Chapter 44 : A New Journey

  I leave the guild, followed by Valentin, who is carrying the huge sack of gold on his shoulders. Elvaria walks slowly by my side, as close to me as always. Once outside, Valentin steps away slightly and murmurs to us:

  "I’m going to drop off the gold at the guild’s base," he says quietly before adding, "See you later."

  "See you, Valentin," I reply, continuing to walk through the streets of Iveralmn.

  "And don’t forget, don’t steal the money," Elvie teases, arms crossed but with a playful smile on her lips.

  Valentin flashes a final grin, then disappears in a flash of golden light, teleporting directly to the top floor of the Blue Flower dungeon, where our house is, thanks to the special access granted to him by the Will of the World… without even consulting me.

  I then turn to Elvaria. "Elvie, what do we do while waiting for Alfira?"

  She lets out a mischievous little laugh, her smile betraying a hidden ambition. Her eyes meet mine, full of a glint I know all too well.

  "Aley… you still can’t guess?" she says, slightly mocking.

  "Guess what?" I ask, intrigued.

  She steps toward me slowly, unsheathes her spear, and slams it into the ground with force, cracking the immaculate paving stones that line the streets of the royal capital.

  "We’re going to…" she begins, but leaves the sentence hanging.

  "We’re going to…?" I reply, now really curious.

  "We’re going to find out the best places to explore for our next adventure!" she exclaims, her tone suddenly cheerful and full of enthusiasm. Well, that’s not at all what I expected, but… why not?

  "And where?" I ask.

  She proudly raises her finger in the air, stomps her foot, and declares with beaming pride, "To the library!"

  A wide grin on her face, she raises her arm to the sky as if she had just won a battle. Of course… why am I not surprised?

  We then head toward Iveralmn’s immense library. Elvaria, overly excited, gets ahead of me quickly, almost running. I take advantage of the walk to observe the surroundings a bit. I barely notice a merchant sitting at the corner of a street, wrapped from head to toe in a black cloth.

  Wait, is that the carriage man?

  I don’t have time to think further, Elvaria is already far ahead. I have to catch up with her before she disappears into the crowd.

  A few minutes later, we arrive at the library. The place exudes calm and tranquility, an atmosphere perfect for reflection.

  "Elvie, I’ll let you look for what you want. I have something to check," I say, walking away.

  "No problem," she replies, already engrossed in reading several books. I see her flipping through one about the Suspended Kingdom, or Flying Kingdom, which, according to the stories, crashed somewhere in the world during the Holy War. Its legendary beauty is said to rival even that of the Holy Land.

  As for me, I delve into a darker and more isolated section of the library. One thought keeps haunting me: The Void Queen knew us, me and Elvaria. Llyrnoth, the legendary Void Queen, knows us… That’s not normal.

  Why has History forged legends around her, but none about Aleystria Hadariel? He’s another hero of humanity, after all… Well, it’s strange to say that since he’s me, but all of this seems far too odd.

  I dive into an intense reading session. The more I learn about this time period, the thicker the mysteries become. Nothing mentions Aleystria during the Holy War. Not a single recorded event refers to that name. As if history had been altered, erased. But why? And by whom?

  I need to find out more.

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  I sink even deeper into the dark and silent aisles of the library, my thoughts tormented by the lack of information about Aleystria. But before I can uncover anything else, I suddenly come across a familiar figure. A girl with red hair, her hood pulled low over her face. I recognize her immediately.

  "You again," she says in a frosty voice. "I hear your praises, and I’m always eager to fight you."

  It’s Phloriphis. Just seeing her already exhausts me mentally. I have neither the desire nor the time to deal with her today. Without a word, I decide to ignore her and turn away to head back toward Elvaria at the center of the library.

  "Hey! Where are you going? I’m talking to you!" she yells, her voice piercing through the calm atmosphere of the place. But I keep walking, paying no attention to her words.

  "I have things to tell you!" she insists. Her persistence is really starting to annoy me. I sigh and reluctantly turn around.

  "And what?" I say in an icy tone, without any real interest.

  She wears a proud look under her hood, the only thing visible being her flaming red hair. "I’m giving you the honor of joining your pathetic guild, Novus Obris."

  Ah, of course, more of her unbearable arrogance. Her voice grates on me. How dare she be so conceited when I can’t even see her face, just a mass of red hair under that damn hood? I don’t even bother responding to her provocation, preferring to continue on my way toward Elvie. But one detail stops me from leaving just yet.

  "Is Varilis still in town?" I ask in a detached tone, almost like a question thrown into the air.

  Phloriphis seems slightly taken aback, as if she had expected anything but that question. "No… He’s gone back to the Holy Land. His women must be missing him," she says, a bit surprised.

  "Very well. Goodbye," I say, ending the conversation. I turn and leave for good this time, letting Phloriphis shout my name behind me. It doesn’t matter.

  I return to the center of the library, where Elvaria is engrossed in her research, her eyes fixed on several manuscripts. When she sees me approaching, she gives me a slight smile and gestures for me to sit beside her. I sit down, enjoying this moment of calm.

  "Aley… prepare yourself for a divine massacre," she suddenly says in a cold tone that momentarily unsettles me.

  "What do you mean?" I ask, having no idea what she’s talking about.

  "I keep hearing Elvaristria’s voice in my mind, even here," she explains, her gaze still buried in the books. "While searching for possible places for our next adventure…" She pauses, as if hesitating to say more, then continues. "Elvaristria pointed me to a place in Voltruite, a particular dungeon. We have to go there to obtain the next upgrade for the Stria and learn more."

  I nod. I already knew what she was going to say. "So, we need to conquer that dungeon," I say, finishing her thought. "Perfect. It’s already on our route. If Elvaristria keeps guiding you, and if everything goes well, we should be ready for the Prism."

  The library, against all odds, won’t have been a waste of time. We now have a clear objective: to conquer this new dungeon in Voltruite. Yet, one thought still lingers in my mind, like a grain of sand in a well-oiled machine. Phloriphis. What does she really want? Why is she inserting herself into our business?

  "Shall we go?" I ask Elvie, breaking the silence. She nods with a small smile before carefully putting away the books she had borrowed from the library. Once outside, the night air begins to settle in, the sun already touching the horizon.

  We walk leisurely toward the guild entrance, hoping to find Valentin there. After a few minutes, I finally spot him, leaning against the building wall, looking relaxed. He notices us and waves.

  "Hey, Valentin! Did you stash the gold?" I shout to catch his attention. He smiles as he sees us approaching.

  "Everything’s safe. Where have you two been?" he asks, his gaze curious but amused. We explain our visit to the library and our discoveries about Voltruite and Elvaristria.

  Time passes, and the sky starts to turn orange, then dark purple. The sun slowly disappears, leaving behind a starry sky. And still no news from Alfira. We’re all sitting on the ground in front of the guild entrance, tired of waiting.

  "This is taking forever…" sighs Elvaria, yawning widely. She stretches, looking weary. The fact that we, members of Novus Obris, are sitting on the ground like vagabonds in front of the guild when we’re supposed to be local legends… it’s kind of ironic. Thankfully, it’s late, and there aren’t many people in the streets. If anyone saw us like this, we’d be humiliated.

  Finally, in the distance, a figure appears in the fading light. A long white robe, a small slender figure, golden hair shimmering under the last rays of the sun… It’s Alfira. She’s finally back.

  We all stand up at the same time, eager to hear what she’s learned. One question burns on our lips: can we finally leave for Voltruite, or will we be stuck here until the tournament ends?

  "Alfie, what did your father say?" Elvaria asks timidly, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Valentin and I stare at her intensely, waiting for her answer.

  Alfira takes a deep breath before imitating her father’s deep and authoritative voice: "My father told me, and I quote: ‘YOU IDIOT! THE ENTIRE ARENA WAS DESTROYED BY A GOD, AND YOU THINK WE CAN START AGAIN IN JUST ONE DAY?!’" she almost yells, imitating her father’s voice, which makes us all smile despite the situation.

  "I see… Sorry for making you ask him, Alfira," I say, feeling slightly guilty for having caused her the trouble.

  "Don’t worry, Aley. You can make it up to me at our wedding, after the tournament is over..." she adds with a playful wink, but before I can respond, Valentin bursts into laughter.

  "Let’s hope, for Aley’s sake, that the tournament never restarts, ahaha!" he chuckles, his laughter echoing through the empty street.

  Elvaria, always serious and focused, speaks up: "Our next objective is Voltruite. We’ll head there to gear up and conquer a dungeon." She speaks with a confident voice, and in that moment, I’m reminded that she’s the guild master of Novus Obris. Sometimes I forget just how seriously she takes her role.