The Origin Sea was the boundless, omnipotent source of existence. Be it the Gods, Origin Beasts, Oren Beasts, Thralls, humans, and even all the mountains and rivers, everything in the world could trace its origin back to the Origin Sea. And yet, nothing could actually exist in the Origin Sea. It was, after all, far too powerful and chaotic for anything but its Aspects to swim in its waters without being assimilated by its infinite existence.

Of course, humans could still Wander the Origin Sea’s depths. And so could all those who harnessed its powers. But no one, not even the Gods, who were said to be born within the Origin Sea itself, could live in it indefinitely. At least not without becoming a part of the Origin Sea. And the same was true for the world they were living in. Without the barriers separating the world from the Origin Sea, it could not fend off the relentless advances of the Origin Sea.

As for how the barriers themselves came into existence… Some said that they were created by the Gods, or other ancient beings, while some speculated that it formed naturally over time. No one could tell for certain. Though there was one thing that everyone agreed upon. Those barriers were not perfect. Maybe they had been eroded by the forces of the Origin Sea over time, or maybe that was how they were formed. It could even be just some chance happenstance. The root of their origin did not matter.

In the end, what mattered were the kinks and gaps in the barriers of the world, not large enough for the barriers to collapse, but large enough for the forces of the Origin Sea to slip through, creating all sorts of anomalies in the world. Just like the anomalies in the Thrall Domains. Though unlike the latter, the anomalies created by the leaked forces of the Origin Sea were natural, and thus, much more stable. Unless disturbed by external forces, they remained relatively inert, hiding their existence from the rest of the world.

But that was only in the general case. Since there were countless Mysteries in the Origin Sea, it was only natural for some of them to be beyond the capacity of the world to bear. In these cases, the anomalies created, even if stable, would often leak some forces into their surroundings from time to time. Normally, these little forces would be too weak to change anything, and would just disperse over time. But if those forces just happened to target the weak minds of the Oren Beasts roaming around them, driving them to attack anything they could see…

“…That makes a lot of sense,” Vestia mumbled. “It would also explain why we have not been attacked by any Adult Stage Oren Beasts yet.”

“After reaching their Adult Stage, Oren Beasts should have enough intelligence to resist against the influence of the Fortune Spring, but not enough to understand what they are resisting against…”

“…Which will make them avoid the Fortune Spring like a plague…”

“…It is a possibility, but we can never be too cautious,” Alnea said, warning everyone in a solemn voice. “We still have to keep up our guards. Especially since the Fortune Spring has the ability to influence the minds of those around it.”

“Why only Oren Beasts though?” Ralph said, with his brows furrowed in concentration, and doubt. “I thought that the Origin Sea was impartial… If it is really the Fortune Spring which is driving these Oren Beasts, then why has it not influenced our minds?”

“It did, you just did not notice.”

“…That’s impossible. I—

“Think back a little. Has everyone been feeling a little aggressive and impulsive? Maybe a little impatient too?”

“That’s because we have searching for the Fortune Spring for three days…”

“…We are all Wanderers, Ralph. The Serenity of our Hearts should not be so weak as to be disturbed by just wasting a day or two. And it surely would not have allowed us to be so impulsive. At the very least, it would have given us some warnings. Besides, have you still not noticed? When we were discussing about what could the driving force behind the Oren Beasts be, none of you even considered the option of the Fortune Spring. Even now, with all the evidence placed before you, you are still unconsciously trying to ignore the Fortune Spring… Do you not find it strange?”

“I…”

“Fortune Springs work in mysterious ways. Although we have a theory of how they are formed, we still do not know how they work, or the reason behind their existence. It should not be too surprising to find a Fortune Spring that unconsciously tries to drive everyone away from its Fortune. On the contrary, the thought of other Wanderers or some Adult Stage Oren Beasts controlling such weak Oren Beasts to drive us away should be harder to believe…”

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“…This is so confusing…”

“Stop using your mind then,” Aren said, glancing over the remains of the beasts they had dealt with, before turning back towards Alnea. “Your Heart is surprisingly stronger than I thought it would be.”

“I admit that his words make sense,” Norren said, with confusion apparent in his voice, and face. “But what does a strong Heart have to do with anything he said?”

“…The Fortune Spring,” Vestia said with a sigh. “It is influencing us by amplifying the weakness in our Hearts, using it to distract us from its existence.”

“…At least you learned what the weakness of your Heart is,” Alnea said, trying to diffuse the tense air with a smile. “And this is when we have not even experienced the Fortune Spring yet. Who knows, it might even help you resolve your weaknesses, and help you step into a higher realm.”

“…That may be true, but being fooled around by something that is not even alive does not feel good.”

“…A moment’s shame is much better than a lifetime of regrets,” Fran said, before turning towards Alnea. “Since you gathered everyone, I am guessing that you already have a way to find the Fortune Spring.”

“I do…”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Cecilia added. “Let’s uncover this Fortune Spring already.”

“It is not so easy,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “Even if we have confirmed that there is a Fortune Spring around us, that cannot change the nature of the spring…”

“Just tell us what we need to do,” Aren said, pocketing his dagger, and looking at Alnea with a solemn gaze. “We trust your judgement.”

“…Spread out and bombard the dunes with your Arcanas and Aspects. There is no need to waste too much of your Spirit Power. Just make sure cover all the dunes. And do it one by one. Although my Arcana can cover everything within a radius of a hundred metres, I need to concentrate to feel the fluctuations of the Fortune Spring’s Mysteries interacting with the world.”

“…Are you sure that you want us to bombard the dunes with our Aspects and Arcanas?”

“…You can also use your Glyphs if you want. But that would take too much time to prepare. Personally, I would have preferred using my Aspects. But I have to focus on searching for the Fortune Spring…”

“You know that’s not what I am talking about,” Karl said, with a hint of hesitation and worry mixed in his voice. “Even if there are no Adult Stage Oren Beasts around us, this area is still near the hundred kilometre mark from the Lost City. What if we catch their attention?”

“…You should be a little more confident in your guess,” Alnea said, staring into the distance, where the Oren Beasts might be watching them from. “And you should never underestimate Oren Beasts. Especially those who have reached their Adult Stage. You cannot view them in the same way as you view Oren Beasts still in their Adolescent Stage…

“In any case, I am sure that all the Adult Stage Oren Beasts near us should have already noticed our presence. For now, they are still wary of the anomalies in this area, so they have yet to make any moves. But once we find the Fortune Spring, the fluctuations of Mysteries that will be released would be too conspicuous for them to ignore.”

“…Then that is all the more reason that we should leave this area and come back when we are more prepared. We already know the location of the Fortune Spring anyway.”

“…Can you guarantee that this Fortune Spring is not the kind that moves around? Or that we will not have the Lotus clan hounding us when we come back here the next time?”

“…Still, we should least look for other ways…”

“…That’s right. I almost forgot that the Black Desert is different from the Night Canyons. Hunting here is much different than how hunting in the canyons was,” Alnea said, tearing his eyes away from the distance to look at Karl.

The grey robed man was already a little hesitant as he was. His words only served to confuse the man even more than before. And except for the girls, the others were not much different. Sure, they might listen to his decisions, but the look on their faces that they could not understand him. And Alnea did not wish to be a tyrant leader, who forced his will upon his teammates.

“You have never had to think like Oren Beasts, so you do not know how they behave, but in general, Oren Beasts are not as curious as you think they are. Unless they are absolutely sure of their victory, they will not risk their lives needlessly. And the only Beasts that can threaten us are those in their Adult Stage. Like I said though, those beasts will not come charging to us right away, and will wait to see how the situation develops.

“Given enough time, they might make up their mind to come over to see the situation in person, but by then, we should have already found the Fortune Spring. And once we trigger the Spring, it will protect us from the beasts, or other Wanderers that we might attract. The Spring might even take the initiative to hide us from the rest of the world. Regardless, we will be safe until we are done with its Fortune. As for how to evade the beasts once we are done with the Fortune Spring… That is where my new Arcana would come into play.”

“…The Arcana that you talked about before we left the city?”

“That’s the one.”

“If it’s that one… Got it. Twenty metres, right?”

“Twenty metres,” Alnea said, nodding along with Karl, before turning back towards the dunes of sand, rolling around for as far as his eyes and Spirit could see. “Now, let’s blow up some sand, and find the Fortune Spring as soon as we can. I want to return to the city by night.”