It didn’t take long for Div and En to realize they were truly back in the Wildlands. For one, it started raining.
Fall in the Wildlands was unmistakable. The tree leaves withered, chestnuts covered the ground, and more importantly, it was always raining.
Thankfully, they still had Cassandra’s cloak with them. Almost eighty years prior, the girl of the Opheo clan had been better equipped than Diven. However, the condition it was in left to be desired. The insignia of the Opheo clan that had been embroidered on the cloak was gone, destroyed during one of the numerous battles Div and En had fought. But the cloak was warm and repelled the rain.
Still, everything was wet. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.
First of all, Div and En needed to find shelter. In unusual silence, they walked away from the shore of the Lien and moved inland in search of anything that would protect them from the elements.
They found it in the form of a rocky formation jutting out of the earth. It wasn’t fancy by any means, but they could fit beneath two massive stones leaning against one another.
It would suffice while they mentally recovered from their recent experiences. The rift had been hard on them. Furthermore, the way they left was still fresh on their minds.
(We could have gotten rid of this damned Rot Heart! And you had to ruin it all.)
[For the hundredth time, En, the guardians were lying. How can you trust them so much after all they did.]
(So you’re saying. But in truth, I know you want to keep the Rot Heart.)
En was right. Div wanted to keep the Rot Heart. It was their bloodline. Sure, it wasn’t as prestigious as Uncle Basil’s Sun Heart, but he had sensed how much mana it contained.
How could he give up this power?
[Anyway, what’s done is done. We need to move forward.]
(Easy to say for you. You got what you wanted.)
[We can take a look at our next facet choices.]
Reluctantly, En agreed and the duo met inside their inner world. Standing next to the now adult tree, they didn’t know what to think. Considering it was split in two vertically, with the Rot Heart connecting both halves with countless throbbing tendrils, it was a miracle it was still growing.
Of course, it was their inner garden, a visualization of their power. It wasn’t a real tree. But when they were looking at it, it felt authentic.
Div and En willed for the list of available facets to appear.
Available Facets:

Facet of the Rot Mage
Facet of the Fisherman
Facet of the Explorer
Facet of the Army Breaker
Facet of the Runner

Two new choices, with none seemingly related to their new title. As usual, titles remained elusive. That said, unlike Rotten Sun, Rift Pioneer sounded like something they could find information on if they returned to civilization.
None of the new options appealed to Div and En. Their minds were set on something else.
(Explorer.)
[Rot Mage.]
(What? Have you lost your mind?)
[Of course not. I just think it is more than time to master the rot-attuned mana dwelling within us.]
(I will not agree to this. Facet of the Explorer is clearly the best choice.)
[No way! Facet of the Rot Mage is what we need now.]
(We don’t need any more rot-related powers.)
Since they couldn’t agree, they made no choice. While their thoughts were often diverging, they were still technically the same person. They were still Diven. Without both of their approval, no facet could be selected.
They fell into silence. Watching the rain fall outside of their shelter, they were each brooding over the other’s refusal to understand.
More importantly, they both knew they would have to compromise. They shared the same body, the same soul, the same being. They were the same person.
They couldn’t agree to disagree and be on their way. They couldn’t accept that the other had different opinions. This concerned the core of their being.
Yet, they had no choice. As much as Div wanted to chastise En for his refusal to embrace the power belonging to them, he knew it would be pointless. As much as En wanted to curse at Div for betraying their dream of getting rid of the Rot Heart, what would it achieve?
So they didn’t say anything.
It had been a long time since it had been this quiet inside Diven’s head, not since Sundred Mind had appeared.
It was weird. Div and En had been constantly communicating with one another. Even when Div was channeling Echoes of the Rot Heart, some part of him always reached his other half.
But now, they were deliberately keeping their thoughts from one another.
Sulking.
[I’m sorry.]The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
It wasn’t loud, just a small thought thrown En’s way. But it took a lot of courage for Div to apologize.
[I still think I made the right decision. But I’m sorry. For forcing you out of the rift, for accepting our rot attunement, for corrupting most of our skills. I’m sorry.]
En was stunned. He didn’t know what to answer. Since they had been born from the fracture of Diven’s mind, Div and En knew each other better than anyone else could. Yet he never expected Div to apologize.
(Thank you.)
He needed some time to put his feelings into words.
(I realize that the guardians were probably lying when they claimed they could remove our bloodline. But, Div, I can’t live like that. I don’t know how you’re so ready to accept rot as part of yourself, but I just can’t…)
[We’ve both inherited different parts of Diven’s being.]
(Yes, I know. I’m not done.)
En paused for a moment, making sure Div was listening.
(I don’t know where we’re going. I want to get rid of the rot, you want to keep it. How is this going to work out? We share the same body, we share the same soul. We are one! And yet, we disagree on something so fundamental…)
Div didn’t have an answer to that. He agreed with his counterpart. So far, they had agreed on most things, but as their personalities were developing, they seemed to be diverging.
(My reasoning for taking Facet of the Explorer is that we are still lost in the middle of the Wildlands. Look around us—there’s only rain, mud, and a forest stretching as far as we can see.)
[I understand. And I don’t necessarily disagree. But you’ve seen how much rot-attuned mana there is in the heart. If we don’t take control of it, I fear what will happen.]
They both thought the other had a point. As much as En wanted to steer away from rot, they had a near-endless source of rot-attuned mana in their inner world. A disaster waiting to happen if they didn’t learn how to control it.
However, Facet of the Rot Mage wouldn’t help them survive in the Wildlands. Div knew that, and he agonized over the choice.
(How about the other facets? We should not forget about them.)
[I think we can safely cross off Fisherman and Army Breaker. Neither of them seems useful in our situation.]
(Agreed. Though the latter sounds powerful.)
[It does, but still.]
(Yes. What about Facet of the Runner? It must be tied to how much we ran over the past few days.)
[Most likely. I’m picturing it as something that would give us a skill to flee, run away, escape from danger.]
(Useful.)
[Or it could literally be a running skill.]
(Not useful.)
Even after reviewing their options, Facet of the Explorer and Facet of the Rot Mage seemed like the best choices.
But they were reluctant. It would have been easier if there was another facet they could agree to take while they sorted out their thoughts.
Their musings were interrupted when, out of nowhere, a large man appeared in front of them. Div and En jumped up from their sitting position, ready to fight.
Raising his hands to show he meant no harm, the man said something they didn’t understand.
Div and En lowered their spear, but didn’t relax. They hadn’t heard him coming at all, they had to be wary.
The newcomer was tall, taller than the average Kheiron by a good head. He was wearing a cloak made from the hide of some monster, it covered his wide shoulder and protected him from the rain. His long light brown hair flowed around his perfectly shaved face. His skin was pale as if he was sick. But Div and En knew this was typical for barbarians.
On his back, he carried a bow bigger than Diven was.
“Hello?” Diven said, trying out what little Lienien he had learned for the first time.
“You’re not from here. Are you, boy?” The man said. Now that Div and En had made the connection between the man and the language they had spent weeks learning, it was a lot much to understand. Especially with two minds to decipher what was being said.
Still, it wasn’t fast, and they took a while to come up with an answer.
“No. I’m Kheiron,” they babbled.
The man said a word that they didn’t know. They shook their head, indicating they didn’t understand.
“Kick out from home?” The man clarified.
Diven nodded.
The man shook his head, his eyes softening. “Belilamos,” he said, pointing at himself.
(Belilamos… Is this his name?)
[Seems like it.]
“Diven,” they imitated the gesture, introducing themselves.
Belilamos looked at Diven and pointed at the massive bow he carried on his back, “I’m hunting.”
Diven acquiesced, showing he understood.
“Come with me,” Belilamos said. “Finish the hunt and take you to village.”
At least, this is what Div and En were able to make out of the barbarian’s words. As long as Belilamos kept using simple words, they were able to follow the conversation.
[We should go with him.]
(What? Why should we follow a strange barbarian?)
[He seems nice enough. As he said, there is a village in the area. It would be nice to see people for once. We need that. Plus, since there are people living there, we should listen. It’s their territory.]
(But they’re barbarians…)
[You…]
Div was at a loss for words. How was En even hesitating on this matter? His other half had been so quick to give a chance to the shady guardians in the rift, but now he was reluctant to meet other humans.
He communicated his disbelief to En, making the other mind reluctantly agree to follow the hunter.
“I follow,” Diven said, in broken Lienien.
“Good,” Belilamos said, handing him a piece of dried meat. “Eat, you hungry look.”
“What is?”
“Swarmling. Lots of stock.”
Div and En were too deprived of any food that wasn’t fish to refuse. Swarmling meat wasn’t exactly a delicacy, but to them, it tasted heavenly.
“Rain not stop,” Belilamos explained. “Let’s go.”
(Do we really have to go out in this weather?)
[You heard the man. The rain is not going to stop anytime soon. We’re going to have to leave eventually.]
Div and En followed Belilamos into the forest. For the first time since Uncle Basil had left them in the Wildlands, they were venturing away from the immediate proximity of the river.
The barbarian moved with a fluidity and elegance unexpected given his large stature. His steps were completely silent, not even stirring the dead leaves underfoot.
Of course, it was in vain, as Diven was unable to move with such precision.
(How strong do you think he is?)
[An adult hunting alone in the Wildlands… He had to be at the Evolved Rank, right?]
They couldn’t be sure, but Belilamos was the picture of a strong explorer–or he would have been if he weren’t a barbarian.
They were moving faster than Div and En had ever managed to by themselves. It was as if the natural barriers that usually slowed movement in the woods had vanished.
After half an hour or so, Belilamos stopped and pointed to the ground. “Artigoat.”
Div and En looked where their guide was pointing. There were faint traces of hoof in the mud. Almost imperceptible, They would never have seen them if Belilamos hadn’t pointed them out.
He wasn’t a hunter for nothing.
Now the only question was: what is an artigoat?