Kenzo returned to the others with his armor once again covering his body. It had regained its original appearance, solid and intact, as though the fractures and impacts from the previous battle had never existed. He could still feel a few lingering aches as he walked, dull flashes of pain surfacing here and there, but nothing remotely comparable to what he had endured before. His body was responding properly again.
When he reached the fire, Naty and Ophelia were already awake. Naty looked up at him, studied his armor for a moment, then gave him a faint smile.
— « Your armor's repaired… perfect. What about you? Feeling better? »
Kenzo nodded.
— « Yeah. I can talk again, and I can move normally. There are still a few aches here and there, but nothing serious. »
Ophelia, standing nearby, seemed satisfied with that answer.
— « Good. Then we can start training again. »
She immediately stood and grabbed Lucian by the arm without the slightest mercy.
— « You too. You proved you can fight now. I want to see that every time. »
Lucian did not seem nearly as enthusiastic. His hesitant expression betrayed a mixture of exhaustion and apprehension, but he did not protest.
Their morning soon returned to something resembling normal. They moved away from the fire toward a clear section of the Palace of Webs. The floor still bore the scars of their previous battles, but it was stable enough for serious training. Ophelia drew her two long daggers and briefly spun them in her hands while Kenzo took hold of his guandao, adjusting his grip and feeling the now-familiar weight of the weapon.
The spar began without any signal. Ophelia attacked quickly, her daggers tracing precise paths as she constantly searched for blind spots. Kenzo answered with broad movements, using the guandao's reach to maintain distance and force her to reposition again and again. Neither of them was trying to land a decisive strike. Every attack was controlled, every defense deliberate.
Whenever Ophelia managed to place Kenzo in a difficult position, he always found a way out, pivoting, giving ground by a single step, or using the shaft of the guandao to redirect a blade at the last possible moment. In turn, whenever Kenzo managed to close off her options and apply pressure, Ophelia slipped out of range with remarkable fluidity, her movements unpredictable without ever becoming imprecise.
The exchange never stopped. Neither managed to establish a lasting advantage. They constantly adapted to one another, like two interlocking mechanisms that immediately compensated for the smallest weakness in the other. Time passed without either of them truly noticing.
After thirty minutes, they finally stopped.
Both were completely exhausted.
Ophelia rested her hands on her knees as she caught her breath, while Kenzo leaned slightly against his guandao, feeling his arms tremble from the effort. Ophelia raised her head and stared at him.
— « You're much better with that weapon… but I know you weren't going all out. You were a lot more reactive when we fought that disgusting bastard. »
Still breathing heavily, Kenzo needed a few seconds before answering.
— « Neither were you. You were faster and more brutal… and I couldn't activate your power. »
Ophelia's expression tightened slightly.
He had figured it out.
Naty stood up, apparently deciding to lighten the mood.
— « He was going to notice sooner or later. You're not invincible, Ophie. »
Ophelia looked away slightly.
— « It doesn't matter. It changes nothing. »
Kenzo straightened and glanced around.
— « How's Lucian doing? »
When Kenzo and Ophelia turned toward Naty, they found the blond boy sprawled across the floor, completely out of breath, arms spread wide and utterly incapable of standing. They both looked at Naty, waiting for an explanation.
— « What? I need to improve too, so I roughed him up a little, » she said with a smirk.
Kenzo and Ophelia exchanged a glance before matching her smirk, both finding the situation rather amusing despite themselves.
The rest of the day passed quietly. Naty and Ophelia eventually moved a little farther from the fire, still within earshot but distant enough not to be disturbed. They spoke softly about the training, Lucian's condition, and the route they would take once they left the area. Ophelia spoke little, as usual, answering mostly in short sentences while Naty carried more of the conversation, visibly more relaxed now that the immediate danger had passed. Their discussion remained serious, but there was no urgency behind it. For once, they could afford to think without death breathing down their necks.
Kenzo and Lucian sat a short distance away with their backs against a thick wall of webbing. Lucian spoke quietly about the battle, describing what he had felt when everything began falling apart and openly admitting that he had been terrified. Kenzo listened without interrupting, occasionally nodding and allowing Lucian to get everything off his chest. He did not say much, offering only a few simple words of reassurance, reminding him that he had done well and that when it truly mattered, he had held his ground.
Eventually, the conversations faded on their own as exhaustion reclaimed everyone. Naty lay near the fire with her arms folded behind her head and her eyes half closed. Ophelia moved a little farther away, leaning against a structure of webbing while staring at the surroundings without really seeing them. Lucian finally stretched out on the floor, breathing slowly with his eyes shut, as though he had at last allowed all the accumulated tension to leave his body.
Kenzo remained seated, motionless. His gaze wandered across the webs above them, absentmindedly following their irregular patterns while his thoughts drifted elsewhere. Despite the apparent calm, his mind was anything but peaceful. Without really wanting it to, his thoughts returned to the book. The artifact. The name he could not get out of his head.
— « The Alchemist… »
A dull discomfort rose inside him, and his expression hardened slightly. If one of those artifacts existed here, then there had to be others. He could not simply wander around hoping to stumble across them by chance. He would have to understand. Observe. Connect the clues. The Void Creatures. The Fragments. All of it had to mean something, even if he could not see the answer yet.
One thing, however, was clear. This was neither the time nor the place to search for definitive answers. He still had time.
More importantly, he still had a choice.
Kenzo briefly closed his eyes.
Around him, the Palace of Webs remained silent and still, as though keeping the secrets it had sheltered entirely to itself.
When the sun reached its zenith, Ophelia suddenly stood.
— « Alright, boys. We're going farther up to find something else to eat. I don't think I can handle any more of Naty's spider meat. »
Everyone grimaced. For once, they all agreed that a change of diet was necessary.
— « If you can, take that other disgusting bastard's body outside and burn it while we're gone, » Naty added. « That would be great. »
The instant those words left her mouth, something clicked in Kenzo's mind.
This was perfect.
The opportunity he had been waiting for.
His chance to eat Sir James's heart had finally presented itself.
And Kenzo knew it.