Somewhere far, far, away, a man smiled.

The burning sun above shone brightly upon him. Its golden rays cast a wave of warmth over his body, gently flowing past past his rolled up sleeves and basking his tanned arms in the soft heat. He raised a hand to the edges of his fraying straw hat, subconsciously running a finger over the brim.

His worn out sandals scrapped forward over the wooden dock as he leaned back in his chair, lifting his eyes to the sky above. His lips curled upwards from beneath the brim of his hat. The light from above illuminated his tired, worn face. It shone a golden glow on the wrinkles that bore deeply into his skin.

But despite it all - despite the way his age was most certainly even on the older side of eternity, despite the way his unkempt white and silver hair gave the appearance of a feeble, aging, old man, it couldn't have been further from the truth.

Like a mirror reflecting the sky itself, his eyes glowed an electric blue, contrasting his suntanned skin. In those eyes lay a glint of curiosity, a spark of playfulness and intrigue that one would normally only expect from a child.

And in his joyous, almost teasing, smile, one could see the truth of the inconspicuous man at the end of the fishing dock.

This was a man who had lived through years and years of adventures. This was a man who stories to tell - tales and fables of every kind. A man who had journeyed across the world, who had travelled to the farthest corners of the planet, who had truly seen what beauty the world had to offer.

Experience and wisdom danced atop his lips like a playful child, and yet, beneath it all remained a hint of yearning - for more, for another grand adventure, another story. To this man, the endless world was a labyrinth of wonder, and he wouldn't rest until he had seen it all.

And so, he let out a slight sigh. One not of exasperation, yet not of relief. It was just that - a breath of air as he relaxed and waited.

Once more, the chair beneath him creaked as he leaned forward. He wrapped his fingers around the fishing rod before him in a firm grip and pulled hard.

"Nothing again, huh…?"

His voice was low and gravelly, yet smooth as honey at the same time.

"Hup!"

He pulled back his arm and cast out a line for the hundredth time.

"Ahhhh, well, I still have some time left before I see him again - right?"

Fwsh.

The sound of fluttering wings sounded behind him as another figure stepped closer to him, signaled by the noticeable give of the docks.

"Yes, of course."

A gentle hand patted his shoulder, greeting him with a tone of familiarity and warmth.

"Any luck so far?"

A deep laughter sounded from the man's throat, a low rumble akin to the sound of rolling thunder.

"Today? Nothin' at all - although you should've seen the one I landed a while ago. What a beast that one was - yer' old lady would've been proud."

"Heh… Maia? I believe she still resides in Tenkai…"

"Is that so…?"

The man paused before speaking again.

"You know… you're the second person to ask me that."

"About the fish? And who was the first?"

He shrugged, lifting his shoulders with a care free shake of his head.

"Some young adventurer who claimed to have travelled a long, long way. Nice fellow, he sat and kept me company for a bit."

He turned in his seat to look at his guest, squinting his eyes as if trying to recall a long lost memory.

"I believe it was… ah, yes… it was one of Ganesha's children, I think…"

"Ganesha…? I'm surprised he made it this far."

Shff.

The man rustled through the bag slung over his shoulder before procuring a small stack of papers.

"Ah! What do we have here, letters?"

The old man flashed his visitor a gleaming smile and a cheerful wink as he accepted the papers.

"I do love the letters you bring, Lord Hermes."

The messenger god bowed his head slightly, tipping his hat in thanks.

"It is nice to see what the others are up to nowadays, after all — ah…!"

He stopped in surprise, looking at a letter emblazoned with the emblem of the Trickster.

"I was hoping you'd read that one first."

Hermes smiled as the man let out another round of laughter.

"Bell my boy! Well done…! Well done indeed…"

He folded the letter and slipped it into his pocket.

"It seems as though Loki is taking quite good care of him."

Hermes watched carefully as the man looked through the rest of the papers, noting his expressions with interest.

"Looks like a lots happened since I've been gone, eh? Come, there's a bar here that serves the most delicious fried catfish you'll ever taste."

"Ah… your—!"

He moved to stand, only to nearly gasp in surprise as the fishing rod jerked forward in his hands. Out in the middle of the lake, the bobber had disappeared under water.

"Oho! Looks like we got a fighter, eh!?"

He took a step back, the rod bending forward in his hands as he fought to reel in the line.

"Hermes, son! Don't just stand there!"

"O-Of course!"

Hermes smiled as he moved to help with the fish.

"Lift with your legs, boy! Heave, ho!"

With a spray of water, a large silver fish was flung into the air.

"Ahaha! Gotcha!"

Hermes lifted a hand to shield his eyes as he looked up at the fish falling through the air.

Flop.

In an instant, the fish found itself pinned to the dock by the old man's hand. He worked quickly, holding it down while carefully removing the hook from its mouth.

"Hey, Hermes! Catch!"

"Wha—?!"

The messenger god had leaned forward to watch him work, only to stumble back in surprise as the fish was tossed in his direction.

Slap.

"Pff— Ah!"

He recoiled in surprise, turning his face and closing his eyes as the fish tail hit his face with a wet slap.

"Bwhaha!"

"T-The fish!"

Hermes fumbled nervously, juggling the fish in his arms before losing control and letting it fall off the dock and back into the water.

Splash.

"A-Ah…"

He watched, frozen in place and with a stunned look on his face as the fish fell into the water and vanished from view. But beside him, the old man couldn't have been any less chipper. He stood, a smile on his face as he patted Hermes' back with a roar of laughter.

"It's okay, next time eh? Now how about that bar… You can tell me all about what's going on over a couple of drinks."

"S-Sure…"

With that, the messenger god turned his back on the lake and began to walk towards the village.

But even as water soaked through his clothes and fell from his hat, he couldn't help but smile.

He hasn't changed one bit.

"L-Level 5?! Really Lady Loki!?"

Bell's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he held the paper in his shaking hands.

"This isn't a joke!?"

Loki rolled her eyes at the question.

"Psh I'm not that cruel. Yes you did it."

"A-And… this skill?"

He pointed to the bottom of the page where only one line remained.

"Uhh… Riverias still working on that… we don't actually know what it means yet…"

Loki shrugged at the odd, indecipherable skill that had manifested on his status. Bell didn't even seem to mind the mystery.

I'm lucky he's an idiot…

Her eyes focused on the smear of ink on the bottom of the page that hid his other skill.

"I-I… I have to tell everyone!"

The boy practically was vibrating as his lips quivered with excitement. His shining red eyes caught the light of the chandeliers above, glimmering with excitement.

But… he's a cute idiot, I guess…

Loki dropped a hand on his head, ruffling his hair with a smile.

"A-Ah! Hey!"

"Yeah, yeah, you go do that."

She pushed him lightly towards the door of her office.

"Now beat it, I got work to do."

That "work" sat behind her desk in the shape of a rather large vat filled to the brim with wine.

"Really… important… work… yeah…"

She murmured to herself as she watched the boy run off, paper in hand.

"Ahhhh… now lets get to work - it's 5pm somewhere after all."

It was obvious who he had to find first.

"…Ais…Ais…Ais…"

He whispered to himself as he looked around the dining hall. As he ran through the building, Raul had pointed him in this direction.

There she is.

She was alone at her table, picking at a plate in front of her silently.

His heart fluttered as he neared her. His legs moved at an awkward speed, a mix between a walk and a jog, as if he had forgotten how to move on his own.

"Ais!"

A light smile bloomed on her face as she turned to see him.

"Hey."

That smile only grew as her eyes recognized the paper in his hands.

He sat down next to her, slapping the paper on the table.

"Check it out!"

"Level… five…"

It came as no surprise to the girl. Of course he had leveled up. When it came to Bell, there was one thing she knew for certain: that time and time again, he proved himself to exceed all expectations. He shattered her records with ease - more than shattered, really, he completely blew them out of the water.

Simply put, he was —

"Amazing."

"Huh…?"

Ais ran a finger over the parchment. When she first saw his stats while she carried him to the surface, she'd already known what was coming.

I can't even compete…

She still remembered the feeling of pure elation that ran from her head to her toes. The pure, golden joy that had filled her heart. It filled her with warmth to think about. But then, she remembered what had come next.

That dark, ugly, despicable emotion called envy had reared its head, slowly gnawing at her heart. She hated herself for feeling that way. She hated herself for feeling jealous of the boy, of his strength, of his growth, of his pure-heartedness.

It was funny, really. When it came to him, her emotions - which had long since been revered as an impenetrable iron bulwark, a unshakeable fortress - were no more than a house of cards.

As envy shook the table, jealousy was the first card to fall. Next came bitterness, resent, and finally anger. But she never let it show. As quickly as those emotions appeared, she stomped them into dust and tucked them far, far, away into the darkest corners of her mind. She wouldn't allow herself to be angry at him. Only herself. The day she let herself succumb to those hateful emotions would be the day she gave up being an adventurer.

But still. Who wouldn't feel this way when faced with his achievements. She, and her peers, had spent most of their life getting to the point they were at. They'd spent every waking second facing grueling training, adventures, and harsh set backs. They'd fought tooth and nail to climb their way to the top, competing with each other as they shed blood sweat and tears in the name of progressing further.

And yet here, this boy, this, pure, wonderful, and innocent, boy had blown past them in a tenth of the time.

All without losing himself.

"You're incredible, Bell."

She smiled, shaking away and pressing past her inner turmoil in an instant. He really was incredible. That pure light of his, that glowing white innocence. Everyone she knew had a darkness inside them - something derived from a painful memory or a tragic past. Bell wasn't exempt from this rule of tragedy. In fact, he was one of its worst victims.

And yet…

And yet, here he was. Standing tall, untainted by his past, that same pure look in his eyes.

"Ahaha… I-It was all thanks to you…"

"No. Really…You're incredible."

He blushed as she complimented him. Once more, Ais felt a warmth bubble up through her chest as she watched his bashful smile appear.

That's right. How could I ever be angry with you…

"W-Well… that's…"

She mentally kicked herself in the shin before turning her eyes back to the paper.

"Huh…? What's this?"

She tapped the skill at the bottom of the page.

"Oh, uh, well Lady Loki said that Riveria couldn't read the skill… and something about, uh… interpreting? Or deciphering?"

A unknown skill…

A glint of curiosity flashed past her eyes.

And rapid growth…?

A tingle ran across the back of her neck.

"Bell…"

"Yeah?"

She stood from the table.

"Lets go."

Bell pushed open the door to the library. Behind him, Ais peeked over his shoulder. He poked a cautious head through the doorway.

The library was one of the largest rooms in the Twilight Manor - partly due to Riveria's influence. But despite the copious amount of Valis spent on its construction, the room was one that Bell had hardly visited.

"What, you finally read a book and it put you to sleep?"

He smiled as a certain memory floated through his mind.

The door opened to a grand, spacious room. A seemingly endless series of bookshelves and desks lined the walls all the way to the opposite end of the floor. The ceiling arched high above them, covered by a beautiful mural of the the Gods' Descent from Heaven.

Up above him was the library's second floor, connected through the open space. On his left, the wall gave way to a series of windows that ran parallel to the second floor. Motes of dust floated in the air before him, picked up by the few golden rays of receding sunlight that slipped through the window panes.

"Miss Riveria?"

He called out hesitantly.

"Up here."

Her voice drifted out from somewhere above. As Bell craned his head to look up, he caught a glimpse of emerald hair just past the second floor railing that overlooked their current position.

On his right, tucked into a corner of the room was a quaint yet elegant set of stairs that spiraled up to the second floor.

Behind him, Ais poked him gently to keep on moving.

As he climbed the stairs, he couldn't help but look around. Each step was painted a deep walnut brown, sleek and without a single speck of dust in sight. It creaked and groaned beneath their feet as the pair ventured up the aging steps.

Bell's hand fell to the scuffed bronze handrails, smoothly tracing his way past the swirling balusters and patches of polished wood.

"Yes?"

"Hi, uh…"

"Bell! What a pleasant surprise!"

Up top, Riveria sat at a table alone, stacks of books and papers scattered around her. But behind her, was a familiar figure draped in a simple grey robe, his long dark blue hair falling past his shoulders.

"Lord Miach? What are you doing here?"

He bowed politely, before stepping up to the table. Across from him, Riveria held an open hand to the seat in front of her.

"I heard that a certain somebody had an undecipherable skill, so I came to lend a hand in, well, deciphering it - congratulations on your level up by the way."

Miach stepped to the side, revealing a small cart stacked with books and papers in his hands.

"Thanks, Lord Miach! And uh, yeah. Thanks for the help."

He stepped forward, taking a seat across from the High Elf. Ais sat next to him.

Riveria turned a paper to face them. On it was a series of foreign letters and words, some crossed out, some circled and underlined.

"Since Lord Miach already made a rough interpretation of Cassandra's skill, I thought it would be helpful for him to lend us his knowledge."

She tapped an underlined row of characters in front of them.

"This is what we have so far. We compared your skill to Cassandra's, roughly figuring out any correlations to the standard Falna language, and translated it to known language codexes… and so on…"

Bell shook his head with a sheepish smile. Everything she had just said went right over his head.

"S-Sorry… I, uh, I can't read it."

Riveria merely smiled.

"Ais? Would you like to give it a try?"

Bell turned his head to look at the girl next to him. He was already familiar with Ais' limited ability to read and write the strange hieroglyphs that made up his Falna.

"Sure…"

The girl leaned forward, brushing a rogue strand of golden hair behind her ear as she focused on the text.

"It says…"

She squinted her eyes as her lips moved silently, trying to form a word or sound.

"A…Ae…Ete…Eternal?"

Riveria smiled again and shook her head.

"Close, but look again."

She tapped a specific character on the page.

"I think you misunderstood this Ae as Ete, but if you remember in our previous lessons, when this character comes before this one, it changes the prefix."

Bell's jaw nearly hit the table from that tiny exchange.

I… I didn't follow any of that.

Riveria continued on.

"So if you read these two together according to the first transcript rule, and read these two in that new order, it comes out to…?"

"Indomitable…"

"Correct."

She nodded.

"Indomitable, meaning Invincible, Unconquerable, and so on. In a sense, you were close…"

Riveria moved another paper to face them, this one with a chart of sorts filled with unfamiliar words and characters.

"…but when it comes to skills and abilities the exact translation is very important."

This is why I'm never reading another book again.

"The second half of the skill is what we're figuring out right now. With our system set up as of now, it shouldn't be long before we're finished."

"Oh, cool! Do you mind if we stay and watch?"

Riveria shook her head, and Bell turned to look at Miach.

"Not at all, Bell."

He smiled as the god of medicine nodded kindly to him.

Indomitable, huh?

He liked the sound of that.

As he leaned back in his seat, he watched as Riveria and Miach worked quietly. He listened to the shuffling of papers, to the quiet scratch of her pencil against paper, to the flipping of pages in a book.

Soon, those sounds were all he could hear. It was relaxing, in a way. Closing his eyes as he listened to the light shuffle of movement around him.

What was that word Captain Finn used…? Amber…Ambi…Ambiance?

That was it. Bell beamed inwardly as he remembered the 'complex' word Finn had explained to him some time ago after he used it in a sentence.

I really should read more… oh, are they done?

He opened his eyes as silence filled the library. Across from him, Lord Miach and Riveria leaned over a series of characters and scribbles on the paper wordlessly.

As he watched, the High Elf whispered something quietly to the God, to which he nodded his head.

What came next shocked him.

Is… she…?

Riveria raised a hand to her lip, clearing her throat lightly as she turned to look to the side. A light red hue had fallen over her cheeks as she turned her emerald eyes away.

Likewise, Lord Miach straightened up with a smile and a similarly flushed expression.

"Ah…well, uh, Bell… we finished…"

Next to him, Ais leaned forward expectantly in her chair.

"Really?! What does it say?"

Bell smiled, his eyes brimming with curiosity.

"Well… it says lo—erk!"

"Nothing."

Riveria roughly elbowed the god in the side, cutting him off.

"We came to the conclusion that the second half has multiple, no, infinite interpretations, and we are unable at this time to figure out what it means."

She spoke flatly and matter-of-factly.

"I'll be taking these back to my study for the time being then."

Before any of them could react, Riveria had swept all the papers into a single neat stack, and tucked it under her arm. Miach gathered up the books and piled them up on the cart behind him quickly - almost suspiciously quickly, in fact.

"Ah—!"

Ais lifted a hand halfway up as if to say something, but she decided against it and simply let it fall back to her lap.

"Oh… is that so? Well, I guess we can't help it if it's just not possible…"

Bell moved to stand, pulling his lips into a tight line as he tried his best to hide his disappointment.

"Thanks for trying though, at least I know the first half though."

Riveria and Miach nodded and said their goodbyes, moving to return their materials as Bell and Ais left the way they came.

"Aw man…"

Bell sighed as he pushed past the double doors once more, Ais in tow.

"They were so close, too!"

Ais moved to walk beside him.

"What now?"

What now…?

Bell glanced around, catching view of a random clock on a nearby wall.

Ooh, it's already getting late.

"Dinner?"

As the two walked off through the manor, they failed to notice Miach and Riveria poke their heads through the doorway to watch them go.

"My, my, young Bell surely has grown a bit since he came to you guys, huh?"

Riveria shook her head in disbelief.

"That boy… he's truly unbelievable…"

Miach laughed lightly as they stepped out into the hallway.

"Ah… those two… I imagine you'll have your hands full with them for the time being. As promised, I won't tell a soul of what we found."

"Thank you, Lord Miach. And yes. Those two - and the others - are more trouble that you'd ever believe."

"Then it's a good thing they have such a caring mother to look after them, no?"

Riveria sighed, lifting a hand to touch her forehead.

"…did Tiona tell you that…?"

"The younger of the Amazon girls? Yes. She mentioned in passing that you appreciated being called that."

Riveria bit her tongue lightly, holding back the urge to release a laugh.

"Haaa… well…"

She smiled gently as she watched Ais and Bell round a corner and disappear from view.

"…maybe she isn't completely wrong, I guess…"