On the day of Luminita's rite of passage, Luminita and Liber set out early in the pre-dawn hours.

Hestel, Clara, and Master came to the village entrance to see them off. Clara, rubbing her eyes occasionally, looked like she might fall asleep standing up.

"Luminita, are you really alright? Did you forget anything? Do you have your lunch, handkerchief, map, and compass? Have you greeted Elder Seron?" Hestel asked anxiously.

"Liber and I went together on his first day back in the village. Hestel, how many times have we talked about this?" Luminita replied gently. It seemed Hestel was trying to think of any reason to keep them from leaving.

"Well, it’s alright, Hestel. In my country, we say, 'Without a journey in youth, there are no stories in old age.' Let’s look forward to their tales," Master soothed. Hestel finally relaxed, and the two set off.

They headed north from Alderwick, walking for about an hour. This area was commonly called the Fourfold Grove.

The forest was serene. The trees, taller and slimmer than those in Alderwick, surrounded them.

Luminita touched one of the trees. She felt a slight chill but also sensed its ancient presence, as if it had been there for thousands of years.

Walking carefully through the forest, they took deep breaths. The pure air seemed to flow through their bodies, leaving them feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

"It’s amazing. I can feel it too. It’s so sacred," Luminita murmured.

The old leaves rustled like they were singing softly in the wind, while birds chirped lively in the gaps. Looking at their feet, they saw vibrant seasonal flowers like bluebells, primroses, and violets blooming.

They occasionally quenched their thirst at small streams as they slowly made their way through the forest. Eventually, they reached an open space, and Luminita gasped at the sight.

It was like a temple made of stone. The stone structure, three to four times Luminita’s height, stood with a mystical presence against the tranquil forest. The pillars of the temple were intricately carved, and Luminita approached to examine them. There were large circular decorations surrounded by small bird-like patterns. As she got closer, she realised the complexity of the carvings and felt dizzy.

Peering into the stone temple’s entrance, she saw a central corridor and four rooms, two on each side.

"Fourfold Grove... Four rooms..." Luminita muttered as she walked around. "And one more, including the hidden chamber, making a total of five rooms," her words echoed in the temple, sounding as if many people were whispering.

After surveying the exterior of the ruins, Luminita and Liber began setting up camp a short distance away.

"I wonder what those carvings mean," Luminita said, looking at one of the pillars.

"It seems even the academy isn’t sure. If it’s religious architecture from Plains Country Plato, it’s most likely related to the Lux-Nocta faith. Some believe it was built before the Great Confluence War, before the current form of the Almatria countries," Liber explained.

Luminita nodded repeatedly, arms crossed.

"I think I could really like this place. It’s quiet and makes me feel so pure. The scenery I’ve never seen before, the unknown structures... What were the people who built this thinking?" Luminita spoke with sparkling eyes, and Liber smiled naturally in response.

Liber took out his pocket watch and glanced at it.

"Lumi, today I’m only your companion."

"Right! I’ll start preparing for the rite," Luminita replied, almost bouncing.

"Now, I’m sure..."

***

"Don’t pick that," a boy said as Liber reached for a plant.

"That’s called Ipheion uniflorum. There’s an edible plant that looks similar, but Ipheion uniflorum can make you sick if you eat it," the boy’s calm tone was strangely intelligent. Liber re-examined the plant he was about to pick. It had long leaves with a unique scent, and pale blue-violet flowers at the tips.

"How do you know that?" Liber asked. The boy seemed about five or six years old, roughly the same age as Liber, maybe a year younger. Liber thought he had read all the books in the facility, but he didn’t remember reading about Ipheion uniflorum.

"Someone told me," the boy said nonchalantly.

"Who?" Liber asked, and the boy pointed to the Ipheion uniflorum.

Liber began to learn about the existence of spirits when he was around six years old.

At that time, he lived in a facility where children of the same age lived together. The children were divided into groups of about five, teaching each other reading and writing and cooperating in daily life. All the children, including Liber, seemed to be without parents. Several adults took turns caring for them.

Occasionally, new children arrived from outside the facility, prompting group reorganisation or adding new members. One day, two girls joined Liber’s group. They were sisters, with the elder being two years younger than Liber and the younger one year younger than that. Because Liber was the oldest, a man told him to take care of the sisters.

Feeling burdened, Liber ignored the sisters, deliberately not teaching them how to use the dishes or bedding, and was mean to them. Despite this, the sisters followed Liber everywhere, which only made him dislike them more.

A while after the sisters arrived, the facility’s program took the children to gather wild vegetables in the nearby hills. It was a rare place where plants and animals from the country of Relics, Substania, lived.

The sisters continued to follow Liber, gathering the same plants he did. They even picked Ipheion uniflorum, thinking it was edible, just like Liber.

In the late morning, they reported their harvest to the supervising adults.

"Ipheion uniflorum looks a lot like edible chives, but you can’t eat it. Didn’t anyone tell you?" the supervising woman scolded the sisters in front of everyone.

Seeing the sisters, Liber felt a cold shiver down his spine. Ipheion uniflorum was rare in Substania, and it was understandable the sisters didn’t know about it, especially since it was their first time gathering wild vegetables. The responsibility should have been his. What if the sisters told on him? Should he confess now? But what would they say about him being mean and silently watching?

The sisters didn’t defend themselves. The elder sister stood straight, looking the adult in the eye and said, "Sorry, we didn’t know." The younger sister clung to her sister’s clothes.

They didn’t seem intimidated. Were they not afraid of being scolded? Liber wondered for a moment but soon realised. The elder sister was holding the younger sister’s hand tightly, and the younger sister was gripping back just as firmly. Like two tree roots intertwined, supporting each other wholeheartedly.

Seeing them, Liber’s earlier anxiety turned into shame. He looked up their names and memorised them: the elder was Luminita, and the younger was Clara.

Time passed, but Liber couldn’t forget the words, "Didn’t anyone tell you?" He couldn’t understand his feelings and sought knowledge instead. He read many books in the facility and asked the male caretakers to let him read adult books.

Gradually, he began to understand there was another meaning to those words. They weren’t just about asking adults or friends if you didn’t know something. They implied the existence of unseen beings in the world that taught the safe ways to interact with phenomena and natural objects around us and their dangers.

These beings, for example, would subtly warn you if you were about to eat mouldy bread or tell you if well water was safe to drink. They could guide you to dry wood suitable for starting a fire in the hearth.

"These beings are everywhere, not only in plants and food but also in stones, metals, and even vague things like wind and fire, interacting with us," Liber learned from the adults in the facility that these beings were called spirits in Almatria.

Spirits did more than teach. Respecting spirits could prevent fires from spreading or enhance soil nutrients to promote wheat growth. Conversely, harming them could bring disasters or crop failures.

"The art of handling spirits, Phasmanicus, connects us to the world and is one of the most fundamental powers for living. Here, you will learn and acquire that power," a woman explained warmly, welcoming the children’s growth.

The children showed various reactions: joy, surprise, understanding. They each accepted the existence of spirits based on their experiences.

Liber tried to stay as calm as possible, nodding along. He searched the faces around him for reactions similar to his own. Nearby, younger children than Liber were pointing at the air and flower beds, chattering excitedly. He couldn’t join in. He had never seen a spirit, their forms, or signs, not even once.

What did it mean in Almatria to not see spirits? Was it rare? Could it be improved with growth or training? What if the world Liber saw was entirely different from what his peers saw and would never be the same?

As these questions swirled in Liber’s mind, he noticed the two girls. Luminita stood tall, while Clara clung to her, holding her hand, listening to the explanation about spirits, just like during the wild vegetable gathering. But then, sister's hand seemed to tremble slightly.

***

The dry crackle of firewood woke Liber. Night had fallen, and the air was cold and clear, unlike during the day.

On the other side of the fire, Luminita, wrapped in a blanket, was dozing off. It seemed she had been dreaming for a while.

It had been a long time since Liber dreamed about the days before coming to Plato. Perhaps it was because he had been watching Luminita’s earnest efforts for the rite.

The facility where they spent several years as children. They didn’t even remember its name because no one mentioned it back then. The adults might called it "Hollow House,".

But for Liber now, that wasn’t important. He shifted his thoughts and looked at Luminita, sleeping peacefully, and recalled the events from noon to evening.

During the day, Luminita had repeatedly tried to communicate with the spirits. She tried to feel the flow of water in the trees and the flow of wind and air by burning incense. These were methods taught by their master in Alderwick. However, there was no communication with the spirits.

Since their time in the facility, Liber and the others had never been able to sense the presence of spirits. They hoped that a place with strong spirit power like Fourfold Grove might be different, but it wasn’t.

"It looks like I fell asleep. Sorry, Liber. We were supposed to take turns watching the fire," Luminita said as she adjusted the blanket on her shoulders, waking up suddenly.

"Will Grandpa Seron be angry?" she said, poking the fire with a stick.

"Lumi, actually, in Alderwick’s rites, you don’t necessarily have to sense the spirits."

Luminita stopped and looked at him.

"The rite of passage tradition is to spend a night at the ruins and report on communicating with the spirits. That’s what you’ve heard, right? But it’s just a formality now. Four years ago, someone almost got lost in a storm during the rite, and since then, an elder accompanies them. There were even calls to abolish the rite then," Liber explained.

Luminita stared at Liber silently.

"Master must have told you that during the Almatria Union War fifty years ago, the connection between people and spirits was mostly lost. We can’t use Phasmanicus freely like the people of the past. Of course, if you want to become a Hoshiwatari, that’s different. You need spirit research reports and recommendations. But that doesn’t have to be now," Liber continued, searching for words. "I heard this two years ago, after spending a night in the rite like you. Master told me secretly to comfort me when I couldn’t communicate with the spirits. Neither Elder nor Master scolded me. But don’t tell anyone I told you this."

"Liber, you’re suddenly so talkative," Luminita chuckled. "You sound like a teacher... it’s kind of funny."

Liber averted his gaze, thinking she might have noticed how long he had waited to tell her this.

"You know, I don’t really mind," Luminita said, and Liber felt relieved. Even at the facility, when other kids bullied her, Luminita rarely cried. When they were first brought to Plato and were scared, Luminita seemed to cheer up Liber. Luminita might be much stronger than he thought.

Liber looked at Luminita, so she then averted her eyes.

"It’s just that I..."

At that moment, Liber felt something strange. The fire seemed dimmer than expected, the wood not burning but producing smoke. The air around them grew damp and foggy, and suddenly, he felt a chill. The pleasant coolness of the spring night was replaced by a coldness that numbed his fingers. The insect sounds stopped, replaced by the rustling of grass and trees, hard to distinguish between wind or animals.

Something was happening. They might be too late if they didn’t act now, Liber thought.

"We need to leave here immediately," he said quickly, starting to pack their camp.

Ten years ago, when they first came to Plato, a tornado had struck the plains. If something like that happened again, what would they do? For Luminita’s safety, he had to act swiftly.

"Wait, Liber," Luminita said, grabbing his sleeve.

"Lumi, I’m sorry to interrupt. We’ll talk later. But we need to move now," Liber said, feeling apologetic for the urgency in his voice.

"Isn’t it now?" Luminita remained calm.

"We don’t know exactly, but... the spirit power might be strengthening, affecting this place. This might be our chance to communicate with the spirits," she said, her breath turning white as the temperature dropped rapidly. Liber lit a lantern and covered the fire with soil to extinguish it.

"Liber..." Luminita’s voice grew smaller.

"Lumi, maybe. But we can’t be sure. We can’t interact with spirits. We can live without it. Let’s go," Liber said, trying not to speak too fast and extending his hand to Luminita. At that moment, a gust of wind made the lantern flicker. In the flickering light, he saw her face. She stared silently at him. It felt like time had stopped. Even in the dark, her pale green eyes glistened with tears. A single tear traced down her cheek, soaking into the ground. Time seemed to resume.

"Am I... a failure? Will I always be like this?" Luminita’s trembling voice brought back memories of when they first learned about spirits at the facility. Among the excited children, Luminita and Clara stood tall, holding hands. The meaning of that trembling hand, Liber finally understood.

"Liber, I’m sorry for being a burden. I’m fine now. Let’s go," Luminita said, her voice steady, and began packing.

"Luminita," Liber said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I’m the one who should apologise, for being so focused on myself... I’m sorry. Time may be limited, but this is a chance. Let’s call out to the spirits once more."