Roah sat on his soft, luxurious bed, thinking about everything that happened.

His face still hurt (it was probably going to swell by the next morning), but he had other things to worry about right now. Seriously, what just happened? He still couldn’t wrap his head around it. During the entire strategy meeting Aisbroom had sought to bring Roah down and disparage each and every suggestion of his; that much was clear. Yet just now they appeared—having followed not far behind Roah, apparently—to make an offer to Gen of all people?

That was just too bizarre. It couldn’t possibly be that Aisbroom only respected physical power or some foolish rationale like that. No, Aisbroom seemed to be cautious and calculated, as evidenced even by the fact they’d concealed their knowledge of the language.

Then why? What did Gen possess that Roah lacked?

He knew he was being silly. He had no reason to be jealous of him. Roah wasn’t a fighter. He could perhaps channel slightly better than Gen, but he was much weaker in all other aspects. Perhaps it was the fact that Roah worked so hard, gambled on conclusion after hypothesis to try and gain some traction while Gen managed to do so without even trying, that irked him so much.

Yes, that sounded more logical. It was perfectly reasonable to be frustrated over that. Roah took a deep breath, focusing his thoughts. As long as he was calm and rational, he would figure out what to do next.

His thoughts were cut short by a knocking sound coming from his door. It was already dark, so who’d come to visit him at such an hour? Surely Gen wouldn’t come for a round two. Curious, he got off the bed and opened the door, revealing Niu standing there.

As soon as he opened the door, she flashed a smile and held up her small slate. Good evening. Can you help me with something?

Roah raised a brow; Niu never came to him like this. At times they studied for tests together, but Gen would usually veto that. What a strange day this was turning into.

“What is it?” he asked her. He was genuinely interested, but perhaps he sounded slightly annoyed. Niu didn’t seem affected by this regardless.

She took back the slate, wiped it clean and wrote again. Even such small conversations with Niu were often time-consuming, but he didn’t mind it in the least. She was much better than someone like Gen, who would blurt out everything he thought. Roah waited patiently until she finished writing and showed him again.

First, something unrelated. What happened to your face?

Ah, so it really was visible. If Gen hadn’t told her, though, he wasn’t going to either. “Just bumped against something,” he said vaguely, shrugging. A lousy excuse, he knew. Niu frowned, but apparently decided to not pry any further and wrote something else entirely.

There's something I’d like to check outside. Could you come with me to the veranda?

Outside… meaning in Kalden? The fact she’d come to him for help meant she was probably relying on his compensation. If so, it was probably something on the ground or on some neighboring tree, but what could it be? As this served to take his mind off his worries for a while and made him curious to boot, he decided to go along with her.

“Sure,” he said. He thought about asking her what she wanted to check, but it would probably be faster to just go there and find out.

With Roah hoping they didn’t bump into Gen en route to the veranda, they made their way through the long corridors, turning right near the dining room and opening the double doors that led outside.

It was a wide, circular structure installed jutting out of the trunk of the tree. A chilly wind immediately hit Roah’s face, making him cringe for a second. The veranda was empty except for the both of them, and was littered with enormous leaves. They were very high above ground, but the veranda was actually located right above a platform connected to one of the staircases spiraling around the tree.

It was dark, but there was enough visibility due to the lights of the many other trees surrounding them in all directions. They were mostly the watch towers who used some kind of lighting system—not torches, most likely, as the residents of Kalden seemed to hesitate to use fire; Roah assumed it was either some sort of plant life, like the mushrooms in the underground base, or else channeling.

Roah had yet to get used to this view. He was not much for appreciating art, yet had to admit it was a beautiful city, especially when viewed from this height. Meanwhile, Niu wrote him another message.

Can you see the sky?

He raised his head. Since they were located in the mid-high section of the palace, the many branches and abundant leaves blocked almost all of the view, yet not all of it. This veranda was purposely located in a spot with a small gap allowing one to view the night sky.

“Yeah,” he answered curtly. The sky? Was that all she wanted? For a few brief moments he wondered if she him to check on Plainland, but they weren’t in the right angle for that. Or did Niu not realize this? Besides, even his powers wouldn’t be enough to actually see the surface on their old world. However, she asked him for something different.

Can you see any shining lights out there in space?

Now Roah was confused. What shining lights could she be talking about? For now he didn’t question her and merely focused his lone eye on the great darkness above.

According to Mr. Saburn, this ability of his, much like Gen’s, was a form of channeling. In his case it probably involved the channels of light and communication, the teacher had said. By focusing, Roah could sharpen the eyesight of his lone eye far beyond the limits of any normal person.

However, space was the land of eternal darkness. It was known, or at least estimated, that the three Lands were surrounded by empty space and nothing more. No matter how much Roah focused he couldn’t see anything else.

“I don’t see anything, sorry,” he finally announced. Niu’s smile somewhat slackened. She gazed up herself, as if she wanted to try seeing something he couldn’t. “What were you expecting me to find?”

Niu stopped, looking at his face, and smiled apologetically. She then wrote again.

No, maybe it was my mistake. I’m sorry for taking your time. Good night.

Then, without even bothering to make sure that he finished reading, Niu simply turned on her heels and fled, leaving the confused Roah behind. He reached out his hand in vain, but then lowered it. He saw no real need to follow or call out to her.

As always, I can’t seem to figure her out, he thought gloomily. Oh well. That’s how it’s supposed to be.

He gazed at the sky once again, as if it would help him gain some new insight. But there was nothing at all. Niu searched for something in the darkness of space—but what could that mean? Being in space meant being in the boundary between worlds. Which they themselves managed to somehow overcome. And just like…

The wave? He thought with a start. Yes, that would explain it. The fairies claimed to know when the attack was coming, so there had to be some way to see or anticipate it. That was probably Niu’s goal, then.

Left alone, Roah spent longer than he expected simply staring at the sky and thinking.

Gen yawned as he took unsteady steps down the stairs leading to a wide, open space covered in green and brown. The green was that of grass, verdant as in the rest of Kalden or even the entirety of Fairland, and the brown was the bald patches of earth here and there, with one relatively large area of plain ground surrounded by a fence. Aisbroom was leaning on that fence, surveying the boy. As always, the clash of the pure white and many colors of Aisbroom’s getup clashed even harder with their surroundings.

Also, the fairy commander’s eyes were cold, yet they still wore that same bizarre smile as when they had invited Gen there in the first place. Gen wasn’t sure what this smile meant; it didn’t look like a derisive sneer, but neither was it a warm, welcoming grin. If it was an act then it was perhaps a good act, but a confusing one.

“You are late,” Aisbroom accused while still wearing that smile.

Gen scowled. “Sorry for not being familiar with this area.”

It had been less than an hour ago when Gen had been woken up rather violently by fairy envoys. When Aisbroom had told him that he would be picked up come morning, he hadn’t quite expected it to refer to the literal sunrise. Even now the sun’s rays barely even reached Kalden, only slightly poking from between the treetops. Not to mention his body still ached from the last remains of the grievous injury he’d received quite recently.

Gen had been led out of the palace, down a few floors and then to a neighboring tree—or rather a neighboring stump. However, seeing the size of the trees in this world, even this hollowed-out remnant was about as large as Gen’s home. He was left alone by the stairs, finally coming down to meet Aisbroom.

“Just remember it for the next time.”

“…Sure. What is this place? Some sort of training ground?” Gen mumbled, looking around. It was much too spacious and empty for the both of them, yet there was no one else there. Not even guards or anything like they were used to. Aisbroom detached from the fence and took a few steps forward.

“Yes. I want to see what you’re capable of.”

“Why?” asked Gen.

Now the pair—boy and fairy—stood face to face. Gen was taller than average for his age and Aisbroom seemed about average, so they were almost exactly the same height. They were wildly different in every other way, but at least in this they were the same.

“To see how useful you are, of course,” Aisbroom answered nonchalantly, still smiling. “Not much time is left until the next attack. I have to make sure you’re strong enough.”

“We’re getting out of here, you know,” said Gen, “even if we help you, it will only be temporary. Then why test me? Why train me? In fact, it would be more beneficial for you to let us all die.”

“Let you all die? Don’t be silly. You are all precious faeries from the world of light. There are legends, you know? Legends that you will save us from the darkness.”

Gen furrowed his brows. He didn’t expect Aisbroom to start spouting such nonsense about legends. With no offense to Niu, he felt these sorts of things were just childish ideals. As long as they served for entertainment it was fine, but referring to them so seriously? Then again, he couldn’t really tell if Aisbroom was serious at all.

“Anyway, getting you over to the other side will not be easy. We currently have no such means. You barely understand how you got here yourselves, right?” asked Aisbroom. “In the meanwhile, there will definitely be more attacks. So I will make sure you will survive.”

Meaning, it was a long-term investment. While Gen didn’t have much interest in economics and the like—honestly, despite his parents’ vocation, most of their children ended up as the brawnier sort—he could still understand such concepts. He decided he would accept that explanation, for now.

“So… how about you show me some of your magic?” said Aisbroom.

“Magic?” blurted Gen without thinking. “Oh, that’s what you call channeling, right. Well, I already told you I’m pretty bad at it—”

“Never mind that. Show me,” Aisbroom interjected.

“Err, fine,” Gen mumbled then looked around. “I need some sort of medium, though. Or something to write with.”

“Hmm, so you faeries require runes as well, then. Would writing on the ground be enough?”

Gen scowled and answered, “Just barely, but it’ll be even harder.”

“Well, try it anyway. It does not matter for our purposes right now.”

Still not quite sure what to think about the whole business, Gen got on his knees and stuck the fingers of his left hand into the ground. This wasn’t conventional at all, but they had undergone a lesson of this sort under Mr. Saburn. Gen obviously wasn’t going to use the channel of heat like that idiot Roah, but he could do other things.

He started with the channel of water. Aisbroom watched in interest as a trickle of liquid bubbled on the hard ground, soon vanishing.

“Interesting. How about another one?”

Following Aisbroom’s command, Gen tried the channels of light and of air next. The former’s glow barely lasted for a second, and the second just caused Gen’s face to be covered in particles of dirt.

“I see… so that is what you can do,” Aisbroom said. Gen was starting to get really sick of their plastered smile when they spoke like that. Suddenly, Aisbroom plucked a flower with deep-blue petals from their sleeve, directing it toward the ground. The next instant, a clear, strong stream of water erupted from the flower’s exact center, splashing on the ground.

Gen widened his eyes in confusion; how had Aisbroom accomplished such powerful channeling without using any icon? Was it somehow related to the flower?

Next, Aisbroom rotated their arm to reveal a white flower with long petals on their wrist. Immediately it started glowing with such blinding light that Gen had to cover his eyes. When he opened them again, Aisbroom readied yet another flower—adorned in yellow and blue—that let out a gust of wind.

“Would you be able to do this with a proper medium?” Aisbroom asked him after the demonstration.

“Are you kidding me?” the boy asked angrily. “Not even close. How do you even do that? What are these flowers?”

“These function like runes,” Aisbroom explained, stretching their arms as if to show the vast collection attached to their sleeves. They didn’t have just flowers, either; there were vines, leaves and some mushrooms as well. “Each of them produces—or allows me to produce—a different effect of magic.”

So it really was like icons after all. It made sense, after a bit of thought. One could say that flowers were too different from one another to function like the highly systemized icons, but then again, even icons were written slightly differently by different people. Gen could only assume that it was an amazing accomplishment.

“Wow… I hope you’re not trying to teach me that. I’ll never be able to do that.”

For the first time, Aisbroom’s smile vanished for a moment. Had Gen said something he shouldn’t have? Regardless, Aisbroom smiled again and said, “Of course not. This is the secret of my family, passed through many generations… and I am the only one able to use it to this extent either way.”

Gen now recalled another fact—he had wondered before if this Aisbroom person was to the fairies what Molton was to him; meaning, an elite soldier worthy of admiration. According to the demonstration and Aisbroom’s explanation, and of course previous talks with Seele, that was probably the case. If they could use channeling to this extent so casually, then they were definitely top-tier.

He still wasn’t planning on submitting to the fairies like Roah did, but he also couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Then what do you want me to do?” Gen asked.

“First I want to understand your strengths,” Aisbroom explained. “Let us keep going. Show me all the channels you can muster.”

“…So that fairy really took him,” mumbled Roah, biting his lips.

He spent so much time gazing at the sky last night that he overslept—not that he had anything to attend to, since the next strategy meeting had not been set yet. Still, he had to be awoken for breakfast, where he soon realized Gen wasn’t around. Seele had answered his question about the other boy just moments ago.

“I hope it’s alright,” said Shaya, not touching her food. Niu poked her arm to get her attention and then nodded and smiled, as if saying Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.

“He’s actually training with Aisbroom… I wish I could too,” Seele said, sighing. “Not that I can even fight, but still.”

“How is he… they anyway?” asked Shaya. “Aisbroom, I mean. You worked under them, right?”

Seele immediately cheered up. “Oh, Aisbroom’s amazing! He’s not only the strongest but he even learned the faerie language the fastest. After all he was the—ah, never mind, anyway, he can do anything.”

They had already questioned Seele about this, but apparently in their study of Plainland’s language they still couldn’t wrap their heads around the concept of gender, especially since their communication with “faeries” was in so limited of a fashion. As consequence, they simply defaulted to male pronouns. They apparently didn’t have this difficulty in their native tongue.

“I’m still worried about Gen, though,” said Shaya. “I just hope he’s not going to fight…”

“Yes, this whole training business is rather strange,” added Roah.

Seele’s smile slackened. “Well, I don’t think you need to worry, but… maybe we expect you all to do something.”

Niu pointed at herself and at the others, tilting her head. Us?

“Never mind that stupid muscle head, but none of us are fighters," said Roah.

“Yes, but still…” Seele paused, unsure whether to continue. “There are, ah, legends. Other people are going to expect some things from you.”

“Legends?” asked Roah. That was the first he’d heard about it. Although it was possible, and extremely likely, that the many fairies around them have discussed it around them while they couldn’t understand. Yes, that explained many things.

Tell us about those legends, please! Niu wrote excitedly.

Seele still seemed to be hesitating, but finally gave up. “Well, I don’t really remember all the stories, and there are much versions of it, but well… your Gods put us in this world, right? So they say that one day, the faeries will come here too in order to save us. To bring us back,” Seele explained.

Roah’s eye widened. “I see. So that’s why…”

“B-but then,” said Shaya, “wouldn’t you want to connect with our world as soon as possible?”

“It’s not that simple,” said Seele, shaking their head. “Not all believes. Most of Kalden does, I think. But… the Ruler doesn’t.” they then glanced around as if afraid Acrus themselves could hear their words. “It’s a bit complicated.”

Meanwhile, Roah thought of something else. “About these legends of yours… do they mention those monsters?”

“No. Some say we will fight the Gods, but I don’t know any legend about those things falling from the sky. I think that also makes it more complicated.”

Do you believe the legends? Niu asked.

“Haa… that’s hard. I really don’t know. Even if they’re real, they’re still just legends… we need to work to make them true,” Seele said, a warm smile once more blooming on their face. “But I’m glad I met you all, legends or no.”

The girls seemed happy at this response, but Roah zoned out. He needed to find out more about those so-called legends, but he also started pondering on how to use them. If most of Kalden believed them, it could be used as a very powerful weapon indeed.

Roah could see his ideal shining in the distance—but knew not how to grasp it yet.

Movement, weight, metal, growth, and even some heat at the end—Gen used everything that he learned. According to Mr. Saburn there were theoretically other channels, but either the knowledge about them had been lost to the sands of time or they were difficult to access, so only the basic eight were currently being taught.

Naturally, Gen wasn’t proficient in any of them, but he simply followed Aisbroom’s instructions to demonstrate his usage of the Eight Channels. After each one Aisbroom plucked a flower from their suit to produce the same effect. Gen wasn’t sure what they meant to convey by this; was Aisbroom merely showing off or trying to compare their abilities? Either way, coupled with Aisbroom’s mysterious smile it made him pretty pissed off.

“And that’s it,” Gen finally said, “unless you fairies have another channel we don’t know of, that’s everything.”

“No, those are also all the elements to our knowledge. Well, they say the Gods have hundreds of them… but never mind that. It appears that you are weak at magic just like you said.”

“…Then was there a need for me to do all this, or did you just enjoy watching me humiliate myself?” spat Gen. He rubbed his dirty fingers, letting crumbs of dirt fall off to the ground. He wasn’t sure if it would be rude to wipe his hand on his pants.

“Relax,” was all that Aisbroom offered on the matter. “Let us move on. I have heard that you can do something else.” Their eyes moved downward and to the left, the sort of look that Gen knew very well. “Regardless of the strength of your magic, you are still like me.”

“Like you?” asked Gen, confused. “Do you mean you’re also…?”

As far as Gen could see Aisbroom had two pairs of limbs, eyes, ears, and all their senses seemed to be in working order. Did Gen simply misunderstand them, or was it something rarer and unseen?

Aisbroom, however, offered no explanation. “Here, we are called something like… the missing. Those who have something missing. Is ‘lack’ the right word? It does not translate very well, but you surely understand what I mean. What can you do, then?”

Missing—was an awkward yet perhaps strangely apt way of putting it. He wasn’t sure if it was better or worse than being called a “defect” like back in Plainland. Shaking off these thoughts, Gen focused and operated his invisible arm; in comparison to his channeling, Gen could do this instantaneously and effortlessly, pretty much the only benefit of his condition. His right arm dug out a hefty piece of ground and threw it away.

“Aha, now that is quite something,” Aisbroom said, sounding pleased. “So this is your… compensation, is that the word? Good. As I thought, someone like you would have a compensation based on force magic. Movement, you called it before?”

Gen’s brows lowered together at these last words. “I… what? Movement? But this isn’t channeling…”

“It is not magic as it is usually used, no. But the basics are the same. As instinctual as that action is to you, surely you understand it uses the same methods?”

The same methods? Gen wasn’t sure about it. He could form an arm made of, well, nothing. It was force without a form. In that sense, perhaps it really was somehow related to the channel of movement? Or “force”, as the fairies called it?

Ah, right. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure that Mr. Saburn also mentioned something of the sort before. Too bad he couldn’t ask him about it right now.

“I didn’t really think about it like that,” Gen finally mumbled.

“Then start to, right now. That will be the basis of everything,” said Aisbroom. The basis of what, exactly? Their training? Gen was starting to get somewhat intrigued. “Now, go run a few rounds.”

“…What?” Gen was baffled.

“Was I not clear?” asked Aisbroom, their voice impatient. “Start running. Around this fence right here. Go. Now!”

“I hate Aisbroom…” Gen mumbled listlessly, lying on his back on the bed. At least in the palace guesthouse the beds were made of something resembling cotton, so they weren’t as itchy as the grassy beds they’d used before.

“Did they go that hard on you?” asked Shaya worriedly. It was already late afternoon; Gen had just returned to his room and practically collapsed on his bed, causing the others to follow and question him. “Not to mention you’re not fully healed yet…”

“There’s that, too, but I’m fine, I think. Those herbs—which tasted horrible, by the way, not that I’m complaining—did their job well. Nah, it’s just that Aisbroom made me run around the whole stupid training grounds again and again. I thought they were going to train me on using my arm…”

“So now you’re the one fraternizing with the fairies, huh?” asked Roah from the room’s corner, sounding clearly smug.

Despite his apparent fatigue, he felt like he couldn’t let the other’s boy comment fully pass. “Unlike you, I didn’t choose it. Also, how does me being tortured count as ‘fraternizing’?”

Shaya giggled and Niu smiled. The two boys didn’t find this amusing, of course, but for the girls this was the sort of banter that they’d grown used to. As long as it was just talking and not fighting.

“And they want me to do it tomorrow as well,” Gen kept complaining. “Crap.”

You can do it, Gen! We believe in you, Niu wrote cheerfully.

“Yeah, thanks,” he replied to that, smiling somewhat wryly.

Why was it that always at times like these, time began to pass much faster than normal? The remaining days until the wave went frighteningly fast. Gen spent some hours of every day under Aisbroom’s tutelage, complaining to the girls about it every time, while Roah came to a few more strategy meetings. Despite his complaints Gen seemed to be doing well, while for Roah it was apparently the complete opposite.

And throughout all this there was one person suffering quietly. She would spend much time on the balcony at night, looking at the dark skies in search for a sign. Even Niu herself didn’t know why; it wasn’t like it would change anything. The fairies surely knew of this already, though she hadn’t mustered up the courage to ask Seele about it.

Yet her heart ached. If, on that day, she’d realized something was wrong, would have anything changed? Surely not—no one in their wildest dreams would think that lights in the sky were the omen of an incoming monster invasion. Then why did she feel so guilty?

Perhaps it was actually due to her incompetence. She never thought of herself as truly capable, but lately she came to be aware of just how worthless she was. She could write and draw well… so what? Such skills made no difference in their current situation. When she’d been attacked by the monster for the first time, she couldn’t do anything. When she and her friends were attacked by the Stroba, she couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t protect either herself or those she cared about.

Was she right to blame herself for it? She obviously wasn’t a warrior. She hadn’t Gen’s power or Roah’s smarts. Yes, Shaya was also in a comparable situation, but at least she was normal. It hurt Niu to think like that when her friends and people like Saburn taught her to embrace her uniqueness, but it was true; she was abnormal. Despite her lack she could only channel decently and had no compensation.

Niu bit her lips hard. She knew she’d end up thinking like that, but she couldn’t allow herself to cry. Not right here, at least. Not where people might see her, even if it was unlikely. She could do it in her room, but it was better to just take a deep breath, stop thinking and go to sleep.

Calming down a bit, Niu turned around intending to do just that. She returned to the wide corridor lit by glowing flowers hanging from the ceilings and headed for her room. But when she passed next to one of the doors, she could hear voices.

“…this forever.”

“No!”

The first voice was somewhat muffled, but Niu was sure that the second one belonged to Shaya. It came from the girl’s room, anyway. Niu’s heart started beating fast; she had a bad feeling about this.

“Then what’re you going to do? Just stand there and hope that—” this time Niu could clearly identify Roah’s voice.

“Enough!” Shaya begged.

Hearing this, Niu couldn’t bear it any longer. She simply reached for the door handle and swung it open. Both girl and boy froze in place, turning their gazes toward her. Shaya was sitting on the bed, a mix of worry and surprise on her face, while Roah stood nearby, frowning.

Niu glared at Roah as if to say, what in the name of the Gods is going on here?

Roah clicked his tongue and started simply walking away, offering no explanation. However, Niu grabbed his arm, still glaring at him.

“It’s… it’s fine, Niu,” Shaya said weakly, looking at an empty space of the room. “It was nothing, really.”

Niu was still unconvinced. “I’m sorry,” mumbled Roah, also averting his gaze. It didn’t sound like a genuine apology to her, and they didn’t even explain what happened, but she let go of his arm. Without missing a beat, he marched out of the room.

Niu hesitated but went to sit next to Shaya. What happened? She hurriedly wrote on her slate.

“I told you, it’s nothing.”

Niu shook her head decisively. She’d clearly heard the distress in Shaya’s voice and Roah’s insistence. At times he was cold and hurt people, whether on purpose or not. But for now she focused on her friend; she could reprimand the boy later.

And so she pointed at her written sentence again.

Shaya shook her head once but then started to stammer. “It’s… I… he was just blaming me for not trying to do not anything,” she finally explained. Niu lightly bit her lips but waited for her to keep speaking. “He said that I’m… I feel so useless, you know?”

Yes, Niu knew. She knew that feeling well. However, there was no reason for Shaya to feel that way; of course she wouldn’t be able to do anything in this situation. What did Roah want of her? She was just a normal girl swept into something completely incomprehensible. Monsters, fairies, fighting… none of this had anything to do with her. Niu was about to write something of the sort until Shaya spoke again.

“That’s why I… really admire you,” she said. “I don’t know how you can stay calm and proper with this sense of powerlessness… and all this fear.”

Niu’s hand froze. Was that actually what Shaya felt? Did she really think that Niu was “calm” and “proper” while withstanding all that crushing despair? And she even admired her for that? What?

That made no sense at all. Surely Niu’s inner turmoil was apparent? Surely it was obvious that she wasn’t fine with any of this? Then again, they’d barely spoken during these last days even when they were alone. Was that the reason? Did Shaya simply not notice it?

It made no sense.

“N-Niu?” asked Shaya, flinching as Niu suddenly stood up.

She herself wasn’t sure how to express what she felt. Would she be able to summarize it into a few sentences? Surely not; she felt so much. There were anger and sadness and loneliness and self-loathing and many others things that she couldn’t put into words. But if she could, she felt like writing it, slamming the slate into Shaya’s face and leave the place storming.

She even felt disgust at herself for this impulse. So instead she simply ran away.

“Niu? Niu, wait!”

She didn’t wait. Her vision turning blurry due to tears, she still managed to run into her room and slam the door behind her. Then she turned her back to it, slid down on the floor and began to sob, tears streaming down her face.

Whether Niu simply couldn’t hear Shaya through the door or if the other girl hadn’t pursued her in the first place, Niu sat there crying for a long time without any disturbances.

Gen grunted as he fell, his weapon slipping and stabbing the hard ground. Above him towered Aisbroom, their expression relaxed into their usual incomprehensible smile. Aisbroom’s spear, obviously, stayed firmly in their hands.

“Get up,” they ordered.

Gen groaned again, rising to sitting position and using the spear jutting from the ground as a crutch. He leaked ragged breaths, trying to ignore the dull pain transmitted to his entire body. Finally he fully rose and glared into Aisbroom’s eyes.

“Your stance is still bad,” Aisbroom informed him matter-of-factly. “You lean your weight too much to your left.”

“I wonder why,” Gen hissed sarcastically in annoyance, raising his lone arm.

Aisbroom's smile was undeterred. “You don’t need to wonder about anything. Just focus on overcoming your weaknesses.”

“Easier said than done,” said Gen. He was starting to feel like Roah when responding like that.

“Come at me again,” Aisbroom said, readying again the spear in their hand.

Gen clicked his tongue but did as he was told. He wasn’t quite sure that spear was the right choice—he’d always wanted to wield a grand sword like Molton—but Aisbroom had insisted on training with it. During such spars Aisbroom never channeled, yet they still beat Gen down again and again.

For some reason it really made him angry; perhaps it was due to the fact the Aisbroom was about his size. Though obviously Gen himself was still a boy and Aisbroom possibly hundreds of years old, this apparent discrepancy made him angry. He’d heard that Molton was tall and imposing; Aisbroom was spindly and dressed bizarrely, unlike a real warrior.

Also, no matter how much they beat him down or derided him, Aisbroom always wore that smile. Perhaps that was the most aggravating fact of all.

Not waiting for any signal, Gen lunged at his opponent, twirling the spear. It was only a wooden one for training use—though he’d tried a real spear before that, when Aisbroom wanted to test something—so it was rather light, but Gen was still unused to its handling. He was getting better with time, though.

A thrust from Gen’s spear was blocked by Aisbroom’s, who easily brushed off the attack and then sent a short flurry of thrusts of their own. In a real battle Gen would probably already be dead, but he managed to barely parry off Aisbroom’s attacks and stand his ground.

Usually the next step would have Aisbroom being more forceful as they went on the offensive, but Gen decided to try something different. For a moment it looked like he was throwing the spear to the side, but a moment after it left his hand it stopped in place and was then thrust powerfully ahead. Aisbroom’s intercepting spear cracked, then broke.

Gen smiled, but the next instant Aisbroom used his momentary gloating to sweep the spear out of Gen’s hands using the broken shaft, and then pounced on him. As always, this caused Gen to tumble down, defeated.

“Interesting,” said Aisbroom. “Suddenly switching to your other ‘arm’ like that… but when will you stop thinking of it as an arm?”

“I told you already, that’s how it works,” grumbled Gen.

Aisbroom shook their head, but returned to the previous topic. “Anyway, it was a nice try, but remember that this sort of thing is not going to work in an actual fight.”

Gen scowled. “Why not? If I was trying to kill you then you’d be dead. I broke through your spear because you were surprised.”

“Yes, but that’s not it—perhaps you would have won the battle and slain your enemy, but that is only one battle, and only one enemy. You need to hone your innate technique and not count on such improvisation unless you have no other choice.”

Gen thought he did well, but Aisbroom criticized him as usual. Was there just no pleasing them?

“Aren’t we going to be fighting monsters, though? At the least the one I personally fought didn’t look all that smart anyway.”

Once again Aisbroom shook their head. “Even if not this time, the Stroba will someday come to attack again. Regardless, I’m training you for battle, not battle against a certain enemy. You need to know everything and be always prepared.”

“Whatever,” mumbled Gen dismissively, rising again.

Yet surprisingly, Aisbroom raised an arm to stop him. ”Let us take a break.”

Gen was confused but needed no further prompting; he plopped back onto the ground. They had been doing this back and forth sparring for the better part of an hour, so did Aisbroom think that was enough for now, or was that the reward for Gen’s progress despite their criticism? Whatever the reason was, the boy was thankful for it.

Aisbroom crouched as well, sitting opposite of Gen. “I wonder,” they said, smiling, “if you really think you can protect her like this.”

Gen furrowed his brows. It was hard to gauge Aisbroom’s tone as they said this, especially with how sudden it was. They would, from time to time, throw seemingly random taunting remarks like that. With a smile to boot.

“I… I can,” Gen stammered, instantly regretting his falling for that bait in the first place. How did Aisbroom even know? They’d only visited their quarters the one time they’d invited Gen for training. So they shouldn’t understand this. Unless someone was spying on them? Like Seele, perhaps?

Aisbroom shook their head. “No… you lack that power. For now, at least. As you are now, you will most definitely fail.”

Gen bit his lips and thought for a moment, but decided he couldn’t bear it any longer. He instantly sprung on his legs, directing an ethereal punch ahead.

“It’s still an arm, huh?” Aisbroom said, sighing. They moved their head lazily to the side, completely avoiding the blow. At almost the same time they pounded their own fist into Gen’s stomach, sending him tumbling down again.

There should have been no preliminary signs to be warned by, but Aisbroom handled the attack perfectly. No, Gen was wrong—he’d obviously lost his nerve at Aisbroom’s calculated words. That was the sign. He should be more careful next time.

Still, Aisbroom didn’t reprimand him—in fact, they looked pleased every time Gen pulled such a stunt. Perhaps it was finally time to ask.

“Why… why are you even training me?” he asked slowly, rising to a sitting position again and rubbing his aching abdomen after coughing once. Quite a punch for such thin hands, that was. “And don’t say it’s because I’m the only one who can fight. We both know that’s an excuse.”

Aisbroom chuckled. “You are right. It is an excuse.” They looked happy at this question for some reason. “Your friend Roah, for instance, seems much more talented than you.”

“He’s not my friend,” Gen spat angrily. “Now answer the question.”

“You want to know why I chose you? Fine.” Aisbroom rose from the ground, looking down at the boy, still smiling. “It’s because I hate those who hide things in the roots of trees. Those who conceal everything, including themselves, behind masks and lies.”

“…What?” Gen furrowed his brows. He honestly wasn’t expecting that kind of answer at all, and wasn’t sure how to interpret it.

“What I like,” Aisbroom continued, “are those people who keep moving forward openly. They lay themselves bare for everyone to see and follow their hearts. I admire that. I admire that sort of power and grace. And that is why I chose you.”

Roah made his way to the balcony, feeling as gloomy as he always was lately. Seeing that the monster invasion was close, there were a few more strategy meetings these last few days, but those went about as expected.

Only Seele, serving as his interpreter, really saw how much Roah struggled during these meetings. Each flimsy idea he raised was shot down mercilessly, mostly by Aisbroom. He couldn’t even follow the conversation in the first place, so it was torture. Perhaps they only let him come there at all because they figured he would retire of his own accord out of frustration at some point.

But he couldn’t let them have that satisfaction. Especially not Aisbroom, that smug bastard. Still, it made Roah feel extremely useless—a sentiment which seemed to be shared by most of their little group as of late.

He knew that Niu and Shaya had had some sort of falling ever since that night when Niu had caught them arguing—they only interacted rarely and awkwardly since then—and thus all of them were caught in a gloomy atmosphere. All of them except for Gen, anyway. He kept grumbling about Aisbroom’s training, but the very fact he complained so honestly showed enough about his situation.

All of that had nothing to do with Roah right now, though. If anything at all had to do with him. His plans, already vague and malleable in the first place, seemed like they would fall apart too easily. At this point he might as well simply hope for a miracle… no, that wasn’t his way. He still had some time, so he had to improvise something.

Meanwhile, though, he wanted to stop thinking and worrying. And so he exited to the balcony, watching the night sky. He actually hadn’t been there ever since that night along with Niu. But now even sky-gazing seemed more pleasant than anything else. Not like he expected to actually see—

He was wrong.

The moment he activated his compensation, allowing him to look far out into the dark space, he could finally see it. It was still too far for him to actually make out any details, but the shining silhouettes were unmistakable. Countless strings of darkness floated there, only visible due to the inexplicable glimmer they emanated. They were also covered in many other dark, unidentifiable shapes. These were probably the Gods’ monsters, coming to claim ruin yet again.

There was now no doubt that the second wave was coming.

While breaking down, my mind

Never spares a glance behind