Final Decision

Ashnard woke up in a different place, a different cave last time he closed his eyes. Sefenfor, Reibo, and Liliya's blurry shadows seem to be waiting for him. Ashnard opened his eyes wide, and indeed he was in Reibo's cave, lying on one of his wooden tables.

"Finally. You made us worry, little human." Sefenfor greeted Ashnard with a smile.

"How did I get here?"

"While you were asleep, I called Mr. Sefenfor and Mr. Reibo," answered Liliya. Her face is the most cheerful of all.

Ashnard was surprised when his body didn't hurt at all. He could move his whole body, and his bones no longer creaked like a rusty door hinge.

Ashnard glanced at the others, hoping for an answer. "My body is healed? How can that be? This is amazing."

Sefenfor glanced at Liliya, and Liliya said, "You said it yourself, when you wake up, your body will heal right away."

"That, I just ..." Ashnard paused for a moment looking at Liliya. "Oh, yes, you're right. I forgot." Ashnard knew that what he said earlier wasn't true. He just didn't want Liliya to worry. However, seeing that Liliya was back in her spirits, there was nothing more for Ashnard to worry about. Ashnard then found Liliya's left arm which was bandaged with a white cloth. "What's with your arm?"

"Oh, I am scratched by the cave wall."

"While you were fast asleep, I made you a weapon." Reibo showed a sword. "This I made from the dragon you managed to kill."

The blade of the sword was white and had a different texture from metal. Lighter but still sharp. The handle is also very smooth when gripped, this is due to the result of Reibo's careful and tireless sanding. The entire sword was made of bone which made it look different from the usual swords.

"The shape is weird, but dragon bones are stronger than ordinary silver metal," said Reibo.

"Why not make the same sword as Nebulius or my father's sword? Wouldn't that sword be more useful?" Ashnard asked.

"I can't. The sword uses a light crystal core. And it was limited when I found it at the top of the mountain."

"Then, what about the blade my father brought?"

"I told you I didn't know," Reibo said. "Your father took it and just lost it. That man didn't appreciate the sword I made." Reibo turned around and busied himself with his various tools.

Moments later, after Ashnard had rested for a while and finished his hot soup, Sefenfor told him to train again. Liliya, who saw Ashnard kept getting hurt, started to get annoyed. She got up to stop Sefenfor, who continued to give dangerous and strenuous training.

"Stop the training! It's getting worse than before. Ashnard could die," said Liliya refusing the practice. She wrapped her arms around Ashnard and hugged him.

"The training continues, Liliya. Injuries are bound to happen. It's all to make his body strong, so he can complete this mission," explained Sefenfor.

"What if something happened to Ashnard, and he wasn't as lucky as before? Do you want to take responsibility?"

"You see what happened to Nous? I couldn't even recognize him because of the dark energy. What happens if we're late? Not only Nous, but all Winfor will disappear too. You have to understand."

Their fighting continues. Liliya, who stood up for Ashnard, continued to refuse. She didn't want Ashnard to keep getting hurt, and she didn't want to have to keep seeing Ashnard getting hurt.

Meanwhile, Sefenfor stood for the last option, the last hope. Where that hope falls in the hands of a young boy. He also couldn't bear to see a kid like Ashnard struggling alone against something dangerous, but if that was the only option, he had to do everything he could to make it happen.

Ashnard couldn't keep up with their argument as he drifted off to sleep in the girl's tighter arms. He could hear Liliya's heartbeat which was like the rhythm of the music in his ears. The scent of flowers on Liliya's body is so refreshing, it made Ashnard comfortable, and closed his eyes again.

Ashnard opened his eyes, and he was already in a dark world of his mind.

"How? If you don't want to do it, you can go. I will think of another way," said Nous in Ashnard's mind

Ashnard tried to guess what the man's intentions were. "I can't back down, can I?"

"Who said you can't? You could have stepped back right now if you wanted. There was no cunning scheme or desire to take advantage of you. We won't do anything to you. That's not our style. We all do it out of our love for this land."

Ashnard shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I actually don't have any suspicions about you guys. You guys are Liliya's best friends. Liliya's friends are also my friends."

"You're not afraid? You're going down the abyss, remember?"

"If I were still afraid, I would have rejected it already. A man must someday be able to conquer his fear, right?"

Even though he couldn't see anything, only hear, the robed man was in awe of Ashnard, but he could also see the side of the boy that was underestimating and took this problem lightly.

Ashnard came back to reality. He opened his eyes and was still in Liliya's arms. Ashnard tried to tell Liliya, but all that could be heard was the mumbling and buzzing in the girl's chest. Liliya, who had noticed it let go of her embrace.

"You guys don't have to make a fuss. I'll do it. I'll finish this training and go down the abyss," Ashnard said.

"But-" Liliya's words were cut off.

"I don't want my house to be destroyed, Liliya. I want this world to still exist when I go on adventures. I have to be able to make my dreams come true no matter what. If my power can help, then I have to believe I can do it."

Lily looked down. "Then ...." Her voice trailed off. Then, she raised her head. "Then I'll come too. I'll join you in training and go down into the abyss."

"Are you sure?"

Liliya nodded very confidently.

"You two are really annoying," Sefenfor said with a sigh. "Okay, but remember, you guys have to be careful and always take care of each other, understand?"

Ashnard and Liliya nodded together.

Training together begins. Not only training his fighting skills, Ashnard also strengthened his physical and mental strength. Meanwhile, Liliya is trained her elemental use efficiently and in control.

Sefenfor allows both of them to work together to protect each other's backs. The training he gave was done in a very cold mountain. In an effort to allow Ashnard and Liliya to regulate the use of their breath.

Ashnard also trained his astral powers. Since the element of darkness could affect the minds of others who were weaker, Ashnard had to train his mind in order to protect Liliya's mind.

Nous said, using the element of darkness as an object to fight against in Liliya's mind would be too risky, then he suggested practicing by entering Liliya's mind while asleep. Explore the dream world and protect her from the dream.

***

As Ashnard trained, the illusion of him in Empty Room slowly changed. What was initially stiff like a statue, gradually moved, although not significantly. His former form was also blurry, slowly becoming clear.

"Keep the spirit, kid. I support your training. I'd really want to have a chat with you. Meanwhile, I ... of course just kept quiet and waited for the results. Really, what can a white person like me do? I'd rather just watch."