Thunder echoed in the distance as two hooded figures stood over an unconscious body.
The taller one stared down at his companion, already noticing the mischievous grin forming beneath her hood.
With their fists raised, they called out in unison: "Three… two… one!"
—THUNDER CRACKED—
"Ha! Rock. I win, sucker," she crowed. "You know the rules. Start dragging his ass."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he grumbled, watching her break into a little victory dance. Sure, he could've easily won by using his skill Foresight, but where was the fun in that? with a smirk forming on the corner of his face, he already knew that by end of this he would have the last laugh.
"Come on, let's get our asses out of the forest already. The drop-off point should be around here somewhere."
As he crouched down and hefted the unconscious body over his broad shoulders, he noticed something.
"Weird… seems like this time he's adapted to using mana instead of spiritual energy like he usually does."
"It's not that uncommon, you know," she said, lifting her hand for a moment. At her gesture, the storm seemed to recede, vanishing as if it had never been, leaving behind only a faint reddish streak across the sky as the sun dipping gently behind them.
She glanced at the body he was carrying — it looked a bit bigger than the last few times they'd retrieved him. Quietly, she added:
"You know… I think you're right. If he actually passes the trial this time, things might change for the next war. We might not have the luxury of goofing off together anymore."
With a glance toward the towering mountains in the distance, he pointed at them with his free hand. Small hexagonal circles appeared at the tips of his fingers, spinning slowly. As he lowered his hand, he shouted at her, "Alright, alright, you can wipe that smug grin off your face. Let's go."
The earth trembled in response to his command. Slowly, a dirt path began to form, winding its way toward the mountains. Even the trees were pushed aside, their roots groaning as they were forced upward, clearing a way as though the earth itself were using the roots as a makeshift curb.
As they made their way toward the mountain, they noticed something unusual, more monster corpses scattered along the path then the last few times they came by.
"I don't think this level had any of these creatures before," she said, pausing to think. "Actually, now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing any flying ones around either. That spell you used would've made them more aggressive, but I haven't heard any noise or seen anything for a while."
Then, with a sudden realization, a grin began to form on her face. Speaking under her breath without realizing it, "At this rate, we might actually get to take our vacation early." She paused, her voice shifting to a more playful tone, as if she couldn't resist a little teasing—trying to hide her devilish motives. "Got any plans for the next rez? When and where do you think you're going to be?"
"No. The answer is no. I'm not getting stuck cleaning up you're mess again. And if I get stuck on holding the bag again the first thing I'll do is take away all your vacations," he said, his tone sharp as he tried to set a boundary. It was something he knew she wouldn't respect, but he still tried. After all, he wanted her on his side if things went south later on.
"No? No to what? I'm just asking what your plan was. It's not like I'm asking you to get stuck with the throne for the next thousand years!" she snapped, defensive.
"Yeah, but I know what you're thinking," he said, calmer now.
"Foresight, remember… oh, and you should stop walking in… three—"
He let the pause stretch just a fraction longer than necessary.
-TUMBLE-
"YOU COULD HAVE WARNED ME A BIT EARLIER, YOU KNOW!" she yelled, flailing into the cave that could have been easily 30 feet deep.
"Foresight isn't always 100% accurate, you know," he called back, smirking. Peering down into the cave, he thought to himself, I know she won't buy that… but at least we're here.
"You know I haven't adjusted to this yet!" she yelled.
"Man, this stings," she muttered under her breath, still struggling to get herself back on her feet.
"Come on, you know the drill. Let's get him reset" he replied, gliding down slowly, mocking her with a smug grin.
"You know how hard this is with these bodies!" she snapped, frustration evident in her voice. mumbling under her breath, "Too much, and they explode."
Hoping he didn't hear, she quickly countered, raising her voice again, "Give me a second to fix it. I think I broke a bone or something, No, definitely a bone." looking down seeing some bones were sticking out the side of one of her legs.
With a wave of her hand, she made a sweeping gesture. Her body began to glow as energy flowed through her, restoring everything as if the fall had never happened. Regaining her footing, she pulled down her cloak's hood and shot him the most intense evil eye imaginable. Then, with a quick flick of her other hand, lights began to appear, surrounding them.
Seeing that she wasn't in the mood—and knowing her mind was wandering, hopefully not toward revenge—he quietly changed the subject.
"Alright, you know the drill. Let's just get this over with, let's—" he began in a motivational tone, but before he could finish, she cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll erase his memory and strip him of his equipment. You reset the trail," she replied, her tone tinged with annoyance.
Gently lowering the man to the ground, she let the little devil do her work. He stood back up, tall and focused. With both hands raised, he began to cast his spell. The ground shifted once again, this time forming a hexagram around them. Its edges were etched with runes—symbols carved into whatever materials were nearby.
Lowering his arms, he snapped his fingers—a sound that echoed, reverberating off the cave walls. In an instant, the hex began to glow with a dark green light. The earth shifted beneath them, forming a deep ravine, and with that, water rose, filling it. Its depth seemed almost endless.
As the little germling finished removing the makeshift armor he had left, leaving himself bare-chested, she paused. She noticed that this time he was much older. Sure, he was long overdue for a good shave, but his upper body was clearly much more muscular. However, as she took a closer look, what she saw made her blink.
Engravings. Not just one, but dozens—symbols of different origins etched into his skin in swirling, uneven patterns. Most were old, faded by time and use; others were sharp and freshly carved. He had never carried so many at once.
This is a first, she thought, hesitating. He normally focuses on one type of enchantment… maybe two if he's feeling reckless. But this many? He never resorted to engraving them on his skin before?
Her gaze fell to the inverted arm guard still strapped loosely to his right forearm. The sigil once carved into it—an intricate protection rune they had personally placed on him—was barely visible now. Only faint gouges remained, as if something immense had damaged it.
"Hey… that's weird," she murmured.
"What? Now what?" her companion muttered, still tending to his own part of the work.
"The protection rune we gave him. It's almost erased. Do you know how much it takes to even scratch it? And this—this looks like a god reached down and scratched it off. I don't know what he's been doing, but it's definitely bigger than anything normal."
Her companion stiffened for a moment, eyes narrowing. He glanced around.
"…We're being watched, or at least we will be" he whispered. "Somebody will be here soon, they haven't spotted us yet but if we stay here any longer we will be seen."
She tightened her grip on the arm guard. "Do you have time to replace the rune?" he asked in a almost frantic tone.
"No. Not with this body. If I try, they'll know we were here." she replied while trying to think of solutions.
"We can't just leave him without P-A-L protection," she hissed. "He might get erased! And whoever has the power to do this—" she held up the damaged guard "—isn't someone he can survive without protection."
He let out a slow exhale. "…Wait. Remember what Nemo gave us? I still have that rune. It's not as strong as the P-A-L grade one, but it should keep him safe until we can get another one."
"Fine. Hurry. I'm almost done with getting the portal ready, we don't have much time so you gotta hurry before - ."
As she removed the arm guard and turned it right-side up, her hands froze.
Five gemstones. He had finally gotten all five Trial Gemstones.
"Wait—if he has all five…" she whispered.
Then she saw it—the amethyst. Chipped. A clean, sharp fracture right through its core.
"Oh," she breathed. "That's why."
"Though she had initially been disappointed that he had still passed the trial, her disappointment was quickly overshadowed by curiosity. The realization hit her: she wasn't sure what had caused it. Was there an external force powerful enough to crack a Trial Keystone? Or had he simply not been ready? He had failed the Trial more times than she could count. Or worse, had the Trial failed him?"
No time to think about that now, she reminded herself. She pulled a small hammer from inside her cloak, and with a small hammering motion, the air itself cracked open. She threw everything inside.
"Alright—everything's good to go. Trial reset and portal ready?" she asked.
"Yeah, portal's at the end of this pool," he replied.
As he gently lifted the unconscious man and moved him toward the water, he asked, "You did reset his memory, right?"
She froze for a second. Then, raising the hammer still in her hand, she pointed it toward him just as he was about to shove the man into the abyss below.
"Oblivisci!" she shouted. For a moment, light flared at the hammer's tip.
"Yep! Totally didn't forget anything. We're good. Let's go."
She shifted her grip on the hammer and closed her eyes briefly. Its shape warped in accordance with her will. "Come on, let's go," she said, smashing open another hole in the air—this one much larger, wide enough for both of them.
"I know I said we have to hurry, but we don't need to cut corners like this," he muttered, annoyed. He knew full well that once they crossed over, he'd be taking a tomato-soup bath for a week.
"I know you don't like using hammer space to travel, but it's the quickest way out and… I might've forgotten to ask for a ride back," she admitted, defeated.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. That's why I've got the tomato-soup bath ready for when I get back," he replied, mocking her as he stepped through.
"IT'S NOT THAT BAD! I SWEAR I'LL CLEAN IT WHEN WE'RE BACK!" she yelled, knowing full well she wouldn't, as she followed him through the portal.
Before she left, she glanced at the still-floating body, moments from slipping underwater again. She pointed a finger at him and whispered, "Iuventus."
His body glowed softly, as if de-aging back into his early to mid-twenties, repairing any scars left on his skin. As the cracks left by the hammer began to heal, a small pouch zipped through the air, narrowly avoiding getting stuck in the cracks and chipping some parts as it passed. It quickly attached itself to his body, then dragged him under, crossing the portal.