Larpard's unique skill, Shadow Art: Twin Echo, was a rare and specialized ability that allowed him to create a fully functioning shadow copy of himself.

The clone had limited combat capabilities. It could only exert about thirty percent of the main body's physical prowess and was unable to cast any spells. However, because it was composed entirely of shadow energy, it had naturally high resistance to both shadow-based magic and physical attacks. It was durable, silent, and incredibly useful for scouting dangerous areas.

Yet its true value lay not in its strength, but in its senses.

Whatever the shadow saw, heard, or touched, Larpard would experience it in real time. The connection between them was seamless, as if he himself had stepped into its form and walked in its place.

Now, the clone walked slowly toward the location where one of Ereskia's scouting orbs had disappeared. It was the place where the invisible rift was suspected to be.

"I'm ready," Larpard said softly, closing his eyes.

His breathing slowed, concentration deepened.

At that exact moment, the clone's eyes flared open. Twin glimmers of cold, spectral blue pierces through the shifting black mist that veiled its body.

Lucian stepped up beside him, laying a steady hand on his shoulder. "We're counting on you, Larp."

"Please… find our father," Ereskia said, her voice low but filled with hope.

"Yes. Leave it to me." Larpard replied with confidence.

And with that, the clone stepped into the rift.

VZZZT!

Reality bent. The air snapped like a taut wire.

In a blink, the clone was gone, swallowed whole by an invisible tear in space. Not even a shimmer remained.

Lucian and Ereskia stood in silence, breath held, hearts tight with expectation.

All they could do now… was wait.

A few seconds later…

"Alright, I'm in," Larpard said, still keeping his eyes shut as he maintained full focus, completely linked to the clone. He was sweating a little bit, perhaps from the strain of maintaining the spell.

"Nice," Lucian responded.

"Good job, Larp. So, how's the clone's body? Any injuries from traveling through the rift in space?" Ereskia asked.

"No, it's totally fine," Larpard answered. "The other side of the rift is… high. It drops into the open air, probably from somewhere around twenty meters up."

"Oh? Twenty meters?" Lucian raised an eyebrow. "That's good to know. What about the landing? Is the ground safe?"

"Yeah, it's solid terrain down there. I see no monsters in the immediate area. So far, nothing too dangerous."

"That's reassuring," Lucian nodded. "And what about returning? Do you think the rift works both ways?"

"Well, let's find out," Larpard said.

A second later—

Pew!

A small rock suddenly popped into existence then landed beside Ereskia, bouncing twice before settling on the rocky ground.

Apparently, Larpard had just performed a quick test. He had the clone throw a rock back through the rift in the sky.

It passed through without any resistance, meaning, the rift was confirmed to be a two way rift, safe for them all to travel through.

"Very nice." Lucian said with a grin.

Now came the most important part, finding out what was truly waiting on the other side of the rift.

"Alright, Larp, what do you see?" Ereskia asked.

"Hmmmmm…" Larpard hummed, eyes still closed, completely immersed in the shared senses of his clone.

And then, slowly, he started to describe.

"It's pretty dark here… any it's raining quite a bit. There's a thick fog caused by dense mana concentration, but thanks to the fractured faint moonlight peeking through the clouds, I can still see well enough…. And right now I'm walking through an open ground. The terrain's dry and rocky, kind of like a field of cracked stone."

"So… the rain and fog aside, the terrain is similar to this side?" Ereskia asked.

"Yeah, somewhat alike," Larpard confirmed. "However, I don't know… I feel like the air is a bit heavier and quieter, a little bit colder actually, but nothing serious."

"I see." Ereskia murmured. "Alright, keep going."

"Okay." Larpard nodded. "Nine minutes left," he added. "I'm gonna explore as much as I can."

Apparently, there's one limitation of Larpard's shadow art though, it's that the clone cannot be maintained for long. At most, he would only able to keep it around for ten minutes.

But still, that's already enough for this trip.

Thanks to its agility and speed, Larpard's shadow was able to cover quite a bit of land, scouting a little far ahead. The shadow was also almost weightless, so its movements were silent, every step just like a gently wind. Therefore, the monsters didn't even react to its presence.

"So far, nothing unusual." Larpard said.

Just a seemingly endless rocky wasteland. A few monsters here, a few monsters there…

Shadow wolves, shadow scorpions…

Some small wyverns…

Of course, they were all S-rank monsters, but still beatable, considering how easily the group had defeated every adversary on the way here.

But then, Larpard suddenly gasped. His breath hitched, and his whole body stiffened with shock.

"What the…" he murmured, his voice seemed to be in shock.

"Larp? What's wrong?" Ereskia asked quickly.

"There's… there's a ruin here!" he said, his tone laced with disbelief.

"A ruin?" Ereskia echoed, stunned.

"Yeah!" Larpard nodded, still fully focused on the clone's perspective. "It's small, but definitely a structure, like a temple or shrine. There's a lot of big, straight rock pillars surrounding it..."

"Interesting…" Lucian mused, brows furrowing.

"So, are you inside the ruin now?" Ereskia pressed.

"Yeah…" Larpard breathed. "I just stepped in."

"You think Father could be in there?"

"I don't know," he replied. "But I'm going in deeper to check. Urgh… the mana here… it's so dense. Thick like fog. It's making it harder to move the clone. Let's not talk for a second, I need to focus."

"Alright," Ereskia said quietly.

And with that, the air grew tense as silence settled over the group.

Ereskia's fists clenched at her sides. She wasn't even the one exploring, and yet… her heart pounded in her chest, thudding louder with each passing second.

Then, suddenly—

"What the—" Larpard gasped. And then, his voice lit up with excitement. "Sister! I found him!"

"What?" Ereskia's eyes widened. "You found him? You found our father?!"

"Yeah! Well, I mean, not him directly, but—FUCK!"

Just then, the clone's time ran out. The spell snapped.

Larpard's body jerked as the connection severed. He collapsed to one knee, chest heaving, drenched in sweat. But even through the exhaustion, a wide grin broke across his face.

"Larp!" Ereskia rushed to his side, catching him as he steadied himself.

"Hey, are you alright?" Lucian asked, concerned.

"Yeah… I'm okay," Larpard replied between breaths. "That spell… ending… always feels like getting hit by a wave, ha…. ha… but don't worry… I'm fine."

He braced an arm against the ground, pushed himself upright, and looked up at Ereskia, eyes gleaming with hope.

"I saw it. I saw it!" he gasped. "I saw something he left behind!"

"Really? What was it? What did you see?" Ereskia asked, gripping his shoulders.

"Swords mark." Larpard grinned.

"Swords marks?"

"Yeah." Larpard nodded. "All over the place. Dozens of them. They're his. Dad's. I recognized them the instant I saw them."

He pushed to his feet, practically shaking with urgency. "What are we waiting for? Let's move!"

"Wait—are you sure?" Ereskia asked again, eyes narrowing. "You're absolutely certain those are our father's sword marks?"

"Yes!" Larpard's voice rang with certainty, fierce and undeniable. "I'd never mistake them. You go see for yourself too!"

"Alright, let's go." Ereskia straightened up. "Thanks Larp, you did great."

Then she turned to Lucian. "Let's go?"

"Sure." the Guildmaster nodded.

And so, the group waited for Larpard to adjust his breathing for a few minutes, then woosh!

Jumped through the invisible rift.