A few minutes had passed since I had a nervous breakdown when I had decided that I was back to being a presentable person again. The twins were back in the old, dilapidated room that we were staying in; our dinners being cooked by the bafflingly dangerous campfire they've somehow set up on a floor made of wood. I would've questioned them on this, but I honestly couldn't give a shit anymore as this day just kept on getting longer and longer. I couldn't even tell if it was already past midnight already at this point. I was just surviving through sheer conviction and the potential guilt that would well up inside me if I put this thing off for tomorrow. Not that that was out of the cards, however. I could still drop unconscious out of sheer fatigue at any point in time. "So, I have a theory..." I started off the discussion, my eyes probably still red from earlier as the twins look

I felt my brows twitch as I heard my alter ego's sarcastic remarks. Sure, I might not be the most accurate tool in the shed, but did she really just say that to me? "What do you mean took you long enough?" "It's exactly what I mean, Master," Ica smirked at me from her fiery chair as she floated in the air all menacing-like. Totally not jealous about it though, "At the very least, you managed to do so as soon as you put your mind to it." "Haha, very funny." Ignoring the blatant show of power and elegance by Ica's admittedly awesome way of being seated, I found myself looking around at the oh-so-familiar library that was apparently my mindscape. Not much of a difference from last time, at least; same bookshelves, same wooden floors that somehow won't combust despite the literal fire that Ica was emitting, even the same damn chair and table combo with

"Focus, you idiot." Now, where had I heard that before... Flicking my right wrist, I did my damn best to pretend that I was throwing out my so-called 'other Essence' as I threw out my arm like a fucking weeb on steroids. And as predicted, nothing came out of my palms except some of my dignity as I grimaced at what I was doing. It was demeaning, humiliating; probably the most cringe-worthy action I had ever done in my life. "Even worse than posing awkwardly trying to do your best approximation of an Iaido?" "Oh shut up." Of course, she'd respond to my thoughts like this. "Now tell me if I'm doing this right." It might have been a slow start in terms of actual learning, but I would at least like to think that I was doing pretty well despite being only at it for about an hour or so.

How many days has it been, perhaps? Granted, we had stayed in this failed village for far longer than what was planned due to my discovery of my Elemental Essence and subsequent training, but still. Would it have been better if we had actually left as soon as we had done our business of resupplying? The original plan did call for us to leave for the capital as soon as we finally got our bearings back, not to mention the fact that I had already regained my memories. Olivia was out there, as well as the rest of our fellow Dens scattered across the Empire. I still had a sense of obligation to them, and doing jack shit just made me feel worse as the guilt of enjoying this life sank into me like an anchor on muddy ground. Was I obligated, however? Surely, no. But that didn't mean it didn't felt like it, especially if you're constantly staring at the proof of your failures every day of every week.&n

My ears perked at the distant explosion that echoed between us. It sounded rather violent, like a crack on the ground suddenly erupted in an earthquake-like intensity. But... That's impossible, right? "Did you hear that?" my voice cut through the tense atmosphere that quickly descended upon us. "Something you did, maybe?" "No. I'm not working on something that could produce explosions. And even then the workshop's just over there," Lace quickly clarified, her eyes looking out towards the forest beyond us. "Plus, Love's here with us, so that was definitely not our doing." "Huh..." With a wordless agreement, the two of us inched towards our respective weapons; with Lace brandishing her katana and myself reaching for my sword as Love aimed her bow at the ready just behind us. The tense silence