Whoosh!

Glenn's tie fluttered in the air, the bright moonlight of the twin celestial moons shining on the young man's black, sleeveless vest. Sahro stretched his sole arm toward the stars, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. The wind whistled past the two men's ears, deafening them with thunderous violence as their bodies were thrashed uncontrollably.

Glenn and Sahro kept ascending toward heaven, the Still Peak gradually becoming a small point in their eyes.

'Are we even going to stop at some point?!?' Glenn thought, clenching his teeth while concentrating his Mana around his companion and him, trying to use his Gravity Manipulation to slow their ascent. Sahro's widened eyes from the shock of getting shot into the air slowly closed. The Black Heir's long hair swayed behind his head as he closed his eyes, a peaceful smile drawing on his face. Glenn concentrated on controlling his spell instead of dwelling on Sahro's serene expression.

"Since I'm so close to the heavens, let me get there already..." Sahro said despondently. Glenn would have probably blinked in confusion had he heard his friend's nonsense, but thankfully, the whistling wind had made any conversation impossible.

'Forgot about me?' Diamanes sneered, startling Glenn and almost making him lose his focus. The Mana trembled and Glenn held his gasp, barely holding the spell together by the strength of his will. The wind pressing on his face made his eyes cry, forcing him to cover them with a fine Mana barrier to protect them. Eventually, his Gravity Manipulation spell stabilized, allowing him and Sahro to slow their ascent.

'With how silent you were during that fucking mess, yeah, I kind of did!' The young man mentally spat as he stopped in mid-air, letting him enjoy the sight of the whole land covered in moonlight, with barely any clouds present in the air to ruin the magnificent view. The forest surrounding the Still Peak reflected the pale light, the mountain standing like a beacon of peacefulness in the lush center. Far away, like a lighthouse in the night, King's Rise shone valiantly, its gigantic ramparts protecting the city silently.

As they dived back down, Glenn missed the view they left behind. Strangely, he was convinced it wouldn't be the last time he would find himself flying into the sky uncontrollably. At least now, compared to the first time this flying bullshit happened, he felt much more relaxed. After all, he had already survived getting thrown into the sky once, and he had no idea what to do at the time. Now that he had a better mastery of his spells, this was going to be a walk in the park. His fingers tensed, helping him to control the Mana. Glenn and Sahro slowly descended, ignoring the gusts of wind or the eventual passage of night birds.

A bead of sweat formed on Glenn's forehead as he controlled the fall as best he could when he glanced at his comrade. He almost let go of the spell when he saw the Black Heir sitting cross-legged into the void, his eyes closed.

'...Is the damned bastard meditating?' The young man hesitated to rub this incredible scene off his eyes, before chuckling and shaking his head. After a painful dozen minutes for Glenn – minutes that certainly seemed relaxing enough for Sahro – the two finally landed on the ground.

Well, the canopy of a tree was the place considered 'ground' in this case.

"...And so we're now on top of a tree. Great. What a way to stop someone from reaching enlightenment..."

"...What the fuck are you even saying?" Glenn blinked with bewilderment, laughing nervously. He leaned his head against the trunk of the large tree they had landed on. He didn't know what kind of tree species this was, and he couldn't be bothered to try and see what it was.

Right now, there was only one thing that occupied his mind.

"We've shat the bed, didn't we...?" He groaned painfully, holding the side of his head with regrets. Sahro's blissful expression was replaced by sudden seriousness.

"Well, Maron is pretty much lost, at least until we go find him back in that weird place. And, do we talk about the fact that God talked to us at some point...? And that Doyle Malory, what the hell was he? Does your demonic friend have any idea?" The Black Heir demanded without stopping, drowning Glenn with questions. The young man winced as he waved his hand dismissively. He looked at his foot that he crushed on Doyle's thigh, before sighing and applying a new layer of Nitrogen over it.

"...Too many questions, and literally zero answers," Glenn replied, poking his broken foot and the layer of thin ice covering it, scowling as a result, "...Shit, I'm pretty sure doing this is fucking useless...at least it'll help calm the pain...I hope..."

Sahro sighed and looked at his right hand, clenching it tightly.

"I wonder how much will it take for me to grow stronger than a monstrosity such as that Doyle..."

Glenn sneered, glancing downward. The real ground wasn't that far, probably forty meters or so away. Nothing Gravity Manipulation wouldn't be able to take care of.

Because, even if Glenn certainly had an affinity for climbing stuff, he'd still choose ten times over to float back down to the ground. Firstly, because it looked cool, and secondly, because climbing down with a broken foot probably wouldn't be much fun. Or comfortable.

"Another question we don't have the answer to...Shit, why did I direct the convoy over to the damned quarry..." Glenn covered his face with his hand, rubbing his forehead tiredly. What was he even supposed to do now? Sahro smiled sardonically, before patting Glenn on the shoulder and climbing down the tree. The young man remained on top of the tree for a few additional minutes, enjoying the instant to calm his mind and rest a little.

'...That guy didn't lie,' said Diamanes suddenly, any of the usual mocking or sarcastic tone gone, replaced by cold harshness. Glenn's eyebrows creased, and he opened his left hand, staring at the mouth slowly appearing inside it.

In an event so rare it was worth noting, Diamanes didn't smile. No grin, sneer, or anything close to a rictus. His white teeth he enjoyed showcasing so much were hidden away behind the red veil of the entity's lips, sealed tight in a chilling silence. Glenn waited patiently, listening to his heartbeats as he gave the entity the time he needed to regain his composure.

Diamanes' mouth opened slightly, his lips trembling slightly before the entity groaned annoyingly.

"...Shit! I've never been so fucking flustered in my whole, accursed life!" The entity suddenly lashed out, his teeth clenched. Glenn raised an eyebrow but remained silent. Diamanes drew a deep breath, before smacking his lips.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Glenn...Remember what that guy said, about being a Fallen One and whatnot?"

The young man nodded slightly, wondering what kind of bullshit the entity was going to drop over his head.

"...And do you remember what the Sealing Stone's condition was? When you found me for the first time?" Diamanes pressed on with a hurried tone. Glenn hummed a confirmation.

"...So the talking stone was a 'Sealing Stone'? Cool...And yeah, I remember, it said something along the lines of "Only Fallen Ones could harness the power of the sky". Completely bullshit by the way, since now that I met a Fallen One, I'm sure as hell that I'm not one of them!" Glenn sneered, shaking his head. Diamanes sighed, pressing his lips together.

"...Glenn," Diamanes drew a deep breath, pressuring his host with the weight of his revelation, "...I'm also a Fallen One."

The young man blinked unresponsively for a few seconds, bewildered. Finally, his nose creased as he snorted.

"...What?"

Glenn licked his lower lip before chuckling.

"...That's your incredible reveal? Shit, I thought this went without saying!" He exclaimed as he stood on the tree branch, glancing downward. He summoned his magic as he used Gravity Manipulation to slowly bring him to the ground. Sahro was sort of waiting for him throughout the whole conversation, and Glenn didn't have the leisure to let off steam by annoying his friend for once. Other things much too important deserve his attention right now.

"What–What do you mean it doesn't surprise you?!" Diamanes exclaimed in shock. Glenn shrugged, avoiding a protruding tree branch.

"I mean, I witnessed a piece of whatever that white crystal holding you fall from the sky was, and watched it sink into the mountain, probably to join you. Then I met you against my will, and you explained to me that 'Fallen Ones' are from the Moon Rift! Doesn't take much to make the calculation, heh," said the young man while grinning. Diamanes remained dumbfounded, unable to say a word. It was so simple he almost wanted to mock his host, but he couldn't do so, since his theory, as simple as it was, was entirely right.

'Shit, was it really that evident...? Am I dumb?' The entity couldn't help but ask himself, making Glenn laugh mockingly. The young man gently landed on the ground, his foot hitting the wet dirt slowly. A fulgurant pain shot from his broken foot, traveling through his leg up his waist, making him curse out loud at the bloody limb. Sahro watched with an amused gaze, his hand resting on the pommel of his curved sword.

"Finally done? Let's go back to camp, we'll figure the rest out over there," Sahro nodded in a random direction in the forest, before adding, "...Hopefully we'll get that foot healed too, so you can go over the average snail speed."

Glenn scowled silently, before flicking his fingers, an enlightened smile replacing the expression of pain. He used Gravity Manipulation on himself, and after a few confusing seconds, began hovering above the ground magically. It was very precise work, since if he reduced his weight too much, he would fly away like a leaf in the wind, and if he made the weight too heavy, he'd crash down on the ground and crush not only his foot but probably the rest of his bones.

But, if he managed to remain in the exact middle between these two extremes, he found himself able to float magically.

"...And if I lean forward," Glenn advanced without touching anything under his friend's astonished eyes. He leaned back, his body following his movements. Glenn chuckled before gulping heavily as his control over his Mana trembled, the spell threatening to disappear.

"Damn, this shit is fun, but it sure is hard to do without thinking." Glenn suddenly raised an eyebrow, an extremely prideful expression adorning his face as he looked down at Sahro.

"Huh, would you look that, this peasant is using his legs to move. What a loser," Glenn mocked, floating away from Sahro's glare. The Black Heir rubbed his eyes, before sighing and heading into the forest. Glenn followed him, happily hovering over all of the obstacles.

'Even though you guys always bicker with each other, you both are very similar,' remarked Diamanes. Glenn sneered as he controlled his flight.

'I mean, the both of you have some pretty strange antics, are thirsty for battle and greedy for gold. You make for a really strong pair, one the really strong melee fighter and the other the...uhh, yeah, kind of good mage?' Diamanes chuckled mockingly, his customary sarcastic tone back. Glenn drew a deep breath, before throwing an accusatory glance at his left hand.

'You know, I didn't forget the conversation we just had about you 'revealing' that you're a Fallen One. I know there's more to it than just that, so you better spill the beans!' Glenn grumpily inquired, his eyes squinting as he continued to concentrate on Gravity Manipulation.

Diamanes sighed, smacking his lips in Glenn's mind.

'And here I thought you forgot. Well, here goes nothing...'

The entity drew once again a deep breath, even though it was technically entirely useless since a hand couldn't possibly need air.

'I can't explain all of it because you're not strong enough to bear the weight of these secrets, but I can at least tell what you're authorized to hear. As you already know, two things can come out of a Moon Rift: Fallen Ones, living beings with strange powers, and Fallen Pieces, which can be random garbage or mystical artifacts,' Diamanes explained, Glenn nodding as the conversation progressed.

'The thing I didn't tell you previously was that not everyone can go through the Moon Rift. Nothing living is supposed to pass through it, as a matter of fact,' The entity cleared its non-existent throat. Glenn frowned, rubbing his chin pensively.

'Alright, so I suppose Fallen Ones are anomalies that shouldn't go be in this world–wait.' Glenn froze, his hovering stopping mid-air. These explanations...seemed to strangely mirror what the Guide and Onnea told him. Diamanes was giving him information at the level of Gods... What, no, who was this entity in reality if it knew so damned much?

'...The reason some living beings manage to pass is that they're infused with what I named: "the Pieces of the Fallen",' Diamanes continued his explanation, either unbothered or unaware of Glenn's thoughts. Perhaps the censorship around the Gods' words applied more strongly than Glenn thought.

'These 'Piece of the Fallen' are the reason why I have my powers, or why Doyle was so strong as well. They're what gives the Fallen Ones their titles as "One Who Shall End This World", a title that I also own despite goodwill, by the way,' Diamanes smacked his lips, before drinking from an illusory water bottle. Glenn resumed his progression through the forest, giving himself a slight push into the back using a gust of pure Mana to catch Sahro who had taken a bit of advance.

'...What a surprise, you're originally a bad guy. Well, I'll be jiggered,' Glenn thought sarcastically, leaning his head forward as he avoided a protruding branch.

'I said it was against my goodwill, alright?' Diamanes corrected, '...And it doesn't matter that much in reality. It only means I or Doyle have the potential to ruin the world, but it's not because we have that power that we will use it to do so. A knife is dangerous, but it can also be used to butter your toast.'

'Yeah, skip the philosophical bullshit and get to the point,' Glenn groaned mentally, getting increasingly annoyed by Diamanes' proficiency at beating around the bush.

'...I'm getting there.'

'What's really important is that Fallen Ones all come from the same source of power that was split into multiple parts,' Diamanes finally breathed out, relieved of his secret. Glenn raised an eyebrow, curious.

'...The hell could possibly be strong enough to be separated into multiple parts and still give birth to monsters like Doyle or you?' He asked, his forehead creased.

Diamanes pouted, 'Thanks for considering me a monster, but well, to answer you...'

Glenn could feel the entity grinning wickedly inside his mind.

'...You need to get to the Seventh Circle to find out!'

The young man spat to the side, dismissing any thoughts he had about the matter.

"I expected it, and still, I'm fucking annoyed by it..." He mumbled, ignoring Diamanes' laughter ringing inside his head.

Seventh Circle?

Fucking Seventh Circle?!?

Is this a madhouse or what??