After taking a few hours to verify that there was indeed nothing wrong with their bodies, Claud and Lily packed away any proof that they had been living close to the platform where the Black God turned into a god, and then headed out. The two of them skirted around all the problematic places that had been scouted out in their journey here, as well as the spectres and echoes of the past, before crossing through one last intangible boundary.

“They’re gone,” Lily observed. “Did something happen?”

Claud looked around the area. “Hmm. They packed up quite quickly, at least. What happened to the Seekers of Truth, though? Why did they leave all of a sudden?”

“Did the changes in the ancient battlefield alarm them?” Lily guessed.

“Don’t think so. None of them ventured this far in,” Claud replied. “Maybe a Distortion or something took place. Who knows?”

“I think something bigger happened, though.” Lily frowned.

Claud looked at the trails that had been left behind. “The only question is what.”

The two of them poked around for a few more minutes, before shaking their heads at each other. There was indeed some evidence that the place had been hastily vacated, like forgotten stakes and half-removed fences, but otherwise, the occupants of this camp had been rather thorough in their departure.

At any rate, Claud could not see anything else that could give them more hints, so the two of them decided not to hang around.

“So, where to next?” Claud asked. “Do we fly home, or head towards Kabir first?”

Lily thought for a few seconds, and then shivered. “Let’s not do either. We’ll find a small town first.”

“Sneak into it and gather some news, I see.” Claud frowned. “But why did you decide on this course of action?”

“My sixth sense or something,” Lily replied. “I don’t like this situation at all. The Seekers of Truth and a whole bunch of other mana-users, all scared into packing up and running? There’s definitely something huge. Maybe…well, maybe the divinities made a move or something. I can’t really imagine any other reason that could scare them into leaving.”

“So the divinities attacked the ancient battlefield?”

“Possible…” Lily looked around. “Um, the isolation barrier thing is up, right?”

“It is,” Claud replied. “Why?”

“No, just checking. Let’s head over to the closest town or something first,” Lily replied. “You should take a break, though. You still look quite bad.”

“Which is why you’re making all the decisions, huh.” Claud smiled. “Thanks.”

“It’s nothing compared to you, though.” Lily plucked out three little shapes. “Hey, you guys. Go nest in Claud’s head for a while. Do your calming thing, whatever it is.”

“Calming thing?”

“Their meeps and movements make me calm,” Lily replied. “Very soothing!”

“Really?” Claud furrowed his brows. “I’ve never noticed that before, though?”

“I mean, you’ve been benefitting from it constantly, so that’s probably a key reason. You probably never noticed it for that reason.”

Claud felt his mind whirl in confusion, so he decided not to think that hard about it. Besides, those little guys were nuzzling his scalp for some reason now, a feeling of comfort that seemed to have no equal at all.

“True…”

“Alright, let’s go!”

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Activating Will of Freedom, Claud brought Lily up into the skies, and his face twisted. For some reason, the barriers he’d remembered seeing in Grandis, the barrier that surrounded both the key territories of the Moons and the Dark, were now very visible from his current vantage point. The fact that both of them were actually visible also meant that they were in close proximity to each other; in other words…

“The war restarted?” Claud asked. “Why? Why did it restart? And…the encroachment by both sides is this pronounced?”

“Not only that,” Lily whispered. “Look! There!”

Claud turned to the direction Lily was facing, and his body quivered. When they arrived at the ancient battlefield last time, all they could see was a boundless ocean that would eventually lead to the Grandis Empire. However, he could now see a seemingly endless landmass at the horizon of the ocean that divided Grandis and Nihal.

In other words, the things that he’d seen in the Second Tutorial were beginning to come true.

“The continents are combining…” Claud gazed at the massive landmasses that protruded outwards from the horizon, and then touched his chest. It wasn’t just Grandis either. Now that he was aware of Grandis’ proximity, he could also feel another tremendous source of power that was a good distance away.

“…How long would it take before they all smash into each other?” Lily asked.

“I don’t know,” Claud confessed, “but everything that’s going on right now is probably a prelude to the real battle that’ll break out when the three continents finally smash into each other.”

He looked around at the bubbles of light, and then shook his head. “Let’s return back. I’m concerned about the others.”

“…Okay.”

The two of them surged towards the Grandis Empire. What was a journey that had once taken quite some time was now reduced into a trip that was a matter of minutes for the two of them. Before long, the two of them had crossed the dwindling channel of water that divided Nihal from Grandis, and Claud paused above the shores of the Grandis Empire.

“It feels weird, just arriving at Grandis this quickly,” Lily muttered.

“Tell me about it.” Claud shook his head. “Where should we go, though?”

He gazed at the two gigantic spheres of power that were pressing against each other, and a small frown appeared on his face. Both the Dark and the Moons had taken so much territory that their spheres of influence were now pressing against each other.

“They’re not holding back, huh.” Lily looked around. “Hey! There’s a weird spot that doesn’t seem encapsulated by these spheres. Some sort of free territory, I think?”

“That’s our destination, then.”

The two of them whizzed towards the barrier-free territory, and Claud found himself lost in thought. Why did the Moons and the Dark suddenly move to war? When did it happen? And why were they so motivated to beat each other up now?

Questions whirling in his head, the two of them approached the only free territory that was left. The features of this particular piece of land stood out as they closed in; in the centre was a gigantic cube that Claud had never seen before. Multiple layers of walls enclosed the cube, with signs of life and inhabitation filling up these layers, but…

“Those aren’t houses, are they?” Claud asked.

“I think they’re military camps. Or barracks. Like, lots and lots of them,” Lily replied. “Look!”

Claud followed her hand, which was pointed at the northern patch of land outside the outermost wars. He could see formations of troops clashing with shadows. Explosions bombarded the entire area ceaselessly, beating back the tides of darkness that were threatening to engulf the small little patch of land.

Similar scenes were playing out where the borders of the Moons and the Dark met, except that the combatants were the tri-coloured and shadowy soldiers of both sides respectively.

“…They’re not holding back at all,” Lily muttered. “Why? They were showing restraint for a long time, right? What exactly happened?”

“Who knows?” Claud looked at the ceaseless war that was breaking out, and then shivered. Not too long ago, the whole world was at peace. The divinities and humanity were all united against the Distortions and the problems they could pose. Now, however, it would seem that everything else had been set aside in favour of fighting this older war again…

“Let’s head down there first…careful! Air patrols…right, they can’t see us.” Lily watched on as a patrol of Moonlit soldiers flew underneath them. “This is handy.”

“Yeah. I’m good, huh.” Claud looked at the cube that was occupying the remaining bits of free territory. “So…what in the name of the Moons is that cube?”

“Hmm.” Lily frowned. “Odd. I get a feeling I should know it, though. It’s so familiar to me for some reason.”

“It is?”

“Yeah.”

Claud pondered for a moment. “Ah! It reminds me of the Celestia Ruins. Maybe someone brought down some mobile fortress or something from the ruins. What do you think?”

“That’s very possible, but I’m not talking about that.” Lily’s eyes narrowed. “I feel like I should know this place. This bit of land. But the barriers and all these things are throwing me off.”

“Hmm?”

“…Ah! It’s Grandia! It’s the capital of the Empire!” Lily clapped her hands. “Right! And this cube is the city itself! Sheesh. How did I not remember something as outlandish as this?”

“So it’s a safe place, then.”

“Yeap! …Probably.”

“Probably?” Claud eyed Lily and poked her cheek. “Really?”

“I can’t be sure either, but…it’s probably safer than the other places.” Lily made a face. “Still, it seems like we can’t go home for the time being. It’s all under the Moons now…”

“To Grandia, then. I wonder how the others are doing…”