Sitting on the roof for a while longer, Shiro waited until Nan Tian, Keiko and Keomi left the hotel.

"How was the talk?" Nimue called out while holding Attie in her arms.

"Are you ok Shiro?" Iziuel asked with worry.

"Yeah I'm fine." Shiro smiled and nodded her head.

"You don't seem so fine." Nimue raised her eyebrows while sitting down.

"You don't want to leave do you?" She asked.

"Nope. But life is not always fair. Staying with the party would mean I'm sacrificing something else. An example would be Yuki's life. It's fine though, good times must come to an end so I'm prepared." Shiro replied.

"No you're not. While I have not been with you for a long time, your façade cracks a little when it's about something you cherish." Nimue sighed and wrapped her arm around Shiro.

Copying her movements, Iziuel did the same but on the other side.

Suddenly hugged by her two spirit companions, Shiro paused for a moment before nodding with a smile.

While she needed to leave the party for their safety, at least she still had two people to keep her company.

Taking a moment to enjoy the hug, Shiro calmed her emotions down.

"Thanks you two." She chuckled.

"You're welcome. So what's the plan now? You said that you'll be discussing the details with those three later so are you going to message them now? I can't imagine them hanging around the party especially after the rather awkward mood we left it back there." Nimue asked.

"Hm, true, I'll probably send them a message to meet me at the teleport shrine in a few moments so that we can leave for China." Shiro nodded.

"Do you three want to go to my mana realm or stay outside?" She asked.

"We'll go inside. That way travel is a bit easier." Iziuel replied as Nimue nodded.

Allowing the three back into her mana realm, Shiro patted the dust off her dress and stood up next to the ledge. Looking down at the ground, she pulled out her phone and sent Nan Tian, Keiko and Keomi a message to meet her at the teleport shrine.

Once she was sure that they received her message, she stood up and hopped off the roof.

During her fall, she quickly disguised herself so that she was not recognised by the people. Not only that, but she also set up an illusion so that people wouldn't see a random person jumping off the building.

Making her way to the teleport shrine rather peacefully, Shiro wondered if she should confess to Lyrica about her relationship with her mother. How they were friends in their first life.

'I suppose that can wait for when we meet again, IF we meet again. Yin and Lisandra are still with the party so there's a good chance that I'll meet them at least once.' Shiro thought with a shake of her head.

Before she could enter the teleport shrine, she caught the silhouette of a familiar figure hanging by the alleys.

Sharis, the very same woman that she had talked for a short while before the Celestial Trials had begun stood in the alley while giving her a small wave.

'Seems like she noticed me.' Shiro thought with a frown.

{You might want to be careful. It seems like she's up to something.} Nimue warned.

'Don't worry, I know.'

"Hey, it's been a while since we've last talked. If I remember correctly, last time you said that you'll consider the proposal of having a chat and making a friend should I make it past a week. Are you up for that chat now?" Sharis asked with a smile.

"Not exactly. I'm a busy woman and I already have quite a bit on my plate right now. Any more would only be annoying." Shiro replied with a shrug.

"Quite true considering that you are in high demand." Sharis chuckled.

"High demand?" Shiro raised her eyebrows.

"Yup. Quite a few 'patrons' have been asking me about you. However, I'm not here due to their requests but rather due to the new faction master. You may know him as Lucius. He wants me to pass you a message saying that he's finished everything in the faction and you can come to visit at any moment. Should you be ready to visit, just give me a ring and I'll guide you to the faction." Sharis said while handing her a business card of sorts.

Looking at the business card, Shiro realised that the card was made from a rather special material that she did not know was salvageable. 

"How the hell did you make a card from the rift?" Shiro asked with a frown.

"Trade secrets. But since you're quite familiar with the rift, just break the business card in it and I'll know that you're ready for business. But for now, I'll bid you, adieu." Sharis bowed slightly before melding into the shadows and disappearing from her spot.

Staying silent for a moment, Shiro stored the card away into her inventory.

However, her guard was now fully up around that woman since she could use the rift which was still highly mysterious to her. All that she knew so far was that it was a different plane of existence that allowed her to travel through it with ease.

{Do you think that there are more people like her that can use the rift in Shadow Temple?} Nimue asked cautiously.

'I don't know. Her role in the faction is still a mystery so the best we can do is guess right now.' Shiro shook her head.

Turning around, she made her way back to the teleport shrine and decided to deal with this after she finished her business at Mount Everest. She needed to take things slowly and complete them one by one to make sure that they're all done without a hitch.

Entering the shrine, she saw Nan Tian, Keiko and Keomi standing by the side, waiting for her.

"Sorry I'm late. I met a rather peculiar 'acquaintance' just outside of the shrine." Shiro smiled.

"No worries. But before we go, are you sure you want to leave the party on that note?" Keomi asked.

"It's fine. I've already thought it through." Shiro shook her head.

"Anyways, let's go. The longer we wait, the more serious the situation becomes." She urged as Nan Tian nodded his head.

"Ok, just as a reminder though, we will need to be careful of how we make our way through China since a single wrong turn could lead us into a nest of high level monsters. If bad luck follows us, one of the level 500 monsters will be there and we will be in serious danger." Nan Tian reminded seriously.

"Mn, I know. We're going straight to Mount Everest without any detours." Shiro nodded.

"Good, in that case then I'll teleport us over now." Nan Tian nodded with a smile and teleported the four of them away.

###

After Shiro's abrupt departure from the party, Yin and Lisandra expressed their desire to stick around with the party for now.

The members didn't have any qualms with the decision while Madison took this moment to take a breather outside.

*Sigh

Sighing softly the moment she was alone, Madison couldn't help but feel a little regretful at the words that she had spoken during the outburst but what was said could not be taken back.

"Tsk, I should have calmed down a little." She muttered with a click of her tongue.

She was quite annoyed with herself since her act of selfishness had essentially broken up the party in a bad way. Previously, they knew that Shiro would return since she would promise them that as a minimum. However, now that she had left the party for good, there was no longer that guarantee.

Feeling guilty for basically forcing her best friend's love interest out of the party Madison balled her hands into a fist.

Taking a moment to calm herself, she turned around and walked back into the hotel. Seeing that only Lyrica sat by the table, Madison couldn't help but feel embarrassed and shameful.

"Where's everyone else?" Madison asked slowly while sitting down near Lyrica.

"They're taking a moment to digest what had happened before heading out to do a few dungeons to level up." Lyrica replied but her eyes seemed a little hollow. As if she had just lost the light in her life.

Seeing this, Madison felt like a knife had just stabbed her gut.

"Lyrica I-"

"It's fine. Things had already happened and we can't change that. Just keep your head up for now and get stronger. Perhaps we can reach A class before the new age comes. After all, even if Shiro left the party, the new generation wouldn't suddenly decide to stop its approach. We still need to get ready." Lyrica smiled before standing up and leaving.

Understanding that it was a forced smile, Madison bit her bottom lip and stayed silent. She realised that her actions might have just started a domino effect within the party and at this point, it was too late to stop it.

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