The story

Tristan’s point of view

The humid air mixed with the wood smoke from my torch makes the moldy cave air difficult to breathe. As we move forward, I illuminate the cave walls disturbing the bats hanging from above, some of them screeching and flying away, angry that we interrupted their daytime sleep.

The cave stretched 50 meters from the entrance, then it narrowes and splits into two parts.We move forward, taking the left path. I know from the old farmer that to the right is a dead end. I might explore that path too if we finish the gobos too early.

The dim light from the entrance is barely visible now, and I think it’s about time to extinguish my torch

"Arya, put your fire spell away and drink the ‘ dispel darkness' potion," I say, whispering.

"So soon," said Arya frowning her eyebrows. She knows that if we drink it, we will have only 2 hours to finish the quest before the potion's effect runs out. We only managed to buy these 2.

“Yeah, I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Aren’t you a bit overcautious for some tiny goblins? The guild report said there were only so many, 20 or maybe 30. Plus, you scouted the place alone yesterday and even killed a few. What’s there to worry about?

'Yeah, but that was close to the entrance, and I managed to escape before the ones in the cave came; plus, you're here now, and that's another story. You know how they are. “I say to her and as I walk I remember Gabriel the current guild master as he most eloquently put it.

Quote “If you see a brood mother kill that bitch, cut her fucking head off, then stab her in the belly four or five times to make sure there are none of those little fuckers still alive inside her.”

Goblins steal women from other races; they need them to reproduce as they don’t have females of their own. So, they are particularly good at tracking and sensing them. They steal women of all species, **** them, and **** them to have their offspring. These women become brood mothers.

Orders are to kill those on the spot and not try to save them because after being ****, it is already too late; goblin sperm has a parasite that, if it entered the woman's body, would cause her physiology to change both physically and mentally. It would be part of the goblin collective, depending on how long the parasite was in. The woman's skin would become greener, and her belly would grow larger; it can give birth to up to five goblins every two weeks; mentally, they would be an empty shell of their former self. They can still speak some words and seem to understand a common language, but they are aggressive and become violent. The brood mothers caught in the past didn’t survive captivity and died. It looks as if goblins do not constantly breed them; the parasite begins to destroy his host.

Even female high-ranking adventurers avoid going goblin hunting.

“You should let me handle it alone. You know, woman adventurers shouldn’t go goblin hunting,” I tell Arya.

"Ha ha, I alone decide what I should or should not do, "I hear her say behind me.”Plus, do you think this is my first time seeing goblins? They made good target practice for my fireballs from a long time ago. You, Junior, probably weren't even born back then.

“Well, since a week ago, this junior has been the senior‘s boyfriend,” I remind her.

“According to elven customs, not yet. You never claimed me.”

“Not my fault you said you wanted to wait, plus you threatened to burn me if I tried anything funny,” I say, excusing myself.

“You should have risked it for love, “she laughs at me.

“Eghh, women,” I say, and I give up joking with her as we are supposed to sneak in quietly and catch the gobos by surprise.

As we walk quietly, I remember old drunk words I met at the tavern. If a woman says no quietly, it means yes, and if she screams, No, go away, you ugly bastard. It means really no.

If I remember correctly, last night, as we were touching and kissing, she said no quietly when I proposed to go further. Sill is an improvement since four months ago when we first met.

The guild assigns an expert adventurer from the office to party with novice adventurers because it is easier to learn on the field, and this way, the novices have a lower casualty rate. And by fate's hands, Arya and I were grouped, although her friend Wendy, who worked in the guild office and was in charge of novice adventurers, might have had something to do with it.

She is a mage, and I am a melee fighter; the guild puts different classes, one ranged and one melee, so they are more effective in missions.

The first time I saw her, I and probably all the novices present already began drooling over her. It’s like one of those goddesses statues from the temple became alive and walked into our guild.

She is a high elf B-rank fire mage, tall, with blonde hair and a beautiful figure. She is keeping her hair tied in a pony tail She has long purple eyes that stretch up to her pointy ears, a small chin that gives her head a triangular shape, and big round lips that promise a sweet flavor.

With a body sculpted like a work of art, she has a tiny waist followed by a significant but and muscular thighs, giving her the appearance of an hourglass. She is the dream of every novice adventurer to be grouped with. She always wears yellow pants and a red leather shirt.

And by some weird reasoning, Wendy decided to put us together.

I was so nervous and embarrassed in the first missions we took that I couldn’t even have a normal conversation with her. I was talking too much nonsense, making mistakes in combat, and even reading the map wrong and ending up in the wrong location. I was afraid that she would complain to the guild and want another novice, but to my amazement, she never did; she had patience with me and taught me despite my shortcomings.

And so, with time, we began to know each other better. I became more effective in combat. Arya told me about the Elven kingdom and how she ended up in this guild. I told her about my situation with my mother. So, the unapproachable goddess Arya Firestorm became a being down to earth.

We began to enjoy each other company, and we became friends, but I wanted something more, and one week ago, when it was time to end our guild paring, I gathered all my courage and confessed to her.

And so after three years, I think my luck had changed; I have the job. I always dreamed of it. A beautiful girlfriend, and from my sister's letters, I discovered that my mother had finally recovered from her illness.

But I have felt bad since I entered these caves, like something terrible or someone is watching me. I never had these feelings before and had my share of adventures until now.

Arya and I are advancing through the cave; the see-in-the-darkness potion makes everything look with a tiny tint of blue, and the brighter-colored rocks from the cave walls seem to sparkle.

I hear noises up ahead and begin to walk slower. I silently approached the cave corner with a clear line of sight down the narrow corridor and tilted my head to the left to see.

Up ahead is a big room; spiked barricades are placed at the entrance, and behind them, I see movement. I count ten goblins with wooden spears standing guard, but from the noises, there seem to be many more.

“Looks like they are expecting company, “I say.

“So much for your silent approach, “smiled Arya.

“We do it your way then, but please don’t damage them too much; we still need their ears as proof for the guild. “The problem with Arya fire spells is that they leave the victim carbonized beyond recognition, and we are paid by goblin left ear. The more we have, the better.

"Let's lure them away from these barricades,” said Arya, ignoring me and looking at me with an air of superiority that seemed to say ‘Move over, you pathetic and weak human, let me show you how it is done.

Of course, Arya will never say this, but I am sure she is thinking it.

She forms a round fireball in her left hand and throws it in front of the first barricade. Loud noises amplified by the echo from the cave broke out. Arya and I begin to step back; up to five spears are thrown our way, but we are too far away from real danger. I see that behind the first barricade, more goblins started to arrive. This time, Aria doesn’t need an invitation; a bigger fireball forms in her left hand.

She waits until they begin to come from behind the barricade. She throws the fireball at them, causing a loud explosion of fire mixed with rocks and wood from the first barricade, which is blown to pieces. Smoke mixed with dust and ash rises, and the smell of burned flesh, blood, and guts invades my nostrils; as I don't want Arya to have all the fun, I plunge into the big room, hoping to have some practice myself.

Although I was used to Arya explosions by now, it is still disturbing.

Pieces of flesh, blood, and goblin body parts are scattered in a gut-wrenching paint job on the cave walls. I see the ones in the front are pulverized on the spot, leaving only a few further back.

There are five goblins with wooden shields and some rudimentary axes made from rocks and wood. They see me and begin moving toward me, screeching their teeth, making scary sounds, and bashing their shields. They want to encircle me, but I will not let that happen. I leap towards the left, thrusting my short sword towards the two trying to flank me. They raise their shields, trying to block my forward attack. I switch, making a lateral one. My sword hits their unprotected bellies. They fell on their knees, putting their hands on their stomachs. The others from the right attacked me. I blocked them quickly with my shield, and then I kicked the one in the center with my foot, creating space between us. I stabbed toward the left one, catching the goblin in the shoulder; the last one got closer to me and was committing an up-down attack. I bashed my shield against his body, causing him to lose balance and stop the attack. I bashed him again. This time, he fell to the ground. I stabbed him in the belly while he was lying on the floor. I moved to finish the others that I left only wounded.

I hear Arya walking slowly, coming behind me.

“Is that them all?”

“In this room, yes, but there is another corridor in the back,” which I saw during the fight.

“Let’s move. We collect their ears later.” As she said it, a wailing sound that sent shivers down my spine came from the back of the room where the unexplored corridor was.

“That can’t be!! They have a brood mother.” She probably heard that sound before in her previous adventure and faced them in battle.

“We need to be careful from now on. Some of those could use magic, and hobgoblins guard them,” Arya says. I know that hobgoblins are evolved stages of the goblin, bigger and stronger; some have metal armor.

“Yeah, I was careful from the start,” I say jokingly, but as I look at her, I see she seems worried.

“We could go back, collect what we have, and get reinforce from the guild,” I say, seeing that she is lost in thought.

"It will take too much time to go back and return. We can't leave one of those around. I will take the lead, and we should be fine, "she reassured herself.

Arya is an expert fighter. She can go into melee. Arya could use her grotesque staff as a dwarves flamethrower, damaging enemies that got too close to her. She was even trained in Elven martial arts. Usually, I would handle the front, and she only provided ranged support, but now it seems she is worried I can’t take it.

“At least I have a clear sight of what I am fighting for.”

“And what’s that?”

“Your beautiful rear,” I say, smiling.

"Ha, you better protect with the price of your life, "she laughs.

”You perform well in this battle. I'll let you play with it tonight," she blushes. She is shy with me, and considering that she is my first girlfriend and I am still a virgin, I thought she would make the first move. But no, she plays with me. Sometimes, she invites me, and then she pushes me away. With all her bragging about how old and experienced she is, she may still be a novice in love matters.

“It’s a done deal then, “I say without even one-second hesitation.

"Okay, enough pleasantries. Listen to me. I will cast a fire shield on me. We need to hurry; we will rush through until we reach the nest. Don't fight every single one; let them gather behind us; protect yourself with your shield. "

As she said it, she began chanting. A yellow transparent fire began forming on her body, enveloping her in a cloud of embers; then, she began descending on the new narrow corridor.

We run slowly for about 20 meters, and then I see three goblins heading our way. A column of fire stretches from Arya's staff towards them; they scream as flames rise on their bodies, and their greenish skin turns red, then brown and black in a matter of seconds. They fall on the ground like giant pieces of charcoal.

Another group suffers the same fate. I begin to notice more and more are coming our way. Some doge the flame from the staff, and Arya moves forward, ignoring them. The ones that get too close to her begin catching fire. Arya’s fire shield is both a defensive and offensive spell. Anyone within one meter is bound to take fire damage.

Arya is running in front of me. Her butt checks go up and down. It reminds me of the stiff flour dough I used to bake when I had duty in the city guard canteen.

I strike the gobos close to me, swinging my sword left and right while I stay close to Arya. I don’t bother looking behind to see if I did any real damage.

We follow like this for a while, and then I hear a wailing sound like before, which is much louder and closer this time. Arya looks back, slowing down a little, then stops and shouts.

“Back to back,” she orders.

I turn around, facing the ones that we left behind and were chasing after us. I noticed there are only so many. Probably, some of them got scared and didn't want to face Arya's flames again. I count seven, but they are already in bad shape. I see burns and cuts on their bodies. I didn't let them come too close. I ran towards them, moving zig zag from one to the other, taking them by surprise. They had no chance of blocking my attack. I finished the last in an upper-down attack, catching him in the head.

“The back is clear,” I yell, and I turn around to Arya

“Forward is clear also.” She made quick work of the ones coming through the corridor.

” It seems our way to the nest is clear, “she added and began running again.

I follow behind her until we see a large open area up ahead. In the middle of the cave room, I see three figures. A green creature about the size of a human being has the features of a woman with large breasts that fall on a large stomach, and her head is bald. To my surprise, she has two horns, which left me puzzled because I had never heard or read in books at training that brood mothers were supposed to have horns.

She is flanked on each side by two hobgoblins. These are a bigger version of the goblin. They are shaped almost like a human, and their skin is darker than the goblin's. One has a metal plate and is holding a spear. The other has some leather armor and is holding a shield and an ax.

They are showing their teeth in a threatening manner and making a shhhh sound like a wild cat.

“Wreetched beings, you killed my childreeen” You will pay … yes, you will pay,” I hear the goblin mother say.

Then she screams a wailing sound. Puts her hands on her cheek, and cuts down with her claws, leaving streams of blood disfiguring her face.

Although I am used to ****, the scene still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I can’t help but pity her a little.

In her twisted mind. It makes sense what she is saying. In her eyes, we are the monsters that killed her children. She is just a mother, and I remember having one that I left three years ago.

I was 15 years old when my twin sister and I decided I had to leave home to get to the city, get a job, and send my mother a consistent supply of mana potions every week to help with her mana depletion illness.

My mother, the town healer then, was called to cure a little boy from our village. A tree had fallen over him, and he was in critical condition, with most of his body and internal organs damaged. She used all of her mana with the healing spells. Thus, she entered mana depletion when the magic you use instead of using mana uses your life **** to complete the process; she began to age rapidly and fell into a coma while healing the boy. The boy recovered, but my mother looked like an 80-year-old woman; white hair replaced her curly red hair, and she was in a coma.

Another healer was brought and said that the only way to save her life was to give her many mana potions, so my sister and I began to act; we made this plan. I was supposed to go to the city, get a job, and with the money to arrange for a constant supply of mana potions for her, so I left for the town.

It was tough at first. I had to take exhausting jobs with low pay. Nobody would hire a village kid with no skill, even sleeping on the streets for some time. Then, an opportunity arrived. I was beaten and robbed by a thief who stole all my savings; I went to the city guard and reported and was asked to describe the robber. Instead, I asked for a piece of paper and a pen, and as I have always liked to draw since I was a little kid, I made a pretty accurate picture of him.

They were impressed by my drawing skills and offered me a job to work with them to make accurate drawings of criminals based on people's testimony. I accepted and joined the city guard; the pay was good, and I could use their facilities to train my fighter skills. When my sister told me that my mother was beginning to recuperate, I quit the city guard and started my adventurer career.

These memories creep into my mind, making me even tenser because I know this will be a brutal fight. Until now, I only faced what the guild considers weak enemies. I can handle goblins, kobolds, and wild animals, but a hobgoblin might be above my rank.

I take a long breath, trying to relax my muscles, feel my sword's grip, squeeze my shield's leader handle, and prepare for battle.

I look at Arya, and she seems calm and relaxed like always.

“I have never seen one like this. Seems like demon turned goblin, “she says, looking intensely at the brood mother.” You take the one with the spear but keep an eye on her during the fight,” and to my surprise, she comes and gives me a kiss on the cheek sensing probably that I am a little nervous.

“Disgusting elf, you and your lover will suffer,” I hear the brood mother say. Then black flames begin to envelop her; she raises her left hand, a transparent triangular-shaped rune forms in her hand, and she touches the hobgoblin with the shield in front of her.

"Go," she says and begins to cast again, but Arya immediately interrupts her with a fireball. She steps back but doesn't appear to have taken in any damage. Meanwhile, the two hobgoblins jump at us. Arya moves lateral, creating space between us. I block the one with the spear and move laterally to catch his unprotected side, but he jumps back. He is a skilled le fighter. He doesn't let me get too close, using his reached advantage, poking me and retreating.

I hear a loud bang where Arya is fighting and notice that large blocks of stone and earth form in front of the broad mother and are thrown at Arya.

I see Arya doge them gracefully, putting the other hobgoblin in line of sight. She should have finished him by now with the flames from her staff, but I realize the goblin's mother must have cast some fire protection on him, so she needs to fight melee with him, but I should concentrate on my opponent.

I attack with an up-downward strike, and he retreats, stepping back and countering me with a strike on my legs. I don't block his strike, taking the blow in my tight, raising my leg a little. It hurts even if I am protected, but I know he can't get through my upper leg's armor. Then, with my left hand, I let go of the shield and caught his spear. I barely hold on to it while I rush him with my sword, but he pivots to the left, letting go of the spear. I only manage to scratch his chest armor.

He steps back as I try to hit him again, but a large boulder of rock and stone hits me in the chest, making me grasp for air and lose balance.

I fall on my back and see my opponent jumping on my stomach, using his weight to hold me down. His hands try to reach my neck, trying to **** me.

“Tristan, “ I hear Arya shouting.

I am pinned down; he's holding my upper body stuck to the ground. He pushes forward, trying to block my hands, but I free my right hand and put it around his neck. Now he's pinned down with me as we wrestle to the ground.

I see Arya trying to approach me, but the other hobgoblin blocks her. I push my leg to the ground and rotate my body while holding his neck in a lock. This time, I am on top of him. I hit him with my fists, but he covered his face. It has become a messy fight. Even Arya is taking too much time dealing with the other goblin. Without a better idea, I take my helmet off and bash him in the head with it. He blocks at first, but at least I manage to hurt his hands when suddenly I see that a strange shape appears near the broad mother, and she walks inside it and disappears.

I look around and see that that shape appears behind Arya.

I yell, "Arya, behind you," and throw my helmet at the broad mother who comes outside the shape and is attacking Arya at the back. She realizes what's going on, rotates her body, and makes a lateral jump, evading the blow at the last moment.

After some struggle, I finally get up, trying to get to my sword, but the hobgoblin catches my leg, causing me to lose balance. Somehow, I fell precisely close to it and managed to reach it. I immediately pierce the goblin's neck with a direct thrust while he is unprotected on the ground.

I hear the broad mother scream when a jet of flames from Arya's staff finally manages to hit her. Still, the other hobgoblin jumps before her, shielding her with his body. She then uses the same trick, appears further in the back, and begins forming strange runes on the ground while chanting in an unknown language.

I head towards Arya, wanting to help get rid of the other goblin, when I see she finally manages to hit him with the staff in the stomach. She then follows with two lateral blows to the head, and he falls to the ground. I recuperate my shield and head out to attack the brood mother.

I run to where she last teleported herself and see she is summoning two golden lights in the shape of some strange letters. She then looks at us and begins laughing.

‘Hahaha, it’s too late now. May you be forever apart.’

As soon as she says this, she sticks the claws of her right hand in her neck, ripping and tearing her skin and flesh, still yelling and cursing while looking at us.

Blood from her neck flows down her body, darkening her light green skin, and then she falls to the ground. While I suddenly noticed the two white lights become red and begin swirling at us.

“Don’t let them touch you’ yells Arya, but it is futile. The two lights are too fast and hit us almost instantly. I prepare for impact, raising my shield, but nothing happens. I look at Arya. She begins to glow for a second and then disappears completely.

My heart stopped for a second, and I remained dumbfounded, trying to understand what had transpired. I yelled at Arya several times, but only the cave's echo responded.

I look around, searching every corner of the cave; desperation takes over me, then anger because a million things could have gone differently. We could have waited, we could have attacked the brood mother sooner, and I could have been faster. I take my anger out on the hobgoblin that Arya fought because I see he is still breathing. I strike him with my fist.

"What happened? What had she done? What kind of spell was that? "But he is just weaving his head from left to right like a dwarven pendulum, and his eyes are rolling up and down. He doesn't seem to understand. Even if he knows the goblins don't speak our language, in my desperation, I hope that maybe I hear something that would give me some clue, some understanding of what happened only minutes ago. Then I try begging him.

“Please tell me, I'll let you go. “Then I hear him mumbling.

“suya pitak kalim pitak””

"What does it mean? I can't understand. "The words stop in my mouth as I see him give his last breath. His head finally stopped his weaving and rested on his left shoulder.

I let his body finally rest on the ground. I take the paper and pen I use for drawing and write his last words, hoping they have some meaning. Then I go where the body of the broad mother lays and draw the runes still visible on the ground. Next, I draw from memory the red light letters thrown against us.

I made up my mind. I want to gather every clue. I will ask every mage, read every book about this kind of magic, and travel to the daemon lands until I understand what manner of magic fate has put me against.

When I am finally happy with the clue gathering, I decide it is time to head back to the village near the cave, but only after I cut the two hobgoblins' heads and the broad mothers and put them in my resource-gathering sac. I also take the goblin's ears that I found around the way back.

As I walk on the road that Arya and I took this morning, doubt comes into my mind.

“Maybe I should go back and wait for her in the cave,” but how then I let the guild know what happened? I ask myself.

“Will I ever see her again? “How I wish that this day never happened.

“Aryaaa, Where are you?” I yell.

Was she alive? Was she trapped? Was she invisible? As I ask myself these questions, I see the smoke from the village houses when suddenly, I see my body beginning to glow, and everything around me becomes black.

Arya’s point of view

The darkness ended, and I could see again and felt something falling from my shoulder.

“AAA!” I yell when I realize what they are.

The brood mother's head and the two hobgoblin's heads that Tristan and I were fighting a while back began rolling on the dusty road.

“What in the goddess' name is going on?” Why am I here? I recognize the road that we took this morning.

“That thing teleported me here.”

I must hurry back. Tristan is still there, but then.

“Why is her head here? “

” Tristan” I yell. He probably carried me here while I was ****.

I must have been hit with a blind and deaf spell. I know that Demon Incubus has that ability. Either way, I must return to the cave. Maybe Tristan forgot something and returned.

I gather the three heads and hide them behind a tree as I can’t leave them lying in the middle of the road and take the road back to the goblin cave.

As I walk back, I remember the fight, and I still can’t believe that that brood mother was using chaos magic. She was indeed a demon woman that somehow was captured and **** by the goblins. She retained her demon abilities and the two horns on her head. I know these rumors were circulating about brood mothers who could still use their abilities before turning.

But how can some weak goblins capture and **** a demon woman? A succubus is supposed to be equal to a B-rank hunter, not to mention an incubus.

“Nothing makes sense.”

How she ended here is a mystery; she must have been a mighty demon. Her spells were out of the ordinary. She made that hobgoblin immune to my fire; she used earth magic and teleported behind my back. If I hadn’t heard Tristan scream, I might not be here.

Poor Tristan, I should have listened to his advice and returned with reinforcement from the guild, but how could I have known what we were about to face?

It is true I want Tristan to get more experience in combat, but not at the cost of bringing him hurt. A hobgoblin might have been too much for an E rank, but he handled it well until the earth magic hit him. He should have been more careful. A spell like that caught unprepared, can even kill expert hunters. Still, he wrestled the goblin to the ground and managed to kill him without my help. I am glad I made the right decision four months ago when I told Wendy to pair him with me. My instincts about him were right; with better and enchanted equipment, he has the potential for a B rank in a year or two. I can't wait to see him in elven Mithril armor or Darwen steel plate.

The thought of seeing my beloved Tristan in shining armor makes my lower belly feel warm and tingly.

I never expected back then that we would become romantically involved. Although Tristan, the fighter, is pretty much predictable, I can beat him with my staff without using magic, but Tristan, the man, is still a mystery to me, unlike any other hunters I've met. When we are together on missions, he sometimes stops and makes quick sketches in his notebook that he always carries. Then later, when we are at the campfire, Tristan makes a drawing based on the notes, but most of it is from his visual memory. It always surprises me how much detail he can remember about a monster or a tree and then accurately illustrate it on a piece of paper. I asked him if being a hunter was the right profession for him, to which he responded that what other job would allow him to explore and see all goddess Alumna's creations? And then, when he is old, he will write a book and make drawings of the places he visited, the monsters he fought, and the women he loved. Of course, I told him that that last part was debatable because I would not let him love any other woman but me. In his defense, he presented a painting of me sitting in front of the campfire. I was afraid that his gentle nature and romantic predisposition would make him weak in battle, but I later learned that this was his strength also. He feels bad about taking a life, even in self-defense, but when people are grateful and thank him for a job well done, he immediately feels good and says it was all worth it.

When I told him what happened to me 20 years ago when I was still a student at the Magic Eleven Academies, he immediately understood that I was on a quest for ****. I didn’t care about gold or fame. He thought about it for a while, only to return later and swear he would stay by my side until his short human life allowed him.

I am usually very reserved, but I remember I kissed him right there on the spot, leaving him perplexed and speechless.

I leave the road and cut through the forest where the path to the cave is, and as I walk, I realize that it is already evening.

That much time has passed? We had the battle this morning, and now I realize an entire day has disappeared.

I reach the cave entrance and call for Tristan. He might hear me and come out. I gather my mana in my palm and call forth my inner fire; this makes a small fire appear and starts to illuminate the cave walls. I descend through the cave and take the same path we took this morning until I reach the cave room with the barricades.

I notice that Tristan has already cut and gathered the goblin’s ears. He is meticulous about gathering resources and getting paid, which annoys me as I never had financial trouble. But it is understandable in his case as he comes from a low-income family, and having a sick mother who relied on him made him very responsible at a young age.

Where are you, Tristan? I ask myself as I descend further through the corridor where the nest of the brood mother is.

I am already beginning to doubt my rezoning when I reach the nest. Tristan is not here; he already cut the head of the brood mother and the two hobgoblins. But ' Why didn't he put them in his gathering sac?' I know that this morning, he had it with him. He just left them in the middle of the road.

‘Was he attacked on the road?’ I didn’t see any signs of battle.

The brood mother's headless corpse lies in the middle of a circle of runes she had drawn when Tristan and I were busy fighting the hobgoblins. I had never seen anything like this at the Elven Academy. The demons use draconian language for their spells and magic incantations, but no record exists. It's suspected it is not a written language; instead, it is used as a mental drawing where the demon imagines the letters and makes them take physical forms in thin air.

Those things made of red light that the brood mother threw at us had the shape of letters, and the moment it hit me, I began to glow. After that, darkness enveloped me, and I couldn’t hear or touch the ground like I was suspended in thin air. I thought I died; sadness, panic, and despair took over me, but then I realized I could still touch my body and feel my mana pool. Maybe that wasn't a blind and deaf spell, and I wasn't **** even for a second. It was like I wasn't in this world anymore.

'Aggh, the more I think about it, the more I don't understand.

Anyway, I should get back to the village. It must already be a night out. Tristan probably went ahead to look for help. I should hurry and begin running as fast as I can. I don’t want him to worry. He is probably looking for me on the road.

As I run, doubt comes into my mind, and the more I think about it, it’s not like Tristan to leave me there, especially wounded or incapacitated. He would probably give his last breath carrying me.

I quickly leave the cave and take the forest road, moving through the trees while my fire spell illuminates the path. I am already back where I left off in about an hour, and no one is here. My only option now is to return to the village and ask the people if they saw Tristan. Maybe the farmer where Tristan and I rented a room hasn't gone to sleep yet, and I begin sprinting again through the road.

The farmer's dogs start barking as I enter the farmhouse courtyard, and I see a candlelight starting to illuminate one of the rooms in the house. Soon after, I hear the central door opening and see the old farmer's head through the crack.

“You are finally back, adventurers. I was beginning to think you young fellows didn’t make It.” Then he noticed I was alone.

“Well, at least one of you returned,” and then he adds, “Those damn goblins killed 5 of our villagers, then they bur.”

“Tristan, my partner hasn’t come back yet? “I immediately interrupt him.

“Well, no, I haven’t seen him, “he says, confused. “Is he alive”? He then ads.

“Did you leave during the day? Maybe he could have come back then.

“No, lady, I have been here all day. Where am I supposed to go with those things around? The whole village was expecting news from you guys.” He says with a worried look.

"The goblins were taken care of, but somehow, my partner and I separated."

"I'm glad to hear that. Finally, things can return to normal around here." He brightens up a little. "I'm sure your partner is all right; he seemed a sturdy fellow, "he adds. “Come in. You can go to your room, rest, and wait for your partner here. I'm sure he will come soon; I will bring dinner to your room if you want any. I mean, I don't know what elves eat. I have some vegetables. He says, a little embarrassed.

“That will be fine, thank you,” I say to him and go where our room is.

We arrived here yesterday, and the village chief told us we could stay here until we took care of the goblins. The old farmer even showed Tristan where the cave was, so they were already on friendly terms with each other. To make friends everywhere seems to be another of Tristan's hidden powers. His openness and sincerity make him the target of every older woman and man with a need for gossip, which is somewhat annoying sometimes. Still, I learned it could be helpful when you are constantly on the move and need to gather information.

As I wait in the room, I take off my leather armor. The farmer brings me some baked potatoes and fruit, which I eat although I am not hungry.

As I rest, the events of this strange day pass through my head. Where could Tristan be? I should look for him again. But it's already night. The old farmer is right. He should come back. Please, Tristan, come back to me. And slowly, I close my eyes and step into the dream world.

As I sleep, I dream that I am again suspended in the dark with nowhere to go.

Tristan’s p.o.v.

After an eternity, the deadly silence ended, and my eyes could see a faint candlelight. I thought I died. Where am I?

It’s the room where Arya and I spend the night. How did I get here? I was on the road when the darkness enveloped me.

I notice that I am in full armor, and have my short sword in my right hand and my shield on the left while I am covered with a blanket. The old farmers must‘ve found me on the road and brought me back is the only logical explanation I can think of, but nothing about this day was logical.

I get out of the room and call for the old-timer.

He leaves his room confused and sleepy, with candlelight in one hand and an ax in the other.

‘It’s all right, it’s me, “I tell him.

“Ha, you returned, my boy. “I knew few goblins can’t even scratch your iron plate,” the old farmer said, smiling and immediately relaxed.

“They did far worse than that, “I say as I remember Arya's disappearance.

“What a minute! Who let you in? Where is Missies? Did she let you in? But she needs the key.” He is visibly confused and looks in the room behind my back.

“What, missies, I thought you lived alone? Wait, didn’t you bring me back? I am as confused as he is.

“Ha ha, you two are playing a joke on this old man.”

“Hey, old man, I am in the mod for no joke. My partner disappeared, and I just woke up in your house,” I raise my voice at him.” I have a pretty shitty day now if you didn’t bring me back. Who the hell did?” I hate rushing him like this, but I need answers fast.

He looks at me, startled

"Missies, I mean your partner, the elf, came here about 11 p.m. She told me that you were lost or somehow and got separated from you. I told her to wait for you here, and she went into the room where you were staying. I brought her something to eat, and then went to sleep.”

“Don’t know what happened next.”

“Arya, you mean Arya was here? “I know he is telling the truth, and finally, the dots in my head are beginning to connect. And I already suspected something but have disregarded the idea as impossible.

And the twisted words of the brood mother as she had uttered her cruel curse make a lot of sense now.

“May you be forever apart,” I whispered to myself, realizing that I had been petrified and lost in thought for quite a while, making the old farmer even more nervous.

“You all right, boy, “he says

“Yeah, it was one of those days that didn’t make sense but is all clear now,” I say to him. “Say, what is the time now”? He goes into the main room and looks at his dwarven wall clock.

“The middle of the night, “he says

So only 1 hour has passed, I say to myself, and a solution to this situation begins to take shape in my mind. I take the book note where I have drawn the runes and written the last words of the dying hobgoblin, and I notice that my suspicions are correct. And as I suspected, the pages are blank.

My equipment and Arya’s were restored when the two red lights hit us. So, about six or seven hours, Arya is in the dark place, and after that, I take her home, and she takes my place in the real world in the exact location where I was standing with our equipment restored when the two lights hit us.

The implications are both funny and sad at the same time. Arya and I will never be together again, but at least I don’t have to repair my shield or sword again. Well, at least the situation improved since this morning when I thought Arya had disappeared for good. At least I know she is all right. As for the curse, I heard from my mother that it can be undone. We need to find the right healer.

"Hey, old man, I am sorry for snapping at you. There was something I didn't understand about this whole situation. I'll let you get back to sleep. I need some pen and paper, and when you meet Arya, my partner, in the morning, tell her to read the letter I left for her urgently.”

“Wha, you going out again?” he says. He wants further explanations, but I don’t see the point of telling him the whole story.

“Yeah, I must leave early in the morning, don’t worry. My partner is a great magician. She can teleport in and out of the house anytime,” I lie to him.”

“Aaa so is like that,” he says, leaving only to appear later with some old papers and a rusty dwarwen ink pen that probably hasn’t been used for years.

Afterward, I go to my room and begin writing the letters for Arya. When I finish, I remove my armor and get to bed, hoping this day was just a bad dream. I sleep for a while and occasionally leave the room to see the time. I want to know exactly how much time passes until Arya and I change places.

The roosters from the farm begin to sing and the sun slowly begins to shine. The last time I checked, it was 5:30 in the morning. So, as my body begins to glow, I say to myself.” Six hours of light and six hours of darkness.” Like this, Arya and I will have to live with our lives split in half.

Arya’s p.o.v.

“Was I sleeping, or was I again in that dark place?” Slowly, my eyes get accustomed to the light only to see a piece of paper that has the words “ read me “ written on it and has an arrow that points to the small desk in front of the window.

The paper is placed on my lap, and I notice I am fully dressed in my leather armor and have my staff in my left hand.

I clearly remember that I had undressed before going to bed

“What in the goddess name is going on”? And I head to the desk to read the letter in what is Tristan’s handwriting.

Tristan 1 letter

My dear Arya, as you may already suspect, it appears that during the battle with the horned brood mother, we were cursed with some temporal location spell that teleports one of us for about 6 hours in a dark, soundless world while the other stays in the real world. Then, after we switch again, the other in the real world gets teleported into the dark place, and so on. Our equipment, weapons, and whatever we held when the curse started are returned to us in precisely the same condition as when the two red lights hit us.

The nature of this curse eludes me. I remember my mother telling me about the curse of blindness or any other physical ailment. She never mentioned a strange curse like this one. Perhaps because the brood mother seems to have been a demon woman caught by goblins has to do with it.

I am sorry that the bad luck that seems to follow me everywhere has also taken a liking in you. We have **** other than to continue.

So I suggest that we gather every clue. I have already copied the magic runes the brood mother had drawn on the ground in my notebook. But, as I mentioned above, our equipment returns in the same stage before the curse, so they disappeared, and now we have to go back to the cave and copy them again. I also took the heads of the brood mother and the two hobgoblins and put them in my gathering sac, so you must know where they are now.

After we have done those mentioned above, I see no point in lingering in this place any longer. We have to head back to the guild and seek help from those that have dealings with demons goblins and better understand their nature. If the guild proposes a reword, I am sure these experts will come to our aid. We should also travel to the human capital, where the big libraries and various mages' academies reside, to learn more about these subjects.

We must also do experiments ourselves. For example, when I am in that dark place, I have my sword and shield in my hands, and I am in full armor, but I can't feel the ground or touch anything outside my on equipment and body, our bodily functions seem to also stop and now that I think about it would be a truly embarrassing situation if that wasn’t the case.

You may experiment with magic if it can still function in that dimension.

Another experiment that I will make is to see if our bodies, like our equipment, return to the same conditions before the curse, so I made a small cut on my hand to see if it heals.

There is a lot to talk about and not enough paper, I'll leave some for you to write to me and tell me what you decide.

Yours truly Tristan.

I remain there dumbfounded, trying to understand the implications of what Tristan wrote to me. He is right about everything except the fact that they're going to be experts on this kind of curse. If they were, young mages, me included, would've already been taught about those things at our academies.

But I know chaos magic is not learned, not because it is banned but because not much information about it exists. As I hate to brag, I never told Tristan I was a prominent student. As such, I read everything ever written about goblins and demons in my apprentice years at eleven mage academies. I don’t think human academies have more information.

Plus, learning about it is not going to undo the curse. With the amount of mana and spiritual power to undo such a curse, you will probably require 100 S-class healers.

Tristan doesn’t understand that in order to have an effect on time and location. You probably need the power of a demon lord or a god. But I will indulge him for a while until he realizes that the only solution is to form a hunter party and head toward the demon lands beyond the boiling sea.

Now I need to recuperate the three heads that I left in the forest and return to the cave to copy the runes, as I don’t want Tristan to waste any more time in this village.

I wake up the old farmer and tell him I am returning to the cave, and he jokes about why don't I teleport there. I don't understand it, but I laugh anyway. Human humor sometimes has hidden meanings.

After 2 hours of running, I am already in this wretched cave again and copy the runs that are still visible near the corpse of the brood mother, and when I am finally happy with the result, I head back again to the road. I must hurry to collect the three heads and still write the letter to Tristan with my instructions.

As I run through the forest, I think this will be my life and Tristan’s from now on, running and hurrying up so that in six hours, we need to restrain 12. Almost half of our lives are spent sleeping and the other living, but now even that half has been taken away from us.

After a while, I find the 3 heads where I have hidden them and realize they have already begun decomposing. The gathering sac that Tristan held was enchanted with ice magic and kept everything in pristine condition. But now, I am afraid we must support the smell until we reach the city.

I return to the farmhouse and check the time. I now have only 1 hour to pack my stuff and write the letter to Tristan.

Tristan p.o.v.

I am again glowing and find myself in the room at the old farmer's house, and a putrid smell of cadaver reaches my nostrils. As I look, I see a basket covered with a blanket. I don't need to look to know what's in there. Arya must have taken the basket from the old farmer.

I see Arya's letter on the desk, and I also notice some papers with the runes from the cave drawn on them. Arya must have been running all morning to be able to go to the cave and back.

Arya’s 1-letter

My beloved Tristan, I will start by saying you have nothing to apologize for. I told you several times that we elves don’t believe in luck or the lack thereof. If there is someone to blame, that person is me. My stubbornness to finish the guild quest at all costs, inability to properly assess the situation, and ineffectiveness in battle has doomed both of us. I am the expert hunter, and the responsibility lies surely with me.

In the last 4 months, we have always been together and enjoyed each other company, then in the previous week we became lovers now I have condemned us both to be apart and never see each other again for a long time.

We don’t know when we will be able to get rid of this curse; we don’t know if we will be together again.

But you are right. We must try and find a solution, and I am afraid that solution will put us in even more danger.

I told you what happened when I was a student at the elven academies about that demon behemoth that appeared out of nowhere and killed all my classmates. That was the first time I witnessed chaos magic.

I was the only survivor back then, and I swear I would become a hunter and take **** on all the parasitic races, so I have studied a lot about demons and how their magic works.

As sentient beings can only manipulate and combine the four elements, but chaos magic can use time and space. The demons are born with this innate ability, and it is not something they learn, so very little is known in human and elven academics.

Although your optimism is admirable in this situation, I'm afraid I have to disagree that we will receive any meaningful help from these institutions. Many experts will come seeking gold and fame, and some will only want some gossipy information, but I am afraid they can’t provide any real solution.

Although I agree with you and we should tell the guild what happened and receive any assistance they will provide, but going to the human capital is pointless.

Anyway, we shall discuss this matter further when we are at the guild; as you can see, I already gathered the clues from the nest and the 3 goblin heads, and you should depart immediately for the city. Next time the switch occurs, I should be on horseback.

Your beloved Arya.

Chaos magic I am sure my mother mentions it sometimes but I never paid much attention to it. It must be a type of sorcery exclusive to the demon kind if so all my plans to gather clues and go find healers are doomed to fail.

Anyway, it’s time to leave the village, and I should look for the old farmer and tell him to prepare the horses. I find him outside the stable with our horse already settled and ready to go. Arya must've already told him.

“Ready for the long trip back, “he says to me as he sees me.” Young lady already told me you were heading back, young lady. I mean, for an elf, she’s probably older than me,” he adds, smiling at me.

“Yeah, she is, but I am a superficial guy myself. I only care about looks, not age,” I joke back at him. I feel that we will have to return to those wretched caves sometime in the future, and I need to depart on good terms with the old man.

“Ha-ha, that’s how it should be,” the old farmer laughs aloud.

“Anyway, thank you for the hospitality and for showing me around the forest and the cave, “I say as I mount my horse.

“No, thank you for getting rid of those damn things.”

“Just doing my job anyway; stay safe, old man,” I say goodbye to him, and I gallop away into the dusty road.

It is going to be a long journey back without Arya.

As I ride, I remember my experiment and check the cut on my hand, so I notice that the injury is gone. This means that not only our equipment is restored but our bodies too. So that makes me and Arya immortal now? What if one of us dies? Does that mean we will return to life? Is this a curse or a blessing?

But that also means I can’t rank up anymore. It doesn’t matter how hard I try. My strength and stamina will remain the same. I am going to be an E-rank forever. I will only battle slimes, goblins, and giant rats for the rest of my life. But again, on the other hand, I don't have to eat and sleep anymore. Since the curse began, I have never been hungry or tired. My body truly goes back to that moment. Then again, although immortal, I can never beat an orc or a troll. I won't do enough damage. Well, I can annoy them to ****.

There goes my dream of glory.

The village is now only a tiny dot behind my back, and this deadly silence is hard to bear. Without Arya, time seems to pass very slowly, even though 6 hours a day are hard to get by. I never felt alone in the city, with its busy streets and loud noise. Then I met Arya, and we were always together. With her by my side, even the most desolate forests, caves, or dungeons seem full of life's color. Now, everything is grey and uncertain.

An eternity without Arya or a short lifetime with her. I would choose the latter in an instant.

Arya’s pov.

After one day and one night, I finally arrived in the city. I should take the horses to the city stables and then head to the guild office to report to Wendy. I want to do this before Tristan switches with me in the afternoon. I have a feeling it will take me a long time to explain this damn curse.

As I enter the guild building, I see Wendy at the desk, handling some novice hunters.

She smiles at me as soon as she sees me.

"Arya, you returned so quickly. I wasn't expecting you guys to finish those goblins so soon. "

“Can I talk to you in private? Something terrible happened,” and then I add, “I will need the guild master to hear about this too. “I say with a serious tone.

"Okay, follow me, "she says. She knows me very well by now and looks concerned. "I am going to close the office for a while."

Wendy and I became friends when I first came to this city. She is a high elf like me and helped me a lot settling down into the human lands. She was a hunter like me, and her specialty was water magic. She had fallen in love with Gabriel, the current guild master, who is an S-class human paladin. They got married by the human customs and established this town hunter guild. She and her husband no longer travel, handling only the paperwork.

We find Gabriel with his head behind a large volume of papers. He looks surprised seeing the both of us.

“ Hello, Arya, what brings you here, and what is that stench,” he asks, looking intensely at my basket. His high paladin senses probably smelled the three goblin heads from the moment I entered the guild.

“Well, they are part of my predicament, “then I tell them what happened in the caves.

They seem to not believe me at first, but they know I hardly ever joke. Gabriel examined the brood mother's head and looked at the papers with the runes I had drawn.

“She is definitely some hybrid between goblin and demon, “Gabriel says after a while. “I fought and killed hundreds of these things and never seen one like this.”

“Me too. I never seen one like this” says Wendy.” The ones that I fought couldn’t even use magic. You guys were truly unfortunate this time.”

“I will notify the high temple of Bloomsted and ask them to send an S-class healer immediately. Then I personally will investigate that village and others in that area. A demon so deep in human lands is very concerning. “says Gabriel

“We should also open a guild mission for those that know demonic runes or maybe speak their language,” says Wendy.”

"That was also Tristan's plan, but I will have to disagree with you. A lot of publicity will be made for nothing. Wendy, I told you about the incident 20 years ago at the Elven Academy. I was there when all my classmates were killed. Since then, I have studied everything there is to know about chaos magic and demon kind. "

“I doubt that someone in the human lands can help Tristan and me,” I tell them.

“So what is your plan then? Gabriel asks.

“Well, I plan to return home, have my mother hire high-ranking hunters, then take one of my family ships to cross the boiling sea and explore the demon lands. That was my plan even before the curse. I wanted to establish a raiding party in the demon lands and have my **** for my classmate. It seems that now I will have to act sooner and my mother can’t disagree with me this time.”

“Yes, yes. Wendy told me about your grand **** plan, but I don’t see how you will brake the curse Plus, I doubt Tristan agrees with you. He is E rank adventurer; even a small snake in the demon lands could kill him,” said Gabriel, visibly annoyed.

“He will have bodyguards; I will buy him the best weapons and armor then we will devise a battle plan based on the time of the day; we have only to capture a succubus or an incubus and make them tell us more about chaos magic, even undo the curse.

"HA HA Sure, they will wait for you to capture them and ask them nicely. I find your plan childish and prone to failure. We will have to talk to Tristan about this and hear his opinion." Gabriel says with an angry tone. He cares about his guild members. I do not doubt that Tristan is no exception.

“Of course, I will consult with him, but this is between Tristan and me and no one else. “I say with a menacing tone. S rank or not, he knows who my family is.

"O come on, that kid looks at you like the priests look at goddess statues. We both know that he will do whatever you ask him to. I only ask you to think about him."

“Do you think I want him to get hurt? But we have no other choice.”

“Why can’t we attempt both plans? We can try for two weeks to see if we can find anyone who can help or have some information, and after that, Gabriel, we shouldn’t keep Arya any longer. I am sure she has received the highest education in magic and knows what she is talking about. Wendy proposes

“Two weeks is fine “I agree with Wendy

“O’ right, that settles it. Then I will notify the temple immediately. Wendy, you start opening a guild quest offering 100 gold for starters for any information about demons”. Gabriel says,” I would still like to talk with Tristan about this and hear his opinion.” he then adds.

“Yes, can we see how this change takes place? Maybe we can see something that you guys couldn't, "Wendy says.

“That is reasonable. You should see Tristan appear in my place at noon. In the meantime, I shall write a letter for him also”. I tell them.

I start writing the letter in Gabriel's office, and Wendy leaves us as it is still early for the switch to take place.

I finish the letter after a while and call for Wendy to witness the curse.

“See you tomorrow morning, “and as I wave to them, my body starts glowing.

Tristan’s p.o.v.

The startled faces of Wendy and Gabriel greet me as I come out of the darkness. Gabriel has seen some pretty weird stuff as an S-rank adventurer, but this curse has managed to leave even him open-mouthed. Gabriel circles and pokes me while looking intensely at me.

“You all right, lad,” he finally speaks.

“Well, I come from a 6-hour rest in a dark and cold dimension, so I am pretty much in top condition.”

“I am glad to see that your wit hasn’t stayed there.”

“You know it follows me everywhere, commander. “I know he likes it when I use military terms.

“So I take it’s all true about the brood-mother, the curse, and the demons?” Gabriel asks.

"Yes, I can attest to the curse and the goblins. The demons and chaos magic is Arya's conclusion from the runes and the brood mother-horned head. And, of course, I have no reason to doubt her since she studied them, “I say to them. “Wendy knows about her past, and it is only logical that she prepared herself to face them in battle.”

“Yes, I know about her stupid **** plan to become an independent adventurer and go to the demon lands,” Gabriel says, having a disappointed look.

“Miss Wendy is a mage too, “and I look at Wendy. “You must have studied in the same academies. Sure, you must have seen something similar to this.” Although older than Arya, Wendy always asked me not to use a formal tone and to speak freely with her.

"Well, no, let's say Arya and I come from different social classes. I studied in a small academy and know nothing about chaos magic. I mean, I know it exists and that demons use it, but they are supposed to stay in their lands and can't cross the boiling sea Plus, from what I heard, it is their innate ability, and other races can't learn it.” Wendy says.

“So you agree with her that looking for documents or scholars that use chaos magic is a waste of time? “Gabriel asks

“Well, yes, and no. I don’t want to offend anyone, but human and dwarves magic academies are somehow behind ours, so I think that, in this case, high-elven universities are more prepared. Some old elves who survived and explored the demon land might know something more.”

“So you think we should pack up and leave for the elven kingdom? “I ask.

“Not immediately. We talked with her about this matter, and she agreed that she would wait for 2 weeks, “Gabriel says

“Only two weeks. Is this enough time for the word to spread out? “I ask

"Given the fact that she is the daughter of one of the richest and most influential families of the Elven kingdom is more than enough time actually, even if you tried you couldn't have found any better person to be cursed with. “Gabriel laughs

“Yeah am sure the political wheels are already beginning to turn. The next 2 weeks, I have a feeling that will be very complicated for you guys. “Wendy says.

“Whoa, is her family really that powerful? She told me something, but I haven’t paid much attention to it.”

They look at each other smiling and Gabriel says.

“These things are between you two; you should ask her yourself. Anyway, she left a letter for you, and we shouldn’t keep you any longer. Tomorrow morning Arya will come here and meet with healers from the high temple. After that, we will devise a more detailed plan for dealing with the curse.

“Yes, Tristan, don’t worry. We will help you guys get through this. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything,” Wendy says.

"No, it's all right. I thank you very much for everything you are doing," I say goodbye to them as I take the letter and walk away.

I leave the guild office and building and take the busy street to the city guard barracks. As I walk, I open Arya's letter.

Arya’s second letter

My beloved Tristan, you probably talked with Wendy and Gabriel, and they have explained their plan. Out of respect for Gabriel, I decided to go along with it but only for two weeks. In the meantime, you should gather your things and come to stay at my house that I rented.

You already know where it is, and the key is hidden under the flower vase from the left.

We shall wait for two weeks and meet a lot of people that I have been trying to avoid all my life.

Some of them will be sent by my mother, and be careful not to be intimidated by them as they will be from elven or human nobility. Please tell Wendy if they propose something strange.

Tomorrow I will send a letter to my mother explaining the situation in detail. The reason why I came to the human lands and ended up working for Gabriel is that the elven guilds knew who I was and they will always pamper me with easy quests and missions. I later found out that they were receiving money from my mother so that they would go easy on me. I realized I could never grow as a hunter in such conditions, and I left for the human land, so that’s how we met.

I am only telling you about this because I thought I had time, but this damn curse is making me change my plans for you, me, and our future.

Anyway, you will meet my mother very soon, and we will discuss how to handle her when we are in the elven kingdom.

I should leave you to gather your stuff.

You’re beloved Arya

I thought my mother was scary and manipulative, but now I see that Arya's mother is already at another level. Our relationship with our mothers could be what drove Arya and me together. Before she got sick, my mother always said she wouldn't let me become an adventurer. But she just wanted to protect me, and I do not doubt that Arya's mom is the same. I miss my mother and my sister so much.

I should visit home before Arya and I set out to the elven kingdom.

I reached the city guard barrack and told them I was leaving. Even though I had left the city guard 4 months ago, my ex-captain still let me sleep in the barracks which allowed me to put some money away.

It takes me a while to gather all my stuff as I have collected a lot of junk in the last 3 years. I throw some of my paintings and sketches away. If not, Arya will find that her rented house has become a painting gallery. I do the same with some of my clothes until a ménage to put everything in 2 large sacs.

I say goodbye to some of my ex-colleagues and head for Arya's house. It's a big house in the city center, and its interior is even more impressive. I always saw from the outside how the nobility lived. I never even imagined I would live in one of these houses one day. It has 2 large bedrooms on the second floor, judging that the two large closets are full of clothes. Arya must be sleeping in both of them.

I should write her a letter and ask which bedroom I should take.

Evening comes in a heartbeat as I arrange some of my stuff in the house, and as I begin to glow, I say good evening to Arya, hoping she can hear me.

Arya’s p.o.v.

It's my turn into this world again. To my surprise, I stand before a painting of Tristan showing him and me at a campfire. He embraces me in the pictures, and I sit in his arms. Our sight seems lost in the yellow and orange embers of the fire.

It’s an old picture of his, and as I search the room, I see others he never showed me. He seems that beside me, two other women are present in his artistic expression. One is skinny and has a bow. The other appears tall and has a giant mace. Both are beautiful and have curly red hair that falls on their shoulders. It must be his mother and sister.

On the desk in the bedroom. I see a letter and begin to read it immediately.

Tristan second letter

My sweet and beautiful Arya is true. I have always dreamed of entering your bedroom. But in all my dreams, you would be with me, and we are making sweet love for hours and hours, forever lost to the outside world.

Well, like this is also an improvement, at least part of my dreams come true.

We must take this curse as a valuable life lesson. Your relationship with your mother seems similar to mine. Before the illness, my mother always opposed me from becoming an adventurer to the point where she would hide the wooden sword I used for practice. I was angry with her then, but as an adventurer, I understood why she did it. She wanted to protect me from the **** and cruelty of this profession.

I told you she was an A rank battle cleric before becoming the town healer. However, I will not presume that I understand your relationship with your mother based on my own, and know that I will support whatever decision you take on this matter.

Regarding the two weeks we have to wait, I told you I know nothing about chaos magic, and again I will support your decision. As for your mother's agents, I will ask Wendy how to handle them.

Before the two weeks pass and we set for the elven kingdom, I only ask that we visit my family and let me say goodbye to them. Maybe we could even invite my sister to our adventure as she is pretty good with the bow and we need a ranger for our party.

Anyway, I have put all my stuff in this bedroom because I didn’t know which bedroom to take and both the closets are full. It’s a shame that from now on, you cannot enjoy the large collection of clothes you seem to have invested so much time and probably resources to collect.

I hope you don’t plan on taking everything back to the elven kingdom, as I have a week back from my last fight with the hobgoblin.

I am only joking, of course. I noticed that after my little experiment, our bodies, like our clothes, were returned to the same condition when we were hit by the two red lights. We seem immortal now, although I would prefer a small lifetime with you.

I will await your next instructions

Your beloved Tristan

Ha ha very funny he doesn’t understand that I need all of my clothes. Still, I should make some room for his sack.

I already suspected that is true because of my lack of hunger and the fact that I am not tired when I come out of the darkness. As Tristan described it, our bodily functions are frozen in time. Although in 6 hours you could get hungry and eat soothing, at least that pleasure hasn’t been taken away from us.

What kind of magic can make someone immortal? The power of chaos magic lies in infinite applications.

But why the brood mother has formulated the curse like this? She could send me to that dark place forever, and I would never see the light of day. But then, in her twisted mind, she wanted **** for killing her goblins, and I know something about that. With that kind of power, that’s also what I would have done.

She understood that Tristan and I were lovers, and she wanted to separate us. She wanted us to suffer, to torment us forever, chasing one after another like the sun and the moon never together in the same place.

Her words make sense now:’ May you be forever apart,’ a cruel curse from a vicious monster. Tristan and me must be strong and stay together until a solution is available and not fall into the trap that she set for months and maybe years to come. Our love will be enough to not let her get her satisfaction beyond the grave. But as I think about it, what if a cure never comes? Are we supposed to stay single for the end of time? Will we survive the trial of loneliness? Should we look for other partners?