“Finally! Land!” Sera cried out. She almost dropped to her knees to fully embrace the feeling of being on solid ground.

Zayzal chuckled and couldn’t help but comment, “Pfft-! Imagine a Viking being afraid of water.”

“I’m not a Viking!” Sera snapped back. “Plus, I’ve lived in the mountains my entire life! You can’t blame me for not liking the sea!”

Zayzal raised his hands in defeat, “Alright, alright. No need to get so upset. Who could’ve guessed we’d be attacked by sharks.”

Sera snorted and didn’t bother responding. It made no difference now, anyway. Since they had made it to the mainland, they wouldn’t need to cross a large body of water again.

“...Forget that. Why do you think those sharks were so crazy for us? Surely there are other creatures in the sea they can attack other than us.” Sera asked as she turned around to look at where they just came from.

Although she had a few ideas, she figured Zayzal might already know, considering he had a grave expression before they hopped on the boat.

Instead of answering, he pointed out in the middle of the water. She grew confused, but before she could say anything, he muttered, “That used to be the capital of Denmark.”

Silence fell upon them before she whispered, “...I see.”

That’s all she needed to know.

To dispel the mood and not get caught up in a wave of negativity, Zayzal turned around and started moving. Sera followed soon after, but she had a lot on her mind.

With the signs as their beacon, they began their trek inland. The coastal winds carried a mix of salt and fresh earth, and as they walked, they noticed footprints leading in the same direction, signs that others had passed through recently.

Their journey took them through sparse forests and across open fields. Eventually, they saw a few signs showing them that they were in Fredericia.

As they ventured deeper into Jutland, the signs of human activity became more evident. Temporary shelters made of tarps and wooden planks dotted the landscape. Abandoned campfires, with remnants of charred wood and ash, hinted at brief moments of respite for weary travelers.

As dusk began to set in, the duo reached a larger settlement. Bright lights emanated from within a fortified compound. A high fence constructed from scavenged materials encircled the area, with guarded watchtowers positioned at regular intervals.

The entrance was guarded by a couple of sentries who eyed Zayzal and Sera warily. As they approached, one of the guards stepped forward, raising his hand in a halt gesture.

"State your business," he demanded.

"We saw the signs," Zayzal replied, indicating the wooden boards they'd encountered earlier. “We just want a place to rest for the night, and we’ll be on our way tomorrow.”

While he said that, he couldn’t help but glance at the two guards. He saw two different colored orbs within them. One guard had a ‘blue talent’, and the other had a ‘green’. But what caught his eye was that the pathways he saw for both were almost exactly the same.

In fact, they resembled the pathways for Sera’s gold talent.

‘Interesting.’ He commented inwardly. ‘I’ll have to ask Sera later if I can run a few experiments.’

The guard scrutinized them for a moment, eyes flickering with suspicion as he observed their weapons, leather packs, and rough clothing. These two didn’t look normal, no matter how he looked at it. It didn’t help that there were splotches of dried blood all over them.

Still, the world’s gone upside down over the last few days, so who was he to judge? Still, he had to ask one question before he allowed them in.

“...Are you two Awakeners?”

“Awakeners?” Zayzal and Sera both asked back.

The guard was a bit confused that they didn’t know what he meant but continued. “Awakeners. You know, people who have awakened some sort of talent or ability.”

“Oh!” Zayzal exclaimed and smiled at the man. “Then, I guess you could consider us awakeners. Why? Is that a problem?”

“Well…” The guard scratched his cheek awkwardly. “It’s not necessarily a problem, but…”

“I understand.” Zayzal nodded, knowing what the man was trying to say. With everything that’s been happening recently, people might get scared knowing there are people among them with ‘superpowers’. “However, we’ll only be a night. I promise we won’t cause any trouble.”

“Err-” The guard still looked a little unwilling, but he also didn’t want to offend the two. He didn’t want to get hurt or die for no reason, after all.

“How about this? It seems you two don’t have your own talents, right?” Zayzal asked, to which the two guards nodded.

“What if I said that you did, you just didn’t search hard enough?”

“Really?!” The two shouted, causing Zayzal to chuckle.

“Of course, from what I’ve seen, everyone has some sort of talent. Whether it’s good or not, I have no idea, but you two aren’t any different. Just meditate on it, try to feel the newfound energy in your body, and eventually, it’ll come to you.”

The guards exchanged a skeptical but hopeful glance at each other, the possibility of possessing talents lighting a spark of curiosity and wonder in their eyes.

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“Really? Everyone has talents?” One guard asked with furrowed brows, weighing Zayzal's words with a hint of anticipation.

“That’s what we’ve observed so far,” Zayzal affirmed calmly, casting a side glance at Sera, who nodded in agreement. “If you take the time to explore within yourselves, you might discover something extraordinary.”

The other guard, still somewhat apprehensive, squinted his eyes, inspecting Zayzal and Sera once more before finally relenting. “Fine. You can stay for the night. But any sign of trouble, and you’ll be out, understood?”

“Understood,” Zayzal responded with a grateful nod, leading Sera into the encampment.

As they tread deeper into the settlement, murmurs and subtle glances followed their path, the word of ‘Awakeners’ having spread like wildfire amongst the community. There was a tangible mix of awe, fear, and curiosity in the air, framing their entrance with a subtle tension.

Zayzal swept his gaze across the people here, taking notice of the different colored orbs within them. He saw people with Red, Cyan, Green, Blue, and Gold, but also one with a Black orb. Everything was so strange, he wasn’t sure what to make of it. The colors he found in people were consistently inconsistent.

Was one color better than another? He couldn’t tell as of now.

‘Also, why have these people not realized they have a talent of their own? Do they just have low-grade talents or something? Or maybe they didn’t experience much change after the light descended, so they didn’t think much of it.’ He contemplated.

When he thought back to Sera, she was using both talents right after she obtained them; she just didn’t know their name, and her physical one was more of a passive ability.

‘There has to be some sort of correlation or reason as to why they haven’t realized their own talents. Maybe it’s related to what they did before mana changed them, or I guess, what they didn’t do.’

However, it seemed his intense gaze began to make people feel uncomfortable.

Sera, sensing the undercurrent of anxiety, leaned towards Zayzal, whispering, “We need to be careful. People are wary of us.”

Zayzal snapped out of his thoughts and nodded solemnly. “Fear of the unknown is a powerful thing. Let’s keep a low profile and avoid drawing attention.”

The duo found a secluded spot within the encampment and pitched a makeshift tent that provided them cover from any onlookers.

As dusk settled over the encampment, casting its quiet shadow over the make-shift structures, Zayzal approached Sera, who sat with a contemplative expression on her face, staring into the distance.

“Sera,” he whispered, sitting beside her. “I want to try something with you. I noticed a few other colors in people who seem to have similar pathways as your [Barrier Constructor] talent.”

Sera turned her gaze towards him, a flicker of curiosity lighting her eyes. “What do you mean? Are you saying you are going to make me stronger again?” She asked with a fervent gaze.

Zayzal’s expression became serious as he nodded. “I don’t know if you’ll get stronger, but it’ll definitely be a step in the right direction. Also, since we have a little time to chill, we might as well make you as strong as possible.”

With a determined nod, Sera agreed, allowing Zayzal to place his hand on her back gently. Closing his eyes, Zayzal activated his Pathfinder talent. A subtle silver hue glowed in his eyes as he delved into the unseen pathways of Sera’s talent.

“Focus, Sera,” he instructed. “Try to sense the energy within you like you did before, but a little differently. I don’t know how to explain it, but the best way to put how I see things is that there are little blotches of latent mana scattered across your body. Can you feel it?”

Sera closed her eyes, concentrating as instructed. After a few moments, she nodded, a whisper of realization crossing her features. “Yes… I think I can feel something… I don’t see these blotches you’re talking about, but I can feel a slight amount of energy in places other than my bones.”

“Good,” Zayzal encouraged, his voice steady and calm. “But that’s not enough. My talent is showing me that you need to sense all of them. Here, let me try to show you.”

Zayzal’s fingertips gently pressed on various points along Sera’s back, each press seeming to ignite a tiny spark within her senses as he sent tiny bits of mana into her body. As he did so, Sera felt the faint energies scattered within her grow more distinct and connected.

Since he’s helped over 100 people so far get stronger thanks to his talent, he’s become much more proficient in controlling mana. However, he assumed part of the reason for this was his [Adaptability] talent. Without it, he might still be struggling to control mana, much less use his [Pathfinder] talent.

“Can you feel that?” Zayzal inquired, maintaining his focus on guiding her through the subtle maze of her internal energy.

Sera's eyes were closed, but under her eyelids, she saw tiny glimmers of light begin to connect like a constellation forming in the night sky. “Yes,” she whispered, her voice filled with awe, “I see them now, little points of light, scattered but... connected.”

“Exactly,” responded Zayzal with a nod, even though she couldn’t see him. “Now, draw them together. Imagine these lights converging, becoming brighter and stronger as they unite.”

Taking a deep breath, Sera envisioned the lights within her moving closer, attracted to each other like magnetic forces. She sensed a growing warmth, a light that grew brighter and more substantial with every passing second.

“Steady,” Zayzal murmured, “Focus on making the gathering process stable. We don’t want to waste this energy; every bit is precious.”

The energy within Sera swirled and condensed, forming a dull, amorphic golden blob near her navel. It pulsed with power, and Sera could feel its presence but didn’t feel much stronger physically.

“I think...” she muttered, feeling the changes happening within her, “I think I did it. I still need to gather more of my mana, but I can feel the changes.”

Zayzal retracted his hand and opened his eyes, meeting Sera’s gaze as she opened hers. “Well done,” he complimented with a smile. “How do you feel?”

Sera took a moment to assess herself, feeling a new sense of strength and clarity within. “I feel... slightly stronger, yet clearer, like I have more mana to use. I also feel a bit lightheaded.” She said while wiping her nose, only to see that blood was dripping out of it.

“Are you okay?” Zayzal moved over to help her, but she just pushed him away and nodded.

“I’m fine, but your mana seemed to have overtaxed my body a bit.”

Zayzal nodded and made a mental note that he couldn’t overuse his ability on people, especially ones who weren’t as strong as Sera.

Eventually, Zayzal saw that Sera was fine and moved on to what was really important. “Create a barrier. I wonder if it’s any stronger.”

Sera nodded and held up her hand. Quickly, mana gathered from that gathering point in her body to her hand and created a small barrier before them.

They both inspected it carefully, noticing that it was slightly thicker and looked more ‘put together’.

“Seems like it did get stronger,” Zayzal commented, causing Sera to smile.

“Hahaha! Amazing! I knew it was the right choice to follow you!” Sera burst out laughing and gave him a few pats on the shoulder, making him wince.

“Now, you just need to get stronger, and we’ll be set!” She exclaimed.

At the mention of that, Zayzal stopped looking at the barrier and became thoughtful. Now that he had some time to think, he realized that he didn’t know how to make himself get stronger! It was one thing to guide someone according to what his talent showed, but it was another to try and do it on himself without a guide.

‘For some reason, I can’t seem to use my talent on myself. Is it because I don’t have enough experience? Mana? Or is this just the limit of my talent? I can help other people with my power, but I will likely have to use my findings to strengthen myself on my own.’

He didn’t know, but he was willing to test things out. However, as a wave of drowsiness came over him, he yawned, realizing just how exhausted he was.

“Alright, we can deal with that tomorrow. For now, let’s get some rest.” He said, and Sera nodded.

“Okay.”

They bundled up their leather packs and used them as a pillow before they were immediately knocked out.

Unfortunately, their peace wouldn’t last much longer.