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'He reminds me of a lot of rich second generations back on earth, except he doesn't seem to be a horrible person.' Talon thought to himself.

"Well, I wouldn't say that you're a child. Even I mistake people's true nature every now and then. Not all humans are crystal clear. Some are vague, and some are dangerous. That's why you have to always be wary of every stranger you meet till you're convinced that they're good."

"Should I be wary of you too, Talon?" Arryn asked as he tilted his head confusedly.

"... Yeah, of course. We barely met a few minutes ago. You must not trust every word I say."

"But… You told me that you're a good person and that I should trust you. Which is the right thing?" Arryn frowned as if he found it hard to understand what Talon was saying.

"No… What… It's…" Talon found himself completely speechless by the boy's question. "Ugh, what's important is that I'm not going to harm you. The same can't be applied to other humans though."

"Oh, I see. Thank you for clarifying." The boy bowed slightly before he looked up. "So, what are you doing here alone, Talon?"

"Me? Let's say I'm traveling solo from a far away country." He replied with a vague tone.

"Isn't the desert too dangerous to travel alone? My dad said that ceremonial descent ends up killing many of our people more than humans do."

"Ceremonial Descent? What's that?"

"Oh, well, once an Azurian reaches puberty, they're tasked with going down from the Divine Piercer and live on their own for a year. If they can survive and come back, they would be glorified and respected amongst our people."

'Talk about a suicidal ceremony. Well, I can't really judge their culture without knowing more.' Talon blinked with a stoic expression.

He knew that this was their way of showing that they're worthy of becoming great figures amongst the Azurians, as deadly as it is.

"So you were also supposed to do that once you hit puberty?" Talon asked.

"Yes! Many people expected me to succeed and do great things in the future. My father even told me that I will have to lead our people and finally get back on the ground. That's actually my dream: To live peacefully on the ground again one day. I'm working hard to achieve it and become a great leader." He said excitedly.

His beautiful sky-blue eyes shone with bright colors as if he was talking about something he was very passionate about.

Talon found that rather interesting as he nodded his head. "A great leader, huh? So you're from a royal family?"

"Royal? What's that?"

"Royal as in… Your family are the ones that rule the Azurians." Talon explained.

"Oh, you mean the Great Chief? Yes, I am the heir to my father, the current Great Chief." The boy nodded.

'As I expected, I guess. Quite the weird encounter to find someone as important as him in this god-forsaken desert. It's almost like I was meant to find him.' Squinting his eyes, Talon thought about it for a moment.

He was in a test at the moment. He still didn't know what the test was exactly, but he was certain that it already started. This meeting, as coincidental as it may seem at first glance, was perhaps the first major part of the test.

Still, he had no idea what he was supposed to do with Arryn. The boy was clearly not ready to be left alone in this desert surrounded by monsters that could easily eat him.

'Should I really help him? I mean… He would die either way. He might even be the key to getting out of here.' Rubbing the back of his head, Talon decided to follow his feeling. In reality, he would feel very bad if he left a kid on his own to die.

"So, what are you going to do now? Do you have a way to return to your homeland?" Talon asked.

"... I… That's a problem." The boy said with a dry laugh. "I don't know how to go back."

"... Sigh, so you're stuck here?"

"No, I mean, there is a chance that I might be able to go back. But, I don't know how to do it on my own."

Tapping rhythmically on his leg, Talon asked. "What is the method?"

"... Wait, Talon… Are you…?"

"Yes, I might be able to help you if I can. It depends on how we can do that."

The boy stared blankly at him before he smiled widely. "Thank you so much! I'm really glad I met you, Talon!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it. So, how can we do this?"

"From what I know… Every one year, the Divine Piercer has to land on the ground to shed its feathers and drink water. That is actually the way our people come back after their journey. If we find the Divine Piercer's landing spot, I can go back."

"Hmm, that sounds straightforward enough. But, where can we even find him?"

"That's… I don't know… I have never gone down to know where exactly that place is. It could be anywhere." Arryn pursed his lips sadly as he looked down.

"That is a problem, indeed. But…" Talon rubbed his chin. "You said that it needs to shed its feathers and drink water, right?"

"Yes."

"That means the location where it's going to land is most likely near some kind of water source. From what I can see, there aren't that many water sources in this world, no? If we can somehow cut down the number of possible locations, we can find it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, as I said, I will help you out. So, don't worry about it. Though, when is that going to happen exactly?"

"Uh, if I recall correctly, it's going to happen in a month."

"A month? Good, that's enough time to find it."

'Uh, but I don't know if it's enough to reach said location if it's too far. It could be millions of kilometers away as far as I'm concerned.'

But, Talon didn't say that out loud so as not to break the boy's spirit. He had to rely on luck on this one.

"Well, in either case. You need to come with me. I'm heading to the nearest city. That's where we can start searching." Standing up, Talon dusted his clothes.

"Is that fine with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"That I come along? I don't want to waste your time if you are busy." The boy held his hands together hesitantly.

"Come on, man. I have nothing else to do. If anything, you're way more helpful than you might think."

'You might be my key to accomplishing the test.'

Just by meeting Arryn, Talon had opened a new door to an entire path that would perhaps lead him to his goal. He wasn't going to let it slip from his hands now.

"Wow, so there are people this kind in this world. I'm really touched." The boy covered his face as if he was trying to hide his tears.

'He's quite the emotional type… Well, I guess he's made of water which fits him well.' Talon thought to himself with a wry smile as he extended his hand to help Arryn stand up.

"Come on, we still have a long journey ahead of us. We need to start moving as soon as possible if we want to reach the city by the end of the week."

"Yes!"

With that, Talon picked up the bag and gave Arryn his jacket so that he can use it instead of his tattered shirt. The boy took it gladly and the two started moving again.

"Hey, Talon…" A few minutes passed before Acrypha tapped Talon's shoulder.

"Hm?"

"I think I remember now… I thought the name was very familiar… Azurians, that's a word I heard before in the distant past and now I remember where I heard it." She said in a serious tone.

This entire time, Acryphad had been silent as she was in deep thought for some reason. Talon noticed that but didn't say anything. Now that she spoke, he finally focused on her.

"Oh, what do you know about them?"

The way Acrypha spoke made Talon instinctively tense up. He thought he heard the entire history of the Azurians from Arryn. But, from what he can see, his companion had something she wanted to tell him.

"The Azurians aren't actually from this planet, if I recall correctly."

"Oh?" Those words made Talon stop for a second before he started moving again as if nothing happened.

"What do you mean, Acrypha?"

"As I said, they didn't exist here from the beginning of time. From what I read before, Azurians are a rare kind of water creatures that have existed in the Core Dimension since its formation. Then, for one reason or another, they ended up leaving the Core Dimension in the past. The reasons aren't clear."

Talon squinted his eyes for a moment as he took all of that in. He was quite surprised to hear that.

'An entire race left the Core Dimension? Why could that be? That is very interesting.'

For some reason, this detail made his brain work even faster. He had never heard of such a thing before from Acrypha.

"Is it common for such a thing to happen?"

"No, I have never heard of an inter-dimensional migration except this one. Most races that formed in the Core Dimension from the beginning would either flourish there or turn into prey and eventually go extinct. Leaving was never an option because it's not simple."

'To leave the Core Dimension requires way too much even for a single individual. For an entire race of people to leave at the same time… That's unheard of.' Acrypha rubbed her chin.

"It has been a mystery for a while now which is why I remembered it." Then, she looked down at Talon. "This isn't something normal, Talon. It's far from that."

A//N: If you enjoyed reading, don't forget to support the book with GT and PS. Thank you!