A blanket of dense white clouds shifted silently around an island cradled within their embrace. The night's shadow was already in retreat, driven back by the first rays of dawn.
Golden light spilled over the horizon, washing across the land in a slow, radiant tide. It bathed the island in brilliance, and for a fleeting moment, the place seemed less like earth and more like a vision carved from myth.
At the heart of the island rose a tree unlike any other. Towering, colossal, its trunk was wider than a vast city's walls, its crown stretching far enough to veil the horizon.
Its branches were a living mosaic: one limb bore green leaves vibrant with life, another gnarled and pale, its foliage ashen-gray, while yet another shimmered faintly, as if its leaves were made of translucent crystal.
Before him stood a young woman, a beauty of the highest standard, her silver armor gleaming in the filtered light of dawn, upon her shoulder shone the proud heraldry of a gryphon, wings outstretched in defiance.
Her platinum hair framed her face like a crown of moonlight, and her cold eyes, two shifting pools of radiant white and fathomless black, seemed to hold the balance of opposites within them.
She was majesty and menace given form, a vision of grace sharpened into steel.
It had been a week since the eleven-week trial ended for Alex, and at the end of it, Odesues did not throw him into another gauntlet but gave him sixteen days to recover and rest.
Until the new year.
Odeseus had sent him to Paradise Island, a domain ruled by Erda, his daughter, and also the Mother of Zahra.
After seventy-seven continuous days of being pushed to his physical and psychological limits, Alex was exhausted, and the conditions on the paradise island and the help from Lady Erda were greatly helping him make a swift recovery.
On the island, Alex met Zahra once more, and in their brief interaction, he uncovered much about her. The first truth he uncovered was the reason behind the mark she had left on him, the reason why her parting words constantly echoed in his mind.
"Only if we had met a bit sooner."
As Alex had suspected, the answer lay in her affection for him, born from their ordeal in the Ancient world.
But Alex declined her feelings, just as he had once told Lady Cordelia. He held no feeling for her, nor did he believe he ever would, because they both belonged to different worlds.
Zahra, however, met his rejection with calm acceptance and simply answered that if they were meant to be together, then they would be.
Though they shared the same island, she never sought reasons to spend time with him, going so far as to dismiss even her mother's attempts to draw them together.
So for her to come up with a proposal to go on an adventurous voyage was a bit surprising, if nothing else, though she was doing it for his benefit.
Zahra regarded Alex, her gaze steady, carrying a quiet question. "So, when do you wish to leave?"
"By my estimate," She followed with calm precision, "We will need four to six days to secure the artifact, assuming no problems arise."
Alex looked up, cold and detached, as if her words were of no consequence.
"Your offer is tempting," he said at last, "But Odeseus told me to rest, recover, and enjoy these days, and I intend to follow that advice."
Her lips tightened, but she pressed forward. "This isn't just some normal value trinket we are after. What we seek is an artifact that is related to the Dark Ancient, something that my grandfather would be interested in." His gaze sharpened as he weighed her words, and she quickly added, "My mother can vouch for my truthfulness."
Alex lowered his gaze, lost in thought. If the matter concerned an artifact tied to the Dark Ancient, then he certainly did not mind pursuing it.
As for how Zahra had uncovered the whereabouts of an artifact of such rarity, it was not that surprising for Alex, knowing fully well the powers she commanded.
It was likely of a lesser nature compared to the Ancient Blade, Sorrow, but still of great value for Alex, more than any mythic artifact.
Zahra was no ordinary individual. She bore a Trait called Cosmic Dominance, an ability that let her bend reality itself.
At its most basic, it allowed her to wield any element, and pushed further, it could let her forge skills she already knew, or even create entirely new ones from nothing, and that was far from its limit.
However, since the world moves by the law of equal exchange, the price she paid for such rewriting of reality always depended on the scope of her application.
Did Alex want the artifact? The answer was a clear yes, because for him, the artifact's worth was more than practical, since it might very well awaken a new memory, a vision.
A vision meant growing his connection to his physique, and after his past months of hardships, he was just a step away from growing his physique to a higher stage, and that push could very well come from a vision.
That growth would mean more than new skills, as it would sharpen his existing arsenal, and more importantly, bring him closer to mastering Error.
Alex's Eyes of the Ancient had grown to the point where he could glimpse the very base of reality, but at the moment, his control was very crude, limited to fractured glimpses that barely lasted for a few moments.
After his break came to an end, He had planned to ask Odesues for an artifact related to Dark, but now that an opportunity had presented itself, it would be stupid not to make use of it.
"What is the artifact, and how are we going to collect it?" Alex asked, finally making up his mind as he rose to his feet.
"It's an old text," Zahra replied, her voice calm, deliberate. "Carved into an indestructible dark slate."
"Its nature isn't fully understood. Some say it holds secrets tied to Darkness itself, while others claim it's nothing more than a tomb-slate, carved with the name and deeds of an ancient master, since beyond its unbreakable body, it shows no other properties."
She turned, her silver armor catching the light as she strode toward the small door set into the roots of the towering tree. "As for acquiring it," her tone sharpened with faint amusement, "We will need to kill an Eighth Rank Rage Sea Serpent King."
The heavy roots gave way to an opening, revealing the pagoda nestled within the base of the great tree. It stretched high, tier upon tier, each floor encircled by balconies, while the interior breathed serenity, with soft flowers glowing against polished wood.
The duo had just stepped inside when a woman stepped forward from their right, her presence luminous.
She seemed in her early thirties, though her agelessness betrayed that time held little claim over her. She was robed in a gown of silken greens, deep emerald interwoven with lighter verdant hues, her lush green hair tied into a high bun and pinned with a long golden clasp whose head resembled a miniature sun.
A warm, radiant smile graced her face before she spoke. "You two finally decide to go on a date," she said cheerfully, her eyes narrowing playfully as she gave Alex an approving once-over. "Young man, be a gentleman to my princess."
"Mother," Zahra sighed, her voice edged with exasperation as she moved toward the circular chamber whose walls were a living lattice of woven, multicolored vines. "Keep this act up, and Aeon might not come to visit you again."
The woman gave a mock gasp and pressed a hand to her chest. "Unlike you, my little ice cube, Aeon is a charming young man with a heart of gold."
"Of course, he will come to see me." She softly laughed and added, "Either that, or, knowing him, he will get himself tangled in some fight he has no business being in, and then he will need proper healing, and who better to tend him than his dear mother-in-law?"