"Yuxia?"
I called out to the elementalist as he was keeping silent.
My voice started him.
"What is it?"
He replied with a frown.
"What happened to you before you were summoned here?"
I asked him back.
The former performance troupe member immediately shifted his emerald eyes from my gaze.
For some reason, he could not look at me to speak his next words.
"It's the same as the others, alright! The same!"
He shouted.
The man began speaking in a rush.
"Earthquake, the sun vanished, monsters appeared, a lot of people died, the voice called out to me, they offered me to go to the forged land, I said yes, and I suddenly found myself here. There! Is that all you want to know from me?"
Yuxia said as he rose from his seat.
"Surely you can tell more than just that."
"By the Ancient Gods, I'm not lying! That's all there is! Nothing more!"
Yuxia shouted back. His face had become flushed with great emotion.
"Then at least tell us why you accepted the offer. Why did you come to the forged land, Yuxia?"
I asked him again.
The elementalist simply turned away at my question.
"I'm going back to the banquet."
He said as he started for the door.
The man, however, stopped as he put his hand on the doorknob.
"A…chance."
He whispered.
When I turned to him, the 4-star elementalist repeated his words.
"A second chance. That is why I'm here."
Yuxia said as he left the room.
I could not help but sigh at my pupil's attitude.
It seemed he was still not ready to share his past.
Well, at least he confirmed that he experienced pretty much the same thing the rest of the 4-stars went through.
That was all I need from him for this meeting. But I could always pressure him later if I needed to know more.
"That young man was greatly troubled. He must've witnessed something terrible before he arrived here."
Djhotti said while brushing his thick beard.
"We all have."
I said with a sigh.
The stories from the other 4-stars only reinforced what I believed of the forged land and its purpose.
Despite what I saw on the fifteenth floor, we were still supposedly trying to save our world.
Heroes summoned here were promised the world's salvation.
We were supposedly risking our lives in the trials to save Dunia.
So why would the Great Houses, the Tower of Circle, and the Serpent's Order oppose us?
This would not be the end of my investigation.
I shall keep studying the mysteries of the forged land as I climb toward the top of the tower.
Gazing back to the rest of the 4-stars, I went on.
"I supposed it's only fair I reveal my story as well."
For the next while I proceeded to tell them of how I got to the forged land.
I told the three heroes about the monster invasions, the mysterious ruins, the Zeref's final stand at Danau river, my failed escape attempt, and my conversation with the voice.
My experience confirmed many things that the other 4-stars had shared.
"So our world has truly ended, huh?"
Graihan said while looking at the dim sky outside.
Ulrica nodded while caressing the blade of her axe.
"I was hoping only the Guntur was facing the devastating calamity. That way my people at least had somewhere else to go. Even if they had to leave Ptir."
"To think that even the mighty empire that once defeated my ancestors would fall too."
Djhotti said while staring at the flames burning in the hearth.
The stories of the other 4-stars indeed confirmed the end of Dunia. The end of our world.
There was no home for all of us to return to.
But another concept was reinforced in this meeting as well.
"Our world may have ended. But all of us in the forged land are going to save it."
I stated to the 4-stars.
I went on with determination burning in my eyes.
"You all heard what the voice said. We could get what we want through the forged land.
"We could save our people. We could reclaim our lands. We could defeat the enemies.
"Under Sigyn's leadership, we are going to achieve them all."
The faces of the 4-stars brightened upon my words.
Great determination began to rage in their eyes as well.
"The Tower of Trials, yes? If we reached the top, we'll obtain what we desire? I can save my people then?"
Ulrica asked.
I nodded.
"The missions we overcome inside the rift of space-time will reverse the calamity that befell our world."
"I saw what you've done to that city on the tenth floor. Protecting the land from the monsters."
Djhotti mentioned.
"As you must've seen, it won't be easy overcoming all the trials. There are enemies that will try to stop us."
I said to them.
Graihan laughed as he flexed his black claws out again.
"Oh how I wish I was there with you in those Great Hunts. The...Quintal Trials, yes? The way I would destroy all those monsters and humans standing in your path."
The lycanthrope suddenly made a frown.
"Speaking of the trials, daywalker, I remembered seeing you fighting imperial soldiers on the fifteenth floor. And apparently those Farista bastards were your enemies at the time as well."
Despite being a lycanthrope, as a mercenary, Graihan would still be familiar of those factions.
Djhotti frowned at Graihan's words.
"The Farista. I may live in the depths of Phirdaus, but I know the Farista is loyal to the empire. They might had fought against us during the Flame's Campaign, but they should be on the humanity's side, yes?"
"Aren't you from the empire, southlander? Why were you fighting against your fellow imperials? Why were there even humans trying to stop us? We're trying to save the world, aren't we?"
Ulrica asked.
They were 4-star heroes indeed. They quickly grasped the situation even just by seeing the records.
"That is another mystery we have yet to figure out."
I spoke to them.
I went on.
"There is a great possibility that most of the empire's forces are our enemies in the trials."
The 4-stars stared at me with wondering gazes.
They did not seem to believe I just uttered those words.
"How do you stand on the matter, Great Mage? Fighting against your fellow people, I mean."
Djhotti asked.
It must had been confusing for him to see humans fighting against one another, especially when one side was trying to save the world from ending.
"I'll do whatever it takes to save my world, Keeper. No matter who my enemies are."
I replied the dwarf.
I went on to the 4-stars.
"That is the duty of the heroes of the forged land. Doing everything necessary to achieve the goals demanded from us."
"You're talking about the missions in the trials, right?"
Graihan said.
I nodded to him.
"If the mission asks us to kill, then we'll kill. If the mission asks us to protect, then we'll protect. We'll accomplish everything asked of us till we reach the top of the tower."
I proceeded to point to each of them.
"The trials will demand you to achieve something that seems impossible. But you will have to achieve it. Even if you have to kill your own kind for it."
"What if the trials asked you to kill your family?"
Ulrica suddenly asked.
She went on when I kept myself silent.
"You had a father and two brothers, right? Since time is being warped in the missions, then there is a chance for you to encounter them."
The Near-Kin had a point.
On the fifteenth floor we fought against factions that we thought were our allies in this climb.
Who knows how many more of our supposed allies would be turned against us?
Well, there was only one answer to this problem.
"If in the Quintal Trial I am asked to betray my family, then I'm willing to dishonor myself to accomplish the mission."