In the last chapter, the group, led by Ignis, explores volcanic ruins and collaborates with Mister Ryu to creatively utilize rare relics. Trust and camaraderie develop, leading to the gift of a magical storage ring to Ember. The group sets out on a journey after saying goodbyes to Ignis, facing challenges and forging strong bonds. The duo reaches the Black Veil, a mysterious boundary, where the atmosphere grows foreboding. tension grew as they traverse the Veil, encountering an otherworldly dreamscape with cryptic messages. The story leaves off as the group finds an opening in the Veil, hinting at further adventures.

Upon spotting the opening leading to the rumored location of the third temple, the group eagerly advanced. However, as they approached, the initially visible entrance began to retract, simultaneously giving rise to new openings in varying locations. This perplexing phenomenon persisted, with entrances appearing and closing in different spots each time the group neared, causing increasing fatigue and complications.

"It appears, Miss Ember, that we may have taken a wrong direction," Mister Ryu remarked with a thoughtful expression. "I believe it's prudent for us to pause, take a break, and recalibrate our course in order to locate a more suitable opening for our journey."

"Mister Ryu, I truly appreciate your concern for my well-being and the thoughtful approach you take to overcome obstacles. However, if we consistently pause and strategize every time we encounter a challenge, reaching my goal will be an excessively prolonged endeavor. It's been four months since we embarked on this journey, and we've yet to explore the skies. Regular players typically achieve this milestone within a month, and even that is considered a generous timeframe."

“Miss Ember…..” As Mister Ryu began to speak, his words were interrupted by Ember.

“Mister Ryu, I know that we don’t have the ways to climb the skies, but I believe this prolonged approach might not be the most effective in my view. While I acknowledge the benefits of our collaborative efforts so far, the anticipation of ascending to the skies is becoming overwhelming. I hope this doesn't come across as impolite, but I sense that you are slowing me down." Ember expressed.

"Miss Ember, are you alright? Firstly, I won't take to heart everything you've mentioned. After all, it's your journey, and you're the leader. I'll follow your decisions. However, when you mentioned four months, I must clarify that it's only been three weeks since we commenced our journey," Mister Ryu assured.

“Three weeks? What are you implying?" Ember inquired.

"Yes, ever since we departed from the village, journeyed to the last village, and acquired the two tokens from the regions, it's only been three weeks. Even the Charted Calendar confirms this. How did you come to believe it's been four months?" Mister Ryu questioned.

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"Three weeks? Mister Ryu, I'm utterly baffled. Why would I fabricate something so extraordinary? You're insisting it's been three weeks, but to me, it feels like it's been four months. I'm completely perplexed. What is happening?" Ember expressed.

Amidst the confusion of conflicting perceptions of time, Ember and Mister Ryu stood in a perplexing dilemma. The discrepancy between their experiences of the journey's duration left them searching for answers, the air thick with an unexplained sense of dissonance.

As they pondered this temporal anomaly, a mysterious phenomenon unfolded before them. The landscape around them seemed to shift, revealing glimpses of different moments in their journey—scenes from the village, the last village, and the acquisition of the tokens flashed before their eyes.

Ember and Mister Ryu exchanged bewildered glances, realizing that the very fabric of time within the Black Veil was playing tricks on their senses. The environment itself seemed to be a manifestation of the temporal distortions they were grappling with.

"The Black Veil! Miss Ember, I recall you mentioning that you honed your skills to navigate the Black Veil effortlessly, while I relied on various relics and materials for traversal. The only plausible explanation is that the Black Veil induced that time distortion in your case. It seems the flow of time for you has accelerated, creating the perception that four months have passed," Mister Ryu articulated.

"Nevertheless, inducing a time distortion – even high-level illusions wouldn't typically affect my perception to that extent. Something doesn't seem right," Ember remarked.

"The Opening! We need to locate the entrance we were pursuing, which kept leading us in different directions. It felt as if it was intentionally evading our attempts to reach a specific area or particular spots in the Black Veil," Mister Ryu urged.

"How can we reach a place of which we are unaware? The Black Veil, or the opening in this case, is limiting our ability to travel," Ember expressed.

"I believe we should do the exact opposite of our initial intention. Let's head in the opposite direction of the opening," Mister Ryu suggested.

Following Mister Ryu's suggestion, Ember and Mister Ryu deliberately chose to embark on a journey in the opposite direction of the opening. They ventured far, extending their exploration as much as possible, their steps carrying them away from the elusive entrance. In this deliberate divergence from their initial path, they patiently awaited any subtle clues that might offer a glimmer of hope and guide them towards their intended destination.

In the midst of this surreal experience, Ember noticed a peculiar artifact lying on the ground. It emanated a faint, pulsating light, reacting to the fluctuations in time. As she picked it up, the artifact revealed itself to be a Temporal Vase, a magical tool capable of harmonizing individual perceptions of time within the Black Veil.

As Ember held the Temporal Vase, its pulsating light synchronized with the fluctuating temporal currents around them. The artifact seemed to resonate with the very essence of the Black Veil, hinting at its potential to harmonize time perception.

Upon grasping the challenges, they had faced, Ember and Mister Ryu witnessed a peculiar response from the ancient map. The ancient inscriptions on the map seemed to come alive, as if imbued with sentience. The script conveyed a cryptic message: 'The Vase of Time, Eats the Veil, Commands the Veil, and Raises the Veil.' The duo quickly comprehended the significance of the message, signifying that......

…….To Be Continued