“The Second Tutorial is a test of will.” President Cadenza sipped at his soup, before leaning back. “It is an amalgamation of one’s regrets and ideals, tempered with fear and traumas. How far can your desire go, without it breaking apart? How will you view the world built for just for you, to target your very weakness? Throughout one’s long life, one will inevitably accrue certain…fears. Instabilities. The Second Tutorial is designed to weed out the mad and the unstable once and for all.”

“Is designed?” Dia asked, curious.

“Can’t say more about that, unfortunately. But there are certain people who are prone to…insanity. They give in to unnatural urges, and then misuse their power to commit mass atrocities. People with power…even if there is no restraint on them, they must at least be sane.”

He had a wan smile. “Insanity, madness…imagine a mid-ranked folder with these issues. We would have gone extinct long ago. The Second Tutorial serves to protect us.”

“I see.” Schwarz thought about it. “So it’s a preventive measure. If we are demonstrably sane, despite whatever stimulation the Second Tutorial throws at us, we will get past it.”

“Correct. Therefore, remain calm and collected at all times. Think through things rationally, but do not commit to inaction.” President Cadenza paused. “Some people have tried to just let time pass. However, every Second Tutorial has a unique task that must be completed. It will not be hard, but it will open you to…things you do not want to see.”

He played with his soup spoon. “I wish everyone good luck.”

“What happens if we fail?”

“Your fourth mana circuit is damaged, with the damage based on the level of insanity your displayed, and you lose fifty years of your lifespan directly,” President Cadenza replied. “It’s a painful price, especially to those who completely lose control. Forging the fourth mana circuit requires four hundred years of lifespan, after all. And most tri-folders have reached saturation for virtually all other types of lifestones.”

Dia gulped. The others reacted similarly too; it didn’t take a genius to know that failure would probably push them into desperation.

“However, everyone here has an unparalleled advantage.” Neo Cadenza smiled. “You’re still young, and more than capable of absorbing mental shocks. In addition, people who are younger tend to have less traumatic events occur to them. Simply put, you have less weaknesses, purely because your life experiences are lower.”

He nodded to himself. “There are many small things that can grow to become huge traumas. Watching a friend pass away, for instance. It’s not something a young person would generally experience, and it’s almost impossible for a young person to watch a friend of the same generation pass away from old age.”

“Why is that important?” Schwarz asked.

“The awareness of mortality, of finiteness.” President Cadenza sipped from his soup once more, and then said, “Throughout history, there are innumerable records about people who have turned mad from watching their lifespan dwindle on their Status. There is a significant correlation between going mad and watching people of the same generation pass away too.”

“What happens when they go mad?” Dia asked.

President Cadenza looked at Risti and Nero in what seemed like an exaggerated fashion, and then smiled. “Sorry, but that’s classified.”

“By who?” Schwarz asked.

“That’s also classified,” President Cadenza replied. “Nonetheless, the younger one is, the lesser their regrets. Do not conflate one’s age with mental stability; it is one’s life experiences and their takeaways from them…but that does backfire a lot, does it not?”

He shook his head. “That’s all I can say, unless you guys feel like committing suicide from information overload.”

Dia watched as the others complained, and then thought about the older Cadenza’s deliberate actions. It was clear that he was looking at both Risti and Nero, who—

Knew about the Limbo thing, yes? And those Aberrations. Does this mean that folders who turn mad have a high chance of turning into those…things? Not just because they drew too much from Limbo? No. That’s…rather, it seems that people who lose their sense of rationality have a high tendency to draw a lot of power from Limbo.

She thought about this, and nodded. Madness made one more prone to doing weird things like attempting to use mana even when their mana circuits were completely drained, resulting in them drawing power from Limbo. There were probably other things too, but Risti and Nero were very tight-lipped about these issues as a whole.

The others didn’t even know about Limbo. That was how secret this was.

President Cadenza flashed a knowing smile at her, and then made a weird twirling motion with his fingers. Whatever message he was trying to convey to her was completely lost, though — Dia had no idea what he was trying to say.

Tilting her head in reply, Dia got up from her chair. “I’m going to prepare for my Second Tutorial now.”

The others looked at her, and Schwarz said, “It seems like you think you’re ready.”

“Yeah.” Dia smiled. “Don’t worry about me. Besides, it’s natural that I’m the fastest amongst you guys, after all. My Mana Control Proficiency is the highest, and I don’t really have any latent issues. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sure you’ll be,” Risti replied. “Good luck.”

“No need for good luck.” Dia clenched her fist, and then turned to President Cadenza. “I just need to activate it on my Status, right?”

“Correct,” President Cadenza replied. “Don’t worry. This Second Tutorial will also allow you to relive a certain regret of yours. When that time comes, would you stand by your decision back then, or will you change it?”

“Isn’t it a problem if I changed it?” Dia asked.

“Is it?” President Cadenza winked at her. “Think about it, if such an occurrence truly were to happen.”

Dia lowered her head once. “I understand. Thank you for your advice, President Cadenza. Incidentally…”

“Mhm?”

“Is the Folders’ Association still accepting people? Is it still, uh, functional?” Dia asked, before letting out a small sigh. She had always been curious about this near-legendary organisation, and the fact that the Association wasn’t doing anything in the Last Godsfall had given rise to many a stray thought.

“Functional?” The middle-aged man tapped on the table. “In the strictest sense, not really. We’ve toned down our activities and excursions. In this age, where divinities are imposing and executing laws of their own, humanity must lie low. In the face of overwhelming power, our social constructs are useless.”

He smiled and said, “It would be far more useful to channel our efforts into growing stronger. Maybe, one day, we’ll be able to reimpose our own laws and constructs once more.”

Dia thought about it and bobbed her head a few times.

“That’s probably the most pragmatic way of dealing with things like this,” Farah muttered. “Why throw an egg against a stone when you can upgrade the egg and turn it into an explosive?”

“What kind of analogy is that supposed to be?” Risti asked.

“A Lily-esque one, probably.” Farah thought for a moment, and her face lit up. “How about this? Why throw an egg against a stone when you can hatch a chicken and have it crap on the stone?”

“Alright, who’s that supposed to be now?” Schwarz asked.

“Claud, duh.” Farah cackled. “You know, the live longer get stronger schtick.”

“Does he have such a schtick?” Schwarz asked. “I reckon he’ll be like ‘Just preserve the egg. The weather will wear away the stone, but if the egg is well-protected, it’ll stay as it is forever. I think that’s more accurate than yours.”

“Nah, mine’s more accurate.”

“Let’s not argue about this,” Schwarz said. “Besides, it’s not like we can’t ask him which statement he aligns with more, right? What do you say, Farah?”

“Ooh, is that a bet?”

Dia rolled her eyes and took her leave as the others began to join in the fun. While it would be nice to join in, Dia wanted to get started as soon as possible. She couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of crisis. Even though everyone present shouldn’t have any involvement with the Trial of Aeons, Dia had a feeling that things would happen to them anyway.

Maybe the Moons would ask them to do something stupid.

Whatever the case, growing stronger as soon as possible was rarely a bad move.

With that thought swirling in her head, she returned to her small room made of barriers, and then lay down on a bed of even softer barriers. She was, by all accounts, probably the first person in the world to enter the Second Tutorial while lying on a bunch of barriers, and Dia had to stifle that smile on her face.

She had to be serious now.

[Your Mana Circuit Superimposition has reached 4.00]

[You have achieved the qualifications to ascend in the hierarchy of life. Second Tutorial has been loaded. Start?]

“Yeah. About time.” Dia took a deep breath. “Start.”

The world changed around her a moment later.