“What is it, Dal?” March asked. The way she did so made him think of a principal who knew he was expecting bad news. The peculiar thing was that according to Dallion’s music skill the captain was calm as could be.

“It’s about the plains of despair,” Dallion said. “There’s a way we can get through them without being affected.”

“The plains of despair?” March asked. While the name was ideal for a fantasy world, it had never been used. As far as she, or everyone, else was concerned, this was just a stretch of land.

“The pains beyond the hills,” Dallion quickly specified. “The place that’s filled with ruins. I know what happened there and why it affects everyone who passes though. You see, there are—”

“I know about the effects, Dal,” March interrupted. “And what causes them. I’m not surprised that you found out so fast, though. Your music skills must have improved a lot lately.”

Dallion felt as if he had just found out that he had a winning lottery ticket that had expired a day ago. He had spent close to an hour going through the conversation with March in his mind, planning how to convince her, even going so far as bringing the bolt fragment with him, only to see that she was already fully aware.

“Don’t look so surprised. Many things are hidden in the wilderness, screaming metal fragments are just one of them.”

Screaming metal… The name was both catchy and terrifying.

“I thought you knew that I used to be an imperial soldier before joining the guild. One of my tasks was to roam the wilderness, making sure that things in the empire remained calm.”

What she means is that she made sure that no city or province started getting ideas, that none of the empire’s neighbors were mounting an attack, and that the monstrosities roaming the wild were within control, Nil clarified.

“The entire Lakah border is filled with them,” March continued.

Rather, that’s the reason it became the border, Nil corrected. I’ll fetch a few scrolls on the matter, should you ever be interested.

“Is that why you wanted me to join?” Dallion asked. “Because I can counter the effects with my music?”

“Most of the people are used to it. It’s only rough the first few times. Everyone in the party has been on a dozen expeditions with the exception of you.”

“And Eury,” Dallion added.

A flash of surprise flared up beneath March’s shoulder.

“She’s a hunter, she’s seen it all before,” the captain replied. “Anything else?”

Dallion shook his head.

“Get some food. You’ll need it.”

There was nothing else to say. With a nod, Dallion walked away. The conversation hadn’t gone at all the way he imagined it. He had been so pumped when he discovered the fragment, expecting a lengthy discussion and—to be honest—a few compliments from March for saving the party. Instead, he had made a fool out of himself.

Fresh meat was roasting at the campfire. Dallion cut off a small piece, but he didn’t feel hungry. The sight of past destruction kept worrying him, and he wasn’t able to tell whether that was due to the lingering effects of the valley itself, or he feared something else on a subconscious level.

Anything you can tell me on the topic, Shield? Dallion asked.

Can’t help you there, the dryad guardian replied. You’ll have to look it up on your own. I can tell you this, though: weapons capable of destroying cities aren’t anything new. For that matter, people who can destroy cities aren’t new either.

There’s someone who can destroy a whole city?!

The copyette cook for one. Of course, if he does that, he’ll have his powers sealed and deleveled by the Moons, and probably be banished into a thimble. Still, he has the power.

You know that’s not helpful, right? I thought you were supposed to encourage and help me?

Don’t you feel encouraged knowing your friends with one of the most destructive beings in the world? The shield laughed. Learn to relax a little.

I am relaxed. I just prefer to be informed.

Ten minutes later, the party was on the move again. Every trace of the camp was removed, leaving no trace that anyone had been there. March was in front, as usual, with Dallion close behind. As they reached the top of the hill overlooking the plains of despair, Dallion looked back to get a glimpse of Ezra. The man was calmly walking on, carrying a double backpack. Seeing Dallion, he smiled. Dallion, though, couldn’t smile back. Instead, he turned around and summoned his harpsisword.

“You won’t need that,” March said. “Better get used to the sensation, so it doesn’t cause trouble later.”

Dallion didn’t like the idea in the least. There was logic in March’s words, but even so, he couldn’t make himself blindly agree.

“If it gets to you, just recite the names of the Moons. That always helps.”

It was clear she didn’t want him to use music. Dallion’s internal struggle continued for close to a minute, after which he unsummoned the weapon. There was always the option to summon it later, if he really needed to.

The feeling was like walking through scars of war. Gritting his teeth, Dallion kept walking, trying to keep up with March. However, the more he walked, the more he sensed that he was reacting differently than anyone else. Glancing behind, he could see the scattered fragments affect the others; grains of depression appeared throughout their bodies in response to the emitted emotions, disappearing moments after. In the case of Dallion, not only did the effects remain, but at one point, he also started visualizing them. Echoes of the past flashed every time he blinked, making him feel as if he were on a battlefield. He could hear the screams, the pain, the desperation surrounding him, as destruction followed. The closest thing he had felt like this was during the awakening trial against his grandfather.

Panic crept in, screaming at Dallion to summon his harpsisword.

“No,” Dallion whispered out loud. “Astreza, Berannah, Centor, Dararr, Emion, Felygn, Galatea.”

Momentary calm swept through him like a summer breeze, but even that wasn’t able to fully clear away the accumulating pain and fear. The dark feelings were only kept at bay for a moment before returning with a vengeance.

You need to summon her, a voice said in Dallion’s head.

It had been a while since Dallion had heard that voice. He fully agreed with what it was saying—he had to summon the harpsisword. Even if he didn’t play a tune, knowing she was there would help him.

Don’t be stubborn. Just do it. You know she’ll never let you down. You’ve only been here a few minutes. You’ll never make it through an entire day.

The minutes felt like hours. This had to be another effect of the fragments, they were messing with his sense of time, making him—

“Don’t drift,” March said, her commanding voice loosening the hold the sound fragments had on him. “Keep reciting the names.”

Easy for you to say! Dallion clenched his fists.

“Astreza, Berannah, Centor, Dararr, Emion, Felygn, Galatea,” he whispered, almost spitting each word out. “Astreza, Berannah, Centor, Dararr, Emion, Felygn, Galatea.”

Each time he started a sequence, he felt the pain and pressure move away. Every time he finished—the same darkness came back. The only way to keep fighting it was to keep repeating the names, like a chant. Soon enough he was muttering them non-stop, pausing only to take a breath. His feet became heavier and heavier.

Don’t be a fool, the voice went on. You aren’t proving anything.

One step at a time, Dallion thought, still reciting the names of the Moons out loud. Just one step at a time.

The firebird emerged on Dallion’s shoulder on its own accord. Its warmth was barely felt by Dallion, who kept pushing on step after step. A few steps later, everything went black.

Told you, the voice said as Dallion lost consciousness.

“No!” Dallion jumped to his feet. Bright yellow light blinded him for a moment, however, it wasn’t coming from the sun.

Once Dallion’s eyes adjusted, he found that he was sitting at a table—a library table to be exact. Shelves of books were everywhere around, ranging on topic from architecture to world religions.

That was slightly confusing. The library clearly wasn’t the ring Adzorg had given him—the book covers were too modern for that—but it seemed familiar nonetheless.

“I’ve no idea why you chose to come here,” a voice said, making Dallion jump in his seat. As it turned out, there was someone sitting across from him, reading a book titled Greatest Mortals Hits. The person looked like any college student, if it weren’t for the green hair and eyebrows.

Felgyn, Dallion thought. The Moon had changed its appearance from the last time Dallion had seen him, but there was no question it was him.

“So, you decided to go on vacation,” the deity flipped a page. “Not what I would have done, but you do you. Going to new places is always fun. Enjoying the sights so far?”

“Err,” Dallion uttered, unsure what to say.

“Pity you didn’t get to see it at its height. Thousands were willing to pay vast amounts of sun platinum just to get a glimpse. Some abandoned all their earthly possessions to stay.”

“Where am I?” Dallion asked at last.

“Don’t you recognize your university?” Felgyn glanced around. “Campus library. Not as well stocked as some other colleges, though I guess it could have been worse. At least there’s no mould going about.”

Shivers ran down Dallion’s spine. Having mould always was a nuisance, especially since he didn’t have the weapons to fight it right now.

“You ended up here because you aren’t capable of handling what’s out there. Normally I limit my face time with people, but you are my favorite, so I decided to do you a favor.”

“I’m in the sword,” Dallion said, memories of moments ago returning to him. “Walking through plains of despair.”

“Right now, you’re carried through them. Good name, though. That’s the problem with the locals; they tend to be a bit unimaginative. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine in a few hours. You’ll be the butt of jokes for a while, but you’ll be fine.”

Jokes were the least of Dallion’s worries at the moment.

“At that rate, though, it’ll be months before you’re done with the expedition of yours. So much time and you’re barely at the second temple. A complete waste of time.”

Dallion couldn’t understand why it was a waste of time. As far as everyone else was concerned, less than a moment would have passed between the start and the end of the expedition. Or maybe that wasn’t true for everyone? Since the Moons were everywhere, realms included, time for them had to be cumulative, which meant that a month was a month, regardless if it was real time or not.

“Still, I’m willing to indulge you getting sidetracked… for now.” The Green Moon closed the book. “I’ve even decided to answer some of your questions.”

“Why?”

“Because it will help pass the time, and also hopefully keep you from getting sidetracked in the future.”

That didn’t sound encouraging, especially since March had said there would be daily expeditions until the end of the festival, possibly after.

“I promised I’ll find what you asked,” Dallion said. “I don’t know how still, but—"

“I know that you’ll try. Do you think I’d have favored you if I didn’t?” The Moon smirked. “Only those who show promise receive boons. Those who show devotion only have less bad things happen to them.”

That sounded pretty much like the way the world worked—the strong became nobles, while the rest became protected. For the moon to be interested in Dallion, he had to have the ability to do something worth the Moon’s favor.

“What you witnessed in the fields was the result of a few hundred years of war,” Felygn said. “Some had spilled into the world realm from outside, but for the most part, it was due to internal conflicts. The reasons don’t matter much. In some cases, they were just, in others they were justified, and sometimes not at all. The weapons used were normal weapons, more powerful than most today, but still normal weapons. We didn’t have anything to do with it, and neither did the Star.”

“Is that why he tried to stop me from joining the expedition? Because he wanted to find a way to kill you?”

The Moon laughed.

“Is that what you think?”

“You were wounded,” Dallion said. “I think that’s a lie.”

“That’s interesting.” Pushing the book to the side, the Moon put his elbows on the table and leaned forward.

“I think someone tried to kill a Moon once, and they succeeded.” Droplets of sweat had appeared on Dallion’s forehead. “But it wasn’t you, they killed the eighth Moon instead.”

The smile disappeared from the Moon’s face.

“I think that’s why the Star is so interested in the sword world. I think he wants to kill another Moon.”

“And I think you need some rest.”

Once again, everything went black.