Chapter 7

Pain, that was all that could be felt as Ryder's consciousness began to return.

His body ached all over, his mind screamed for relief, it was an awful unending pain.

Even so much as trying to open his eyes caused an intense pain to shoot through him.

The only thing he could do was breathe, in and out, ever so slowly in attempts to calm himself.

As the pain started to subside ever so slightly his hearing began to fully register what was around him.

The sound of a crackling flame, animals letting out tiny snorts or birds chirping.

Then came another sound, the sound of some kind of flute being played, its notes feeling incredibly soothing to his mind. Oddly the melody traveled a little bit out into the area, giving it an almost hauntingly beautiful tinge.

For a moment Ryder just rested there, letting the melody soothe his soul after, well, whatever that place had been.

Had it just been a bad dream? Did he just fall to the bottom of the cliff and get rescued by the others? He had to know for certain.

With a pained breath he began to force his eyes open, being blinded by the lights in the process. Once they adjusted he saw that, indeed, he was back in the forest… though things were different now.

He could see dozens of creatures gathered around, creatures that clearly were not normal wildlife.

Fairies dancing in the air to the melody, their lights shimmering brightly like tiny stars amidst the green roof above them.

Teal colored spectral deer lightly rested at the edge of this clearing, seemingly at ease around the music and fire yet still cautious as their eyes were trained on Ryder.

Then there were the birds that were colored like the night sky itself, had it not been sunset right now he might've missed them resting in the branches.

From where he was sitting though he couldn't get a good look at who was playing the music, so with a painful grunt he attempted to sit up.

As he did he noticed that all the creatures suddenly took notice of his presence and began running, leaving only him and the musician.

Yet he couldn't help but feel a tinge of sorrow that the mystical creatures darted away.

"Oh don't worry about them, they weren't really scared of you, just the overwhelming stench of darkness staining you at the moment." a kind and slightly deep feminine voice spoke to him from his right, it was soft and smooth yet very comforting in nature. "Take your time friend, I imagine getting forcefully ejected like that is not fun, though I think that just means the guardian likes you."

Slowly and carefully Ryder turned his head to look at the mysterious voice next to him, his body screaming at him to stop moving as he does so.

His eyes meet with a person resting on a tree stump about four feet away from him, an air of mystery hung around them.

Their outfit primarily seemed to be comprised of a long green hooded cloak that reached their feet, black boots, black pants, a black long sleeved shirt, and some pieces of dark brown leather armor and metal armor mishmashed together. In fact most of the armor seemed hand made.

Their hands bore ten dark silver rings with various gemstones in each one, one ring for each finger. They held what seemed to be a crystalline ocarina in their hands as well.

Their skin appeared to be slightly tan and they had long white hair that peaked out of the hood.

A slightly held back laugh escaped from them. "Why are you just gawking? Cat got your tongue friend?"

"Sorry, just a bit confused, I figured one of my friends would have gotten me." Ryder replies, trying to remain calm.

"Oh, do you mean one of the other outlanders? Well I'm sorry to say but they likely think you either died or vanished from the world." the figure shrugs a little. "It really depends on if they saw you vanish on your way down."

"Huh? What do you mean? Surely they have to be looking for me right now." Ryder tries to stand up but almost collapses on the spot.

"Easy there, you've been gone for a month, the assassin spent a week looking for you before going to help the others." The figure stands up and walks over, pulling out a shimmering gold potion. "Here, drink it. This will give you your strength back."

Ryder looks up confused, his mind racing at the thought. "A month? No, that can't be right! I know I was in that place for awhile but it wasn't a month!" he tries to stand again. "Where are the others, they had to have found a way out by now! I can't still be in here!"

The figure places a hand on Ryder's shoulder before crouching down to his level.

Now he can see their- her face clearly.

Her facial features were kind but strong, clearly having some kind of experience here. Her eyes were this deep sky blue that captured his attention fully, the iris was ringed with this unearthly yellow though causing an oddly beautiful clashing of colors.

With a little more emphasis she pushes the potion into his hand. "Drink first, i'll explain after."

Hesitantly he took the potion in his hands and looked down at it.

The liquid inside wouldn't stop moving, it almost looked like someone combined honey with gold dust and called it a drink.

Unfortunately the smell wasn't much better, smelling like nail polish remover mixed with tons of salt and sugar.

"What is this?" Ryder asked, holding it away from his face. "Stuff smells like it could kill me."

"It won't, in fact you should feel lucky to be holding that, it's a potion made from the essence of the sun god himself." the mysterious woman says before moving back to her tree stump. "Unlike the sun god of old this one was known for being a healer, his potions could even bring you back from death's door according to the scriptures."

A rare healing potion huh? It didn't sound like a bad idea, and not like Ryder could escape if wanted to right now.

Hesitantly he swirled the potion around a little bit before grumbling a bit, he knew this would probably taste awful.

Not wasting another moment he held the potion to his lips and tilted his head back, downing it all in one long drink.

The potion surprisingly tasted like nothing at all, no mineral taste, no sweet or saltiness, just nothing, that was until a surprising floral aftertaste hit him.

The mysterious person lets out a rather loud whistle. "I'm impressed, most people just take little sips, looks like you really will be up in no time friend."

Ryder lets out a rather long exhale, the potion already seeming to start working as his ribs and lungs didn't sting as bad now. "Alright, you said you'd explain… so start explaining please." Ryder sits up fully now, opting to lean back against a tree next to him.

"Well, as I said, you were gone for a month… well technically a month and a little over a week." The person says while looking out into the woods. "Time in these lands has been fractured by the last lord… it's why everything seems so… dreamlike." She looks back to Ryder, her hood once again obscuring most of her face. "Tell me, how much do you know of these lands? Of anything really?"

He sighs a bit and looks up at the sky. "Not much, I've been lost since day one really… I get there's talks of lords and magic and such, but I really don't understand it at all."

"That makes sense, this is not your world after all. You outlanders simply were summoned here without any explanation, then you had that curse thrust upon you and were sent to die." she lets out little tsk sounds as she stands back up now. "But in reality that was never meant to happen, none of this was."

"Really? How do you know? Are you another game dev?" Ryder asks now looking back to the fire, now noticing it's a rather odd pale white color.

A smirk crosses the woman's face as she walks to the fire. "No, I am not a Game Dev as you call them, I suppose you Outlanders would call me an NPC?" she tilts her head a bit, seeming to ask if that was right.

"Wait, then how do you understand this stuff? I thought NPCs weren't supposed to be sentient." More and more Ryder felt lost and confused as this conversation went on.

"Who knows? I simply am trying to figure out how your people created such a magnificent haunting nightmare." She reaches down and holds her hands out to the fire, seeming to try and warm up. "This place isn't actually my home after all, it's simply like a waking dream to one such as myself."

"Alright, I seriously don't understand what you mean by that but I'll take your word for it." Letting out a loud sigh Ryder pauses for a moment, trying to think about what to do next. "What about this whole lord thing? Like the candidates and what not."

"Oh, That! It's simple really, once the last lord dies we of power or nobility compete to see who will take the throne… either through vote or by force." after a brief moment of silence she continued. "The Lord is the one who rules over all of Terminus by the way, I suppose you could say they're our leader."

"So, this is all one big competition for them? Why involve innocents then?" Ryder asks while finally standing up. "Eleanor spoke about how someone here was draining people of their humanity, turning them into zombies."

"Well not everyone seeks power the same way." she glances over at him before kneeling down. "Some seek to earn it justly, by training or studying, forming connections, etc." she then reaches her hand into the flame, startling Ryder. "Others seek to take it by any means." She lifts the flame up into the air, seemingly controlling it. "Even if that means snuffing out another." She closes her hand, causing the flame to die and only embers to remain, slowly drifting through the air.

"I see, that makes sense… people are corrupt even in places like this after all." Ryder pauses before thinking of another question. "So, why were us outlanders called here then? We're not lord candidates right?"

"That is half correct, you outlanders are here for a singular purpose. To restore the balance which has been shattered by the last lord… the false lord." she shrugs a bit. "But then you all got marked as candidates in this land, meaning any one of you could take the throne."

"Restore the balance- wait so he's still alive? Is he the one who cursed us?!" Ryder asks, genuinely surprised that the lord might still be alive.

"Indeed he is, he's prolonging the end of the world, controlling the natural flow of all things in order to preserve his false dream of peace." The woman looks at Ryder once more, this time crossing her arms. "His control has wrought nothing but war, corruption and decay everywhere. Even gods have fallen to the poison he has allowed in."

"I'm guessing then no Lord Candidate has been strong enough to stop him either?" Ryder asks, now trying to get a full picture of everything going on.

With a nod she confirms his suspicions. "None have managed to get close enough, as constant in fighting and the urge to become the one true lord has caused many betrayals and ill attempts at slaying him."

"That's why us outlanders were called in then, to take care of the problem."

The woman nods once more. "Correct, that is why you and everyone else is trapped."

Ryder pauses. "Alright that does answer a few questions but what about how i was gone for so long? I still don't understand that."

"It's simple really, you did pass into a space between realities after all. In those spaces time flows very differently from here." she pauses and thinks for a moment. "So, while it may have felt like an indeterminate short time for you, for us it was a little over a month… if we include how long you were asleep for."

"Seriously?! That makes exploring those places so much more complicated!" Ryder groans. "I guess that's the price for discovering useful information."

"Indeed it can be, after all not all information is free." She smiles and seems to move to the edge of this encampment. "For instance now your allies have no clue if you're alive or dead, nor do you have any way to defend yourself."

Ryder looks down in surprise, sure enough his longsword was still gone after having been swept away by that attack.

He sighs and shakes his head, great that was just one more problem to add onto the pile, but that didn't matter. Right now he needed to reunite with the others to let them know what he found.

What he found… the sketchbook!

Quickly he patted himself down, looking all over for the book only stopping and letting out a sigh of relief when he felt it on him still.

It was nice to know that even after everything that he didn't lose the most valuable piece of information.

Though as he thought about it again a question popped into his head.

"Hey, since you do know so much, are you a lord candidate yourself?" Ryder looks at the mysterious woman who now seemed focused on something else entirely.

"I suppose you could say I am, though I have no clue what qualifies me in the slightest outside of my raw power." she says lazily while picking up a rabbit and petting it.

"Wouldn't raw power be enough to qualify? Or am I missing something?" Ryder asks, tilting his head ever so slightly confused.

"No, it can but only if you want to be known as a conqueror. You see there are three types of lords, the heirs, the conquerors and the chosen." she states now looking back at him. "I am neither a chosen or conqueror, my mark of the lord is an heir."

"There are marks now?" Ryder asks, getting more confused by the second.

"Indeed there are, but while anyone can get the chosen or conqueror symbols by choice, only very certain people are marked with the heir symbol… a symbol showing a blood connection to a previous lord."

Ryder sighs, trying to take this all in and make sense of it all.

So he fell into a different area, where time moves differently somehow.

He then got attacked by something and lost his weapon.

Then he was, presumably, nursed back to health or at least looked over by this lord candidate.

Lord Candidate.

"Does that mean since you're a lord candidate you could take the throne and fix this?!" Ryder asks as he walks up to her.

"I suppose I could if I truly wanted to, but I'm not one for politics or the like…" now it was her turn to pause as she thought. "Though you could as well-"

"And you have no problem with the other outlanders right? After all, you spoke with Lily or Oto correct?" Ryder's voice clearly indicates he's coming up with some kind of plan as he speaks with her, seemingly not having noticed what she said.

"I have, they seemed like nice enough people… both them and that witch friend of yours, Demea was her name." her eyes lazily drift around as she's trying to recall who she met, only to be surprised by Ryder's approach.

Quickly Ryder moves closer to her and asks. "Then i have a proposition for you, join me and help fix this entire situation!"

A silence falls over the camp as the two look at each other.

The woman looks confused and shocked, her entire body freezing up enough to where the rabbit just hops down and scampers off.

Meanwhile Ryder shows a face full of determination as he looks her in the eyes.

"I know it might sound crazy but I think it could work! After all you said you don't understand why you were chosen right?" he backs up a little, hoping that would help a response.

The woman stands there frozen in place, clearly unsure of what to think. "I suppose not, but I'm not exactly following your logic here, why ask a stranger you barely know? And why trust someone who could be lying to you?"

"Because at the moment there's no other options, and my intuition is telling me we're going to need someone like you to save not only ourselves but others like Eleanor as well." Ryder says as he takes one step closer to her. "Not only that but I promise to help you as well, in whatever way that may be."

"...you're really an odd one, you know that? You're lucky I'm not one of those mad men out there seeking nothing but power and fame." she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "And how exactly would you even help me when you can barely help yourself? You don't even know what it is I'm looking for."

"Answers, answers on who you really are and why you were chosen." Ryder boldly states, once again catching the woman off guard. "You're only out here because you want to know, don't you? A journey of self discovery so to speak."

"I will not lie, that is why i traveled out this far… but how do you know this? You don't seem to be someone who can read others easily." She's clearly now on guard a bit, looking like she could bolt at any given moment.

"Because I get the same feeling I got by looking at my own reflection before starting this adventure, I only came here for a reason. A reason that means a lot to me and I refuse to give up until I get some closure on it." Ryder states honestly, no lies or deceit hanging on his voice, all he wanted was to get through to her.

The woman pauses but doesn't flee, instead looking a bit curious now as her stance eases up.

She seems to contemplate something for a moment before looking at him once again.

"And you, what would you have me do to assist you? I am an explorer first and a fighter second, I am strong but can barely control my power at times. One wrong move and I could kill you by sheer coincidence while targeting something else."

"That's fine by me, I will accept your power as is. All I ask is that you help us in any way you can, then when the time comes I will repay the favor no matter what." Ryder holds his hand out to her. "That is a promise from me to you, and I don't make promises lightly."

The woman seems to contemplate what to do for a moment. Her eyes dart around as if expecting some kind of trap before she sighs and reluctantly takes his hand.

She puts on a little smile.

"Then I suppose it's a deal. I, Yuria Faroe, pledge my services to you until the day we part ways on our journey."

Ryder returns the smile. "Yuria huh? That's a nice name. I'm sure you'll get along just fine with the others."

"We'll see about that." she lets go of his hand before turning around and walking a few feet away. "Well? Come on then."

"Wait, where are you going?" Ryder asks while catching up to her.

"Where else? To the nearest settlement to get you a weapon." She looks back at him. "And I'm sure we'll see your friends there as well."

"They've formed settlements now? I really have missed a lot." Ryder replies, trying to think of just what to do once he's caught up.

It was an odd feeling he got walking alongside Yuria, she may have been a relative stranger at this point but something made him want to trust her.

Or maybe he just saw too much of himself in her, either way the promise was made.

The only thing to do now was to head to the village and regroup.

Hopefully things have been calm since he left.