Nathan slowly opened his eyes. He was startled to see the ground in front of him. This meant he was on dry land. He panicked slightly and quickly got up from the ground.
"Wow! Am I dead?!" Nathan said, frantically. He felt his entire body, from his head to his hands, and everything else. He realized he was in the same place he had been before the tornado swept him away.
But Infori's voice reached his ears. "Don't worry, you won't die a stupid death in a place like this." Hearing this, Nathan turned around and saw Infori sitting cross-legged.
"Yo," Infori said.
Seeing this, Nathan immediately calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief that his life had been saved.
"Haah... Thank God," he said, then thanked Infori for helping him. "You saved my life. Thank you so much."
"No problem," Infori replied, then got up and stood in front of him.
Nathan suddenly said, "Hey." This caused Infori to turn his head and stare in confusion, waiting for Nathan to speak again. "I don't know your name at all. Could you tell me?"
"Oh, that's right," Infori agreed and immediately offered a handshake, saying with a friendly shopkeeper smile—"Infori. Infori Atziluth."
Nathan accepted the handshake, and then the two of them let go. At that moment, since Nathan already knew the man's name, he immediately called out to him and asked him.
"Okay, Mr. Infori. What should we do?"
"I'd like to return to the plaza first, would you like to come with me?"
"Hmm..." Nathan thought for a moment, then answered. "Sure, why not?"
"Okay."
Before that, his red eyes shifted to the dagger, the Blades of Mirage, still lying abandoned on the floor of Storm Road. Nathan also turned his head in the same direction. Amidst the silence, Nathan spoke.
"Where did that dagger come from?"
"It's a rare artifact that I should have sold for a fantastic price to a Seraphim, but I don't want to do the same."
"What do you mean?"
"I've touched that dagger several times, and every time I do, it always sends a huge wave of energy flying around, and it ends up flying off somewhere." Infori then placed his right hand on his waist. "I really want to take it back, but..."
Infari's answer surprised Nathan, especially since there were words he didn't know, like "Seraphim." The words rang in his mind, and he decided it was something worth investigating.
("Seraphim," huh? ...Interesting.)
Then Infori thought for a moment, trying to think of a way to prevent the dagger from flying off again. He turned his gaze toward the Storm Road.
(What should I do? Leaving it here... But that's too risky. What if it were to be taken by a stranger? That would be a HUGE DISADVANTAGE! Besides, my whole purpose in adventuring was to ensure that Lady Lilith could obtain this dagger...)
Then he expressed his opinion about Lilith, recalling Lilith whispering to herself. Infori was able to hear his words. "If only I hadn't been tricked when I chose the box, none of this would have happened...!"
(After hearing that back then... It was enough to make me feel unsure about Lady Lilith. Especially after being tricked by that man.)
But as Infori was thinking, Nathan, seeing the man in front of him who had been silent all this time, became skeptical of him. However, at that moment, he noticed something strange.
"!?"
He immediately told Infori to see for himself.
"H-Hey! Can you see that?!" he said, patting Infori on the shoulder, causing Infori to snap back to reality, and he finally returned his gaze to where Nathan was pointing.
"Wha—?!"
They saw the dagger suddenly float by itself, then release a massive wave of energy into the surroundings.
WOOSH!
There, and once again Infori was sent flying backward. Nathan was also thrown far away, even rolling on the floor.
"WAA—!!"
Once again, the dagger shot out at incredible speed. It shot unhindered toward the giant sacred tree that could still be seen from a distance—Everness.
WOOSH!
Infori, now back on his feet, saw this.
"Again..." he said, panting.
The same thing happened again, the Blades of Mirage now completely disappearing. After all, the hope he had given Infori turned out to be false.
"Why does that dagger seem to have a personality...?" Infori questioned why the rare artifact always seemed to run away, even this time untouched.
"What the heck is that?! Didn't you say that if you touch it, it releases a wave? It wasn't even touched at all!" Nathan said in an irritated and questioning tone.
Infori then approached him, speaking. "You look like a man in your 20s, but you don't even know about a rare artifact like that."
"How would I know something like that?"
"Haah, you look like you just came out of a cave," Infori replied mockingly, then extended his hand to help Nathan up. Then, Infori pulled Nathan back to his feet.
"Hey, can you explain what an artifact is to me?"
"Huh?"
"Just treat me like a 7-year-old who just learned about these artifacts."
"So you're saying you want to be treated like a child, is that it?" Infori asked, his face seemingly innocent, but his real intention was to offer a joke to lighten the tension.
"That's not what I meant!" he exclaimed, then regained his breath. "Haah... I meant, could you explain artifacts to me again? I'm an old man and sometimes I forget."
Hearing the word "old man" come out of the mouth of a man who even asked what an artifact was, left Infori utterly shocked and astonished.
"Old man? Wait, you mean you..."
"Yes, I have a wife and a toddler daughter," Nathan replied, without hesitation, with a proud expression on his face. After Nathan's direct confirmation, Infori fell silent, his mouth half open, his eyes only blinking occasionally.
"..."