After a night of a long struggle between both his body and mind and a rescue mission that went as successfully as they could've hoped morning had finally arrived. Despite his need for a somewhat sluggish awakening and a day full of laziness, Lass knew that it was but impossible for the set of unique circumstances he had found himself in. And it was then that the one voice in his head rang him back up, urging him to get out of bed, abandoning another one of his convoluted and immersive dreams. Alone in an empty dark room, he sat once again alongside Mellistar, conversing while Mellistar was refusing to leave him alone like he wanted.

"Have you yet to wake up?", Mellistar echoed in Lass's head.

"Why? What's the hurry? I just want this to last a little longer.", Lass replied.

"Hah. Funny how you acknowledge the fact that you have work to do, yet you come back to this.", Mellistar scoffed.

"What do you mean? You were the one who told me to take an example of how quickly Risa got sold, and immersed, into her 'relaxed' state. Now you're taking that back?"

"Ah...naïve and careless. To be stupid, not young, and still attempting to achieve ignorance for bliss. You and I both know I meant it for the moment. Because at that moment, it looked like some random moron in their 20s was about to just be wasted from a heart attack."

"We still can't put an end to this mess? Come on already. It's not like I'd ever actually hear you. After all..."

"Yes, I was mysteriously merged with your stupid self and gave you all these powers you called 'awesome', yesterday. Had you ever listened to me, you wouldn't be half as bad off as you are now. You hate me and I hate you. But at the end of the day-", Mellistars words were stopped by Lass.

"We are one. I know. So next time you better watch it."

"'Watch it'? You careless moron. You should be the one to 'watch it'. You know what you did...you know what could have happened to you."

"I...I didn't know it was like...well this.", Lass averted his eyes.

"Hmph! I...I guess it's my fault as well. I told you not to overuse your powers like that-", Mellistar was interrupted by Lass.

"But you never told me why! I thought that it was just a tradeoff of power for bodily harm, like all these other Obsulyte users at times!"

"Are you trying to sound stupid? Or are you really that stupid? This doesn't justify you overusing them to such a harsh extent without prior experience!"

"Harm can come to me. Not like I care at this point, though I'm sure you figured that one out already. But if I was like that...if the others were near me. Just imagine what would've happened."

"Being inconsiderate of others isn't being careless in general. Carelessness, at the weight of others' safety, is being inconsiderate. But I wouldn't let that happen anyway. However, what you must know is this: the more intensely or heavily you use your powers without learning to optimize, the more your mental state will deteriorate during their usage. I suppose the little flying midget knows it as well. What was his name again, Yuno?", Mellistar said.

"So at that point...I accidentally overdid it completely? Because the shift was almost immediate. I only used them momentarily, by reacting to that thing."

"As soon as you're born with them, you use them, hence why Obsulyte users will always be fundamentally different from others. That comes in terms of strength, speed and even how your mind works, which is faster, despite you being as slow as a sloth. Another thing your pathetic peasant brain needs to know is that whenever you let your guard down, overuse and your mental state deteriorates like that, it's way easier for me to come in. But even I wasn't expecting that power surge back there...funny how it got them all killed in the end.", Mellistar chuckled.

"And you better not do it again. Not in such a fashion anyway. So if I got like this from overusing them in a single instance....prolonged exposure will be fatal, right?", Lass took a second glance at Mellistar.

"Do you even know who you are dealing with? For you to be giving someone so severely superior to you such a pitiful look, you must really have a death wish!", Mellistar folded his arms, "How the stars have fallen for even worms to look at their Overseers with pity.", he angrily said.

"It's still a given you have been using those long before me. You are more seasoned with them...but still. Even with all that experience."

"I might be seasoned. But you are...meh.", he shook his thought off, "Whatever. Get lost and wake up already, you've had enough slacking.", Mellistar looked away.

"How can you call yourself seasoned with powers you told me to earn, not be born with, but you yourself being so out of control with them?"

"Oh, my-You feel regrets for killing even mere monsters? Didn't you say we killed that horse already? What, you want to kick that dead horse, cut it up in pieces and send it off at a burger joint now?", Mellistar got fed up.

"I'm not the one who went for the kill on them all, with the way you did. I just...watched it. Watched what my potential was. And I... I really do not have regrets about it. Not after what they've done."

"Then why be like this? What's done is done. The way it happens doesn't matter. A kill is a kill. Doesn't matter the way it happens, or the tool used to make it happen, rather than the end result. Two lives spar, and one makes it out. A simple and effective way to end a dispute of such magnitudes."

"That's...that's not who I really am. No, screw that. That's not how the world works. Stop trying to constantly sell me this bullshit idea of killing to end it all."

"Oh, really? So you don't want to kill anything at all then? Leave the monsters rampant around this world, like it was intended? You're worried about stupid things all the time then, according to you. Do you know who you are? Do you know what you are? None of those questions matter then, if all you want to do is look at the grand scheme of things. You want a weight to carry, just so that you can be constantly special on account of drowning in your tears and misery, here. I'll help you. You were given a curse that can be used as a gift to better the lives of everyone around you, and you're always trying to either subdue or hide that gift from everyone who needs it. A talent given and not expanded on is a talent wasted. The only way to better and expand that gift, for everyone's sake, is to route back to yourself. It's not selfishness like you think it is all the time. But if you don't change, put those idiotic weights you're carrying on your back all the time down, then you will just be left behind. Think of that, Mister Hero. You like denying your powers like you deny the fact that there's a connection between them and you needing to 'be the hero'. For god's sake...for everyone's sake."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I..."

"Exactly. The least bit you can do is protect whatever we've got left. That is yourself. Do not trust them. Any of them. And especially her...all shall be cleared in the end. And traitors such as them shall drop their masks. And killing one side to save another...I'd take that any day. I knew you weren't about to let this go last night, despite both me and Risa telling you to shut it. But seriously, you have to stop.", Mellistar echoed a sigh, "Now, off you go, pet. Remember who lies within your body still, and move accordingly...and good morning."

Abruptly woken up from his horrible nightmare, Lass was glad to be greeted by a happy, up-and-ready Anya. Raring to go and looking spry, as if she hadn't even knocked herself out just a few hours prior, she was bugging Lass constantly to get up, having Ikarisa gone missing from the bed next to him, unable to pull Anya off and prevent her from continuing her somewhat provocative and anger-inducing bouncing around the place.

"Yo-yo. Big guy!", Anya nudged Lass, "Rise and shine, we gotta go!", she finally got Lass to get up as if he was rising from a coffin, "Woah...uh. You look a little pale today."

"Yeah, I wonder why. Go bring me the newspaper instead, mutt.", Lass, woke up angrily from all of Anya's nudging, ribbing his forehead, "I'm not too late, am I?"

"Uh, not that much. Just got Risa down preparing things alongside Yuno. Man, you must've been really beaten from yesterday, considering Risa's complaints about your snoring."

"I... yeah. Nevermind that.", Lass stuttered, "Anyway, are the others done?"

"Down and waiting. We found the mecha-horses thanks to the villagers too!"

"Good.", Lass said as he finished gearing up, "Let's go then, time is against us."

Having his worried self and anxious thoughts back up, he wasted no time getting himself ready and down at the front of Weis's house, finding Yuno, Lilith, Ikarisa and Weis himself, waiting around to start their journey back up. Ikarisa specifically was looking dull and uneased, holding a cup in her hand while slouching around with somewhat weird body language.

"Morning Lass...", Ikarisa yawned as she sipped something from a cup.

"Yeah, good morning. Uh...sorry about last night. Anya told me about it-", Lass paused from Ikarisa making a stopping motion with her hand.

"Not the first time, not the last. Please, let's just beamline for Delpha. And no words, toying or playing until I at least have my coffee down to one-third."

"And when's that?", Anya asked.

Lass made a cutthroat sign at Anya, "Don't."

Ikarisa glared at Anya with her black circled eyes, "I-will-tell you.", she paused and emphasized each word.

Anya momentarily lowered her ears, "Ah-hah...yeah. N-No need.", she anxiously said.

Weis laughed again as he heard them all, "What a company you all are. Truly, the 'goddess' in the morning reminds me of yet another lost child back in my homelands."

"Yeah...anyway.", Yuno cleared his throat, "Don't sweat it, let's just go. Delpha should be a 2-hour trip from here. Luckily, we found these three lying around at the entrance of the forest, so here you go.", Yuno presented them with their mecha-horses.

"Ah, nice. Was worried about those three.", Lass pet his mecha-horse before getting on it.

"Umm...they are pretty shiny for horses. But I heard them waiting around and even fed them.", Lilith said.

"Not the normal kind of horses. Still, horses underneath, but science put its hand in saving their lives and augmenting them.", Anya explained to her.

"Oh, cool! Well, I guess they really want to have their run and exercise now, because they look ready to go! And with them, I wish you a happy journey, so take off each other out there! I bet even these three horses want that too. Careful not to fall while they're galloping!", Lilith happily said.

"I'm sure they do. They are as easy as golf carts to ride anyway. Should try it sometime. Now, are we all ready? We're getting back in the game after this.", Lass said.

Ikarisa slowly got up on her horse, "Yeah, don't amp it up more than you need to.", she sipped her coffee as she leaned forward at the back of her horse's head.

"I'll hitch on the back of your horse, ok? I can't just fly 24/7 all the time.", Yuno sat at the back of Lass's mecha-horse.

"It's fine. We got the route back up?"

"Route already planned!", Anya jumped on her mecha-horse, "Let's be off!"

"Alright then. To be off as you plan, go straight out the gate and move forward until you're out. The forest will set you on the course, where you're directions are dictating, regardless.", Weis advised them, "Stay safe, and above all, stay together.", he gave them his final goodbye.

"Yeah. I'll be seeing you, alright?", Yuno nodded at Weis as he turned to face Lilith.

Lilith nodded, "Like we said last night.", she went at Ikarisa, "And Risa. As we also said...last night. Ok? Guardian of yours or not, we can still be friends, right?"

Ikarisa smiled at Lilith, "Always. After all we've been through.", she sighed as she remembered their talk in secret last night.

Again, taking off to their original destination, the three got excited about each other, regardless of how recent events played out. Silently making their way across the larger back streets at the side of the small village, they got through the gate and were waved at by the guards with gratitude. From atop Weis's house, despite the elder heading inside to rest once again, a silent Lilith sat at the top of the roof, somewhat melancholically looking at them all exiting through the gates. The distance between them as large as it was, didn't stop Yuno from being able to clearly see where she was at, him being the only one with eyes laid upon her at the moment.

"Be seeing you, Yuno. We will keep in touch, ok?", Lilith waved at Yuno and the others, despite not being seen by them all.

Despite the distance between the two, Yuno could still realize what she had wanted to say, as he waved back at her replying back, almost as if he read her lips down to the very last word.

"There's no way I'd lose touch with you.", Yuno waved back.

As they kept moving forward more and more, the three managed to easily get out of the forest this time, as the plants and trees did not hinder either their vision like before, neither did the darkness show after a certain distance to cover what was beyond. Despite following a straight path, as Weis had advised them, they got out from the side of the forest, right next to the main road leading to their destination. Their navigation system completely shifted their current position as they exited the mysterious forest, it rerouted them back to their path, all of them slowly starting their way and their day by heading towards the city. Keeping silent to avoid provoking and already irritated Ikarisa, no one said a word for a long while, before they all started seeing the edges of a city, Delpha, in the distance. Yuno found himself taking a nap at the back of Lass's mecha-horse as he softly gazed at the fields around him, lowering himself to the point Lass could comfortably lay back as well. Around an hour away still, it was then that Anya approached Lass, looking at him engulfing himself in silence, laid back on his mecha-horse and looking at the bright blue sky while lost in his thoughts. Having a considerable distance behind Ikarisa's horse, she got closer and closer next to Lass, before interrupting his sky-gazing with her face a few inches away from his popping out of nowhere. Brushing her hair in the meanwhile, Ikarisa stayed oblivious to their upcoming shenanigans.

"So, what up, big guy?", Anya asked Lass.

"Hmm? What's what?", Lass snapped out of his thoughts.

"How much of a 'nice' dream did you have for Ikarisa last night?"

"Dude. Really? As if this shit didn't get us into enough trouble already.", Lass sighed.

"I'm more of a 'dudette' if you couldn't realize. Have two reasons for me to be classified as one.", Anya tried to lighten up the mood.

"Yes, because you can classify into anything you want but still miss the point. The point is that I want to be alone."

"Man...someone's really not up for it today, Come on, you know it. Spit it out, I'm here."

"I really need to spit it out. But not that way. More like spit it out on my right and leave it there before it eats me like salt to metal."

Anya inhaled deeply, "Alright, time to piss him off.", she whispered, "So salt being like Ikarisa and metal being your hard-"

In milliseconds, Lass had gotten back up in his sitting position on the horse, smacking Anya hard enough to make her head smash forward on the mecha-horse's neck, being briefly dazed from the impact.

Lass softly blushed, "Every goddamn time, you little shit!"