So, this is where we part ways

We had been walking for days without stopping much. The fatigue weighed on my shoulders, but what unsettled me the most was the weather. We hadn't had to face any creatures, though we spotted a few in the distance and managed to avoid them.

The real challenge was in the ground beneath our feet and the air above our heads.

One day, the sun scorched our skin as if we were in a desert, and the next, the cold froze us to the bone. It didn't make sense. I kept wondering how the weather could change so quickly.

"What the hell is going on with this place?" I thought, pausing for a second, staring up at the cloudy sky looming over us.

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

She looked at me, her face showing the same confusion. "I don't know," she replied, not slowing her pace. "But I feel like the closer we get to our goal, the stranger the weather becomes. It's like something, or someone, doesn't want us to reach it."

I couldn't shake the thought that the being who had left this world in ruins might have something to do with these changes.

Could it have altered the climate to stop anyone from getting close? Sudden storms, winds that felt like they wanted to tear us off the ground... it all seemed too calculated to be natural.

The wind blew harder, pushing me back as if it were trying to stop me. The rain drenched us without warning, and the ground beneath us turned treacherous.

It felt like the world itself wanted to swallow us before we could reach our goal. Lyris didn't have any clear answers, but the determination in her eyes told me what I already knew: no matter what the weather did, we were going to keep moving forward.

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.

In front of us was a kind of town, similar to Nethria, but surrounded by stone walls. In the center, a tall tower rose, dominating the entire surrounding area.

"Is that where the being lives?" I wondered. "Could it still be alive?" I couldn't know for sure, but something about that place sent chills down my spine.

Lyris stopped beside me and pointed downwards. "From here on, we're in enemy territory," she said quietly. Her words snapped me back to reality. She had never been here before either, and she had no idea what to expect.

"I have no clue what we'll find there," she continued, her face tense. "But if that place is still standing, it's probably crawling with creatures."

As I was still staring at the tower on the horizon, Lyris interrupted my thoughts, pointing to a path to the left of the hill.

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

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

Her words caught me off guard, but I didn't have time to respond. "I'll just tell you one more thing... think carefully. I don't know what you expect to find there, but be careful."

The sun was already beginning to set, and the air was cooling quickly. "Maybe we should spend the night here," I suggested. "It's a safe spot, and in the morning, we can go our separate ways."

Lyris nodded silently. She knew this moment would come, but even so, I didn't want her to leave. The silence between us felt heavy, filled with words neither of us knew how to say.

The loneliness of this world was overwhelming, and Lyris' company during these 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, but somehow, it wasn't uncomfortable. Before falling asleep, I dared to speak. "Lyris... thank you for everything. You're a formidable warrior, but also... someone who cares about others. I've really appreciated that."

She turned toward me, surprised, but her expression softened. "Thank you, Darius. Can I ask... what exactly do you expect to find there?"

I stayed silent for a moment, weighing her words. Lyris had proven herself to be trustworthy, someone who could understand what I carried inside, but still, 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 don't know how you'll take it."

The words were hard to say, 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 did it... I still don't control that power."

"I'm from the previous Era," I saw the surprise in her eyes, but she kept listening intently. "In that Era, the world was full of life. There were dangerous creatures, yes, but it wasn't this desolate wasteland. It was there that 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 growing tenser.

Lyris remained silent, clearly trying to process everything I'd just said. Her eyes reflected some inner conflict, as if she were struggling to understand it all. Her fingers moved, hesitant, as if she wanted to speak but couldn't find the words.

"I'm not even from the previous Era," I added, lowering my voice as I ran a hand over my face.

"I come from another world... or another plane, I don't know 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 keep going, but I did.

"She died. I don't know why or how, but her death destroyed me. And then... a being appeared in my dreams. It offered me a chance... the possibility to reunite with her in this world. I don't know what that being is or why it chose me, but somehow, it gave me these abilities to travel through eras."

I paused, feeling like it was hard to breathe for a second. I ran a hand over my face and through my hair, trying to ease the tension building up in my body. All of this sounded absurd when said out loud, but it was the only truth I knew.

"It's a lot to take in... I know. But I couldn't keep it to myself any longer."

Lyris watched me, and although she didn't speak right away, her expression shifted. It wasn't just surprise anymore—there was something deeper, as if the pieces were starting to fall into place in her mind. She looked like she wanted to say something but stopped herself. Instead, she just stared at me, her jaw clenched.

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

Her eyes stayed locked on mine, her mind clearly working to process every detail. I could tell she wasn't ready to accept or reject what she had just heard. I simply nodded, waiting for her next reaction, knowing that what I had said would change our relationship from here on out.