"This is the worst luck we've had so far."

Orion looked at Amelia with a broken smile while holding her close.

"If you expect something like Monolavir saving us to happen each time you're in a pinch, you better lose that hope now. I'm pretty sure it was a one time only ticket."

Amelia, with her usual harsh banter, prepared herself to use the 'First Gear' ability.

"First Lock broken, Left Leg released."

The voice that usually told them about the use of the locks said something unusual, surprising them.

"Was the sentence changed? It frequently said, 'Left Leg, First Gear Activated.'. Why did it change to that?"

Before any of them could question the voice, it explained in detail the situation as if it had a mind of its own.

"The 'Second Gear' has been released. The ability of the user to maintain the 'First Gear' for a long period of time has been granted the permission to unlock the next stage."

"What do you mean by 'Second Gear'? I already had a tough time with the first one, and now you want me to suffer more?"

Orion was displeased. When he finally worked on mitigating the pain in his leg, the 'Key' suddenly developed an ego and slapped his feelings.

But the voice ignored his discontentment, as it carried on in its explanation.

"The 'First Gear' is now automatically used when the 'Second Gear' is active, granting more mobility to the user."

"Amount of time the user's body can withstand the 'Second Gear': thirty seconds. Past this point, damage to the nerves is expected."

"The correct use would be to regress to the 'First Gear' before entering the last five seconds."

The voice finally stopped talking and left Orion and Amelia stuck looking at each others, their mouth opened, searching for something to say.

"At least it gave us a manual explanation for you to not get hurt, I can respect that."

Amelia praised the Key's ego for safeguarding Orion's wellbeing.

"I was angry at first, but I guess I can still manage if I have the 'First Gear'. I was sure it would force me to use the 'Second Gear' immediately."

Breathing a long sight of relief, Orion relaxed. The most shocking discovery was the sudden evolution of the 'Key'.

"It's the first time it spoke this extensively, I hope it's fine."

Amelia placed a hand on her chest, knowing the 'Key' was deep inside her soul.

"Well, what are you going to do, do we use the 'Second Gear' right away to see what it does, or do we proceed normally?"

The answer was already clear in Orion's mind.

"This is too dangerous to use in our current situation, if we make a single mistake, or I lose my mobility, this man will find us. Let's proceed like I said first."

"Well, it has been released for a few minutes already, but you don't feel it?"

"What? I feel like usual."

Orion pushed slightly forward, and leaped forward a few meters with Amelia in his arms, faster than he normally should be.

"What is the meaning of this? Why am I not feeling burning pain increasing anymore?"

The voice came back, as if it felt obligated to answer.

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"The user's progress in the use of the 'First Gear' became sufficient for the limitation to be lifted. The burning is the method used to block the overuse of power. If not for this limitation, the user would be crippled right away."

It answered many of Orion's questions in a second. Now there was one last question he needed an answer to.

"So I don't need Amelia anymore to use the 'First Gear'? She is simply here to protect me against the overuse of the released locks?"

"Correct, the partner is key to maintaining a balance between power and wellbeing. As such, once the user is strong enough, a lock becomes unnecessary."

A prickly sensation gnawed at Amelia's heart after hearing she would be cast away after Orion was strong enough to break all the limitations.

One look at her face was enough to break Orion's heart.

"As if I'll throw you away after all of this. Didn't we have this conversation before? I'll obtain vengeance for my parents, and we'll both go home alive."

He pointed to Amelia and then himself.

"Together."

Amelia's pearl eyes glistened, before she nodded.

'Where did this fear of being thrown away comes from? Maybe because she is an orphan?'

Orion thought for a moment, before letting it go.

"I'll say it again, in case. I'll say it as many times as it satisfies you. I took you with me because I wanted you, not because I wanted your power."

"Once you are emotionally stable, we'll start moving toward the forest, avoiding that Apostle."

Amelia stayed silent for a few minutes to get her emotions in check. During that moment, a small voice could be heard in her mind.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel less needed. I should have worded it differently.'

It disappeared as fast as it came, and left Amelia in shock, but a small smile appeared on her face not long after.

The Key's ego went out of its way to apologize, and she now realized that maybe, with more locks unlocked, this ego would speak more to them.

'Perhaps that's why the previous Hero was always alone in Orion's stories. He had another person to talk to so he never felt alone.'

While Amelia was thinking that, Orion stared at the Apostle.

'That man, he was the first one to be asked at the table at that time. What was his name again? Florian?'

Indeed, it was Florian Delur. He recognized the man the moment he saw him, and the way he showed his power looked rather interesting to Orion.

'This man, he uses lightning magic. I remember him being one of the few that are not an immediate threat, but if he gives me the chance, then before leaving, I'll end him. He still is an Apostle.'

'There's no reason to take risks.'

Another flash of light appeared, and Florian disappeared. Orion looked for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

'He probably left or went further inside the forest. We have to be cautious. Being able to freely use the 'First Gear' is a great advantage right now.'

Amelia lifted her head, and looked at Orion.

"Another flash... Did the Apostle leave?"

"I don't think he went far. He might have gone further in, so let's get in quickly. We can hide inside the forest once there."

"Alright, let's go."

"Come here Amelia."

Orion grabbed her wrist, and pulled her effortlessly in his arms.

As she was used to it by now, she wasn't as embarrassed anymore.

He leaned on his leg, as the power of the 'First Gear' carried them to the forest in a few minutes.

...

Orion placed Amelia on the ground, before they both hide themselves in the shadows of the forest.

"I didn't realize before entering, but the trees are unusually high. We cannot hide much because there are no leaves, and the trees are too much spaced out, so let's be careful. Watch out for any suspicious movement."

"I know. Same to you."

They both moved further and further inside, witnessing flashes of light occasionally, avoiding the places where it came from.

(What are we even looking for in here?)

Amelia asked as her stress grew the more she walked.

(I'm just like you, I have no idea. Maybe if we continue walking, something will happen?)

(Well, we've walked for almost an hour, but there's no sign of life except that man appearing out of nowhere.)

Fearing being heard, they both whispered to each other while carefully crossing the forest.

(There's not a single bird, and I haven't seen an insect either. Something is weird in this forest.)

Amelia's stress was through the roof. An Apostle was near, putting far too much pressure on her as they searched for the fairies.

(Yes, this forest is full of odd phenomena. No one usually ventures inside this forest, so there are no records on why it is like this.)

Orion was feeling stressed too. It would be easier to kill the Apostle than it was to avoid him, but now was not the time for that.

They walked for a few more hours, avoiding as much as they could the flashes of lights.

When the sun began to dip below the horizon, fatigue overwhelmed the duo. They had to move excessively quickly all afternoon.

The moment the sky turned orange, a short mist curtain slowly enveloped everything in a thin white blanket.

Not taller than their knees, it looked like another strange anomaly to Orion.

"Mist? Where did it come from?"

"Let's follow it, it's the first lead we found since we entered the forest."

Forgetting to lower their voices, they both walked toward the source of the mist, which lead to a mysterious lake that wasn't there before.

During their descent with Monolavir, they had the opportunity to have an overview of the forest, and that lake was definitely not inside it.

'Dead White Forest' is certainly a massive forest, but people would know if a lake this huge existed. Another mystery around it was its lack of movement. The water was still, showing there was no life inside either.

It's at that moment, when both stopped near the edge of the lake.

"I see, I was right in the end. You came for the fairies, didn't you?"

Florian walked and stopped next to them, looking down into the water.