What woke the man up was a heavy shaking, aching his back and neck. His head was leaning on dirty linen that smelled of horse sweat, and the rest of his body was exposed to the chilly air. His four limbs were a bit numb, probably due to not moving for a considerable amount of time. Apart from the nauseous smell assaulting his nose, he could taste a bitter, metallic liquid in his mouth.He turned his head to the side, gathered whatever disgusting fluid in his mouth then spat it. Whatever came out of his dry lips was definitely not saliva but a mix of blood and a white liquid, which, any description of it shall be omitted.“Ah! Heavy fella, you woke up, at last!”The man heard an orotund voice from behind, but, due to the uncomfortable position he was currently in, he couldn’t see the identity of the speaker. With great difficulty and heavy breathing, the man sat up, dazedly scanned his surroundings. Next to his body laid several filled sacks, some had food in them and others were tightl

Lucy’s portal took both of them directly to the Ice Snowlands, situated way East of the Netherfrost, beyond an impassable mountain range.The ground was covered in snow and there were gigantic glaciers randomly spread everywhere. The temperature was freezing, enough to kill a normal person in just a couple of hours.“It’s good that you didn’t bring her along. This isn’t going to be easy.”“I just don’t want anyone else dying because they were trying to help me.”“I understand.” Lucy hesitated for a couple of breaths before adding, “I’d like to apologise for interrupting you two. I know how it feels since that damned Wolfram likes to appear at the most inopportune times.”“O-oh… it’s not what you think.”Leiu, embarrassed, scratched his nose and pretended to look around.“Arthur didn’t lie when he said you were a reserved person. Anyway…”Lucy pointed to the North, “I sensed Void Energy coming from there. Judging by how dense and spread-out it is, we’re likely going to find a lot of Vo

The puddle of water, which depicted this unforgettable image, shocked the man. Time passed but he didn’t retract his lingering gaze, his mind somewhat traumatized.‘At last, you’ve seen it. This face… YOUR face, which will stick to you until the end of your life. So deeply engraved on your mind, satisfying your previous curiosity and completing a part of your newly-formed character.’Just the cognitive voice finished speaking, the other one continued, its tone gentler.‘Child, you’ve seen it and you must adore it. Look, I, no, we are not mocking or laughing at you. We’re crying for you, Tenebris, who took a peek at reality and can never leave it again. Oh, child, who wanted to see us, yourself, do not brood. What the heart keeps and the mind thinks is what truly matters.’Contrary to the previous times, Tenebris’ mood wasn’t alleviated by the soothing voice, which, actually, hasn’t introduced itself yet.He stopped looking at himself only when his stomach started releasing unpleasant

Lucy barely managed to land on the ground: She coughed a bit of blood and wasn’t able to stand up properly.Leiu wanted to support her but she raised his hand and stopped him.“I’m… fine. I just overexerted myself.”Among all her abilities, the frey flames, which was the combination of Ice and Fire, two opposing elements, tired her greatly even if she used a little bit of it. Alas, she had to use a lot of it against the unknown Outer God.“I’m sorry about your Guardians.”The White Specter wiped the blood off the corner of her lips and slowly stood up. She could see the sombre expression on the Dark Knight’s face.He knew how dangerous this unplanned ‘mission’ was going to be, nevertheless, the loss of Amon and Milkan did affect him. Milkan, especially, was his first mount and a partner he had had since the very beginning.Right now, it seemed that everything he did would cause someone to die. The fear of losing everything was starting to haunt his mind.Lucy didn’t comfort him, she l

Once outside, Anne faced Leiu and, curious, asked,“What’s a date?”“...”The concept of a date wasn’t entirely uncommon on Astria. Still, Anne had seldom left the Kantika Isles, and her knowledge of social stuff was worse than his.“Do you not know?”Embarrassing as it was, Leiu chose to speak the truth rather than lie.“It’s when two people, usually romantically involved, go and have fun together.”“Is that so? Okay.”Anne’s expression didn’t change, she looked at the nearby shops and restaurants before speaking again“Can we go to the Amusement Park? That looked pretty interesting.”“We have to get you clothes first.”“Ah… right. Okay.”…As she didn’t know anything, Leiu had to search for a good store, which there were many of, fortunately.Very soon, Leiu led her into one of the shops, one which didn’t have ridiculously expensive clothes.“Welcome!”One of the workers ran up to the two of them.“We’re just browsing, thank you.”“If you need anything, please call me.”And thus, Le