She moved through the shallow water, its surface flowing with the motion of her bare feet, barely reaching her ankles.

  The veil resting on her head followed every step with effortless grace, while the Jinglets were gently guided by her performance, striking the bells and recreating the same melody I had heard in Xivan's magic projection.

  She was no longer wearing her beginner's outfit.

  Wide, silky pants of pearly white clung softly to her legs, their ends dipped into the water and darkened by moisture. Her shirt sat tight against her torso, the sleeves unnecessarily wide, dyed in the same pale tone as the pants-embroidered with a faint silver pattern that shimmered with every movement.

  The natural glow of the pnts and the water provided perfect illumination. The Gentle sounds of waves spreading outward from her steps, setting a calm undertone to the entire scene.

  For a brief moment-

  I genuinely thought I was watching a goddess perform.

  Then perfection shattered.

  One of the bells rang slightly too early.

  And a loud, frustrated groan followed.

  "Urgh-fuck this shit, this is so goddamn annoying!"

  She shouted, hurling one of the Jinglets straight at the head of one of the unmoving knights stationed at the edge of the pond.

  Thud.

  The sound echoed through the now-silent Bellguard like a lightning strike.

  The knight who had suffered the full force of Lavapup's crash-out merely rubbed the spot where he'd been hit, then returned to standing completely still.

  The king and I just stood there in silence, watching as the girl threw a full-on tantrum-

  falling onto her back and spshing around in the middle of the sacred pond like a small child.

  I stepped forward, grounding my foot in the shallow water and letting the lukewarm pond soak my boots as I made my way over to her.

  "You're acting like a child,"

  I ughed, looking down at her as droplets slid down her smooth skin.

  "But hey," I added, my tone softening,

  "it was really damn good at the beginning."

  I reached out my hand, a bright smile on my face.

  She huffed but still grabbed it, letting me pull her up while she wrung out her soaked hair.

  "If it isn't right," she muttered, a sharp edge in her voice,

  "then it's complete garbage. Utterly useless."

  One of my eyebrows rose at her comment.

  I couldn't really disagree with it, so I just let it pass.

  "Type shit..."

  I muttered, shrugging it off before switching topics.

  "But you're making good progress, girl. You might actually finish this earlier than expected."

  My gaze drifted toward the knights standing at the edge of the Bellguard-

  or rather, toward the dents in their helmets.

  Humming quietly, I shook my head and scratched my chin.

  "If you don't get charged with attempted murder first, at least,"

  I added, leaning a little closer to her, my eyes lingering on one particurly battered knight.

  "I am impressed, young maiden."

  The low voice cut through the space between us.

  Every head turned toward the towering teal giant as he stepped into the pond.

  Yet when his foot touched the water, the surface didn't ripple-

  not even slightly-

  as if nothing had disturbed it at all.

  "You are making incredible progress already," he continued calmly.

  "As the young man said, it will not be long before you can complete the ritual."

  Lavapup let out a tired sigh, but said nothing.

  Her expression stayed ft-unbothered, almost.

  Then she took off the veil from her head, dark circles visible beneath her usually glowing ember eyes.

  "I'm going to take a break..."

  She muttered, clutching the veil in her hands.

  "For a bit, at least."

  Her gaze stayed fixed on the ground, never meeting anyone's eyes, as she walked straight past Xivan and out of the Bellguard-smming the massive gate shut behind her.

  Silence followed.

  For a few moments, we all just stared at the closed door.

  "Is everything fine with the maiden?"

  The king asked, leaning down toward me.

  I could only shrug. I'd never seen her like this either.

  "She's probably just frustrated and exhausted," I said.

  "Let's give her some time."

  He didn't look convinced.

  "I fear she might quit..."

  I frowned, turning to him.

  "My lord, with all due respect," I said firmly,

  "Lavapup may be many things-but she is not a quitter. Once she agrees to something, she sticks with it until the end. There's no need to worry about that."

  He remained silent, looking at me as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite find the words.

  I didn’t have anything left to say either. And honestly, I had no intention of reassuring an NPC after a long, tiresome day at school.

  I was running on barely any sleep, and I sure as hell didn’t have the energy to argue about destiny or commitment right now.

  “If that was all,” I said, straightening slightly, “then I’ll have to excuse myself…”

  I turned, ready to leave—when suddenly a bird holding a folded piece of paper in its beak phased straight through the wall.

  It fluttered toward me without hesitation, nding neatly on my shoulder and nudging the note against my cheek.

  “A message…?” I muttered, carefully taking it from its beak.

  The moment I unfolded it, my eyes widened.

  A familiar name stared back at me.

  QSyerDW.

  Better known to me as Austin.

  The message read:

  "Yo bruv finally found the time to start the game as well. Wanna hop on n party up?"

  A slow smile crept onto my lips before I could stop it.

  I turned back toward Xivan, renewed excitement lighting up my expression.

  “Actually,” I said, “there’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”

  The Spirit King lifted his gaze, giving me his full attention.

  “Is it possible to leave this realm and return ter?” I asked. “Some sort of key… a gateway… anything like that?”

  His expression twisted into clear confusion, one eyebrow lifting while the other sank.