"Shouldn't we... like tell them?"
Auren frowned at Jasper as they continued forward.
"Tell them what?"
Jasper shrank back as Auren looked like he almost snapped at him. Still, he managed to speak, though his voice wavered slightly.
"I mean... that's not the way to defeat the trial? If we find out about this stolen dawn, wouldn't... we be closer than they are?"
Auren walked in silence for several seconds. Then finally, he spoke.
"Have you ever heard the saying that a single path does not lead to the market square?"
Jasper looked down thoughtfully, searching his memory.
"Well, I don't quite know how to put this. Our values and cultures are vastly different. But I can confirm that one path never leads alone to a market square. Take Erdeil Market for example. It's possible to enter from Yorkshire Close. One could also take Shetter Street, Dockingbell Street, or Tinker Street too, and they'd all enter the market from different sides."
Auren stared at the boy with disbelief. He had no idea what places Jasper was talking about, but at least he seemed to grasp the concept.
Meredith, meanwhile, appeared disconnected from their conversation. She simply pressed forward, her face a mask of indifference.
Jasper added solemnly:
"But Sir Auren... how does this saying... relate to our current situation?"
Auren nodded approvingly, clicking his tongue.
"Simple really. The Trial's core is the market, and the approaches we take to reach it are the paths. What I'm saying is, it doesn't matter what each of us does, whether together or alone. At the end of the day, every action drives us toward the Trial's conclusion."
Jasper's eyes widened with understanding.
"Ahhhhh, I see."
He fell quiet for a moment, his blue eyes distant with thought. Then he added:
"Interesting. That market saying really was the perfect way to explain it. I understood completely!"
Auren smiled and nodded.
"You're welcome."
He glanced sideways, hoping to catch Meredith's reaction, but felt a twinge of disappointment. The young girl remained frosty and unresponsive.
'Not that I expected anything.'
Jasper's voice broke the silence.
"So you're saying... they could complete the trial just as well as we could?"
Auren nodded once.
"This trial is just a tapestry of stories that have already happened. This is merely a replay. What will happen in the end will happen. My only advice is to actively participate in it. That way, you can awaken as a Devout with truly useful skills. You do know that the skills you awaken are somehow tied to your experiences in a trial, right?"
Jasper nodded eagerly.
"Yes, yes I do. However, I'm grateful for your reminder."
He smiled, his handsome face radiating in a way that annoyed Auren deeply.
'Why the hell is he smiling?'
Auren hardened his gaze and pressed forward. For a few minutes, they continued in silence.
After a while, Jasper sighed heavily and broke the quiet with his somewhat gentle voice.
"Uhm, so... if we do find the place where I broke free from the coffins, what do we do next?"
Auren glanced at him, his gaze lingering before he responded.
"That would depend on what we find there. But either way, we'll have to fight—humans or Cursed Creatures. So prepare yourself."
Jasper swallowed hard.
"I'm not so good at fighting though..."
Auren looked at him with a subtle crimson light burning coldly in his eyes.
"I guess you'll have to learn then..."
Auren paused, then grinned wickedly as he added:
"By real-time experience. What a lucky bastard you are."
Jasper felt ice crawling down his spine. What in Passion's name was wrong with this young boy?
He couldn't understand at all. His blue eyes trembled with fear as they stared at Auren.
The next second, a detached, beautifully cold voice cut through the air.
"Aren't we supposed to be fighting Cursed Creatures by now?"
Meredith asked, her gaze sweeping across the darkness as if searching for something.
Auren shifted his attention to her and followed her surveying motion.
"I guess so..."
As he answered Meredith, realization dawned on him, causing his brows to furrow with a dark, troubled frown.
What Meredith was pointing out, he already knew. The peace had been so pleasant that he'd failed to question it.
There should have been Cursed Creatures swarming this part of the plains, but suddenly all of them were gone. Auren knew that many Cursed Creatures had pursued him into the jagged rock formation where he'd dealt with them, but he also knew this was a plain that should be perpetually teeming with Cursed lives.
'...Now that I think about it.'
Auren grimaced and faced Jasper.
"How exactly did you cross this place without dying if you can't protect yourself?"
Jasper smiled, a hint of pride crossing his face.
"I was very meticulous in finding my way and avoiding disaster. All I encountered were dead Cursed Creatures."
Auren's frown deepened like a shadow at sunset. He wasn't particularly doubting Jasper's ability to "be very meticulous in avoiding disaster," considering the boy claimed to be useless in battle.
But the beautiful prince hadn't struck him as particularly careful in the short time he'd known him.
Still, Auren understood Jasper's ego, which led him to claim this carefulness as his achievement.
'He'd be very easy to manipulate...'
Which was why all of this suddenly disturbed him. The notion forming in his mind—he hoped it wasn't true. He hoped to be wrong.
If he was right though, that would make many things clearer but more difficult.
He pondered deeply as they continued forward, unease growing within him. At first, Auren wanted to keep his suspicions from the others, but he felt responsible to share them. They needed to know too.
He stopped abruptly, causing Meredith and Jasper to halt as well. They looked at him with confusion.
"Sir Auren. Is all well?"
Auren glanced at Jasper but barely acknowledged him. He shifted his hard gaze to Meredith before speaking.
"There's something I just realized. And I thought it in good faith to share with you. I usually wouldn't, but considering your lives are now in my hands, I'll make an exception."
His statement drew serious expressions from both of them.
Auren continued nonetheless, his voice cold and measured.
"I think we are being lured."