Spending the entire night together, and getting everything they needed in order, Anya finally told Lass and Ikarisa to take a nap in her office, seeing as they were about to travel before the sun was fully up. She kept hustling at the floor below, getting more things in order with a wide smile on her face. A few hours after their rest, Lass and Ikarisa woke up to a setup much more valuable than they thought their earnings would buy them.

"Woah, what the hell? What's all of this?!", Lass was surprised.

"I told ya to leave everything to me! I've prepared everything we might need and not need for this! Three mecha-horses, all of the pure breed! These guys have actually injured horses, not entirely robotic like the rest of the market, that have sprung up with powerful augmentations that were used to save their lives while injured! They have Obsulyte running in their actual veins since they are some sort of special breed like the Bloomer flowers, and they are way higher in performance and way lower on maintenance!", Anya winked.

"I am a hundred per cent sure that our budget did not cover this.", Lass rubbed the back of his head, "Please don't tell me I'm under again."

"Meh, nonsense. Covered by yours truly. Plus your sum already bought you most of your necessities! So it's my little gift."

"You call that a 'sum' I called it 'college funds'. God knows I'm not falling for the scheme of loaning for that shit again.", he sighed.

"Wait, really? I can pay for that too."

"Enough money talk, I already finished that long story. Plus the guy you sent to the bank delivered my things today, so I have access to my personal funding."

"Don't worry, as I said, it's covered! Plus your funding won't really last you forever given the zeroes it has."

"You peeked through my personal shit?", Lass angrily said.

"Hey, a small sum, means you're not trying to compensate for something.", Anya complimented him.

Ikarisa stopped Lass from causing a murder, "H-Hey, t-thanks Anya!", she struggled to keep a pissed-off Lass at bay, giving him constant soothing head pats he seemed to enjoy.

"No problemo! And that's not all! With a combination of yours and my money, supply bags on all of them horses for 3 weeks! And of course, ammunition and repair tools just in case equipment ever fails! Now, I know what you'll say, 'why mecha-horses?' but I think reaching Delpha with the road around Kaci will...most likely require horses. Plus airlines don't work on Delpha for some reason...weird. The city with the most technological advancements doesn't have a clear airport. Anyway, don't really wanna disturb the silence of that place in Kaci, and additionally, everyone is scared shitless of that place, so no roads are built there and the plans for doing have been postponed for the past 3 years. Only rough, hastily made dirt roads are there, but I'll see what I can sort out once we get to Delpha for other means of transportation. For now, we're forced to go by land, and I want to approach that forsaken place with something that has a beating heart, for good measure."

"Wait, three mecha-horses? Use of 'we' and 'we get to Delpha'? Does that mean...", Ikarisa said in what appeared to be fake excitement.

"You guessed it! Imma come with you!", Anya acted out alongside her.

Lass managed to completely calm down, "Welcome to the team.", Lass chuckled.

"What?!", Ikarisa and Anya said in surprise.

"What do you mean what? You expected me to say no? For one, she paid for everything since we came here, and for two, she still owes me a proper match. So get on the horses, both of you, before I change my mind. And don't try for a second to deny that you both knew and had this planned out. I caught a whiff of that ever since that winking goodbye last night.", Lass scoffed.

"That's hella out of character...but I like it!", Anya said, wagging her tail.

"I swear, both of you will end up dead with all this someday...", Lass worryingly said.

"Lass, don't be such a downer! We can handle ourselves just fine. Besides, I've done this before in the war. And I bet Anya has been out there exploring more than the both of us combined!"

"Haven't you literally been exploring this world for centuries? Then again, your sense of direction is more or less that of a donkey...", Lass folded his arms.

"A...donkey?", Ikarisa awkwardly asked.

"Ass.", Lass answered.

"H-Hey! Rude.", Ikarisa folded her arms, unable to deny the obvious truth.

Anya stepped between the two, "Yeah, exploring is my thing! I've got everything down in my handy little notebook here!", Anya showed off her notebook full of map tips.

"True...but still. I bet you were out there only for scouting and looting, not actual combat.", Lass said, still in disbelief about Anya's combat abilities.

With that said Anya came really close to Lass and pulled her big saw-like weapon.

"Listen to me, big guy! I have a clear goal in my mind and that is to help you and Risa, you, on top of doing a little something on my own. And I almost kicked your ass in the tournament, if you wanted proof of my 'combat abilities'. So what about now?", Anya said seriously.

"Mutt. I know everything...hop on.", Lass reassured her, jumping on the horse and then pulling her up.

"What the-", Anya stuttered in surprise, "Right. Let's go!", she wagged her tail.

"But Risa hasn't got proper armor or anything like we do how is she supposed- What the hell?!", Lass stuttered.

Without them realizing it, Ikarisa went in and changed into her dress from last night, but this time, it was different. The sides have been cut, most of the flashy accessories were removed and cuts were made in multiple parts to add a ton of mobility. Unlike the open areas he saw last night, light metal and some heavy plating here and there covered all the exposed areas, still allowing her to freely move to cover her battling needs.

"Last night, Anya woke me up for this. We modified the dress she had made for me. We stitched last night's dress with her own battle dress from last year. We also further fixed parts of it for combat, enchanting the fabric with light metal parts and cutting it to make it more versatile. Do you like it? I wanted to keep this, given that it was a present from you both, especially you, Lass, who I witnessed how hard you fought for it.", she smiled gently.

"She seems to be changing a lot of clothes, all the time. Is she maybe...doing this on purpose to impress?", Lass thought, "Not gonna say I don't love it but...one last time before we begin, for real. Are you sure? Both of you."

"One hundred and one per cent!", both Anya and Ikarisa saluted at Lass with excitement.

"I swear you two...very well. We should get going. But if you start messing things up, changes are gonna have to be made. Not going to go into further details about it.", Lass said with a serious look.

"Sure! Let's go!", they both shouted.

With that, they climbed on their horses, took the streets, and headed off. Before they exited the city, without a crowd present, Thaddeus and Magi were there, along with two battalions of soldiers who saluted and waved at them on their way out. Their journey now finally started in the whole wide world, a movement most difficult but met with perseverance, they were as high as they could be in spirits. Nothing would ever beat anyone's excitement for a new journey, whether in a new way of life, an adventure or a mere game. And they were off.

A long time passed as they strolled through the peaceful fields. After they had quelled the raid a few days prior, not a single monster was there to interrupt the calm sight. They kept going along the fields before reaching a group of widespread mechs, all forming what seemed to be a wide parameter along the area. That was the end of the safety zone, a military parameter that protected the innocents inside Reingard. And so, with a heavy breath, they started wandering in the fields outside, making their way towards their destination.

"Well, this is boring! I thought there was gonna be fighting and adventure!", Anya said as she rolled around in the back of her horse.

"Well, it's not absolutely necessary to draw steel twenty-four seven you know. Besides, this is where it's at. Not a worry or care in the world and peace is on the horizon. Can't all journeys be like this?", Lass rejoiced.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"I have to agree with Lass here, Anya. Just look around you! Serenity and peace everywhere! This is exactly my vision of how the world could be."

"Really? I thought this place was gonna be a hotspot for the gods...Kaci is 3 kilometers away from here!", Anya said.

"If you wanted faster traveling, you should've bought a car.", Lass said, annoyed by Anya's constant complaining.

"Yeah, let me travel through the forest of spirits, disturbing everyone with car gears, and get my ass kicked from it...again."

After a small pause, Lass had submitted to the playful nature of the situation and decided to for once, be the one to mess with Anya instead of the other way around, finally getting a chance for some revenge.

"Alrighty then...want adventure? Off to Kaci!", Lass said with a smug.

"W-Wait! Why off to Kaci?!", Anya said in a frightened manner.

"Because if there's one place I can learn about this broken cursed sword and why I can fight the way I do, I'm sure it's gonna be there.", Lass smirked.

"O-Oh no...", Anya lowered her ears and tail.

"My gosh, both of them are such kids sometimes...especially Lass.", Ikarisa facepalmed.

"What was that? Scared?", Lass said with a smug at Anya.

"Me? Never!", Anya angrily said. "If that's what you want then...let's go to Kaci!"

"We are not actually doing this when we can easily go around-", Ikarisa saw Lass dashing off.

"Then catch up with me!", he put his horse on high gears.

With that, they dashed all the way to the so well-known Forest Of Spirits. But at the time it seemed a bit...uninviting. Despite them all catching up to each other, they all paused briefly while staring at a dark, ominous forest, most definitely not wanting to have them come into its territory.

"W-Well...this is uh. So this is Kaci, eh? Seems very...vigorous.", Ikarisa said, scared in front of the forest's presence. "It certainly has changed...", she whispered.

"Looks great, doesn't it? Let's head inside then.", Lass smirked at Anya, without a single instance of showing fear.

Unlike Lass and Ikarisa, Anya was indeed shocked, not wanting to get back near the forest at all.

"What is this? Last time I was here it wasn't like this.", Anya wondered.

"Maybe Makaro and Kikaro came here? As you said, this is a hotspot for them. Sure they'd love to get their hands on this place as a vantage point to Reingard?", Ikarisa theorized.

Anya didn't speak but only gave a small shrug. They got off their horses and started heading in slowly, realizing with every step that it was definitely a bad idea.

"I can't simply lose to you...again.", Anya angrily looked at Lass.

As they all started to move inside the forest, Lass also started to slowly regret the decision to do so in the first place. A thick mist covered the entirety of the forest floor, and it seemed to become even thicker and dense the deeper they headed inside the forest. The trees grew ever so larger with their vision being unnaturally limited, only able to see a dim, blue, misty light above them while being surrounded by trees that ended in total darkness. The ground started to gradually become softer to the touch, not quite damp, but enough to allow humidity to surround them, feeling it with every breath. Unable to understand if the plants were getting a darker shade of green because of the lighting or the mystical force surrounding the area, it took Lass but one look back to realize that despite their minimal progress inside the forest, the way to their horses had been completely gone, instead limited by darkness blocking their field of view. The only noise they could hear was the airbrushing along the leaves of the trees and the grass bellow, occasionally filled with fade sounds of bugs, such as cicadas.

"Maybe I'm just that big a goddamn idiot...dammit.", Lass whispered, Alright, stay close! We don't wanna lose each other, especially in this...whatever this forest is.", Lass shouted at Ikarisa and Anya. "Perhaps it was a bad idea to come here...and something tells me going back from where we came isn't going get us out of here.", he whispered.

"You don't say?", Mellistar echoed in his head.

"Oh shut it. I preferred it when you were inactive.", Lass replied.

"Whatever. I'm not going to mingle in such childish matters. Just make sure they're ok.", Mellistar started to fade away.

"Who the hell did you call childish?! Hah. Whatever, fade away like you always do.", Lass said to Mellistar, walking deeper with the others in the forest.

"Everything working 100% up there or should I be worried about that too?", Anya worryingly said, watching Lass essentially talking to himself.

"I'll let you know when I go crazy, mutt. Don't worry."

At one point they finally managed to come across a clearing to relax in. A few rays of sunlight lit the ground below, and it looked like when stepping on it, they could look around as if the darkness didn't even exist. Suddenly, they had a much wider field of view, almost being able to see their horses all the way at the entrance, afraid that beam lining for them would instead get them lost in this maze. Stopping to take a breath, the for from above mysteriously disappeared as the sound of the bugs stopped, instead replaced with the melody of chirping birds riding across the tree branches.

"Alright, then instructor. This whole break-time thing isn't my thing, and from here, it should get real. Let's go. Whoever backs out first, loses.", Anya challenged Lass.

"I'll take you up on that challenge any day, mutt, but right now, things are-",

"Afraid now? You forced me into some good old exposure therapy. Now it's time for me to bring in the victory!", she provoked him further.

"I'll best you any day, and you know that.", Lass fell for it.

"You two really are childish. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little bit of the same.", Ikarisa facepalmed, "I do have to admit though, it's quite cute when he acts like this. Maybe let him at it a little longer...", she whispered, suddenly lost in her fantasies.

Deciding against a stalemate, they took in the sight of the resting point, the calmness and lush green of their surroundings, before starting to stay close and move again. The more they walked in, the more that mist began to engulf them. It was as if the entire forest was just leaning towards them to cover them all up, with the trees gradually becoming bigger and their leaves covering even that dim, blue light above. But then it was when things started to get even weirder, as noise and voices started to surround them, gradually becoming louder and louder. At one point, Anya began to get alerted to the sounds around them, being the first that was able to make sense of them.

"Hmm? You guys hear that?", Anya raised her head and ears.

"Hear what?", Lass asked.

"It sounds like...Misha?!", Anya jolted.

"Who? I don't hear anything...", Ikarisa said as she tried to listen to the sounds.

"What the hell is my little sister doing here?! No...god, don't tell me she somehow found a way to sneak in with me again!", Anya screamed as she started to run toward the source of the sound, acting on pure instinct at the rush of the moment, "Misha! Don't be scared! Big sis is here, don't worry!", Anya began to run in the voice's direction.

"Mutt, don't run off that far! She can't be here!", Lass yelled.

Anya didn't listen and just kept on running toward the sounds she heard, eventually becoming a part of the engulfing darkness as they both lost sight of her.

"God dammit, I knew this would've been an issue! It was an awful idea, to begin with, god damn me!", he reflected on his childish actions, "She's obviously smart, and this is fake as hell! Why the hell did she fall for such a simple trick?! God damn mystic forest crap!", he said as he punched a tree, worried about Anya.

It wasn't long before the mesmerizing voices began to catch up with Ikarisa, somehow being able to send her as well into a state of acting before thinking, as they began to trick her.

"Wait! Do you hear that too?! No way...no. That voice...it can't be! I-It can't really be!", Ikarisa yelled as she too, ran off before Lass could react.

"Don't you dare do that too! Dammit!", he tried to lodge at her to grab her.

Lass failed to catch Ikarisa as well, watching her disappear among the thickness of the woods. Despite his flawless reaction time, it seemed as if the forest forced him back as it pushed Ikarisa in, almost as if it was trying to consume food on its plate. Almost as if it were...alive. In what seemed like mere seconds, he had been left alone in the forest.

"Stereotypical horror plot. What's in the end? A half-baked cliffhanger for a sub-par sequel? Maybe take off the mask of the beast to reveal some millionaire with daddy issues? And here I thought the author was more original...what a pity.", Mellistar echoed in disrespect to the forest itself and possibly me.

"Could you stop?! This is serious!", Lass yelled.

"Idiot. Look around you and scan the circumstances. All this seems too convenient.", Mellistar scoffed.

"Screw it! Risa! Get back here!", Lass yelled towards the direction Ikarisa disappeared.

Lass started running after Ikarisa, but she proved to be too far ahead of him. He run back towards Anya as well, but she was already too far gone. It seemed as if they had just...evaporated. Just disappeared into the thick forest. No screaming, no sound of their running. And then Lass himself started to hear his own set voices that were spoken.

"So you're back?", the spirits echoed all around.

"Back? What do you mean back?", Lass asked the spirits.

"You dare mock us?", they echoed angrily.

"Oh great, it's one of those spirits. God bless...no. I didn't try to mock you. I only want you to tell me what trick you pulled and made my friends disappear into thin air. Give them back and we will be on our way.", Lass pleaded.

"It's beyond worthless to try to reason with them at this point.", Mellistar echoed.

"You will shut it up. I'm almost sure this 'You're back' is specifically directed towards you!", he shouted.

"Heheh. You wouldn't be wrong there. Miserable creatures.", Mellistar scoffed.

"Who, with such power and aura would disturb the peace of the forest?", the spirits echoed.

"I'm not here to hurt you...yet. Where are my friends?", Lass started losing his patience.

"Safe.", they replied.

"Safe my ass. I want to see them right now. I'm just a 'lowly human'. So leave us alone and we can go back and around the forest.", Lass said.

"No...you're different...", they echoed.

"What do you mean? Who are you anyway?"

"You don't remember a thing...perhaps for the best. But no, it can't be...", they echoed, this time in a sweeter tone.

A light then shone brightly in front of Lass, as some sort of woman appeared before him. He pulled out his sword, in anticipation of an attack, pointing it at the materializing woman. She was so familiar to him yet so distant...a feeling that can hardly be described. The woman had a broken armor covering her body and a stab wound in her abdomen.

"I can't believe it...you're...here? N-No. The Elysian Plains can't be-", the spirit of the woman ran away in tears.

"Wait I didn't mean to scare you like that!", he said as he put his weapon away and chased after her, unknown to why he did so.

Not long after she ran away, an absolutely massive and terrifying dragon appeared before him. It appeared to be extremely hostile as it seemed angry for Lass to appear and disturb the forest like that.

"So this is the demonic that has destabilized the serenity of the forest? In the name of the Goddess your reign shall end here!", the dragon roared.

"Ok, I definitely didn't sign up for this.", he flipped the broken sword back in his hand.

Before the dragon could land a blow on Lass, the woman reappeared in front of him, separating the dragon and Lass before they could engage in battle.

"No...you have mistaken him for another. This is...' him'. The real one. He's-"

She channelled all her strength and absorbed the dragon's energy before disappearing again. After she did, and the fake image of the massive beast started to slowly crumble and fade away bit by bit, Lass was surprised to see that the so tall and mighty dragon has been reduced to a small, black, flying dragon-like creature. It had a slender body with a furry belly covered in white, small horns on its head and a pair of large, fluffy ears, looking far less fierce and way cuter than the image it tried to project onto Lass...