"Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others"
-Jacob Braude
Nelo Point of View
The moonlight shines through the thick clouds reflecting from the window through our face and the sound of the thunder and lightning crashes from outside, echoing throughout the walls and halls of the old Ancient Tomes.
It's already been 3 hours since we entered the Ancient Tomes.
I look at Master's face and until now she's still reading.
My master is working hard and trying her best to improve.
Even though it's hard work, she's trying to break free of her laziness—and it's inspiring to witness her efforts.
My master is growing stronger from this struggle, and I feel so proud of her for all her efforts and the work that she's putting in.
I will do my best to help her and support her as she continues on her pathway toward success.
To be honest, I thought I was unlucky to have a master like her.
She really seemed more interested in sleeping than anything else.
It's in their genes so I can't really blame her—people from Inertia are often lazy.
But when she received her job, she really worked hard to fullfil her responsibilities.
We don't have a choice about who will be our master—it's basically decided at the start of our life, based on who we're born to and what qualities we inherited.
But just like us, our masters have no control over who they're paired with too and what kind of job will they get since it's based on their capabilities.
Master is good at problem solving, have good insight and keen observational skills.
The fact that she solve the riddle in Timothy's Diary is the evidence of her abilities.
But she's just too lazy to think of a way to solve problems and sometimes her ways of solving problems is a bit agreessive.
Just like how she plan to destroy the walls earlier.
I saw my master closing her eyes slowly, I think it's already her limit.
When her eyes finally closed I look for something that can cover her and put it on her shoulder.
After finishing the book I was reading, I close it, put it aside, and pick up another book that I still didn't read and look for a book about the portal Infront of us.
If it's working or it's a failure or what will happen if we enter inside the portal.
As I read the book I'm holding in my hands, an interesting paper suddenly falls out of it, I retrieve the paper and look at it more closely.
It appears to be an instruction manual for the portal.
It was written in Augustus Alphabet.
"Instruction Manual: The Virtues and the Portals
Before you embark on your journey to the Portals of the Continents, you must equip yourself with the necessary knowledge.
Each Continent represents a specific virtue that you will need to find and carry on to the next Continent.
The following is the list of Continents and their associated virtues:
The Land of Lust, which represents the virtue of Chastity.
The Land of Greed, which represents the virtue of Generosity.
The Land of Gluttony, which represents the virtue of Temperance.
The Land of Sloth, which represents the virtue of Diligence.
The Land of Wrath, which represents the virtue of Patience.
The Land of Envy, which represents the virtue of Kindness.
The Land of Pride, which represents the virtue of Humility.
In order to reach the next Continent, you must find a native of the current Continent who possesses the associated virtue.
Once you find the native, they will grant you passage to the next Continent.
If you are successful in finding all seven virtues, you will be awarded the answer you have been seeking.
Remember, your journey will not be easy.
You will face many obstacles, dangers, and temptations along the way.
However, if you remain focused and determined, you will ultimately find what you are looking for."
Based on the Instruction it's working.
I'll tell Master about this if she finally wakes up. I transform into a cat and sleep besides her.
Dahlia Emerald Point of View
I wake up to a bright, sunny day.
I feel refreshed after a good night's sleep.
I yawn and start searching for Nelo, I smiled after I saw him on the table sleeping near me.
Everytime I see Nelo in his human form, I remember my little brother, I want to go home and sleep all day, but this is my job and I need to fulfill this.
Come to think of it, it's already been 7 years since we met.
Seven years ago, I didn't even know my companion's name.
We barely spoke to each other, and honestly, I don't even know how we managed to live together in such awkward silence.
AYet, since the day I got my job, we've grown so close...now, we talk to each other everyday about everything—our days, our work, our plans for the future, our dreams and hopes and fears.
It's been a long journey, and I'm so glad to have him by my side.
And when I got my job the first thing he told me, is that I could sleep all day, as he would do all of my jobs for me.
So, I took him at his word, and spent the next week sleeping and relaxing.
But after a week he came running to me and asked for my help.
When he asked me for my help with something, I was shocked, as it was the first time he had ever requested my assistance.
It was clear that his opinion of me had changed in some way, and this motivated me to work harder—to prove that I was worthy of his Master.
The mission that Nelo pick before was extremely challenging—a job that not only demanded great skills and experience, but also the strength and resilience to survive in a hostile environment filled with lava, rocks and fire.
QNelo thought he could handle the task on his own, but he soon realized that he needed me, someone that he could rely on to help him through such a difficult and dangerous challenge.
We completed the task since I have the ability to manipulate ice and used my ability to make a path to go to the moon core.
After completing such a difficult and dangerous task, I advised Nelo to pick the easier jobs first, to build up his experience and confidence before taking on another challenge this big.
I brushed Nelo's fur using my fingers.
His fur is really soft and fuzzy.
He doesn't want me to pet him because he thinks he's below me if I did pet him.
So I just pet him everytime he's asleep.
I can't help it—he's just so cute, and I can't resist giving him a little pet whenever he's sleeping.
I quickly stop brushing his fur when he finally opens his eyes and looks at me.
"Good morning Master," he says, his eyes a bit sleepy and his voice half-asleep.
"Good morning, Nelo. How is your sleep?" I asked while hiding my shaking hands.
"I had a weird dream" he says, as he transform into his human form,
"You brushed my fur in my dreams" he continued.
"HA.HA.HA.HA wow your dream is so weird" I chuckle nervously, relieved he didn't notice I was brushing his fur.
"Yes it's weird, like how weird you are today"
"Anyways I found the manual for the portal" He said and he gives me a paper written in Augustus Alphabet.
After I read the manual I look at the portal.
"Is this the truth Timothy's talking about?" I asked while looking at the paper I was holding and the portal Infront of me.
"Probably, Let's enter the portal to verify it" Nelo said.
"Are you ready?" Nelo asks me.
I take a deep breath to steady myself, and then I nod.
"Let's go!"
I step through the portal, ready to face whatever challenges and adventures may await us on the other side.
I look back at the Ancient Tomes one last time and enter the portal.
...