Time to Go Separate Ways

We walked in silence as the landscape gradually shifted. We left behind the dark, damp cave.

Now, the ground was becoming drier, with scattered rocks and small hills in sight. I could feel the crunch of dust under my feet, and only a few dry bushes resisted the growing wind.

The hot sun beat down on my skin as we climbed a steep hill.

Sweat dripped down my forehead, but as we reached the top, a gust of wind nearly took my breath away. The wind had changed. What had been a gentle breeze was now a brutal force, kicking up dust and shaking the sparse vegetation.

"We need to find shelter," I shouted, struggling to make myself heard above the howling wind. The dust whipped against my face, forcing me to squint.

Lyris kept walking, but her steps were getting heavier. I knew she was on the verge of collapse. Her movements were clumsy, and each gust of wind seemed to push her closer to the ground. She was still mad at me; I could feel it, but she was also exhausted.

I looked around for a place to take cover. In the distance, between two hills, I saw a small rock formation. It wasn't much, but at least it would protect us from the wind for a while.

"This way," I said as I gently took her arm to guide her. She didn't resist, just followed me without a word.

We fought against the gusts, with dust getting into my eyes and throat. When we finally reached the rocks, we collapsed, gasping for breath from the effort.

The wind kept blowing, but at least here we were safe from its strongest blasts. I looked over at Lyris; her face was covered in sweat and dust. She was exhausted, but I could still see traces of anger in her gaze.

I pulled out the canteen from my bag and offered it to her. To my surprise, she took it without saying anything. She drank slowly, then let the canteen rest on her lap. She stayed silent, staring out at the horizon. The wind continued to batter the rocks around us, but it was starting to calm down.

"We need to stay here for a while," she finally said, her voice almost a whisper, raspy from fatigue. "If I keep going like this, I'll just be a burden."

I nodded, relieved that she wasn't blaming me for not helping Sylva and her daughter. But the guilt still weighed heavily on me. I knew I had made a tough decision, but that didn't mean it was the right one.

I stayed silent, waiting for her to speak again. Eventually, Lyris broke the silence, but her tone was softer this time.

"I understand why you did it," she murmured. "I understand why you saved me instead of them... but that doesn't change how I feel."

Her words caught me off guard. I hadn't expected her to say it so calmly, but the weight of her confession still left me speechless. I didn't know how to justify what I had done. Deep down, I feared that anything I said would sound hollow, even to myself.

"Sometimes, it feels like I've been here for an eternity," she continued without looking at me."Surviving in this era of desolation... and I'm young, I know. But each day here feels like an endless cycle. And when I saw Sylva and her daughter die like that, it felt like that eternity stretched even further."

The wind was almost calm now, leaving behind an uncomfortable silence. Her words echoed in my mind.

I felt a lump in my throat, but I didn't know what to say. The truth was, I had acted on instinct. I hadn't thought it through. I believed saving her was the most important thing at that moment, but how could I explain that?

"You're right," I finally said, my voice somewhat muted. "Every life matters... but sometimes we have to make choices we don't want to make. If I could've saved them, I would've."

Lyris glanced at me sideways, as if assessing my words. She didn't say anything else. I knew that nothing I said could change what had happened, but I couldn't help feeling responsible.

The wind had almost died down completely. Still, we had a long road ahead, and both of us needed to rest.

"Let's rest here for a moment," I told her. "Then we'll move on."

She nodded without looking at me, accepting without protest. There was no forgiveness in her gesture, but there were no more reproaches either.

We settled between the rocks, letting our bodies rest a bit before moving on. I knew this was just a pause. The road ahead was still uncertain, and the challenges were far from over.

I don't know when, but we both fell asleep. Exhaustion took over as we waited for the wind's intensity to lessen. There were no dreams, just a deep void that kept me unconscious.

A couple of hours passed until the cold started to creep into my skin, and a sense of discomfort made me shiver.

The next thing I knew, Lyris was waking me. She had been the first to open her eyes, and it seemed the wind had died down, but now another danger was becoming evident: the cold of the night was starting to settle in.

"We need to find a safer place," she said softly as she gave me a gentle push to wake me from my slumber. "And if possible, make a fire."

I nodded, still groggy. I got up and started moving, feeling a bit stiff from the rest. The cold air hit me hard enough to know we couldn't stay much longer in this makeshift shelter.

Suddenly, I felt Lyris grab my arm, stopping me in my tracks. I turned, surprised, not knowing what was going on. There was no danger nearby, at least none that I could see.

Lyris just looked at me, her silver eyes shining in the faint moonlight. For a moment, I thought maybe her anger had returned, but her expression was different.

"Thank you... for helping me back in the cave," she murmured, slowly letting go of my arm.

I was speechless for a moment but soon managed a smile. I nodded as if trying to tell her it was no big deal, though in reality, it had been one of the hardest decisions I'd made in a long time.

Lyris took the lead, guiding the way with determination. As we moved through the darkness, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. There was no need for us to say anything more at that moment; it was clear that, for now at least, we had resolved the issues dividing us.

While we walked in search of shelter, I looked up and noticed the moon, immense, dominating the night sky. Around it, a sea of stars twinkled, lighting our path with a soft, distant glow.

It was a beautiful, almost surreal sight that, for a moment, made me forget the cold and the fatigue.

I couldn't help but wonder if this path would truly lead me to Selene, or if I was risking Lyris's safety for nothing.

We had been walking for days without much rest. The exhaustion weighed on my shoulders, but what troubled me more was the weather. We hadn't faced any creatures, though we saw some in the distance and managed to avoid them.

The real challenge at that moment lay under our feet and over our heads. One day, the sun would scorch our skin as if we were in a desert, and the next, the cold would freeze us to the bone. It made no sense. I wondered how it was possible for the weather to change so quickly.

"What the hell is going on with this place?" I thought as I stopped for a second, observing the cloudy sky looming over us.

"It's strange, isn't it?" I said to Lyris as we walked. "It feels like the weather is messing with us. I've never seen anything like it."

She looked at me, her face mirroring the same confusion.

"I don't know," she replied without stopping. "But I feel like the closer we get to the goal, the stranger the weather becomes. It's as if something or someone doesn't want us to reach it."

"What if that being who left the world in ruins has something to do with these changes?"

Lyris looked intrigued but said nothing.

"Think about it," I continued. "The sudden storms, the winds that seem to want to rip us off the ground... it all seems too calculated to be natural. What if they've altered the weather to stop anyone from getting close?"

Lyris didn't have a clear answer, but the determination in her gaze told me what I already knew: no matter what the weather did, we would keep going.

Finally, after days of climbing up and down hills, I could see it clearly in the distance. I froze for a moment, trying to process what I was seeing.

Ahead of us was a town, eerily similar to Nethria but surrounded by stone walls. In the center, a tall tower rose, dominating the entire area around it... similar to the one Grimmor had in the last era.

"Could that be where the being resides?" I wondered. "Is it still alive?" I couldn't know for sure, but something about the place made my hair stand on end.

Lyris stopped beside me and pointed down. "From here on out, we're in enemy territory," she said in a low voice. Her words brought me back to reality. She had never been here before, nor did she know what to expect.

"I have no idea what's waiting for us there," she continued, her face tense. "But if that place is still standing, it's likely swarming with creatures."

As I watched the tower on the horizon, Lyris interrupted my thoughts, pointing to the path on the left side of the hill.

"That path will take you straight to where Eldrek is," she said calmly. "You can't miss it; the area is surrounded by hills. Besides, Eldrek has enchanted the whole place with magic. He knows when someone is lurking around."

I nodded, processing her words, but then her tone changed. "This is where I stop, Darius. I fulfilled my promise to guide you this far. From now on... you'll have to go on alone."

Her words surprised me, but I didn't have time to respond. "I'll just say one more thing... think it through. I don't know what you expect to find there, but be careful."

The sun was already starting to set, and the air was cooling rapidly. "Maybe we should spend the night here," I suggested. "It's a safe place, and in the morning, we can continue... each on our own."

Lyris nodded silently. I knew this moment would come, but still, I didn't want her to leave. The silence between us became a little awkward, full of words neither of us knew how to say.

The loneliness of this world was overwhelming, and Lyris's company over the past few days had been more comforting than I was willing to admit.

We settled on the hill as the sky darkened above us. The silence grew between us, but somehow, it wasn't uncomfortable. Before we slept, I dared to speak. "Lyris... thank you for everything. You're a formidable warrior, but also... someone who cares about others. That's something I admire in you."

She turned to me, surprised, but her expression softened. "Thank you, Darius," she said, pausing briefly. "May I ask what you expect to find there?"

I stayed silent for a moment, weighing her words. Lyris had proven herself trustworthy, someone who could understand what I carried inside, yet what I was about to tell her wasn't easy to explain. I took a deep breath before speaking. "I'll tell you… but I'm not sure how you'll take it."

It was hard to get out, but I began. "I don't belong to this Era, Lyris. Through my magic, I was able to jump to this time, but I don't fully understand how… I still haven't mastered that ability."

"I come from the past Era," I saw her surprise reflected in her eyes, but she continued to listen intently.

"In that Era, the world was full of life. There were dangerous creatures, yes, but it wasn't this desolate wasteland. That's where I met Eldrek. He gave me this magical weapon I carry with me."

I noticed her lips part, maybe to say something, but I raised my hand, asking her to wait. There was more I needed to tell her.

"That's not all," I continued, my voice more tense.

Lyris remained silent, clearly trying to process what she'd just heard. Her eyes reflected an inner conflict, as if she were trying to comprehend everything I had said. Her fingers moved hesitantly, as though she wanted to speak but couldn't find the words.

"And, I don't even come from this world," I added, lowering my voice as I ran a hand over my face. "I come from another… or perhaps another plane, I'm not sure what to call it… but it's completely different. A place where magic doesn't exist, where there are no creatures like the ones here. In that world, I had someone… a woman I loved."

It was hard to continue, but I did.

"She died suddenly, and it destroyed me. Then, a being appeared in my dreams. He offered me a deal… the chance to reunite with her in this world. I don't know what that being is, or why he chose me, but somehow, he was the one who gave me these abilities to travel between eras."

I paused, finding it difficult to breathe for a second. Then I looked at Lyris and said, "Wow, Lyris… sorry, I spoke without stopping and clearly without thinking. But you asked me to be honest with you last time, and here it is… this is my whole truth."

Lyris looked at me, and though she didn't speak right away, her expression changed. It wasn't just surprise anymore; there was something deeper, as if pieces were starting to fit together in her mind. She seemed to want to say something, but stopped herself. Instead, she just looked at me, her jaw clenched.

"That's… a lot," she finally murmured, her voice barely audible.

Her eyes remained locked on mine, her mind working to process every detail. I could feel she wasn't ready to accept or reject what she'd just heard. I just nodded, waiting for her next reaction, knowing that what I had said would change our relationship from this point on.