"My village was destroyed by the Tide of Remnants. No one managed to escape their attacks."
The little girl spoke softly. The three of them walked together toward the depths of the Mirage Realm, and before long, they arrived in front of a ruined village.
Among the broken walls, gray weeds ran wild. A dark curtain hung low along the edge of the sky, silent and still. Beside the shattered walls, you could still see the phantoms of the dead.
"I'm the only one who survived." The little girl's voice was light and drifting, as if it carried no emotion at all.
"Before the Remnants arrived, the villagers hid me in a basement that wouldn't catch fire. When I came out… there was no one left to answer me."
The little girl pressed her thin lips together tightly. The family and friends she had spent every day with had vanished in an instant. What that kind of loneliness and fear felt like, probably only she herself truly knew.
"It's okay." Zane patted the little girl's shoulder and gave her a thumbs-up.
"You're not alone anymore."
"I feel like it would be more touching if big sister said that instead."
"Huh? You Elite-Class Changli, how can you talk like that!?"
"Elite-Class? But I'm not a Remnant."
The little girl tilted her head, not understanding what Zane meant by "Elite-Class."
She didn't get the hidden meaning in his words, but Rover did. Without hesitation, she smacked him hard on the head.
"What are you saying in front of a little girl!"
As expected, if this guy didn't get hit for a day, he'd feel restless. And if she didn't hit him for a day, she'd feel just as uneasy.
Mutual understanding, in a way.
"Look over there." Zane held his head with one hand while pointing with the other toward a house with half-collapsed walls.
"There seems to be something placed there."
Rover and the little girl followed the direction he pointed. They saw a bundle sitting on a table inside the dilapidated house. Beside it was a yellowed piece of papee.
"...The village was attacked. I had the ability, yet I failed to protect even a single person. Now my injuries are beyond healing, and my time is short. Only some rations remain, left for whoever comes after."
Sadness crept onto the little girl's face. Her pale cheeks twisted in pain.
"If I had arrived a little earlier…"
Rover's expression was just as serious. She gently patted the girl's thin shoulder and comforted her. "This isn't your fault. And it's already been a long time."
As she spoke, she shot Zane a fierce look, 'Don't provoke her right now!'
Zane, 'Got it, provoke her a bit.'
"You can't do anything at all!"
The little girl's face fell. Right now, she couldn't protect others, couldn't even take care of herself. Even defeating Remnants meant paying the price of several, even dozens of wounds.
Just like Zane said, she couldn't do anything.
But Rover's expression remained calm.
Zane might be dense, but when it came to others, he was gentle enough.
If you didn't believe it, you could ask the Exiles next door.
So gentle it made people drop everything and submit.
Sure enough, before the little girl could start blaming herself, Zane spoke calmly, "If someone wants to become stronger, they have to recognize their own weakness."
"Hold on to the greed to become stronger. That greed will push you forward."
"Do you remember the feather I showed you before? That's your future goal. When you can condense the formless fire in your heart into something tangible, at that point, you'll be able to protect everyone."
"Really?" The little girl's red-gold eyes sparkled, shining with hope.
"It's true." Zane nodded firmly, then pointed toward something in the distance that looked like ruins.
"That ruin is your first trial. Go on, girl. Defeat the Demon King and bring back all the treasure chests inside!"
"..."
The little girl fell silent for a moment, then felt a bit speechless. His intentions were practically written all over his face.
In the end, under Rover's "guidance," Zane changed his wording, and the three of them headed toward the ruin-like structure ahead.
Zane lagged behind the two of them, clutching the fresh bump on his head. He shot Rover a vicious glare from behind.
'Damn it, all you do is bully me. One day I'll show you what I can really do!'
"Big sister, I think he was just cursing you in his head."
The little girl glanced at Zane, then leaned close to Rover and whispered a reminder. If even the little girl could notice, how could Rover not?
Rover just smiled.
"Having someone willing to be bullied by me is a kind of happiness, isn't it?"
What kind of feelings flowed through her eyes, probably only she herself knew.
The short path soon came to an end. The group arrived beneath the entrance of the ruins.
But just as Rover and the little girl were about to step inside, Zane's voice swept past their ears, "Heh heh heh, I'm the first one stepping into the ruins!"
As he spoke, he had already dashed straight through the entrance.
"Hey, why are you acting like a kid!"
"You're the kid here!"
"It's you, definitely you!"
———
Maybe Zane and the little girl were just naturally incompatible. Look, they were arguing again.
Rover shook her head with a smile. Of course she knew why Zane insisted on entering the ruins ahead of them. The little girl might be clever, but she had always been alone, hardly ever taken care of by anyone.
Taking advantage of the two kids arguing, Rover also entered the ruins. What came into view was an extremely small room. The wall directly facing the entrance was less than ten meters away.
Four tables were arranged in pairs along both sides of the room. Between each pair of tables was a faintly glowing stone platform.
With some curiosity, Rover walked up to one of the stone platforms and realized it was actually a pressure mechanism.
'Then the other one should be the same…'
Thinking this, Rover turned to look at the stone platform on the opposite side. She saw that Zane, apparently tired from arguing, had somehow already sat down on it.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just stay seated there."
"Oh, okay."
Zane scratched his head. Even though he didn't know the thing under him was the mechanism to open the stone door, since Rover told him not to move, it was better to stay put.
Rover looked back at the stone platform in front of her and decisively stepped onto it.
The next second, the sound of gears grinding echoed from the ceiling. Then, the wall facing the entrance slowly rose, revealing what lay beyond...
"This is… a chessboard?"
Rover covered her mouth, her golden eyes widening at the sight.
Here, heaven and earth formed the board, and scattered black and white pieces were suspended in midair by an unknown force.