“…I am not completely clueless,” Alnea said, turning his head away from Yuri to hide the blood rushing towards his cheeks. “And it is not as if I am the only one who has thrown himself in his training.”

“We are training to become stronger. To protect. And to not be left helpless once again. But you…” Yuri trailed off as she reached his side. Placing her hand on the back of her thighs, she pushed her robe against her knees before taking her seat so as to not create any folds, or crease. But she would have been perfect either way. Unlike him…

“It was not your fault, Alnea.”

“…Except it was.”

“You did your best. Who could have known—

“Let’s not talk about it,” Alnea said, as he pushed himself into a sitting position, and looked at Yuri with a smile. Or at least tried to. Whether it was because of her smile, or from the things he was running from, for a moment, he completely forgot about his broken arm, and used his left hand as a support, only to end up gasping, and cursing in pain.

“…Fool,” Yuri said, as she helped him get into a sitting position. “How many bones have you broken this time?”

“…I don’t know.”

“But your ring does.”

“…Three.”

“…That’s better than yesterday.”

“…Don’t remind me about what happened yesterday,” Alnea mumbled. “Right, I almost forgot. I gave a name to my ring. Evi.”

“…It is Evitum,” the arrogant ring said, this time, to both Alnea and Yuri.

“…That’s a nice name.”

“Indeed,” said the ring on Yuri’s finger of fate. The female half of the Ring of Fate. “Evi. What a unique name.”

“…There is something wrong with this kid’s head.”

“That, I cannot argue with.”

“…You two really do make a pair,” Alnea grumbled to his ring, before turning back to Yuri. “What about you? Have you decided on a name for your ring?”

“I did,” Yuri said, looking at Alnea with a weird smile on her face. “I call her Fae. Fae as in daughter of Fate.”

“…Is it too late for me to change my master?”

“…Hey, Evi is not that bad. Anyone can think of a name like Fae. Only someone as smart, and caring as me can give you such a cute name like Evi.”

“…Do you think I will be happy after hearing you say that?”

“…Forget it. I will not lower myself to argue with a ring.”

“I am not just a ring! I am a Divine Treasure!”

“Only in my hand. Without me, you are just a ring. A little more durable than other rings. But still just a ring.”

“…I am starting to doubt if you are really the one chosen by mother.”

“…You two sure get along,” Yuri said, laughing at Alnea, just as Fae laughed at Evi.

“…Our bond of millions of years is not as good as your bond with the girl you made just over a year ago?”

“You cannot put it like that…”

“Forget it, Evi. We don’t need them.”

“…For once, I am inclined to agree with you.”

“…Alright, I will stop joking. Let’s go back. Big sis Nyssa should be done recovering from her Wandering anytime now.”

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

“…That is the reason why I don’t want to return,” Alnea mumbled to himself, but nodded to Yuri anyway. His hand was beginning to hurt a little. “Let’s go back.”

Closing his eyes, Alnea imagined himself stepping out of a mirror. And just like that, he felt the world around himself change. His Aspects, the Mysteries that he had comprehended, and his connection with the Origin Sea, everything returned to him. At the same time, he felt the pain in his left hand vanish almost instantly. But that was expected. The injury was just an illusion after all, happening in a world created by the rules and Mysteries of Fate. As for how those Mysteries worked…

“You are awake,” Cecilia said, staring at him with her wide, curious eyes. “That took longer than usual. Is everything alright?”

“…What can happen to me? It was not as if I was Wandering the Origin Sea.”

“…When it comes to you, I have begun to expect that anything can happen.”

“…How are you awake so early?”

“What do you mean? I always wake up early.”

“…Nervous about the Lost City?”

“…A little. Aren’t you the same?”

“…Am I so obvious?”

“…Since last night,” Cecilia said, chuckling at the embarrassed smile on Alnea’s face, before turning towards Yuri. “Only Yuri has shown no signs of nervousness.”

“What is there to be nervous about?” Yuri said with her usual confident smile. “We are already strong enough to take down average Peak Stage False Wanderers. As long as we are together, and are careful enough, everything will be fine.”

“Yuri is right,” his master said, opening her eyes just as Yuri finished her words. “Your trip to the Lost City will be much more challenging than your stay in the Night Canyons.”

“…Are you talking about the dangers from other Wanderers, master?”

“Still as sharp as ever,” his master said, ruffling his hair, with a smile on her face. “Dealing with Oren Beasts is just a small part of a Wanderer’s duty. Most of the time, you will be dealing with other Wanderers. And that is where you will face most of the challenges of your life. Gaining trust of other Wanderers, finding allies for yourself, discerning who are your enemies, and then dealing with your enemies… These are just some of the things that all Wanderers must learn.”

“…Do I have to learn all these things right away?”

“…The sooner you learn these things, the better it would be for you. Besides, something is telling me that if you do not learn these things right now, then you will not have time to learn them later on.”

“…Is it because of the Heterodox Wanderers?” Alnea said, glancing at the dumb cat sleeping in Cecilia’s lap. “Or because of Forne?”

“…They are part of the reason,” his master said. “But no. These warnings… they are coming from the Origin Sea itself.”

“The Origin Sea can even give such warnings?”

“Everything in the world stems from the Origin Sea. Things that have already happened, and things that will happen… they could all be traced back to the Origin Sea. It is just that most people do not know how to read those traces. When you comprehend the Mysteries of Fate to my level though, you will also begin to discern these traces, and read these warning.”

“…I think that the Mysteries of Fate have no relations with me, master,” Alnea said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. “Thankfully, I will have Yuri to help me read these warnings.”

“…Who is the one who warned me not to use any Arcana that could read into the future?”

“That’s because the Arcana consumed your life.”

“Reading, and changing Fate always come at a price.”

“…You mean master—

“You are reading too much into my words. Big sis Nyssa did not peep into the future. She just read some warnings. That should not have any adverse consequences… probably.”

“…You never know what your future might entail,” his master said, interrupting his conversation with Yuri. “Stop worrying about your future. For now, focus on what you have to do.”

“But—

“No buts. I need to leave the Night Canyons to deal with a few things. And I cannot leave the three of you on your own. At least not in the Night Canyons. The Lost City on the other hand… You will understand when you get there. In any case, you will have to learn how to deal with other Wanderers at some point. Especially since you want to help Yuri. Why not take this opportunity to practice in advance? And I am not talking about just you.”

Pausing for a moment, his master turned towards the girls before continuing.

“You two may have dealt with Wanderers of your clan, but this also makes it so that the way you deal with other Wanderers is a bit biased. Coupled with the fact that you have spent the past half year in the canyons… maybe you two might need this experience more than Alnea.”

“…We never objected to the trip, big sis Nyssa,” Yuri said, while Cecilia could only smile awkwardly. “After staying in the Night Canyons for so long, I do not mind going on a trip to the Lost City. As long as it is not as extreme as the canyons, that is.”

“…The Lost City will be extreme in its own ways, but at least there will be no problem in your living conditions.”

“Then I have no problem.”

“I don’t have a problem either.”

“Good. Then get ready—

“You haven’t asked me yet, master.”

“…Do you have a problem?”

“…Can you come with us?”

“…If I do not go with you, who will take you to the Lost City?”

“That’s not what I meant. You—

“We will talk about this later. Go, and get ready first. We will be leaving for the Lost City in a while.”

“…Alright.”