After the fierce battles against the Dark Territory, in which countless lives were lost on both sides, Alice Zuberg, once known as Integrity Knight Alice Synthesis Thirty, did not return to the shining halls of the Central Cathedral. Instead, she chose a more humble path—far from political intrigue, endless wars, and the shadows of the past. With me in her arms, weak, motionless, breathing, but unconscious, she rode north on her trusty dragon Amayori, across vast grasslands that smelled of fresh earth and wildflowers, through dense forests where sunlight dappled the ground like broken stained glass, and past tranquil rivers whose gentle currents sang soothing melodies.

Her destination was the remote Rulid Village, her hometown, the place where she had once been an innocent child as Alice Zuberg. The air grew cooler as we ascended slightly, carrying the distinct scent of pine and damp soil that I somehow recognized despite my unconscious state. Alice hoped that we could find peace there, but she was bitterly disappointed. As she passed through the village's wooden gate, with me gently placed on the back of her dragon, she was met not with the warm gaze of childhood, but with cold, suspicious eyes that felt like needles pricking her skin.

The villagers whispered among themselves, their voices a barely audible buzz that hung in the air like stagnant smoke, their expressions tinged with skepticism. Many had once known the girl, but to them, Alice was no longer the daughter of Gasupht Zuberg she was a stranger, a former Integrity Knight, a warrior from a world they didn't understand. And worse still, in the eyes of many, she was still a criminal. The Taboo Index may have been broken in Centoria, but for many ordinary citizens in Rulid, the old rules were still law. She remembered all too well the day she was taken from the village as a child, when an Integrity Knight carried her away without question for touching the sacred ground of the Dark Territory. Now, years later, the village's mentality had barely changed.