They were back in the world.
And it felt wrong.
The skies had changed.
Clouds moved slower.
Even animals looked upward, as if waiting.
War hadn't begun yet — but Arcane was humming. Restless.
Something was stirring beneath the soil.
---
Biji, Yukie, and OTG traveled by foot now — the sea routes too dangerous after the incident with A BIG CRAB.
They were headed toward the border of Seraphine Dunes, a region warped by fluctuating Beliefstorms. Only the most stable minds could survive there without going mad.
That's where they met her.
Or him.
Or... both.
---
The Arrival
It began with a ripple.
Not in water — in reality.
The sand moved like liquid glass. The air hummed. And out of nowhere, stepping on waves of sound and salt, came a figure draped in flowing resonance, neither fully woman nor man.
> "You're touching territory claimed by storms," the voice said — soft and sharp at once.
Yukie drew her blade.
OTG blinked, whispering, "Holy hell, who's the radiant?"
Biji simply nodded.
> "We're passing through. Are you friend or foe?"
The figure grinned. Her/his eyes shimmered like shifting tides.
> "That depends. Are you strong enough to earn friendship?"
---
The duel lasted ten minutes.
Yukie, at full speed.
The newcomer, even faster.
The clash of their abilities sent dunes flying. Lightning from belief laced the sky. OTG didn't interfere — he was too busy watching the rhythm. Predicting movements.
And then, suddenly:
> "Time's up," OTG called, dashing between the two at impossible speed.
> "She's got more tricks," he whispered to Yukie.
"But he's holding back."
> "Wait... he?" Yukie asked.
> "She/he," OTG corrected with a grin. "They're complicated."
---
The stranger bowed.
> "You're fun."
> "Name?" Biji asked.
> "Wutherinwaves," she/he replied. "But call me Wave."
> "Gender?"
> "All of it. None of it. Who cares."
> "Strength?"
> "Equal to your sleepy friend. But I fight cleaner."
Yukie narrowed her eyes but didn't deny it.
---
Wave officially joined them that evening over a fire of flickering belief-embers.
Her/his power was wind, tide, and tempo — but more than that, she/he could tune energy like a symphony. She/he fought by conducting the battlefield.
> "I don't break things," Wave said. "I orchestrate the destruction."
---
And while OTG remained the weakest in raw strength...
He was the fastest.
He could triple everyone's power with the right tempo buffs.
He dodged hits none of them could see.
He redirected attacks mid-flight.
Biji once said it simply:
> "He's the spine."
And they believed it.
---
The group of three was now four.
Balanced.
But Arcane doesn't let balance last long.
The next town they entered had been burned down.
The sky was glowing red.
And someone had written a name across the ashes in lightning:
> "COME FIND ME, BIJI."
---
End of Chapter