Emilia held her hand over the makeshift grave they had to dig out. Losing a close friend for such an unjust reason was unbearable. She took Maya’s Fragment, a torn page that had shown signs of age. She quietly folded it and hid it in her pocket.

“Move it, there’s no point grieving the dead.” Arin went off to the other three Maze Trials that he hadn’t entered yet. He had already checked the contents of these Maze Trials and already determined the best choice out of the three.

He didn’t even dare consider tackling Bind-level Trials when a Maze-level Trial already nearly caused him to lose his life. There was no reason for him to risk his life when there was nothing to gain.

Trial: Forlorn Comrades

Difficulty: Maze

Participants: 4-10

Restrictions: Cannot Inflict Pain

Goal: Survive the Journey

Rewards: Memento

Sephirah: -68

۝̷̙̤̥̊͑́Ꞡ̸̛̥̖̱̯̈́͜ꝸ̴̦͐̏̿̕Ꙟ̵̤̰̲̤̈́̀͊̾ꓶ̸̨̠̫̰̘̽̋͌̑ⱴ̵̗͈͙̥̑̈́̋̃͗ꭁ̷̩̪̽̒̄͒̔ͅꭁ̸͇̜̀ἒ̴̹̲̳̺̥́̂̆͘͝ễ̴͔̞͂̅̎̀ج̵̻̇̒̀͊ݨ̸̗̺̪͗͒̽̿̕ڠ̸̬̖͊̊ջ̷̹͈̏͛̂͋͝ͅ۝̴̫̮͈̍̔͊͂̒

֍̸̰̫̮͖̇̇͐́̈́̂́̔۩̴͍͖̮̙͙͑̑̇͌́̓̎̒̾̉͋̆͝ͅڠ̶̡̰̞̩̟̬̪̭̫̬͖̹͈̋̅̃̅̈́̈͝Ⴟ̸̰̜̮̋͌̄̀̿͘ڀ̴̧̛̥̻̟̟̮̣̈́̂́̏̌͛̍̐͐͝ͅᴥ̶̨̢̯͙̪͙͓̬͔̿͛̍ﮮ̷͇̟̻̰͇͌̿͌͋͒́̋͊̐̊̈̌̚ͅﯚ̵̛̜̣̬̎͊͒͆̌̎̾̍̅ﺹ̸̢͖͚͉̤̖͉̬̟̭̈́̅ჭ̷̡͔̤͎͐̆͌́͗̄̅̍̚Ⴕ̵̼̱̘̫͙͆̆̈́̍͝֍̵̢͎̥̻̯͐̊̈́̿̽͆́̅́͝

Ѻ̴̢̭̪͔̤͈̳̩͍̥̥͓͙͛̃͝ԩ̶̧̱̟̣̣̻͖̖̹̭̗̇̈́̓́͝₰̴̤͍̰̦͕̲̬̐̐̇̅̈́́͂̕͝͝ꙮ̸̡̱͓̦̇͐̉̒͠͠ͅⴊ̷̛͓̟͍̗̼̟̯̦̪͓͇̇͛̀͋̀͛̓̈́̌̕ⴆ̴̢̨͈͕̩̙̮̳̳͖̀̾̄͘ᾈ̸̣̙̼̏͝Ꚍ̵̨̧̼̖̮͎͕̲̘̃͂͋͐̾͛̈́͛̕͝ﬨ̶̯̬̥̮͛̓͛͒́͆͒ﷺ̵̢̧̜͚̫̼͓̭̥̣̞̌̑́̐̿͜͜ﮃ̶̓̿א̶ָ̧̳̣̼̗̘̒̉͜ﮋ̸̨̧̢̗͎͖͕̹̲̙̞͕́̌̚ͅპ̷̡̦̻̱̘̪̘̰͎̙͚̬͐̏̚̚͝Ჱ̵̡̢̻̲͔͙̿͋̈́́͋̆́ڄ̴̢̆̾͌̏Ყ̶̧̞͎̫̭̞̜̱͚̩͗͆̈́̊̆͆͐̑͂Ჱ̴̡̖͚̜͇͍̓̄͒͂̾Ә̵̛̛̟̹̭̙͔̣̟̲̬̽̀́̈̐̿̇͗͠Ԗ̷̨̪̻͉̯̮̻̉̈́ǂ̵͉̩̜̔̉̀̌ʢ̶̨̺͔͓̮͔̞͚͕̻̮́̇͌ͅ҉̷̡̢̯̩͓̖̘̫̦͍͎͚͋̃́̀̄̀͑͆̒̾͆͠

Arin chose this specific Maze-level Trial due to the restrictions imposed on it. He would be completely safe against these Bind Solvers at the very least. He could still order them around here and if something went wrong along the way, he could easily discard them.

The remaining 11 female Bind Solvers were led by Emilia, donning an exquisite crown that further showcased her beauty. Based on their auras, it was clear that they genuinely possessed strength befitting a Bind Solver. They even had an accompanying Fragment for their personal use.

If not for their questionable personality, Arin would’ve been quite satisfied with them. From how they acted, he could tell that the environment they grew up in was the kind that sheltered them away from the atrocities of the city.

He could easily ask them why they were like this but there was no need to. He had no intention of learning about their past. Why would a player learn more about his chess pieces? He only needs them to do their part, nothing more, nothing less.

This served as a good basis for how they all performed. They would be able to use their special abilities as they wished while preventing them from harming him in the slightest. Learning about what they can do will help him understand how he could tackle the other Maze-level Trials.

From what he knew, these set of Trials were of the highest quality, meaning that alongside rich rewards were terrifyingly dangerous tasks. The last Maze-level Trial he went through, Arcane Truth, nearly sent him to the afterlife. Although he survived and reaped the rewards, he was still unable to properly utilize it.

After all, Malum could only be controlled by using a Fragment. That was the case except for Fiona who broke common sense. As for Fiona’s Malum still surging within his body, it had already been personified by Fiona’s instincts, causing him to struggle against it.

Right now, the Malum he had accumulated thus far could only stay within him, awaiting the time to be used.

Entering the Maze-level Trial, Forlorn Comrades, the weaker Bind Solvers of the party weren’t included due to the participation limit. As the ever-familiar white void welcomed them, Arin immediately laid some some ground rules.

“Anything I say goes. If you want to say something, zip it. But if you have something actually important to say, just spill it.”

A girl wearing glasses raised her hand. From the looks of it, she was the mind of the party. “What counts as important?”

“Something that won’t waste my time. Anything else?” Arin looked down at everyone here. Their mindsets were far too sheltered for his liking.

They all looked at each other only to see that their teammates weren’t keen on asking anymore. Emilia came forward and held in the grudge building up within her heart, “Arin, you won’t be able to lead with that kind of personality. You’ll be backstabbed the moment you show weakness.”

In her opinion, Arin was a very aggressive and cruel man. He had experienced all the resources of the world at his beck and call. Everything ever since his childhood had been smooth sailing, not experiencing any kind of drawback at all. The type of person that had an inflated ego bullying the weak.

“Since you don’t have anything else to say…” Arin looked at the world being built all around them. Mossy cobblestone started forming all around them, alongside sky-high trees filling the entire scene with vegetation. A dense fog suddenly appeared causing them to lose their vision beyond ten meters away from them.

This kind of scenario made it seem quite eerie with the deafening silence echoing throughout the fog. The Bind Solvers all collectively banded together and surrounded Arin in a circle. No matter how much they didn’t like him, they were still ordered to be ‘loyal’ to him for the foreseeable future.

The ground was filled with fallen leaves, twigs, and dirt. The typical kind one would find in a deep forest. But compared to a normal forest with occasional sounds of critters filling the vicinity, it was dead silent. Even their voices were echoing.

“Survive the journey, you say. There’s a dirt path ahead, move forward.” Arin didn’t stop them from breaking apart the circle of protection at all. From the looks of it from an outsider’s point of view, it was as if Arin was some kind of nobility that was to be protected at all costs.

Nine Bind Solvers weren’t a weak force by any means but if there was anything that Arin learned about Trials is that you should never underestimate one under any circumstances.

Treading the dirt path in front of them, they kept on traveling for an unknown amount of time. The monotony of the fog, unchanging suspense, and unknown future were starting to stress these Bind Solvers.

Arin could see even one of the women getting startled by the sound of her own breathing. With such a sad sight, he was losing hope in these meatshields. If they couldn’t be thrown away at all, then what was the point of dragging them along?

Soon enough, a change finally occurred. In front of them, the path they had been traveling on was split into two roads. At the crossroads, a sign with a few words carved into it was standing erect. The carvings were messy and barely legible, making it really hard to read.

“Dear friend of mine, oh how long I have missed you. The days of our journey, the moments of our lives enjoying the peace, and even sometimes causing a bit of mischief. If not for you reaching out your hand one day, I would have never seen the other side.” Emilia read out loud for everyone to hear.

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Examining the surroundings, it was clear that that was nothing else to use. That was the case except for a word written on the ground. The road on the left said, ‘Journey,’ while the right road said, ‘Survive.’

With these being the only clues, Arin was now holding the decision on what path they should take.

Feeling responsibility falls down on her shoulders, Emilia humbly advises. “If I may, I suggest we go take the path that says ‘Survive.’ The goal of the Trial is to survive so this is the most likely correct option.”

Arin heard this and nodded, he was thinking of the same thing. Fortunately, although they weren’t strong-willed they at least had a good head on their shoulders.

The other Bind Solvers looked at Arin, awaiting his decision. Emilia felt that her words would fall on deaf ears. If Arin didn’t agree with her decision then there was nothing she could do.

“I agree. Let’s take the road that says ‘Survive.’ Keep moving.” Arin retained his emotionless outlook, taking note of any possible change in his surroundings. He was on high alert, clearly anticipating something change.

The restriction was placed there for a reason. It most likely affected the core contents of the Maze-level Trial. Similar to the Maze-level Trial, Arcane Truth, people would be unable to use Malum. This made the angel a god-like existence that would be nearly impossible to defeat.

As for being unable to inflict pain on others, it was clear that something was hiding here that was more problematic than one would assume. Whether it would be fabricated people waiting in ambush for them in their travels or a safety net to ensure that the participants wouldn’t rip each other's throats, it was a vital aspect of this Trial.

Emilia was taken aback, she didn’t expect Arin to so easily agree with her. With no one opposing the plan, they all continued on this path without any kind of problem at all. Soon enough, they meet another sign and the same options once again.

“Lasting till daybreak, we drank until there wasn’t anything left to drink! Those were the greatest times of my life! Dear friend, I hope we can meet again… It’s blurred after that.” Emilia once again read it out but the next few sentences were scratched out by a knife.

It was clear that this was part of the scenario of this Maze-level Trial. She took this seriously as she didn’t want to lose another friend. With the same choices before them, there is the choice wasn’t as clear cut as before.

Although they were all clearly qualified to easily complete this Trial due to their strength, not taking this seriously might lead to some complications. Emilia and the rest knew that this set of Trials wasn’t the type of common Maze-level Trials that one would find around, they were one the most daunting Trials out of the rest.

The knife marks made an arrow pointing to the path that said, ‘Journey.’ This was clearly indicating that there was danger in front of them.

“Go down the path that says ‘Journey.’ Keep moving.” Arin didn’t even hesitate at all. It was clear that this path held more importance.

Erring on the side of caution, Emilia suggested, “Why don’t we just keep going down the ‘Survive’ path? That seems to be the safer option.”

Arin narrowed his eyes, “That will lead to a lower Completion Rate. Not happening.”

“There’s no need to immediately try for a Perfect Clear. We should get as much information as possible first before systematically tackling all the options one by one based on their likelihood of working. This method is just far too reckless.” Emilia shook her head, this was the common protocol of learning about a new Trial.

“I only have a few weeks left, playing safe won’t let me get what I want. Besides, what are you so scared of? You should all be trained enough even if you aren’t that mentally strong.” Arin said right back.

With such an argument, Emilia couldn’t say anything reasonable. They were overprepared with numerous Bind Solvers entering this Maze-level Trial so being more proactive would actually be more efficient. At the very least, they could defend themselves from the dangers here.

Walking down the ‘Journey’ path, the dirt path slowly started to converge, becoming thinner and thinner until it only had the wideness of two people. Emilia went ahead as she was the most evident vanguard of the group with Arin directly in the middle.

The fog that limited their vision to ten meters became even more dense, limiting it in half, down to five meters. This was becoming more and more precarious. Even the silence that filled this forest was becoming louder.

On the floor, sword marks were starting to appear, cutting through the ground. There were numerous marks below their feet.

“These sword marks are too precise to be the work of random bandits. Keep an eye out, they should be skilled but nothing you can’t handle.” Emilia warned her group.

Arin observed these marks from a distance too. He hadn’t been that refined in the art of weaponry since he had only been fighting using his pure instincts the entire time. He was curious as to what awaited them.

After walking past these sword marks, even more marks from different weapons appeared before them. From great swords to axes, even war hammers and flails litter the imprints of their weapons on the ground. The intended placement of these weapon marks was starting to put pressure on them.

The distance they traveled seemed to have been roughly around the same as the previous path. Soon enough, another sign appeared before them, it also had some ramblings of seemingly the same person as before.

“If not for that damned war we would’ve ruled the world! Rip and tear, fight and demolish! As the master of strategy and you, being the master of weaponry, we were an unstoppable duo! No army was too big, no mountain was too tall, and no sea was too vast for us to conquer-” Emilia touched the ink still fresh, flowing down the crossed-out words.

Arin now finally realized what this was about. This seemed to be similar to what happened in the other Trial. It seemed to have been related to another figure in the great past. The only question now was who?

“Railan and Gaden, the duo that was infinitely close to the power of an Emperor.” Emilia closed her eyes, expressly knowing what happened. Her expression showed extreme regret for what could’ve been. “If not for that war then humanity wouldn’t have been desecrated to this degree.”

“What’s this war about?” This was crucial information he needed to know moving forward.

“The war that made the three Emperors disappear from the face of this world. Greedy Emperor Kald’ish, Humane Emperor Eibo, and Eternal Emperor Valler all disappeared after the great tragedy. If Gaden didn’t die so early then humanity would’ve stood a fighting chance.” Emilia removed the ink covering the sign. As it turned out, the carved letters were filled in with ink, letting them be readable.

“Try as I might, nothing will change the future. If that predatory bastard didn’t take all my men, if that clueless idiot didn’t isolate everyone, and if that self-centered psychopath only took the time to listen. Then the future wouldn’t have been so bleak. Alas, there is nothing left to do but wallow in despair…” Emilia felt Railan’s words resonate with her.

“If I’m understanding this correctly, we’ll be facing against Railan’s traps and ambushes. There will be no other living creatures here except for us.” Emilia’s guard didn’t go down at all and instead increased vigilantly, for a person infinitely close to being an Emperor, as weakened as the traps will be, the complexity of it will be something to be wary of.

Seeing the slight confusion in Arin’s eyes, Emilia explained the bare necessities, “Railan was a person during the Lost History, he was a one-of-a-kind prodigy, able to create miracle after miracle with his devious stratagems. He mastered the art of traps, anything out of the ordinary, say it out loud. I fear that this will be… life-threatening…”

“Then I should point out that you can cover the upper carvings with ink too?” Based on Arin’s observations, the amount of ink covering the lower part of the carved sign was far too much, meaning that this was a possibility.

Emilia looked at her hand which was covered in ink and followed along with what Arin just said. The carvings above siphoned the ink from Emilia’s hand and started morphing and changing into something else.

“The path to salvation is…” Emilia said out loud. It ended off oddly. She took even more ink from the lower part of the sign and tried plastering it on the upper part yet it didn’t add anything new.

“Sister Emilia, look, the words on the pathways changed.” A random girl pointed at the two new options before them.

The first option, ‘Despair,’ showed on the left path while the word, ‘Effort’ was placed on the right. It was clear that they would be filling in the phrase that best suited it.

“It should be ‘Effort,’ that’s the most likely choice.” Another girl from the party finally broke her silence and spoke out her opinion.

“That sounds about right, how can you be led to salvation if all you do is despair? Let’s go take the right path.”

Emilia was also leaning on the right path, the path that seemed to be the correct option. As much as it made sense to her, she still looked at Arin.

“What do you think?” Emilia hated Arin but at times like this, she still needed his input. They were following right behind him after all. Their sole purpose was to be used by Arin.

“Do what you want. I’m going down ‘Despair.’ It’s the only one that makes sense.” Arin started walking off on the left path without caring to have any input from the others. He didn’t even care to wait for the other’s decision.

Emilia knew that with his personality, he would most likely just keep going. This wasn’t a bluff or anything, it was his pure belief. A possibly misguided belief but it was still something he would follow through to the very end.

“Everyone, go down on the right path. I’ll go with Arin to make sure he doesn’t die!” Emilia ran off. Based on her understanding, this was the most optimal decision to limit the loss of life.

“Be careful, Emilia!” Another girl shouted out from behind. She also firmly believed that Arin was taking the wrong route. This was the consensus among the remaining ones except for one girl.

Feeling that ‘Despair,’ was also the correct option, she ran out. “I’ll go help out Emilia, you girls keep together and make sure nothing bad happens!”

“Layla! Don’t make it hard for Emilia, come back!” One of the girls shouted from behind. She was scared that another person would run away from the group.

Layla ignored her words and kept rushing forward. Her beliefs were different from the rest of them.