Alnea stopped in his tracks, and raised his hand to look at the ring resting on his finger of fate. A black ring, adorning figures of countless snakes, biting each other’s tails, coiling around a vine pregnant with thorns, running across the ring in a circle. The Ring of Fate. Or at least one half of the Rings of Fate. And his partner.

  “Evi?” Alnea said hesitantly. His partner, the arrogant ring, had been awfully quiet recently, barely speaking a few words to him. That too, only when he entered the Mirror World. As such, when he heard his voice, he could not believe his ears for a moment. Was the grumpy ring angry because he did not go the Mirror World last night? No, he did not sound angry. Then…

  “Did you say something?”

  “I said, you are finally ready,” Evi said, dragging out his words, as if trying to sound more enigmatic. But that did not matter. The grumpy ring was finally willing to talk to him. It was alright to fulfil his wishes from time to time. If he wanted to sound mysterious and wise, then Alnea would play along with him.

  “Ready for what?”

  “…To return to the Origin Sea. What do you think?”

  “I think that I have not lived long enough yet.”

  “…Why did I have to become partner with someone so stupid,” Evi mumbled. “What am I?”

  “My partner.”

  “…Besides that.”

  “…Ring of Fate?”

  “And what is my duty?”

  “To help me control the powers of the Rings of Fate.”

  “That is my authority, not my duty.”

  “…Unlocking the powers of the Rings of Fate?”

  “…What do I look like to you? A key?”

  “…Did you not say that you would reveal the powers of the Rings of Fate to us as we grow stronger and feed you more Oren?”

  “And it is my duty to assess whether or not you are worthy of the powers of the Rings of Fate.”

  “But the Mirror World—

  “Do you need me to remind you the conditions under which your Mirror World was activated? Besides, it was the girl who activated the Mirror World, not you. You are just enjoying the fruits of her labour. And that is why you have never earned my respect. That is, until now. Finally, you did something worthy of being my partner.”

  “…Why do even I do not know what I did?”

  “I am talking about how you faced the girls earlier.”

  “…Can I get your approval by just coaxing girls?”

  “…How stupid can you be?”

  “It makes sense though. Maybe you learned some of my tricks, and managed to coax Fae—

  “Shut up!” Evi said, almost in a roar. “Are you trying to insult me?”

  “…Then you go and coax Fae for me.”

  “…I am not arguing with you,” Evi said in a trembling voice, probably trying to hold back his anger. “Just to make it clear, I absolutely despise your behaviour of deceiving girls—

  “I did not deceive anyone.”

  “Still, I still have to admit, at least you dared to face yourself, and tell the truth.”

  “…That’s it?”

  “…You think that is not impressive?”

  “I have always been facing my Heart though.”

  “Have you?”

  “…Alright. You win. But I still don’t think that it is a big deal.”

  “Then why do so many people get stuck at the bottleneck to the True Rank?”

  “…Okay. I can see your point now.”

  “No, you do not. Facing, and accepting your Heart takes much more courage than you think. And it is also one of the necessary conditions of gaining Clarity. But that is just the beginning. As time goes by, you will experience many things, causing even more changes in your Heart. Changes, that might affect its Clarity. Just like how the Whitebud Patriarch’s Heart had been clouded back in Anneve.

  “Back when my mother was still here, in this world, there used to be a saying amongst you Wanderers. As long as your Heart retains its Clarity, your path as a Wanderer will be clear. And the day it loses its Clarity, will also be the day you lose your path. If you wish for your path forward to be smooth, then you must always maintain your Clarity. Even after your Heart evolves, and becomes Impenetrable, Infinite, or even Supreme, you must still maintain your Clarity. Or you will never be able to face the dangers of the world, let alone the dangers of the Origin Sea.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “…You are saying it so seriously that I cannot even find it within myself to blush from embarrassment.”

  “The only one embarrassed here is me.”

  “…Alright. Just say it.”

  “Say what?”

  “The thing that you woke up to tell me about.”

  “…I have always been awake, Oathkeeper. Awake, and watching.”

  “…The way you said it made you sound so creepy, that it sent shivers down my spine.”

  “…I can understand a little of what that girl must be feeling.”

  “…What?”

  “The urge to beat you up.”

  “I think there is still a difference between you two.”

  “…What?”

  “She can actually beat me up, while all you can do is just sit silently, and complain.”

  “…Let us just get this done with.”

  “Why? Are you afraid?”

  “I am afraid, alright. Just not of you. I am afraid that if you keep talking, I might change my mind.”

  “See? Is this not easier then? You should have done this from the beginning.”

  “…I have updated your permissions of the Mirror World. You can now use it to face your Heart, and confront your doubts directly, rather than searching for them in mediation. It should make it easier for you to keep your Heart Clear.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “I have already said everything I had to. You can explore the rest on your own.”

  “No, seriously, wait. What are you talking about? Updating the permission of Mirror World? What does that mean?”

  “It literally means what I just said.”

  “But haven’t I been using the Mirror World for the past half year?”

  “Without all the permissions. Hence your inability to use the true function of the Mirror World.”

  “The true function of the Mirror World?”

  “…There are all kinds of Mirror Worlds in the Origin Sea. The Mirror World you can use through the rings is a world created to mirror your Heart. Every time you step into the Mirror World, it will mirror everything about you, and then manifest your insecurities and conflicts by imbuing them into shadows, allowing you face your Heart in flesh. This way, whenever something that can threaten the Clarity of your Heart comes along, you can know it right away, and then deal with it before it can become a problem.”

  “Then the Mirror World that I have been using…”

  “Do you not know how you activated the Mirror World?” Evi said, with a hint of impatience in his voice. “Originally, in order to activate the Mirror World, you would have had to first have the courage to face your Heart on your own, along with the wisdom to accept everything about yourself, proving yourself worthy of walking further down the path of Wanderers. Only then, could you have gained my recognition, and the right to use the Mirror World.

  “However, back then, your situation was very… critical. The only way Fae and I could think of to separate your… memories from your body was to call it to the Mirror World. And we were right, in a sense. At least we managed to stop it from further eroding your body, gaining enough time for the girl to save you. It is just that the girl had to pay a heavy price to activate the Mirror World in advance.

  “Still, it was better than letting your memories take over you. Once you were saved though, we had no idea what to do with the Mirror World. You were clearly not ready to use it. Using external forces to face your Heart, without gathering the courage to do it on your own, could have been potentially destructive for your path. So, Fae and I decided not to let you use the Mirror World’s true function until you gained my approval. And that is how the Mirror World you have been using came about.”

  “…Then the shadows?”

  “Created from the enemies you have faced, and your own imaginations.”

  “Their moves…”

  “Once again, your own imaginations. Since you wanted to hone your skills, your Heart created enemies who could use their skills perfectly. Or at least better than you.”

  “…You have been lying to me all along?”

  “Not lying. Just not telling the entire truth.”

  “…Fine,” Alnea said, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He knew that Evi was right. Using the true function of the Mirror World could indeed have been potentially destructive for his Heart. Taking any risk for a quick gain was not worth it. Still, he could not help feeling a little irked at his ring’s arrogant tone and behaviour. He could deal with that later though. First, he had to confirm something else.

  “What price did Yuri have to pay activate the Mirror World in advance?”

  “Are you worried about her?”

  “…Should I not be?”

  “Then why did you make her sad in the first place.”

  “…Things are not that simple.”

  “Things are always simple. It is you Wanderers who make them complicated,” Evi said, and paused for a moment, before continuing. “Do not worry. The price may have been heavy for other Wanderers, but for her, it cannot be considered to be too heavy.”

  “…What was the price?”

  “…You already know how the Rings of Fate work. Can you not guess the price already?”

  “Just tell me.”

  “To forcefully create a Mirror World of your Heart, the price that she had to pay was naturally to suffer a backlash from her own Heart. In a similar way though, since the difference between the State of your Hearts was too big, the backlash she suffered was also relatively small.”

  “…She still did suffer a backlash though. And then right after, she Turned my Fate, and bore the backlash of her Roots to drag me back from the depths of my memories. With her Heart already being in a vulnerable state… What kind of price did she have to pay in the end?”

  “Her Heart regressed by a few levels.”

  “All this time I thought… Why did she not tell me about it?”

  “…Why are you asking me? Does it look like I know how you humans think?” Evi said, and was met with Alnea’s silence. After a few moments, the ring finally sighed, and continued where he had left off.

  “Although I do not know what the girl is thinking, I can tell you that the price she paid is not too heavy. After your memories broke out, and your consciousness dove into the depth of your Spirits, your fate was already heading towards your doom. It was a miracle that she could even come back alive with you. How could there be no price to pay for Turning Fate like that? She got off easy by just experiencing a regression in her Heart. And she has already made up for her loss. So, you do not have to worry.”

  “…Do not tell Yuri that I know about this.”

  “…You humans sure like to make things complicated.”

  “…And that is what makes us humans.”