Time Holders: The World of Balance

The following days passed mostly uneventfully. The group hadn’t stumbled upon any other Orange-class beasts, and they spent their time hunting weaker monsters.

There were a couple of things they’d learned. Firstly, the injured black wolf they had first seen was an exception, for all the others they’d found were in a pack and not alone. Thus, the fights had been rough for the team, and they had to sit down and talk about each of their roles.

Aldrus had brushed it off as ridiculous, but they had ended up taking Cedric’s words—the video game role names—into consideration. Aldrus was their rear, serving as both their tank and scout. He carried the baggage and kept his sight fixed on the future for long periods of time, scanning the perimeter in case anything unexpected happened.

Needless to say, his vision wasn’t infallible. Dense forests, caves, hills, or anything blocking his line of sight drastically reduced its usefulness, forcing them to rely on ordinary caution whenever the terrain became complicated.

Aiden and Alice were the primary force of attack, leading from the front. The silver-haired boy’s monstrous raw power was a reliable force for immediate response against danger, and while Alice wasn’t as strong, she was above average and had better control.

As for Cedric, he served as both offense and defense, staying in the middle of the formation. Since his preferred weapon was long-range, he could effectively cover blind spots when in battle. Furthermore, he was responsible for polishing, crafting, and refining weaponry and utility items. In a way, he was their most valuable asset.

Of course, none of them liked reducing themselves to roles, but surviving demanded efficiency rather than pride. Personal feelings would only slow them down.

The second thing they’d learned was about the artifact. As it turned out, Aldrus’s theory was correct. The object was fed Perspective through activating any skill. The strange part, however, was that if that was how it worked, then it didn’t make sense how their captors had forced it to recharge when Aiden couldn’t use his powers.

Sure, at first they thought it might’ve worked similarly to the cell they’d been locked up in—keeping the user under heavy stress—however, they were already in a terrible mood, and that hadn’t helped recharge it at all.

So, for the time being, the only thing they could do was to actively drain their own Perspective.

On the downside, though, since Aldrus was already using his Perspective to its limit on a daily basis, Aiden was the one who had to feed the thing the most.

Sigh... I can’t focus at all.

Every attempt ended the same way. The moment he grew close to what he looked for, his thoughts scattered into countless unanswered questions.

”Hey,” a melodic voice suddenly called.

”Ah, Alice. Is everything alright?”

”Yes, I just finished helping Cedric filter the water,” she said. ”And... Uh, what are you doing?”

The milky-eyed boy was sitting on top of the familiar mat, legs crossed. They’d found a wide cave after some days, where they currently stayed at.

”Ah, I’m just trying to... understand Time.” Aldrus muttered, glancing away.

The girl’s eyes widened slightly.

”Aldrus... It’s too soon for that.”

”Agh, I know. I guess I just wanted to give it a go regardless. You know what Sir Zorum always said, ’Don’t waste your efforts; it won’t work out anytime soon. But I know you’ll do it anyway; you always do.’”

The blonde girl smiled. ”That’s much like you.”

Ha.

”Here.” Aldrus patted the empty place beside him, and Alice sat down.

He closed his eyes and focused once again. Neither said a word for a while, then Alice sighed and finally asked, ”...How are you doing, Aldrus?”

The boy remained silent for a moment, his eyes still closed.

”Not so good.”

”I see... I guess me neither.”

”None of us, I’m sure.”

”Mmn.”

”...Alice. Why don’t you try this with me? It might not lead to anything, but it’s surprisingly relaxing. Like meditating, sort of.”

”Have you meditated before?” she asked.

”No, but if I were to describe how it feels, this might be the closest.”

The girl stared at him some more, then sat up straight and closed her eyes.

Both sat in silence for a long time, trying to grasp the principles of Time. It was an important step toward ascending to rank two, but succeeding wasn’t that simple—they’d need to have a solid foundation and a strong body first.

That’s why their efforts might’ve been thought of as futile; after all, Leona was almost thirty years old, and even she was considered young for a second-rank. The sole thought of them achieving anything was laughable. Yet, they tried nonetheless.

After some time, Alice slowly opened her eyes, hesitated, and asked, ”Aldrus. Are you feeling ready?”

”Sigh. No. I’m not ready at all. I...” He, too, opened his eyes and stared straight into hers. ”I don’t want to die.”

The blonde girl went pale. She didn’t expect such a response... But she felt the same way.

They had been traveling for two weeks now, and the border of the Fog Island could already be seen on the horizon. Their pace had been quicker than expected; within the next seven days, they would reach their objective.

Alice had been trying to wear a confident mask in front of the others; the strength of one was the strength of all. Aldrus’s plain confession caught her by surprise; his sincere eyes threatened to make her facade crumble.

It was too late by the time she realized a heavy knot was tightening in her throat.

Ah...

Aldrus froze, watching her trembling shoulders. He needed not a single word, for the reason for her tears was clear enough. Before he knew what he was doing, he simply stretched an arm and pulled her closer to his chest.

The days their destinies would settle were approaching; he didn’t know if that might end up being their last hug, thus for now he’d give his thanks and his goodbye, as good as he could do. If words weren’t enough, that moment had to do.

And so he hugged his comrade, his roommate, his friend.