About two and a half weeks into her cultivation in the Enlightenment Locale, Rieren met one of her contemporaries.

The woman would likely never have approached, had it not been for Elder Olg. He and Batcat had naturally grown bored, so much so that they had both taken to sleeping much of the day away. After their most recent nap, they had once more taken to roving around the area.

On one such little adventure, Elder Olg and Batcat had decided to try and discretely observe the ones nearby. Rieren had warned against it. Monkey’s balls, even Elder Olg himself had been wary of the others and determined to avoid them. But boredom had apparently overwhelmed good sense, and now he had taken the eager kitten to “perform some scouting”.

Rieren’s eyes had twitched the first time she had learned of what they had done, but she had said nothing against it. After all, any self-respecting cultivator in the Locale would be too busy drawing in concentrated Essence as quickly and in as great a quantity as they could.

Well, unless they were in Elder Olg’s position.

As it turned out, the woman Elder Olg accidentally informed of his presence didn’t hold on to such notions.

“Greetings,” she said, waving from the distance after ducking under a stream of dark liquid. “Thought I would drop by and say hello.”

That was so wildly out of the norm for cultivators, Rieren initially could do little but stare. Then she considered that this might be some sort of trap so began channelling Essence more furiously.

The woman stopped and held up her hands, palms facing Rieren. “Now, now, none of that. I’m only here to talk. Being neighbourly, and the like. But if you’d prefer that I leave you alone, I’ll go.”

Rieren considered telling her just that, but then Elder Olg cleared his throat. “I admit I am surprised to see that anyone would come here with such intentions. However, I will not turn down a polite introduction.”

The woman smiled. “How kind of you…?”

“Rieren,” Rieren said, trying not to glare at the Elder.

The woman was older than Rieren’s apparent age, that was for certain. Perhaps closer to Essalina. Her silver hair complemented her blue eyes well, granting her an otherworldly look Rieren might once have minorly envied—she had learned later how much cultivation could change her appearance. The woman’s robes were simple, a plain affair one might expect a disciple to wear.

“I am Silomene,” she said as she came to a pause a few paces from Rieren and sat down on her knees. “I hope you don’t mind my comment that you seem to be travelling with strange companions.”

“Strange…” Elder Olg muttered. “This isn’t even the strangest I can be.”

Silomene held up one hand against her mouth, affecting a whisper. “Did I offend him? Also… how did something like this even happen?”

Rieren stared between the newcomer and the affronted Elder. “Actually, that is a rather long story. But if you do not mind me asking, are you travelling by yourself?”

Silomene sighed. “I wish. My parents refused to let me come this far on my own without a proper party to guard me and attend to my needs. Especially after the Stormlit Moon Sect fell.”

“Stormlit Moon?”

“Yes. It is the Sect where I was training. Unfortunately, to our shame, we couldn’t stand up to a powerful Abyssal attack, and we were forced to evacuate. Many did not make it, I’m afraid. Where do you hail from?”

“Crimson Leaf Sect. I am sorry to hear of your home’s loss.”

Elder Olg’s head twisted a tiny bit at the mention of the Crimson Leaf, but Rieren wasn’t really paying attention. The name of the Sect Silomene had mentioned was tugging at something in her memory. She placed a hand inside her robe and pulled the old talisman she had recovered from the same ruins she had found the Elder and the Banishedborn.

Silomene’s eyes had widened. “That’s…”

Rieren nodded. The talisman depicted a moon surrounded by dark clouds. Stormlit Moon. “Take it, if you wish.”

She handed over the talisman to the other woman. Silomene was staring at it with a look of sad familiarity. It was a while before she looked up. She clutched the talisman tightly. “Do you want it back?”

“Not at all. Please keep it.”

“Thank you.”

Silomene pulled out a little handkerchief and began wiping all the grime and dust that had gathered on the talisman. Rieren couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. Such a strange person.

The way she had mentioned parents and retainers made it clear that she came from a powerful clan, likely wealthy too. Her robes might be plain, but they were clean like the rest of her, and well made, just like her dark leather boots and the locket hanging from her neck.

But people of that heritage didn’t tend to randomly accost the likes of Rieren and try to be friends in such an obvious fashion. Amalyse was a rare exception.

Maybe she was a naïve and sheltered sort who simply wished to increase her affable social circle. Maybe her parents weren’t arrogant and stuck-up and had raised their child to be polite to everyone, regardless of their apparent social station. Stranger things had happened.

“The Crimson Leaf Sect…” Silomene had stuffed the talisman into her own robes and now had a considering look on her face. “You must have travelled quite some distance to come here. Were there no other Enlightenment Locales near your Sect?”

Ah, so she was smart enough.

“There was one,” Rieren said. “But I wished to travel far and get my other Enlightenments before I complete my last one there. This was actually the second closest one, if you can believe it.”

“Well, I must, seeing as you are here. Now… do you mind explaining what has happened with this old man here?”

“Old man?” the Elder spluttered.

Stolen story; please report.

“Oh, I apologize. Are you actually quite young?”

“I am a respectable one-hundred-and-sixty, thank you very much.”

“Ah, quite young. I reiterate my apologies.”

In the face of such overwhelming politeness, even Elder Olg found it difficult to remain angry. He muttered something about it being alright.

“Tell me, Silomene, if you will,” Rieren said. “What has been going on in this region?”

“Oh? Can you be more specific?”

Rieren considered all she knew and all she might say. “The monsters are invading, yes? I have seen many on my journey here, though I was fortunate enough to not get caught by anything I could not overcome. Much of the land I have passed through is deserted. I hope that everyone is alive, but seeing all these Abysssala everywhere makes me think otherwise.”

“Ah, yes. Things are rather dire here. But we here are a hardy bunch. We have taken powerful stands against the Abyssal tides invading our homeland.” She gave Rieren an embracing smile. “You will be happy to learn that we have held them off for a long while now. In fact, some of us are even preparing to take back our lost lands.”

We. Rieren had already been suspecting that Silomene was originally from the Shatterlands, but this confirmed it.

“I would enjoy learning more of what is going on, if you care to share,” Rieren said.

Silomene nodded. She proceeded to provide a greatly summarized chain of events in the area since the apocalypse had begun. It was much more detailed than whatever meagre morsels of information Kerolast and Mercion had been willing to part with. Rieren was quite grateful to Silomene for sharing it all candidly.

What had happened in most of the Shatterlands was nothing surprising. Many people had died in the initial burst of the apocalypse as monsters had invaded the lands, but it was much less than it had been in the last timeline.

For one, people had retained memories of the past, and as such, had been able to take better precautions and prepare themselves. For another, everyone had access to the system now.

That made a tremendous difference.

Nevertheless, the sheer number of monsters meant that people couldn’t stay in disparate communities any longer. Therefore, under the guidance of the ruling Archnobles, they had all relocated to fortified strongholds to concentrate their powers with a greater chance at survival.

This proved to be an excellent measure as the Abyssals’ progress was effectively stymied. In fact, the monsters were stopped so well, people began to prepare to carry out forays to recapture the lost lands from the Abyssals and set up defendable forward bases.

At the same time, with the pressure of immediate survival taken off the cultivators’ minds, they could focus on some of the political matters. The Archnobles had angered the Emperor, to the point that he was now sending several Avatars to ensure his will was obeyed. There were some nasty rumours that the eastern Archnobles were assisting the empire’s enemies.

“The marriage hasn’t helped matters, I’m afraid,” Silomene said.

“Marriage?” Rieren asked, deciding to play innocent.

“Yes. The scions of the Stannerig and the Ordorian clans have joined together in a bid to consolidate the efforts against the Abyssals.”

“And against the Emperor too, then?”

Silomene looked up sharply. “That is a treasonous thing to suggest.”

Rieren raised an eyebrow. “But not untrue?”

Silomene was silent a moment. “Well, they intend to repair our relationship with the imperial court. But that itself has caused some tension as many view the Emperor as having abandoned them in their time of need.”

Rieren nodded. Silomene wasn’t lying. Much of what she had said had corroborated what she had learned from Mercion and Kerolast.

“What of your clan?” Rieren asked. “Are they alright? I hope they stood to benefit from the matrimony.”

“Well…” Silomene grimaced. “They swore fealty to the previous Clanmasters of both the Ordorian and the Stannerig clans, and they oppose their scions’ union. As such, my clan by proxy is also against it.”

“But not you?”

Silomene shook her head, her silver hair cascading around her like a halo of moonlight. The woman was distractingly pretty the more Rieren paid attention. “Nor my parents ideologically, but unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do.”

Rieren understood that it wouldn’t be proper to pry any further. Silomene had already told her much. A surprising amount, truth be told. In fact, Rieren had a sinking suspicion that if the woman’s parents found out, she would be in a good deal of trouble.

“What of your Sect and the north, Rieren?” Silomene asked with an inquisitive twinkle in her eye. “Tell me all that is happening there. There must be a great deal going on. I have heard the Arteroth are now the shining beacon of all the Elderlands.”

Rieren did her best to be truthful about what she knew. It didn’t seem like much of what she said about the Arteroth leading the way in reclaiming their lands from the invading monsters surprised Silomene. She must have had her own sources of information.

“The Sect prospers,” Rieren said by way of ending her little tale. “As much as a Sect can prosper in such times. Mostly thanks to the efforts of the Arteroth.”

She had successfully hidden whatever negative feelings might have arisen at the mention of the Arteroth. Elder Olg was doing the same, affecting a placid expression for the benefit of their guest, but she could sense his building annoyance.

“And what of your companions?” Silomene asked. She smiled at the Elder and Batcat dozing a bit farther away. “You seem to have more fun friends than me.”

“Well, I cannot guarantee if they are fun.”

Elder Olg cleared his throat, though it sounded strange when he had no lungs to blow air out of. “I am quite fun in the right circumstances. Unfortunately, being a disembodied head is not one of them.”

“That does make me curious,” Silomene said, peering at the Elder with interest. “How do you talk, when you have most of your body missing. Is it the Beast Core you have strapped to your neck?”

“Correct. That is what allows me to function, so far as I can tell. However, I do not wish to speak of it further.”

Silomene blinked at being rebuffed so brusquely, when even Rieren hadn’t done so yet. But she didn’t argue and recovered admirably. “Ah, it is interesting, nevertheless. I hope your circumstances improve so you can be fun again, Disembodied Head.”

Elder Olg looked like he was trying to think of a reply but was failing to do so.

Rieren decided to save him by changing the subject. “Batcat is just a little Spirit Beast I found not long ago all by itself. It was too adorable to leave it by itself so I thought I would take it with me.”

“It really is quite cute. May I pet it?”

“Please, go ahead.”

Silomene walked past Rieren with a bright smile and gently stroked Batcat’s back. The tiny winged kitten murmured softly in its sleep. Its wings flapped a little in pleasure.

A sudden bloom of Essence made Rieren twist her head around. She found an armed man hurrying towards them with a sword bared, an older woman trailing him farther behind and huffing as she tried and failed to keep up with his longer strides.

“Young Mistress!” the man shouted. “I will protect you. That harridan shan’t tarnish the name of the Tarciel clan.”

Silomene had stood up, hands once again raised in an effort to instill some calm. “Please, Lord Malloh, I am perfectly fine.”

Rieren’s ears perked up. Lord Malloh. She peered at the man’s face. Gruff, bearded, and a little pudgy and ruddy. Rieren had only met Gorint Malloh in person once or twice, in meetings that were quite brief. That she didn’t even remember exactly how often they had met was good proof why she didn’t really recall his face.

But this man didn’t seem like that Malloh either way. What she did remember from Gorint Malloh was an aura of strength and assuredness. An atmosphere of indomitability. And a very dour face.

This Lord Malloh didn’t seem satisfied by Silomene’s answer. She decided to step past Rieren and Elder Olg, leaving a wistful parting glance for the still-sleeping Batcat, before accosting her would-be retainer.

“Let us depart,” she said.

Giving Rieren and the rest of them one last withering look, Lord Malloh headed back the way he had come. The older woman froze, then glared at him as he passed her, likely mad that she had struggled all this way only for him to turn around.

Before following her retainers, Silomene turned and bowed her head at Rieren. “I will likely not remain here for much longer. I hope we meet again someday. Take care, Rieren.”

It took a halting moment for Rieren to echo the sentiment. “You as well, Silomene.”

“Before you go,” Elder Olg suddenly said, making Silomene halt. “Have you seen any meteors landing in the Locale recently?”

Silomene seemed surprised by the question. She pointed to the south. “Yes. One landed there not long ago.”

“Ah, thank you. Farewell.”

Silomene caught Rieren’s eye but found no explanation for Elder Olg’s question. That was because Rieren had none. She had no clue what the Elder intended.

As the strange woman left, Rieren couldn’t help but wonder about the meeting in general, and what the sudden arrival of Malloh could mean.