The sun arose in the distance, creating rays of sunlight that penetrate through the leaves of the Hyperion trees. It was quite chilly and the winds flowed through the forest.
Veritas stood outside the cave and carefully observed his surroundings. He used the Winds as an extension of his senses to feel if there are any foes within his range.
He could sense 2 individuals far on the east but it was not too much of an issue. It would only be dire once they got closer.
He caressed the hilt of his steel sword smoothly, carefully looking at the intricate patterns from it.
Upon doing so, he yawned and felt the sleepiness appear. He had just woken up, but Veritas still felt drowsy, especially due to the chilly atmosphere.
"Line! It's ready!"
Hearing a feminine voice with a unique accent, he stared back inside the cave and looked at the girl that was meters away from him.
"Coming.."
Thus, Veritas walked inside and saw a boiling bot above a blazing fire.
This morning, they were making a soup made from pork, herbs, and other seasoned ingredients that Jade brought.
"Smells good.." Veritas complimented her cooking which actually looks decent.
"Thank you."
Although had no potential in terms of combat, her other skills that were related to essentials, daily activity, and many more, are quite notable.
Not only was she prepared for the wildlife experience, but she also knew how to distinguish many types of edible plants and herbs.
Veritas could do the same but he focused more on theoretical analysis rather than practical.
He was offered a wooden bowl and a spoon, carefully holding it with his right hand.
"Thank you for this, Jade."
"No problem!"
Veritas spent his time eating the soup slowly, he cooled it down using his winds and took a sip once in a while.
Jade did the same and Veritas noticed her eating in a peculiar way.
She held her spoon delicately, as if holding it weakly and with care. Then her lips pursed before she swallowed the soup, tapping itself three times before inserting the spoon on her mouth.
After that, her eyes became slightly teary due to the heat, her lips shaking as she winced in pain.
Her eyelashes were shiny due to her tears, whenever she blinked, Veritas could see mini droplets splash around her skin.
Once she swallowed the soup, she held the spoon softly and dipped it in the creamy goodness.
She repeated the same notion and Veritas could not help but stare at her calmly.
These small details were further enhanced by his Eye of the Kraken.
Veritas took a spoonful of his own soup and cooled it down to the perfect temperature.
'She actually looks cute..'
Veritas immediately dismissed that thought.
While drowned in his thoughts, he failed to notice that Jade was suddenly looking at him, her cheeks turned rosy as her eyes widened.
"W-what?"
She looked embarassed, flustered even.
"Nothing.."
Veritas jmmediately looked away and focused on his soup, taking a sip while cooling it down.
After a few minutes, both of them finished their meals and began to clean up.
Veritas walked towards Jade and said calmly:
"It was good, really.."
Jade, who had her back turned from Veritas, suddenly jolted and it took her a second before she could respond.
"..I am glad."
After that conversation, Veritas walked away and went back to his corner of the cave to fix his gears.
Although Veritas was only wearing a disguise as Line, he still needed to act like he was tending to his armor. Upon doing so, Veritas moved over to his blade, using a towel to clean it.
It only took him a couple of seconds before finishing. He stood up and placed his gear back in his pouch.
The two of them were cleaning up and would leave in a couple of moments.
Jade placed her cooking kit back in her backpack, she tidied up her sleeping bag, and put out the blazing campfire.
Veritas finished quickly and merely watched her as she clumsily fixed her gear back in place.
Upon finishing, he gestured for them to leave and venture to the wilderness once more.
So, they did and Veritas followed behind Jade. There were no words between them for a couple of minutes, only the mere sounds of their footsteps hitting the leaves.
Veritas saw the delightful rays of the sun penetrating the leaves and leaving an exposed floor filled with leaves and twigs.
They walked for at least 15 minutes before one of them finally spoke.
Jade stopped on her tracks and held her hand up, forming a fist.
"Hold on, I sense something."
Veritas already sensed the upcoming danger seconds ago but he still listened attentively to her.
"In front of us, there are.. 8 figures! They seem to be engaged in battle."
"Alright, let's circle around them."
"Wait, there are also figures on our left and right!"
"What do we do then?"
She raised her fingers up her chin, 'Hmm, Let's-"
Suddenly, a loud resiunding voice echoed throughout the entire forest. It pierced through Veritas and Jade's ear, as if it screamed directly at them.
"Pathbearers!"
The forest seemed disturbed by the sudden voice.
"Welcome to the Second Day of the Second Stage!"
"For all of those that have survived, I congratulate you!"
Veritas could not quite discern who the voice belonged to but it seemed very familiar. It was as if it belonged to a particular annoying Professor that likes to joke around every time.
'There's no way..'
He listened further:
"With that out of the way, I shall grant you all with very exciting news! Everybody applaud!"
The voice laughed loudly, "This morning, all of you will be forced to move towards the middle! Well, not immediately but still! On the edges of the forest, a barrier would slowly get smaller and smaller until a small circle is all that's left!"
Veritas turned around towards the walls in the distance.
"It would take a couple of hours for the barriers to close in completely to the middle and by sunset, everything would've closed in which forces you all to be met in the same circle where the final battle shall occur!"
The voice got even more cheerful as it gave off the end remarks.
"With that, thank you for listening and I bid you all the best of luck!"
The voice vanished and the ringing inside Veritas and Jade's head was gone. They focused back on the many figures surrounding them and stayed vigilant.
Jade used her Path to gather information about the figures around them and so far, there wasn't anyone going towards them.
She breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at Veritas.
"We're safe.. for now, let's not go anywhere."
He nodded and loosened his posture.
"Let's plan our path ahead, and make contingencies when emergencies arise.."
Jade agreed and huddled together with him.
"You are immediately going to hide when a Pathbearer inevitably approaches us. I'll do all the fighting and try my best to protect you. But when peril occurs, you must run at all cost!"
"Okay."
"I don't have anything to give you right now but I can assure you that I will protect you with all my life. Count on that."
Veritas looked at Jade seriously and stared directly at her black eyes.
Her body trembled for a second but she immediately regained her composure, reminded of the dire situation at hand.
She nodded and made a resolution to follow their contingency when an emergency happens!
"Now, let's succeed to the third stage."
"Unn!" Jade approved.
Upon using her Path she felt the figures in front of them get closer to one another, the group on the right was slowly making its way to the 8 people group at the middle. While the group on the left was going farther away.
It seems that a battle was underway and would be unavoidable.
And soon, it will envelop the both of them and escape would no longer be an option.
Once the sun sets, the final battle will ensue and it will be a free for all battle. Only those that have the strongest battle prowess will rise up to the end and win!
Veritas suddenly felt the temperature of the forest get higher, as if heat was suddenly encasing him.
He turned around and looked at the direction where the Winds felt off! His eyes wavered, seeing a dubious black flame growing in the distance as if a mere speck of black was prevalent!
'That direction is directly in the middle!'
Suddenly! A loud boom resounded at the location of the black flame! It exploded and sent a great shockwave that sent Winds that impacted Veritas and Jade!
Their hair flew back due to the shockwave and the leaves flew in response.
Jade couldn't help but scream at the sudden explosion that disturbed the whole forest!
As Veritas scanned further with his crimson eye, he noticed that the black flames had already begun to spread out the middle!
'Just what the hell is happening over there?!'
Pillars of black flames rose up and reached the skies, burning everything in its path!
He stared up and felt the lamenting heat coming from its tenebrous glory. Luckily, Veritas controlled the Winds to lessen the effects of the high temperature so that his and Jade's body wouldn't succumb to any after effects.
And then! Another explosion rang out from the middle! This time, white ice danced along with the black flames. The temperature seemed to shift between cold and hot!
"Jade! What do you sense?" Veritas quickly asked.
Her eyes seemed to dilute for a second and then she said, "In the middle, two figures are engaged in a battle! One has shiny-gold hair wearing blue-ish armor while the other has blonde hair and a black bodysuit!"
Veritas pondered the identity of the two.
'The black flames came from Alice and the white ice...'
His eyes widened as he was suddenly hit with a realization!
"Mercury!"