Zay closed the book softly before moving it aside with the rest of the books on the floor. He then placed his hands on the table, crossing them as he laid his head down and closed his eyes.
What felt like only a moment later, he opened his eyes—and it was nearly noon.
Lily was already awake, smiling when she saw her younger brother. Though Zay had slept through the first phase of her happiness… somehow, he had managed to miss it entirely.
"Good morning, everyone," Zay said, rubbing his eyes before yawning and stretching his arms from the chair.
He stood up, stretching his back and body, then knocked loudly on the table to get everyone's attention.
"Kazren, would it be fine if we stay here... for a while? Since... I think it's time," he asked, his tone serious.
Kazren's eyes flicked toward him. "Do you really think you can do that now?" he asked, instantly understanding what Zay meant.
Zay didn't reply for a long moment, his expression betraying a clear ambivalence toward the idea at first.
With a sharp exhale, he finally spoke. "Well, truthfully speaking... I'd say there's a seventy-five percent chance we live through it—though—that depends on if we're lucky with the first Sequence," Zay said with an uncertain tone before shaking his head.
"Well, alright then. Get to it." Kazren said, grabbing the last katana that hadn't been torn to pieces in the fight against Ashgrave.
Renzo and Lily exchanged glances before Lily spoke up. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, looking confused.
"You told me these Sequence things were commonly known as Trials, right?" Renzo said. "Does that just mean we go through some sort of test and have to pass it? How hard can that be?" he added nonchalantly with a smile.
Kazren and Zay looked at him—neither even cracking a small smile, as if the thought of it being a joke hadn't crossed their minds.
"Renzo… Sequences? Think of them like a fucking nightmare. Now make that nightmare thirty times worse, then stack four more layers of other nightmares on top of it. They're all random. Everyone gets something different. There are no books detailing them because it's pointless—no one writes about something when the chances of running into another Arbiter within a Sequence are about as likely as fighting the god of death and winning." Zay's voice was serious as he sighed, rubbing his neck before placing his hands on the table and leaning over.
"They're dangerous. All of them. But if you pass them, your Seal becomes stronger. Your Aura Core becomes stronger, and your body becomes stronger as well."
Renzo glanced at his brother for a second before pulling out a chair from the wooden table and sitting down. "There's no way it's that bad. Besides, if they're all random, that means we could get something simple, like swatting bees away or something, right?"
Zay chuckled at his words. "Hell no."
Renzo licked his lips slightly as he gulped. "W-well..." he muttered before sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose, then nodding.
"Alright, I got it. No jokes about this. Though, I bet there are books about them somewhere out there."
Zay nodded before speaking. "I'll admit... there actually are books about them. There were multiple in the Ovaris library. But it doesn't matter since the chances are extremely low. There's probably a book somewhere in this hut about them if you really want to read through other people's experiences."
Renzo looked up at him. "So, if these are so rare, are we all going in alone?"
Zay glanced at him from across the table. "Absolutely fucking not. If we all went in alone, I doubt you two would pass... much less make it past the first night."
"So, how the hell do we get into the same place or whatever?" Lily asked, turning her gaze to Zay.
"For multiple Arbiters to enter together, they have to be physically connected—holding hands or touching another Arbiter in some way. That's the only way. So, if I held hands with you and you hold hands with Renzo, that would put us all into the same Sequence since we'd be linked."
"That's surprisingly easy compared to what I thought we had to do..." Lily thought before shaking the thought away.
"When are we doing this?" Renzo asked, standing up from the wooden chair and stretching his body.
"Ideally..." Zay muttered, pausing for a few seconds to think.
"Within the next twenty minutes. But I have a few things to tell you both first."
Lily and Renzo nodded slightly, and Renzo sat back down.
"Typically, to access a Sequence, your Seal would have a certain requirement. Well, it's not exactly a requirement—more like a strong recommendation. But the 'Arbiter System' marks it as mandatory rather than suggested. Since I want us to get the first one over with, we're going ahead and skipping that part."
"If clearing a Sequence makes us stronger, why wouldn't we try to clear as many as possible in one go?" Renzo asked, clenching his fist with a grin.
"Our strength increases, but the strain from the previous Sequence doesn't just disappear. Doing them consecutively is suicide, trust me. There's also things created by the Sequence. Like other people who aren't Arbiters, but can use powers that resemble Seals, or Contracts."
Zay smirked, cracking his neck before closing his eyes. He took slow, steady breaths, catching his breath from all the talking.
Renzo stretched his arms with a smirk. "Then let's get going then. The more we sit around like a bunch of old men playing poker, the less I feel like any of us will want to do this at all." His knuckles cracked as his red aura flickered to life, forming a thin layer around his body—an unmistakable sign of his growing excitement.
Lily leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling before exhaling sharply. "Yeah… let's just get it over with. If we keep sitting here, overthinking it, I know I'm going to start looking for a way out." She shook her head, as if trying to dismiss the thought entirely.
Her gaze flickered between Renzo, Zay, and even Kazren—who had remained silent, watching them with an unreadable expression.
Zay pushed up from the table, straightening his posture before nodding. He moved to the floor, sitting cross-legged, with Renzo and Lily settling on both sides of him. Resting his hands on his lap, he opened one palm and locked fingers with Renzo. Instantly, his violet aura flared to life, colliding with Renzo's red aura, the two energies vibrating against each other in a pulsing rhythm.
Turning to his other side, Zay did the same with Lily, interlocking his fingers with hers. Her light blue aura flickered to the surface, shimmering as it clashed and intertwined with his. The three of them closed their eyes, steadying their breath.
Thirty seconds passed.
[Arbiter, would you like to access your first Sequence?]
[Yes / No]
Without hesitation, he reached out within his mind and touched—
[Yes]
[Good luck on your first Sequence.]
The void in his mind dissolved into nothingness. The moment they opened their eyes, an icy chill clawed at their skin, and soft snowflakes landed on their faces. Their bodies sank slightly into the thick, untouched snow beneath them.
They looked down at themselves to find them all wearing thick coats of some sort of fur.
[Welcome to Frostvine.]
The world around them was an endless expanse of white and blue, a frozen jungle of towering trees coated in thick layers of ice and snow. Their massive branches curled and twisted, some weighed down by frost, bending under their own burden. The ground was uneven, blanketed in knee-deep snow, with the occasional jagged rock jutting out. A distant wind howled through the trees, sending a flurry of white into the air.
Beyond the forest, the faintest outlines of mountains loomed, their peaks almost completely obscured by the thick snowfall. The sky was an overcast gray, and despite the lack of direct sunlight, the world glowed with an eerie, almost ethereal brightness, the snow reflecting every glimmer of ambient light.
Renzo exhaled a cloud of mist into the cold air, rubbing his hands together. "So, this is the first Sequence we get? A damn arctic jungle? This is gonna be amazing…" His voice carried a strange mix of excitement and unease.
Lily pulled her coat tighter around herself, glancing at Zay. "Do you know what we need to do to clear this place?"
Zay's gaze flicked between the trees, the snow-covered landscape, and the distant mountains. He let out a small chuckle, shaking his head before cracking a grin.
"Every Sequence is different. I have absolutely no clue."
"Well, let's pick a direction and go that way," Renzo said before exhaling. He closed his eyes and spun in place for a moment before stopping and pointing in a random direction—straight toward the faint outlines of the mountains. Without hesitation, he started walking.
Zay and Lily exchanged glances.
"How am I the youngest?" Zay muttered with a sigh.
"Absolutely no clue," Lily replied before following Renzo.
Zay shook his head and trailed after them as the three began trekking through the deep snow, their steps breaking through the untouched surface with each movement.
As they pressed deeper into the frozen jungle, the distant howling of the wind was interrupted by a sharp, eerie cry. Their gazes snapped upward just in time to see a small red fox leap down from the snow-laden branches above, landing gracefully before them. Its fur bristled as it bared its fangs, an unnatural gleam flickering in its eyes.
"A fox for the first fight? Alright then," Renzo said, his lips curling into a smirk. His red aura flared to life, wrapping around his legs and fists as he lunged forward, closing the distance quickly.
He swung his foot toward the creature, aiming to strike it. But just as his attack was about to land, the fox jumped into the air and twisted it's small frame with unnatural agility. A swirling pink aura coiled around its tail before it lashed out, striking Renzo with an explosive force.
The impact sent him flying backward, crashing into the snow at Zay and Lily's feet. The fox let out a deep, unnatural roar as the pink aura dissipated from its tail, its predatory gaze locking onto them once more.