-"When all paths have closed, nothing but darkness awaits..."

*Mayu*

"We've been waiting for a long time," a familiar voice called out as soon as we exited the building.

I stepped back. "Hikaru?"

Hikaru glanced at me, and jumped back. "Mayu?" He summoned his wand and pointed at me. "What are you doing here?"

"Relax," said the blond boy, Ry, as he removed his hood. "We won't allow her to harm you."

"Sorry about being late. I forgot that idiot had us volunteer for this 'bonding test'," Tahoma said, sighing.

"Idiot?" Yen asked, blinking.

He nodded. "Your brother."

She glanced at the cloaks of the four. "I'm assuming you're talking about Kun. I know that you're Ayawamat's cousin, but we didn't meet until recently. I had no idea that you were that close to Kun. How do you know him?"

Tahoma smiled. "Seems that idiot does know how to keep a few secrets." He sighed. "I met him when the other idiot got lost."

Yen glared at him. "I won't allow you to keep calling my brothers idiots."

The boy scoffed. "You might be one too."

'What in the world is going on here?'

Hikaru sighed. "Before you say anything, why is Mayu here?"

"Haven't you watched the news?" asked Ry. "The camp these guys were staying in was attacked by a sha..."

"Ry," Tahoma said, glaring at him.

Yen waved her hand in the air. "It's fine. We know about the shadows. Brother and Nyima's mother mentioned them while we were fighting in the old ruins on Nine Petal Island."

"Nyima? You mean that blue-haired girl in Lei's group?"

Yen nodded. "Yeah, Nyima Taiyang Yahto. What other Nyima do you think I mean?"

He shook his head and struck himself in the forehead. "What an idiot. I can't believe that I didn't make that connection earlier. Then... that makes her the heir of..."

"Is Nyima special to you?" Wanikiya asked Tahoma as he kept an eye on me.

Tahoma nodded. "Yes, she'll be essential in the salvation of this world. Do you know where she is at the moment?"

"She's with Koukyuu in the dragon realm," responded Mr. Obi as he joined Yen's group.

Yuuto smiled. He was probably thinking that Mr. Obi would help us out.

Mr. Obi glanced at us and grinned. "Oh, so you're alive. Good. Hand over the delinquents to me, I'll ensure that they receive their proper punishment."

Tahoma grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me away. He narrowed his eyes at my former liege. "And if we said no?"

'What does he plan to do with me? Use me as a hostage? Well, he sort of already did that to lure the others here so...'

Mr. Obi gave him a toothy smile. "You'll face the same consequences as they will."

*Lei*

We were escorted into a three-story vault that resembled a mall due to its various rooms that seemed like the size of stores and not to mention the window displays. The biggest difference though was that the vault had way more stuff than a mall did. Adorning the main halls were various cabinets, tables, and drawers. The furniture itself was made up of diverse trees ranging from the black marble-like Dragon Oak to the snow-like Angel Pine.

I ran my hands across the silky texture of an Angel Pine table. "Woah, it does feel like clouds," I exclaimed.

"Pay attention," Nyima snapped. "We're here for our test, not to sightsee."

Koukyuu nodded. "That's correct. Now, get ready. You have half an hour to complete this task."

Akito and I exchanged glances. "We're ready," we said.

She smiled as she snapped her fingers, causing a large floating digital cloak to appear in the center of the room without warning.

"That is an illusion, isn't it?" Ryomi asked, staring at the clock float in mid-air.

Koukyuu patted her head. "Right, but save the questions for later. You have to help Nyima gather the ingredients for the second part of the test."

Ryomi nodded and ran off after her partner who was now picking up items at random. The Wynagan princess picked up four white flowers with petals like crystal, and handed them over to Nyima.

"What are these?" Nyima asked, staring at the flowers.

"Those are the Radiant blooms," she responded, keeping her red eyes on the other items on the table. "I don't see anything else here that's on the list. Let's move on ahead."

"Thanks," Nyima said, giving her a bright smile.

My face suddenly felt warmer.

"Lei," Akito called out.

I shook my head. "Sorry, I zoned out. Did you find something?"

He holds out four radiant blooms of his own. "I found these. Ryomi gave some to that girl, it's something that we need, right?"

I patted his head. "Yup, now let's find the other items."

"I can't reach it," Ayawamat grumbled as he tried to reach for some radiant blooms.

"Why don't you just use your bug powers?" asked the kid.

I would've asked the same thing if Adela hadn't told me that radiant blooms were very delicate. Odd, that Ayawamat would know that, though.

I flew up to the top of the shelf and snatched the blooms.

"Hey, those are mine! Give them back," Ayawamat demanded. "Don't you dare damage them."

Shrugging, I walked over to him and gently placed the flowers in his hands. "Try to pass this test. You've fallen behind all of us."

Ayawamat handed the flowers over to Seron to put away into a basket. "Hey! What happened to you?"

I grinned. "I am no longer the wimp who you used to enjoy making fun of. I stopped being that guy ages ago. The stronger I become, the farther I get from that kid."

He took a deep breath. "Well, drop the act. The Lei I know is an idiot."

"Stop with the pathetic insults," Nyima shouted. "Aren't you tired of ruining Lei's life?"

Ruining my life?

"Calm down," I said. "He might make it difficult but he hasn't..."

"Don't pretend that this guy isn't the reason for why you're the way you are. He's the one who you were thinking of while battling Iah during the Sea Tournament, wasn't it? That onslaught of attacks wasn't meant for Iah but for Ayawamat!"

I handed the blooms back to Akito. "Stop it."

"Don't deny it!"

'Weak, you're weak.'

"Stop it!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Nyima and Ayawamat both stood frozen as if I had used some kind of spell on them. I turned away and ran off without Akito. My hands were curled into fists as I ran and ran. Tears threatened to spill over.

I entered a store-like room within the vault and took a seat. This rage... if I didn't control it then one day I could become like Shiori. This anger already drew blood...

"Hmm, where could those rocks be?" someone muttered to themselves. I looked up and saw Adela's partner, Natsuki.

Natsuki paused as soon as we locked eyes. "Are you alright?" She took out a sun-shaped handkerchief from her red winter coat and held it out toward me. "Don't cry." Her eyes became watery.

"Why are you crying?"

She wiped her tears and looked at the black marble tiled floor. "I... I hate seeing others cry."

I took the handkerchief from her hands and wiped my face with it. "Sorry. You didn't need to see that." I snickered cynically. "I guess that I still have a long way to go if I seek to come off as cool."

Natsuki smiled. "You are pretty cool. All of you are. Though out of all five, I think that you're the coolest. You protected Akito as if you two were lifelong friends."

I stood up and handed her back the handkerchief. "I forgot about Akito! Did you see him?"

She shook her head. "Nope. The last group I saw was Iah and Ryuusei heading down."

"They went downstairs? What kind of items are there?"

"Not sure but Adela followed them. We nearly got all the items except for the stones and the dragon scale."

"Ah, I see," I said. 'Note to self, head downstairs once you've found Akito.'

"I brought you your partner," Nyima announced as she stood by the door, her arms crossed. "What's with you today? Leaving him like that?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." I lower my head. "I'm sorry, both of you."

Nyima walked over and touched my head. She lifted it until our eyes met. "Why do you three continue to flee from the past?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"Adela and Iah avoid my questions while you run off when I bring up the past. Ayawamat appears to be the same as you. If the five of us are a team then we should start to trust one another."

I removed her hands from my face. "Adela once said, 'being a team doesn't mean giving all your secrets away'. So stop prying into the lives of others and care for your own." I signaled for Akito to follow me and left the room filled with various stones.

"Wait, Lei!" she yelled.

I sped up my pace, not daring to turn out. My heart ached a little. My words came out harsher than I'd meant them to, but I didn't like her tone. She had no right to worm her way into our lives like this.

**Solar Note: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter :). What do you think of the relationship between Nyima, Lei, and Ayawamat?**