Changing fate was not easy. A conclusion that Yuri had come to after spending years searching for Alnea. If not for the Rings of Fate, she might never have found him. And even with the Rings of Fate, she could not change his fate. At least not yet. With the control she had over the Divine Treasure, the only thing she could do was turn his fate, and help him avoid a disaster. To a certain extent though, being suppressed in the depths of his Spirit could also be considered as a disaster. Resonating with his Roots…
She should have guessed it earlier, Yuri thought. Given his obsession with Oaths, it was only a matter of time for him to resonate with his Roots. And she had seen it happen a couple of times herself. Like when the time Aunt Ciena had absolved him of the promise he had made with her. Or when the time he had killed the Twin Tailed Python Tiger. But duration of his resonance had always been short, lasting for only a couple of moments. And it was not like resonating with his Roots was necessarily a bad thing for him.
Wanderers, be it Heterodox, Orthodox, weak, or strong, if they wished to break through to a higher Rank, they must achieve a certain resonance with their Roots. It was something that most of the Wanderers knew. Or at least, those who were on cusp of breaking through to the next Rank knew of such matters. For Wanderers like her, and Alnea, who had not even reached the Peak Stage of the False Rank, such things were not very important.
It was only because she had been building her foundations for nearly a decade, that Yuri knew of such secrets. Alnea though, had just begun his journey. There was much for him to learn. Secrets like resonance of Roots… they could be left for later, for when the time was right, or so big sis Nyssa had thought. After all, even if he resonated with his Roots, what was the worst that could happen? Or so they thought. They should have known better. Curse of fate…
Before Yuri could fall further into the trap of blaming herself for her carelessness, a burning sensation on her finger brough her attention back to the Ring of Fate. Turning Fate… What kind of price would she have to pay? Experiencing resonance with her Roots? Or being supressed to the depths of her Spirit? She did not know. But whatever it was, it was not going to be easy. The—
Fate. It was one of the oldest concepts of the Origin Sea. One older than Faein herself. Rather, Fate existed even before the Origin Sea. And after the Origin Sea came to be, it became one of the central rules directing the fate of all those that existed within its bounds, even the inanimate. To change fate… It would be akin to going against the Origin Sea itself. However, it was not as if there were no recourse to changing fate. Deep within the Origin Sea, in the depths where no one has ever been, there was—
Death. A concept that spelled the end of not just all things alive, but even of things that were inanimate. After all, everything had to come to an end. Even Fate. Nothing could escape that fate. Not even death itself. And no could bear the death for someone else either. Yet, the failure of changing fate was to experience the fate that she could not change. To experience Death. To become—
Night. Darker than death, but softer than Life. Night existed, because there was Day. And yet, if there was no day, then the only thing left would be night. Even without Time, as long as there was Life, there would be Night. Because everyone had a Night within their Heart. A night to cower, a night to cry, a night to love, and a night to remember. To change Fate, one must first change Night itself. And if one failed to change Night, then—
An empty loneliness, filled with despair and loneliness gripped Yuri’s Heart. It was not the loneliness from the price of her Roots, but it was something similar. Something much more melancholic, with a hint of fatality. Resonating with a hint of the concept of Fate, she could understand how hard it would be to change fate. And even if she succeeded, so what? Would the dead come back alive? Or would it stop the living from dying? In the end, everyone had to die anyway. The only difference was time…
Instead of wasting her time, would it not be better if she just gave up, and enjoyed her life? Would it not be better, if she enjoyed love, and peace? To settle down away from all the wars, and battles… from all the conspiracies. Alnea did not like such complicated things anyway. It would be best if they settled down in some remote corner of the world, and wait for their death…
She was Yuri Faed. Daughter of Karst, and Yana Faed. And she bore the responsibility to continue her father’s legacy. She bore the responsibility to fight for the fate of countless people. Most important of all though, she bore the responsibility to wake up Alnea. No, not responsibility… But a promise. She was going to help him become the greatest Wanderer… the first Origin Wanderer…
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He had just begun his journey. There were so many things that he did not know. So many places that he had not been to. And so many things that he had yet to do… The fool… He was always so reckless… But he was her fool. Oath, or not, she was not going to let some stupid memories take him away from her. Neither was she going to let some Oronir cursed fate come in between them.
As for the concepts trying to consume her… they were nothing in front of her desire to be with Alnea. It might be a little embarrassing to admit it so openly, but she had long gained a Clarity of her Heart. She knew her thoughts best. And she could no longer deceive herself. Especially after what the memories of the other Alnea had said…
To share him with others, even if the other person was Cecilia… Would it not be better if she just left things as they were, and joined him in the depths of his Spirit? He would be all hers then. She would not have to share him with even big sis Nyssa… But was that really what she wanted? Was that really the Alnea she loved?
No, Yuri told herself. The Alnea she loved was the boy who dared to stake his life for her. For the people he loved. The man, who dared to set his goals higher than anyone else in the world. To take all those things away from him, and keep him to herself, confined in a dark, and empty world, all so she could have him just to herself… That would be beyond cruel. It would not only kill the boy she loved, but it would also kill his love for her…
That was the one she could never allow to happen. So, even if it meant fighting against the entire Origin Sea, Yuri still forced herself to remain sane. She could not fall. If not herself, then for the boy she loved. For their love…
Fate. The Origin Sea said that it was river of possibilities, that may, or may not happen. But what if all the possibilities led to the same end? What kind of river would it be? It would be a river of Death. Of Night. It would be a river of despair. And to go against fate, she had to wade in the river of despair. She had fight against despair. And if she failed to go against the current, then all that would be awaiting her would be a bed of regrets. Not just of herself, but of all those who had failed to go against the current…
Yet, it was not the regrets, and despair that frightened her, but the thought that she might never be able to meet her love again. Of never being able to talk to him again… What was so scary about despair anyway? She had been living with despair from the day she had set out on her path. And laying her Roots had made her even more acquainted with despair. The same was true for regrets. It was only the thought of never being able to see him again which made her hesitate…
Not in her actions though. Even when she was bogged down by loneliness, she did not regret her actions, resisting against the resonance of her Roots once again. Such strong resonance… was this what he had to face? But he had yet to gain his Clarity! How had he managed to stop himself from being devoured by the Origin Sea?
The more Yuri thought about Alnea, the more worried she became, until all that remained in her mind was worries. Would she be able to save him? What if there were more Heterodox Wanderers hiding in the darkness of the canyon? And why had big sis Nyssa not come yet? Alnea was already in such a desperate situation… what was she doing? Was she stopped by more Heterodox Wanderers? Was she hurt? Would she be able to make it in time? Or would she, and Alnea…
It did not matter if big sis Nyssa were to come or not. She was Yuri Faed. And she could save the man she loved by herself. Still, the resonance was beginning to get tricky… And she was starting to feel that just experiencing a resonance with her Roots was not enough to pull Alnea out from the depths of his Spirit. After all, compared to the price that Alnea had paid when he had turned her fate, she was paying practically nothing.
For the moment though, all that she could do was bear through all the different feelings that her Roots were making her go through, while controlling her emotions, and tackling her insecurities, hoping that she would get to meet Alnea as soon as possible. The more hurried she felt though, the slower the time went, testing her to her limits. Meanwhile, her Roots kept testing her, as if considering whether or not she was worthy enough to wield their powers.
Finally, when Yuri was just about to run out of her patience, the strange feelings began fading away, leaving just a melancholic feeling within her Heart. Sort of a reward for bearing through the resonance of her Roots. But she did not have the time to bother about the reward at the moment. For the moment that strange feeling faded away, she found herself surrounded by giant, glowing spheres.
They were giant only for her though. In comparison to the void that they were floating in, they seemed like tiny reefs, getting battered by the waves of emptiness. And in midst of that emptiness, a boy, curled up within himself, drifting along with the waves of loneliness, was watching intently at the spheres surrounding him, displaying snippets of the life of a boy named Alnea Oathkeeper.