Jerome woke up to the feeling of his core cycling at very rapid speeds, devouring ambient energy around him. He was feeling very refreshed but quickly slowed down his core so as not to alert any foe. One couldn’t cycle while they slept, yet he had cycled nonstop for three years under Blade’s Edge Canyon, and he had no way to explain that occurrence. He had been cycling while asleep ever since then, but he shouldn’t do it here. He would easily be noticed if he cycled while sleeping. Somehow though, his body felt more relaxed here than at Kilian’s Palace.

Jerome popped his eyes open to find himself in a chamber of sorts, covered by a blanket. The walls were made out of some kind of dark stone and there was no furniture around. There was no outline to show that interlocked stones were used to build the structure. It was like the Keep in the mountains once again, during Pilgrims’ Keep. The walls were dry and the air was stale. He remembered passing out from using too much essence. It was a miracle his channels weren’t burned.

“You’re awake,” Selene said beside him. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor in meditation.

“And I can see we made it out alive,” Jerome said with a smile.

Selene nodded. “It’s all thanks to you.”

“It was a team effort,” he said, checking himself and his space ring. Wouldn’t want to find out that all his possessions had been pilfered while he slept. He knew the Itakars wouldn’t do such a thing but just to be on the safe side…

“So where are we?” Jerome asked and Selene led him outside the room. The hallway was deserted and in ruins. “Is this—”

“Yes, it is Jerome. We found the real Tower of Solon. Turns out all the other teams had taken refuge here. I think we’re the last to arrive.”

Jerome didn’t like the sound of that. Did that mean others were faster than them…stronger than them? The sounds of battle reached him at that moment and Jerome walked up ahead to the wall in front of them. The wall had been broken off and he now stood overlooking a plain. There was a battle going on down there, a bit farther away in the distance. It was an actual battlefield!

“What the hell?!” he exclaimed.

“The Children don’t want us to move past that point,” Selene said. “You’ve been out for a few days, Jerome.”

“Days… Can we tell time now?” Jerome asked and looked up at the sky but it was dark. However, there were two moons and stars spread out as far as his eyes could see beyond the firmament. Jerome laughed excitedly. But two moons?! It was a wonder of wonders to his eyes!

“I can’t believe I missed seeing the dull light of the moon at night,” he said. “Well… moons in this case.”

Selene smiled at him acknowledging his words. “I felt the same way when I saw daylight after the endless night of Terra Praeta.”

“Tell me about the situation,” Jerome said as he calmed down walking side by side with her.

“Alvric is here,” Selene said and Jerome stopped, his anger stirring. “After you passed out, his men joined us and helped to get us out of that… vineyard? We had to work together to get out of there.”

“Where is he?” he asked.

“He took his men to go fight some Children. If we don’t clear the way, there’s no way we can enter the good parts of Terra Praeta,” Selene said.

“The good parts?” Jerome asked. She probably meant they had found the way to daylight, but the Children were blocking their path.

“You’ll understand when the sun comes up,” Selene said, and they resumed walking toward the battlefield.

“I feel like my mental energy is… more,” Jerome said, changing the subject.

“Every one of us has gone through a lot of transformations after the illusion,” Selene said. She looked curiously at him and asked, “How are you able to cycle while sleeping… and at such great speeds?”

“I have no control over it,” he said, almost absently. “After Blade’s Edge Canyon, it just sort of happened.”

Selene’s gaze on him changed from curiosity to… was it awe he saw in her eye? Then she smiled at him. “It was good I listened to Mother’s words, you are far more an interesting mystery than the Children.”

“Say what now?” Jerome asked. She had a faraway look on her and he wondered what might be going on in her head.

“Before coming to Terra Praeta,” she began, “my mother admonished me that there was someone in Terra Praeta I must absolutely not offend. Now it seems it might be that you, Jerome, are that person. You did so much for us back there, I don’t know if I could ever repay you.”

Jerome didn’t know what to say to that. So he just thought to be mature and humble about it. “Well I feel honored. Though, I must say that it was a team effort.”

Selene smiled at him as they walked down a flight of stairs. “Well, I’m grateful you stuck with us.”

The dust in the air and the thick layer coating the surface of the tower walls were thick, almost as thick as a fog. He instinctively held his breath until they got to the top of a small hill within two thousand paces of the battlefield. Jerome could see the Sprouts assaulting the Children and the Children resisting without much effort. Their numbers were far more than what he fought before, and there were five colossal Children in their ranks.

There were also many winged Children hovering in the air. Their bat-like wings were shorter than his, with patches of skin missing in a few places. Some of them would dive down threateningly from time to time as if to pick up the Sprouts, but their lithe bodies didn’t seem strong enough to lift a single Sprouts. Jerome wasn’t fooled by that though. He knew what it meant to carry something more than ten times his body weight. These flying Children could be said to be feminine in nature. They were not beautiful, just less irritating than their male counterparts.

“The highborn are having a meeting soon and I need to join them. Ajax is on his way here,” Selene said. “The Alvrics may be planning something so don’t fall into their trap.”

Jerome took the warning to heart. He decided to wait until they finished their battle with the Children before he took action against Hedon. He sensed Ajax from a distance of about 200 feet before the Sprout landed near him, surprised by how stronger his perception had grown. His perception used to be a little over ten times less than that before. This was truly a great fortune for him.

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“How are you feeling?” Ajax asked with a smile.

“Never been better,” Jerome responded, smiling back. “What happened to the Tower of Solon by the way?” he gestured at the tower behind them.

Ajax smiled. They bumped fists and sat down on the hill and Ajax started giving him details about how they had thought they’d meet some more challenges but it turned out to be the camping spot for the rest of the teams.

“Were there any treasures?” he asked.

“If there were, the Feis took it all.”

Right. That would mean there probably weren’t any treasures.

~~~

Selene

Selene walked down to the tent where those from the Great Houses were having their strategy meeting. They had moved from the tower toward the battlefield so they could handle things more efficiently. The only reason why she was in the tower was so she could keep an eye on Jerome.

Before she got to the tent, Trudhorn joined her — for which she was grateful. She didn’t want to deal with the proud, hot-headed Scions of Vorthe alone.

“I heard the Royals were able to cut a path through the Children on their own. From what I’ve gathered so far, it seems the Children let them pass…so to speak,” Trudhorn said but his statement sounded more like he was asking for confirmation.

“You heard right. They left us here to figure things out on our own,” Selene snarked. She had always known the Royals had a few tricks up their sleeves but this one felt a lot like cheating. And why would they just leave like that? she sighed. Why wouldn’t they leave? Everyone was here to obtain power for themselves.

“Young Lady Selene,” someone said, joining them as they walked toward the tent.

Selene looked to her left. “What do you want, Alvric?” she asked looking away from him, the warmth in her voice was gone in an instant. She knew what he wanted but she’d leave Terra Praeta before bending to their wishes. Thankfully, her House was just as powerful as House Alvric.

“How’s Terra Praeta treating you, Young Lady,” Murray asked. He was not in a position to call her Itakar. Only those of the direct bloodline, the heirs of the Great family had the effrontery to throw each other’s surnames in their faces.

“Quite fine thank you,” Selene said curtly.

“We Alvrics are willing to be in your debt if you would leave the Royal cur to us, Young Lady,” Murray said, getting straight to the point as they slowed to a halt in front of the tent.

“I will have to disappoint you Alvric. He’s under my protection, but let me give you a bit of advice. I’d make sure not to piss him off if I were you,” she said, examining the tent.

Murray Alvric kept his gaze on her for the entirety of their exchange and after her warning, which sounded more like a subtle threat, he spoke up. “I’m not here to gain your permission, Young Lady.” His voice had turned to a harsh whisper. “When we’re done with the Children, he’ll die next. I hope you and your teammates won’t interfere.” He walked away.

Selene shook her head with a small smile. They’d probably assessed Jerome’s level of skill inside the vineyard and thought that was all there was to him. They were in for a surprise, especially now that Jerome was back to full strength… and more.

She turned her attention back to the tent and walked in with Trudhorn. He hadn’t spoken throughout the whole exchange. He just listened. She knew he was keeping his silence because he was sure they could do nothing against Jerome.

“...cost us a lot of manpower,” Fei Lin was saying when they stepped into the tent.

The noise from the outside world was immediately drowned by silence. The tent was refined by an artificer it seemed; a soundproof tent.

“Welcome, Itakar,” Fei Lin said and Selene nodded. “I don’t see your brother.” She smiled to which Selene frowned.

Of all the Great Family, Fei Lin was the youngest, followed by Hedon and Berj Baelor. She and her brother were the oldest. Yet her brother acted like the youngest among them sometimes. He had even wanted to court Fei Lin at one time but she had declined. Reason being that he was too childish. That had hurt their family’s image in more ways than one.

“What’s the plan to get past the Children?” Selene asked, getting back on the subject of discourse. Her gaze never left the Fei heiress who looked away in embarrassment.

She wasn’t going to air her family’s dirty laundry here. At least Fei Lin had it in her to look embarrassed after asking of her brother. If she wasn’t guilty for what she had done it would make Selene’s dislike of her action turn to a dislike of the Young Lady herself.

“We need sacred artists with long-range offense techniques to open fire and lead the way,” said Lang, who was sitting beside Fei Lin.

“How long of a range are we looking at?” Trudhorn asked.

“At least a hundred feet,” Berj said from the side, his voice deep and guttural. He hadn’t come with anyone from his team. He wasn’t a strategist, but he truly didn’t need to fear being pressured by the tactical knowledge of a few Sprouts. Berj was in a league of his own.

“That’s a lot,” Selene said.

“We’re looking for…someone,” Fei Lin said hesitantly, looking Lang’s way and Lang slowly shook his head at her.

Berj scoffed his displeasure at their open show of secrecy. “If you’ve got something to say, Fei. Say it,” he said in a voice as deep as the growl of a bear. Berj was not one for covertness of speech.

Lang sighed. “When we entered Terra Praeta, someone — I don’t know who — killed a Child that was chasing us through the forest. It was a pretty big Child, and fast too.”

“Do you care to elaborate, Lang,” Selene said, interested in this ‘someone’.

“We only saw a flash of blue light and boom! Its head was blown off,” Lang said, gesturing with his hands. “We didn’t see anyone…why are you smiling?” He asked as he looked at the Itakars.

Selene and Trudhorn were smiling from ear to ear as they listened to him.

“And what do you need this Sprout for?” she asked, still smiling.

“You know this person,” Fei Lin said suspiciously.

“We all know him, actually,” Trudhorn said. To which they were a little surprised. If they knew him, they should have recognized the technique.

“Ahem. Well, he attacked from the sky,” Lang said. “I estimate he’d be faster in the air than any of us. The Alvrics should be the fastest in the air. But even they had no one who wielded fire essence, and blue flames at that.

Wait, they asked the Alvrics? The Alvrics should definitely know who this person was. They saw him in the vineyard after all. Why the hell was she calling that place the vineyard, anyway?

“If we could have him draw the attention of the flying Children, the rest of us can break through their blockade without much interference from them,” Lang said.

“That’s a sound plan. Should we call him here, or?...” Selene asked. She could see the curiosity in their eyes. They wanted to know who the Sprout was.

Fei Lin nodded vigorously, very unladylike for a Sprout of her station and Lang glared at her. He turned to Selene and nodded curtly to which Selene smiled. The heir of the Fei Clan was known to be a little like them — wild and free — which she had no qualms about. The Fei Clan was too poise and sophisticated in their appearance for Selene’s liking. It was good to have someone among them who was… ‘free-spirited’.

Trudhorn left the tent and after a period of uncomfortable silence and a staring match between herself and Fei Lin, returned. As soon as Jerome entered the tent, Fei Lin couldn’t help but exclaim in shock, “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?!”