"We have no problem taking her as our fifth party member," Rudrean declared with a smile. "Right, Aeli?"

"Absolutely!" Aelira nodded with a firm expression. "She went through a lot, but now she is in good hands. If anyone dares to eye her, I’ll gouge out their eyeballs and pour in molten flames."

"..." Elder Tyoga was taken aback for a second before he laughed out loud. "Well, that just reassured me more than I expected, haha."

’She is not even lying...’ Elder Tyoga internally wryly smiled.

"Yay! Thank you so much, you two." Ryzen cheered. "I am very happy today."

Rivera nodded and pinched Ryzen. ’You’re getting too childish in front of Elder Tyoga.’

’So what? We are literally children in front of him.’

’That’s true...’

"Since you have agreed, gather here tomorrow at noon. Lyra and I will be here. From here, I’ll drop you five at the event, which would have just started at that time."

"And one thing... don’t touch her. It will trigger her frames and injure you."

"However, she is also preparing a meeting gift for you four, so look forward to that." Elder Tyoga smiled.

"Now, before I leave, let’s decide the name for your party. I’ll register it myself since it involves Lyra."

...

The party was formed, and plans were made, so Elder Tyoga left.

"I didn’t know Lyra became like that..." Rivera wiped her eyes. "She used to be cheerful and happy, helping everyone, but now..."

"Those bastards. I really wish they die a thousand times over!" Ryzen ground his teeth.

"Tsk, I would like to torture and kill them if I could, to be honest." Aelira clicked her tongue.

"I agree." Rudrean’s jaw clenched. ’She has suffered way more than I have, to the point that it completely broke her. She would’ve died if her talent hadn’t protected her.’

[Isalyn: Indeed. Also, we may be in trouble... or not. I can’t tell.]

’What do you mean?’ Aelira asked.

[Isalyn: Elder Tyoga might know about me, as in that I am here with you. You know, when he said that memories are one thing people don’t forget? It was for me.]

’What? How?’ Rudrean was surprised.

[Isalyn: Because he and my master were together in the Secret Realm, where they acquired treasures, one of which was this artifact. He might have sensed the artifact, and given the news that I have it, he likely knows that I am here with you.]

’Damn.’ Aelira was shocked.

’But...’ Rudrean blinked. ’He was here for Lyra.’

[Isalyn: Exactly. It was just an accidental discovery for him. His aim for coming here was to have her join your team. But I must say, the old fox has good eyes.]

’Haha, that’s for sure.’ Aelira grinned.

"So what do we do now?" Ryzen asked.

"Elder Tyoga said Lyra is preparing a meeting gift for us, so how about we do the same?" Rudrean suggested.

"Yep. That’s an awesome idea." Aelira side-hugged Rudrean. "As expected of my darling."

...

As time passed and night arrived, all the top hundred on the leaderboard had teamed up, and aside from them, several hundred more teams registered for the event.

"Team Raging Fang is crazy. From 3rd rank to 7th rank, all in one."

"I am looking for the team where the top two joined. Those two are the dark horses I am betting on this time."

"Team RuRaRyRiRa? What the fuck kind of name is that?"

"Pfff, it’s hilarious."

"Wait, w-w-what?! Team RuRaRyRiRa has those two in it! Aelira and Rudrean!"

"The other three are Ryzen, Rivera, and Lyra? Who are those three?"

"No idea. First time hearing them."

"I think I’ve read Ryzen and Rivera’s names on our leaderboard. But I’ve never heard about Lyra."

"Wait a second. RuRaRyRiRa is basically two letters from each of their names!"

"Haha, hilarious."

"It’s funny. I like it."

"It’s trash. What a joke."

...

Morning arrived quickly.

Rudrean and Aelira gathered with Ryzen and Rivera before heading toward the lake.

"Do I look okay?" Ryzen asked.

"You look the same as always," Rivera said.

"That didn’t answer my question."

"It answered it completely."

Rudrean smiled faintly, watching the petals drift above the pathways and dissolve into light before they touched the ground. The floating platforms sat calmly above the water. The streams arced between them in gentle, gravity-defying loops. The whole place radiated something that made your shoulders drop without you deciding to let them.

Aelira spotted them first.

"There," she said softly.

Near the open pavilion, Elder Tyoga stood at the edge of the lake with his hands folded behind his back, watching the water. His simple robes caught the golden light filtering through the dome above, and his white hair moved faintly with the breeze off the lake.

And seated on the low railing of the pavilion, a little apart from him, was Lyra Ravengold.

She was slight, her golden hair loose and uneven at the ends. Her pale golden eyes, almost white in the lake’s reflected light, were already on them before they had fully come down the white stone path.

Along her collarbones and the backs of her hands, faint lines of dark metal traced beneath her skin. She didn’t hide them. She simply sat with them the way someone sits with something that has long since stopped being a surprise.

She said nothing as they approached.

Elder Tyoga turned and smiled warmly. "Good, you’re all here."

They settled near the pavilion, the lake shimmering beside them, petals drifting through the gold-tinted air. Nobody rushed to sit or speak. The place made that easy. It didn’t push you.

After a moment, Elder Tyoga looked at Lyra with a quiet tilt of his head.

Lyra looked down at the satchel in her lap.

Then she reached into it.

She produced four cubes and held them together in both palms, extending them forward without ceremony. Each one was roughly fist-sized, perfectly formed, their surfaces a deep matte black with hairline engravings running across every face in geometric patterns so fine they seemed to breathe when the light touched them.

She looked at the cubes for a moment. Then, at the four of them.

"I thought about what to give for a long time," she said. Her voice was low, with a faint, rough edge to it. "I don’t know what you like or what would make you happy outside of what is useful."

"So I made these." She stepped forward and placed one in front of each of them with careful, deliberate hands. "They are inert right now. When you infuse your mana into one and hold in your mind the weapon you want, the one that feels right to you, not the one you think you should want, it will awaken. It will manifest exactly that."

She took a small breath.

"The cube becomes the weapon of the element you are attuned to. Permanently. It will be calibrated to your mana signature the moment it awakens, so no one else can wield it the way you can."

She blinked and turned her gaze to Rudrean. "Do you know how to craft magic items?"

"Eh? Me?" Rudrean was surprised and shook his head as he wryly smiled. "No. I don’t know anything about crafting magic items."

"No?" Lyra sounded disappointed. "I thought you did, because you also focus like me. I saw it when you were taking the monster combat test."

"Oh... but I focus on improving my combat ability." Rudrean smiled. "You focus on improving your magic craft."

"But you have something like me. I can feel it." Lyra blinked. "Others don’t have it."

"Maybe her..." Lyra looked at Aelira. "But it’s a bit different..."

Everyone didn’t know what she was talking about, so they didn’t know what to tell her.

So Aelira shifted the topic.

"We can figure it out together later," Aelira said with a grin. "After all, we are going to be a team."

"Yes." Rudrean smiled. "And we also brought a gift for you."

"Of course, it’s not as grand as yours, haha." Ryzen laughed.

"Gifts for me?" Lyra blinked, her eyes sparkling. "I am curious."