When the time came for us to go, we stepped outside the cave. Outside a small contingent of people waited for us. Seeing them Homura stepped forward.

“We’ll do our best to finish this as quickly as possible.” Even now she couldn’t shake of her unwillingness to part from the others.

“I know. We all trust you.” Charr answered her. “We’ll hold out until you do so.”

“Don’t worry, Homura, I’ll keep Chaa safe!” The little elven girl, Rina, told her confidently. The little time they spent together, coupled with Charr’s overprotectiveness towards the two of them, made her trust her quickly. As she looked at Narva and me standing behind Homura however she quickly hid behind Charr again.

“I’ll trust you on it.” She smiled at her, making the kid nod vividly, but she couldn’t hide the anxiety inside her voice.

“You should go.” Charr interrupted the two.

“Yes…” She replied hesitantly before she turned around. We started to walk, only for her to stop and turn back towards the mountain. Before I could even ask her, she shouted while waving. “We’ll be back!”

The few days we spent resting changed the environment even further. Around every freed mountain the snow melted away, leaving barren and desolate landscape of rock and dirt. But even though only a few days have passed even that began to change as nature began to reclaim what was hers. Little sprouts shot out of the ground, spreading green marks in between.

But all this only made our next destination stand out even further. Far in the distance a mass of white snow remained in motion, forming a never-ending tower that hid whatever was inside. But whatever it hid inside seemed to be the key to whatever it was we should do here as even with the ignition of the surrounding mountains it remained unperturbed.

Even then, though the tower may have seemed near, it wasn’t a distance we could reach within a day’s march. And as the sun began to settle on the horizon once more, we stopped. Sitting down I spoke.

“You two rest for now. I’m still fine.”

Opposed to the earlier days I spent with her Narva didn’t say anything against it, as she spread a sheet on the ground. Homura, however, stood still as she looked back towards where we came from.

“It wouldn’t have helped them if you stayed with them. The only thing you can do for them is try to end this stage as soon as possible.”

“I know, but it doesn’t make this any harder. I told them I would be there for them and now…” She was stopped as Narva pulled her down towards the blanket.

“Stop trying to shoulder anything by yourself. There is no way you can do so.” Homura looked at her dispirited before she sunk her head, only for Narva to continue. “They will do their best to survive.”

“Yeah.” She replied weakly. Even if everyone else told her that it was the correct decision to make, she would never come to like it.

“We however have to fight, so that they won’t have to. And for that we need to be rested.” Without giving her a moment to resist she pulled her once more, making her lie down besides her onto the blanket before she laid down herself. “I’ll take the next one.” She spoke to me as she made herself more comfortable.

Even with the progressing night it never got dark completely, as the light coming from the stars fought against the darkness, turning the plains around us into a varying shade of grey. But this only made it even more eerie as apart from their silent breathing and the small crackly of my flames no other sound came near us. Even the monster seemed to have disappeared from here.

As such, when I heard a small rustle, I immediately shot around, readying a spell, only to see Narva stand up.

“You can rest for some more.” Dismissing the spell, I turned around once more.

Opposed to my words however she stood up and sat down beside me. “I’ve slept enough for now. You should rest too.”

“Is that so. Then…” Letting my body fall backwards I rested my back against the ground. But even if she said so I wasn’t tired just yet, making my eyes wander into the night sky. Glancing at the stars however just furthered my sense of discomfort, as even with thousands of stars something seemed wrong it.

“Do you remember the stars of your world?”

She remained silent for a moment, before she softly spoke. “We couldn’t see the stars where I lived. My world was one of fire and smoke, opposite to this one. With the fading day the smoke swallowed the rest of the light. And only the streams of fire, running from the mountain gave us light throughout the night.

But what I heard from those that walked through the land, gone where the earth’s blessing didn’t reach, seems familiar to what I see now. Like a darkened cave, where the ceiling is covered with glistening jewels. And in between there are two glowing whisps, that wander throughout the night, disappearing with the coming of a new day.”

She shook her head in resignation.

“At that time, I couldn’t believe it. That above the clouds of smoke so much light could wait for its time to shine down when the clouds are gone. But seeing these stars right now, maybe their stories were true. That apart from the sun and earth, something else waited for us.”

“You never tried to look for yourself?”

She made a small smile, filled with sadness.

“I had no chance to ever see it for myself, as the system integrated our world into it before I was even old enough to travel alone. We tried to fight back against the invaders, and even though our strength was superior, we had no chance against the numbers that the sent against us.

Little by little we were pressed back until only the holy mountain remained as a bulwark for those that survived till the end, all thanks to a single draconoid. But in the end even he fell, and when all hope was lost for our species to win the war, we were sent towards Aeus.”

“That…” I was at a loss for words. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s a common story for those sent towards Aeus. We all lost something when we came into this world. The only difference is how we go on. There are those like me, who find a new purpose in life. And those like her, who try their best to ease the suffering we all had to go through.”

She smiled at me.

“Though I’m quite expectant to see what your path will bring.”