"More? Why are so many beasts showing up?" Vera questioned as a group of ice foxes suddenly sprang up from the snow and attacked them.
"Is it the start of a beast tide?" That was the first though Alara had.
"Maybe either way lets hurry." Vera said after they easily killed the group of foxes. They were only at the level of a 3rd core so they were easily dealt with by her flames.
At first the return trip was going quite smooth but they began encountering more and more Sen beasts the closer they got to the moon branch. The branch like the main sect was located along the border of the Circle of Sen Beasts just further North. Because of this as they encountered more and more beasts they got worried the branch was under siege by Sen beasts and began to rush back as fast as they could.
Eventually they made it back although they rushed they were slowed down by the numerous Sen beasts they encountered along the way to it ended taking longer than normal so by the time they did arrive night had already fallen on the second day of their return.
Approaching the moon branch they noticed that unlike when they left disciples were now tasked with guarding the perimeter. Along with the disciples was an active barrier around the branch.
Passing through an active barrier around the branch Vera asked a random outer disciple what was going on.
Seeing her status the outer disciple panicked and immediately bowed and began speaking, "Senior signs of a beast tide were found so everyone is preparing for battle."
"Alright thanks, go back to what you were doing." Vera said to the disciple.
Beast tides most often occurred when an Immortal beasts territory began to overflow with beasts and to prevent its territory from being drained of resources it would force out a large chunk of beasts at once. Since the Circle of Sen beasts was full of many Immortal Beasts territories the majority of the Sen beasts would be forced towards the human territories since they were more spread out. Naturally being on the border made this branch a prime target.
Of course the severity and the beast tide would depend on the immortal beast and the size of its territory. The one that would effect the moon branch appeared to be a smaller one that they could handle on their own but on special occasions it would grow so large than even Immortal Beasts would be in the tide.
"So are we gonna leave?" Rex asked not feeling like staying nor required too.
"How's everyone's condition?" Vera asked.
"Perfect." Alara said.
"Doable." Edward said.
"Good." Alrin said.
"Bad I think we should go." Rex said.
"Anyone want to leave?" Vera asked.
"I—." Rex tried to talk but was immediately interrupted.
"No one? Great! Since were here we will help this will also be good for you three unless you are not aiming to be core disciples." Vera said the last part to the three men.
"…Fuck." Rex complained
"Do what you want." Edward said to her.
"I need to replenish my stock of meat anyways someone's been eating it all." Alrin made a small joke about Alara to everyone's surprise.
Although it was about her Alara could not help but feel happy about the progress she has made with Alrin, "Get used to it."
"Alright lets go see the elder in charge to let them know they have more help and get a place to stay." Vera said.
The moon branch was not too big home only to about 800 disciples and a few hundred ordinary mortals. Most of these disciples were also one with less talent otherwise they would go to the main sect to be nurtured so the help of people like Alara and Vera was substantial.
Since the branch was small it did not take them long at all to find the residence of the elder here to which Alara and Vera were curious which it was.
"Elder Silvia!?" Vera said.
"You're back!?" Alara said.
Silvia Stardust was currently the youngest elder and immortal in the Star Sect because of that she was much easier to get along with the most others. Because of that the two girls were both very excited to see her as she was also the friendliest and kindest elder of the sect well liked by everyone but had disappeared years ago causing many rumors.
"Alara, Vera you two have grown so much since I last saw you. I really missed you two how are you two doing did your mission go well or do you need any help?" Silvia hugged and spoke to them like an aunt who had not seen her nieces in years.
In the back Alrin's eyes widened for a brief moment upon seeing her but no one noticed and his face returned to the expressionless face he had when he joined the sect.
"I missed you too." Alara said.
"Elder Silvia I'm glad your ok but were done with our mission and are here to help with the beast tide." Vera said hugging her back she was a few years older than Alara and knew her before she became an immortal.
"Are you sure you don't want to go back and rest? This should only be a small one."
"We already rested for a few days so we are ready to fight."
"Then I'll be glad to have your help! Have you guys eaten yet would you like to have dinner together?"
Everyone but Alrin agreed so he apologized and quick left alone saying he was not feeling well which was not a lie but it naturally left the others who knew him confused but they did not say anything. Wanting to be left completely alone he even left the vicinity of the branch just began walking in the cold darkness of night.
Alrin had multiple reasons for joining the Start Sect. One is what he had told Alara about it being one of the few great sects he could join but another more important reason was Silvia their was an answer he wanted from her but getting was a different matter. Although it was the first time he had seen her in person he felt sick looking at her and despite wanting to confront her for an answer he could only bite his tongue because that answer could get him killed depending on the reason for what she did or rather did not do.
After walking aimlessly for a while he finally came to a stop and let himself fall into the snow to look at the darkness of the sky before talking to himself, "Mom sometimes I wish you had just left me cultivation is not what I dreamed of it being its only brought pain." Seeing Silvia had brought back many memories that he would have preferred to keep locked up.
As he continued to lay there he eventually began to hear a voice he did not feel like responding too.
"In.. Rin… Lrin… Alrin!" The voice got louder and louder before Alara finally found him. "Alrin are you alright?" She said walking and sitting down next to him. It had taken her quite a while to find him since she could not sense his energy.
"I needed some air." He replied monotonously.
"All the way out here whats wrong?" She asked worried about him.
"I was just thinking of the past." He said continuing to lay there not even looking at Alara.
"I'm ready to listen if you want to talk." She said while she played with the snow.
"Weren't you supposed to be eating?" He said that to change the subject
"Isn't it obvious I came after you instead of eating but you sure are hard to find." She said going along with the change in subject.
"Sorry." He said truly feeling bad even if he had mixed feelings about Silvia.
"And what exactly are you sorry for?" She turned to look at him waiting for his answer.
"I didn't think you would follow me and interrupted your reunion."
"Alrin if you apologize to me for something like that again I will get mad. I followed you because you are important to me and I wanted to make sure you are doing well. I don't want a pointless sorry when you did nothing wrong." She softly threw a snowball she had made while they were talking at his face.
"Thanks." He said finally turning his head to look at her.
"That's better." She nodded in satisfaction. "So what's on your mind?"
"I think that is a story for the future." He said getting up after Alara had managed to cheer him up.
"Then I guess I'll have to wait until then." She said standing up before she decided to playfully bump into him as they walked back to the branch.
Alrin had been growing as a person since meeting Alara and finally gotten attached yet he now felt it was going down the same tragedy he had experienced many times before. He did not know how close she and Silvia were but if Silvia truly ended up being his enemy even if it meant Alara would end up hating him for it he would kill her for revenge.