Heart beating lightning quick, palms sweating, eyes dilating, mind foggy and confused. 'A Crowned human!? I thought there had been only Crested's, those were the strongest of humanity—at least they were until now. Why does the public not know of this? It would benefit humanity if the Crowned humans could battle the Purge Beasts in the open..!'
To Ira, there seemed to be no reason as to why they would hide such a miraculous thing. Questions continued to assault her mind, none of them having clear answers.
'Are there humans of even higher ranks that the world does not know about? Sages, Celestial, and possibly even Divines? I doubt the last one; but the other two? How far along has humanity come on the path of Enlightenment?'
Ira began to rub the scar on her hip; confusion now faltered, fogginess cleared, palms refused the call of anxiety, heart no longer beat as if it were lightning. One thing that did not disappear as all others had done—was curiosity.
'How does one become a Crowned..?'
In the world, only three out of seven trials did all of humanity know how to complete. For one to go from Unawakened to the Dormant Rank, they would only be required to crush an Awakening Crystal, completing the Trial Of The Soul.
To go from Dormant to the Awakened rank, one would have to slay their benighted self—the corrupted form of your body and soul aided with a Vestige (Corrupted version of an Echo, most Corrupted and all Benighted selves have one); this action would complete the Trial Of The Body.
'Plenty would say when I was younger, and still cared for education, "You in Purge Beast form".'
Finally, for one to go from Awakened to Crested, they would be required to overcome the Reverberant, 'Something Adonis failed to do.' The Reverberant was akin to a parasite spreading through one's body—only it was not physical, only existing inside the mind of an Awakened human.
There were only two things in common with the trials: they were all given by the "Shadow Of -Unknown-", and all of them were parts of a human, whether physical, spiritual, or mental.
'Trial of the Soul, Body, and Mind.. What could be the next? Seven trials, for seven parts that make up a human, each one challenging a single part of the human climbing the ranks of the Enlightenment.'
Too many questions filled Ira's mind, all of which lacked proper answers—only speculation.
There was only one thing more lethal than misinformation—and that was the lack of information. Even misinformation held its own truths, allowing for a general theory to be made.
The lack of information did not share the same capability. Only speculation could be made when given nothing.
'A man who has nothing can be given nothing… What a cringe quote—it is not even a quote! I just made that up on the spot—wait a minute, it does not even make sense?! Have I finally gone mad? For Gods' sake...'
Groaning in frustration and rubbing her temples, she was pushed into deep thought.
◇
They finally left the towering walls of Fort Echo, continuing their drive down the rundown and old road towards Fort Bravo.
Ira leaned back against the seat of the vehicle, a sharp exhale left her lips. 'This situation is just too-' Ira's train of thought was cut off by Bariealla's voice.
'Are you okay, Ira? You look slightly pale.'
Ira's lips curled downwards into a frown at Bariealla's comment, "Are you trying to make a mockery of my albinism—not that I am an albino… I think."
Bariealla gave a quick, confused blink. "What? No..! I was just checking to see if you were okay; you seemed distraught for a reason Unbeknownst to me."
'Unbeknownst to the world, too… Most of it, at least.' Ira silently thought to herself, a long pause going on before she spoke aloud once more:
"I'm okay." A short and dull response, nearly completely devoid of emotion; it did not need emotion to fulfill its purpose.
Bariealla squinted her eyes in a physical attempt to read what could be bothering Ira's mind. In the next moment, she closed them and sighed gently, leaning back against her seat just as Ira had done previously.
"I just realized. I know almost nothing about you. How do your parents feel about you joining GIRS?" Bariealla spoke with a hint of curiosity.
A nervous laugh escaped Ira's lips, "They're long~ dead… Haha."
A stinging pain spread throughout Ira's body. The young girl's attempt to make her sentence seem unserious as to prevent awkwardness did not work—Cammie, Kaine, Bariealla, and even Andrisson went silent.
Bariealla would not even dare to glance up at Ira, her gaze centered around her designated military boots; Kaine and Cammie had halted their playful fighting, staring at Ira awkwardly.
Andrisson only glanced at them all through the mirror—specifically, Ira; a lugubrious atmosphere surrounded him.
Focusing his gaze back towards the destroyed road, he suddenly slammed on the brakes.
"Purge Beast inbound; a few dozen at least, they seem to be led by a Strayed Demon judging by the size of it."
Cammie chuckled obnoxiously loud as to conceal her previous awkwardness, "Are we gonna get to fight—or are you going to baby us and do it yourself yet again? Plus, the new girl went on about killing an Aberrant Demon by her lonesome. Let us see her skills in action!"
'Maybe I should let them know I did not accomplish it by myself—even though I did get the kill.' Ira pondered this idea briefly, before deciding against it. 'They may think I am a liar or a narcissist if I tell them now... Like Kaine.'
Gripping the steering wheel in frustration, he closed his eyes tightly. "Alright. But if I see any of you approaching death I will pull you out." Pausing momentarily, he stared at Kaine in his eyes, "Will you be participating this time?"
Kaine laughed quietly, "I'll stick to healing for now; maybe next time."
A condescending smirk marked Cammie's face, "Is someone too scared to fight Strayed creatures? That's cute, you little baby."
Kaine shrugged his shoulders with indifference, ignoring the rosy-haired girl.
◇
Ira was the first to leave the armored vehicle, quickly followed by the rest.
'This is quite the terrible predicament. Everything keeps on adding up…' she rolled her eyes with a mix of annoyance and drowsiness.
Suddenly, Cammie spoke once again, her voice was not obnoxiously loud as it usually was, she seemed hesitant to speak, "You don't think all that roughhousing was for fun, do you? My Echo ability.. I can't go into battle weak and pitiful, now can I? Show me, Ira—show me the power of one who has slain an Aberrant Demon."
Ira's eyes squinted in confusion at the comment about her echo ability, but quickly, it was replaced with understanding.
'Her ability allows her to store up kinetic energy, similar to a sponge absorbing water.' She thought to herself.
A small chuckle left Ira's lips at Cammie's comment, a quick nod following suit.
"Ira. Heads up." Bariealla said, her dreamy voice nearly putting Ira to sleep right then and there.
A moment later, an iron sword was thrown at her. "I am going to assume you have no Soul-Bound Weapon, so you will need this temporarily."
Bariealla was calm and composed, her breathing was steady—her entire body showed no signs of pressure or stress.
Ira was comparable, but the thought of facing a Purge Beast made her heart beat a little faster, her palms sweating slightly, and her mind attempting to coerce her into rubbing the scar on her left hip.
"So, which one are you going for, new girl?"
Glancing up towards Cammie, Ira's expression hardened with resolve.
"T-the Strayed Demon, of course." internally screaming at herself for stuttering, Ira glanced towards her chosen opponent.
A bipedal abomination that resembled humans to an uncanny level, only distinguishable by its soulless eyes, a large teeth-full grin that seemed to be uncontrollable to the abomination itself, and ashy black skin with deep gashes covering its entire body.
Bariealla only chuckled, "Good luck, Ira."
The young girl blinked multiple times, holding the blade tightly against her chest. 'Frightening… Can I truly kill a Strayed Demon by my lonesome? I have had time to create more mist, but the gap between the Fiend and Demon class is titanic… I can do this—I will slay this abomination, even if I have to rip its head from its shoulders.'
Adjusting her grip on the blade, she prepared to lunge.
'As long as there is delusion—there is hope. I just so happen to be one prone to madness, beast. Are you mad enough to challenge me—the Champion of Hope? I promise you this, your head will fall.' No words had been said, yet the beast seemed to understand through Ira's gaze.
She lunged forward, her borrowed blade splitting the air with the force it carried. She paid no mind to the lesser abominations around her, 'They will take care of them.' she forced herself to believe, and they did. Bariealla and Cammie lunged forward, dealing with the lesser beasts to prevent Ira from being overwhelmed.
Splitting the air with a slash aimed at the Strayed Demon, it too attacked.