Enrico opened his eyes in a completely empty place. His body felt extremely heavy, and he could barely move a finger. All the exhaustion he had accumulated seemed to have fallen upon him all at once. In fact, the only reason he had managed to resist until that moment was the mana present in his body, which increased how much his body could endure.
"Huff..."
His breathing began to become irregular. With great difficulty, Enrico took a step forward and realized that his feet were standing on something that seemed liquid. When he tried to take another step, two staircases appeared before him.
To tell the truth, he could barely think or speak properly at that moment. The two staircases were different: one went upward, while the other descended into the darkness below.
That was different from what had happened to Tolen in the story. Could that place change depending on the person? Enrico didn't know. As far as he knew, Tolen had been the only one to undergo training capable of making him reach that state.
'Tolen's also had a staircase, but the place was his house's backyard... and there was only one.'
The staircase that went upward had a small red light at the top, while the one that descended disappeared completely into the darkness. Enrico didn't know what was on either path, and that could be dangerous. Even so, he didn't trust that staircase going downward. If it could really break his potential, he didn't intend to take the risk.
So, he would follow the same path as in the original story.
He would climb.
'...Many would say that going down is easier, but if you trip on the stairs, you could end up dying.'
He would have to be careful.
With enormous difficulty, Enrico approached the staircase. Just to place his foot on the first step, it took him about thirty minutes. With every movement, the liquid beneath his feet rippled without stopping, as if reacting to his presence.
As soon as he stepped onto the first step, a much greater pressure took hold of his body.
Enrico felt a sharp pain in his right ear and, in the next instant, blood began to flow from it.
'Damn... my body... it's as if it's breaking...'
"Huff... huff... huff..."
He tried to raise his foot to reach the second step, but his body simply didn't respond. His foot returned downward and, at that very moment, a crack appeared on the first step.
Enrico remained motionless.
From that moment on, he would have to be even more careful. If that first step broke, perhaps there would be no way back.
Sssschhh...
A sound came from behind him.
Enrico slowly turned his head and saw that a shadow had appeared exactly where he had been standing at the beginning.
'What is that?'
The creature was completely dark and had an appearance similar to his. There was no color on its body, only that darkness that resembled an absolute void. The shadow watched him in silence, with completely black sclera.
Then, its eyes took on the same golden color that Enrico's usually had. However, the pupil constantly dilated and contracted, as if trying to assume a specific shape.
'What is this feeling?'
Enrico didn't know how to explain what he was feeling at that moment. It was something strange, different from everything he knew. Even so, he was certain of one thing.
If he remained in that place for too long, something bad would happen.
Therefore, he immediately tried to climb to the second step.
'Besides, I have to return to the real world as much as possible. I don't know how long my body will endure in the zero state.'
Tolen had needed two weeks to leave his own mental space and completely break through the limit. Enrico, however, couldn't wait two weeks. Not after the promise he had made to himself.
'And to make matters worse, this happened right when I was fighting... If I continue like this, the boss will awaken.'
He needed to return.
He needed to break through that limit.
Enrico tried to take another step while the pressure on his body increased even more. Every part of his body seemed to be reaching its limit, but he continued forcing his leg.
It didn't matter how much it hurt. It didn't matter how much his body was breaking.
He needed to break through that limit no matter what.
Valença, who was still lying where Enrico had been, finally stood up. It had already been some time since he had left and her throat was beginning to feel dry, so she decided to approach the nearby river to drink some water.
"Enrico is taking a while..."
More than forty minutes had already passed since he had left, and he still hadn't returned. After drinking some water, Valença began looking for him.
"Where could he be?"
While walking through the forest, a deer approached her and lowered its head. Valença smiled and stroked its head, but when she tried to continue walking, the animal began insisting that she follow it.
"You want me to go with you? But, my friend... I mean, my rival."
The deer lightly bit her shirt and began pulling her. Valença stared at it for a few seconds before sighing and deciding to follow it.
'Enrico must be fine. I can look for him afterward.'
A few minutes later, she arrived before an almost dead tree. Around it were several animals, all gathered in silence, as if they were waiting for something.
"What is this?"
The same deer shook its head, indicating that she should approach the tree. Valença slowly walked toward it, while the animals moved aside to make way. The closer she got, the stranger the feeling inside her became.
It was as if something was calling to her.
Valença hesitated for a few seconds before approaching even closer, but without touching the tree. The animals, however, seemed to want her to get closer.
Then, she raised her hand and touched the trunk.
At that very moment, the tree began to disappear, transforming into small particles of light. The animals remained watching in silence, as if they already knew what would happen.
When all the light disappeared, a small flame appeared floating before Valença. It had two glowing eyes and vague outlines of wings made of embers.
"Quil?... Quil, quil."
The small flame began circling around Valença, apparently happy and curious. The girl followed its movements with her eyes, feeling a strange familiarity with that creature, as if she had already done something similar before.
"How strange..."
The flame stopped for a moment and seemed discouraged.
Valença immediately noticed and calmly explained, almost like a mother trying to reassure a child who had misunderstood something.
"I didn't mean that you are strange. I just thought it was strange because I feel like I should already know you somehow."
The small flame approached again.
"What is your name?"
"His first name is Incandis."
Val'Drakar appeared behind her, walking slowly. He hadn't expected to find the chosen girl in that place and, upon seeing her before the small spirit, felt even more satisfied that those two children had made it this far.
'To think that, on the same day, I would meet the chosen one and a boy who wishes to save the race of the Dark Elves...'
To Val'Drakar, that seemed almost like a blessing. Perhaps those two children had been sent by God. After all, what other explanation could there be for such good fortune in finding such good people?
Incandis continued circling Valença excitedly, making her smile.
"So he has more than one name?"
"Yes. This is his first evolution. You will know more about it in the future, as soon as he becomes stronger."
"What do you mean?"
Val'Drakar pointed to the back of Valença's hand. There was a mark resembling two wings.
Valença's eyes widened upon noticing it.
"So he is a magical spirit... Incredible."
Long ago, there were many magical spirits in the world. However, after some disasters, the number of these creatures fell to less than ten percent of what existed at that time. Nowadays, they were so rare that some people would be capable of killing to obtain one.
"Are you sure you want to make a contract with me?"
Incandis landed on Valença's palm and remained there firmly, as if responding that yes, without any doubt.
Valença observed the small spirit for a few seconds. She had to admit that she had asked that only as a precaution. Deep down, she already wanted to keep him. Not only because Incandis was cute, but also because she knew that a magical spirit could help her become even stronger.
"That's right... I have to find Enrico. And I'll take the opportunity to sho—"
An explosion of water echoed in the distance. Valença immediately stood up and looked in the direction of the sound. The noise had come from the river, about thirty meters away, in a region surrounded by trees.
Val'Drakar also became serious upon realizing where the explosion had come from.
The two looked in the same direction.
Something was happening in that place.
"It seems that Sir Enrico is fighting one of my old companions... I didn't think I would find him so quickly. I should have warned you beforehand, so I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize."
Valença immediately began running toward where the explosion had come from. When she arrived at the location, her eyes widened upon finding an enormous crater, approximately the size of a house. In the center of it, a battle was still taking place. Before she could fully understand the situation, a body was thrown in her direction, passing by her and striking several trees before falling to the ground.
In the center of the crater was a creature resembling a monstrous shark, but with humanoid characteristics. Its tail moved constantly while enormous claws and sharp teeth were exposed. Around its feet were dozens of burned and headless bodies scattered across the terrain. There were more than thirty Nartheis resembling humanoid fish, all dead.
Valença immediately felt that the atmosphere of that place was different. It was something that always happened when a Faizes Rank or a mage surpassed the second circle. The pressure that creature transmitted was similar to Val'Drakar's.
But there was something bothering her.
After fighting Val'Drakar, she had realized that he hadn't used all his power. So why did that creature seem to be demonstrating a strength so similar to his?
Footsteps echoed behind her.
Valença turned her face and saw Enrico approaching.
His eyes were completely dull and lifeless. There were injuries spread across his body, while blood flowed from his ears and mouth. Even in that state, however, he didn't stop to look at Valença.
Enrico simply passed by her and returned to the fight.
"Why is Enrico fighting alone without even having reached the second circle?"
Valença stopped for a moment.
"No... that's a stupid question to ask about him..."
She already knew the answer.
Enrico always did things that other people would consider absurd.
As she watched the boy advance toward the Nartheis again, Val'Drakar arrived beside her. His gaze was fixed on Enrico, and, for the first time since Valença had met him, there was evident surprise in his expression.
"I never thought I would see someone with this again..."
Valença's hair partially covered her eyes when she heard Val'Drakar's voice behind her.
He wasn't just surprised.
There was respect in his expression.
Val'Drakar slowly sat down, looking at Enrico while keeping his head lowered.
"I thought this had been forgotten by time..."
Valença snapped back to reality upon noticing his reaction.
"What do you mean?"
Val'Drakar didn't answer immediately. His eyes continued following Enrico.
He had never imagined that he would witness someone once again willing to risk their own body that way just to evolve. He had already seen that happen in the past, when two Elves tried to do the same and ended up dying in the process.
Now, many years later, he was before another individual who seemed willing to follow the same path.
Valença didn't know exactly what was happening, but from Val'Drakar's words, one thing seemed certain.
Enrico was evolving again.
She clenched her hands and began running to help him.
'My heart is beating...'
A small smile appeared on her face. This was undoubtedly excitement.
Incandis ran after her, or rather, quickly floated in her direction, seeming equally excited and as if he also wanted to participate in the battle.
Valença looked at Enrico while clenching her fist.
"I'll evolve first."