Time would pass steadily, Welnar integrating himself into the Monks quite swiftly… For the most part. While Charles tried to convince him, Welnar was firm in not shaving his head or wearing their robes or… Anything like that. He was admittedly just there to learn the Glowrock style… And that was going along smoothly. He doesn’t like to toot his own horn, but he feels confident that he’s become pretty good at it. He even learned that cool kick from Charles, apparently called a question mark kick due to the movement of his leg resembling one… Welnar almost pulled a muscle the first time he tried it though, as he wasn’t prepared for the amount of flexibility needed…

  With the Glowrock style down, Welnar’s next goal is to try integrating it with his own boxing. Not too hard of course, but it’ll take some getting used to to remember his kicks. And when Welnar isn’t practicing his fighting, he’s been doing chores, eating and sleeping… They did send him down the mountain one time to gather some supplies and such, which was a three day endeavor but Welnar enjoyed the change of scenery.

  All in all, Welnar has been enjoying his time with the Monks. He’s grown friendly with them all… And of course, Monarch has been along for the ride the whole time. While he can’t say he understands it much, apparently just seeing Welnar enjoy himself is enjoyable for her as well.

  {“When you’re an artifact who’s been sitting in some middle of nowhere shrine for forever, you learn to get enjoyment from the smallest things. And, well… It’s like watching your kid grow up and get out of their shell, sort of! But platonically.”} She had explained.

  {“You think of me like your kid? Seriously?”} Welnar questioned.

  {“Not actually! It was just a comparison.”} Monarch clarified.

  That conversation they had also brought another thought to Welnar’s mind at that moment; What are they to each other? Friends? That doesn’t sound right, with how close they are… Definitely not lovers of any sort though.

  {“Hmm. Maybe… Platonic soulmates, I suppose?”} Monarch butts in, offering her opinion.

  {“I guess that makes sense…”} Welnar would respond. They’re near irreversibly connected, literally through the soul by the attunement… So soul mates does sound pretty accurate. Monarch chuckles mentally.

  {“What?”} Welnar questions.

  {“Just thinking about your earlier thought of us being lovers.”}

  {“What’s so funny about that?!”}

  {“How I could never tolerate you as a lover!”} Monarch cackles. Welnar pauses, processing what she said for a moment.

  {“Well I feel the same way, you… You asshole!”} Welnar shoots back, only causing Monarch to laugh more. It takes her a few seconds to collect herself.

  {“Gosh that’d be complicated anyways. I mean, what would you tell a girl who’s interested in you? ‘Oh yeah, I’m just in a relationship with this halo so I’ll have to turn you down.’ I feel like you’d get slapped for that!”} She says, now earning a laugh from Welnar.

  {“Yeah, that would be difficult. I think I prefer girls with a corporeal body.”} He said… They talked quite a bit more that day about the complications and complexities of how dating a girl without a corporeal body would work.

  In the present, Welnar has spent about a month now with the Glowrock Monks… Not really bothering with dealing with the Hearts just yet. Much to the dismay… Of one particular Archon.

  …

  The 2nd Archon paces back and forth in a laboratory of some kind, biting their nail in frustration. They had sent some of their underlings to report on their project, only to learn that the bastard has spent a month hanging out with some Normal mountain freaks! How dare he waste such precious time?! Their precious time, no less!

  Just the thought frustrates the 2nd Archon to the point that they’ve drawn blood from biting their finger so hard. They wipe it away, simultaneously sealing the wound with golden energy. Those damn monks are mere distractions…

  They pause. Mere distractions… Yes, those monks are mere distractions. So they should remove those distractions! If they dealt with those monks, then their subject would have nothing else to do but continue collecting the Hearts!

  The 2nd Archon grins. Perhaps it is time for them to do a favour to the world and take out some trash… They swiftly exit their lab into a barren desert with the sun beaming down, stepping onto a golden platform that forms just in front of them. Then, the platform zooms into the air and begins to fly at breakneck speeds… Despite this, the 2nd Archon doesn’t even flinch. They fly towards the Eastern Continent, from the Southern…

  …

  Welnar drinks up the remaining broth of his soup in the cafeteria. He really wonders what they put in this stuff to make it so good… Maybe when he gets put on cooking duty he can learn. Once he’s put his bowl away, he heads outside, finding a little spot off the path that Charles showed him once… Welnar sits down at a cliff, overlooking the sea and a port city. Not the one Welnar arrived in, but a port city used just as much for travel between the Southern and Eastern Continents. Welnar sighs, watching his breath in the cold night air… The town is well lit even at this time of night, and up above the full moon hangs amongst a starry sky.

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  He hears footsteps approaching behind, and a few seconds later Charles sits beside him.

  “Thinking?” He asks.

  “Kind of.” Welnar responds. Looking at the port city got Welnar thinking about the three remaining Hearts he needs… He should probably get going soon.

  Him and Charles would sit in silence, just enjoying the view. Eventually though, Charles breaks the silence with another question.

  “What’s your plan after this?”

  Welnar takes a few seconds to answer, mainly considering if he should explain everything about the scarlet hearts… Deciding that he trusts Charles.

  “Hmm… Well, I think first you’ll need a bit of context.” Welnar says with a chuckle.

  “I’m listening.” Charles responds. What would follow is a fairly quick overview of Welnar’s hunt for the Scarlet Hearts… The Scarlet Armory, and the Zero Blade… He would seem to follow along well enough, thankfully.

  “Huh. So that’s what’s up with your weapons…” Charles mutters. “So you’ll be heading for the last three soon?”

  Welnar nods. “Once I’ve got the Zero Blade… I want to be a hero to Normals. I’m going to end our abuse and oppression.” He says confidently.

  “Just don’t lose yourself and become no better than our oppressors.” Charles says half jokingly. Welnar finds the very idea ridiculous… He won’t let himself get corrupted by power like all the other Sorcerers. He’ll wield it right…

  “Anyway, I’m getting some sleep. See you tomorrow, Welnar.”

  “See you, Charles.” Welnar says, waving as Charles gets up and leaves. Once he’s gone…

  {“You sure you’re ready to leave?”} Monarch asks.

  {“Yeah, I think so. I gotta get moving eventually. I’ll stick around for a couple more days, but after that I think I’ll be good to go.”} Welnar responds.

  {“Alright then!”} Monarch says, sounding rather cheerful. Makes sense really… She was made to collect the Scarlet Hearts technically, so it’s only natural. {“It’s getting late y’know… You should probably head to sleep too.”} She adds.

  {“Okay okay…”} Welnar says, getting up and making his way to his lodging. As he does, he gets an odd feeling… Almost like… Dread? Why?

  {“Welnar, there’s a large mana source approaching. Rapidly.”} Monarch suddenly says.

  {“What?”} Welnar responds, confused. {“The hell is it?”}

  {“I don’t know, probably a Sorcerer!”} Monarch says worriedly. That makes Welnar feel worried in turn… The hell does a Sorcerer want to do with this place?

  He swiftly reaches his hut, getting inside but leaving the door open just a crack so he can see outside.

  {“Closing in…”} Monarch says. Welnar watches quietly, that feeling of dread growing with each second. Why does he feel this way? Is he sensing the mana too or something? Or is it just a general gut feeling…

  Then, Welnar sees it. A figure slowly descends to the ground on a glowing yellow platform, landing a fair distance away on the path from Welnar’s hut. The yellow glow, alongside the light of the full moon illuminates the figure clearly… But they wear a dark cloak that otherwise obscures any identifying features.

  They seem to look around for a few seconds, just observing. Welnar slowly exits his hut, keeping out of sight as he approaches by staying off the path… Until he sees the Sorcerer raise their hand. It becomes enveloped in a golden glow, and a massive projection of their hand forms in the air!

  “Shit!” Welnar yells, abandoning subtlety as he begins to run toward them, but it’s far too late. With one swift swing, they bring the massive golden hand down upon the cafeteria with a resounding BOOM, the mountain rumbling which causes Welnar to stumble. What the hell is that kind of power?! Welnar can make objects with his own mana, but nothing nearly that big…

  He scrambles to his feet, dashing for the Sorcerer as blue veins of mana form on him, activating his Mana Charge at Stage One. He closes the distance exceptionally quick, approaching them from the side and throwing a punch… His fist striking a solid barrier of golden energy that suddenly forms between the two. The Sorcerer looks over at Welnar… “Ah, there you are.” They say, waving their hand which causes the barrier to shove him backwards.

  “Step back, please. I’m busy.”

  “What are you doing?! Why did- No, who are you?!” Welnar yells. The Sorcerer shakes their head with a sigh.

  “Too many questions, too many questions…” They mutter. Golden energy coalesces around their arm and once more, a massive projection forms.

  {“Look out!”} Monarch yells, causing Welnar to instinctively ready his own mana to defend himself… But the Sorcerer does not strike him. Behind the Sorcerer, monks have begun to exit their huts at the commotion…

  With a single backhand, the collection of huts is turned to rubble. Blood and gore flies freely through the air, the monks having been killed near instantly by the impact. Welnar’s eyes widen. “No…No no no…”

  “No no NO!” He screams, slamming the ground with his fist, cracking it. The veins of mana pulse once, activating Stage Two. Then again, activating Stage Three as Welnar leaps toward the Sorcerer, throwing a wild punch. Yet again, he strikes a golden barrier that forms in his way. He strikes the barrier again… And again… And again…

  A single crack forms. “How… Interesting.” The Sorcerer muses. The golden barrier suddenly disappears, causing Welnar to stumble forward as the energy is instead turned into a human-sized hand that punches him in the gut. Welnar coughs momentarily… But he is not pushed back, instead unleashing a blast of mana from his hand toward them. It catches the Sorcerer off guard, yet they still manage to narrowly duck to the side… Only for a scarlet knife to match them, slashing and being blocked by a golden barrier. The Sorcerer steps back now, the Scarlet Spear following him and thrusting as the scarlet shortsword wraps around to his back… Both weapons yet again blocked by a barrier.

  Welnar continues his overwhelmingly oppressive attacks using all of the Scarlet Weapons, controlling them and having them strike in tandem, while he looks for an opening… This Sorcerer seems really tough… It probably costs a lot to make those barriers, especially if they’re only making them when necessary… Then again, if Monarch felt them approaching from so far away, they must have a crazy amount of mana.

  {“Yep. Their mana pool is vast… I doubt you’ll be able to run them dry.”} Monarch says, confirming his suspicion.

  “You’re quite experienced with these, aren’t you?” The Sorcerer says in a sickeningly smug tone. Welnar doesn’t entertain them with a response…

  “Welnar! What the hell is going-” Charles tries to say, having come from a different collection of huts with a group of monks.

  “Get back, tell everyone to get away!” Welnar interrupts, not taking his eyes off the Sorcerer as he continues focusing on pressuring them with the Scarlet Weapons. Charles nods, guiding the monks away… They don’t seem to be actively focusing on the barriers at all anymore… Is that something they can do passively to protect themself?

  “You’re really trying to protect these fools? How sad.” The Sorcerer says. “They’re Normals. Useless.”

  “They’re humans! They’re no different from every other human, magic or not!” Welnar shoots back.

  “Sorcery is our future. We need to embrace it, YOU need to embrace it Welnar! You are better than these fools, so act like it! We are the standard, not the exception!” The Sorcerer yells.

  The sudden callout distracts Welnar for just a moment, which proves to be a mistake. He falters in his pressure and the Sorcerer capitalizes, suddenly dashing past the scarlet spear toward Welnar, a golden fist forming in the air that Welnar prepares to block… {“Behind you!”} Monarch tries to call, but it’s too late. He fell for the bait, a hammer materializing behind him and slamming him in the back of his head before he can react. Welnar falls to his knees, his Mana Charge disappearing as his vision falters. His body refuses to respond. And in seconds, he falls unconscious.

  The 2nd Archon shakes their head, looking at the halo. Monarch feels a sudden sense of dread… Do they know?

  “Invoke Code 1. Forget the following conversation and events, Monarch.”