Fallen stars, seen through deep black clouds. We see light, hope. We wish for eternal happiness in the wonderful world we live in. My living flesh, my palm, grazes upon her shoulder. Those eyes of hers, just like her mother, shook my heart. Giving me life. We pray to the gods living in the cloud, the beautiful dark sky, the longevity we due.

***

“Nothing has embedded me more than a broken promise, Luosa.”

{Luosa | Lv. 188}

Lying down on a lap of bones covered in black cloth while reading a book, she flips a page as her eyes glance at the person brushing her hair. Skeleton shrouded in robe.

{Ludwig, Warrior of the Abyss | Lv. 10000 | Transcendental Purity: Demigod}

“I-I swear it wasn’t me! Miss Replica just went in there, and slap the living daylight out of those beasts in one swoop. Obliterating them!”

“You failed to stop her.”

“How am I supposed to stop her? You know what she did to that worm or how she kept boasting about how stronger she is than Avarice, so what chances do I have? If only I was able to see her level or something, that might help?!”

“Matters not the reasoning when the result will never change.”

“Argh,” turning around, “Can’t I just do a lower-tier job or something? Like those kill lists Lord Ludtleth gave me, it was way simpler, and a tad bit easier.”

“You fancy those kinds of tasks?”

“Not really, but…” scratching her head, she stood, “Sorry, I’ve been troubled about a lot of things recently. My mind just can’t focus on the task at hand, I promise I’ll do better next time.”

“Again. Promise.”

“For real this time, I—” tightened her lips, she sighed, “Usually, I can hear a chime of music in this place, why don’t I hear anything anymore.”

“Your mind seems to be in chaos. Why don’t you rest for the day?”

“No! I-I can still help! Like, r-resource gathering or treasure hunting, killing stuff, I-I…” clenching fists, “I’m one of… one of,” tears shed.

“Be seated.”

Flailing her hands, reluctantly, she sits beside him.

The two dots in his empty eye sockets shine brightly in silver, shifting them aside. He raised his arm, tightly grasping the air, and twisted it. When the air swirled in scattering blue particles, appeared a small black portal, enough for his hand to went in and grab a ring.

Showing it to her, “You didn't need to make up lies. I’ve heard from Goolag that you didn’t actually get there in time. You probably could’ve stopped her if you had.”

“Teleportation ring? No, I haven’t done enough to earn anything from you, yet. Plus, that would just be an excuse to… this,” pointing to her body.

Forcibly yet gently moving her hands against her own will, he slips the ring to her palm, “Take it, and stop contradicting yourself.”

Staring at it, her eyes filled with sparkles despite her narrowing them down.

The silver dot in his eye sockets disappeared as he showed her something different. A small dark cloud with connected stars, “One day, you will be able to move dimensionally without the use of that item. However, it’s fascinating, isn’t it? The nature of teleportation. How one can move from one spot to the other without moving a single limb.”

“Well, I used to watch this movie actually. Like, moving pictures? Um, vision? Whatever, point is, one explains it like creating a shortcut,” demonstrating it with her hands, “Instead of taking the fastest way, ‘route’, as in this straight line from my wrist to the other. You just fold them, and see, they touch each other.”

“Precisely. The divine system made it less difficult for it to happen as well, but understanding the process can make a world of difference to the end result. Do you see these connected stars? Marking one point to your destination will shine a light on the shortest path to it. After you teleported, the light shines brightly, and then it fades over time. You decided to teleport again to this one star, but there is not a single line that connects it to the other stars, so you decided to teleport to the one closest to it. The connected stars, the line, they shine. After you teleported, they became brighter, but they fade over time, and your first line of stars completely faded. And what do you do then?”

"You traced back to it?"

Nodding, "You have experienced it, so you should be able to go back by creating your own line towards your destination."

"Wait, are you telling me that I might be forgetting the path to make it back home?"

"Yes."

Her jaw dropped.

But upon gazing at the stars on his palm, she was mesmerized by the visuals he has created for her. It made her smile.

***

Within the darkest of night, a palm was covered in flames by the impact of [Firebolt] spell. Siola, shedding tears, yet she stands still for exactly 10 seconds. She is awake, yet, not wanting to move because of the pain she felt.

! {Phased Intrusion – v1.5b}

~ {New Waypoint has been Set}

With dried lips, she swallowed her saliva as she grinds her teeth. Grasping her burning hand, the flame dissipated within an instant.

“April?”

Appearing from behind a tree, a dark elf known as, “Six Sense.”

“Everything’s okay?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Staring for a moment before getting closer, “I heard you saved us from that demon. Me. Thanks for helping me.”

“Don’t mention it,” proceeds to continue looking at the distant stars.

“You remember back when we first met? You have this disgusted look when you saw me. Thought for sure, you heard about those incidents commonly associated with our kind.”

“…”

“As an elf, I take pride in being able to live longer than most races. The moment we turn 30, you won't be able to guess how long we live. When I was a child, I used to look up to the many legends who still live in our family. The art of subterfuge reign strong within our vein, but never would I have thought the ability I’ve been taught was meant to be used as a tool for despicable acts. Thievery, murder, assassination. The first thing one would assume when any of them happen would be the dark elves.”

Turning her head, glancing at Six Sense.

“I thought I was ready to change that, but clearly,” raising her shaking hands, “I…”

Pressing her head on Six Sense’s chest, hugging her tightly. She returns the embrace as tears started to shed. Siola then said, “You’re doing fine, Six. The things that don’t kill you, make you stronger. You can trust me on that.”

*Sob *Sob

…

A campfire was lit. Hill vines gather around it preparing a meal. Misty Fang noticed Siola and Six Sense walking out of the shadow, “Look who decided to join us.”

[Horgan]: This is due for a celebration, don’t you think? I got some fire wine right here.

[Piercer]: Kian can’t drink that, Horgan.

[Horgan]: Well, I still got a refreshing fruit for the lass.

[Six Sense]: April would love that too.

[Siola]: Hey!

Suddenly remembered something in her bag, it was the fish that she bought earlier in the day, “Oh yeah, I forgot I got these for you guys.”

[Misty Fang]: Hoh, a river Pike. I remember we have one amazing memory of that.

[Siola]: Yeah?

[Piercer]: Heheh, don’t you dare tell that story.

Kian and Six Sense nodded union with a hum. It piqued Siola’s interest, “Aww, come on. It ain’t fair if I’m the only one who doesn’t know it?”

Misty Fang giggled. While looking at the night sky with a warm smile, “It was a fresh day after an exhaustive night of adventuring. Young Kian was invited for an interview by the guild master. She was about to be promoted, so Piercer had a peculiar idea, a way to celebrate it.”

Horgan with a wide smile on his face, “A lot of argument on that. He was suggesting for us to swim across the sea because he saw something shiny on this little island. As you may have known, ahem, I am not built for sea transport so the captain took off all his armor, went in there alone with his trousers, and was swept by these giant waves, three times he had to repeat swimming to that island. But when he got there, a giant pike flew at him and stole his only piece of cloth.”

Misty Fang gestures, “The reflection of the rainbow was one of the most beautiful things these eyes have ever seen.”

“Bwahahaha,” Six Sense couldn’t hold her laughter while Kian still stayed strong puffing her cheeks to the max in teary eyes. Siola on the other hand, already ded on the ground.

The day was long. Even then, the party spends the night catching up.

***

A peaceful breathtaking village turns upside down, rampaged. Under the night sky, it bleeds. Flames everywhere, ice made, thunder strikes. People were screaming, running for their lives. A young kid saw her parents packing everything they can before leaving the burning house in haste. The father carries the child but suddenly an ice spear tears his chest, wounding the child’s shin.

His eyes, shocked, but gently he put the child down. She doesn’t cry, not knowing what is happening or what had just happened. The father brushes his daughter’s hair one last time, and smiles, she too gently touches the face of the man she holds dear.

The depth of field of her vision shifted focus to the person behind her father. The cold breath on their grasp changes to a raging flame. Suddenly, a thump throughout her body. She was carried by the mother, and she ran as fast as she could.

Blue, purple, and orange, these colors were everything the child sees before the cold of the darkness seeps in. Laid by the root of a large tree, the child saw the mother shielding her from the rain with one hand on her small chest. Expressionless, blood spills out of her mouth, but her eyes were open. The child touches her mother's cheek but she didn’t move an inch. Everywhere except for her face, was charred. Pikes of ice spears pierced her back, and it was then that the child utter her first word in the cold night.

“Mom?”

*Gasp*

Opening her eyes, panting. First, she sees a familiar ceiling, and then she sees her companion sniffing her cleavage deeply. Noticed her staring, “Ah, Aegghan. Sorry, did I wake you up?”

Sighing as she rested her head again.

Tanya raised one of her brows. Postured to sit on the side of the bed, “You’re okay? Did you get a nightmare or something?”

“Just… surprised you’re already recovering from that.”

“Well, it’s thanks to you. Whenever I have you with me, I feel safe.”

A smile, “Sorry I left you. I should’ve stayed up there.”

“Like what? You’re gonna leave miss April to go down there alone?”

“Mage can handle herself well,” reminded of the time she charred the goblin she spared mercilessly, “She never needed the help.”

Tanya noticed something when Aegghan suddenly grabbed her hand while shifting her eyes away to look at the night sky past the window. Tanya asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I wonder… what kind of mage she will be in the future.”

“Pfft, isn’t that obvious? Miss April, not only does she strong, she jumps headfirst to that cliff to save her party members. I’m sure that one day, she will be a capable mage that her party and maybe even the entire world can rely on.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.”

Seeing the smile on her companion’s face brings warmth to her chest, “Don’t you know she’s younger than you? Why are you calling her that?”

“Ehehehe, I just feel that I should.”

Pulling her hand, made Tanya fall on her body. Gazing at her eyes close, “But you never called me that though?”

Glancing at Aegghan’s rough lips, she grins, "If you want me to, I can."

A smile was formed. The two passionately resume their nighttime with a deep kiss under the roof of the night sky, in Hikanda Town.