Talia and Sanya were holding hands as they were going back from school. The sun was particularly bright today, making Sanya held her hand in the air to block the sun rays. Then, the radiance coming from above made her think about the bell attached around her neck. She turned toward Talia. “I never had the opportunity to ask, but what exactly is the bell that you gave me. Its name is Radiant Bell, right?”

Talia had a slightly bitter face as she was not expecting this question out of the blue. Still, she had to answer. “Mmh, the problem is that I don’t know. Nobody does.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Sanya tilted her head. She was not expecting this kind of answer.

Talia scratched her head while mumbling something. She then opened her mouth. “It was 6 or 7 years ago, I think? I was in an Old World to pay a visit to a friend. During this stay, I visited a laboratory specializing in the field of hyper long-distance teleportation. Their new prototype was a portal that could transfer someone to another world. It was a project that they were so proud of. Beside Lord, nobody succeeded in creating a man-made machine that could do this.”

Sanya listened to her words. From what she just heard, it seemed like a lot of things happened in the other worlds. The technologies used in the Stellar Temple was not widespread. However, her next words shocked her.

“An accident occurred. The Gate collapsed on itself, creating an expanding chaotic breach through dimensions. I and my friend succeeded to evacuate the laboratory before the collapse, but at the moment when I was about to leave the building, the breach swallowed me.” Sanya stopped walking. Her eyes were fixed on her girlfriend. Talia waved her hand to reassure her.

“Don’t worry. Nothing bad happened to me. Anyways, when I came to my senses I was in a strange place. It looked like it was a Dead World.”

“A Dead World?”

“Ah, it’s a world that could not survive the birth of the Energy Hunters. A world where there is nothing beside Energy Hunters….But, the problem with the world that I teleported in was that there was absolutely nothing.”

“What do you mean?”

“The world was centered on only one planet. But, the planet was empty. No animals, living beings or even monsters. There was vegetation, but it seemed artificial. Like, it would not grow back if cut. I roamed the planet for a few weeks, but I found nothing. At least I could create clear water and I had a certain amount of supplies. The last day, I stumbled on some kind of altar at the top of the highest mountain in the world. The surrounding of the altar and the altar itself were made in some extremely sturdy material. I could only leave a dent in it.”

Sanya grasped. This happened 6 or 7 years ago. Meaning that Talia must have already been quite strong at this moment. And she could not break it? “What about your Sky Slashing Blade?”

“Space was impossible to cut. When I first arrived in this world, I tried to reach Lord, but it would not connect. It was very strange.” Sanya could now tell that if Talia said that something was strange, it meant it was definitely strange.

Talia turned to face Sanya. Her thin, yet powerful fingers caressed the surface of the bell. Her action sent a tickling sensation across Sanya’s spine. Her flustered face showed her current feelings. Talia’s fingers traced along the edges of the bell. Sanya tried her hardest to stay calm under her girlfriend’s gestures of affection.

Talia whispered at Sanya’s ear. Her low and gentle voice was like a warm breeze. “It was at this place that I found the bell, attached at my sword... There were just lying there on top of the altar.”

“W-Wait! We’re outside!” Sanya distanced herself lightly from Talia. It was not like she didn’t like it, but there were in public. It was too embarrassing. Talia’s cheeks reddened as she had finally realized her actions. Her desires were sometimes making her forget the situation. She faked a cough once. An awkward silence fell between the two of them.

“Sorry, I went a tad too far. Indeed… So, I was saying that I found my sword in the sheath and the bell there.” Sanya understood that it was clearly not normal. She nodded with a serious face.

“So, you picked them up.” Talia heaved a sigh.

“Yep. It was not like I had anything more to do. I explored a good part of the world and it was the sole thing that stood out from the rest. Nothing happened when I touched the bell and the sword at first. I even unsheathed the sword, but the blade was dull. I was so desperate that I tried many things on them. At some point, I poured mana inside the sword. And then something happened.”

“Which is?” Sanya had already seen the sword twice and it seemed quite plain, despite the strange aura around it. It was also one of the objects that she was really curious about.

“Well, I felt like I was holding the sun for a moment.”

“Huh?”

“The blade shined a light that surpassed the brightness of a star. However, this lasted only a second. The next second, the sword turned back pure black. After this, the blade was no longer dull when it was in my hands. It was so sharp that I was afraid of cutting space just by moving it lightly. I also felt some kind of connection between me and the blade, but it was very faint, though. Shortly after, I came back to the previous Old World I was in. I had the sword and the bell with me.”

“Wait, what do you mean by coming back? You just returned like this?”

“Yes, it was instant. The moment I blinked, I was at the place where the laboratory was previously. Haha, you should have seen my friend’s and Lord’s face when I appeared uninjured. I even heard that Lord would have destroyed a good part of the world if they were not able to find me. Well, knowing him, it's possible.” Talia laughed as she recalled the moment. On the contrary, Sanya was deep in thought. She asked the question that was currently haunting her mind.

“But, what was this world? Does Lord know anything about it.” Talia stopped laughing abruptly. Her expression indicated her complex feelings.

“No, and that’s the most inexplicable part. Lord is literally one of the oldest beings that had ever existed and he doesn’t know. But, as he told me, there are as much mysteries as there are worlds. Anyways, that’s not so important right now. He analyzed the two objects and discovered nothing particular. From the outside, it was just a dull sword and a bell. I and several Protectors tried to use the bell. It seems that it recognizes the one wearing it as its owner when you inject mana inside it and not the one providing mana. It also works with other sources of energy, not only mana. When the bell is activated, it will not shine like the blade did. But, it does when it needs to protect its user or when the user wants to defend themselves.”

"And what about the sword? Does it do anything?"

"The blade will turn dull if not in the owner's hands. I can also choose to make it dull by willing it. Beside this, nothing. Which is totally fine for me. I only need my sword to cut and to not be used against me."

Sanya touched the bell with a troubled expression. She opened her mouth. “...Is it really ok for me to have it?”

“...Why do you ask this question?” Talia looked deep inside Sanya’s eyes, trying to figure out what she was saying.

“From what you just said, this bell is extremely important. I mean, even Lord doesn’t know what it is exactly.” Talia sighed out before smiling. She began to ruffle Sanya’s hair.

“Don’t worry. The bell was mine from the moment I picked it up. Of course, Lord wanted to research it more in depth, but he concluded that it was better if it was put to use. Now that I gave it to you, it’s yours.” She stopped messing around with her lover’s hair. She then put her hands on her hips. Sanya arranged her hair back before looking up at Talia. Her eyes were unwavering.

“I understand. I will take care of it.” Talia grinned and lifted Sanya’s hair. She then kissed her on the forehead. They resumed their steps toward Sanya’s house. The redness on Sanya's cheeks was not caused by the sun.

At some point, Talia raised a thing that was on her mind. “I was thinking about this for a moment, but why can you use the bell so well? It took me two full months to somehow control the barrier by myself. Is it because of your ability?”

Sanya shook her head in denial. “I was not using my ability when I had the barrier around me. It’s just that I feel a very strong connection with it for some reason. It’s like a part of me.”

Talia was lost in thought before speaking up. She recalled the different experiments that happened with her fellow Protectors. She had used the bell for at least five full years, and nothing dangerous happened because of it. However, she was still a bit afraid to give something from an unknown origin to her girlfriend, even though it could definitely protect her from everything on earth. “If anything happens, do tell me.”

--------------------------------------

“If something happens, huh?”

Sanya was sitting on top of her bed. It was past 8 p.m., so there was nobody beside her. She touched the surface of the bell. “...It’s mine now. Might as well try something.”

She activated the bell. It gave off a small shine alongside the creation of the barrier around Sanya. She could feel the connection with it through the bell. Nevertheless, she still tried to touch it with her own hand.

“I can’t pass through. Hmh, last time I unconsciously let Talia inside. How did I do this?” She mulled over her inability to reproduce what happened the day Talia came back. She had seen Talia coming straight toward her. This had caused her panic or fear for her. In response to this, the barrier had let Talia go through.

Sanya closed her eyes and focused all her senses on the bell. She knew that the bell was the thing that created the barrier, so it could be a good start. After a long moment of concentration, she got clues on how the bell was working.

“If I increase the intensity of the light coming from the bell, the thickness of the barrier also increase...Which means that the changes applied to the bell have a direct impact on the barrier, right?”

She was playing with the intensity to make the thickness varies. She suddenly crossed her arms and tilted her head with a helpless expression. “If only there was a manual...No, I can’t say this. Gotta search harder. Nevertheless, what kind of material is this? I’m not even sure if this can be classified as a material. It's more like a shield that would appear in a fantasy movie.”

Her fingers were sliding along the surface. She faintly felt them. They went from the top to...the base of the dome. Sanya was on her bed, so the barrier shape adjusted itself to form a dome with her inside. This gave her an idea. “Is it possible to control the shape of the barrier? If I remember correctly, I made it undulate when I talked back to Lord. Haa, I don’t want to think about it. It was so embarrassing.”

Sanya still felt a bit bad about what she had said at this moment, but this had been an important moment. It was a proof that the owner of the bell could have an impact. Sanya guessed that it was surely possible to somehow control the barrier. “Maybe if I move while focusing on the bell, I could notice something.”

She stood up while paying attention to the modifications inside the bell. After a short moment, she did perceive a strange sensation. From the moment she had received it, she had felt like the bell was an additional limb. But, the most she could do was create the barrier. However, it was like her limb was moving by itself now. “So, if I do it like this?”

She tried to reproduce what just happened inside the bell. As a result, the barrier shape started to distort. The overall form was still a sphere, but it was not uniform. “Oooh!”

Stars flashed inside Sanya’s eyes. Happiness hit her as she finally found a starting point. She sat back on her bed and began to practice what just happened like she just got a new toy. Minutes passed and after more than 30 minutes she finally got the gist of how to control it. “Like this. Like that. And finally like this.”

The barrier morphed as the spherical outlines changed into more cubic ones. The result was a cube encompassing Sanya. Then, one of the cube's side increased in wideness, transforming into a rectangular box. Finally, it was back to being a sphere. A smile bloomed on her face due to this first success. She lifted her fists in the air! But-

“...Huh?”

She found herself unable to remain sitting. Her body hit the soft bed with a thud. Several seconds passed until she was able to register what happened. “...This drains a lot of energy. Just moving the barrier makes me so tired.”

Her eyes were stuck on the ceiling while she was making her analysis of the situation. She felt like she just finished an intense training session. She had only the strength left to barely lift herself. However, a smile was still on her face. “I might be tired today, but I will keep practicing tomorrow. If I can uncover some mysteries about the bell by doing this, I will.”

She canceled the barrier and went to sleep. It was not so late, but the small training had completely depleted her stamina. It was not long after she closed her eyes that she fell into sweets dreams.

This night, she dreamed about the day when she would surprise Talia with her training. What she didn't know was that she would be more than a small surprise. The Radiant Bell had finally a worthy wielder.