5 The Test (1/2)

"Hello There" -- Characters speaking

'General Kenobi' -- Character thoughts

"You are" 'a bold one' -- Thoughts/Conversations in flashbacks

The Negotiator -- Titles

"Ah yes, the Negotiator" -- ??? speaking

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An expanse of grass and various flowers covered the ground, as nothing but greenery stretched for miles and miles away. The flowers danced, the wind sung, and fireflies idled around; some resting on plants while others flew freely along the wind. Above the plains, beautiful, shining stars littered the night sky, visible through the colorful lights of the ever-present Aurora Borealis.

In the middle of the expanse stood a tree. It was neither short nor tall and its trunk looked anew, lacking any blemishes or imperfections, giving the illusion of a young tree which had just graduated from being a sapling. But the roots of the tree were old, as they dug deep into the ground, proving that it had withstood the test of time.

From the branches hung juicy, ripe apples; that waited and waited, for someone to come and pick them up, fulfilling their purpose belated. The apples swayed from the breeze until the tree shook from an impact, as one of the apples fell from the branch, right into an outstretched hand. The hand belonged to a figure, situated under the tree, sitting with his back resting against the trunk. 

He wore loose dark-colored clothing with gold accents that covered his entire body, down to his wrists and feet, leaving only his hands exposed. He wore a white hooded robe-like overlay on top of his clothing, with ineligible writings and a symbol located on his chest, all engraved in a gold color. His entire face was covered in a black-and-gold mask with slits located where the eyeholes would be, as his long white hair cascaded down to his shoulders.

As the being brought the apple close, he felt a sudden prick in his mind, as if something was calling out to him, drawing his attention. He looked up towards the sky, his brows furrowing as his eyes narrowed behind the mask, as if trying to peer through the stars and perceive something more. A moment later, a sigh escaped through the mask as he finally chose to speak.

"So... it seems that you have finally reached it."

As the being spoke, the colorful lights of the Aurora Borealis slowly dimmed until it completely disappeared and the stars littering the night sky started to brighten bit-by-bit.

"Even though for you, it took a few years, but it feels as if only a moment has passed by since your journey began... oh, how far you've come. But... enough about that..."

As the stars continued to brighten, it started to become clear that their radiance wasn't increasing but rather, the stars themselves were moving closer, towards where the being rested.

"This has been delayed long enough. Come, Outsider! The Eternal Gardens yearn for your presence!"

The being stood up from his position as he threw away the apple he held. As soon as the apple left his hand, it started to turn into specks of light, until it was completely disintegrated from the plane of existence. He dusted his clothes, slightly stretching his limbs as he started to walk away from the tree. When he did so, the view of his back became clear as a glowing symbol was etched into it, a shining... chalice-like symbol.

"For the time is nigh, and the final test awaits!"

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Greeted by the waking world, a man awoke startled in his bed; his body shaking, covered in sweat as he gasped, breathing heavily, his chest rapidly expanding and contracting as his heartbeat rose by great margins. The sudden movement roused the woman beside him, who stirred as her eyes blinked open, noticing the man's weird behavior. She chose to voice her concerns, making sure that he was alright, and not suffering from any side-effects of the rampaging energy from yesterday.

"Hey, what's wrong?! Are you alright? Why are you breathing so heavily?"

"Uhhmmm, it's nothing... I'm alright. Just a bad dream... I think."

Even after hearing him say he was fine, Calamitas still chose to check, raising the back of her hand to his forehead as she tried to check for his temperature. Erden wanted to say he was alright since he couldn't get sick thanks to his physique and the different accessory items that he kept in his Inventory, but he found her actions to be endearing, and so he let her do as she wanted.

After making sure that his temperature remained on normal levels, she laid back down, hoping to get more sleep until Erden grabbed one of her wrists, noticing the bandages wrapped around her hands that went up to her elbows, covered by her nightdress. He bore a questioning expression on his face, wondering what the hell had happened after he had passed out. Calamitas noticed his expression, and looked away, not wanting to answer his inquiry.

"Callie, what's with the bandages?! You were fine just yesterday, so what the hell happened?"

"Nothing happened, this is just the consequences of my foolishness. It's nothing you- ow! Ow, ow, ow- stop that!"

Seeing as she wasn't going to tell him, Erden was having none of it, and decided to be a bit more forceful. He started pressing down harder on her palms, where the bandages were more prominent. Her reaction was immediate, as the pain from having her injuries prodded so roughly forced out a yelp from her. She glared at him fiercely for trying to aggravate her injuries, but he looked mostly unapologetic. They maintained eye contact for a few moments, before she finally yielded, choosing to tell him the truth.

"Haahhh, it happened after you passed out. After I brought you to our room, I changed your clothes before I put you to bed. After that, I went back to the forge to get the sword... and it wasn't easy. When I tried to touch the sword, it rejected me. And with me being me, I kept trying to wrap the blade in a cloth forcefully, and well... the result is apparent."

As she trailed off towards the end, she raised both hands, gesturing towards the heavily wrapped bandages. Upon hearing the reason behind her injuries, he sighed as he looked at her, feeling guilty for how he treated her before.

"I... I understand. And I'm sorry for treating you so roughly. You know how I get whenever anything comes up that concerns your safety."

"I know, and I'm sorry for trying to hide this from you. I... just didn't want to worry you needlessly."

She chose not to say anything more, instead letting her actions convey her intent. Her hands cupped one of his cheeks as she closed in on his face, their lips connecting with each other. It wasn't anything too lewd, compared to all the previous times they did it, but it felt just as meaningful to them. They stayed in place for a few moments, just the both of them savoring the taste of each other's lips.

After a while, they broke off from each other, trying to breathe in air and quell their beating hearts. As they both calmed down, Erden decided to ask something that had been bothering him, ever since he saw the bandages wrapped around her arms.

"By the way, why didn't you reinforce your body with mana, and why didn't you just use a potion after you were done with the sword? Also, how did you know that I needed help?"

Like a deer caught in headlights, she froze, her mouth left open; which she closed slightly after as she tried her best to make up an excuse for her blunder.

"Well... like I said, I wanted my injuries to be a reminder, so I didn't use a potion. And as for me not reinforcing my body, well..."

"You chose not to do so, didn't you?"

She chose to remain silent, her only response being her looking away in embarrassment and slight shame.

"Callie... I care about you and I think you're a badass, sexy, and amazing woman, but sometimes, you act like a stubborn dumbass."

Feeling indignant about hearing Erden praise and insult her at the same time, she looked back at him, her cheeks fully puffed up as her expression was a weird mix of pride and annoyance. She answered his third question with the intention of avoiding the discussion of her foolhardiness, although when she answered, the tone of her voice sounded... slightly obsessive.

"As to how I knew you were in danger, the amount of energy I felt from your location was simply enormous. I wouldn't be surprised if even the creatures down at the bottom of the abyss ended up sensing the energy. Besides, even without the rampaging energy, I would still know when your life is in danger. Because no matter where you are, I'll always be able to find you~"

"...Are you a dog, by an chance?"

"Wh-what?! No, I'm not!"

Although he noticed the slight change in her tone at the end of her sentence, he dismissed it, choosing not to think too much about. Instead, he teased her as he tried to deflect away the thoughts about the dream he had. A dream, which he believed to be a call of sorts. Calamitas pounded her balled fists on his chest as she responded to his teasing, albeit she didn't put any power behind her fists as it was only playful banter for them.

She stopped after a few seconds, laying her head on his chest as she raised her concerns about the reason for his anxiety, which he tried to hide from her.

"So what's got you so worked up? Is it the dream you had?"

Erden stilled, somewhat taken aback by her sharp intuition, as her question hit right on the bullseye. He sighed, as he caressed her hair absentmindedly, thinking back to the dream. He remained silent for a few moments, formulating a response that would satisfy her. Despite the fact that she would disagree with the path he planned to take, as whether he liked it or not, sooner or later he would have to confront the creature from the dream.

"Well, I don't think the dream was a dream, but rather an invitation. Callie, I think I might have to use the Terminus again. I know how apprehensive you are of that artifact, but this is the only way I can finally get the answers I've been wanting...!"

"...Alright."

"Look, I know what happen-... wait, what?"

"I said alright. We can argue and scream at each other all day long, but I know that at the end of the day, you'll still end up going through with this. That's why I won't stop you. But I want you to promise me... promise me that you'll come back alive. Even if you have to crawl your way out of the depths of the Underworld, promise that you'll come back to me!"

Desperation oozed from her entire being as she begged him to come back to her alive. Her distress was not unfounded, as the being that Erden planned to confront, could be considered the strongest creature in the world of Terraria.

"I... I promise. No matter how powerful and overwhelming he is, I'll fight. No matter how weary I get, even if I end up losing all my limbs... I promise I'll come back to you."

"Then you better make good on that promise. Haahhh... we're both stubborn fools, aren't we?"

"That we are, Callie. That we are."

For a few minutes, they both quieted as they held onto each other, basking in their warmth as their bodies faintly rocked back and forth. The tranquility was shortly disrupted, as Erden raised one final question about something he was unable to do the day before, due to him passing out because of exhaustion.

"Come to think of it, I didn't get to clean myself yesterday after I was done. Ugh, I smell like shit. I'm gonna go take a bath, you wanna join?"

She acknowledged his question, but instead of giving a verbal response, she just walked over to the closet as her hips swayed, her round ass shaking rhythmically, in a hypnotic manner. She looked back at him, gesturing him to get up and grab a new set of clothes. He hurriedly grabbed his clothes as he followed her into the bathroom. Looking at her shaking ass covered by her nightgown, he felt that something was rising, and it definitely wasn't the Shield Hero.

They spent some time in the bath, just enjoying the warm water and the feeling of each others bodies as they engaged in various activities. Once they were done, they dried their bodies with towels as they clothed themselves, returning back to bed. Laying on the bed, covered by a blanket, Calamitas chose to make a request from Erden.

"Hey, can you wait until tomorrow before you use the Terminus? I was hoping that once you prepare everything for the battle, you could spend the rest of the day with me?"

"Well, I was already planning on doing that... but your wish is my command, milady."

"Huh, what's with the weird change in speech?"

"Eh, I just felt like it. You don't like it?"

"It's not that I don't like it. It just feels weird coming out of your mouth. It doesn't really suit you."

"Hmm, meh. Just wanted to try something new, I guess."

Realizing that his attempt at playing the chivalrous knight didn't really seem to work out, he stopped, instead opting to get some more sleep in preparation for the rest of the day. He wrapped his arms around Calamitas with him spooning her, as they both closed their eyes, their breathes evening out as they slept for a while more.

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The rest of the day passed by swiftly, as Erden worked on different things in preparation for tomorrow, ranging from making enough potions to last a lifetime, to sharpening all of the weapons that he planned on bringing with him. The rest of the day he spent doing various activities with Calamitas.

They went to the Underground Jungle where they found a Bee Hive. Naturally, as they shared a single braincell whenever they're in each other's presence, they proceeded to harvest as much honey as they could, before Erden accidentally destroyed a Larva, promptly summoning an angered Queen Bee.

"Oh for fucks sake, it happened again?!"

Of course, the Queen Bee was no match against the might of the two powerhouses, who proceeded to wholly obliterate the Queen Bee, destroying the entire hive in the process.

"Uhhh... oops?"

"Yep, that was definitely a big oopsy."

After that, they flew around the outskirts of the Jungle, where they found a small Corruption biome. Luckily for Calamitas, due to prior experiences, Erden always made sure to keep duplicates of everything he kept in his Inventory. He brought out two Terraformers—a purplish flamethrower-like weapon that converts the land based on the solution used—one of which he handed over to Calamitas along with the required amounts of solution.

Together they quickly wiped out all of the Corruption from the area they were in. As Erden observed the now cleansed area around him, an idea popped into his head, which he conveyed to Calamitas. She agreed instantly, seeing it as a way to pass the time and also hone her close combat skills.

"Hey Callie, this area seems big enough, and I don't see any trees or the like, that could get in our way. So, why don't we do a bit of sparring?"

"Well... I don't see a reason not to, and we still have an hour before sunset, so I guess we could squeeze in a little bit of sparring. But nothing too destructive, alright?"

"Roger that. Also, are you going to take off your robe? We're probably going to do a lot of grappling, so it might get dirty."

"Hmm... I probably should. Here, catch!"

Pleased that she agreed to his idea, he inquired about whether she would fight in her robe. Knowing the possibility that they might engage in a lot of ground grappling during the spar, she wisely took off her robe before she threw it towards Erden, who caught it and put it in his Inventory. Under her robe, she was dressed in her usual clothing, which was a tank-top, and loose flexible pants. As she stretched her limbs and loosened her body, her mind drudged up the reason she began to take hand-to-hand combat lessons from Erden.

In her previous battles, she would mostly keep her enemies at a distance, repeatedly blasting them with the cataclysmic flames of her Brimstone magic. Considering that most, if not all the enemies she fought in the past were either mortal armies that stood no chance against her, or arrogant deities who believed themselves to be invincible, a thought that soon changed after witnessing the pure destruction and calamity her powers brought about.

Only after meeting Erden did she realize the importance of having close combat skills, as he was able to dodge most of her attacks with extreme grace. Once he was able to get within melee distance, she barely had any attacks that would hurt him without hurting her, which ended up being the reason for her defeat.

She was brought out of her musings, as Erden took a few steps back from her as he took a stance similar to a boxers, with his arms up in a guard, and knees slightly bent. Calamitas took a similar stance like Erden's, considering that most, if not all of the hand-to-hand combat skills that she learned were taught by him.

A few moments went by as they stood still, sizing each other up, searching for any gaps within each others stances. It was as if a signal went off, when the both of them advanced towards each other simultaneously. Calamitas struck first, throwing a simple jab before quickly stepping back, aiming to test the waters. Erden knew this and didn't respond, instead choosing to act more defensively.

She did the same thing a few more times before she finally decided to strike for real, stepping in close before throwing another jab, followed by a right cross which was actually a feint, as she attempted to perform a calf kick, hoping to knock him off-balance. At first she succeeded as the kick met its mark, slightly destabilizing her target, which she took full advantage of. She attempted to go for a takedown, intending to end the round quickly, not realizing that she had fallen into Erden's trap until it was too late.

'Too hasty...'

"Huh?"

Flummoxed as to what exactly happened, she felt Erden's right arm wrap around her neck as he let their momentum carry them to the ground. As they were falling, he wrapped both his legs around her torso as he used his weight to his advantage, locking her in place, putting her in a perfectly executed guillotine chokehold as his back faced the ground.

Calamitas tried to break out of the hold, but realized it was futile as Erden applied more pressure on her neck, forcing her to submit. She tapped out, prompting Erden to release her from the hold. Once she was able to catch her breath, Erden spoke, catching her attention as he listed the mistakes she made during the spar.

"Let's see, although you did good in the beginning when you tried to look for openings, you spent too much time trying to create one. I could've easily caught you off-guard during any of the times you got within my range. Also, your intentions were a bit too obvious as you kept eyeing my sides, that's how I knew you were going for a takedown."

As he listed off her flaws, Calamitas deflated, becoming moderately depressed as dark illusory clouds hung over her head, creating a comically sad image. As Erden spoke, he had to do a double-take to make sure that he wasn't imagining the clouds over her head.

"But other than that, you did pretty good. Your form was impeccable. The only thing you lack is experience in close combat, but that's something you'll gain with time."

Even though it seemed like he was praising her to help drive away her momentary depression, he wasn't lying when he said that her form and strikes were without any flaws. Considering that she only started learning about six months ago, her rate of improvement was marginally higher than the norm.

'Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she has some kind of secret Fighter Job that she isn't aware of. Although the speed at which she learns doesn't match up to mine, it still is kind of abnormal.'

After he was done advising her on her flaws and strengths, they went for a few more rounds, all of which Erden ended up winning. Once they were done with the sparring, Erden grabbed onto her before teleporting directly to their room.

They instantly grabbed a new set of clothes as they hurried to the bathroom, where they spent as much time as they could indulging in intimate activities. They performed many different positions, but the most prevalent seemed to be Erden railing Calamitas from behind as hard as he could without hurting her, while Calamitas kept on asking for more, as she seemed to like that position the most.

Once they were done bathing, they clothed themselves after drying their bodies, immediately heading to the bed. They laid down together, covering themselves with a blanket as they fell asleep shortly after within each other's embrace.

Morning came much too soon as Erden was up early, double-checking his Inventory and going over everything one last time, in preparation for what would be the greatest and hardest battle; a fight to test his mettle. Calamitas woke up an hour later, as they both ate the simple breakfast prepared by Erden—two bowls of soup along with some apple juice.

After they were done eating, they washed the dishes before Erden equipped the Demonshade Armor, minus the helm while Calamitas covered herself with her robe, as they left the room, making their way out of the building, away from the town. Once they were a certain distance away, they stopped in the middle of the forest. Erden looked towards Calamitas, only to see her looking at him with a somber expression.

"...Well, I guess this is it. I'm going back to our room, so you know where to find me... farewe-!"

Her tone sad, as she was about to finish her sentence, Erden interrupted her, his index finger on her lips as he made a weird shushing sound.

"Shushhh... this isn't a goodbye, Callie. I promised, didn't I? Think of it as a... 'see you later'."

She was dumbfounded, which was soon followed by small giggles, and a bright smile illuminating her face, wiping out the previous somber expression on her face. Instead of worrying needlessly, she decided to place her faith in him just like the times before, believing that he will fulfill the promise he made.

She raised her head as her face moved closer to his, their lips connecting in a chaste kiss. They stayed in place for a few minutes, just enjoying the present moment. Once they were satisfied, they disconnected from each other, radiant blushes on their face from excitement and slight arousal. Without wasting any more time, she turned around and started walking towards the town as she let out a few words, words carried by the wind as they made their way to Erden.

"I'll be waiting back in our room. And Erden... see you later."

Taking her words as encouragement, his face bore a brief smile before he cooled his expression, mentally hyping himself for what he was about to do next. From his Inventory, he brought out the Terminus. It had a rocky texture and was gray in color, with red markings forming a sigil, shaped like a chalice. As he observed the artifact, it brought up memories of the time he first used it, half a year ago.

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[Six Months Ago]

Erden stood in a clearing with Calamitas, holding the Terminus in his hands. He had found the artifact from the bottom of the Abyss—a unique geological marvel, home to the deadliest aquatic creatures at the apex of the food chain, accessed through chasms located on the seafloor of the Sulphurous Sea. After a long search that lasted about six months, he was finally able to locate the artifact, lost to time, buried in the seafloor.

"So you spent half a year deep in the Abyss... looking for this? Judging by what you told me, it has been years since it last saw the light of day. So I doubt it has any of its original powers left."

"I already know that, but this is the only way I can get in contact with him. Besides, I had to fight off a giant ass worm soon as I dug out the artifact... shitty Jared..."

"Jared? Who's Jared?"

"Nobody you need to worry about... considering he's dead. Anyways! I'm going to feed it some of my mana, which should activate it... hopefully."

As he spoke, Erden sent small amounts of mana into the Terminus. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Until the red markings on the artifact glowed brightly, emitting enough light to brighten the night sky before it dimmed, revealing the chalice-like sigil covering a good portion of the distant sky.

"...How long has it been? Centuries? Perhaps even a millennia?"

Not a moment later, a booming disembodied voice rang throughout the area, alerting Erden, Calamitas, and the sleeping wildlife. Along with the voice, an intense pressure descended onto every living being, forcing them into the ground. Although Erden and Calamitas fared better, even then the pressure was still discomforting. While acclimating herself to the heavy pressure, Calamitas noticed something peculiar about it.

'This presence... is familiar. I remember this feeling, and the symbol in the sky. To think we would meet again...'

"I sank this artifact of mine to the deepest depths of the world to prevent it from being used ever again. Few are aware of its existence, and those who are? They know that the boundless power it was once able to provide can no longer be taken advantage of."

"It is a surprise to see there is another who is courageous enough to have retrieved it, particularly given these circumstances. A mortal this time, no less! How interesting... I did not expect you to reach this far... this soon." 

As the being spoke, one thing stood out to Erden as he referred to his existence directly.

'He knows me. So my hunch was correct. Now I'm feeling even more motivated.'

"What exactly is it that made you go out of your way to claim what is now nothing more than a decaying stone tablet? Was it for the sake of power? Survival? Or maybe you wished to find your purpose in this world? Perhaps... this is an opportunity. Claiming this relic is no small feat, and I have caught brief glimpses of your journey."

"You, who claimed this artifact that ended an era on your quest to end another... who slew the Nameless Serpent... who bested even my old friend, the Phoenix... and whose power may match the only mortal who has ever made me doubt my own..."

As the voice mentioned a mortal, Calamitas felt that it was directed towards her, confirming the fact that they had met and fought in the past.

"I wish to test your strength, using fragments of my Primordial Light taking the form of your past foes. It will be no easy task, yet should you prove yourself strong enough, I will have a proposal... of sorts for you. Do you believe yourself capable of conquering such a challenge?"

A moment after he was finished with his speech, Primordial Light began to coalesce into a single point in the sky, creating a round, gelatinous, ethereal body; slimy blue was its color, and a golden crown with an alluring ruby carved into it, adorned the top of its body.

Gravity took ahold of its body as it formed, bringing it down right on top of the two individuals in an attempt to crush them into bloody paste. They moved swiftly, not a hint of panic visible on their faces as they avoided the gelatinous body of the King Slime. As Erden prepared for battle, he noticed something distinct about his enemy.

'It's presence seems... heavier. No doubt, this copy is much stronger than the original.'

The King Slime slightly shrank its body, before expanding itself again, making one mighty leap towards the two in an attempt to absorb and dissolve them within its acidic, flammable, slimy body. Though its efforts were all for naught, as its body was struck by a blast of searing, hot Brimflames, courtesy of Calamitas. The blast engulfed its entire form, creating an explosion caused by the ignition of flammable slime.

Not a single piece of its body remained, all wiped out in the explosion, crown and all. She smirked, satisfied with the results as she looked towards Erden with a 'praise me' expression, who rolled his eyes at her antics. But the smirk on Calamitas' face was soon wiped off as her body started to shine brightly, followed by the disembodied voice as it commented on the reason her body glowed before she vanished from sight.

"My apologies, but I cannot have you interfering in the trial, for it is not meant to be partaken by you. I shall send you away from here for the duration of the trial. Worry not, for no harm shall come upon you as you will soon be returned here."

Left unsaid was the fact that Calamitas was strong enough to protect herself from him, should he try to harm her. But he didn't really feel the need to mention this.

Noting the sight in front of him, Erden didn't say anything, but the expression on his face revealed the raging emotions within; he was definitely not happy with the beings interference. Deciding that enough was enough, he put the Terminus in his Inventory and brought out the Scarlet Devil in an attempt to finish the trial as quickly as possible, so that he may reunite with Calamitas. 

In the distance, Primordial Light gathered once again, this time forming a giant, floating eye. As soon as it formed, the eye zeroed in on its humanoid target as it picked up speed, trying to crush Erden with its entire body.

On the opposite side, Erden took a throwing stance as the spear erupted with energy, releasing a dark, malevolent aura. A second later, he pulled his left arm back as he rotated his upper body slightly towards the left... before taking a step forwards, rotating his body in the opposite direction as he threw his arm towards the Eye of Cthulhu, letting go of the spear as it accelerated towards the Eye, shattering the sound barrier in the process.

As soon as the spear made contact, it easily pierced through the Eye as it exploded, enveloping the Eye in red, malignant energy. The energy ate away at its body like a plague, until there was nothing left to feed on as the spear flew back towards Erden, followed by the energy.

Just like before, the energy engulfed its target, but this time, instead of harming Erden, it was absorbed by him as the energy empowered his body. This was one of the abilities of the spear, allowing Erden to steal the vitality of whatever organism it makes contact with.

Once the Eye of Cthulhu was defeated, another enemy from his past was re-created from Primordial Light as it began attacking Erden. This process repeated multiple times as Erden kept defeating his foes, rapidly progressing through the trial. Before he knew it, he was facing his final opponent; a carbon copy of Calamitas, except this one's face was covered by a hood.

Perhaps if he had fought this clone in the past, he most likely would have struggled reasonably. But he had fought and sparred with Calamitas many times in the past year, so he knew her behavior and patterns like the back of his hand. Therefore, he faced no difficulty against the clone as he moved gracefully, striking its body multiple times and avoiding the countless Brimflame blasts that filled his surroundings, leaving almost no space to escape to.

As he struck it with the spear one last time, a red barrier erupted around its body as it started firing Brimflames indiscriminately in every direction in a last ditch effort. Counting one or two lucky hits, none of its blasts landed home as Erden dodged almost all of them with a grunt of effort. As the clone expended the last of its magic, its body dissipated in to motes of lights, and in its place appeared the original Calamitas, followed by the disembodied voice of mysterious being.

"A truly excellent display. I see that I was correct! You indeed may be this world's mightiest warrior. However… it seems as though even that power... it is not enough. I'm afraid I will not be sharing my proposal with you... at least, not yet."

"Oi! That's not what you said before the trial started! I have questions that I want answers for!"

"I am aware, and I apologize. That is why I wish that you keep gaining more strength. As a consolation prize, I wish for you to take this ancient stone I carved from the Aerie. I have long held it as a... keepsake, of sorts."

As the being said, a rock appeared above Erden's hand which at first glance, looked like a normal rock. But upon further inspection, it emitted slight traces of Auric energy, which Erden immediately recognized. After all, how could he not? Considering that most of the major foes that he fought radiated small amounts of it, while the ones that he encountered in the last two years held major amounts of Auric energy; with the Phoenix being at the top.

'He really isn't lying. To think that even after a thousand years, the Dragon Aerie still has remnants of their lifeforce.'

"Continue to seek greater strength, and when we meet again, perhaps you will have grown enough in power to be worthy. In the meantime, I have my own matters that I must attend to. Farewell, for now."

The sigil in the sky glowed once he was done speaking, before it disappeared, clearing up the night sky as the distant, twinkling stars became visible once again. Erden stood in place as he observed the rock for a few more moments, before putting it in his Inventory as he walked towards Calamitas to check on her. He patted he body in different places as he checked for any signs of injuries.

"How are you feeling. He didn't try anything with you, right?"

"I didn't get hurt, but I feel just a bit annoyed."

Seeing that she was not hurt, he let out a sigh of relief as he lightly flicked her forehead, letting his thoughts show.

"That's good. I'd rather you be annoyed than hurt because of my negligence."

"I'm not a doll, I won't break just from the slightest fumble. Anyways, what are you gonna do now? You couldn't get the answers that you wanted. Isn't that the whole reason why you searched for that artifact?"

"Well... like he said, I have to get stronger. I won't rest until I get what I want. Which means that I'm also going to need better equipment, because I get the feeling that the next time I meet him, it will be much more dangerous."

He quieted down in contemplation after he was done speaking, as a few moments of silence passed between them. The silence was then broken by Calamitas... or rather, the stomach of Calamitas.

Rumble.

A rumbling sound rang out amongst them as Calamitas' hunger made itself known. Her face slightly reddened in embarrassment as Erden chuckled in response to her stomachs demands.

"For now though, let's go home. I'll cook up something for us."

She said nothing in response, still embarrassed as Erden held on to her as he teleported back to their town. They ate, bathed, fucked, and then went to sleep for the rest of the night.

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[Present time]

As Erden finished reminiscing down memory lane, he activated the Terminus. But unlike the last time, the artifact started to rise above in the air, projecting its symbol brightly before it opened up a wormhole, which generated a strong suction force, swallowing Erden whole before spitting him out in a completely different location.

The process was almost instantaneous. He was slightly disoriented as he came to, realizing his surroundings had drastically changed. Instead of being surrounded by trees, he stood in an open area, observing the plains that stretched for miles and the various flowers that took root within the ground. He also took note of the beautiful northern lights that made the sky their abode, and the countless shining stars that twinkled as he gazed in their direction.

In the distance, he saw a lone apple tree, bathed in ethereal light. Seeing as the scene was similar to that he saw in his dream, and also the game that he played years ago, he chose to head towards the tree. As he walked, fireflies began to congregate around him as they swerved in the air, as if they were dancing, welcoming the new figure to their paradise.

Once he reached the tree, the fireflies around him dispersed, perhaps in anticipation of what would come next. The ethereal light above the tree started to brighten as the sky cracked slowly and surely, until it all fell apart, revealing the sight that was hidden underneath.

"W-what...? This... this is... amazing..."

Stars, Galaxies, Nebulae. These were the only things visible in the sky as even though they were light years away from Erden, their sheer light was able to brighten the dark, night sky. Erden was wide-eyed, his mouth left open in shock; he was awestruck! Not once in his life had he borne witness to such a glamorous scene, as he couldn't think of a single word that could describe a sight of such magnitude.

Unfortunately, he was not given much time to sight-see as out of nowhere, a being appeared, of eldritch proportions. Its entire form was blurred as it constantly shifted, never solidifying into one shape with the only thing visible being the ever-changing wings on its back. Just looking at it gave Erden a small headache, as he tried to look through its form to reveal anything else.

However, his efforts were for naught as the being released a chilling, ear-piercing scream that shook the earth, knocking off all the apples that hung from the tree. As the apples fell, they disappeared mid-air, courtesy of Erden who put them in his Inventory, wanting to taste them after he was done fighting the eldritch beast. 

The beast began with what would be considered a flamboyant move, releasing bright, searing blasts of Primordial Light towards where Erden was. Not wanting to taste light, he moved swiftly as a second later, the blasts hit the ground where he stood. He equipped the Demonshade Helm from his Inventory as he brought out the Scarlet Devil, preparing for battle as he took stance.

"Well then, as Sam once said... let's dance!"

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Welp, that's it for this one.

Now! Here me out, I know I said that we would move on to Teyvat after this chapter, and I really did want to do that, but once I started writing, got to 6.6k words and realized that I'm only about half-way done with the chapter, I decided to say fuck it and ended the chapter here. This is only part one of the chapter, and the second one is a work in progress, don't know how long it would take, but hopefully within a few days.

I also kinda lost the motivation to write for a while, hence why the chapter took so long to get done. I know it's kinda late, but merry christmas and happy new year.

Anyways, see ya next time!