On the way to Twilight Library, Wail caught them up on the biggest stories of the past few years. Her opening line was, "Your generation is without a doubt the most rebellious in Arisentna’s history. We never had this much drama in our day." After being accused by Mountfuse in fifth year, Maple Syrup dropped out of Moonlight Marsh and wandered on her own. The only time she showed up was at the Divine Game. Mountfuse tried to capture her every year, but the moment the game ended she would vanish in teleportation light. "He never succeeded. Someone’s protecting her. I suspect it’s Orpha, just to spite Mountfuse. But I don’t think Orpha took Maple Syrup as an apprentice. All her energy is invested in Mistblade. "That child is extraordinary. Last Winterveil when I visited Orpha, she told me she’d never nurtured a monarch capable of leading her people into true glory. "But Maple Syrup didn’t fade after losing her teacher. Be careful with her—she won the individual championship in sixth year. "And then the story broke that her entire family was dead, with the news claiming she killed them. They said she completely absorbed their divine gifts. Otherwise, how could her divine talent have evolved to SSS? Now half the world is chasing her, trying to uncover how she did it." Like Lightchaser, Wail had a habit of following the news about her juniors’ friends. And as fate would have it, all of Rita’s friends were fixtures in the headlines. Fat Goose’s family realized he was torn—wanting his clan, but refusing to abandon his adoptive parents. They shifted their investments to another promising Candlebeast, Tender Pig of Greygrove. "Funny thing," Wail went on, "the very next year, Tender Pig turned up dead in a tavern in Auberdine. That happened to be when Fat Goose was away from Asaein." Her words were neutral, but the implication was clear. She thought Fat Goose had done it. That didn’t sound like him at all. Rita asked, curious, "Didn’t his family punish him for that?" "No. Quite the opposite," Wail answered, repeating what she’d heard. "They stopped trying to control him. Of course, after a while they always went back to their old habits, but after that, every time they tried, a few Candlebeasts turned up dead. That problem cured itself." Maybe Fat Goose had gotten a taste for it... And it wasn’t just them. Every school had its rebels. Syntax tricked Mute into giving up her divine talent, sparking infighting and schisms among the undead. Wither Monarch seized the opportunity and rallied a faction to her side. Cinnabar stole one of Motor’s divine-talent skills, but Motor retaliated by ripping off Cinnabar’s mech arm and grafting it onto her own human form. Pine Bloom outright killed her official teacher, claiming they weren’t competent. She was expelled from Puppy Ranch, only to find a stronger mentor. Latest news said that mentor died last month. Hearing this, Rita couldn’t understand. "Why kill them? Couldn’t she just keep them all?" Lightchaser: "...How touching. I almost teared up. Should I say thank you?" Across from her, GodDraw77 had to bite back laughter, but she nodded anyway. "You two are so weird lately!" Rita scowled, protesting. "I don’t want to replace anyone. I only have you. You’re the best." Lightchaser gave a cold laugh. "You’d better remember that." Wail sipped her water, clearly enjoying her role as storyteller, watching their shocked faces. Next came Golden Hills’ Fengji. Luck—or misfortune—saw her chosen by a perfect relic that had rested in Golden Hills for centuries. It bound to her on its own. But in last year’s Divine Game, Autumn Deer of Puppy Ranch somehow stole it away. Golden Hills and Puppy Ranch had been fighting over it ever since. But the hottest news was about Crab and NightFury. "In the sixth-year fun match, Crab and Frenzied Shark teamed up to kill NightFury. From her corpse flew a string of bone windchimes, straight into Crab’s hands. "Even when Divine Game revived NightFury, the windchime didn’t return. Unlike Autumn Deer’s theft, no one doubted Crab’s gain. He hadn’t searched or schemed—it just dropped to him because he landed the killing blow. "Since then, NightFury dropped out of Exile Island. Everyone knows she’s camped outside Twilight Library, waiting to take it back. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵 "It’s a strange relic. No matter where you are, using it calls up the wind, and the chimes sing." All three adults turned their gaze toward Rita, who had suddenly stuffed her hands into her pockets. She stared down at her boots—Moonlight Marsh uniform boots that now felt a little tight. She’d grown a year older on the River of Time. Seeing her play dumb, the three exchanged a silent agreement to let it go. GodDraw77 thought, If it were my other student, she’d be scared out of her mind by now, not calmly standing here with three powerhouses, simply trusting they wouldn’t harm her. Wail continued. "But truthfully, Crab hasn’t returned to Twilight Library since getting the windchimes. No one knows if he’ll compete this year. "And then there’s Mojie and Pomango of the Deepsea Mines. Mojie dug out gems in secret, Pomango fenced them. However many years they studied there, that’s how many years they looted. Total haul? At least thirty million gold. "The moment word leaked, they defected. The Mines are still chasing the money." Lightchaser sat up straight. "Thirty million?" Wail smirked. "See? Compare yourself to them." Lightchaser: "...If Moonlight Marsh doesn’t mind, I could dig up the Wisdom Tree and sell it to Twilight Library. I remember Asao wanted to transplant it when I was a student." Silence. Wail didn’t answer. She too had graduated from Moonlight Marsh. Rita realized something. Wail wasn’t just gossiping. She was carefully choosing which stories to linger on. Was this... her way of introducing potential teammates? She started counting on her fingers. "Pine Bloom, Maple Syrup, NightFury, Crab, Mojie, Pomango?" NightFury and Crab couldn’t both be on her team. Mojie and Pomango seemed inseparable. So... were these her choices? Her private chat pinged. [Maple Syrup]: Heard you’re back. Team match this year—you in? [Maple Syrup]: You might want to catch up on the news first. [Rita]: Are those stories true? Did you kill your parents? [Maple Syrup]: False. [Maple Syrup]: Didn’t kill them. I just baked them into cookies. She didn’t remember Maple Syrup ever having a cooking hobby.