The Promise

"Do you want to rest? I can find a good spot while you rest," Eleonora proposed as she noticed her candidate stumbling while walking.Eleonora had the power to possess her candidate's body."I'm fine," the candidate responded with heavy sighs, although his body was almost in perfect condition.For Eleonora, it was clear that her candidate's consciousness was about to reach its limit once again."Let's not start this again... it'll be night soon. I'll fight while you rest, alright? Just let me do it.""No...""Seriously... Why not? In the blink of an eye, you'll be fine again!"From Eleonora's perspective, sleeping was simply closing one's eyes and spending time without consciousness.Why didn't her candidate allow her to take charge of everything during that unconscious time?"I have nightmares, Eleonora.""Nightmares? What's that? A disease or an enemy?"Eleonora had no idea what her candidate was talking about.Stopping their walk, Eleonora's candidate decided to sit on the ground.Cold.For a moment, his whole body shivered as it came into contact with the snow."What are you doing? Why are you sitting on the ground?"Eleonora didn't understand why he was doing that."I miss sleeping for real"He said that when Eleonora fully possessed his body, he couldn't truly rest.This was because, over time, he increasingly entered a place that seemed to be his own hell.Unlike the real world, where he could defend himself and defeat any enemy, in that world, he was weak and defenseless.Every time he entered that place, he faced all the creatures he had ever killed repeatedly.Feeling himself die was horrible.Avoiding entering that world was only possible by sleeping normally, but there were occasions when he still ended up in that place.At first, he saw it as a price to pay for his power, but now it resembled more of a punishment."Hey, are you going to sleep in this open place?" Eleonora asked as she saw her candidate lie down and get comfortable in the snow.Despite feeling the cold when coming into contact with the snow, he didn't mind. Somehow, he began to feel comfortable."I understand... You're going to rest so that I can take control of your body later?"He didn't respond.Despite clearly hearing his companion, sleep began to overpower him.Within seconds, he started feeling great relief.It was a strange place to take a nap, but... Who would have told him that this was wrong?A bittersweet smile appeared on his face before he finally lost consciousness.But before he could immerse himself in a peaceful sleep, he felt a jolt that abruptly interrupted his connection.He felt it like a sudden blow to the chest, so he reflexively opened his eyes.When he stood up, he was no longer in that inhospitable and dull environment. Now, he was facing several demons and old enemies that would make his time very unpleasant."Great, he's resting now," Eleonora said, now occupying her candidate's body.Getting up from the ground, she brushed off the snow-covered clothes."It's always the same..."Cracking her whole body to fully wake up, Eleonora looked up.Despite the dense fog still lingering in the air, she saw clearly five flying creatures lurking.They were mutant vultures."Sorry, but today you won't have a meal."Eleonora touched the sheath where her body was stored, and suddenly, the sword disappeared. It had merged with the body of the candidate she now possessed."Let's go."Focusing, celestial-colored wings began to appear on Eleonora's back, standing out in this dreary environment.Surprising the vultures that watched from above, Eleonora swiftly approached them, dispersing the mist that stood in her way.Instinctively, the vultures tried to flee, as they were creatures that attacked dying or sleeping prey.But to their misfortune, Eleonora extended her palm toward one of them, causing a red flash and a powerful explosion that echoed several meters away.Now only four vultures remained.One of the vultures had exploded into pieces in an instant, leaving no trace behind.Eleonora chased each of the vultures and repeated this process several times.Descending to the ground, she encountered a problem.The hand she had been using the most for magic was now trembling uncontrollably.Was the possession failing?Eleonora decided to reinforce the possession, and soon the discomfort disappeared. Unwilling to walk, she spread her wings once again and flew low, searching for a place where her candidate could rest.If she found the village he was looking for in the process, it would be a double reward!But to her misfortune, she found nothing.There were only dead trees, some mountains with empty caves, and all the rivers were frozen.She did her best to find another group of barbarians, but she failed to find them.Every fight she faced against monsters was extremely easy for her, but she soon began to notice something strange.Where was the way out of this place?It seemed that the more she explored, the more she got lost.It was too ironic!Not even her great memory helped her locate herself, as the snow ruined her points of reference, and almost every area she explored felt too familiar.Where were all those barbarians heading to?The sun was barely visible, and to Eleonora's dismay, she hadn't paid attention to where those barbarians were going.What a huge mistake!More than 15 hours had passed, and Eleonora remembered that she had to give her body back to her candidate.Stopping her flight, Eleonora landed in an area similar to where he had laid down before.Imitating the best possible resting position he had, Eleonora closed her eyes and let her candidate take control.After a few seconds, her candidate stood up in a startled manner, looking around and realizing that he was no longer in the same place.With difficulty, he dropped to the ground, breathing heavily, and asked between heavy sighs:"Eleonora, did you take control of my body?"His tone was serious, and he seemed annoyed. Eleonora ignored his question, but he insisted."Eleonora... Did you take control of my body without my permission?""You never told me not to," Eleonora replied in a low voice."Of course, I did!" his candidate retorted in frustration.Her candidate felt dizzy, had a headache, and his mind was filled with negative thoughts.The worst part was the intense pain he experienced throughout his body as if he were being devoured or torn apart with every breath."I asked you before, and you didn't say anything..." Eleonora said quietly."Shut up!"He was tired.He hadn't been able to find his sister, and his only companion was a selfish person who only gave orders.For a moment, something clicked in his mind."Eleonora...""What?""Do you know my name?"He always called Eleonora by her name, but she always referred to him as the candidate.To Eleonora, he was just one of the many candidates she had had.This question caught Eleonora by surprise, but after quickly going through her memory, she answered: "Leonar."There was a small laughter that immediately sent the candidate into the past.The reason she called this ego sword Eleonora was to have a similar name to his, as she considered her a great trusted companion.But... What was Eleonora's previous name? Why couldn't he remember anything?It's all Eleonora's fault, a thought echoed louder and louder in his head.A part of him was telling him that he was acting like an idiot, but he couldn't think clearly.He just wanted to rest once and for all."Adam?" Eleonora said hesitantly."Shut up," her candidate responded without hesitation.Eleonora had uttered another name because she thought she had made a mistake.Her candidate's face showed disgust.Eleonora calmed herself and tried to remind herself several times that she needed to be patient with him."Listen carefully, Eleonora.""Yes.""No matter what happens..."The candidate's voice grew louder."Don't I matter to you more than any rules you have? Am I, not your priority?""You are.""Then let me sleep! Really sleep! You can't take possession of my body!""Even if you're in danger?" Eleonora asked."Even if I'm in danger.""And if you die?""I don't care!"Eleonora couldn't believe what she was hearing.Had he gone mad?Why was he behaving so irrationally?Trying to find the reason behind her candidate's behavior, Eleonora asked curiously, "Hey... What are nightmares?""They're horrible, Eleonora. Why are you asking stupid questions?" the candidate quickly and angrily responded.Eleonora had been insulted a few times in her life. Most of the people who had insulted her were enemies, and now they were over 200 meters underground!Eleonora repeated to herself a thousand times that she needed to calm down. She wanted to respond to her candidate in the same way, but she knew he wasn't in his right mind.Swallowing her pride, Eleonora asked: "Could you explain to this fool... what a dream is and why you want to have it?"Eleonora's candidate was desperate to sleep, but a part of him knew that if he didn't convince Eleonora, he would fall back into that horrible place.Thinking of an answer, he realized it wasn't so easy to explain something like that to her.After a few minutes, he gave up on finding a logical explanation and simply said the first thing that came to his mind: "A nightmare is horrible, repetitive, painful, and no matter how much you try to escape, it always chases you.""Can't you just fight against it?""Do you think I haven't tried, Eleonora? Don't ask stupid questions. You can't fight against it."Eleonora fell silent and continued listening attentively to her candidate."A dream... is relaxing. Sometimes it's absurd, but other times..."A tear tried to escape from the candidate's eye but evaporated within seconds due to the heat magic Eleonora had activated in his body."I don't understand," Eleonora said."You have to experience it. It's beautiful."Eleonora understood that she was denying her candidate a beautiful experience.Eleonora realized she was denying her candidate a beautiful experience. However, this place was too dangerous.Granting his request would be equivalent to letting him die."Promise me you'll let me go to that place, Eleonora," the candidate asked.Eleonora remained silent."Eleonora, swear it to me.""Don't you want to find your sister?" Eleonora replied, hoping he would remember his goal.Her candidate had a bitter expression, but soon he had an idea."Maybe I can visit her in my dreams."What?Could he achieve his goal if she let him enter a dream?Then she had been wasting time!As the conversation dragged on, sleep began to invade the candidate's consciousness once again."Eleonora, please.""I promise, but..."Eleonora hesitated for a few seconds in her speech and asked with a certain embarrassment: "Do you think you can visit my sisters? Maybe if I sleep...?"Eleonora realized that her candidate had fallen into a deep sleep.A few hours passed when a pack of wolves approached the place where the candidate was sleeping.Eleonora felt their presence and had to make a choice.