Black String of Fate

In the deep forest, a lone boy was swinging and slashing his sword in various different ways. There was no set order in his moves, he swung in the way he felt like.

He longer needed to perform and practice a specific order like when he formed his foundation. As long as the essence of the arts were there, whatever he did was a part of the technique.

'As I expected, the mastery of Limitless Ascension Foundational Arts cannot be increased. Still, I'm much more powerful than when I achieved this foundation from the Sun Cult Demonic Arts. So much that I'm sure the previous me wouldn't last a breath against the me now.

Well, there's that, now let's deal with this.'

"I know you're there, Lafia. Come out."

From the bushes nearby, a rustling sound came, and a silhouette of a young girl appeared. As she stepped closer, her soft features, verdant green eyes and smooth black hair became visible and shone under the moonlight.

She looked one with nature, like an ethereal fairy.

Xavier stopped swinging his sword and stared at her. He had to admit, she was beautiful.

"Do you really know who I am? I need to make sure before I do something irreversible."

Lafia said with a cold voice, completely unlike any expression she had shown anyone else before.

Xavier smiled and gazed at the moon, recalling whatever he knew about her.

"Pure Nature Spirits, the most endangered and rare species in the world, said to be even rarer than the dragons. They are vehemently hunted down by every sentient species ever, even the peaceful elves.

It is said that their cores contain the essence of the most pure and potent mana of the world, having the quality of being completely elemental-less, making it the most treasured core for improving one's quality of mana regardless of the element one practices.

Honestly, I never expected your kind to be disguised among humans, usually, it's the elves. It was perfect too, I was almost fooled."

Xavier looked straight into the eye of Lafia, who had wariness and hostility all over her face. She did not expect a human child, who was said to be from the slums, to be aware of her race, which is a secret even among the higher-ups of humans.

But, this was not good news for her. If he knew, then how many more? How many will come to hunt her down?

"Now that you've found out, do you intend to kill me? Do you intend to harvest my core?"

Lafia said with a steel cold tone as she put her hand on her saber. Xavier saw the mirth in her eyes, noticed her hand was shivering, and he perfectly knew why.

'She's not sure of her chances against me. I'm stronger than her, but she doesn't want to go down without a fight.

Poor kid, let's squash this misunderstanding.'

"No, I don't. I won't hunt and kill you for your core. Though I would benefit greatly, doing that just doesn't sit right with me. I may look scary to your kind, but don't worry too much. I'm only scary to my enemies, at least nowadays."

Lafia's eyes widened when she heard Xavier's words. She had a hard time believing them, she had seen with her own eyes how the world greeded for their kind's core.

She had seen her parents die because of the same reason.

"How can I believe you?"

"Don't. I never gave you a valid reason to trust me. If you want to stay alive, be even more wary of everyone than you already are. Most importantly, in front of high rankers, never try to peek into their souls. They can tell."

Lafia was even more confused with his words. First, he says that he means no harm, then he says not to trust him. She couldn't decide whether to take her chances or try to make peace.

'What a strange guy, what should I do…'

Xavier looked at his sword as he continued.

"Well, I say that, but I'll only mean harm to you if you attack me first. So put down your hostility, I won't strike you first. Moreover, we are currently on a quest. Any infighting right now would put a dent on my stellar, flawless record. Though it doesn't matter much to me, since it's there, I want to keep it."

"...You are one strange human. Since it seems you truly do not want to kill me, I'll stay put.

Don't expect me to be buddy-buddy with you now, though. Also, if you tell anyone else, I'll try to kill you any way I can."

"Good enough. I wasn't going to mention this to anyone regardless. I have seen the plight of your race."

Lafia wanted to refute by saying what he knew of the inhumane suffering they went through, but after seeing the deep and distant empathy in his eyes, she felt inclined to believe him.

"What are you, really? It's clear to me that you're not just a talented slum kid."

Xavier laughed as he questioned back,

"Haha, you tell me, what do you see when you peer into my soul? I've always felt curious what a Pure Nature Spirit sees when they look at me…"

Lafia eyes glowed green as she replied,

"I see a horrific, primordial entity that looks like it can devour anything. But, the strange thing is that this entity has ethereal wings that look like they were the treasure of heaven. The two form a strange dichotomy, looking mismatched, yet also perfect at the same time."

Xavier went silent for a few moments after hearing that. Lafia couldn't read his expression, but she could tell he was in deep thought.

"...I see, I have grown wings now."

Xavier muttered in a low voice, low enough to be only barely heard by Lafia. Before she could what that meant, Xavier loudly exclaimed,

"Alright! I'm done with my solo training. Hey Lafia, will you spar with me?"