Vivi was out for what felt like an eternity. She didn't believe she'd ever wake up. The exhaustion, the fighting… She'd abused ether far beyond what human bodies could withstand. She'd already been groggy from her runesmithing spree, when she abused ether for a few hours to finish a sword. Back then, she spent a few hundred wisps, and she didn't take any blows or damages.

This time, Vivi had spent thousands of wisps of ether, forcing herself awake well beyond exhaustion. The treatment she'd given her body was worse than just abuse. The night had likely left her with permanent damage.

When she woke up with none of that—none of the pain, none of the cloudiness, her vision perfectly clear with a bright sun overhead—Vivi quickly deduced she'd woken up in Paradise.

"Lucius?" she asked. Her voice was full of disbelief. "Are you there?"

"Yeah…" Lucius said.

Vivi stared at the sky for a moment. Her eyes hurt, looking at the sun, but this was the dream realm. Her body wasn't real. Hurting her eyes didn't matter. "We killed Uundref."

"You did," Lucius said. "I'm surprised, honestly. I thought you'd spare him."

Vivi's head was clear, but her thoughts were not. So much had happened. So much she hadn't had time to process.

She sighed. "Well, he's dead. Maybe that's for the best."

Lucius let out a slight chuckle. "Shame he didn't drop any skills."

For a while, Vivi said nothing. She lay on the grass, staring at the sky. Alone in the quiet fields of Ythar's Paradise. She had passed out in the forest outside Zand, while the Twilight Shaman was busy slaughtering nimrods.

"What about you?" Vivi asked. "Are you okay? I pushed void ether into you."

"That tickled a little," Lucius said. "I did pass out. It felt like I was turning into a monster. Everything I knew about myself disappeared for a moment."

"Sorry," Vivi murmured.

"But I admit, the void ether made us powerful," he said. "My claws did a lot of damage. We'll have to train further. If…"

"If?" Vivi asked. Lucius sounded concerned.

"If you wake up. You're the one that's hurt badly."

"I figured," Vivi said. "I couldn't have spared Uundref even if I wanted to. I've never been that exhausted. I just hope I wake up before something eats me. We're out in the open, are we not?"

"About that…" Lucius said. "You're safe for now. Although, I don't think you'll like what's happening outside."

Vivi didn't like his tone, but she waited for him to continue.

"It's Andre…" Lucius said. "He escaped, and he found your body."

"Oh…" Vivi said. "Crap."

"So far, he has taken care of you," Lucius said. "He fed you potions to help with abusing ether. I managed to hide our swords and hammer before he could steal them. He appears cooperative for now, though I wouldn't be surprised if he ties you down before you wake up."

Vivi stared at the ground, thinking. Andre had helped her in the end. He had saved Eem, and he'd proposed to work with her to escape. He'd followed through with his goal, though not exactly in the way they had intended.

Vivi groaned. "We'll have to hope he's friendly, I guess. What about Zand?"

"The facility is a ruin," Lucius said. "The Twilight Shaman pillaged the place. Nimrods are probably safe in the dungeon—surge monsters tend to stay away from them. That's just the way they work. If I were to guess, an Exalted Knight has probably been called to deal with the Twilight Shaman. Then Zand's nimrods will be moved somewhere else."

Zand was over, then. Nimrods were locked in the dungeon, hiding from a terrifying monster. A monster that Vivi had created. "We aren't really heroes here, are we?"

"Probably not," Lucius said. "But it's good that we escaped. Meeting an Exalted Knight would be a problem. From now on, we'll be criminals. Zand escapees. And Ingfried might start hunting us for our swords. Uundref probably relayed information to him."

"Fantastic." She stretched her arms. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Two days," Lucius said. "It'll take weeks before you're in fighting shape. You're lucky if you wake up at all—abusing ether is no joke."

Vivi watched Lucius for a moment. Then she collapsed on her back. She really didn't want to die. Waking up would be painful, but she wanted to live. There was so much still to do. Especially after activating Death Sense.

She felt her second core sitting there, totally empty, but hungry for more void ether. Vivi had never heard of anything like it. Everyone knew that humans could only wield balanced ether, consisting of the live elements. Only monsters could wield void elements.

Vivi had proven that to be false. The void core's potential was insane. She had only wielded less than a hundred wisps at a time, and that was enough to defeat Uundref. On top of that, she hadn't utilized the wisps to their full potential. She knew she had a lot to practice.

More questions popped up in her head. Did others use void ether? Were some of the ether hunters so strong because they had two cores instead of one? Or was Vivi alone with her power?

Could void ether be used with runesmithing?

"I can't die, Lucius," Vivi said. "There's too much still to do. I have so much potential to grow. I might be strong enough to save Grandpa."

"Yes," Lucius said. "I'd like you to survive as well."

Vivi gave him a look. Then she sighed. "Is there anything you can do to help me?"

"I've been filling your body with ether to stop you from dying," Lucius said. "I'll slowly reduce the amount of ether in your body until you can stay alive without wisps powering you up. Your muscles will need some rehabilitation, but if all goes well, you might be awake in four to five days. Abusing ether is dangerous, but when controlled, ether is good at healing as well."

"I see," Vivi said. "Good luck. Please treat me with care."

"I will," Lucius said. His tail was wagging, grin coming back. "In the meantime, would you like to practice the sword a little bit?"

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"I'd like to sleep, Lucius—I don't want to meet any more ether hunters. Wake me up as fast as possible. Let's focus on recovery."

"Walking and fighting in Paradise is good for rehabilitation, you know," he said. "Human muscles work with memory and practice. Memories of walking will stay with you when you wake up."

"That makes no sense."

Lucius sighed. "Vivi… This might be our last chance to fight."

It took her a moment to realize his meaning. Her throat tightened and she blinked.

"I'd like to have some fun," he continued. "As long as we don't use void ether—Ythar can't hear that we activated that skill."

Vivi cleared her throat. "You want me to spend my final moments on that oppressive island?"

The cat just stared at her with a determined expression.

Vivi sighed. She really didn't want to…

But on the other hand, she did kind of want to.

"Fine," Vivi said. "Take me to the island. Let's duel someone."

Lucius, grinning wide, spent fifty ether, and Vivi's vision flashed.

*

Ythar's palace and its beautiful inhabitants welcomed Vivi with as much grace as she remembered. Her arrival was met with surprise first, followed by disgust and scowls.

Vivi wanted to smile from the absurdity. The hunters' reactions were always childlike, almost comical. How could the presence of a single person offend them so much?

She was beyond the point of caring. She kept her head up and picked a direction for a stroll. Today could possibly be her last day alive. She couldn't waste that time being embarrassed by the glares of some presumptuous and arrogant ether hunters.

Ignoring the people, the island was a pleasant place for a walk. Vivi missed having an open sky above her. It wasn't quite as nice as during rainfall, but the air felt a lot nicer than the dungeon air of Zand.

Vivi passed a notice board of sorts, filled with adverts and news. She paused to take a look. There were recruitment notices for dungeon raids and trade adverts for skills. Some hunting group called Blackburn was buying any exalted skills for a hundred thousand ether and rare skills for thirty thousand.

"A scam price," Lucius said. "They're hoping someone desperate will take the offer. Exalted skills are worth millions."

A larger poster read, "Storm scheduled to hit Frievania head-on, evacuation started, assistance requested!"

Frievania was one of the largest and most famous fortified cities. Its infrastructure was said to span through the ceiling of the third level, up to the second. Vivi had only seen depictions of the legendary city. If hunters were requesting assistance to defend it, the storm must have been forecasted to be a bad one.

According to Andre, it was also the city where Grandpa was imprisoned. Frievania was Vivi's next target.

In the corner of the notice board, Vivi saw a wanted poster with her face on it, drawn perfectly in color. It read, "Vivian Runeblessed, wanted dead or alive! Prize: 50,000 ether!"

Vivi chuffed through her nose. Fifty thousand? That's half of my debts already.

"Looks like the hunters don't like you very much," a voice said nearby.

She turned to see a grinning young man around her age. His golden hair was cleanly arranged, and his white suit probably cost more than most of the skills Zand's squadron bosses dropped. Behind him, a group of other young boys were snickering.

"A big bounty," the gold-haired boy said, "for what? You seem like a lovely woman. Why don't you come with me? I can show you what comfort and love looks like—away from these idiots, in our own wonderland."

He smiled and leaned close, as if trying to charm her. Vivi leaned back, disgusted. What the hell was going on? The others behind the man burst out laughing.

Her reaction seemed to piss off the golden boy. He frowned. "As if. Have fun dreaming, smelly smith."

He waved goodbye, then walked past, toward his group.

Vivi watched after him. A month ago, she would have considered herself lucky. That boy hadn't done anything to her. He said a few words and left. Back in Fellwater, Vivi would have been ecstatic if that was the only bullying she received.

Today… She was disappointed. Were the ether hunters really this pathetic? That boy was supposed to be a defender of humanity—a hero who defeated monsters for a living, who others his age dreamed of being.

The boy glanced back, feeling Vivi's gaze. "Got something to say?" he asked.

Vivi summoned Abyss Destroyer. "I challenge you to a duel."

The boy raised his eyebrows. He looked at the sword sideways, then wheezed a laugh. "A duel? Do you not know who I am?"

"An arrogant weakling?" Vivi asked.

He shook his head and sighed.

"Fight her," one of the other boys said, looking amused. "Why be scared?"

"She's so weak that dueling her is pointless," the golden boy said. "The girl lost to Serena Goldbridge, an examiner who doesn't wield a single skill."

"I'm not saying you'd lose," the other boy said. "But defeating the Cursed Runesmith will give us fun tales to tell."

The golden boy sighed, rolling his eyes. "Fine. I guess I'll show off for you idiots. I accept the duel."

He called his spirit blade, and his eyes lit up in gold. The blade was white with streaks of shiny gold lining its surface. Whoever this man was, he was definitely stronger than Serena. He had reached the first elevation at least.

Still, his aura was beautiful more than it was dangerous. Vivi couldn't feel any threat to her life at all.

"Let's go, then," the boy said. "Give me all you got, smithy girl."

Vivi called forth her own full aura, with her ascension skill, and activated Shadow Swipe. Lucius's claws grew on her left hand. She pushed ether outward, toward the golden boy. He flinched.

Vivi dashed forth along with a claw attack. The boy grimaced, scrambling together to block.

His stance was off. Vivi couldn't claim to be any better, but her opponent was clumsy—clumsier than the skeletons she'd fought. Vivi swung lightly at his sword, barely putting any weight into her swing. The boy stumbled backward, losing his footing. His golden blade blinked.

Wasn't he supposed to be strong? Vivi thought.

"Well, he's not totally weak," Lucius said. "His spirit is slightly above average. His swordsmanship is maybe subpar. He's a bit stronger than Serena, at least."

Vivi threw a few more light swings, letting the boy struggle to defend. This was ridiculous.

Vivi already knew rumors would spread. The hunters would claim Vivi had invaded the island on yet another murder spree. They'd say she was mindlessly challenging people to duels, forcing them to accept, and then killing innocent hunters who were just going to meetings.

This was stupid. Vivi raised her sword for a heavy swing. The boy put his all just to defend. That didn't amount to much. His legs barely supported his stance and his sword was weak. Abyss Destroyer would snap it right in half.

Vivi decided to kick him instead. He fell to the ground weakly.

His friends stood with their mouths open. A crowd had gathered to watch the duel. Vivi glanced around herself. Was there anyone strong present?

The golden boy recovered with a grimace of utter hatred on his face. He recalled his sword, looked at Vivi, then clicked his tongue. He knew he'd lost. He couldn't accept it. But he knew attacking Vivi would humiliate him further.

"Arnoll, Arnoll, Arnoll," a voice said. It was a middle-aged man with black hair wearing a similar outfit to the golden boy, though his suit was slightly more worn and ragged. He carried a quiver full of metal arrows on his back. The crowd made space as he entered.

Immediately, Vivi knew this man was nothing like the lesser hunters. His idle aura was far more controlled.

"Ooh," Lucius said. "Henric Barrowbow. This guy is good. My old wielder fought him often. We won most duels. But Henric managed to squeeze one victory."

"Herry, this girl, she—"

"She defeated you, is what happened," Henric said. "Admit defeat."

He turned to Vivi. His eyes were a lot more sensible than the rest of the hunters'. He didn't immediately frown, seeing her. "Well fought, cursed though you are. Thank you for not killing him. Little Arnoll has a lot he needs to do this evening."

Vivi's heart began racing. Could this finally be a hunter who didn't hate her? "I'm cursed, but I'm not a monster," Vivi said. "Most rumors you've heard are probably false."

"No doubt," Henric said. "But you've still stolen one of our spirits. That much is a fact."

Vivi frowned.

"You're strong, but not strong enough to grow cocky," Henric said. "Give it a few years, and the hunters might start respecting you. For now, you're still a child."

Vivi lifted her sword. "Let's duel, then."

Henric grinned, as if he'd expected this. He was provoking Vivi. She didn't mind. She wanted to duel him as well.

This time, Vivi didn't play around. She initiated her charge, throwing forth a ranged claw attack, followed by a proper overhead swing. She knew this wouldn't kill, but she doubted Henric was good enough to throw a counterattack. She watched for his movements.

A spirit blade appeared on his hands. Before Vivi could examine it, Henric parried her blow to the side. He lifted a foot, kicking Vivi in the stomach.

Vivi's sword fell from her hands. She hadn't expected a kick at all. Henric was fast! Where had his sword even come from?

She lifted her head. Henric had switched his blade for a bow. His stance with the bow was immaculate. He was already taking aim. It felt like his eye saw straight through her soul.

With void ether, if her life was truly on the line, perhaps Vivi could have won. As was now… She admitted defeat. Henric was far stronger than her. She still had work to do, so many skills she could improve, fundamentals she could train. Henric was right. She wasn't strong.

Not yet.

The arrow released, and Vivi disintegrated to ether.

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