He had no idea how long had it been since he left the peak of the mountain. He had no idea if he would ever regret that decision. Nevertheless, he felt it was the right choice.

He raised his arms and let himself fall on his back on the humid gra.s.s, never taking his eyes from the mist. He unconsciously rubbed the old iron ring on his finger, his gaze turning even more unfocused. The cold sensation it gave him was somewhat refres.h.i.+ng, but also a bit unnerving.

What would Lya have said about his decision?

He felt it had been ages since he first entered the h.e.l.lblaze Secret World, and he hadn't been able to speak to her ever since. Amon suddenly realized that he missed her. Ever since he first met that strange Sword Spirit, there was never a day that pa.s.sed when they didn't spoke to each other.

There had never been a day that he didn't receive her guidance, one way or another.

"Having second thoughts?" A cold, crisp voice suddenly echoed from the mist, making Amon's hair stand on end. Still, he somehow managed to keep his calm as he recognized the voice. Nevertheless, his heart was still racing from the sudden visitor appearing.

"I was wondering when we would meet, sir Guardian." Amon said as he slowly stood up, turning his eyes to the blurry figure forming in front of him. A tall man walked out from the mist, covered in white from head to toe.

"Or should I say it is nice seeing you again?" Amon said as he put up a smile. "I have to say, your human form is more pleasing to the eyes than your beastly one."

The man's pure white hair fluttered unnaturally, seamlessly mixing with the billowing mist surrounding him. The sharp features in his pale face where further p.r.o.nounced by a pair of icy eyes that seemed to peer into one's soul, making him seem more like a beast than a man. His thin lips were stretched in a c.o.c.ky smile as he gazed at Amon with a rare interest.

"Heh, look who is being all c.o.c.ky." The Guardian said with a sneer, not hiding the scorn in his icy eyes. He smiled savagely, showing a row of black fangs protruding from his mouth.

"I have to admit, though, I didn't think you would realize it so soon." Although he said words that could be taken as a compliment, his eyes showed nothing but derision, making Amon somewhat embarra.s.sed.

"To be fair, your voice does leave a lasting impression." Amon answered. He had some suspicion on the ident.i.ty of the Guardian when it disclosed the objectives of the Trial of the Heart for all disciples. That crisp, cold voice and that tone full of scorn was certainly unforgettable.

The Guardian threw his head back as he started to laugh. That unnerving gurgling sound was still there, even if less p.r.o.nounced than before. Amon felt it gave the man in front of him a rather eccentric feel rather than the previous sense of abhorrence that him laughing in his beast form gave.

Somehow, Amon didn't feel the pressure that the Guardian exuded in their first meeting. His human form was certainly more approachable, even if Amon knew it was nothing but a fake front. His instincts were screaming at him the same way they did when he first met the beast in the Trial of the Mind.

Amon could only imagine why the Guardian would give himself the trouble to personally preside over the Trial of the Mind. Maybe it was simply bored, or maybe it wanted to keep a close eye on the next generation of cultivators. Unfortunately, Amon knew the Guardian would never seriously answer his question, so he didn't bother asking.

Eventually, the Guardian stopped laughing, and his gaze turned serious. He perked up his brows as he looked at Amon, a strange light s.h.i.+ning the depths of his eyes. In truth, he found the youth in front of him very strange.

"I have to ask, brat. Why didn't you seat on the throne? Why did you walk away from the peak?" The Guardian asked slowly, glaring at Amon with a rare serious expression. The sudden change in att.i.tude made Amon rather taken aback.

"Well, if I have to say why… It would be because it wasn't worth it." Amon said as he looked the Guardian in the eye. "You said before that everything was relative. You said that if you took the time to look at an obstacle a second time, you might realize that there was nothing there in the first place."

"I simply thought that rather than an obstacle, that phrase applied to everything. It should be especially so for the things we desire."

"So, when I gave that throne a second look, I realize that for me it was the same as nothing. The peak is nothing but a barren, lonely place." Seeing the Guardian's eyes turning even more serious, Amon was somewhat fl.u.s.tered. He tried to keep calm as he continued to explain. "The price I would pay to stay there is not something I could afford. It would be a trade where I would lose rather than win."

The Guardian closed its eyes for a moment after he heard Amon's words. A grave silence took over them as neither spoke a word. The world seemed to turn still as both of them stood there, surrounded by the endless expanse of white.

"You know, kid, you have some interesting thoughts for someone your age." The Guardian finally broke the silence after some time. There was no longer any disdain in his eyes, nor any semblance of scorn in his expression. "Sometimes we only realize we walked a wrong path when it is too late to turn back. I would be rather interested in seeing where this path might take you. If truly choose to walk it, I can only hope that there never comes a day when you look back and regret the choice you made."

Amon quietly looked at the Guardian, not knowing what to say.

"Now then, I believe it is about time you and I had a talk, isn't that right, Lya?" The Guardian spoke, directing his gaze to the ring in Amon's hand.

The iron ring flashed with a blinding light, making Amon reflexively close his eyes and turn his head away. The light seemed to break apart in countless ephemeral specs of brilliance that slowly gathered, turning into the figure of a beautiful white-dressed woman.

"How rude of you, keeping a lady locked away like that without even a word." Lya's scoffed in her melodious voice as she faced the Guardian with unfriendly eyes. "I guess some people never change, Hati."

"Oh, I am honored of being remembered by you, 'my lady'." The Guardian said with disdain, returning to his scornful tone. "Either way, I doubt you would have interceded during the Trials anyway. It is just that Nemeus asked me to go the extra mile to be sure the kid would make his own decisions."

Amon looked in surprise at the duo in front of him. Did they know each other? How? Who was Nemeus?

"Enough with this." Lya said in an abnormally cold voice. "What do you want?"

"I would like to ask you to take good care of that kid." The Guardian said while furrowing his white brows, showing concern in his otherwise indifferent expression. "I know you have your own reasons to do so already, but I still feel obliged to do this. He is a descendant of Grant's after all, and has Skoll's blessing."

Amon opened his eyes wide as he heard the Guardian's words.

"What? Who is Grant? What is Skoll's blessing?" Amon couldn't help but ask with surprise, his curiosity finally besting him.

Hearing Amon's words, the Guardian's expression darkened as he sent Lya a judgmental glare. "You didn't tell him?"

"That is for me to decide when to speak." Lya said while averting her eyes from the Guardian. Amon looked at her with inquisitive eyes, but she didn't spare him a glance.

The Guardian's frown become even more accentuated as he saw that, but in the end he didn't speak further. He looked at Amon, thinking about something for a while before he silently shook his head.

"The h.e.l.lblaze Trials are over for you, kid. Come, I will send you to get your rewards." He said, waving his hand in Amon's directions.

The s.p.a.ce surrounding Amon started to distort, making him feel dizzy and nauseous. The world around him started to spin as an indistinct roar echoed in his ears. He tightly closed his eyes to try to fight back against the uncomfortable feeling, unable to pay attention to anything else, clinging to conscience with all he could.

As Amon's figure started to turn blurry, the Guardian turned to the figure of the woman that was still quietly floating in front of him, ethereal as moonlight.

"Hiding things from him is not a wise move, Lya." The Guardian said, looking at her with a piercing glance. "He is ent.i.tled to know about himself, and about you too. How much did you truly tell him?"

"That is not up to you to question or to decide." Lya's spoke in a cold voice, her gaze turning hostile.

"Such stupidity." The Guardian shook his head, clearly disappointed. "You are not raising a cultivator, you are raising a puppet."

"Do not spoil that kid's potential with your selfish decisions. If you truly want to make things right, turning him blind and guiding him by the hand will never work." The Guardian continued in a disapproving tone.

"You saw the things he did and the choices he made by himself. He has a peculiar way of thinking, but he clearly lacks the balance or the emotional maturity to face the hards.h.i.+ps that are coming for him."

"Are you done speaking nonsense?" Lya asked abruptly, not hiding her anger. The air around her turned unbearably cold, and a crus.h.i.+ng pressure started weighting down on everything around her as she looked at the Guardian with burning eyes.

"Those four hundred years alone certainly made your soul stronger." The Guardian said, not seeming shaken at all by her display. "Still, you lived too little, and know too little about how humans work."

He dismissively waved his hands, and Lya froze in place, as if time had come to a halt. She was completely helpless as cracks slowly spread through her body before her figure eventually shattered in dozens of fragments.

"It doesn't matter how much you try to convince yourself that this is for his sake, in the end it is all because you feel guilty about the past." He said in a sorrowful voice as Lya's fragments slowly dissipated in the air. "If you keep holding back the truth from him and making his decisions in his place, when things inevitably go awry he will certainly point his finger at you. Worst of all, he will have every right to do so."

Hati, the Moonchaser Wolf couldn't hide the pain in his eyes as he looked at Lya's broken figure. He was seemingly talking to himself, reminiscing about his incredibly long life as he finished muttering what was on his mind before Lya's figure finally vanished alongside Amon.

"Can you bear another failure in your hands, little girl?"

His last words echoed in Lya's mind, making her heart clench.

In truth, the possibility scared her more than she would ever be willing to admit, because she already knew the answer to that question.