The three shadows tried to attack me, but I set my hands on fire and blocked their attacks with the help of magic arts.

I threw all three into a heap and made my way to Mi. At the end of the room, two more shadows came from the sides. I wrapped my palms in flames and pushed both of the shadows together, approaching to clear my way.

I reached Mi and the monster that followed her to the cave exit. Unlike the shadows, this creature had a visible form. It was an Echo-crawler, a being that lives in the shadows. It can deform its shape, making it appear tiny or huge.

It had grabbed Mi by both legs and let her hang over its huge mouth, ready to eat her.

“Not with me!”

Magic Arts - Odemkick!

My leg started to create flames, and I jumped into the center of the Echo-crawler with my leg outstretched.

“Take that!”

The Echo-crawler was so surprised by the force of my kick that he dropped Mi and backed away. I immediately turned to Mi and managed to catch her just before she could land on the floor.

“Everything OK?”

“Yes... thank you.”

I put her down and stood protectively in front of her. The Echo-crawler shrank until it was barely two meters tall. It stormed towards me, and I wrapped my hands in flames again.

“Come over!”

It knocked my right arm down on me. When I tried to stop the attack with both hands, I felt a shadow approach Mi from behind. I lowered my left hand and only distracted the attack from the Echo-crawler with my right hand. At the same moment, I pushed myself off the floor and jumped over Mi. I hit my left hand vertically on the shadow and let it crash onto the floor.

I immediately turned and hugged Mi from behind. I jumped backward with her and built a distance to the Echo crawler.

“Take a step back.”

I released her and went past her. I concentrated magic at my fingertips, small flashes of lightning sprang from my fingers. The echo crawler was already recovering and wanted to start another attack, but I didn’t let it get that far and attacked first.

It covered its body with the left arm to protect itself, but I rammed my fingers into his forearm and let the magic discharge in the form of lightning within the body.

The Echo-crawler’s body began to smell of burnt meat, and before I knew it, the body broke down lifelessly to the ground.

“Mi!”

Mi jumped at me from the side and pulled me off my feet.

“Mi, thank you, thank you, thank you! Vil-lage save!”

She hugged me and thanked me repeatedly.

The world around us began to crack, and before we could react, the world around us dissolved as if the world were an illusion.

“Tyche!?”

Emilia’s voice came into my ear.

“Oh! Emilia…”

Emilia rolled over and stopped next to us.

“Who is this?”

She pointed to Mi, who was still lying on top of me and hugging me.

“Emilia, this is Mi.”

“Me?”

“Mi, I’m Mi.”

Mi answered for herself.

“Ah! Hi Mi, I’m Emi-lia.”

I immediately had to roll my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Mi. This is the first time Emilia meets your race. Emilia, you don’t have to talk slowly, for Duch Gór it is even rude and looks like you are making fun of them.”

“Mi, un-der-stand.”

Mi waved it off. She released her hug and got up. Emilia made an apologetic gesture to her, Mi nodded and then looked at the surroundings.

“Where’s Mi?”

“This is an intermediate world, and these doors lead to other worlds. In every world, there is a different version of the same person. Emilia was behind door 14 and you behind door 13. And you and she are part of Eris, the current “you,” she is number 15.”

“Mi don’t un-der-stand...”

“Do you remember what you said about the mountain? That the mountain has no foot. That was because this world is like an echo or a memory. It has limits, and we blew it up by fulfilling your wish when we protected the village from the Echo-crawler.”

“I un-der-stand.”

I was surprised, she looked calm, and I thought that my explanation was too vague, but it seemed as if it was enough.

“Tyche?”

Emilia raised her voice a little nervously.

“Yes?”

“I was pushed from the door, do you think I can’t go through the other doors?”

“...”

I have no answer to that, Emilia. This is new to me too. I guess that the “soul pieces” of the past selves from Eris cannot walk thought into the dimension of another ego. It would be best if we tried it again!

“Let’s try again! Mi, do you want to try it, too?”

“Mi didn’t lis-ten?”

“We wanted to open the door with number twelve and walk inside.”

Emilia pointed to a massive steel door with a strange symbol on it. Emilia made an impression on me that she knew the symbol and was afraid of it, but said nothing.

“Mi, ok. Mi will stay here.”

She thankfully declined and pulled something out of her clothes. I took a quick glance at what it was and then turned away.

“Emilia, do you want to talk about the symbol on the door?”

She shook her head as she pushed her chair. I reached for the doorknob and started pulling the steel door.

*Iiieeehh*

The steel door squeaks loudly when it opens.

“After you.”

I pointed through the door.

*gulp*

I saw Emilia swallow hard and stopped before she came to the door.

“I can not. Please, Tyche, save number 12, I’ll be waiting for you with Mi.”

I was irritated by her change of heart and nodded.

“Ok, I hope it doesn’t take too long.”

“I hope that too.”

These were the last words I heard from her before I walked through the door into the other world.

 

=== Eris’s messages ===

 

Day one, on the way to Fanhai, went without any problems. We joined a caravan of traders, who like us, were stranded in the wrong harbor and were on the way to Fanhai.

We accepted her request to the mercenary guild as bodyguards. The guild here was surprised when I showed them my pass.

The other guards of the caravan were also pleasantly surprised when they saw the pass.