “I’ve always wondered what kind of Essence they use to make them.”

Alice shook her head intently, her red and rebel lock playing on her nose. “You don’t want to know, but let’s just say their bitterness is not without cause.”

Alary raised an eyebrow at this, yet made no comment and instead asked, “Ready?”

The spellcaster nodded, then took hold of her staff, which was slightly curved as if made from natural wood instead of carved, and had a white crystal held by small branches on top. Under her command, the crystal began to shine with an orange light, and if Alary focused her sight, she could glimpse some casting symbols circling inside.

“That staff… “She muttered.

“Pretty, right? A gift from my teacher.”

Alary nodded at this, recalling meeting that person during her time at The Tower. All she could really say was that their presence was like seeing a character from a children’s book, about a time where nymphs and fairies still roamed the realm.

She shook her head then, clearing her mind. “Alright everyone!”

Harold and Garry took a few steps forward, while Gallathorn only lifted his gaze from the meat. Given that his weapon was broken, and the spear’s point and his knife was all he had, his only way to contribute was by making sure everyone had something to eat.

“The plan is simple.” Alary stood tall, her shoulders relaxed, her back straight. Her purpose had been decided, and her resolve vibrated in her throat. “Using my power over the wind, I’ll charge straight ahead and make my way outside. As soon as I’ve entered the passageway, Alice will throw a spell to bring the entrance down, blocking it. From there, it will be up to you to deal with the demon boars that may remain inside.”

Harold hit his towershield, Garry adjusted his grip on the hammer, while Alice kept her focus on her active spell.

“As such, I have only one order to give.” Alary turned around, and unsheathed her sword. “Wait for me.”

She didn’t expect an answer, nor did she have anything else to add. Her team trusted her, and all she needed to do was to show she was worth trusting. There, inside a cave at the roots of a mountain, the wind swirled and twisted and billowed, threatening the bonfire, swaying the fire serpent’s form, and defining Alice’s figure against her robe.

“Now!” Alary shouted, and the spellcaster, with a wave of her hand, returned her snake of flame to the symbols that gave it birth, leaving free pass.

The wind howled, and soon Alary’s silhouette became nothing but a blur of blonde and green, her feet brushing the ground with minimum contact, giving the beasts blocking the entrance no time to react before pain flooded their skulls, their eyes losing focus and circling inside their sockets.

Alary wasted no time, and pushing her essence to her limit, urged her sword to summon slashing gales on her way out, her steps now meeting flesh instead of rock, blood now an inevitable consequence in her wake.

All the while, Alice bit her lower lip as she pointed her staff right above the entrance her friend had just disappeared through, its white crystal flaring with power and intent, invoking the image of a primordial flame that swelled and circled and gained mighty momentum…

Once she deigned it was time, Alice turned around in a step and released the fireball as if lunging it at her target, its heat shading her cheeks red, his hair mimicking its colour… and the cave shaking once the attack met its mark, rocking from hooves to hearts.

It took quite a while for the dust to settle, and a few more for Garry and Harold to kill the remaining demon boars, which had been no more than a couple after Alice and Alary’s outbursts. However, they didn’t need to see it with their own eyes, as their seventh sense had already checked that the entrance, in effect, had been sealed by the cave in.

Much to everyone’s comfort, the entire place didn’t come down on their heads either, nor was the passageway blocked. The adventurers couldn’t help feeling awe before the spellcaster’s control over fire.

Alice stared at the burnt rock, her breathing heavy, her hand right over her chest. “May Cirse keep you wise and safe.”

She wasn’t one to worship the gods… yet even she found moments in which their existence was a relief. She didn’t know how long they’d need to wait there, but all she was really worried about was the burden she had just made her friend carry, and hoped that in her hurry, Alary didn’t put herself in danger.

Such were her thoughts during the two days they remained in the dark, wondering what was happening outside, hearing the sporadic squeal from behind the rocks, hoping and waiting. Hoping and waiting…

Yet she never thought she’d see that burnt rock crack so soon.

“Alary?!” She screamed, her throat gnashed before her own shock, as the tender body of her friend rolled towards her.