By dawn, I was waiting at the village gates. Sylens stood beside me. He was brooding. He refused to answer any of my questions. Every now and then, I'd glance at him with my third eye. Time energy flowed through him like a storm. If it weren't for his Fragment, which regulated the flow through his conduits, he would have decayed long ago. 

It reminded me of how lucky I was since I practically escaped the worst outcome. In retrospect, having that Fragment was extremely peculiar. I wasn't nearly ready to have it, let alone bend it to my will. Yet I did it. I didn't know how I managed it, but I did.

An hour went by and a young woman came to join us. She was wearing a long white robe, which reminded me of the Church. She had long black hair that extended to her hips. Her eyes were but slits, even when at rest. She shot a lazy look toward me then stood next to Sylens.

"Is he the one Heda spoke about?" I heard her whisper to the man.

Sylens grunted in response. 

"I'm here, no need to address me in the third person," I said loud enough for them to hear. 

The young woman chuckled then came to me. She extended her hand toward me and smiled. Laugh lines appeared around her nose, and her eyes narrowed even further. "My name is Friede." 

I shook her hand. "Myles Stalwart," I replied. 

I saw her eyes open wide. "That last name..." 

"That's the mad wizard's," Sylens interjected. 

"His fame crosses oceans," I said chuckling. "I'm his grandson." 

I've hidden my name for so long, sometimes out of shame, other times because I was afraid my grandfather would come make my life miserable. I was no longer afraid to use it however, not in here anyway. "Who we are or where we came from doesn't matter here. We'll all be working together. Let's just acknowledge each other's skills instead of our family names." 

"What are your skills?" Sylens asked. 

"You'll find out soon enough," I replied with a smirk. 

Heda joined us then. She was wearing leather armor that hugged her small bodice. Her red hair flowed behind her. Her wide hips swung from one side to the other as she made her way toward us. With the corner of my eye, I saw Sylens ogling her as though she was a G.o.ddess. 

"Shall we go?" she asked as she reached us. 

The morning air was glacial. It was still dark when we departed from the village. Even though the sun had already risen, its rays hadn't reached the valley, hidden between two mountains. 

We reached the foot of the mountain by midday. The sun was s.h.i.+ning above our heads by then. Green fields extended before us, as far as the eye could see. Giant beasts walked around, oblivious to our presence. We were but ants to them, trying to avoid being stomped. Far away in the horizon, I could see a lake. 

"That's Lake Awa. Rimbaldi lives in a castle beyond it," Heda said. Her cheeks were fl.u.s.tered, which emphasized her freckles even more. 

"We'll have to deal with whatever beast comes our way," Sylens added. He was looking at the gigantic monsters that walked by us on all fours. "These ones don't care for our presence. We can't harm them anyway." 

"Which ones are you talking about then?" I asked. 

"You'll see soon enough," Friede said in a wry smile. 

"We've been waiting for the other champions to join us. We couldn't get to the lake before, no matter how much we tried," Heda clarified. 

We made camp in the evening near a stream. The ladies got the chance to freshen up while I looked for a secluded place to meditate. I sat down on top of a hill, near a steep cliff, and began regulating my breath. 

My time in Ulmir's Domain had been more than fruitful. I managed to solidify seven of my cores. Besides, I learned many tricks when it comes to defeating monsters. I'd become an expert monster slayer.

I even almost partic.i.p.ated in a Hunt, if Omega hadn't come to warn me that the Paradox I created would only get stronger. Contrary to what Cicero believed, Omega stayed true to his word. He taught me well, and only expected one favor in return. Rimbaldi had something of his, and he wanted it back. 

"What are you doing?" I heard Sylens ask. 

He had only six solidified cores. His seventh gave off a strong aura, but he needed to win the Holi Wars in order to solidify it. The time fragment in his possession helped make his energy feel much more oppressive though. He was by far the strongest of the three champions. 

"Training," I said, my eyes still closed. 

Sylens snorted. "You remind me of my childhood. Master used to stand behind me, a thick stick on his hand. Every time I failed concentrating on my energy, he'd whack me on the head with it." I heard him scratch his head. 

"Your master only meant for you to get stronger," I said. I opened my eyes and stood. "We have company," I said, then approached the cliff. 

Sylens joined me then cursed. "That's one of the beasts I told you about," he hissed. 

Below us, a beast three times our size was walking on its hind legs. It had a wolf's muzzle. Sharp, wide fangs protruded, glistening against the setting sun light. It held a curved sword that could easily surpa.s.s me in height. As it walked, the earth shook under its strong hooves. 

It had horns like a bull's, and its hairy torso reminded me of the animal, only much bigger, hairier, and more muscular. Its red eyes scanned the area. Its large nostrils contracted, as though it was looking for a specific smell.

"They call him Katoblepas," Sylens said as he drew his sword. "It's heading toward the girls." 

"Heda would see it coming miles away," I said. I drew my sword then advanced toward the edge of the cliff. 

"What are you doing?!" Sylens screamed. The beast lifted its head toward us upon hearing his voice. It bared its sharp teeth and fangs at us, growling as it did. 

I turned to face Sylens. "The Primordials chose you to slay a G.o.d. Show some strength, champion of time. We can't hope to beat a G.o.d if we can't slay a simple beast." 

I jumped down the cliff. Wind howled against my ear as I readied myself for a tough fight. The beast had three cores. In theory, the fight should be easy, but we were still mortals despite our strengthened souls. The strength between monster and human could not be quantified just by the number of cores each one of us had. 

I learned this the hard way.

I landed before the beast and it immediately swung its large sword at me. I ducked underneath it and dashed toward its hooves. They were the first weakness I spotted. I projected my energy into my sword, reinforcing it in the process, then swung with all my might. 

My sword cut through the beast's s.h.i.+n. In a flash, I was behind it. I heard a crack, then the beast howled at the top of its lungs. I immediately turned around to see the beast's leg detaching. A pool of dark blood formed below the Katoblepas, and it fell. I jumped away just in time to avoid being crushed by its heavy body. 

I jumped over its back, activated my third eye and spotted its three cores. I sliced its muscular back open then inserted my hand inside its hot body. My hand glowed like hot iron out of fire as I searched through the beast's soul. I extracted its first core and immediately threw it into my mouth. 

The beast howled once more, its cries traveled through the green plains, alarming the giant monsters in the distance. I extracted the second, then the beast's third core. When I was done, I was standing over a mish-mash of sinew and brain matter. 

Sylens had just joined me then. His jaw had dropped to the floor. "How did you – What did you –" His eyes darted from me to the bloodied monster. "What are you?" 

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