“What?” Alnea said, unable to believe what he was hearing. “You will go with me?”

ONE OF US WILL.

“…I will be getting my own Aspect?”

YES.

“But… are there not things that I need to do before taking you back with me? Communicate with you, gain your recognition… things like that.”

YOU ALREADY HAVE OUR RECOGNITION.

YES, WE RECOGNISE YOU.

WE RECOGNISE YOUR SMELL.

AND YOUR TASTE.

YOUR TOUCH…

WE RECOGNISE YOU, OATHKEEPER.

BUT YES, YOU ARE RIGHT.

WE CANNOT BREAK THE RULES.

TO GO WITH YOU, WE MUST COMMUNICATE.

WE MUST CHOOSE.

NO… NOT WE.

YOU MUST CHOOSE, OATHKEEPER.

CHOOSE YOUR ASPECT.

CHOOSE YOUR PARTNER.

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON.

CHOOSE YOUR GUARDIAN.

CHOOSE ONE OF US, OATHKEEPER.

AND TAKE US WITH YOU.

“I… How can I choose amongst all of you…”

YOU CAN.

YOU MUST

“But…”

DO NOT WORRY, OATHKEEPER.

WE KNOW THE RULES.

WE FOLLOW THE RULES.

AND THIS WILL NOT BE THE END.

MORE OF US WILL GO WITH YOU LATER.

MORE OF US WILL BECOME YOUR WEAPON.

YOUR WILL.

AND THOSE WHO WILL NOT FOLLOW YOU, WILL WAIT FOR YOU HERE.

YES, WAIT IN THE ORIGIN SEA.

WE WILL GUARD YOUR WANDERINGS.

WE WILL PROTECT YOU.

“…Why?” Alnea asked. “Why are you willing to go so far for me?”

BECAUSE YOU ARE OATHKEEPER.

YOU ARE OUR FRIEND.

YOU ARE OUR—

NO, WE CANNOT SAY IT.

YES, WE CANNOT SAY MORE.

FOLLOW THE RULES.

WE MUST FOLLOW THE RULES.

OR BE DESTROED.

“Destroyed? Someone can destroy the Aspects?”

…THE ORIGIN SEA.

THE ORIGIN…

“…Fine, I understand. What should I do next?”

NEXT, YOU CHOOSE.

That, of course, was not an answer that Alnea understood. He already knew that he had to choose, but he did not know how he should go about it. There were nearly uncountable Aspects around him. How was he to choose amongst them? After all, choosing Aspect was not a trivial matter. Even if the Aspects wished to go with him, they should at least have some basic compatibility with him. And even if they could ignore the issue of compatibility, he still had to choose carefully. His Aspects, after all, would decide his future as a Warrior. He could not be casual in choosing them.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Thus, he decided to ask his question once again, this time, in a more direct, and clear manner. Before he could do that though, the Aspects, the sea of lights surrounding him, began moving once again, going around him in circles, forming a whirlpool of lights. Their speed, slow at first—no, their speed was never slow. They were always fast. Yet, in face of their current speed, their earlier speed did indeed seem a little slow.

Their speed increased to such a degree, that soon, all of the lights began blending with each other, turning from a whirlpool of lights to a curtain of lights that surrounded him from all directions. But that only served to increase his confusion. Alnea did not know what the Aspects were doing. If it was just about communicating with him, then what was the need for—

It was born recently, just around two hundred thousand years ago. A new Aspect… Or maybe was it an old Aspect that got renewed after its previous owner got devoured by the Origin Sea? It did not know. Its memories did not go that far. Not that it had much in terms of memories anyways. Still, even if it did not have many memories, it did have a feeling, an urge, that came with its birth. A regret. A deep seated regret…

Was it because it failed to protect its previous owner? Or was it because it was the cause of its previous owner being devoured by the Origin Sea? It did not know. It just knew that it was regret. That it was—

Alnea panted, as he severed his connection with the Aspect. Its thoughts, and emotions had been too heavy for him, inciting a deep memory within himself. A part of himself, that was filled with regret, and despair… At that moment, he knew that if he wished, he could have taken the Aspect as his own. But… he did not wish to let his regrets decide the course of his actions. He did not wish for his regrets to be his core. So, he decisively gave up on the Aspect.

In return, the Aspect gave off a sad response, expressing its regret. But at the same time, it expressed its understanding as well, before moving away, making room for—

Darkness. That was what it was. Pure darkness, living off of the emotions of despair—

It existed, as long as light itself would exist. For it was the light of the world. It was the light of kindness. Light of life. Light of—

It was arrogance. It was authority. It was—

Humility. That was what it represented. Humility. Existing from before the—

Fire—

Water—

Earth—

Lightning—

Wind—

The seven virtues… and the seven sins.

One by one, the Aspects kept establishing a connection with him, expressing their cores, and beliefs. Meanwhile, the curtain of light did not let the Origin Sea deplete his Spirit Power, allowing him to choose his Aspect at his leisure. There was nothing leisurely about selecting his Aspect though. Filtering through the Aspects, and rejecting them, receiving their sad responses one by one, kept breaking his heart bit by bit.

But he kept firm in his decisions, and kept rejecting them one by one. Even if all those Aspects were compatible with him, they could not be his core. They could form the outer circle of his Aspect Ocean, but when it came to its core, his Aspects had to be completely compatible with him, and his Heart. Only then, would he be able to wield those Aspects with the greatest efficiency. Only then, would he be able to climb the peak on the path of Warriors.

And that was what it also desired. To stand at the top. To be the best. To be the Aspect that would make his enemies cower in fear, and his friends, cheer in joy. To—

No, that was not what his Heart was. That was not what his core was. Sure, he desired to be the best. But not just for the sake of being the best. Being the best… that in itself did not have any satisfaction for him. Only when the ones he loved were with him was he happy, and satisfied. Only when they would stand at the top with him would he be satisfied. He desired to be strong, to be the strongest, and the best, because he wished to—

Protect. Guard. Those were things that it could relate to. For those were the qualities that it was born with. It was a shield. A barrier. An armour. But when needed, it could also become a sword of slaughter. After all, it could not protect by remaining passive all the time. And guarding did not mean just defending against the attacks of its enemies. If the others dared to touch the things it protected, it would destroy them. Annihilate them. Because it was—

Alnea Oathkeeper opened his eyes, and looked at the Aspect floating in front of him, a shield in the hue of dark golden colour, with black at its centre. The colour of his Heart. He was a little surprised to know that. That his Heart had such pure darkness. But he accepted it soon afterwards, for he knew what it represented. Just as he knew what the shield represented. No, it was not just a shield. It was also a sword. And it was the perfect core for his Aspects.

YOU HAVE CHOSEN.

“Yes,” Alnea said. “Yes, I have.”

THAT WILL BE ENOUGH.

FOR NOW.

THERE WILL BE MORE TO CHOOSE.

MORE ASPECTS TO MASTER.

BUT NOT NOW.

FOR NOW, THIS WILL BE ENOUGH.

The curtain of lights surrounding Alnea began to dissipate, as the Aspects slowed down, breaking the whirlpool of lights that they had formed. At the same time, the golden, and black shield, his first Aspect, floating in front of him, slowly drifted towards him, before attaching itself to his chest, declaring to the world, to the Origin Sea, that it had a new master to guard. A new master to protect.

Gently caressing the shield on his chest, Alnea let out a smile, before looking at the other Aspects around him. They had all separated, dispersing all around him, returning the Origin Sea back to its original appearance. That, however, also meant that the Origin Sea had returned with its attacks, while the endless layers of Oren had begun depleting his Spirit Power once again. He did not have much time left.

“Thank you for helping me… for granting me an Aspect on my first Wandering…”

THIS IS WHAT YOU DESERVE.

THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED.

“I have to return,” Alnea said, looking at the Aspects with reluctance. “I will come back tomorrow.”

TIME HAS NO MEANING FOR US.

WE EXISTED BEFORE TIME.

WE WILL EXIST AFTER TIME.

SOME IN THE FORM THEY ARE.

SOME IN NEW FORMS.

TIME IS JUST A PERCEPTION.

BUT… COME BACK SOON, OATHKEEPER.

AND GROW STRONGER.

“I will,” Alnea said. “After all, the stronger my Spirit Power, the longer I can play with you, right?”

RIGHT.

PLAY.

WE WILL PLAY EVEN MORE.

WE WILL PLAY FOR ALL THE TIME TO COME.

WE WILL PLAY EVEN AFTER TIME STOPS EXISTING.

SO, GROW STRONGER, OATHKEEPER.

GROW STRONGER, AND…