The colossus leaned forward and for the first time, they saw its head emerge fully. It was not a blank stone face as Thales had feared, nor the monstrous visage of a beast.
It was the head of a deer.
It was majestic, carved from living rock and living flesh at once, its eyes glowed with a deep green luminescence. Its antlers stretched outward like whole skyscrapers, each one vast enough to impale the sky. Massive birds circled them as if they were mountains themselves but they were small specks vanishing into the enormity of those branching crowns.
The two stood upon Thales's golden sword. They were no bigger than sand grains before the Guardian. The titan gazed down, its breath rolling out as clouds that shimmered faintly with motes of light. Phaser straightened. His shoulders squared as his hands flexed loosely as though the sheer size and divinity of the being didn't crush him with power. His voice carried upward.
"I have a favor to ask."
The colossal deer's jaw moved slowly, but the sound that came forth did not belong to the air. It sank into their bones.
"What does the Outer desire?"
Thales flinched at the word Outer. His eyes snapped toward Phaser, but Phaser only furrowed his brow slightly, as if the title was familiar. He answered without hesitation.
"I seek the clues of the Azure Sword. One of the earliest Fluxers was given a sword by the Hidden God to save humanity from the Fluviums. It is said he hid the blade within a Fluve Field guarded by one of the Ten Guardians. I ask not for the sword itself, only the path to its clues."
Thales's breath caught. He whipped toward Phaser, disbelief scrawled across his features.
"You... what?"
Phaser didn't look at him. His gaze stayed locked on the deer's towering visage. Thales's mind spun. Of all the things he could ask like power, blessings or a Guardian's favor, Phaser had chosen this not for himself, but for him.
"Why… why would you—"
The Guardian shifted. Its antlers scraped the sky itself and its vast eyes pinned them both.
"Are you an Outer?"
Phaser blinked, stunned. His mouth opened slightly, then firmed into a thin line.
"Yes."
Thales's stomach sank. Outer? What did that mean? And why did Phaser look as though he had always suspected the answer?
The Guardian nodded once, as though satisfied.
"Then you may understand. You have heard the tales of what we are, yes?"
"The Goddess of Nature forged you to be the guardians of the world."
"True. She shaped us. But she did not give us purpose."
Thales's heart pounded. He leaned forward on the sword's edge, hanging onto every word.
"Our purpose was given by the Hidden God. He named us. We were to be more than watchers. We were to be the anchors of balance and protectors of the world, not by strength alone, but by judgment."
The weight of that revelation crushed Thales more than the sight of the titan itself. The Hidden God was the god spoken of only in fragments and heresies. And now a Guardian confirmed it. Phaser, however, only nodded slowly, as if connecting threads he had long held.
"The sword you seek is not merely a relic. It is one of the Primal Synsiline Treasures. And those treasures are bound not by mortals, but by us, the Ten Guardians. We are the arbiters of their use. Tell me, Thales Erdict. Are you the descendant of the first wielder of the Azure Sword?"
The air froze around them. Thales's throat dried. He had never spoken that truth aloud. Only his family whispered of their ancestor, the one who bore the Azure Sword. Even within House Erdict, it was myth and shame tangled together. And yet this Guardian had seen through him and knew his name.
"Yes. I am."
The deer's green eyes narrowed, piercing into his soul.
"Weak. Compared to him, you are… fragile. But blood remembers. And blood has power."
Thales grit his teeth at the sting, but he didn't look away.
"Very well. For a Primal Synsiline Treasure to pass into the hands of its descendant, it must be witnessed. The world must acknowledge the bond. And so, Phasnovterich Vecria Argemenes will be a Witness."
Thales's breath hitched. Phaser didn't move, though his jaw clenched at hearing his full name spoken by something so ancient.
"Three clues guard the Azure Sword. You will earn them in turn. Only then will the treasure awaken. And I give approval to the use of it."
The clouds swirled tighter around the antlers, lightning threading faintly in the mists.
"The first clue is to defeat the Octopus Slime, a Class Four Fluvium. Only through its core shall the second clue reveal itself."
The deer's head began to lift back into the clouds, its antlers slowly dissolving into the mist, its gaze lingering one final moment upon them.
"Seek it. Conquer it. Only then may the Azure Sword's light return."
The sound faded, like thunder rolling into silence.
The mountain stilled once more, as though it had never moved. The Guardian's vast frame settled into its slumber, stone reforming over it until it was once again indistinguishable from the peaks.
The world fell quiet.
Thales stood frozen on the golden blade. He turned to Phaser slowly.
"Phaser, you... why would you do this for me? You could hwve asked it for anything. Anything in the world. And you…"
°°°°°°
The clouds split as Thales guided the flying sword through the sky. Phaser sat behind him, his hand steady on the hilt that anchored them both.
"I told you I'd help you find the Azure Sword and I did. That was the deal. In return, you'd help me find something powerful."
Thales turned slightly, his scarf flapping against his jaw.
"You're talking about the Fluveheart, right? Don't tell me you want the one from that Octopus Slime."
Phaser's expression didn't change, but his silence was confirmation enough.
"Phaser, that's a Class Four Fluvium. No sane person goes after one of those unless they're ready to die. You know that, right? A slime is bad enough. An octopus slime? That thing's a nightmare out of the abyss for us."
"I know, but it's what I need. The Fluveheart of that creature is unlike any other. If I can secure it before the seventh day, everything changes."
"Why the seventh day? What's with this obsession with time limits? We could wait until we're stronger, gather people, plan better—"
"No. On the seventh day, the portal to the Fluve Field opens. After that, the Octopus Slime won't be here anymore. It will disappear alongside the Guardian. We'll lose the chance forever."
Thales cursed under his breath, a hiss of frustration snatched away by the rushing air.
"You're insane. You know that? Absolutely insane. And now I owe you. Damn it, Phaser, I owe you more than I can count."
"You don't owe me anything. I only need the Fluveheart. That's it. Once we kill the Fluvium and I claim it, I'm set. You don't have to carry this weight on your back."
"Don't you dare try to brush this off. I owe you bigger than I like to admit. You risked your life for me back there and you're still doing it now. That kind of debt doesn't disappear just because you say so."
Phaser exhaled softly, the kind of sigh that wasn't disappointment but resignation.
"You're stubborn."
"And you're reckless. So I guess that makes us even."
There was a silence between them. The sword cut through the clouds with a shimmer, leaving trails of pale vapor behind them. Finally, Phaser inclined his head slightly, giving Thales the smallest of nods.
"Fine. If you're that determined, then I'll accept your promise. Someday, you'll repay me not because I need it, but because you want to. That's enough."
Thales smirked, shaking his head as though he just won a battle.
"Good. Don't think you're carrying all of this on your own. You might be calm and mysterious and full of knowledge, but you're not invincible."
That earned a faint chuckle from Phaser, the first genuine sound of ease between them since they started the conversation.
"We should head back to camp. We already got what we came for. We should prepare too."
Thales hummed in agreement and flicked his fingers. The flying sword tilted, slicing downward, carrying them into the lower skies where the air was warmer. As the sword glided through the sea of dusk, Thales found himself muttering, half to himself, half to Phaser.
"You know, one day you're going to get us killed chasing these impossible goals of yours."
"I am not dying anytime soon, Thales."