Are you sure you want to go there? Your time would have been better spent fleeing to the capital to meet me. You—.

  - ???

  

  I sense that you are approaching. Are you here to help? That … little girl who arrived and showered us with prosperity. She is gone. Now, everything is dark and cold. So cold.

  Please. I can't do this anymore. Mr. Otherworlder, please help me… help us.

  - Samanthalia, the baker

  After some days of practice, Tom could feel his ability to sense aura had greatly improved. It was difficult at the start to differentiate the aura of a living being from that of the environment, but the key was that a person's aura seemed to be always changing. Like a wave slightly changing its color tone.

  His goal was to differentiate between spirits so he could activate Trash with whatever spirit he wanted. Using the observer orb made him feel like he was getting better at it, but his soul stone powered glove was still not complete, so he wasn't completely sure. Astra said it was something about the rune in the glove and the spirits in the orb being difficult to separate.

  For what felt like the hundredth time, he looked around the observer orb, being able to distinguish subtle differences such as the different shades of blue between the cup of water and moisture in the air.

  Tom sighed. He was making progress, but it felt so tedious.

  "Are you alright?"

  He nodded at Alice who was sitting in the same carriage as him. "Just looking at a snapshot from my room. It is difficult work, but I am confident that I can create a second ring around my aura if I memorize what different colors represent. I still have to focus to sense something in more detail, but I think I have gotten the general gist of things. At least I can more proficiently use [see area] in case something happens."

  Trash hummed. "Yeah, I'm sure she already knows you’re useless in battle. The way you swing me around is honestly insulting. Rather than an aura sword, I feel more like a part-time therapist."

  Alice cracked a smile. "You two seem to have gotten close. Don’t worry about the fighting, I will take care of it, if necessary. I am glad the observer orb has proved useful, it was a well-worth investment."

  She cautiously peeked over her shoulder at the carriage behind them and made some motion with her hand. Tom guessed she made some soundproof field similar to how Sierra did. "That assistant of yours must be a lot to deal with. I would never be able to keep my cool when someone is spying on me." Tom commented.

  "You know? Your ability as an observer is remarkable indeed. But do not worry about her, she is just watching me because of … my boss you could say." She sighed. "Let us focus on the matter at hand. A secret inspection of the factories near the shoreline was a smart idea. The king hates the error cult, so I am sure he would appreciate your effort."

  He nodded. Somehow, using the error cult as bait, he managed to leave the camp. Not that there was much out here to see other than flat fields of grass and the occasional ruins from the otherworlders era. The factory where the error cult held their summit was abandoned, situated at the eastern border in front of the ocean.

  "Do you know what the cult of error is planning?" Tom asked. He was mad at them for stealing his feral but was still unsure about their goals.

  "Tom thinks it’s an orgy," Trash added.

  "Hey, I told you that in confidence. Don’t share that with her! And I was just listing off other stuff they could be doing."

  Alice pondered for a while, then shook her head. "All I know of the cult is that they worship the Mirror Maiden, and hate the new world order forced upon them by the Hero."

  "Oh, yeah. I have heard a lot about this Mirror Maiden, but don't think I got the full picture."

  Alice nodded. "According to legends, the Mirror Maiden was once a mortal who received a gift from a primordial god. It was a mirror that helped her see the truth of the world, and helped her meet the fairy queen." Alice said.

  "This fairy queen, what is so special about her?"

  "You could say she is a higher being representing fairies; fairies can be described as a more sentient version of spirits."

  A more sentient version of spirits? "Actually, there is something I don't understand. The Ley Line, from what I could sense, looks more like it is reinforcing reality."

  "That is correct."

  "But why? Shouldn't all spirits represent reality? What is a random water spirit floating in the air supposed to represent?"

  She hesitated. "It is difficult to explain, but think of it like this: the type of spirits that reside in the human kingdom and those that arrive here from the elven forest are different. The elves, you see, were subordinates of the fairy queen. The spirits there were more inclined towards representing a specific purpose than reality."

  "That is … something. If spirits are supposed to represent aspects of reality, shouldn't their nature be more consistent?"

  "That would have been ideal if this world was normal. But you would find that several individuals in this world want to shape it in a specific way, the sum of it all creating a mess." She looked out the window. "It would be best to separate the behavior of spirits between different regions. Higher beings are godlike entities for a reason."

  He looked out the window at what she was staring at. Moving across the grass fields he saw robots trimming down the grass. "This world doesn't make sense."

  ***

  Tom yawned.

  "You’re finally awake," Trash hummed. "Having to sleep is so stupid. I was bored for an eternity!"

  Tom scoffed. "It hasn't been that long."

  His conversation with Trash was cut short by a knock on the door. The carriage door opened to reveal Alice’s assistant, Lisa. She had a disapproving gaze and studied the carriage. "Who were you talking to?"

  Tom scratched his head. "Just me talking to myself."

  She didn't loosen up her attitude towards him, but luckily she didn’t ask any more questions. "We have arrived at the beach. The Commander will shortly accompany you, but you can proceed there first. I will stay here to look over the carriage," she said. Then she walked back to her own carriage.

  Tom exhaled. That was close, but he was finally here.

  He got out of the carriage and approached the beach. The beach. There’s always one random episode at the beach in so many animes. Although, he didn’t have that many people accompanying him. But he figured hanging out with Alice at the beach, and the other cult members, would be enough. Could be a nice way to relax. He wasn't looking for a harem, but he didn't mind some romantic tension.

  When he got close to the beach, he took off his shoes and felt the grains of sand rub against his feet. He ran closer to the shore to feel the cold weather. A bit further from the shore he saw the giant storm cloud swirling with the wind. That was some bad weather.

  "I still don't understand why you wanted to go here," Trash hummed. "You could have walked to the entrence of the factory."

  "I didn’t think the weather would be this bad, okay? Normally the beach would be warm and people would be out enjoying the weather," Tom explained.

  "Enjoying the weather?" Trash repeated. "Why would mortals waste their time with that? I presume it would have something to do with your quest for a more relaxing life. You know you are failing terribly at it right?"

  Tom kicked some of the cold sand away. "Forget it, let’s just wait for Alice."

  He sat down and instantly regretted taking off his shoes. It was cold, and his uniform wasn’t helping him either. The storm cloud in the distance was interesting. It was very gray and had a familiar color.

  It reminded him of the sweet taste of eating fresh grass. He could feel his heart beating faster from the excitement; so much delicious grass.

  Why was he spending time thinking about grass? His brother, why had they killed his brother? He needed to get revenge. Revenge … as soon as he finished picking the berries of that bush. How sad it made him that they were so difficult to find, but hopefully it would help Mother cheer up. She had been in such a bad mood lately.

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  "Oi, why are you running around like a dog." Trash complained. "Why do you always have to embarrass me like that? I understand, I won’t ask any more stupid questions. Just be normal for once."

  Tom came back to reality and found himself on all four. Had he been walking around like a dog? And what was it with these memories and emotions? They didn’t belong to him. "Am I being attacked by some kind of mind mage?"

  He closed his eyes. "I am Tom," he reminded himself. "I do definitely not eat grass, and I have a sister, not a brother, and my mother hates eating berries." Taking deep breath he focused on trying to remind himself of who he was, and gradually the strange phenomena went away. "What was that?"

  "I must apologize for my tardiness."

  Tom looked up to see what he assumed was Alice. Her choice of clothing was something. She sat down on the sand beside him, folding her legs.

  He could feel his cheek turn red. "Erm, nice hazmat suit."

  "Thank you," she said. "They’re the latest one made by the Inventor. I told my assistant to give one to you, but it seems she didn’t. Being on this beach without suitable attire is dangerous. Fortunately, you seem to be managing well."

  She was wearing a hazmat suit and he was half naked, shivering. Definitely not a normal beach. "This beach. It probably has something to do with that storm."

  "Correct. That storm is caused by smoke escaping from the Void towards the sea."

  His eyes widened. "That’s possible? So the Void isn’t an isolated hole?"

  "Not completely. There is a crack in the void that we call the Chasm. There is one between the kingdom and the Colony, making it only possible to travel through with a bridge. The smoke that comes out of the Void makes one experience random emotions and strange thoughts. It is dangerous since one can lose their sanity."

  The more he learned about the Void, the stranger it seemed to him. Perhaps it wasn't that weird for people from this world to accept something so confusing. It did make him wonder where all of this came from.

  Alice nudged Tom. He looked over at her and noticed someone walking towards them. It was a man wearing a hazmat suit labeled Assembly Line 02. They both stood up.

  The person nodded at Alice. "Miss Lisa, the preparations have been completed. And I presume this is the other individual you mentioned? Tomassio Rossi. Zero mentioned you. My name is Joacim and I have been tasked with welcoming recruits." He looked at Tom up and down. "Why aren't you wearing any protective gear?"

  "The commander did not find it acceptable to give out more than one of her spare suits for the inspection," Alice lied. "That filthy noble has an attitude, unfortunately." She nodded at Tom. "Of course, lord Rossi is different."

  "I see. Then we should make haste. Please follow me."

  They walked behind Joacim, towards the factory ahead.

  Joacim led them inside the factory, which was not in great shape. They arrived at rows of boxes stacked in a corner. Joacim gestured to someone who pushed a box away to reveal a hidden hallway.

  Going through the hallway they arrived at a surprisingly large room filled to the brim with people. After he had led them towards an empty table, Joacim went his own way, leaving them alone.

  Tom's eyes wandered. At the back of the room was a huge hole in the wall covered by a cloth, revealing they were at the back of the factory near the ocean. The room had a small elevated stage, and several tables with refreshments. He could spot many different races in the room: humans, beastkin, and even some demons. Surprisingly, there were also a lot of witches in the venue. Unfortunately, there were no other elves he could pawn Trash to for a new aura sword.

  Someone, who Tom recognized was Zero, walked up to them. "I am pleased that you decided to join us today." He gestured at Lisa. "Spread the word to another, no less. You will find that your choice will greatly benefit you."

  Tom scratched his head. "Now that I am here. You said the cult were curious about me since I returned from the South?" He noticed Alice flinching after hearing his words. "What could I even know that such a vast organization as the error cult could not?"

  Zero smiled. "A lot. Even though we are called the error cult, that doesn't mean we can easily deal with errors compared to everyone else."

  "Is he the one?"

  Tom found another cultist behind him. He recognized him as the cultist who stole the feral from him in Makeshift Town. Even now, he had those weird buckets dangling around his waist.

  The man stared at Tom. His eyes were sunken inn and didn't look friendly. "Hello. My name is Jax. I am happy to see that your have chosen the right path."

  "Chosen the right path?"

  Zero patted Tom on the back. "Jax over here isn't exactly the biggest fan of the church. Hopefully that wouldn't be too difficult to deal with?"

  Tom looked at Alice who nodded. "I don't mind, but pardon if this is too much to ask: why do you hate the church? Besides them pushing for war."

  "The church are a monster of the kingdoms own creation. They were the one who created the title of Hero, and as such they should face the consequences. I remember when I was young, living in a small village in the north-western part of the kingdom, wondering why so many of us had to die. The Founder, the Mirror Maiden be with her, was the one to finally set me free from my shackles. All the problems we are facing today is a direct consequence of the churches actions." He gritted his teeth. "And that wretched saintess, who act as the symbolic head of the church. Not even in death will she be able to escape the consequences of her actions. Only after she dies will the kingdom be free."

  Tom hesitated. "That sounds a bit dramatic, no? Isn't the error cult suppose to fight against the Hero's order? What does the church have to do with that?"

  Jax laughed. "You really don't know anything do you? That clears up some of my misgivings I had about you."

  Zero coughed. "Let me elaborate. We already know a lot about how the Hero runs his order. He doesn't bother getting involved in trivial matters. Instead, he has an administrator you could say, from each nation around the Void. They are formally referred to as his Constellation, and from our intel the high priest is likely to be one of them."

  "He is?" Tom said.

  "There are rumors that the church often steps over his majesty's orders," Alice added.

  "Great observation miss Lisa," Zero said. "If one has to ask who benefits the most from keeping the true situation in the South a secret, then that is the high priest. You, Tomassio Rossi, would understand why that could spell trouble. The citizens realizing their own nation has fallen to such a state, all because of the over reliance on otherworlders."

  Tom nodded, acting like he knew, but he really had no idea where this conversation was about.One glance at Alice and her serious expression did tell him that she understood some of it.

  The lighting started to dim down.

  "Looks like it is starting." Zero smiled at Tom. "After this, I looks foreward to hearing all about your adventure in the South. I am sure the System Manipulator hasn't been as bad as the church thinks."

  System Manipulator? That name sounded familiar.

  The room grew silent, so he wasn't able to inquire further. Zero and Jax said their goodbyes and walked to their table, leaving them to focus on the stage in front. At the center of the stage stood a huge person hidden by his cloak. He was joined by several other cloaked individuals. Tom tried squinting, and he could notice one of the robed people eating. Due to that, their robe shifted far enough to reveal their appearance, and Tom could swear he looked like a stereotypical goblin. "Did I see wrong?"

  The huge person at the center of the stack clapped loudly. "Welcome all to one of the error cult's rare secret meetings: the autumn summit. Please, go to one of the people to my right to fill out your bingo card. Remember that the lottery is also at the next summit, and I would greatly appreciate people taking part. It will help us organizers with funding. I have also received word of some new members, let us have a round of applause for them."

  The crowd clapped, and some people whistled and cheered.

  "Yes, yes." He said making the crowd silent again. "Everyone in this room may be separated by race and nationality, but what unites us is our common goal: to stop this stalemate created by the Hero. Be it through Void War 3 or increasing trade with one another, we all have different ideas on how to proceed."

  "Huh, so they aren't all for war?" Tom mumbled.

  They pointed at the mirror hanging from the ceiling as decoration. "Something else we share is our admiration for the Mirror Maiden. Our founder shared with me the knowledge that our world was once inhabited by an ancient civilization. The Mirror Maiden saved it from a calamity, but the Hero turned on her. Instead of keeping his devotion to her, he switched his allegiance to this calamity. As such the creatures of error were created." He held out his arms. "But fear not, there is nothing wrong with the error. It is just a symptom of the world being out of balance. That is why we are called the error cult. We do not embrace chaos as the ignorant ones describe us, but embrace the wrong in this world to find a solution."

  People around the room nodded at his words. Tom even saw a demon and a human smiling at each other, giving each other a thumbs up.

  This didn’t feel like a cult meeting to him. It was more like a club for intellectuals. They were honestly not that bad. Had he made a big mistake by ratting them out?

  The leader coughed. "Now for the sacrifice. Joacim if you would."

  Nevermind. He had spoken too early.

  Trash hummed. "Now it's getting interesting."

  Joacim moved aside the cloth revealing the view of the ocean. People pointed at something, and Tom saw that they were looking at a person sitting on a boat. It looked like he was protected from the storm by some sort of windshield. "Hey!" The person screamed at them. "You want me to start?"

  "Proceed," the leader shouted back. "As per our agreement, you will be sent back."

  People walked closer for a better view, and Tom and Sierra did the same. What was going to happen?

  "I am an otherworlder," the man shouted. "The time of the Hero's dominance is over! You, the Hero, are generic compared to my supreme abilities!"

  What followed was complete silence.

  "That person is an otherworlder?" Tom's eyes widened. He hadn't noticed at first, but he could still see the faint hint of red skin. It was the feral, but somehow they had cured their insanity. How? He nudged Alice. "I think that is the feral they kidnapped. He has been cured. We have to help him."

  Her face was bleak. "I think it is too late for that."

  The room was completely silent.

  Tom turned to focus on what everyone was fixated on. From the sky far away, he could see a black line approaching. "What is that?"

  "That—."

  Before she could finish, in a matter of a second the black rod penetrated the otherworlders body. He screamed, pleading for someone to save him, but nobody moved forward.

  "You said I would be sent back home! What is this!" The otherworlder screamed.

  Out from the black road, the man's body started turning into some black substance. It covered his entire body, muffling his screams, and moved over to the boat.

  Tom attempted to sense the aura of the black matter, but it didn’t change color. That shade of black was identical to Sierra's sonata. The black substance wiggled around as if it were living mud swallowing the entire boat. Luckily it stopped at the water, and the black rod retracted back into the sky.

  "That’s enough."

  One of the other robed individuals nodded to the leader. The windshield collapsed, and a wave of grey mist rushed at the now small island of blackness. When the storm settled he could see the black island was gradually losing its color, and what was left was a mass of matter with a brown-reddish color. It was as if someone had put the boat and man into a blender and mixed it.

  "Gross," Trash hummed.

  It was a disgusting sight, but luckily the blob of mass started sinking into the ocean and Joacim covered the cloth over the hole again.

  Wait, was that what would happen if he revealed his identity? Nothing happened when Tom had told anyone. It seemed more like the Hero retaliated if one tried to go against him.

  The leader turned back to the audience. "As you all saw, that was one of the abilities of the Hero. The Hero hates otherworlders and anyone who disagrees with his views. That is why we made it a habit to tread carefully and not be too direct with our approach. Long have we all debated on what to do, and how to do it. People, with the help of our founder, and error beast themselves, I have found our way. What we will do is start with a war between the human kingdom of the demon lands. And how so?" The leader took off his cloak and the crowd gasped.

  The leader, or leaders, had three heads. At the center was the body of a bear, and to its sides were two humans merged. Tom used his aura sense and saw an uncanny mix of three separate auras. They looked just like an error beast would.

  "How we will do it is with the help of the great error beast Morpheus. We will lure that powerful beast and send them on a rampage through the human kingdom."