Dia stared at her Status gloomily, eyeing the mission that had popped up when the Trial of Aeons began. A few things had subtly shifted when the trial began; Nero went out a day later and came back last night while carrying a faint stench of blood. Risti had done the same too, and it didn’t take a genius to know that these two were handling Limbo-related stuff…but it definitely took someone who was in the know, though.

She looked at the secretive duo, who were exchanging strikes with practice weapons. Risti’s father, President Cadenza, had left the day the Trial of Aeons began, citing something about a Phase Two.

It was hard to watch Risti cope with the departure of her dad, as well as the possibility that he would lose his life there, but…

“I’m not kidding you,” Nero replied, fending off a strike. “Phase One of the Trial is literally building a bridge. I’ll let you turn me into a chair if I’m lying to you.”

Brown flashed outwards, and their weapons cracked ominously as Risti slammed her sword down against Nero’s own with a silent fury. The others, who had been doing weight training with weapons and full armour on, stepped away immediately.

“Looks like Risti is still mad,” Schwarz muttered. “Damn it, I’m also scared of her…anyway, have you packed your stuff? I think it’s a good idea if we head over to the Celestia Ruins today. We’ll be able to distract you-know-who enough with the new scenery.”

“I’ve already packed,” Farah replied. “Seriously though, can’t President Cadenza actually bid farewell properly? What’s the deal with the letter? What, is he trying to learn from my own irresponsible parents?”

“Shh! Unless you want to spend the next day being wiped by medicinal alcohol, don’t say that in front of Risti right now!” Schwarz waved his hands frantically, before turning back to Dia. “You done packing?”

“Well, I did pack,” Dia replied. “It’s nice that we’re leaving a bit earlier, though. I feel bad for watching you guys turn their garden into a mess.”

“We did at least tidy it up last night, so no issue there.” Schwarz clicked his teeth. “Anyway…well, I guess I should check with the others two.”

He took a deep breath. “Risti, Nero! Did you two pack up and read the information Claud compiled for us? We’re leaving today.”

Their battle paused for a moment, and Risti turned to Schwarz. “Are we really in that much of a rush?”

“It can’t be helped,” Schwarz replied. “I’ve received reports that there are a lot of teams headed over to Celestia too. It’s a treasure trove, but if we’re too late, what we’ll have left are dregs. Anyway, the shadow in Claud’s room has also urged us to head there too, and Dia’s words make a lot of sense. We’re unlikely to complete our fifth mana circuit anytime soon, so we may as well get stronger artefacts instead.”

Risti visibly wavered, and Dia intuitively understood why she was so hesitant. Risti was clinging on to the possibility that her father might turn around over the next few days, and she didn’t want to abandon even that possibility.

“I think it’ll be nice if we had someone to man this fortress,” Dia abruptly said. “And the lovebirds left a shadow for us here, after all. If something happened on their side, at least we should be able to know soon enough. And if we have someone here, we can send messages to Claud and Lily.”

She turned to Risti. “Do you want to do that? Of course, it’ll be hard for you, since you’re not going with us to get some nice things, but we’ll definitely bring something back for you.”

Dia swept her gaze at the others, who had small, gentle smiles on their face too, and she smiled gently. There was a reason why she had grown to love the Moon Lo— the Seekers of Life — and it wasn’t because of the alcohol. Rather, it was the way that everyone seemed to care about each other in their own ways. Risti, who had done a great deal, was now on the receiving end of their little kindnesses, but Dia knew that this would continue on and on.

For a moment, Dia could empathise with her mission. Indeed, if she could preserve the Seekers of Life forever…

“Can I?” Risti asked, her voice filled with hope. “Can I really just stay behind? Won’t you guys need me?”

“Don’t be silly,” Nero replied. “I think it’ll be best if you wait here too. We can’t have too big of a group, and I’m counting on you to become a septa-folder as soon as possible. We need artefacts, but you’re also one of our most gifted folders, so…”

“You better be a hexa-folder when we get back, to sum it up. You have enough lifespan, right?” Dia asked, a grin on her face. “Without us to distract you, you’ll be able to rise in strength really quickly, yes?”

“…Challenge accepted!” Fire burned in her eyes. “Alright, I’ll see you guys soon. Don’t stay there too long, okay? I’m sure the Trial of Aeons might involve something huge, and the Celestia Ruins…may be its first target.”

“What do you mean by that?” Farah asked, curious.

Risti had a troubled look on her face. “That’s what my dad said, but he was also not too sure. Something about the Celestia Ruins not being part of the new cycle or something.”

Dia nearly twitched in surprised, and her eyes lingered on the mission that had popped up in her status when the Trial of Aeons started. In fact, Risti’s father had gotten it right — the world wanted the Celestia Ruins gone, and she was apparently their agent.

[Mission: Pursuit of the Truth

Mission Introduction: When the world was first created, a shattered fragment of another universe tore into our reality, disrupting the harmony of the five grand skies. It has wrought calamity after calamity, altering the nature of the cycle. This cannot be permitted to happen again. However, before it is destroyed, it is imperative to understand the cause of Celestia’s destruction. As the Salvation Star, this duty has been passed down to you.

Mission Requirements: Discover the truth of the Celestia Ruins.

Mission Rewards:

Additional Remarks: The mission will only end when you leave the Celestia Ruins.]

It was a bit scary to know that Risti’s father got it right, but what was this truth that the world…the five grand skies were seeking? What did they want to find out? Whatever the case, this was one of the reasons why Dia had supported the idea of an expedition to the Celestia Ruins. The skill, Aeon Fold, was definitely something related to the Trial of Aeons, and Dia did not want to miss out on that, whatever it was.

She looked at the others, before feeling a bit bad. It was impossible for her to tell them that she needed to investigate the Celestia Ruins; anything related to the Salvation Star could not be heard by them.

After apologising to them in her heart, she said, “When are we going to move out? After breakfast?”

“We finish breakfast, clean up this place, and then head out.” Nero turned to Risti. “You’ll have to stand guard here.”

The emphasis he placed on those words seemed a bit unnatural to Dia, but the others didn’t notice. In other words, Nero just dumped his anti-Limbo duties onto Risti in the name of seeking out Celestia.

There really wasn’t much Dia could do about it, though, but now that she had a closer look at Nero…

“You’re quite eager about the Celestia Ruins, huh?” Dia asked.

“Of course I am,” Nero replied. “It drifts from continent to continent, and is literally indestructible on the outside. Therefore, the ruins make for a perfect wine cellar, and if I can think up such a thing, other real alcohol connoisseurs would also have the same thoughts too. Right, Schwarz?”

“Ah ha ha ha…uh, how did you guess?”

“Like I said, anyone who thinks the same way as I do would think of such a thing too.” An arrogant smile curled his lips, and Dia shook her head. It was a shame that Nero was actually a sober alcoholic; Dia had the feeling that he would hate drinking if he actually suffered from hangovers or something.

She turned to Farah, who was looking a bit excited too. “What about you?”

“Me?” Farah asked. “It’s profit, duh. I haven’t forgotten the fact that someone became really rich due to a recipe. If I can snag something neat from the Celestia Ruins and mass-produce it in my county, I’ll be rolling in lifestones in no time at all. And there’s definitely treasure in them ruins, yes? I can’t wait.”

“Alright, alright.” Schwarz cleared his throat. “Let’s stop fantasising for now. We need to plan our route properly. Claud and Lily left us a lot of details and information about the ruins, but it seems to me that they flew there or something.”

“Flew there?” Farah asked. “How did you know?”

“Because they didn’t have any information about the Marsh of Remembrance,” Schwarz replied. “It’s the only way to enter the Celestia Ruins if you can’t fly.”

“…Makes sense, yes. We’ll need to gather information about those things, then,” Farah muttered. “And there are people coming here from all over the world, yes?”

“We can assume so,” Schwarz replied. “We need to be very swift and careful about our next steps…but first, let’s have breakfast.”

Dia twitched once. “Did you really need to create a weird mood?”

“Food helps one think. I don’t think I did anything wrong…Nero, pass me that bottle.”

“Ugh. You really are weird…”