"It has something to do with the crystal Feris found years back."

At the mention of the crystal, the others turned serious. Even after so many years, they couldn’t forget the life they lived in that pit. The days of endless mining and hoping they didn’t die by some freak accident.

Then there was the escape. It was the first time they fought back and saw death in such a manner. The kids that got cut in half, the ones who died trying to reach freedom. The adults they killed in order to escape...

"I finally found news about it. It’s been kept as a tight secret for the rich, but news about it leaked out," Noah continued. "They’ve found pieces of it scattered throughout the world. Small shards not unlike the one that Feris found. However, no one was able to use it properly until recently."

Subconsciously, they glanced at Feris.

During their escape, she showcased a strange power that was never used since. They didn’t know the source, but had an inkling that it was probably something to do with the crystal.

And now... that had been indirectly confirmed.

"There was an... incident during a noble banquet. An assassin used a power different from Abyssal energy and wrought havoc. It took several guards sacrificing themselves before the man was killed." Noah pulled out a newspaper article and placed it on the table.

There, they could see the man with strange purple veins spreading across his body.

"They found out that prior to this assassination, he was actually powerless. No Sigils at all. A weak farmer. But after getting his hands on one of these, he actually took out guards with three Sigils. So now the nobles are scrambling to get their hands on any pieces they can find."

"Let me guess... our employer is a noble who wants a piece, and we have to get it for them?" Yama, the oldest of the group aside from Noah, asked, but Noah shook his head.

"No. The crystals aren’t her main priority."

The party paused, surprised by this fact.

When everyone was going crazy for the crystal, the client was actually ignoring the shards?

"What she wants to know is where it is and where it came from. In other words..." Noah turned to Feris.

"This is a mission for us to research the crystal."

Feris clenched her fist.

She had almost given up on it, content to live her life without feeling the emotion of fulfilment again.

And yet...

"Are you sure? You better not be joking around," Feris asked hesitantly, fearful of raising her hopes.

"Yes, I’m sure. We’ll be given a budget and as much manpower as we need to locate the crystals. As long as we find the locations, our client will be satisfied. It gives us the money we need to harvest and research since they gave us an additional gift," Noah nodded with a smile.

"If we can get to any of the pieces before anyone else, we’re allowed to keep the shards," he added.

"What the hell?!" Yama stood up in shock.

"Did you get scammed?!" Rika unfolded her arms in disbelief.

"Boss, did you take a bad fall?!" Tobi, the youngest who looked up to Noah, blinked his eyes in a mix of surprise and confusion.

Three shouts of concern erupted back to back as Noah was almost blown back.

"No, no, I promise, guys. I even made a law of agreement to ensure that everything is fine. She won’t take the crystals back. Whatever we find, we get to keep. As long as we find out where the crystals came from, she’ll be happy," Noah reassured while the other members only found it more and more suspicious.

"Boss... did she ask for the location because she wanted the crystals at the source? The ones too big for us to take away?" Tobi asked hesitantly.

Noah coughed awkwardly. He hadn’t thought that far.

"I knew it. Boss loses his brains whenever it’s something to do with Feris," Tobi sighed.

"So we don’t know what her true goal is." Yama scratched his hair in annoyance while Noah simply laughed it off.

"Regardless, it’s still true that she is giving us the budget and manpower to research this crystal properly. We get to keep the shards, and honestly... just finding information would’ve been enough to convince me," Noah smiled.

The others looked at each other before smiling helplessly.

Indeed. If they could find out what was wrong with the crystals, they might be able to understand why Feris was the way she was. A sense of being incomplete.

"Of course, we’re not entering this contract blindly. I’ve arranged a meeting for all of us at a later date. We’re going to meet up with the client and get more information from her directly."

While Noah explained their upcoming schedule with the group, Feris found herself gazing into the crystal in her possession.

That spark of life in her chest finally coming back after all these years.

It was a difficult feeling to explain. One that Noah tried his best to understand, yet fell just short.

That feeling of emptiness that lingered in her chest. The fatigue that built up silently throughout the day.

Feris didn’t know how long she had zoned out for, but she had been staring at the crystal for hours before she even realised what had happened. Blinking her eyes, she let out a slight yawn and noticed Noah sleeping by the table.

There were a bunch of documents and books spread out around him.

Information on existing crystal sites that had been heard through rumours.

Feris stood up and walked over, looking at the notes and markings he left on the map.

The best routes to take, the dangers they would face.

Potential Hunter teams they might come across and...

Where the pit was located.

Feris sat next to Noah and rested her head on the table.

She stared at his sleeping face as an indescribable emotion appeared in her chest.

Ever since they were children in that pit, Noah had been working hard for her sake.

Especially now.

He might not mention it, but Feris knew how hard he had worked. The information brokers he had talked to in order to find details on what happened in the pit.

In his free time, he kept working tirelessly to help fill the void in her heart. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

She knew how blessed she was to have someone like Noah in her life.

Her gaze softened.

And now... they were finally one step closer. The promise he made so many years ago on that night.

"Thank you..." Feris mumbled.

Unable to help herself, her hand slowly reached up and brushed his hair slightly to the side.

Seeing the way his face scrunched up, she couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as she quickly held it in before she woke him up.

Looking around her, Feris quickly found a blanket and threw it over Noah’s shoulder.

However, she wasn’t planning on letting him sleep alone.

Sitting down next to him again, she made herself comfortable and grabbed a small section of the blanket for herself.

"Goodnight..."

Yet the moment she said this, Noah’s eyelids twitched as he slowly opened his eyes.

In front of him, he saw a surprised Feris with a blush slowly creeping up her face.

She slowly reached forward with two fingers and closed his eyes again, acting as though that would put him to sleep.

Yet with her face being the first thing he saw after waking up, trying to fall back asleep wasn’t exactly an easy task.

"What are you doing?" Noah asked slowly as Feris’s fingers trembled.

"Nothing."

"Your fingers on my eyes speak otherwise," Noah chuckled, causing Feris to purse her lips.

Letting out a sigh, she removed her fingers as Noah sat up and gave his body a good stretch.

"Are you worried about tomorrow?"

Feris thought about it for a moment before eventually nodding her head.

As excited as she was to make progress towards reclaiming the crystal, a part of her was worried. It felt too good to be true.

And that only made things worse.

"I’m a little worried too. But it’s also the best chance we’re going to get. The whole world is looking at this incident and realising that there might be another path to power. One that doesn’t require them to hunt large beasts in the Abyss," Noah exhaled softly. "If we don’t get ahead of the competition, we’ll be left picking up the scraps."

Feris creased her brows.

But right as she did, Noah reached out and tapped the space between her brows with his finger.

"Stop scrunching so much, you’re going to get wrinkles." He massaged gently as Feris stuck out her tongue.

"Just leave it to me. I’ll make sure you get the crystals again. I promised you after all." Noah smiled.

Seeing this smile, Feris felt warm on the inside.

Closing her eyes, she grabbed his hand and brought it to her cheeks.

"I know. But I still want you to be safe. I chose to leave with you instead of staying behind after all... what use is it if you’re not there when I get the crystals?"

###

The journey took roughly two days as they needed some time to pack everything up and prepare for the trip ahead.

After meeting their client, they would be immediately on the road to the other crystal sites. And with that in mind, coming back to the base wasn’t going to be likely in the short term.

Looking at their base of operations, emotions surged through the party’s chest.

Noah saved them from the pit, and that allowed them to live this kind of life. Now, it was their turn to repay the favour. To help Feris find the missing half of her heart.

And for that, they began their trip across the nations.