Elena began walking towards Waker’s broken-down figure. She came to a halt a couple feet away and silently extended her arm, spear still in hand.

Seeing this, Waker softly chuckled to himself before propping his hands on his thighs and standing up.

With the same silence, his open palm gently pushed Elena’s hand back towards herself.

“You keep it. It’d do better in your hands than mine,” he promised, shifting his eyes to the empty space behind Elena.

Even he couldn’t see anything there, but a part of him now believed in something that would’ve sounded naively foolish if said aloud.

It was that foolishness of his own faith in an invisible dream that convinced him to stand up again.

“He’d want you to have it too.”

“Were you able to see it?” Elena asked.

In all honesty, he didn’t know what Elena saw during that fight, or even what she saw in that spear for that matter. Only now, he didn’t care whether or not he could see it for himself. The fact that someone else could continue bearing a certain someone’s adventuring spirit was enough for him.

“No, but I’ve seen all I need to.”

Without replying, Elena smiled and walked past him towards Irin, dismissing the spear as its physical form returned to the Possibility surrounding her.

By now, a great majority of the other adventurers had already dispersed.

“That was amazing!” Irin exclaimed as he approached her, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

“I’ve still got a ways to go, though,” she countered, before adding, “Besides, it seems like you’ve grown a bit too.”

Irin grinned.

“I figured it out while watching you—my shaping, that is.”

“You’ll have to show me sometime then. I’m guessing the rest of them don’t care about me anymore?”

Irin didn’t need to reply. The two of them glancing about the street, which had now returned to its bustling atmosphere from before the sirens cried out, was enough to provide that answer.

Elena shrugged, saying, “Suits me. The spotlight isn’t really to my taste anyways. Now, weren’t we on a tour earlier?”

“Putting me right back to work again?”

“You weren’t the one doing the fighting,” she teased.

“Hah. Fair enough.”

They hadn’t walked far before Elena posed another question.

“What’s going to happen with the front gate’s guards?”

Irin gave a slight hesitation before admitting, “They’ll be replaced… Others will have to take up the mantle for the Confluence’s sake.”

“Is that so…”

She turned back to look over Irin’s expression, but as she continued walking without looking forward, she ended up bumping into someone. Before she could identify the person, they had already fallen backwards onto the ground.

“Ah— Sorry about that—” she blurted.

“No, no, it’s quite alright.”

The one who replied was a thin, bespectacled boy who seemed to be no older than Irin, and definitely was no taller than him. He was clutching a clipboard closely against his chest, and quickly checked to see if the attached papers were in order before even sparing himself a glance.

Elena offered her hand while Irin supported the boy as he was pulled up.

“You’re… Huh, that’s odd. Usually she provides me with a name…” the boy’s voice fell to a mumble as he scrutinized the clipboard, brushing his pants with one hand.

“Is someone looking for me?” Elena inquired.

“Yes, one of the overseers of the Confluence.”

“Overseers?”

Elena turned to Irin, whose eyes widened upon mention of that word. 

“The leading figures that make sure the Confluence remains stable and operational… You’ve already caught their attention.”

The boy nodded before continuing, “If you have the time, would you be willing to accompany me to the Central Hall?” He turned to Irin and added, “I’m terribly sorry, but Madam Overseer wishes for only a one on one audience.”

“Madam Overseer.”

Irin had to repeat that title to himself for its weight to properly register.

“It can’t be…”

Before Elena could even give an answer, the boy had begun expectantly walking away. 

She quickly began to address Irin before he cut her off, assuring, “Don’t worry about me! I’ve still got some things to finish up at the Adventurer’s Branch, remember?”

Elena nodded and hurried to keep up with the small boy’s surprisingly brisk pace.

Now alone, Irin laughed to himself, “Really… Just what kind of person have I managed to find?”

He flicked a finger through the air and reopened the familiar blue panel, quickly scanning the new words printed across it before swiping it away.

《You have become eligible to access a new [Skill].》

“Keep moving forward. Don’t wait for me, because this time, I won’t let myself be left behind.”

– Somewhere Within the Wild Ring –

Amidst a fragmented world of stone spires, a lone plateau precariously balanced between jutting rock formations that resembled a dragon’s wings.

Reflected in the clouded sky, a never-ending storm raged on, tearing through the air and Possibility alike, although its presence always dissipated before it could make contact with the ground. The eye of that storm gazed down from the heavens with a solacing light, encircling the complex atop that plateau.

Within the building’s innermost chamber, the dozens of torches lining the walls had their flames extinguished—apprehensive darkness rushing in to silence the room.

The stillness broke as the steel doors were flung open, slamming against the reinforced walls with a jarring bang.

Footsteps followed, casually making their way into the blackness.

With a resounding snap, the torches reignited one by one, springing up in parallel with the one who had just entered.

The figure illuminated by those dancing lights was that of a well built man. His flared eyebrows accentuated his fierce expression, which accompanied his striking hair that angled back and down along his head.

He kept his hands in his pockets as he walked, his sleeveless arms barely swaying at his sides—heavy chains draping over both of his shoulders, softly clinking with each step. 

“I know you’re in there, ‘King!’” he yelled down the elongated room with an almost rhythmic tone.

As the echo of his provocation bounced back to him, enough torches had finally been lit to reveal the far end of this corridor.

Before this man now clearly stood a grand round table, covered in diagrams, maps, and mysterious trinkets, and at the far end of that table sat a lone figure, his expression indiscernible.

“There you are! It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it?”

He gave a wild smirk, to which the other man only narrowed his eyes, shooting a glare that could silence the wind itself.

“Cut the chit chat. What do you want, Ryker?”

“Oh, come on. Is that how you treat an old friend?”

The man clicked his tongue and raised an arm, cybernetic components rising from behind his seat. Only their mechanical whirring broke the silence, rising in pitch as the parts assembled themselves into the form of a cannon, taking aim at Ryker.

“Woah, woah. Let’s calm down now. I’m sure you’ve noticed, haven’t you?”

The whirring paused.

Before the man could realize what was happening, Ryker had pulled off one of his chains, revealing an angular bladed end that he swung up at the ceiling.

The chain now acted as a wire through which his Possibility surged, shattering the roof entirely.

Stretching his arms wide, Ryker cackled in revelry with the storm’s eye acting as his spotlight, “The Tides of the Outer Realms are finally beginning to shift!”

He returned his gaze to the room.

“And we’ll be the ones to ride those waves. Just like old times, isn’t that right, Sai?”

“Pull your head out of the past,” the man spat. “Our adventures together ended a long time ago.”

Just then, a curt knock rang out twice from near the door.

Almost eagerly, Sai redirected his attention, inviting his guest with a, “You may enter.”

A well-dressed gentleman made his way through the doorway and approached the table, but stopped before nearing Ryker.

“Sir, the response team you dispatched has returned. Their captain sustained considerable injuries, but the quick-switch system you designed appears to be working flawlessly.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s more. According to them, we may have another untapped on our hands.”

Ryker, who had been listening in, now turned to Sai.

“‘Untapped?’ What’s all this fancy terminology you’ve got going around now?”

Sai ignored him, dismissing his question with a, “Go on.”

“Yes. We have reason to believe the untapped is the one to whom the Tides are responding. Beyond that, they have already garnered the attention of the Confluence’s Madam—”

“That old coot?!” Ryker burst out.

Sai shot Ryker another glare.

“I’ve heard enough. Thank you for the information.”

With a bow, the gentleman turned to depart, three eyes wordlessly watching from the back of his cape as he rounded the corner past the door.

Ryker could no longer contain himself and now was practically howling with maniacal laughter.

“So it is true!”

He paused to reel himself in again.

“It’s them… the Tenth Dreamer has finally arrived!”

Without any goodbyes, Ryker shot through the broken ceiling, leaving a blinding trail of electrified flames.

“Tenth Dreamer…” Sai echoed. “Finally… That world you tried so hard to create is now in reach…”

Silently, he rose from his seat and made his way towards the door.