Alaric was floating again in the vast, mysterious whiteness. A flicker of fear seized him, but it was instantly replaced by a flash of recognition, and his eyes lit up. "I'm finally back!"
Ever since acquiring the Celestial Lily, he had tried everything he could think of to enter this space, which he felt certain was the heart of the artifact. But no matter the method, he had always failed.
Now, without warning, he was here. Elation washed over him as he gazed curiously at the pinpricks of bright light scattered through the void.
"I didn't get to find out anything last time…" Alaric tried to propel himself through the weightless expanse. "Just what are these lights—"
The words caught in his throat. In the distance, more glowing spots were blossoming into existence.
"What the…" Alaric was speechless. He glanced around, seeing them appear everywhere, a slow but steady bloom of light.
Then, in a single, silent burst, nearly a hundred new motes of light ignited at once.
Alaric stared, stunned. "What in the hell is going on?"
He couldn't begin to comprehend what these white spots were or how they were forming. He didn't even know how he himself had gotten here.
The sudden surge ceased, and the space fell still again. Alaric swam toward the nearest mote, a speck of light no bigger than his thumbnail. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm the frantic hammering of his heart.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. With a surge of resolve, he reached out and touched the light.
Alaric squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for… what, he wasn't sure. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then a wave of unprecedented tranquility washed over him.
It felt as if the very borders of his mind were expanding. A deep, mental rejuvenation swept through him, a satisfying sensation unlike anything he had ever experienced. It felt as if his soul had been fortified.
He drifted in that blissful state for an unknown time, lost to the unfamiliar feeling. It was only when a new mote of light quietly appeared nearby that his eyes fluttered open.
They shone with the thrill of discovery. Alaric looked around at the thousands of glowing specks as if they were a field of treasure. "That feeling…" he whispered, excitement coloring his voice. "It was beneficial for my soul."
He didn't truly understand what a soul was, having only heard the word in the romantic ballads of traveling bards. Yet, he knew with instinctual certainty that the white motes in this space had strengthened him on a fundamental level.
He gazed at the countless lights peppering the void and swallowed hard. "What if… I absorb all of them?"
A wide grin spread across his face. He propelled himself toward the closest mote, hand outstretched to grasp it. But just as his fingers were about to make contact, a firm hand clamped down on his shoulder, and the world around him fractured.
"Hey, you alright?" a voice asked, snapping him back to reality.
"Huh?" Alaric looked around, his mind a total blank. "Where… where am I?"
Leander regarded him with amusement. "Oh? Did you manage to pass out on your feet? You're one of a kind."
It took a moment for Alaric's surroundings to register. The wolves were gone. The mercenaries and children were tending to the wounded, their movements weary but deliberate.
"It's… over…" Relief flooded him, so potent it made him dizzy. Before he could respond to the blue-eyed Magus, his own eyes rolled back in his head, and the world went dark.
The brutal fight, the wolf that had nearly torn out his throat, the massive blood loss from his arm—it had all caught up to him at once. Exhaustion finally claimed its due.
Sunlight streamed through the window of the moving carriage, landing gently on the face of a fifteen-year-old boy. He was stretched out across an entire seat, sleeping deeply.
This boy was, of course, Alaric.
Slowly, his eyes opened, and they seemed somehow deeper, clearer than before. He sat up, his gaze falling to his left arm. It was tightly bandaged, the white cloth marred by dark, dried bloodstains.
"Ow!" He drew a sharp breath as even the slight movement sent a jolt of pain up his arm.
"Good morning, Alaric!" a cheerful voice said. He looked up to see a girl with brown hair smiling warmly at him.
"Eh?" Alaric was taken aback. This was the first time any of the other children in the party had so much as greeted him. Then, the reason dawned on him.
During the battle last night, he had fought off several wolves, shielding the younger, terrified children huddled behind him.
She must be one of them, Alaric realized with certainty.
He managed a faint smile. "Where are we?"
A boy sitting beside her answered, "We're further inside the Crest Valley."
"I see…" Alaric nodded, feeling slightly overwhelmed by their sudden friendliness. Until last night, they had all avoided him, his status as a commoner an invisible wall between them.
But after seeing him fight, their hearts had changed. Strength commanded respect. More than that, he had saved some of them, and their gratitude was plain to see.
Alaric turned to watch the scenery roll past the window. He pushed the memories of the gruesome battle and Joric's murderous glare to the back of his mind.
His thoughts were consumed by the mysterious space inside the Celestial Lily. His theory about his soul being strengthened was already proving true.
He could feel a subtle sharpening of his senses, his thoughts flowed with a newfound clarity, and his entire mind seemed to operate more efficiently.
But most importantly…
Alaric had a distinct feeling that he now knew how to enter that mysterious space whenever he wished.