Sarah walked silently beside Eldric as they continued north through Verdanthos.
The forest around them had become quieter as the evening approached. Eldric carried Azrion on his back, his movements steady despite the weight. Azrion remained unconscious, his breathing faint but consistent.
Sarah kept glancing at him.
His condition hadn't improved much.
His wounds were slowly healing, but neither of them knew whether his body would recover before his Aether core completely stabilized.
Yet Sarah's thoughts weren't entirely with Azrion.
They kept returning to Grace.
Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered the moment they had found her.
Sarah lowered her head.
"Why didn't you listen?"
The question escaped her quietly.
Eldric heard it but didn't respond.
Sarah continued walking.
Then something shifted inside her mind.
A memory.
Not of Verdanthos.
Not of the tournament.
Of Dimension Echo.
She suddenly remembered a much younger version of herself sitting beside Grace in a classroom.
They had been children then.
Before the Collapse.
Before Aether.
Before monsters and tournaments.
Before either of them understood how cruel the world could become.
Grace had been sitting beside her, swinging her legs beneath the desk while the teacher spoke at the front of the room.
Sarah remembered looking at her.
"Why are you always smiling?"
Grace had laughed.
"Because you're always serious."
Sarah had frowned.
"I'm not serious."
"You are."
Grace leaned closer.
"You're thinking again."
"About what?"
"Everything."
Sarah had rolled her eyes.
"You're annoying."
"And you're my best friend."
Sarah smiled.
That was Grace.
She had always been like that.
The memory shifted.
Years passed.
They were teenagers now.
Sarah remembered sitting with Grace beneath a tree outside their school.
That was when Grace finally told her about her mother.
"My mom and your mom were really close."
Sarah nodded.
"I know."
Grace stared at the ground.
"She used to tell me stories about when they were younger."
Sarah looked at her.
"What happened to her?"
Grace became quiet.
Then she answered.
"She died."
Sarah remembered the way Grace had spoken those words.
Not angrily.
Not dramatically.
Just quietly.
As if she had repeated them so many times that the pain had become familiar.
"How?"
Grace hesitated.
"She was caught in a shootout."
Sarah's expression changed.
"She wasn't involved."
Grace shook her head.
"She was just there."
Her fingers tightened around the edge of her sleeve.
"Someone started shooting. She tried to get away."
Grace's voice became quieter.
"She was shot seven times."
Sarah remembered the silence that followed.
"She died because she happened to be in the wrong place."
Grace looked toward the sky.
"Mom always told me that the world was unfair."
Sarah had reached for her hand.
Grace smiled faintly.
"That's why I want to live."
Sarah remembered those words clearly.
"Even if the world is unfair?"
Grace had nodded.
"Especially because it's unfair."
The memory began fading.
Sarah's eyes opened.
She was back in Verdanthos.
The forest stretched endlessly around them.
Her eyes were wet.
She looked at the empty space beside her.
For a moment, she imagined Grace walking there again.
Laughing.
Complaining.
Calling her too serious.
Sarah wiped her face.
"You wanted to live."
Her voice trembled.
"So why did you die?"
Eldric continued walking.
Azrion remained unconscious on his back.
Sarah looked toward the northern horizon.
She didn't have an answer.
Maybe Grace had made a mistake.
Maybe the Ravager had simply outsmarted her.
Maybe there had been something Sarah never understood.
But she refused to believe that Grace had simply given up.
Because the girl Sarah remembered...
The girl who had grown up beside her...
The girl who had survived a world that had taken her mother...
Had always wanted to live.
Sarah clenched her hands.
"I'll remember you."
She looked toward the path ahead.
"And I'll find out what happened."
The two continued north.
One carried a wounded heir.
The other carried a memory that refused to die.
Sarah walked quietly beside Eldric for several minutes before finally breaking the silence.
"Eldric."
He glanced at her.
"Who exactly are you?"
Eldric raised an eyebrow.
"And who exactly is Azrion?"
Sarah looked at the unconscious young man resting on his back.
"You two clearly know each other. The way you speak to him, the way you protect him..." She hesitated. "How did you even meet?"
Eldric remained silent for a moment.
"That's a story for another time."
Sarah frowned.
"Another time?"
Eldric nodded.
"Trust me. You'll understand when the time comes."
Sarah wasn't satisfied, but she decided not to push him.
Instead, Eldric gave her a question of his own.
"If you had the choice..."
Sarah looked at him.
"Would you willingly participate in a tournament where losing could mean death?"
She stared at him.
"No."
"Then ask yourself something."
Eldric glanced toward the two bots following them.
"Why are we here?"
Sarah looked at the machines.
The question had been bothering her since the tournament began.
Why create Verdanthos?
Why gather fifty thousand awakened?
Why force them to compete?
Why make survival itself part of the game?
She finally turned toward the bots.
"Why exactly are we participating?"
The two bots exchanged a brief glance.
Their expressions were difficult to read.
Then one answered.
"Entertainment."
Sarah stopped walking.
Eldric stopped too.
"Excuse me?"
The bot continued.
"The tournament exists for the entertainment of the God of Creation."
Silence.
Sarah stared at it.
"The God of Creation... watches this?"
"Yes."
Eldric's expression became noticeably colder.
"And that's the purpose of all this?"
The second bot spoke.
"That is one of the purposes."
Sarah's eyes widened.
"One?"
The bot remained silent for a moment.
"There are matters that we are not permitted to disclose."
Eldric stepped closer.
"Who gave you those restrictions?"
"The System."
Sarah looked at Eldric.
Neither of them spoke.
The first bot continued.
"The tournament provides entertainment, observation, and evaluation."
"Evaluation of what?" Sarah asked.
The bot paused.
"Participants."
"That's not an answer."
"It is the answer we are permitted to provide."
Sarah clenched her hands.
"So fifty thousand awakened are being thrown into a massive survival game..."
She looked toward the distant northern horizon.
"...because a god finds it entertaining?"
"Correct."
The answer was immediate.
Sarah felt a chill run through her.
She remembered Grace.
Her death.
The pain.
The uselessness of it.
And now she was being told that all of this might simply be entertainment to someone sitting far above them.
Eldric looked toward Azrion.
His expression was unreadable.
"So we're pieces on a board."
The second bot tilted its head.
"That comparison is inaccurate."
"Then what are we?"
The bot paused.
"Participants."
Sarah let out a quiet, bitter laugh.
"That's just another word for pieces."
Neither bot corrected her.
Eldric finally looked forward.
"Keep moving."
Sarah followed.
But her thoughts had changed.
The tournament was no longer simply a competition.
Somewhere beyond their understanding, something—or someone—was watching.
And for the first time, Sarah wondered whether surviving Verdanthos meant escaping the game...
Or simply playing long enough to discover why the game existed in the first place.
The journey north continued for several hours until the forest gradually began to thin.
The trees became shorter.
The air grew cooler.
And somewhere in the distance, Sarah could hear the sound of waves.
She looked ahead.
"What is that?"
Eldric raised his head.
Beyond the hills stood a settlement built along a massive coastline. Wooden structures stretched across the rocky shore, connected by bridges and elevated walkways. Fishing boats rested beside the docks, while strange blue-skinned figures moved between the buildings.
A wooden sign stood at the entrance.
FISHERMAN'S PEAK.
Sarah stared.
"Fishmen?"
The two bots nodded.
"Correct."
As they entered the village, Sarah couldn't help looking around.
The inhabitants were remarkably diverse.
Some were short and slender, barely reaching Sarah's shoulders. Others towered over everyone around them, with broad shoulders and powerful physiques. Some had fins along their arms and necks, while others possessed webbed hands, tails, or small horns.
Yet they all shared one feature.
Their skin carried various shades of light blue.
Some were almost pale enough to resemble ordinary humans, while others had a deeper ocean-blue complexion.
Despite their unusual appearance, the village itself felt peaceful.
Fishmen carried baskets of seafood through the streets. Children played near the water. Merchants shouted prices from small stalls.
Sarah slowed down.
"I've never seen a place like this."
Eldric looked around.
"Neither have I."
Sarah remembered something.
Before the tournament, she had purchased a book from a merchant in Voidspire.
She reached into her belongings and pulled it out.
The title read:
A Brief Record of the Peoples Beyond the Known Dimensions.
Sarah flipped through the pages.
Eventually, she found the section she remembered.
The Fishmen of the Unbounded Realm.
She began reading.
"The inhabitants now known as Fishmen are believed to have originated from a place where possibility and impossibility exist simultaneously."
Sarah frowned.
"That's a strange way to describe a place."
She continued.
"Their origins remain uncertain. Some records claim they were once human. Others claim they were never human at all. The Fishmen themselves refuse to provide a definitive answer."
Sarah looked toward the villagers.
"Interesting."
She continued reading.
"What is known is that their people experienced events that permanently altered their existence. Whatever occurred, they eventually became what they are today."
Sarah closed the book halfway.
"So they don't even say they were born Fishmen?"
One of the bots answered.
"Correct."
Sarah looked at it.
"Why?"
"We do not possess sufficient information."
Sarah continued reading.
Another passage caught her attention.
"The Fishmen were not originally inhabitants of Verdanthos."
Sarah looked up.
"What?"
She read the next sentence.
"They were brought here by Aris."
Eldric raised an eyebrow.
"He created them?"
Sarah shook her head.
"No."
She read the explanation.
"The Fishmen already existed elsewhere. Aris simply transported their population into Verdanthos."
Sarah blinked.
"He just... moved an entire species here?"
The bot nodded.
"That is what the records indicate."
Eldric stared at the village.
"Why?"
Sarah turned the page.
There was a single handwritten note beneath the printed text.
"According to local accounts, Aris considered the process of designing another species unnecessarily troublesome."
Sarah stared.
"...What?"
She read it again.
Eldric looked at her.
"What does it say?"
Sarah slowly lowered the book.
"He apparently couldn't be bothered to create them."
Eldric's expression went blank.
"He teleported them here because he was lazy?"
"Apparently."
Sarah looked toward the sky.
"That's..."
She didn't know what word to use.
One of the Fishmen nearby overheard them.
"You've heard the story?"
Sarah turned.
The Fishman smiled.
"Everyone around here has."
He leaned against a wooden post.
"They say Aris is the laziest of all the lieutenants."
Eldric looked at him.
"And you believe that?"
The Fishman shrugged.
"It's a rumor."
Another Fishman nearby laughed.
"Yet they also say he's the strongest."
Sarah looked between them.
"The strongest and the laziest?"
"That's what we've heard."
The first Fishman grinned.
"Apparently he could accomplish almost anything he wanted."
Sarah remembered what the villagers at De Grand Freia had told Jecka.
Creating pocket dimensions.
Manipulating environments.
Possibly creating entire dimensions.
Now she was hearing another rumor.
Aris could supposedly do all of that...
And still couldn't be bothered to create the Fishmen himself.
Sarah closed the book.
"Who exactly are these people?"
The Fishman looked toward the sea.
"We came from somewhere else."
"Where?"
He smiled.
"A place where everything is possible."
Sarah waited.
"And nothing is."
She frowned.
"That doesn't make any sense."
The Fishman laughed.
"That's the point."
Sarah looked at Eldric.
For once, he seemed just as confused.
Behind them, Azrion remained unconscious.
The Fishman glanced at him.
"Is he one of yours?"
Eldric nodded.
"He's injured."
The Fishman studied Azrion for a moment.
"Then you should rest here."
Sarah smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
As they continued deeper into Fisherman's Peak, Sarah looked down at the book in her hands.
She had bought it before the tournament because she thought it would help her understand the world.
Now she was beginning to realize something.
The more she learned...
The less certain the world became.
And somewhere above them, the lieutenant who had supposedly brought an entire species here simply because he was too lazy to create them...
Was watching his tournament unfold.
Sarah was still holding the book when the Fishman noticed the expression on her face.
"You want to know more about Aris, don't you?"
Sarah looked up.
"Yes."
The Fishman scratched his chin.
"I don't know everything. Most of what I've heard comes from older Fishmen, and even they disagree about certain things."
"Then tell us what you do know."
The Fishman nodded.
"Aris has an Attribute called Games Master."
Eldric's eyes narrowed.
"That's what allows him to create Verdanthos?"
"Partly."
The Fishman pointed toward the enormous landscape beyond the village.
"Games Master gives him authority over the environment of whatever game he's creating. If he wants a new area, he can create one."
Sarah frowned.
"Create an entire area?"
"Yes."
He shrugged.
"Mountains. Forests. Rivers. Cities. Arenas. Whatever the rules of the game allow."
Sarah stared at him.
"And if he's too lazy to create one?"
The Fishman laughed.
"Then he borrows one."
Eldric looked at him.
"Borrows?"
"An existing place."
The Fishman gestured toward the village.
"That's apparently what happened to us. Aris didn't want to spend the effort designing an entire Fishman settlement from nothing, so he brought us here instead."
Sarah looked around at Fisherman's Peak.
"So this place is..."
"Borrowed."
She looked toward the sea.
"That's terrifying."
The Fishman shrugged.
"That's Aris."
Eldric folded his arms.
"Does Games Master explain his ability to manipulate the weather?"
"Probably."
"Probably?"
The Fishman smiled.
"That's the problem. Nobody really knows where Games Master ends."
Sarah looked at the book again.
"And his other abilities?"
The Fishman became quieter.
"That's where things get interesting."
He glanced around before continuing.
"Games Master isn't his only Attribute."
Sarah's eyes widened.
"He has more?"
"Apparently."
"How many?"
The Fishman shook his head.
"Nobody knows."
Eldric's expression hardened.
"So we've been underestimating him."
"Maybe."
The Fishman looked toward the sky.
"Or maybe we've barely scratched the surface."
Sarah remained silent.
Then the Fishman added something that made her attention sharpen.
"There is another rumor."
"What?"
"Aris isn't just the God of Creation's lieutenant."
Eldric looked at him.
"Then what is he?"
The Fishman lowered his voice.
"They say he's the candidate for the next God of Creation."
Sarah froze.
"What?"
The Fishman nodded.
"Apparently, he inherited the blood of the God of Creation."
"He's his son?"
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"He isn't related to him like that."
"Then how?"
The Fishman shrugged.
"The God of Creation chose him."
Eldric stared at him.
"Chose him for what?"
"To inherit what comes after."
Sarah looked toward the distant capital.
"The next God of Creation..."
The Fishman nodded.
"That's what I've heard."
He hesitated before adding:
"But don't treat this as absolute truth."
Sarah looked at him.
"Where did you hear all this?"
The Fishman became strangely quiet.
"For years, my people have traded information with people from many different places."
He looked toward the horizon.
"And some of that information came from the Midnight Church."
Sarah's expression changed.
"The Midnight Church?"
The Fishman nodded.
"They know more about Aris than most people."
"How?"
"Because they've been watching him for years."
Sarah's fingers tightened around her book.
"And this information came from them?"
"Pieces of it."
The Fishman looked at her.
"That's all anyone ever seems to have."
"Pieces."
Sarah glanced toward Eldric.
Neither of them spoke.
The Fishman smiled faintly.
"That's the strange thing about Aris."
He looked toward the sky.
"You can learn about his Attributes."
"You can learn about his blood."
"You can learn about his position."
"But you still won't understand him."
Sarah closed her book.
"Why?"
The Fishman gave a quiet laugh.
"Because Games Master isn't just an Attribute."
He looked toward the enormous world surrounding them.
"It's the way he thinks."
And somewhere far above Verdanthos, beyond the clouds and the boundaries of the tournament, the man they were discussing continued watching his game.