Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage-Chapter 582: Reach For The Stars II

CH582 Reach For The Stars II

***

For the first time, her arrow broke past the barrier of the platform, sailing into the void of space.

Unfortunately, it did not travel far before slowing to a halt.

It did not even fully escape the gravitational pull of the platform. Instead, it stalled and began drifting slowly within the platform’s orbit.

However, Silver did not despair.

Once again, she focused on the positive.

’I got closer,’ she told herself.

’Push forward... for the stars...’

She encouraged herself quietly.

Reaching into her quiver, she drew one of the remaining three arrows and nocked it onto her bow.

This time, she did not look toward the distant star.

Instead, she simply hoped for progress.

PHEW!!!

As if powered by her belief and hope, the arrow shot forward.

This time, it completely broke free of the platform’s influence, finally escaping into the true void of space.

However, in doing so, the arrow quickly lost the force behind it.

Though it continued drifting forward through the vacuum, it was painfully obvious that it would not reach any star anytime soon.

Still, Silver did not despair.

She calmly nocked another arrow.

Now only one arrow remained in her quiver.

Her mind trembled for a moment as doubt tried to creep back in.

But Silver immediately summoned her belief and will, guarding her mind against the encroaching fear.

Then she fired.

PHEW!!!

The arrow shattered the platform’s boundary.

It broke free from its sphere of influence.

It entered the void and travelled farther than any arrow before it.

Yet even then, it was obvious that it would not reach a star any time soon.

Silver reached toward the quiver again.

The final arrow...

Her hands —no, her entire body— trembled as she grasped it.

The arrow felt incredibly heavy as she nocked it onto the bow. So heavy that she could not even draw the bowstring.

Doubt flooded her mind once again, paralysing her arms.

She could not move.

Not because her body was incapable... But because her mind refused to give the command.

The final arrow determined the success or failure of the trial.

A trial that seemed utterly impossible.

Once again, doubt and fear gnawed at her thoughts.

The fear of becoming the only member of the expedition party to fail their trial.

’If... if I don’t fire the arrow, then the trial won’t end.’

’And if the trial doesn’t end... I won’t fail.’

For a brief moment, such a thought flashed through Silver’s mind.

Slowly, the strength in her hands faded.

Her bow lowered...

Then slipped completely from her grasp, falling to the ground as though she had surrendered to the thought.

Thwack!

But suddenly, Silver slapped herself across the face.

’Shut up!’ she roared inwardly. ’I am not a coward! I will not hide and run away.’

In that moment, Alex’s words from back then echoed once again in her mind.

"Push forward like you always have —regardless of anyone around you— and you will reach for the stars."

This time, another part of his words finally reached her.

’Regardless of anyone around you...’ Silver murmured.

A sudden realisation dawned upon her.

’Who is this trial for?’

’Is it for the expedition party?’

’No... it is for myself.’

’Success or failure belongs to me alone... no one else matters.’

’So what if I fail the trial?’

’As long as I can still stand up, walk forward, and continue improving the way I always have... then no matter how far ahead the others may get...’

’I will claw back the gap!’

At that moment, Silver’s Will solidified.

Her belief in herself strengthened.

She picked up her bow and nocked the final arrow once more.

With the invisible weight she had placed upon her shoulders finally cast aside, Silver suddenly felt lighter.

Her mind became clearer.

Her bow felt easier to wield.

’Reach for the stars...’

This time, she locked onto the farthest star within her sight.

Before, she had not even believed she could reach the nearest one.

But now that she had discarded the burdens she had placed upon herself...

Her ambition expanded.

She aimed for the farthest star she could see.

As the saying went, aim high, and even a miss would still be a success.

However, Silver was not merely aiming high. She truly believed she could make the shot.

Her belief became so strong that it stirred her Will, the two forces merging and reinforcing one another.

And from that union, a new power was born.

Bow Intent!

Unaware of it herself, Silver manifested her Bow Intent, which wrapped around her bow and arrow.

Suddenly, mana and various energies from the surroundings were drawn into the arrow by her Intent, gathering within it to fuel the shot.

Silver noticed none of this.

Her entire focus was fixed upon her target— the farthest star.

She released the string.

PHEEWWWW!!!!

The arrow shot forth in a burst of brilliant light.

A light so radiant that the arrow itself became reminiscent of a shooting star as it streaked toward its target.

It travelled through the sea of stars as though it belonged there.

Against all odds, it flew closer and closer to the farthest star Silver had aimed for.

But just before reaching it—

The arrow exploded.

It could no longer withstand the immense power that had been forced into it and shattered mid-flight before reaching its destination.

Only then did Silver come back to her senses.

Only then did she realise that she had actually awakened her Bow Intent, and the full realisation of what she had done finally sank into her conscious mind.

Yet instead of collapsing in despair at her failure, she felt strangely at peace.

She had done everything she possibly could.

The failure had only occurred because of forces beyond her control.

After all, it was not her fault that the arrow could not withstand her power.

Instead, she focused on a different truth.

Her strength had grown to the point that the arrow itself had become too weak to contain it.

At that moment, the blindfolded man who had first handed her the bow and arrows appeared before her once again.

Silver expected him to declare that she had failed the trial.

However, to her surprise, the man merely smiled.

With quiet appreciation, he took the bow back from her.

Then he snapped it in half.

Only then did the truth click within Silver’s mind.

This trial had never been about shooting down the star.

’It was about daring to attempt the impossible... and truly believing that I could do it.’

’This was never meant to be a literal trial. It was symbolic.’

A wry smile tugged at her lips as the realisation settled in.

After all, if this trial had been literal, there was no possible way she could shoot down a star.

Not with belief alone... Not even with Intent.

She was simply far too weak to accomplish such a feat.

And certainly not with a bow carved from an ordinary tree.

It also explained the intense doubts she had experienced during the trial.

While she did occasionally struggle with such doubts, this was the first time they had felt so vivid... so overwhelmingly real.

The trial had forced those doubts to the surface.

Facing these doubts and inner demons... Overcoming them... And daring to attempt the impossible despite them...

That had been the true objective of the trial.

And with that realisation, Silver passed the trial.

***