Wrapping them in her Spirit Power, isolating them from dark world of the Night Canyons, his master brought them away to find Cecilia. And maybe it was because they were quite close to her already, or maybe it was because he had Yuri by his side, but the time that it took for his master to reach the canyon where Cecilia was training was much less than the time that she had taken to reach Yuri.

Unlike Yuri though, Cecilia had no news of their arrival. And as such, had not prepared an act for them to see. But it was exactly because of that reason, that Alnea found her action so inexplicable. Instead of fighting Oren Beasts, or training in her camp, she was just using the back of the whimpering Dark Flame Fox, lying on the ground with its four legs spread wide, to enjoy the dark winds of the canyon.

“…What is she doing?” Alnea asked Yuri through his rings, afraid to embarrass his friend through his words.

“…Trying to comprehend a Mystery,” Yuri said. “Or rather, trying to think of ways to interpret a Mystery that she seems to have come in contact with.”

“Already?” Alnea said. “But it has only been a month since she began Wandering the Origin Sea!”

“So? What does that have to do with her comprehending a Mystery?”

“But she is from the Serpia clan!”

“…Never assume what others are capable of by just their lineage, and the clan they belong to.”

“…I am not talking about just her clan… Even the way she normally behaves… I took her to be more of a Warrior, than an Arcanist.”

“…Just comprehending a Mystery does not make her more suitable for the path of Arcanists. Or else, according to your logic, I would be more suitable for the path of Warriors.”

“…That would not be such a bad idea. You beating the Black Horned Ape with your bare hands.”

“…How about I beat you with my bare hands?”

“…One Cecilia is enough for me,” Alnea mumbled, before hurriedly shifting the topic away from himself. “Just when I thought I had finally caught up with her, she is already thinking of ways to create Arcanas.”

“She did start Wandering a month earlier than you. And even has a Divine Grade Arcana to train with. Besides, one of the lineages that her Roots are based on is the lineage of Good Fortune. It is only natural for her get some Good Fortune in her Wandering.”

“…What will I get then? Day, and Night? More thoughts? Or more active energy?”

“…If you are still in the mood to joke around, then you should be fine.”

“Of course, I am fine,” Alnea said. “The more progress that you, and Cecilia make, the happier I would be.”

“Yet you still wish to surpass us.”

“Those are two entirely different things,” Alnea said. “Besides, I do not wish to surpass you two, but know that I will.”

“…Cheeky.”

“Since we are already talking about the progress that you two are making, then the Glyph that you used earlier…”

“Arrow of Corruption. An Intermediate Stage False Ranked Glyph of the lineage of Decay.”

“Lineage of Decay…”

“The darkness of Night makes Death an inevitability, Death is overcome by Fate, and Fate leads into Decay… My Roots are based on the Mysteries of the Night, Death, and Fate. Lineage of Decay was the most suitable choice for my path as a Scholar. Not only will it not conflict with the lineages of my Roots, but will, instead, form a cycle of mutual benefits. You can think of it as me gaining twice the result… no, more precisely, it is like gaining as much as twelve times the result that I would normally get with my effort.”

“…I was thinking more on the line of why you chose to engrave an Intermediate Stage Glyph on your Spirit. You should have waited to engrave Peak Stage Glyphs.”

“…It is because I am too ambitious.”

“Too ambitious?”

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“…You will learn when the time for you to make the choice for your lineage, and specialisation as a Scholar, as well as the Series, and branches of Glyphs you want to engrave comes.”

“Why are trying to be so mysterious about it?” Alnea said, clicking his tongue to show his dissatisfaction. “I am already a Wanderer now. It will take only a few months for me to reach the Intermediate Stage.”

“Good,” Yuri said. “Then keep waiting until then.”

While Yuri and, Alnea were arguing telepathically, Cecilia finally came out of the strange state she was in, and let out a long sigh. “Darkness, and Inner Thoughts…” she said, gently caressing the fur of the quivering fox underneath her. “Which one is it exactly. And how should I interpret it… Do you have any ideas, Blackie?”

“Blackie? Seriously?” Alnea said, involuntarily bursting out into a laugh, as he heard his green robed friend address the Oren Beast that she had subdued in such an affectionate manner. His laughter had been too abrupt though, enough to jolt Cecilia away from her own world. Sensing the presence of others around her, she immediately sprung into action, jumping away from the fox in a front flip, dodging imaginary attacks, while looking out for her enemies, only to see Alnea’s smiling face.

“You… Is this my hallucination? Am I still in the Origin Sea?”

“I am afraid not,” Yuri said, adding her own laughter from the sides. “If it was the Origin Sea’s temptation, then you would have probably only seen Alnea.”

“La—Yuri!” Cecilia said, bursting out in excitement, as she rushed towards Yuri. That also meant that she had left the fox behind though. Seeing that its chance had finally come, the Dark Flame Fox, which had been whimpering and cowering on the ground, instantly burst with its peak strength, and speed, rushing away from their group, and into the darkness. It was only then, that Cecilia recalled the fox, and turned towards the darkness where the Fox had run into, yelling, “Blackie! Come back!”

The fox, of course, did not respond to her. Instead, it increased its speed even more, soon vanishing into the darkness of the canyons.

“No… Blackie…” Cecilia said, almost as if she was mourning for the fox, before turning towards Alnea with reddened eyes. “It is all your fault.”

“How is it my fault?”

“Because I said so!”

“…Did you get hit in the head in the past month?”

“Stop trying to find excuses. Go, and bring my Blackie back to me!”

“…Master, I think that her head is broken,” Alnea said, turning towards his master with weird eyes. “How about you take a look, and see if you can heal her?”

Following his gaze, Cecilia finally noticed the presence of his master, and regained her senses, restraining her haughty appearance, but failed to restrain all the blood flowing to her face.

“…I did not see you there, Lady Nyssa.”

“It does not matter,” his master said. “You are reuniting with your friends after a month, so it is only natural for you to feel a little emotional. But even when emotional, as a Wanderer, you should never stop paying attention to your surroundings.”

“I will keep that in mind, Lady Nyssa.”

“As for the fox… Unless you become a Tamer, gaining the allegiance of Oren Beasts is almost impossible. And even if do plan on becoming a Tamer, taming an Oren Beast with such low potential would be beneath you, and would hinder your progress in the future. Playing around with them is fine, but you should try not to get too attached to such random Oren Beasts.”

“I know, Lady Nyssa. I was using the fox to just keep my company. The darkness of the canyons can be very unnerving at times.”

“…That is indeed the case, and one of the dangers of the Night Canyons that all the Wanderers exploring its depths must face. But this is why it is also a great place to temper your Heart. Of the three, your progress in the state of your Heart is the slowest. Even Alnea has overtaken you in that regard. So, instead of trying to run away from that loneliness, you should try to face it, and use it to temper your Heart.”

“Yes, Lady Nyssa…”

“Alright, this is not a lesson, so I will not say more, and let the other two tell you what we have come for.”

“The reason that you have come for…”

“Before that, there is something else that I need to do,” Alnea said, using the chance that Cecilia was still distracted, and had let down her guard to step forward, and hug her. “It’s alright. You are not alone. Everything is fine. Like I said, I will always be there for you. Even If you cannot see me, I will still be there… So, it’s alright, Cecilia. You don’t have to worry too much.”

“I…”

“…First you hug me out of nowhere, and now you are hugging Cecilia as well. Tsk, tsk, I must say, you have learned quite a few things from big sis Serena. What are you going to do next? Rub your cheeks with her? Or smell her hair?”

Yuri’s words brought Cecilia out of her daze. Pushing Alnea away from herself, she looked at him warily, distancing herself from him.

“…Pervert.”

“…This is clearly my love as friend, alright?”

“…That’s what Serena always said.”

“…This is different.”

“…That’s what Serena always said.”

“…Don’t you believe me?”

“…That’s what Serena always said.”

“I am not a pervert!”

“…That’s what—

“Forget it,” Alnea said in defeat. “Let’s get on with what we are here for.”

As soon as he had said those words though, both Cecilia, and Yuri burst out in a laugh, before Cecilia came back to him on her own initiative, and gave him a light hug, whispering, “Thank you.”

Before he could respond to her, or to her hug, Cecilia separated from him, and turned towards Yuri.

“This training was supposed to last for around two months. Since Lady Nyssa has brought you two so early, then does that mean…”

“That’s right,” Yuri said. “Alnea has broken through to the False Rank.”

“False Rank…” Cecilia, mumbled, before turning towards Alnea with a smile. “Congratulations on becoming a Wanderer, Alnea.”