CHAPTER 303: WISE BEYOND YEARS

"Young friends..."

Ossian paused, seeming to weigh his words carefully.

"No. Young heroes."

The words hung in the air, immense and terrifying.

"The journey will be perilous. The path is forgotten, and the outside world is not what I knew. The Nexus Stone must be protected, its light shielded from those who would see it extinguished forever."

He leaned forward, the void in his chest swirling slowly.

"Are you willing to undertake this quest? To carry the hope of this world to the Forge of Dawn and restore what was lost?"

Silence blanketed the chamber once again, heavy with the weight of his request. I could feel the enormity of what he was asking settling over us like a suffocating shroud.

I glanced at Zephyr. His eyes were already burning with that familiar determination, the look that came whenever duty called. We nodded to each other, a silent understanding passing between us before turning to face Ossian.

"I must ask you again," Ossian pressed, his ancient voice heavy with desperate hope. "Will you—"

"We are ready..." Zephyr began.

"I’m sorry, but no," I said at once.

The chamber fell completely silent.

Zephyr’s head stared at me. "...Eh?"

From Ossian came a similar, deeper rumble of pure, unadulterated confusion "... Eh?"

I could feel Zephyr’s stare boring into the side of my head. Inwardly, I chuckled.

You didn’t expect this, did you?1

"What are you saying?" Zephyr hissed, his voice low with urgency and disbelief.

"I was about to ask you the same from you," I replied calmly. "And I said no. We can’t do that."

For just a brief moment, so quick that I almost missed it, I caught Ossian’s violet eyes twitching. A microscopic flicker of... what? Confusion? Irritation? Calculation?

It’s been three minutes already, I noted silently. I must use it carefully this time...

The silence stretched uncomfortably before Ossian spoke again, his voice heavy with what sounded like profound disappointment.

"Ah... I understand. I was asking too much of you." The ancient guardian’s massive shoulders seemed to sag. "To expect strangers to risk everything for a world they barely knew, for the sake of an old fool’s duty... that was presumptuous of me."

"You’re absolutely right," I agreed readily, nodding with apparent sympathy. "Well, except the presumptuous part."

Both of them stared at me again, this time with even greater bewilderment.

"What do you mean by this, young friend?" Ossian asked, his tone suddenly sharp, more serious than before.

"I’m just agreeing with you." I shrugged casually. "After all, you really are asking too much from us." I gestured at Zephyr and then myself. "I mean, look at us. We’re just two weak humans. We were so weak that we barely survived getting this far into your domain. We don’t have any particularly good equipment or skills. Our most powerful move is basically ’run away very fast’ when we face an enemy stronger than us."

I paused, letting my words hang in the air, emphasizing our apparent helplessness.

"You’re asking us to carry the single most important object in existence across unknown, undoubtedly dangerous lands to a mythical forge that may not even exist anymore. You’re sending us out to face who-knows-what with nothing but our wits and a ’good luck.’"

I shook my head, injecting the right amount of earnest concern into my voice.

"It’s not that we don’t want to help. The problem is, we’d be doomed before we even left the valley. There’s a big, bad monster waiting for us outside, you get what I mean. So, we’d be failing you before we even began. And wouldn’t that be the greatest tragedy of all? The world ending because its last hope was sent out completely unprepared?"

I turned my most sincere, pleading look toward the ancient Warden.

"Honored Ossian, surely after guarding so long, you have... accumulated something? Right?"

"A forgotten map? Powerful life-saving relics? An ancient art or a technique?"

"Even a sliver of your immense power to guide or shield us? Something that would enable us to successfully complete this mission? It would be a shame if your vigil ended because we lacked the proper tools and strength to continue it."

The chamber fell into another profound silence. I could practically feel the gears turning in Ossian’s ancient mind as he processed my words. His violet eyes flickered, dimmed, then flared again like a flame struggling against the wind.

"Your reasoning is... sound," he said slowly, each word carefully measured. "And indeed, sending you forth without proper preparation would be.... certainly foolish."

His gaze lingered on me for a moment, then softened in a way I hadn’t expected.

"You are... wise beyond your years, young Lumin. To see the practical necessities where others would only see glory... that is a rare virtue indeed. And please, forgive this old guardian’s short-sightedness. I should have known better."

"!" Zephyr stared at me in a mixture of astonishment and confusion, trying to figure out exactly what game I was playing.

Hehe, keep thinking.

I kept my face earnest, almost childishly hopeful.

"Hmm..."

Ossian began to pace, if you could call the deliberate movement of his large skeletal form pacing. His claws scraped against the bone with each step, creating a strange rhythmic sound across the room.

"You guessed correctly, young friend. After five hundred thousand years of guardianship, I have indeed... gathered some things which could assist you on your journey." He paused, his gaze drifting to various shadowy recesses around the chamber. "Relics left behind by fallen heroes who sought to protect the world. Knowledge gathered from eons of vigilance. Techniques born of necessity in the crucible of eternal watch."

I leaned forward eagerly. "Then could you help us? Give us what we need to succeed? And don’t worry, we’re quick learners."

I gestured to Zephyr.

"Zamir here is quite skilled with a sword and has an affinity with space. You can teach him those moves you showed us just now, too. And as for me... I won’t ask for that much."

Ossian turned his great skull toward me, and for a moment I thought I saw something flicker in those violet depths.

"...I can," he said slowly. "Though such gifts... they do not come without their own burdens. Sealed powers carry their own weight. Ancient knowledge can be... overwhelming to young minds."

He walked toward one of the shadowed alcoves on bone walls, his form gliding rather than walking.

"Tell me, young heroes. What manner of preparation do you believe you would require for such a perilous journey?"

I caught Zephyr’s eye and finally saw understanding dawn there.

"Ahem."

He adjusted his stance, playing along with my approach.

...Finally, he gets it!

You didn’t, right?