05: The Truth

"Are you sure that we could find the Leven Berry flower here, Mazzak? This mountain really gave me the creeps." A young man asked as he took off his straw hat and hugged it closer to his chest.

His long, white ears that resembled that of a bunny, perked up as he slowly scanned their surroundings with heightened senses.

"I had no idea, Varroc. I only heard stories about the mysterious Leven Berries from my grandmother. It was said that the juice from the berries had a remarkable healing properties, but that was all I know," Mazzak responded. His long, orange tail swayed back and forth behind him.

Though he also felt uneasy, the life of his young nephew depended on this trip. This was their last resort. If they could not find it by tomorrow morning, then the boy would surely die.

Mazzak stared at the horizon. The sun would set in a few hours so they had to be fast.

"Hey, did you smell that?"

Mazzak was brought out of his trance when his friend suddenly asked the question. This got his attention.

"What is…" He did not get to finish his sentence when the smell of death and decay suddenly entered his nose. The two were instantly taken aback. It did not help that their sense of smell was stronger than ordinary due to their race.

As the seconds passed, the putrid smell became even more intense. It somehow found its way in their system.

"What in the world was that?" Varroc could not help it anymore. He quickly ran on the side and started vomiting.

"I think it came from that way. Come on." Mazzak pointed to his right where the bushes and trees are thicker than the rest.

Though he was nauseous, he still had better control than Varroc who was a Bunny Beastman.

"What? Are you serious? I swear. You Leopard Beastmen are nuts. Let's just go back!" Varroc's eyes widened at his friend's suggestion. He pinched his nose tightly.

"It would only take a minute. Come on."

"No! Let's just find the flower and get the hell out of here, fast!" Varroc said with a firm determination. As one of the doctors for his race, he was sure that this kind of odor spelled bad omen.

"Alright. I will go and check the area. Don't move, and wait for me here. I'll be back before you know it."

Varroc's eyes immediately widened at what he heard. Especially when he saw Mazzak ran towards the thick trees without hesitation. "What? Hey, Mazzak! Come back here!"

Left alone, Varroc hugged himself. Just the slight movements from his surroundings made his muscles stiffened as fear instantly prickled all over his skin.

"On second thoughts, I am coming. Wait for me!"

Varroc quickly ran as fast as he could. He would rather endure the pungent smell than being left alone in the darkness.

"I thought I told you to wait?" Mazzak raised his brows when he saw Varroc running towards him. The poor guy ran like a hundred demons were on his trail.

"I changed my mind. So what?" Varroc said smugly as he quickly walked past Mazzak.

Mazzak could only shake his head as he watched his friend disappeared in the distance.

As soon as they reached the place, they were immediately bombarded with a foul, and pungent odor of burnt flesh and blood that mixed with the air. However, they had no time to react as their eyes instantly widened in extreme fear at the terrifying scene. They could not even divert their gaze even if they wanted to. Suddenly, Varroc felt the hot liquid flowing down his legs.

From where they stood, they saw a mountain of mutilated, and butchered corpses of beasts and demons that was splattered all over the ground that now looked like an ocean of blood. The ravaging inferno rapidly engulfed the remaining trees with its black, hazardous flames, leaving nothing, but charred flakes and thick smoke. However, it was not what had gotten their attention. In the middle of the baren wasteland, was the headless corpse of an adult Gargoyle.

Mazzak immediately fell on his butt as his whole body trembled, and paralysed with horror. Meanwhile, Varroc screamed as loud as he could before fainting.

It took awhile, but Mazzak finally came back to his senses and immediately grabbed Varroc.

He suddenly fell on all fours, and with a blink of an eye, he felt his bones being crushed inside of him as he transformed back to his Leopard form. Securing Varroc at his back, he then ran as fast as he could with only one thing in mind.

'What in the world happened here!'

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Meanwhile, Kalliste carried the bloody Rowan towards a huge tree. Her face was extremely pale, but she needed to make sure that they would survive the night. She was already worn out. Her consciousness were like a switch, on and off. The only thing that kept her on her feet was their safety. She would not be able to handle another attack. The sun was already setting, and she felt her body already giving in to the abyss. Fortunately, she saw a huge tree with a wide hole in it. They could hide in there for the night.

As soon as they got in, Kalliste slumped to the ground. Her heart raced rapidly. It was as if she had just finished as marathon. Every part of her body ached, as though her muscles and veins would explode at any moment. She had no energy left to even lift a finger.

"Being a child sucked." Kalliste could only lament on her situation. During her prime, this much was nothing. She could be in a battle for a week straight before tiring out. However, she now had to accept this ruthless reality.

"I needed to train my body back to its prime."

As she laid unmoving on the cold ground, the events from a few hours ago replayed in her mind.

Killing the man named Lucas was an easy feat. However, the technique that he used got her attention. Rowan called it, Sword Aura. Something that he had never heard of or seen in her entire life. It fascinated her. She already had a hunch that she somehow crossed a different world, or a parallel universe, but seeing the technique solidified her theory. The question was, how? And why? She was sure that this was not reincarnation as she still had her old body, though she regressed as a child.

Meanwhile, she spared the life of the man named Porteur. With a condition, of course. Kalliste smiled. The man became her eyes and ears.

When Porteur left, Kalliste thought that it was finished, and that she would only have to heal Rowan. However, the next events came like a bombshell. The real problem began when a horde of monsters that she had never seen before suddenly surrounded them. With careful observations, she noticed that they were somehow drawn by the blood of Rowan. Not only that, but their numbers grew even more as time passed. It seemed that her darling's blood was special. With that, she was left with no choice, but to fight. Despite her young body, she would not let anything bad happened to her darling.

A small smile suddenly etched on her face when she remembered how the boy disregarded his own safety to protect her from the slash. Kalliste took a glance upon the unconscious boy.

"I owed you one." It was the first time that someone did something like that for her, and it somehow melted her heart.

Though her body was still weak, she slowly ripped the boy's clothes. Her face wrinkled as soon as she saw the wound. The deep, inflamed gash oozed so much blood. The flesh around the wound swelled, but worst of all, the pungent odor of festering flesh.

"Don't worry, darling. I won't let anything bad happen to you." Taking a deep breath, Kalliste slowly held her hands on top of the wounded part of his body. It took a while before her hands was surrounded by a green aura. It slowly seeped through the wound. Not a second later, it was instantly healed. Not even a scar was left behind.

Kalliste heaved a breath of relief. It was yet another mysterious ability of hers that she discovered later in her previous life. The only drawback was that she could never heal her herself.

There was only one side effect though. She could heal, but all their pains and sufferings would be doubled and transferred to her instead.

"Urg!" Kalliste's pained scream suddenly filled the small area. She could only clutch her back as she spitted up a lot of blood.

"Damn it! I knew it!" Her small body could not handle the pain. With her blurry visions, Kalliste clung unto Rowan, and finally passed out.

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"Mom, no! Don't go!" Rowan was awoken by that nightmare. He immediately clutched his head. It was throbbing. As if a huge hammer was pounding it nonstop.

"What happened?" It took a while before he managed to calm down. He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the terribly low ceiling. The space was also narrow, and the smell was almost unbearable. He was laying on a bare cold ground. A sense of de ja vu instantly washed before him. That was when floods of memories suddenly bombarded his mind.

His eyes widened in shock and he shot up instantly. "Kalliste!" His loud voice echoed throughout the small space.

"Darling, you are finally awake. I was so worried."

Before he could do anything, he was met with a tight hug. The sudden action froze him in an instant. However, he diverted his attention.

"How did we got here? What about the assassin? My wound?" Rowan quickly reached for his back. His face contorted with confusion. He could no longer feel any pain. It was like a miracle that his wound suddenly vanished. The only evidence was the cold and hardened blood on his clothes.

"Would you believe me if I said that we were saved by a fairy? She also treated your wounds and helped us find this place to cover our heads for the night."

Rowan's brows met at the centre at her explanations. He clearly did not believed her. However, seeing the sparkling eyes of the little girl in front of him made him speechless. He did not know how to respond, and certainly did not want to ruin her fantasies so he just inwardly sighed and go with the flow.

"And where is this fairy now? I would like to thank her for saving our lives."

"Uhm…"

Rowan secretly smirked when he saw her panicked face. He had many questions, but somehow, he knew that she would not tell him the truth. At that, parts of him wanted to believe what she said. If not, how could he explain how they managed to escape the clutch of an assassin of that caliber? He was sure that they would not survive if they were caught. And how they arrived at this place. Even how his wound miraculously disappeared in just a span of a few hours.

"Well? Where is she?" Rowan asked again.

"She… she disappeared after healing you?"

Rowan stayed silent for a few moment. Still analysing the situation before he fainted. In the end, he sighed, defeated. He was about to say something when he noticed Kalliste's pale complexion. He quickly leaned forward until their faces are only a few inches away.

"What? What is it, darling?"

"Are you hurt somewhere? Why is your face as pale as snow?" As soon as the words escaped his lips, Rowan could not help, but quickly scanned her whole body. When he was sure that nothing was wrong, he sighed a breath of relief.

"By the way, darling. We have been together since yesterday night, but I still did not know your whole name. Or even where you came from?"

"I must apologise, lady Kally. However, I do not wish to devulge full name or my real identity as of yet." Rowan now had a serious expression now. Though he wanted to tell her the truth, he did not want to get her involved into his messy life.

Kalliste frowned. She was looking forward to know him better. However, if he did not want to reveal any informations about himself, then she would not pry any further.

"Then could I ask where we are right now?" If she can't know his full name, then at least the place to where they are. Maybe then would she have any idea on how far away from home she was.

"We are currently in the forbidden Mountain of Macaram. The most notorious and largest mountain that served as the border of our Credia Empire and our sister Kingdom, Angevin."

Upon hearing the names, Kalliste almost laughed her ass out.

"Credia Empire? Angevin Kingdom? Just which part of Earth was it located to? Was there even a place with that name?" Not to be arrogant, but being alive for more than a century, Kalliste could safely say that she had been, or seen the whole world, but she had never heard of such a place.

She only stopped laughing when he saw the serious look on Rowan's face.

"Ahem." Kalliste lets out a small caugh to ease the awkwardness.

"Pardon, but even I had no idea of this Earth that you talked about."

Now this got her attention even more.

'Has this kid lived under a rock his entire life? Even a three year old baby knew what Earth was'

"Earth was none other than the name of our home planet, darling. Have you forgotten?"

Rowan slightly tilted his head. Completely confused. He had no idea what she was talking about.

"I must apologise again, lady Kally. But you must still be confused and shocked after what happened earlier. Our Empire was located on the Avallone Continent."

Upon hearing the word Avallone Continent. Kalliste thought for a second.

"The name sounds familiar?"

'I heard of that name before. I am sure of it, but I just could not remember when or how.' She looked at Rowan again.

"What do you mean, Empire?"

"We are currently within the Credia Empire. The strongest, and largest country amongst the six kingdoms that made up the Avallone Continent."

As soon as the words escaped his lips, Kalliste's eyes widened in realisation. She finally remembered where she heard the name. However, her mind protested strongly.

'I-impossible! But how? How did I got in the world of my book? This is definitely impossible!'