The path to the Sanctioned Veil in the afternoon, in spite of its peaceful and relaxing environment, with running streams of water and overgrowth amongst the stone ruins, was disturbed by the conversation of approximately five individuals.

They were two girls and three men. One of the latter was a rather feminine dwarf of porcelain-like skin, and one of the girls was a tall pink haired dragon-kin. The rest were human.

They were friends of Marilyn Althorn, and their current objective right now was—

“Do you guys think she'd be done clearing that place again by now?” Adrian said, his ocean blue eyes taking a glance towards the group.

He was the de-facto leader of Marilyn's friend group, having the necessary criterias to be deemed as such. And due to his gentle and kind nature, he would naturally be one of the first people to worry about these kinds of things.

“Well…” Cecilia was the one to respond to his inquiry, “She always wakes up early to train in whatever place she could…and considering the day is approaching the afternoon, I’d say yes.”

“Hm, good to know…” Adrian responded, “But still…even after this long, her reckless training habit didn't die out…”

“Tch, how else would you stop her then?” Vincent was the one to answer Adrian's plight, “We tried convincing her, she ain't stoppin’. Best to just leave it until she gets what she wants.”

Adrian sighed, “That's the thing, what does she want out of this? Her reasoning is a bit vague, you know?”

“I meannnn….” Elysia skipped forward and would walk beside Adrian, leaning close to him. “Her wanting to get stronger in order to protect people like us isn't that vague…at least on my end, Addy!”

“Quite easy to please, aren't you?” Adrian smiled, extending his hand to ruffle Elysia's hair. She giggled in response before leaning her upper body away from him. “But yeah, I guess that makes sense.” He continued.

“In that case, wouldn't it be better if we just train together? It clearly offers more advantages.” Cecilia asked, “Plus, there’s an obviously deeper excuse than this. Her change is abrupt, so there has to be one, right?”

Adrian nodded to Cecilia’s words, agreeing with her. “I know, it's not hard to see, but I think it'd be better if we don't think too much about it.” He stated, “Her reasoning is a more emotional one, we all know that. We should let her be, until we get an opportunity to have her talk about it.”

Vincent was the one to groan towards that suggestion the de-facto group leader brought up. He wasn't buying it. “That girl is just using the excuse to distract herself, it's that obvious. But…” He scoffed, “Fuck it, let's just see how she breaks out of this.”

Cecilia gazed downwards hearing those words. On one hand she did indeed agree with the suggestion, but on the other… “I’ll try to find a way to get through her, somehow.”

All of them have presented their opinions on this matter, except one. The new tag-along that had interjected himself in recent weeks has yet to speak out his mind, in spite of his habit of constant rambling. It pissed one person in particular.

“You don't make a whole lotta sense, yapping or silent.” Vincent stated, looking at the dwarven priest Eldryn, “What the fuck are you doing here anyway?”

“Vincent, you do know that all of us already accepted him, right?” Adrian replied, turning his attention to him.

He clicked his tongue, “Still! He wasn't even invited by the letter, so why is he here!?”

“Isn't it obvious, Man From Arcadia?” And Eldryn spoke in response to those words, “I act as a messenger of Seraphina’s will, and one of her domains involve salvation. The Blessed One is in need of saving from darkness. I need no letter to find my calling.”

Vincent was just getting more confused by the second, “The hell are you…?”

“Vincent.”

“What?!” The cowboy turned his head towards Adrian again, who had called his name.

“You're observant towards people’s behaviour, but you really can't understand stuff sometimes, can you?” He said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“You really think he was making any sense!?” Vincent was just getting more frustrated.

“It's not hard to understand you know, Mr. Cowboy Man~!” Elysia remarked. “He may not be invited, but he’s a nice guy~! He's willing to help our dear friend, so he also has my clear support. Plus, the more the merrier riiiight?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Vincent groaned in response, “Fine, fine, might’ve jumped the gun a bit too early, but you really gotta speak more clearly!” He said, turn towards the priest again.

“Maybe if you learn to open your heart, you will understand.” Eldryn would say, a hint of smugness in his tone of voice. “There will be a time where you would do so, therefore I trust you.”

“There it is again…urgh.” Vincent this time was just tired, so he would try to ignore him.

The princess was just observing those two talking, and it got her thinking again. The letters that they've received, of being called upon to Alden's office, with Marilyn also in tow apparently, what was it for…?

“Do we actually know why we're even called upon?” Cecilia asked all of them, “Seems a bit too weird…”

“Hmm, using the prior context that we're allowed to have our first quest as talented third years…” Adrian began to think, “...I don't know.”

Vincent scoffed, “I swear, if somehow this girl got us into trouble with her behaviour…”

“I doubt that.” Adrian said again, “We might just have to wait and see.”

“Maybe the headmaster himself wanted to put us into fourth year immediately! I think we're smart enough for that, right?” Elysia retorted, “We fought a giant dragon, we saved people from an assassin, we even cleared the Sanctioned Veil multiple times too, so that must be enough!”

“Ehhhh, I don't think so, Elysia.” Cecilia was the one to respond to her, with an awkward smile. It also earned a chuckle from Adrian.

The group trudged forward, their chatter ending as they neared the entrance to the Sanctioned Veil. The peaceful ambiance of the forest path, of distant streams, birdsong, and wind brushing against the overgrown ruins, could no longer disguise the weight they all felt as they approached the dungeon.

The ancient stone archway loomed ahead, partially swallowed by thick vines and cracked masonry. Its presence, though quiet and still, demanded attention, with barely visible glyphs etched into the stone that pulsed with an unsettling energy. The Veil itself lies inside that stone gate, but they weren't here to enter it.

“My my, this place has quite the air to it!” Eldryn remarked, “Very ancient, clearly something from the Age of Heroes I presume.”

“How would you know? You're wearing a blindfold.” Vincent retorted.

He smirked, glancing towards him, “I don't need conventional sight to understand the atmosphere of something, Vincent Morales.”

“Yeahh, what he said! Aura detection for the win!” Elysia added, with a wide smile on her face. She offered the priest a high-five, to which he happily obliged with a light chuckle.

He clicked his tongue, “You do know I can do that too, right? I just don't have it active all the time…”

Elysia stuck her tongue out, “Bleh! You're lame!”

“Clearly you should practise using it passively like me, Man From Arcadia!” Eldryn also jested.

And Vincent grunted in response towards the two of them, “Bunch of loonies…”

And as they were bantering, Cecilia and Adrian would be present near the front of the entrance. The two of them were the primary people in this academy, barring Marilyn's maid Bethany, who would be the closest to Marilyn in terms of their relationship with her. It hadn't been long, but—

“Hmm, fully expected she would’ve exited by now.” Adrian said, a bit concerned.

“Well, I guess we could wait? Unless you want to try something.” Cecilia commented, crossing her arms.

“...I’ll try something then.”

He approached the entrance, and the temperature seemed to drop as he took another step into the structure, the air thickening with the remnants of concentrated Essence that had seeped into the ground over the centuries. It was a clear sign that his foot had entered a different space altogether.

An unnatural silence filled that space, the rustling of leaves replaced by an oppressive hum that seemed to crawl under his skin. But before he could fully get his body inside the Veil proper, from the shadows of the entrance, she appeared.

“Oop-!”

Instinctively Adrian stepped away from the entrance, taking several of those steps back, allowing some space for the girl to exit by herself.

Her steps were slow but steady. Dust clung to her dark cloak, and her short white hair was slightly dishevelled from her time within the dungeon. In short, Marilyn Althorn had fully emerged, staff in hand and sword sheathed upon her hip.

Despite the clear exhaustion visible on her face, there was no sign of strain in her posture. Her one silver eye swept across the group, lingering for a brief moment before she said absolutely nothing, simply moving toward them without missing a beat.

"Already done wrecking yourself in there?" Vincent’s voice cut through the stillness, more annoyed than concerned. He crossed his arms, glancing at her with a mix of frustration and something akin to worry, in his own way.

Marilyn’s gaze flicked toward him, her expression unreadable, before a slight smirk touched her lips. "Still standing, aren’t I?" Her words were casual, almost dismissive, as she strode past him without looking back.

This has been the common occurrence ever since she started her routine of training solo, with her becoming more aloof and distant towards them. No longer so cheerful was she, nor visibly social. Her mindset was fully focused on other things now. At times, her genuine self did show, but in more casual situations like this it generally wouldn't.

And as observed by both Adrian and Cecilia, she was obviously just hiding it behind this current mask of hers. The princess herself had thought of her current issue as being something akin to grief or mourning, she just couldn't understand what she was grieving for.

Vincent clenched his jaw but didn’t press further, though it was clear her attitude wasn’t sitting well with him.

Adrian turned his head towards her, his brows slightly furrowed as he observed her form. “We got called up to Headmaster Alden’s office,” he said, his tone gentle, a small smile present to defuse her exhaustion, careful not to press too hard. "You coming?"

Marilyn paused briefly, her eyes distant as if she was weighing something, before she finally nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.” There was a finality in her tone, as if whatever burden that was on her would stay hidden, at least for now.