After dealing with the mercenaries, Alex stepped out of the tavern with Victoria following closely behind, leaving the people to handle the corpses.
The children accompanied him with even more running over and laughing as they sought to play with him.
All around, the sound of work being carried it could be heard, from the carpenter striking nails into wood to the blacksmith forging metal pieces and the farmers ensuring that even in winter, food was plentiful, everyone was doing their part to ensure that they survived through the winter and the decadence running rampant across the continent.
It was a brilliant sight and for a moment, Alex was proud of himself for being the reason for such.
Just then, Victoria reached out to grab his shoulder, jolting him from his thoughts.
Nodding though she said nothing, Alex kept on walking and doing; the duo arrived before an abandoned two-story building covered in burn marks with an acrid smell that once served as a resting place for travelers.
Unfortunately, during the Baptism, its owner was baptized by stupidity and ended up causing a great fire accident that killed him as well as seven others that were unlucky enough to be in the building at that time.
Alex didn’t plan on spending the night in the building, but he needed some privacy, and this would have to do.
Victoria helped clear the way, not because Alex couldn’t but because he had an image to keep up for the people.
Once a path was cleared, Alex walked in and Victoria closed the door behind him.
The next moment, there was a snap and the interior of the building was engulfed by Eternal Night.
"Well, that was stressful." Alex breathed out evenly as he conjured a chair and sat on it with Victoria sitting on the ground in a lotus position.
"That’s the twenty-second attack since you began your trial, Master." Victoria calmly pointed out with Alex nodding.
"Indeed, it seems the cults are getting restless."
"Do we go after them?" Victoria asked with Alex shaking his head.
"It’s a waste of time. As it is, I’m already close to completing the trial, so let’s focus on that."
Taking a moment to rest his head, Alex reached into his tunic and recovered a glass orb.
It wasn’t an Orb of Truth, though it shared similarities with that contraption which had long since lost its use with the death of the Hexad.
It was instead a communication orb, an item that came in pairs, created by members of the Devil Wheel for long-range communication between those capable of stirring the aether with their Will.
Alex closed his eyes and whispered a spell in devil tongue.
A moment later the communication orb came to life.
"Alex." A familiar voice called out from the other end. "How’s your Trial coming along?"
"I’ll be done soon... I hope." Alex replied. "How’s the situation over there?... Has Twilight revealed itself yet?"
"Not yet," Ana said. "According to what I learned from the townspeople, it’s never been this late."
"Could something be wrong?" Alex asked, quite worried that he might have to wait longer to claim the Midnight Pearl.
"I don’t know, I can’t say for certain," Ana replied.
Letting out a sigh, Alex remarked. "Fine then, let’s just keep hope alive. If it comes down to it, we can continue our hunt for the Beast till whenever Twilight reveals itself."
"How are Elena and Ulysses?" Alex asked, deciding to not dwell on the topic any longer.
It was Ana’s turn to sign as she replied. "They are well. Elena has gotten through the preliminary stage of getting her sight back, something about utilizing a fourth-dimensional vision."
Alex frowned as he pondered the implications of such. "Wouldn’t that be troublesome to handle?"
"I thought so as well but she said she can handle it, so I guess we should trust that she can."
"I see." Alex nodded in understanding. "And Ulysses?"
"He... is recovering, slowly I’d admit, but there’s progress."
"Hmm, are you sure he would be able to regain himself?" Alex asked, voicing his concerns.
"He will." Ana swiftly said, barely managing to hide her emotions. "... I believe he will."
"Keep a close eye on him."
"How about Arwen?" Alex asked.
"She finally managed to get some sleep, Elena helped by sending her into Confluence so she doesn’t have to dream."
Alex let out a bothered sigh as he remarked. "To think that she stayed awake for so long."
"You shouldn’t worry so much," Ana assured. "She is a complete Cryptid now and we don’t require sleep as much as humans do."
"I guess you have a point. And Nadia?" Alex inquired. "Is she done with her Trial?"
"Not yet. She did inform me about arriving at a suitable town for the Trial to start."
"That’s good enough." Alex nodded in satisfaction.
"And what about you?"
Ana went silent, unsure if Alex was asking after her.
Hesitant as she was, she replied. "... I’m fine, I guess."
"... I watched Elena and Ulysses experience things that I couldn’t help them with. I just... I guess I blame myself for not doing more for them."
"You did the best you could. You don’t have to blame yourself."
Letting out a sigh, Ana muttered. "Thank you."
"You’re welcome," Alex said.
He was about to say more when he sensed something causing him to frown.
Victoria had long since sensed the same thing, her gaze already on him as she waited to know what he would do.
"Ana, we’ll talk later," Alex said. "Something came up."
The orb went dead, and Alex kept it aside before rising to his feet and undoing Eternal Night, at which point, the ground immediately began to tremble while a distant roar could be heard.
"Mutant attack?" Alex asked with Victoria nodding.
"Seems like it. Do we intervene?"
"What do you think?" Alex asked back.
A moment later, he snapped, and then they disappeared in a flash of black and white.