Blood rushed to his face, as all sorts of thoughts flashed in his mind. Normally, Alnea would have used his Aspects to mask his emotions. At the moment though, tired, and exhausted, he did not have enough Spirit Power to even enter his Spirit State, let alone hide his embarrassment. Awkwardly scratching his head, he could only flash his smile, and say, “Sorry for worrying you.”

“Idiot,” Cecilia said, in a hoarse, and heavy voice, filled with complaints, and relief. Hearing the voice that she had been waiting for, she finally could not stop herself from relaxing. But relaxing also meant giving up against the pull of the ground. Sore, and tired as her body was, even moving a little was enough to send pangs of pain through her veins. Falling on her butt… Strong willed as she was, she still could not stop her emotions from leaking to her face.

“Are you alright?” Alnea said, hurrying to Cecilia’s side, but Yuri was faster. She quickly kneeled beside Cecilia, and checked her pulse, and breathing.

“Geez, I am fine. Stop worrying about me.”

“Shut up,” Yuri said, before checking the wound on Cecilia’s thighs. It was also then, that his attention was drawn towards the wound. Cecilia had tied it off with a torn strip from her sleeves, but it was still bleeding a little.

“…I am sorry.”

“What are you apologising for?” Cecilia said, shaking her head. “Injuries are bound to happen in fights. And considering the enemies we were fighting, I think that we got off easy.”

“…We need to heal your wound.”

“It’s fine. It’s just a small scratch. It will go away on its own.”

“…Stop boasting,” Alnea said, before turning towards Yuri. “Should we call master?”

“No need,” a voice rang out, startling Alnea, and the girls. But they were not afraid. Because they recognised the voice. With big smiles on their faces, they turned towards the voice. And as they expected, they saw his master walking towards them.

“Master!” Alnea said, restraining his urge to rush, and hug his master. His master was beautiful, and elegant as ever. And radiant. Darkness itself made way for her steps, fading away in the glow of her smile.

“We will talk later,” his master said with a smile, gentling caressing his head, before kneeling beside Cecilia, and removing the makeshift bandage she had made.

“The wound itself is not too heavy,” his master said, glancing at the wound, before placing her hand on the gash, and releasing blobs of white light, healing Cecilia’s injury. “You have suffered more serious wounds, and lived through them without any problems. It is just because you are spent, and exhausted right now, that your condition seems a little bad. Especially your Spirit.

“Two hands are not enough to count the number of times you went past your limit. I expect something so reckless from Alnea, but you… Be thankful that you are a False Wanderer now. Doing something so crazy at the Seed Rank might even have caused a permanent injury to your Spirit. Do not be too happy just yet though. You still need rest, and try not to overexert your Spirit for a while.”

“…But the team—

“I am glad that you can put collective interest above yours, but you should not do it at the expense of your health. Not to mention that the Heterodox Wanderers have already begun extending their claws into the Night Canyons. They may have failed int their plans this time, but they will not give up so easily. Especially since their plan involves a Fate Devouring Cat. In a couple of days, a week at the latest, they would be sending even more Wanderers into the canyons. And that is the case when their focus is on the Fate Devouring Cat. If they learn that the boy that they are looking for is also with the Fate Devouring Cat, what do you think they will do?”

“…Send even stronger Wanderers. Probably, even True Wanderers.”

“Be a little more confident, and remove probably from your words. Even the three Heterodox Wanderer that you fought had a True Wanderer accompanying them in secret. I took care of him for now, but letting you continue your training in the Night Canyons would be foolish to say the least. So, you can rest without any worries.”

“…Yes, Lady Nyssa.”

“Good,” his master said, retracting her hand, revealing fresh, supple skin, with no signs that Cecilia’s thigh had ever been injured. “There. That should do it.”

“You are omnipotent, master!” Alnea said with laugh, before sitting down beside her, and Cecilia. And soon, Yuri followed his example with a burst of giggles.

“Is she your mother, or your idol?”

“Why can’t she be both?” Alnea said with a snort. “Besides, I was telling the truth anyways.”

And the reward for speaking the truth was flick to his forehead. He was not the only one who said the truth though. So, Yuri also received the reward with him.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Do you two think that you can divert my attention with your cheekiness?” his master said, looking at them with a solemn face. “If what Cecilia did was reckless, then what you two did was downright suicidal.”

“…But I don’t even know what I did…”

“And that makes your mistake even graver. At least Yuri knows her mistake.”

“…Everything was happening so fast, that I did not have the time to think…”

“…Do you know why I allowed the three of you to train on your own?” his master to Yuri. “It is because I thought that you would be able to restrain their recklessness. But you were the most reckless of all. Have you ever heard of an Initial Stage False Wanderer seeking their breakthrough in Death?”

“…We did not have any time. If we had delayed, then the curse…”

“No matter the reason, you cannot shirk your responsibility,” his master said, shaking her head. “First, you made Alnea seek his breakthrough in Death. And then, despite knowing the dangers that you might face, you dove into the depths of his Spirit… However, it is also true that your actions saved his life. If we do not take my presence into account, then your choice was indeed the best. Next time though, you can try asking for my help before considering doing something so suicidal.”

“…I will try my best. But I do not regret my actions. If I can save him, then I do not mind risking myself.”

“…Silly girl,” his master said, shaking her head with a sigh, before turning towards him. “And you, my reckless disciple. Do you think that you are the strongest Wanderer in the world?”

“…No.”

“Do you think that there is nothing in the world that you cannot do?”

“…No.”

“How about taking down Peak Stage False Wanderers by yourself?”

“…No.”

“So, if the situation is desperate, what should you do?”

“…Fight until the end,” Alnea said, only to have his forehead being flicked once again.

“I just told Yuri to call for help if she cannot handle things on her own, and now you start boasting about fighting till the end?”

“…I thought that if you were there, then you would have already come to deal with the Heterodox Wanderers.”

“So? Could you not have retreated, and looked for me, before going back to save the girls?”

“…I will never abandon them.”

“…Why do I have to deal with all the silly children?” his master said with a sigh. She did not bother hiding the smile at the corner of her lips though. Or the pride in her eyes. “Never mind. As long as you do not kill yourself… Just try not to resonate with your Roots next time.”

“…Resonate with my Roots? What does that mean? And when did I resonate with my Roots?”

“When you were thinking about your Oaths, you somehow managed to submerge yourself in the essence of your Roots. That is what resonating with your means. Adapting yourself to be more in line with your Roots. It is a concept that only those who are about to break through to the next Rank need to understand, so I did not tell you about it earlier. Still, it is not as if you have never experienced resonance with your Roots before. It is just that those episodes of resonance were relatively short.

“This time too, I thought that even if you experienced resonance with your Roots, it would be a short episode. But I underestimated your determination, and desperation… By the time I noticed something was wrong, it was already too late. At that point, forcefully terminating your resonance would have done more damage than good. The best way to help you would have been to gently guide you out of slumber. But then again, Yuri proved to be just as reckless as you.”

“…The reason I was trapped in the world of my memories was because of resonating with my Roots?” Alnea mumbled, while Cecilia looked at Alnea with concern. After a few moments of silence, she turned towards his master with determination.

“I can understand what you are saying, Lady Nyssa. But what I—we saw, was more than just a simple side effect of resonance with his Roots. The way that Alnea was behaving… The way he… Is he alright, Lady Nyssa?”

“…This is Alnea’s secret,” his master said. She was not direct, or even apathetic in her tone. Rather, she sounded much more amiable, and accommodating than her usual self. Still, her words drained blood from Cecilia’s already pale face. She bit her lips, and—

“Whether he wishes to share the secret with you or not, I will leave it up to him.”

Colour returned to Cecilia’s face, as a light of excitement shone in her eyes. From a certain point, she looked even more excited to gain his master’s recognition, than to learn his secret. Alnea laughed at her cute reactions, and turned towards his master.

“I do not mind sharing my secret with her, master. But I need to know what secret you are talking about.”

“The secret of your name.”

“You mean…”

“Since you went down to the world of your memories, there were naturally some memories which came up to take your place.”

“…No wonder, I don’t remember anything. Was it another form of my curse, master?”

“…We can talk about that later. Right now, you have something else to decide.”

“…Can I really tell her about it, master?”

“…Your secret may relate to your life, and death. If it is exposed, it might even cause the entire world to chase after you. I can stop you from sharing it right now, but what about in the future?”

“Of course, you will stop me again. After all, I am never leaving you.”

“…Silly child,” his master said, shaking her head with a smile. “Regardless, it is time for you to make decisions for yourself, and experience their consequences. Only then, can you grow as a Wanderer. And as a human.”

Alnea awkwardly scratched his head. Yuri could talk in cryptic ways at time, but she had learned her habit from his master. Whenever he would ask her a question, she guide him to find his own answer. And this time was no different. However, he already had his answer. Cecilia was his Heart…

Or at least a part of it. He trusted her so much, that he could even trust her with his life. The only reason he had not told her about his name, and other secrets, was because his master had forbidden him from doing so. Since she had given him her permission though, and Cecilia had already seen the other Alnea, there was no need to hide it from her. And so, he began telling her the story of Alnea Oathkeeper.