“What’s going on?!” Cocoa added.
“It’s too sad,” Tarte yowled.
“Are those the Heirs who couldn’t become Ifrit?” L’lyeh asked.
I gave them a sympathetic smile. Every Unstoked Ember triggered one line, so throwing them in one at a time and listening to those voices could be pretty emotionally taxing. Some players had liked the emotional beat, though. “I know it’s shocking, and Lulu guessed correctly. Those voices are representations of their regret over never becoming Ifrit. The voices can be a little unsettling, but the moment they became Heirs of Flames, well...”
“Oh,” Cocoa breathed, clasping her hands in front of her chest as she caught my meaning. There was nothing we could do for them now.
While everyone stood still, L’lyeh threw another ember into the spring. “I will pray and throw.”
“Yeah. Good idea,” I said.
Slowly, we all resumed our task.
“This is the last one,” Tarte announced as she threw the one thousandth Unstoked Ember. As soon as it hit the water, the entire spring turned red.
“What is this, a blood bath?!” Kent shouted.
“What?! Sharon, are you sure we’re doing it right?! Th-This is supposed to happen?” Cocoa shrieked.
“It’s a very dark red...” Tarte murmured.
My party was freaking out at the unexpected start of the event. If they hadn’t guessed it by now, this wasn’t a wholesome storyline but a tragic one.
The red water swirled at the center of the spring, revealing a single Heir of Flames. Unlike the wild Heirs of Flames we’d farmed on the second level, it looked exhausted in its torn clothes. It gazed out at us with vacant eyes. “Thank you for bringing me the voices of my kin.” The Heir of Flames raised its hands to chest height, and all one thousand of the Unstoked Embers seemed to rise out of the water and float in the air. Then, they each burst into flame and became stones of fire—like an unawakened Heir of Flames. “They will sleep here as embers, saving their strength until the next Ifrit is chosen.”
“So they’ll keep fighting to become the next Ifrit?” Kent asked.
“I don’t know if that’s how they choose the next Ifrit, but it’s kind of sad to think that they’re repeating this process over and over,” Cocoa supplied.
“It means they can’t live their lives how they want to...” Tarte murmured.
I shared their sentiments—it wasn’t right that the Heirs of Flames were destined to repeat their tragic life cycles.
The Heir of Flames in the middle of the oasis showed a hint of surprise...and smiled. In a heartbeat, though, its smile had faded back to the same blank expression. “Please take this.” It held out an item to us.
Kent, who stood the closest to the Heir of Flames, reached his hand out. The item floated through the air and into Kent’s hand. He held it reverently with both hands as he showed it to us.
Wanderlust—an item that allowed the whole party to return to the main Transportation Gate of the last city they’d been to.
“This item is incredible!” Kent shouted, blowing away the somber mood.
I could hardly blame him. It was an incredibly useful item that allowed us to return to our inn from any dungeon in an instant instead of walking the whole way back. “There’s no way we’re not using an item like this, right?” I asked. Now more than ever, when we’d been walking home every day from sweltering dungeons, we really needed an item like this.
Everyone nodded fervently in agreement.
“Wow! We can use this in a dungeon? Anywhere?” Cocoa asked.
“We could come from the middle of a dense forest?” added Tarte.
“Yes,” I confirmed. We could even use it inside a city to teleport to that city’s Transportation Gate. This item was even more convenient than it seemed.
Water splashed over the edge of the spring, and the red began to clear.
“That’s a token of our thanks...so we may travel somewhere with you,” the Heir of Flames told us quietly.
We watched it return into the spring without a word, and I thanked it silently.
Cocoa was the first to break the silence. “We’ve been fighting monsters without really thinking about it. It’s kind of sad, knowing the other side of it.”
“Yeah... Sometimes, monsters have their own lives and destinies,” I said. Not all monsters came with backstories like this, but I suspected very few of the ones who did had cheerful backstories. “Well, there’s no sense in sticking around. Shall we go back to town?”
“We probably should. Let’s try using this item. I think the Heirs would want us to,” Kent said.
The rest of us agreed, and Kent activated the Wanderlust. A circle of flame spun around us, and in the blink of an eye, the world beyond the circle shifted.
“That’s awesome! We really made it back here in no time!” Kent exclaimed.
Sure enough, we had teleported to Fule’s Transportation Gate.
“We didn’t have to take that long walk home...” Tarte breathed.
“Wow. I don’t think I can live without this item anymore,” said Cocoa.
Just like the three of them, I was enthralled by the utility of Wanderlust. After all, the least enjoyable part of any adventure was the journey home. And lately, our journey home had been more than a little bit arduous. Even during boss fights, we’d had to be careful to preserve enough strength to make it back to town. In that sense, Wanderlust would also allow us to not hold back during boss fights or the final stretch of crawling a dungeon.
“Oh, before I forget...” I began, getting the attention of the party. Not to rain on our parade, but we had to proceed with caution when it came to Wanderlust, one of the most exceptional items out there. “Just so we’re on the same page—we shouldn’t go showing this off to anyone else.”
Everyone voiced their agreement.
“Yeah. Who wouldn’t want something like this?” Kent answered. “Some rich noble would probably offer a fortune for it.”
“It makes for an easy getaway,” Tarte added. Then, realization crossed her face. “Meowster... If we gather another thousand Unstoked Embers, could we get another one of these?”
“Yeah? We can repeat this as many times as we want. Did you want your own Wanderlust?” I asked.
Tarte shook her head. “Not for me. I thought if Ti had one, she could make a quick escape from dangerous situations.”
I nodded in understanding. Tithia had once nearly been killed by a power-hungry tyrant who’d come after her position as the Pope of Erenzi. If she’d had an item like this at the time, she might have escaped that situation unharmed. “You’re absolutely right, Tarte.” Tithia, no matter how strong, was still a seven-year-old girl. There couldn’t be enough safeguards for her.
“Right. Ti’s at a higher level and in a safer position now, but who knows when someone else could come after her,” Kent said.
“She’s always going to be the Pope,” Cocoa agreed.
I glanced at Tarte, who looked as relieved as I felt. “We’ll have to farm another thousand all over again...but could we do it for Ti? After everything we’ve been through together?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’m in!”
“Good idea.”
Kent’s, Cocoa’s, and L’lyeh’s approval lit up Tarte’s face. “Are you sure?!”
Cocoa beamed. “Of course!”
Tarte’s tail straightened adorably. “Thank you so mewch...!”
“I know you want to help her, Tarte. You’re her official Alchemist. And Ti is just as much of a friend to us. We’re always happy to help her. Right?” I turned to the rest of the party.
“Yeah!”
“That’s right!”
“You can count on me.”
Once again, they were quick to back me up.
“We were going to continue hunting Ifrit anyway. Let’s keep up our routine for another ten days,” I said.
“Thank you, everyone!” Tarte purred.
So, we set out on our adventure to collect one thousand Unstoked Embers...again.