rogue_3

The girl realizes that the old shaman thinks it is Sami's voice that she heard. Whatever, it was better not to point this out.

Then, the woman gently relays the meaning of the second message.

Most importantly, child, you must believe in yourself.

Sure enough, the girl followed the path of the flames, overcame the trials of the snowstorm, and entered the deepest reaches of the frozen expanses.

There, she found a cave deep underground.

The bitter cold inside the cave chilled her to her bones, but there was no wind at all. Ice crystals overlapped with rock walls, even time itself seemingly frozen over. As if nothing could penetrate this tranquility.

The girl slowly walks into its deepest stratum.

A giant tree's branches have become deeply intertwined with this place, joining the rock formations as one.

There is no greenery to be seen here – it is more akin to a stone sculpture than an ancient tree.

The girl does not hear a word from Surtr, but she can feel it. It is becoming restless.

This must be the core of the seal.

The girl tightens her grip on the sword's hilt, and slowly approaches. With each step she takes, she can feel the breath of life from the stone-like tree.

Tongues of flame boil over from the sword. Surtr is right – only one strike is needed to break the seal.

She cannot help but reach for the ancient tree with her hands.

Its surface is obviously cold and rough, but for some inexplicable reason, it reminds her of that old shaman.

She remembers the shaman holding her hand, warmly inviting her into the divining hut.

At that moment, a new image emerges.

She sees a familiar city reduced to ashes, the land turning into an endless snowfield. A massive beast wreathed in flames and lava brandishes a burning sword, cackling as it rampages.

On the other side, the icefield Feranmut dauntlessly endures the flaming giant's strikes with its body. Its blood and limbs splatter across the ground, sinking deep into the white snow.

Upon realizing that its sword is of no use, the flaming giant becomes fearful and hesitant. It is quickly subdued by its enemy.

In a flash, its body is torn asunder and trampled underfoot. The icefield Feranmut uses its own body to seal away the flames—

Its sinew becomes stone, its skeleton becomes a great tree. Everything is buried beneath the howling snow.

The girl feels the giant's humiliation and anger. She feels the malice flowing from her own heart. Her thoughts are pulled back into the cave by Surtr's roar.

'Do it, now! Otherwise, never again will you be able to find yourself!'

The giant tree in front of her is both a seal, and a shard of Surtr's foe. Through the girl's hand, Surtr wishes to take revenge on the enemy that once defeated it.

'No.'

Even the girl herself can feel Surtr's astonishment.

She can't help but picture the old shaman's smiling face, and also can't help but wager a guess: Perhaps from the very beginning, it was Sami who guided her here?

Sami did not object to her in the slightest. It did not reject her, tempt her, deceive her, or threaten her.

It had truly left the choice up to her. Because Sami trusted her.

The girl now realizes that Sami has been helping her find what she is searching for.

'I don't know what bad blood you two might have with each other, and I don't know which of you is right or wrong. But none of that matters.'

'I came to Sami to find out about myself. And unfortunately, it seems this place isn't my homeland either.'

'But I now know that even without my past, I am who I am now.'

'I am Surtr. And now, both your power and your name belong to me.'

'Only I can decide who I am.'

The girl raises her greatsword into the air.

'And you are using me.'

'Let me warn you – I swear I will find your heart, and retrieve your entire body.'

'If you still dare to order me around, I will use your own power to completely eliminate you.'

The girl ends her expedition to Sami in silence.

She is no longer trapped by thoughts of her past, because she is certain she can find the answer.

She prefers to spend her mental energy thinking about how to face the future.

She is also willing to spend that energy on believing that, to her companions on Rhodes Island, she is who she is.

So bring them back some local specialties as souvenirs. She is even more willing to spend that energy on picking out gifts.

Naturally, she has also decided on her next destination – Kazdel.

She still remembers the joy of meeting her silver-haired, pointy-eared compatriots.

She still remembers the amber home of the Elves, dangling within that hollow, wrapped by layers upon layers of the Great Tree's roots.

With thoughts and words alone, those living abodes could change their structure and clean themselves.

The plant-furniture born among them either got along well with their masters or complained about them in private; and after a long day's work, would gather around to share gossip.

While the Samifjod were still trying to decipher Sami's warnings through their Foldartals, the Elves were able to commune directly. When they heard Sami's response, they clung fast to the rock walls, tending to the scars of the land by growing plants or drawing runes.

They rarely left the embrace of the Great Tree, singing and dancing among the branches in the early morning, spreading nature across the craggy walls after a midday respite, and listening to the music woven by the plants and studying the words and notes handed down from the past by nightfall.

Their lives are simple yet profound. A faint sense of familiarity brushes across Muelsyse's sensitive nerves.

But even these fragments of familiarity are sufficient to make her realize something else.

Here, she is an anomaly.

This is not a fairytale land where people can connect with one another simply by being of the same kind.

What Muelsyse had to confront is an entire cultural ecosystem spanning tens of thousands of years.

Almost everything Muelsyse knows comes from the environment and education of Columbia.

To be able to understand one another, both sides must undertake tremendous effort.

Yet at the same time, what the Elves can offer her pales in comparison to what Kristen promised.

So, she ultimately decided to leave.

Taking with her confusion, doubt, and loneliness.

What is it exactly that allows the various peoples across the lands to set aside the differences of race and identity and come together for a common goal?

It is the pursuit of ideals, and the exploration of the unknown.

When Muelsyse first arrived at the base camp in front of the megastructure, researchers and explorers from all across the land had already gathered there.

Further ahead, the megastructure stood silently.

Though the collapsal known as Cresson had already disappeared, the collapsal value in this area is still terrifyingly high.

Everyone lives in constant terror of the Collapsal Paradigm's impact, as well as the fear of being contaminated and turning into collapsals themselves.

Yet, for the purposes of exploration and research, they still built a base here, preparing their projects.

Nothing can curb their thirst for knowledge.

When Snowpriests inscribed their Foldartals here, when casters built their spires here, when engineers laid down their pipelines here–

In a trance-like state, Muelsyse recalls all the things Kristen had done to bring Rhine Lab together for the purpose of splitting the sky open.

Food rationing is no longer a problem, the anti-collapsal measures developed at great cost have successfully passed through the initial development phase and been shared with everyone at the base, but the project as a whole has nevertheless stalled.

People lack the knowledge and ability to make sense of these prehistoric facilities, and even the one from Rhodes Island is neither omniscient nor omnipotent.

Muelsyse can ensure that people live here comfortably, but there is little she can do about these other problems.

More help is needed.

The ancient peoples that lived here...

Muelsyse's thoughts quickly turn to her compatriots from Sami.

They are reclusive and independent, and do not wish to be disturbed or changed by outsiders. Muelsyse knows this very well.

However, wasn't she herself an Elf who had deemed it impossible for others to understand her, and sealed herself off in her water?

Muelsyse decided to knock on the door of the Elves, with questions in mind and a broken device from the megastructure in hand.

They promised to repair the device she brought. As they worked, tough branches weaved through soft steel to probe the damaged components; transparent tree sap was both an adhesive and a repair material, automatically changing properties based on the type of damage.

The roots of the giant tree were more precise than any machine she had ever seen. With the Elves' accurate pinpointing of the cause of the damage, the device was as good as new in no time.

Muelsyse was overjoyed. She hoped that the Elves would also join the research over at the icefield megastructure. With their knowledge and insight, she could practically see the changes that would be ushered in by such explosive technological advancement.

As expected though, they turned her down. Neither distrust nor arrogance even entered the equation. Sami still sleeps, and the land is still scarred. Their mission is not yet complete, and aiding others is not a part of it.

After a long discussion between the two parties, Muelsyse came up with a solution: she would study here, and regularly bring what she learned back to the base camp. However, she would not reveal any information about this place, nor bring anyone else with her. That way, the Elves would still be able to maintain their traditions, and the expeditioners would be able to make breakthroughs in their research on the megastructure.

The Elves look to each other before agreeing to the plan. Whether this was due to their undue favoritism towards their kin who they'd just met after hundreds of years, a compromise in response to Sami's rapid environmental changes in recent years, or some other reason, we do not know.

However, for Muelsyse, this is truly a new beginning. After piercing the veil of the sky, after countless years of confusion, she finally had the opportunity to understand the Elves, herself, and the meaning of her existence.

Elves are not a panacea; they have no way to free a soul from its suffering.

However, they indeed did point the way for Muelsyse.

During the years she spent traveling back and forth between the megastructure and the abode of the Elves, they not only taught her the historical knowledge she needed, but more importantly, showed her both the lives and the responsibilities of the Elves.

Their affinity as nature's messengers...

Their resolution as descendants of a Feranmut...

And their duty, as survivors of that disaster, to safeguard the inheritance of ancient history.

At the same time, they also continued to emphasize to her that these things only pertained to the Sami Elves.

She had left the clan, and struck out on her own.

However, that is also precisely why she is free to choose her own path.

Whether she continues to search for her own bloodline, or decides to leave her mark on Columbia...

That is her choice to make.

Loneliness is suffering, yet it is also strength.