Nahida slowly opened her eyes. She felt dizzy and disoriented. She knew not the last thing that had occurred to her, nor why she was lying on the floor; only that her head hurt. She put her hand to it, and felt a sharp pain when she felt a bump, although she managed to stifle a cry. How had she gotten it? She tried to recall her last events. She remembered that she was about to use all of her power in order to contain and purify the remains of the Ruin Serpent and the endless flow of black mud gushing out from them before it withered Vanarana. However, thereon, she only drew a blank. She tried to force herself to remember when and how did she lose consciousness, yet all she managed to achieve was to feel more pain in her bump.
Thus, Nahida decided to leave that issue for later and focus on figuring out what had occurred while she was unconscious. She looked around her. Everything was completely still. There was no trace of neither the Ruin Serpent nor the black mud anywhere. In that place, besides her, were only Sucrose, Dori and Collei. The three of them were together, their backs turned to her. Sucrose was on her knees, and her head could not be lowered further. Dori and Collei were at her side, hugging her.
Nahida began to suspect what had happened. To her own surprise, she was having a difficult time accepting her suspicions. While trying to suppress her emotions, she stood up and approached the trio, making some noise so that she could be heard coming, and therefore, not give them a start. Dori and Collei turned their heads towards her when she arrived. Both of them had mournful expressions.
"Nahida…"
"You're finally awake," Dori said.
Sucrose, however, did not move. She remained with her head hung, and her hands pressed against her chest. Nahida stood before her and beheld her. She saw tears running down her cheeks. She could also see that, in her hands, Sucrose was holding a particular seed. Her suspicions were confirmed. She felt her eyes becoming warm and humid, a lump forming in her throat, and her heart sinking. She gently placed her hand on Sucrose's forehead and caressed it. Sucrose finally looked up. Her eyes were red and swollen, and there were tears all over her face.
"Nahida…" she hiccupped. "I'm so sorry…"
"Sucrose…"
"It's all my fault," Sucrose said amidst more hiccups and whimpers. "This all happened because I was so insistent, because I wanted to meet Araperke no matter what. If I had… if I hadn't…"
Nahida stopped Sucrose's apology by hugging her head. She pressed her face against Sucrose's, and softly hushed to her ear.
"It's okay," she whispered. "At times like this, it's okay if we let our emotions get the better of us."
Nahida then did what she had just said, and let herself be overcome by her emotions. She weeped together with Sucrose.
Hours later, the Aranara were gathered around the lake in the center of Vanarana. Every last Aranara was there; there were so many that they surrounded the entire lake without leaving a single gap between them. They were celebrating that the menace had been defeated and Vanarana was safe, and they were also honoring the memory of the six siblings who had sacrificed themselves in order to attain such victory. The melody sung by everybody faithfully reflected their feelings at that solemn ceremony, a ceremony which, perhaps over the course of time, the Aranara would forget. The forest, however, would always remember this day.
Although the celebration was also for them, the four heroines did not participate in it. After receiving deafening ovations and laudations from the Aranara when they delivered the news of their victory to them, they moved away to a quieter place in order to have a well-deserved rest, and especially console Sucrose, who still blamed herself for what had occurred.
The menace finding Vanarana of Dreams had not happened because of Sucrose's actions, but as a result of a sequence of events and happenstance nobody could have foreseen. So was told Sucrose by Nahida while the small Archon rubbed the hand she was not holding the seed with.
"I don't blame you, neither Dori nor Collei blame you, none of the six siblings blamed you, and no Aranara blames you," Nahida continued. "So, please, stop blaming yourself."
Both Dori and Collei agreed wholeheartedly with Nahida. In fact, Collei reminded Sucrose that she had used those same words when she tried to cheer Mihikah up.
"So, in short, this is nobody's fault, okay? Other than the menace's," she finished.
"They both are right. This isn't like that time when you got lost in the forest, which happened because you didn't listen to me," Dori recalled. "You weren't alone this time; we all played a part in this. So you don't need to shoulder everything all by yourself, okay? You have me, you have us."
The incessant encouragement of the three of them helped Sucrose get out of that spiral of self-contempt. Despite this, the lingering sentiment of guilt would still take some time to disappear completely.
Soon after, Araja approached them. Instead of coming out of the ground, he slowly walked to them, aiding his tread with his walking stick. Although the Aranara were amidst a celebration, all of them were concerned about the well-being of the four girls, most of all, Sucrose's, since she was the most affected one. Nonetheless, Araja was the only one checking on them. The reason was because, in order to get a proper rest, some proper peace and quiet was needed; therefore, the Aranara had agreed to let them have that needed proper rest.
"How are Lord of Dendro and Nara friends feeling?" Araja asked.
"I think we are fine enough to be on our way," Nahida replied.
Nahida's answer surprised everybody present; they had been expecting that Nahida would want to join in the celebrations once they had recovered enough, both physically and mentally.
"The effects of the concoction will soon begin to wear off, and we ought to be back home by then," Nahida argued. "Otherwise, we won't be able to leave for days."
The Aranara concoction restored the energy back to a tired body in no time. However, that was all it did; it did not make the fatigue disappear without leaving a trace. Therefore, once its effects wore off, the accumulated exhaustion would return as normal. The girls had run half of Sumeru before drinking the concoction, and then had had an intense battle thereafter. They would be sore with absolute certainty if it were not for the concoction, sore enough not to be able to make the journey back home. Hence Nahida's haste.
"Araja understands," Araja accepted. "In that case, I thank you all for your help once again, and I wish you a safe trip home."
The four girls nodded and bid Araja farewell. When they were about to leave, however, Sucrose hesitated. She still had something to do.
"H-hold on, everyone," she begged. "I… I should return this."
She extended her hand with the Aranara seed towards Araja, but the chief of Vanarana shook his head in rejection.
"Ever since they met you, there was nothing Aranara siblings liked to do more than spending time with you, Nara Crows," Araja explained. "Araja knows that it will be best if Nara Crows takes care of Bija. Vasara will grow happy if Nara Crows takes care of it."
Sucrose did not fully understand Araja, but at least she understood that he was telling her that the siblings would have preferred her to have the seed. In complete earnestness, she accepted it and promised that she would plant it in the best possible place. Now, with everything said, and with nothing else to do, the four girls began their journey back home.
"Nara friends will always be welcome in Vanarana!" Araja said while bidding them farewell. "And now Aranara know that they can trust Nara Dori and Nara Collei!"
Which meant that these two might encounter an Aranara on their travels through Sumeru sometime; therefore, they were now an exception as well. Their exception, however, differed from Sucrose in the sense that it was not because of a gift, but rather the fruits of their efforts and the trust which the very distrusting Aranara had placed in them. Both of them felt a pleasant tingling running through their bodies when they thought about it. They were determined to ensure that this trust was well deserved: for nothing in the world would they fail their new friends.
When the group left the dream plane at last, the sky was entirely painted by the orange hues of dusk. So much had happened that it felt strange to them that it was still the same day, and not even nighttime yet.
"Though it's actually good for us," Collei pointed out. "We still have a long walk home."
"Not a chance. We're going to the city and we'll have a Stumper Beast carry us home," Dori objected. She then puffed. "I don't know about you, but I'm already beginning to feel tired again."
Both Sucrose and Collei agreed to Dori's decision. Truth be told, although their physical condition was still fine, they both were exhausted mentally, especially the former; therefore, despite wanting to return home at once, they both found the option of doing so on a Stumper Beast's back too tempting, even if it took longer.
They kept walking in silence. Sucrose was pensive; there was still something on her mind. Although they had already told Nahida everything that had occurred while she was unconscious, and the latter showed no signs of petulance, she still felt guilty for having smacked the Archon on the head. Nahida noticed her downcast expression and asked her whether she was okay, which caught her unaware. At first, Sucrose thought of dodging the question, but then she realized that, if she did so, she would not get rid of that sense of guilt.
"I'm sorry for hitting you."
Nahida replied with only a sigh. At that moment, Sucrose noticed that she was despondent as well. She wondered whether Nahida's dejection was because of the whack she had given her.
"You know, I can't help but wonder what other events could have happened," Nahida spoke earnestly. "If I had been the one who sacrificed, instead of them; or if we truly had tried to find another way. I can't shake off this lingering feeling that there might have been another alternative."
Sucrose said nothing; she just sighed. She herself still had her mind full of those thoughts which led to nowhere. Thus was how it had happened, she was well aware of it. Although the grief and the sorrow over the loss of the six Aranara siblings still pained her, she knew that she had to come to terms with them eventually.
"Nonetheless," Nahida continued, "whenever I think of the thump you gave me, I feel happy somehow."
"Happy?" Sucrose repeated in befuddlement. "How is that?"
"Honestly, I don't know. I just know that I'm thankful that you stopped me."
Nahida rubbed her bump smilingly. Sucrose no longer felt as guilty as she had before, yet she still felt not proud of what she had done. To begin with, why did she do it? Was it because she didn't want Sumeru to lose their Archon? No, it was for another reason, and she knew it. It was because of selfishness: she did so because she didn't want to lose a friend. Although the final result turned out to be no different.
"By the way, what did Araja mean by 'Bija' and 'Vasara'?" Sucrose asked.
Nahida explained it to her. Once an Aranara reached the end of their life cycle, they turned into a Bija, a seed in Aranara language. From such seed grew a Vasara tree, and from the fruits of said tree, which were called Vasoma, other Aranara were born, thus completing the cycle. Furthermore, the growth of the Vasara was determined by the memories stored within the seed; therefore, when Araja said that it would be best for the seed if Sucrose took care of it, he meant it in a literal sense.
"Another point of note is that Aranara siblings do not merge into a sole seed, despite being born from the same Vasoma fruit," Nahida added. "This is an unprecedented case."
Sucrose put her hand on the pouch in which she had stored the seed. They knew that all six siblings were in that seed: Nahida herself had confirmed that she sensed the essence of every one of them within it. Now that she knew about the life cycle of the Aranara, Sucrose felt a great responsibility towards that seed. She no longer wanted to plant it in the best possible place. She wanted to go beyond that; she wanted to use her alchemy to the extent of her abilities and beyond in order to help the seed and ensure that it would grow under the best conditions ever.
The girls finally arrived at the northern gate of Sumeru City, with its small, wooden houses, its vegetable gardens, and its tranquil area at the other side. The gate guards greeted the arriving group, and in Nahida's case, they bowed to her. Nahida smiled at them as they crossed the gate, but once they were inside the city, she lowered her head.
"Some day, Nahida. Some day," Dori encouraged her.
Nahida accepted Dori's encouragement with a weaker, yet more sincere smile than the one she had given to the guards. Soon after, the time for them to part ways arrived. Nahida would climb the steep ramps up towards the Sanctuary of Surasthana, whereas the other three would go downwards towards the southern gate. Although Nahida was just a few steps away from home, she was reluctant to take them, because they were all uphill, and she also felt tired, despite that the concoction's effects had not begun to wear off just yet.
"Truth be told, I envy you," she confessed, "because I'd also rather go to the Palace of Alcazarzaray in the comfort of a Stumper Beast than have to climb all of this."
"You can come, if you want," Dori offered. "We aren't short of empty rooms."
"I'd gladly accept your offer, Dori. Unfortunately, I must stay here: I have work that needs to be done the sooner the better."
Now that the cause of the new Withering was no longer, Nahida wanted to report about it so that everything would return to normal as soon as possible. Therefore, she needed to begin the arrangements for a meeting of the Sages of the Akademiya posthaste if she wanted said meeting to happen the following morning. Although Nahida would like to go to bed right away, she would rather do so with the peace that everything was already set, instead of thinking that she still had it pending.
"Still, Nahida, can I ask you a favor?" Collei stammered. "I'm worried about Cyno and Master."
"You needn't worry about them: they both are fine," Nahida reassured her. "Those fungi were no match for them."
"No, that's not what I'm worried about. What worries me is that they might be too worried about me. I wouldn't be surprised, given how we had to split up. All of you already know how they are in that regard."
"Yes, it's quite worrisome," Sucrose commented.
She hadn't meant to crack a joke, but the others laughed when they heard her. The laughter of the others spread to Sucrose, and the four girls laughed together for a while. A while longer than it would have usually been. After everything which had happened, they needed that laughter more than they themselves realized.
"Very well," Nahida accepted, wiping tears of laughter away. "I will notify the Matra and have them inform the General Mahamatra about your well-being. How does that sound?"
"Thank you, Nahida," Collei smiled.
Nahida smiled back at Collei. Her smile, this time, was with utmost sincerity and delight: Collei was finally calling her by that name without any issue, perhaps even without realizing. For the little Archon, that was one more step towards her goal of being treated as if she were just like everybody else. A tiny step, yet as important as any other.
The time to bid farewell had come at last. Nahida looked the others in the eyes and raised her hands to her own chest. She had something important to tell everybody:
"I thank all of you with all my heart for your help against the menace. I would also like to ask you one last favour: can you keep everything that occurred today a secret?"
After all, the Aranara and Vanarana of Dreams needed to remain as mythology. Moreover, Nahida also believed that the true nature of the new Withering needed to be kept in utmost secrecy in order to avoid any possible unrest. Unfortunately, all of this meant that their deeds of that day would never be written. Despite this, none of them had the slightest inconvenience. All three girls nodded in unison. Nahida smiled.
"Thank you, all of you," she said. "And, Sucrose?"
"Yes?"
"Do not let your sorrows of today cloud your dreams for tomorrow. I'm saying this to you, but this goes for everybody, myself included."
Nahida approached Sucrose and hugged her by her waist, which reminded the latter of the time when they first met, and also made her think about how everything had changed since then. Sucrose gently caressed Nahida's head. She felt her bump. She really had thumped her hard. Be that as it may, now that she thought about it with her head clearer and her thoughts more in order, she regretted not the decision she had made back then.
After bidding Nahida farewell, Sucrose, Dori and Collei traversed the city until they reached the southern gate. Fortunately, the entire walk was downhill, the city streets were not so crowded at that time of the day, and they didn't bump into any familiar faces; therefore, it didn't take long for them to reach their destination.
Dori didn't need much time in order to pick up a Stumper Beast from her amusement park either. Instead of looking for any employee of hers in the barn and having them bring the Stumper Beast out, Dori did so herself. She wanted to return home without wasting any second.
"It's so nice to sit down at last," Dori sighed in relief as she guided the Stumper Beast.
She hadn't looked for anybody to act as the Stumper Beast's guide either. Therefore, she was the one guiding it from its back. Behind Dori sat Sucrose; and behind Sucrose, Collei. The Stumper Beast made its journey towards the Palace of Alcazarzaray at a good pace, yet without running.
"Just be careful not to fall asleep," Collei said, "because I think you're the only one here that knows how to guide a Stumper Beast."
"Oh, you needn't worry! This little fella is one of my most intelligent partners: he could tread the whole road to the palace without a guide!" Dori teased.
Collei asked Dori whether such a thing could possibly be real or she was just pulling her leg, to which the latter, still teasingly, replied that perhaps she might give it a try sometime. Meanwhile, Sucrose just remained silent, looking in the distance. She was deep in thought. The other two noticed her silence.
"Are you okay, Sucrose?" Collei wondered.
"Are you still thinking about today?" Dori guessed.
"Yes…" Sucrose admitted with a sigh. "I owe you an apology, Collei."
"An apology… to me?" Collei repeated in puzzlement. "What for?"
"Because I promised you that today I'd help you write a reply to Amber, which we haven't done. I'm sorry."
"No, no, it's okay. There is no rush in writing her a reply; we can wait until we both feel better before doing so." Collei comforted her.
They were talking about Collei's illiteracy like nothing, despite Dori being present. Although none of them had told Dori anything about it directly, they knew that the latter was already well aware of the whole picture. And her not meddling denoted that she didn't mind about Collei's late start either.
After a long while, the Stumper Beast arrived at the Palace of Alcazarzaray when night began to fall. Soltani was in the garden at the moment, lighting the lamps. He saw them arriving and went out to receive them.
"Welcome home," he greeted. "How was the day?"
"Too long. So long that I don't want to talk about it," Dori replied. "Take the Stumper Beast to the pen. I'm going straight to take a bath."
As soon as Dori dismounted the Stumper Beast and began to walk on her own two feet, her legs began to tremble, and she had difficulty in keeping her balance. Collei was more or less the same. Sucrose, however, barely felt any ache.
"We will surely be all sore tomorrow…" Collei groaned.
"I'm going to put my stuff in the atelier first," Sucrose mentioned, "but then I'll go straight to the bathtub, too."
"In that case, I'll wait for you," Dori said. "How about you, Collei?"
"I'm waiting, too, of course. Although I also want to take a bath right now, I want the three of us to go together."
Soltani took the Stumper Beast to the pen, at the end of the path between rocky walls, and Dori and Collei accompanied Sucrose to her atelier. When they reached the atelier door, Sucrose pulled out a piece of paper stuck on the door frame and gave it to Dori. Dori read it: I went out with Nahida and Cyno. Dori, Collei, sorry for not telling you in person, but we are in a hurry and we can't wait. Sucrose.
Indeed, Sucrose had left there a note for them, which neither of them had noticed. Now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, Dori felt ashamed for not noticing the note and putting all the blame on Sucrose. Nevertheless, she said nothing. In fact, none of them said a word regarding the whole issue. There was no point in delving into what would have occurred had either of them noticed the note. It just happened this way, and what was done, was done.
Once inside, as Sucrose emptied her pouches, the turn of the Bija, the Aranara seed, came. Sucrose stopped putting her stuff away and just stared solemnly at the seed as she held it in her hand. Collei became worried and approached her.
"Sucrose…"
"Don't worry; I'm not going to cry," Sucrose asserted. "It's just that I don't know where to put it until I find the perfect spot to plant it. I don't want to leave it inside a drawer or on a shelf."
"Why don't you leave it on the desk? That way, you will always have it in sight," Dori proposed. "You could take it with you whenever you go out as well."
Sucrose liked both of Dori's suggestions. She put the rest of her stuff away in their respective places, and then she gently placed the seed on the desk.
"I will give you the best life you could ever ask for," she told the seed, full of determination. "I promise."
Then, the three girls exited the atelier. Sucrose turned the lights off and locked the door behind her. The atelier was now in complete darkness, except for a faint gleam coming from the seed.
The long-awaited time for bathing arrived at last. The three girls walked straight towards the main building. To Collei's surprise, and also, although less so, to Sucrose's, Shaghayeh awaited them at the front door.
"Good evening, Shaghayeh," Dori greeted her nonchalantly. "Have you come out to greet us?"
"Soltani told me about your arrival, and also that all of you looked quite exhausted," Shaghayeh explained. "Therefore, I took the liberty of leaving your sleeping clothes prepared in the bathroom."
"As sharp and efficient as ever!" Dori laughed.
Sucrose was already accustomed to Shaghayeh's superb efficiency by now; however, Collei was still not so much, and blushed. She blushed because, if Shaghayeh had prepared her pajamas, then that would mean that she might have done the same with her underwear. For her part, Dori motioned Shaghayeh to bend down and whispered something in her ear.
"Certainly. I shall get to it posthate," Shaghayeh nodded. She went back inside without wasting a moment.
"What did you tell her?" Sucrose pried.
"You will find out later," Dori just said teasingly.
Once they finally submerged themselves in the huge bathtub after washing themselves in the shower room, they felt as if all of their ailments had vanished all of a sudden, both physical and mental. Anybody would think that the water in that tub had magical properties. They remained in the bathtub for a long time; none of them knew how long, only that it still did not seem long enough. As they were putting their sleeping clothes on, Collei confirmed in embarrassment that, just as she had assumed, Shaghayeh had prepared their underwear as well.
"Are you okay, Collei? You look very red," Sucrose said worriedly. "Maybe you've spent too much time in the bathtub."
"Y-yes! That must be it, yes!" Collei lied.
Afterwards, they went to the dining room to have dinner. Now that they were rested, everybody began to feel hungry. Very hungry. They realized that they hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. To everybody's surprise, dinner was already on the table when they arrived. Their dinner consisted of Minty Bean Soup as a first course, Curry Shrimp for the second course, and Candied Ajilenakh Nut for dessert. That was no feast, but it was a fairly filling dinner in comparison with the light dinners usually served in the palace.
"Wow. Is this what you told Shaghayeh before?" Sucrose asked in amazement.
"No, this isn't it," Dori replied with the same amazement.
They both guessed that this was Shaghayeh's own doing, who must have noticed that the girls were hungry even before themselves. Regardless of whether such was the case or not, the actual fact was that they were hungry and they didn't want the food to get cold. Thus, the three girls sat down to dine without mulling over possible theories. The food was delicious, quite more than usual. Perhaps whoever had prepared it had made a great effort in doing so, or perhaps the food simply tasted better because of how hungry they were and finally having the taste of home after such a long day.
They left nothing on their plates. There had been the ideal amount of food to sate their hunger without stuffing themselves. Moments later, Shaghayeh arrived. She gazed at the empty dishes and smiled.
"I'm glad that you enjoyed your meal," she said. "Truth be told, I was afraid that I might have prepared too much."
So it was her doing, after all.
"Sometimes, I'm scared of your sharpness, Shaghayeh," Dori praised her. "So, if you are here, does that mean that everything is already set?"
"Indeed. You may go whenever you wish."
"Perfect!" Dori said happily. She then turned towards Sucrose and Collei. "Come with me, you two."
The girls let Shaghayeh clear the table and exited the dining room. Both Sucrose and Collei were eager to know what Dori had prepared, especially the former, who was already well acquainted with her antics. Despite this, she was still as surprised as Collei once they arrived where Dori had led them: to her personal sitting room. They went inside. The arrangement of the room had been entirely changed: everything had been moved aside, and three mattresses had been arranged in the center of the room.
"Dori, are you planning to do a pajama party?" Sucrose guessed.
"Indeed I am! You guessed right!" Dori teased. She then blushed and spoke in a more bashful manner. "I thought that perhaps it would be good for you not to sleep alone tonight."
Dori was concerned that Sucrose might become depressed again if she thought about the Aranara siblings, so she wanted to keep her company that night. And, of course, she didn't want to leave Collei out; thus, she had come up with that idea. She thought that, by doing so, Sucrose could, at least, find solace in their company.
Sucrose liked the idea. In fact, she was moved by Dori's thoughtfulness. She walked over to Dori and hugged her tightly. Sucrose's sincere and affectionate hug made Dori blush even deeper, which, in turn, made Collei chortle when she saw her face. Behind all that greed for money, there really is a loving person, she thought smilingly.
Each one sat on a mattress, and they made themselves comfortable. Although they were tired, they had just dined; therefore, it would not be a good idea to go to sleep at once. Instead, they spent time chatting while playing some rounds of Genius Invocation TCG. Dori, and with greater effort Collei, tried to keep the conversation lively while avoiding any mention of that very day, the Aranara, or Vanarana. From time to time, some gossip would surface in the conversation, like about a certain dancer in the Great Bazaar, a certain guardian of a village in the desert, or the very same scribe or the Akademiya. Sucrose could not participate in those because she did not know the people they were talking about. Nevertheless, her insatiable curiosity caused her to listen to all that gossiping with all her attention.
"Hey, Collei, do you happen to have any dirty laundry on Tighnari or Cyno?" Dori asked at one point.
"I have some," Collei confessed, "but each one will cost you a hundred thousand Mora."
The three girls burst out in laughter. Of course, Dori had just said it teasingly, and Collei was able to realize it and play along. Although they were enjoying their sleepover, fatigue eventually got the better of them; otherwise, they might have not slept a wink that night. In the end, they fell asleep at the same time as any other day. Sucrose had had such a good time with her friends that the sorrows of that day did not cause her any sleep issues.
At that same hour, in the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Nahida paced up and down the whole place. She had gone straight to sleep after arriving, but she had been awoken by a nightmare. In said nightmare, she was the one who had sacrificed in order to purify the black mud, and everybody was mourning her loss. The last thing she saw before she woke up was Sucrose holding the sprout she had become while weeping disconsolately.
She was restless and could not get back to sleep. Not because she was scared of having another nightmare, but because she could not stop thinking about the whole matter. To begin with, she had full control of her own dreams. Why had she had that nightmare, then? All she could think of was that it had been the work of her own subconscious, because she never stopped thinking about the sacrifice of the Aranara siblings, regardless of how hard she tried. Watching Sucrose's grief up close, and feeling her own due to their loss had left a deep mark on her. It had made her learn the hard way that sacrifice was not a decision which could be taken lightly, and she castigated herself for having come up with such an idea.
"I shouldn't have mentioned it," she lamented over and over again, "I shouldn't have…"
She was being consumed by remorse, more so than she had thought when she had parted with the others. She regretted not having accepted Dori's offer and spending the night with them. That way, she would not be alone at least. But it was already too late; it would not be long before midnight.
"I should go outside and get some fresh air…" she decided.
However, just when she was halfway towards the front door, said door opened and somebody walked inside. It was a boy of medium height, with blue eyes and short, dark hair. On his head stood out his navy-blue kasa, an Inazuman conical hat. Nahida was glad to see him, although she also began to have a bad feeling. The boy wasted no time before speaking:
"So the menace has been eliminated."
"So you already know," Nahida confirmed in all seriousness.
"I do. And so do they," the boy revealed. "They already know what happened, and who did it."
Nahida shivered, and her emotions began to overflow her. On the one hand, although she had already suspected it, receiving confirmation about who was behind the new Withering incident infuriated her. However, on the other hand, she had just received news she wished she would never hear, which terrified her. She gritted her teeth, trying to restrain her nerves.
Eventually, she managed to regain control over her emotions, letting out a heavy sigh of resignation. No more getting fresh air for her; that issue was much more important, and it needed to be kept in utmost privacy. They went to the structure in the center, where they resumed their conversation.
"Then they already know everything?" Nahida inquired. "And how did they manage to find it out so fast?"
"Apparently, the Dreamcatcher, or the menace as we called it, had a device that sent information to them remotely," the boy explained. "Its last record is an image of the four girls who defeated it."
"Was there anything else among the records? Like information about Vanarana?"
"No. That data was missing for some reason," the boy asserted. "Only you and those other three girls appeared on them."
In other words, although some information had been leaked, for some strange reason, none regarding the dream plane did so; therefore, nothing about the Aranara or Vanarana of Dreams got disclosed.
Nahida sighed; she felt somewhat relieved after hearing the boy's statement. Those were marvelous news which denoted that they had succeeded in protecting the Aranara. However, Nahida was not as glad as she ought to be due to their victory, for there was still another dire matter at hand:
"Still, if they have an image of us four, does that mean that they have found her?"
"Not yet," the boy replied. "Thanks to my 'services', the ones here don't know anything about her. However, now that that information has been leaked, it's just a matter of time before it reaches The Doctor."
This time, unfortunately, Nahida's fears had been confirmed. Such confirmation meant that the peace she had so painstakingly designed, and which she had so innocently hoped would last forever, had come to an end.
"He will certainly try it again," Nahida sighed. "We are going to have a lot of work to do, especially if the newest Harbinger comes into play once again as well."
"I don't want to even think about that one…" the boy groaned. "Anyway, there's still some time to come up with something before The Doctor knows about today. And even so, I don't think he'll dare to act rashly in Sumeru knowing that they've upset the Archon, even with their new partner."
"Indeed, although that new Harbinger does not appear in Irminsul, and thus I cannot know anything about them, I can still know what they are up to by looking at anybody else."
How much time they would have before everything would be set in motion, they did not know. Nevertheless, Nahida knew that she could still spare some time to recover from her clash with the menace, or rather, the Dreamcatcher. Thus, she decided to try going out to get some fresh air and collect her thoughts once again, now that there was nothing else to say. To her surprise, the boy came along with her.
"I also need some peace and quiet right now after such a busy day, thanks to a certain someone," he justified.
"I really appreciate your help," Nahida retorted.
"The work you make me do… I can keep the ones here in check because they're very few, and they're disorganized, but it doesn't make it any less of a pain."
They exited the sanctuary, and Nahida leant her body against the railing in front of it. There was nobody but both of them up there at that hour. A pleasant wind blew, which helped Nahida clear her mind. Beside her stood the boy, gazing into the distance. Scarcely any landscape could be discerned amidst the dark of the night, yet it mattered not to him.
"Why do you care about that girl so much?" he asked suddenly.
"Because it is vital to keep her safe from them in order for The Doctor's plan not to succeed," Nahida argued. "You agree with me on that, do you?"
"I do, but I don't see the connection between her safety and the lengths you go for her."
"Well, that is because she is also my friend."
"Friend? You call that friendship even knowing what it's based on?" the boy mocked.
Nahida opened her mouth to retort, yet she said nothing. She didn't know how to respond to that. Her expression saddened. The boy looked at her in genuine surprise.
"Well, this is new. You always have a comeback for whatever I say," he said, sounding somewhat concerned.
"I… guess it has been a long day for me as well," Nahida sighed weakly.
Nahida tried not to let what the boy had just said get the better of her: she knew that he had meant no harm, it was just that he had his share of problems about expressing himself as well, even if he was not entirely wrong. Be that as it may, there was something much direr to focus on, and Nahida was aware that she needed to be at the best of her capabilities in order to tackle the forthcoming events. The sacrifice of the Aranara siblings still affected her, yet she thought about it no longer. She could not afford being distracted by the sorrows of yesterday anymore; she needed to focus all of her efforts on the worries of tomorrow.
"I hope I can count on your help when the time comes," she asked.
"As if I had a choice to refuse…" the boy snorted.