Once Temperance had calmed herself down, wiped her tears and shook her head, she was back to her usual poise. Though by how her heart raced, she hadn’t forgotten what happened just yet.

  “Let’s get to it”

  Seeing that their leader was back to her functioning self, Marcille snapped herself out of shock and wasted no time in getting back to the mission at hand.

  “Come this way. Found us a door we could use”

  She led the pair across the rooftop, taking care to not drop her guard even the slightest. As they walked, she kept checking their blindsides, ensuring that nothing dared to ambush them.

  Then they came to a stop and she crouched at the edge of a slanted section where the roof sagged around an old opening.

  “This way drops straight inside.”

  Marcille leapt down first, followed by Tobias, and finally Temperance, who didn’t seem so hesitant this time. She was able to do it with no help or coercion.

  ‘Maybe Agnes really did scare her’

  Yor thought as she watched the three vanish into the drowned chapel’s hollow darkness. They were out of sight to everyone else, but to her they hardly vanished…at least when she really focused.

  ‘I can’t really see them. The walls are in the way. I could see through them, but they are way too far. Even from here, it was hard to make them out even before they jumped’

  Yor was in quite the dilemma. She raised two hands, placing them parallel to each other as if trying to scale some imaginary weight.

  ‘On the left side, I could just sit still and wait for them to come back, but where would be the fun in that? The adventure and mystery of it all?’

  She lowered the left and raised the right hand a bit higher.

  ‘On the right side, I could somehow convince Agnes to throw me alongside them and gain first hand experience. But potentially fall into that weird black water and die. Or splat on the walls, also die. Or survive all of that but get killed by whatever monsters are lurking in there. Dead’

  Having weighed her options, she lowered the right hand also and frowned. Maybe just staying still was the safest outcome.

  ‘And besides, I don’t think those two would allow it. They got their orders after all. Marcille would be livid too if I put myself in any danger’

  She exhaled a defeated sigh. Clearly, there was no way around this. Unless…

  ‘I do both!’

  A bright idea lit in her head. She lowered herself to the ground, folded her legs under her skirt, rested her hands on her knees and closed her eyes.

  The twins, Silas and Seth were busy messing with the unconscious Elias. Flicking his ears, and poking at his limp face with all the seriousness of children prodding a dead fish. Meanwhile, Arthur was having a conversation with Agnes who looked giddy over her last throw.

  Yor tuned them all out. This was the perfect time to practice it.

  “Alright…here we go”

  She wet her lips. The last time she had accidentally used Field Vision, the flood of information had nearly drowned her, following that was that nasty needle shot from Tobias. That was a true nightmare.

  Last time, she had the entirety of Fens pouring into her mind like water down her throat. But not in a gentle way, more like someone was shoving a whole dam of water down your throat all at once.

  However, this time it was going to be different. She had to make it different.

  ‘Sawatari, tell me about Field Vision again. Please’

  A few seconds passed before she heard the familiar voice of the Manifestation.

  ?? Here is information on the Spirit Art: [Field Vision]

  Path: Mind

  Tier: Basic

  Effect: Grants the user the ability to project and manipulate their astris into a controlled radius, translating all detected fluctuations and physical structures into a seamless mental image. The smaller the radius, the clearer the detail. The wider the radius, the more numerous the images perceived, though detail will diminish proportionally.

  That is all ??

  So, instead of risking her life in that mysterious chapel and strange black water. She was just going to observe everything from the comfort of sweet safety.

  ‘Heh, I’m a genius’

  She let out a small prideful chuckle, praising herself for her justified cowardice. Then, she inhaled a deep breath, letting the air go through her parted lips. Her fingers curled slightly against her knees.

  She hesitated before whispering…

  “[Field Vision]”

  Her world shivered as her perception expanded outward like a rippling wave. The forest bloomed in her mind. All at once, the scenery of every tree, every root, every branch, every rock and every path present in this forest flooded her mind like last time.

  However, unlike last time, she didn’t allow the massive flood of information to overwhelm her. For a heartbeat, it threatened to sweep further and drag to the whole wilderness.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  To counteract that, Yor gritted her teeth and squinted hard. This forced the flood to lessen, pulling the expanded circle inward. She compressed it until it covered their relevant location. That being their blindspot in the forest, the black lake and the drowned chapel itself.

  Her sight skidded across its surface like it wasn’t water at all. Beneath it, there was literally nothing, no shape, no depth or anything, it was like a void.

  ‘Creepy…’

  It unsettled her so she didn’t focus on that. Right now she just achieved using this Spirit Art the right way, that alone was enough cause for a celebration. But since she couldn’t do that here, perhaps the smile enlisted on her face might do.

  ‘So far so good. Now I just got to…”

  Another thing to note about this Spirit Art was that she could switch the scenery she saw just as easily. Kind of like switching through different channels on tv.

  What she saw when she focused on inside the chapel were the drowned spires, rotting beams and the three shapes of Marcille, Tobias and Temperance moving through it.

  But before she could see more, the very imagery dispersed and she was launched back on her usual sight. The Spirit Art deactivated when she opened her eyes in surprise and her body jerked from being patted on the shoulder.

  “Yor, are you listening to me?”

  The moment Yor heard who disturbed her just when she had reached a breakthrough, her face contorted into rage.

  She turned her head mechanically slowly with her bloodlusted eyes wide open. Piercing the young man who had crouched up behind her left side. And said in a menacing tone.

  “Elias…you want to die?!”

  Elias let out a shrill little cry as he stumbled back so fast that he tripped over his own boots and landed square on his backside. He didn’t wait to see what would happen if he stuck around.

  His palms slapped against the ground as he tried to scuttle away, legs kicking like a limp rabbit being stalked by a hungry fox.

  Yor went on her feet and turned to look at him with a scowl, dusted a bit of dirt on her skirt and slowly walked toward the retreating boy.

  Seeing that was enough to send a wave of panic through him.

  “S-sorry, I’m sorry! Didn’t mean to…I didn’t mean to bother you! Honest! I swear!”

  He stammered his plea but his words rolled past her ears like water. She simply kept moving, her anger getting deeper and deeper. At that moment, she never felt such an urge to punch someone.

  “Dammit…”

  She clenched her fist and loosened it in the next instance. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Especially not when she was driven by anger. Who knows what kind of damage she might do to the poor boy.

  ‘At the very least he’s terrified of me. Hah. Serves him right for interrupting me, but…’

  When Elias reached a point where there was no further room to crawl. His back was pressed against a moss darkened stone. Yor halted just short of him and bore her sightless eyes down upon him.

  For some time, she considered looming over him a bit longer until he begged and grovelled on his feet. But that didn’t happen. Her scowl softened as she let out a sigh.

  ‘I can’t tell what face he’s making but he’s definitely afraid. Ah man…I messed up’

  Regaining her composure, Yor decided to stop playing the predator and listen to what he had to say.

  “...Something wrong?”

  Elias stared at her for a bit, seemingly shocked by her sudden change. Then, he swallowed hard and dragged himself upright.

  “N-no, nothing at all. Sorry again for disturbing you. I’ll just…I’ll just be on my way”

  He turned his back on her and began fleeing. Yor watched him walk away until a deep guilt rose from her chest. She frowned and said.

  “Elias, wait”

  Those words came out sharper than she intended, and when he froze, she sighed again and adjusted her tone a bit.

  “...I overreacted, I’m sorry. If you have something to say, we can talk about it. I’ll listen. Just…don’t expect much from me in return.”

  She admitted, and that seemed to be enough to win him over. His astris bloomed in a faint embarrassed hue. He shifted back to her awkwardly and asked.

  “A-are you sure?”

  With a faint chuckle, Yor lowered herself back onto the ground and faced the still black waters. Its surface swallowed moonlight like ink. She tapped the spot beside her with a palm, offering him a place to sit with a small smile.

  “Come on then, sit. I won’t bite you. I swear”

  ***

  Elias was a bit hesitant at following her instructions, but he eventually gave in. He cautiously shuffled forward and sat down beside her very closely. Close enough that his sleeve almost brushed against her arm.

  Following that they had to confirm to Arthur and Agnes that they were still doing okay, they just had a bit of a complication but it was nothing serious. With that confirmed, the pair went back to talking about whatever subject was on their mind.

  The twins on the other hand were also playing around the shore, but not too closely to the black water.

  Yor and Elias just sat in extended silence, none of them said anything for a while.

  ‘This is my fault, isn’t it?’

  If she hadn’t spooked him, then maybe he might have been willing to talk to her freely. But thanks to that, the air was awkward now.

  She stared at him for a bit before drifting her eyes back toward the black waters, landing on the drowned chapel.

  “Elias, don’t tell anyone about this. Please”

  Without waiting for his response, Yor exhaled slowly as if forcing the next words out.

  “When I was younger, my mother…she always took me to a shrine. On certain days of the year. Festivals, New Years, even when the cherry blossoms began to bloom. She would drag me along, no matter how much I complained”

  She chuckled softly.

  “We would stop at the stone basin before the gate. She’d insist I wash my hands, rinse my mouth, and bow twice. We’d toss coins into the offering box, clap, and bow again. She would close her eyes so tightly, like she was whispering every secret in her heart to the gods. Afterward, we’d buy little charms for luck, health and for safety”

  She gestured some of those then paused for a bit.

  “I didn’t like it then. I thought it was boring and a waste of valuable time. But it made her happy, so I did it with her whenever she asked. I ended up liking it as a result. And…I owed them everything. My mother and father”

  The memories warmed her chest for a fleeting moment before the weight of reality settled back in. Her lips curved upwards into a smile, but there was loneliness behind it. An ache that could never be soothed.

  Her adoptive parents had died years before her own end. Now more than ever she knew that she would never see them again. That went for her kids as well.

  The way she felt so alone right now, she didn’t realize a tear had slipped free until it cut cold across her cheek.

  “Yor, are you…are you alright?”

  Elias’ soft voice snapped her out of it. She quickly wiped her face with the back of her sleeves and turned her face away.

  “It’s nothing. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me”

  Her heart kicked against her ribs. She even began to curse herself for allowing herself to be vulnerable like that. She clenched her fists in her lap, trying her best to shrink.

  Fortunately, Elias didn’t ponder at it any further, simply accepting her response. He shifted and began to share a bit about himself as well.

  “I…know what you mean. About places like that. I used to go with my mother to visit the chapel. We would light candles, pray, and ask for his blessings. Sometimes she’d just sit there and talk to my great grandfather like he was still alive….But she was sick, so we couldn’t go often”

  Yor turned her head slightly.

  “It got worse when people began treating us differently, like we weren’t worth the air we breathed. Because of the rumors about the Twelve Sacred Saints. We were…cast out. I never met him, but I know he was a good man. He would never turn his back on everyone like that”

  He gave a small pained laugh.

  “We used to be nobles of the Belmeth Empire. The Darren house, but after the fall, our family name meant nothing. Less than nothing.”

  He drew a sharp breath and went up on his feet.

  “My mother always told me that I should grow up to be like him. A hero. Someone who will clear my great grandfather’s name. That was her wish for me…before she died”

  And then, he announced.

  “So that’s why…I’ll become a hero!”

  After everything that Elias told her about, only one thing stood out the most to her. And that was the fact that Elias was…

  “Eh? A noble?!”