The Liar stepped through the gate, and it slowly shut behind him…
Eric and Lady Marianne rushed toward Faithless, who was lying on the ground, his body drenched in blood.
Marianne was in a state of shock upon seeing him in such a frail and terrifying condition… His chest was pierced, and his hand was severed. She had feared the worst as she looked at him with worried eyes.
As for Eric, he thought Faithless might lose his life, despite the Liar assuring them he was fine—but human emotions often manifest in strange ways.
Faithless slowly opened his eyes and looked at Marianne, who was deeply concerned for him… He smiled faintly, and all his wounds began to heal—even his severed hand was slowly regenerating.
He partially sat up, scratching the back of his head as if he had no idea what was going on. He looked at Marianne and Eric, who were both stunned by how his lethal and fatal injuries were healing before their eyes.
"What's with your faces? You look like you've seen a ghost," he said, confused, glancing at them.
"I don't know what just happened, but how did you recover from such severe wounds? These were fatal injuries—how did you survive that?" Eric placed his palm on his forehead, utterly baffled.
Faithless gave a casual smile and replied calmly:
"As for that, I think it's a curse, as my mother once told me. A curse that lets me heal from any wound… but if my head is cut off, I'll die instantly."
Then Faithless murmured to himself:
'I honestly don't know how it works… Is it because of Antrois? Or some other unknown power inside me… But the only logical explanation is Antrois.'
'And I can't tell them the truth… I'll just leave it at that.'
Marianne smiled at him, and Faithless returned the gesture. She stood up and spoke softly while adjusting her hat:
"Your fight with that man called the Liar… it was terrifying. You became a completely different person. Your style was brutal and terrifying."
"I don't know… But that guy's behavior made me gradually lose my mind. Especially his bizarre fighting style—I've never seen anything like it before." Faithless replied quietly.
"A lot of strange things happened, especially here… But was this mysterious person part of Master Isaac's plan?" Eric folded his arms as he thought aloud.
"What do you mean by part of his plan?" Faithless asked, puzzled.
Marianne answered calmly:
"What Eric means is that the gates Master Isaac opens are for training purposes, and sometimes strange characters appear to help us—like Circora."
She continued in the same tone:
"Characters we can fight, understand the meaning behind, and end the battle quickly… But this person who calls himself the Liar is a strange surprise, if Master Isaac was the one who placed him here."
Faithless whispered to himself, touching his chin with two fingers:
'It seems Saint Isaac's training is filled with mystery and also supports us, like in that old dream… But the scary part is, what if the Liar is something separate from Isaac's plans?'
"Let's stop overthinking it. What matters is we're all okay—and there's a gate by the Philosopher's Statue. I think that's the way out of this place." Eric placed his hands behind his head, trying to lighten the grim atmosphere.
Faithless smiled and said:
"You're right. Let's get out of this gloomy place."
As he tried to get up, Lady Marianne extended her hand. Faithless was briefly surprised, but he slowly held it, smiling.
The three of them walked toward the gate. Marianne glanced at Faithless, her hat covering part of her forehead, and she muttered softly to herself:
'What a fake smile… just to make us believe you're okay. I still carry a deep hatred toward your filthy bloodline for what they did to my family… but looking at you now, you seem like a broken man, one who's been weighed down by time.'
She continued in the same tone, a few steps before reaching the gate:
'And what the Liar said about my future being bright, but my past ugly…? It's strange and hard to interpret.'
The three of them stepped through the gate, which then slammed shut like a needle hitting the floor… A white light blinded their vision until they found themselves in a stone room that looked like a small cave. In the center was a fire, and within it, a sword was slowly burning.
Three people were sitting around the fire, talking, but they stopped and turned toward Eric, Marianne, and Faithless.
"You're all okay, thank God!" Julian jumped with joy as she looked at them, her ears twitching excitedly. She rushed toward Faithless and traced a finger across his muscles.
Faithless gave a shy smile as he looked at Julian and patted her head. Marceline stood up and spoke in a sweet yet teasing tone:
"Thank God you're alright. Also, it looks like Julian is more excited about seeing Faithless than either of you two."
Eric squatted by the fire, placing one hand over the other and speaking with a disinterested tone:
"Doesn't matter… I just want to go back. I want to sleep."
Tawakizra looked at Eric with mocking eyes and said:
"Man, your laziness is terrifying."
"And Faithless, why aren't you wearing anything on your upper body?" Marceline asked curiously, placing her hand on her waist.
"A lot happened. We ran into a cheerful clown carrying explosives that ended up tearing my clothes apart." Faithless scratched the back of his head, clearly flustered.
"And why is it only your clothes that got destroyed, not Eric's or Marianne's?" Marceline tried to corner him further.
But Lady Marianne cut in quickly and said:
"There was a dangerous attack, and he shielded Eric and me. That's why his clothes were destroyed."
"Hmm… I suppose that's a reasonable explanation. And not a single wound—what resilience, except for those weird scars on your chest and abdomen." Marceline still seemed skeptical and tried to get more out of him.
Eric then spoke in a loud tone, half-asleep:
"Marcy, cut it with the dumb questions. I just want to get back to my warm bed and sleep."
"Alright, alright… I'm sorry." Marceline raised her hands.
Everyone sat around the fire, wearing peaceful smiles. Julian held Faithless's hand and talked to him sweetly while he smiled back and patted her head.
"The best thing Saint Isaac ever made is the Bonfire," Tawakizra said with comfort as he gently touched the flame that didn't burn but felt warm.
"Bonfire?" Faithless asked, confused by the strange term.
"Oh, right—you don't know. The Bonfire is something Saint Isaac created to connect the Gate World to the original world," Tawakizra explained simply with a smile.
He continued:
"And sitting around it gives you a sense of peace and eternal comfort."
"I agree with Tawakizura… sitting next to her made me forget all the pain inside my body," Faithless spoke to himself.
"And now, it's time to return." Tawakizura slowly gripped the sword…
The place ignited with a warm fire, and they appeared in the courtyard… the sky was dark, the only light being the moon decorating the heavens. The wind moved gently, carrying with it a cold atmosphere that gave one goosebumps.
Isaac was sitting on a worn-out chair, poking a stick into the bonfire… He smiled at them and spoke with a calm tone while keeping his eyes closed:
"So, my dears… how was your journey inside the Clown's Forest? Was it crazy?"
"Beautiful, but forgive me, Master… I need to sleep." Eric walked off, waving goodbye to everyone.
"I'm still a little mad at you for not putting me with Faithless, Meow." Julian said in a sweet tone, trying to sound angry but coming off as adorable.
Isaac gently pinched her cheek and replied softly:
"Next time, my sweet one."
"So, how did the fight go with Circora the Clown… and the Puppet King?" Isaac asked them calmly.
"Both were exhausting. I don't even want to explain what happened," Marceline replied, clearly tired and just wanting to rest.
"The fight with Circora was shocking because we were actually fighting a fake puppet. As for the Puppet King, his battle was terrifying… but he posed a serious threat," Tawakizura explained to Isaac in a calm tone.
Marianne and Faithless were both stunned—he hadn't mentioned the Liar at all. Isaac looked at them and asked:
"And you two… the crazy lovers. How was the fight?"
"We fought Circora, but we didn't face the Puppet King… we fought someone else called the Liar," Faithless said in a deep voice.
Isaac's expression shifted into one of strange shock—a look he had never shown before. All his plans had been going smoothly.
"It seems Circora split you up incorrectly… things like that happen sometimes. The Liar is considered one of the forest's kings, so he's technically part of the trial, though not directly."
Lady Marianne and Faithless looked at each other as they heard Isaac's answer. It sounded logical to Julian, Marceline, and Tawakizura… but not to the two standing in the middle.
"Now then, after such a long journey, you need rest… therefore, you'll have two weeks off from training."
Everyone was happy with that… they saw it as a beautiful gift and a sign of appreciation for their efforts.
"It's time to rest. Head to your rooms," Isaac ordered them.
They all went inside the simple castle… heading to their rooms—six in total—except for Faithless, who had his own private room. While walking, he spoke with Marianne:
"Don't you think Master Isaac is lying?"
Marianne looked at him in surprise and said softly:
"I don't think so… maybe it's part of the training."
"You're probably right… ughh, I just want to get in bed and hug it. See you later, Blood Drop." Faithless said goodbye in his strange way and went off to sleep.
"And you too, Shadow Drop." She mirrored his words with a smile.
Before entering, Marianne looked up at the clear sky decorated with stars and the white moon, speaking to herself:
'Who is the Liar? Is he part of Master Isaac's plans? Why am I even thinking? I'm tired of thinking—I just want to sleep.'
Two hours later… Isaac was sitting in his room, deep in thought.
He was writing some notes on a blank piece of paper when the door slowly opened, and someone walked in… Isaac gave a faint smile and spoke in a calm tone:
"Welcome, my dear. How was the trial with them… Circora"
She threw the black coat onto the couch, walked over to Isaac, and sat on his lap while sipping wine, saying sweetly:
"I hate that name… just call me Melina."
"I'm sorry, my beautiful one… I want to ask you something. Did you send them all to face the Puppet King?" Isaac asked in a questioning tone.
"Yes, I did. And they faced him. They were quite entertaining… especially Faithless—he has a lot of potential. Why do you ask?"
"No reason, I just wanted to ask," Isaac replied softly.
He murmured to himself as he sipped the wine Melina had handed him:
"The Liar… who is this person?"