An azure glow flashed in the last orchie's black eyes. An electric current ran through his body. In convulsions, he could feel his dark blue blood boiling and rotting his flesh from within. Unimaginable pain shot through him from head to toe in an instant. He fell to the ground motionless. The wind howled; the fire suddenly went out. Doi snapped his fingers and uttered an incantation. [Lightning] The spark ignited the wood again. The group sat around facing each other. “We'll rest, then we'll start looting.” Kristina sank her weapon into the ground with great force and let out an exhausted sigh. Even the young pair made up of the fire-haired boy and the female archer on the opposite side of the campfire felt relieved to be able to stop after a long fight. It didn't give them a hard time like the previous fights, they weren't overpowered by stronger monsters. However, the fatigue they carried from previous encounters was accumulating. Akally watched the night sky above them. He did not see a single constellation known to mankind, yet he felt that there was something familiar among the lights in the darkness. “Did you see the future or the past?” Doi teased the boy in a theatrical voice.
“What?” uttered a surprised redhead.
“Just joking,” Doi started laughing, “they used to say, it is possible to see a future in the stars. Somebody else claimed they mirror the world's past.”
“What do you think they mean? Window to the past, or prediction of the future?” Kristina joined them.
“In my opinion, they are big flaming balls distant hundreds of light years, some of them already dead, others newly created,” the scholar in the green jacket shrugged.
„Of course, you start as a poet, but it doesn't last long,” Kristina shook her head.
Doi waved his hand to her note. He had no energy left to argue with her. Akally with a slight giggle looked down and noticed a message from Patron. [Last survivor warns you from knowing the future.]
“Knowing the future can save lives,” the lad answered in his mind.
[Last survivor asks what you wish to know about the future?]
“Will I be able to save others?”
[Last survivor doesn’t understand what you want to save them from.]
“Is your power able to revive other people except for Dea?”
[Last survivor is not sure.]
“So, I will have to take a risk,” he answered his own question in sad tone.
[Last survivor tells you; it is up to you, it is your power.]
Ginger looked at his dirty hands and whispered: “My power.”
“Did you say something?” Dea turned to him.
“I was just thinking out loud,” falsely smiled.
[last survivor nods in agreement at your insight.]
Akally thought about his abilities as a gift, a blessing even a curse. He considered them as something strange, what was given to him by the Patron. Because of that, he blamed every failure of his on another person. It was easier to believe it is not his fault for what happened to Kartz. But when he looked at the girl in the grey hood next to him, her rosewood hair glistened in the glow of the fire and cheeks flushed with heat, he was willing to accept this gift as his. It was him who saved her, not his Patron. He didn’t need to know the future in which his friends will die. He just needed to make sure when it happens, he will be strong enough to change it.
Soothing fire crackling was broken by Doi’s voice: “We took care of every beast in the area, it’s time to go back home.”
“I thought we can only leave alter after killing the biggest monster?” asked surprised Kris, even though she smiled because they are done.
“Mostly yes, but not always. Till now we haven’t encountered anything, that would suggest the presence of something stronger. Portal of this level can be powered even by the mana of a higher number of little monsters.” Dee looked at dead tiny orchie bodies: We can call it a day,” turned his gaze to Akally, “your first hunt is officially complete, boy.”
Finally, it was here, that the lad’s adventure ended. He was on his way to return home to a soft bed, a table with warm food and without fear for his life. Corners of his mouth twitched in a wide smile, which could not hide. Cheering before the end may jinx it, but he could not help himself.
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Suddenly he stopped: “Wait a moment, how do you know which way to go back?”
Kris with Doi looked at each other: “Did they not teach you basics in the beginner hunter course?” Doi shook his head and pulled out of his pocket a snow-white pebble inscribed with runes.
“It is called a returney. The one, who has it, is pulled towards the portal they came through. From time to time, it can be found in alter, but normally it is quite expensive,” Kris explained with a smug face.
“Officially it is named the stone of return, but you can call it returney. With this little fella, you cannot be lost in alter, but you have to pay a lot for it,” fiddled Doi with his fingers to show a gesture for money.
“I didn’t know you can get rich so fast as a hunter,” in the lad’s eyes was a visible spark of joy.
“Nah,” Kris burst out laughing, “there is no way he is rich. Dee has a terrible sense of direction, so he had to save up a lot for it.”
The mood got brighter a bit when everyone laughed. Except for Doi who got slightly red. Redhead’s gaze met with Dea's. A joyous smile on his face paled. After they leave, there was one more thing to do for which she asked him.
Right after he snatched the brunette from the grasp of death, possessed by euphoria he didn’t listen to her words. He held her hand firmly as he would never let it go again, yet still gently as he would hold a wounded bird. Bitter tears mixed with happy sparks in his blue eyes. “I-I made it!” he exulted. Dea looked around: the body of the dead orchie, mouth full of sharp fangs covered in blue and red blood, fading memories of her life. She realised what happened. She stroked the back of Akally's hand kindly: “Don't worry, I'm back.” She felt his fast-beating heart, slight trembling or his grip getting stronger and a moment later weaker again. It seemed he was from this whole situation in bigger shock than her, which is almost impressive if you compare it with the return from the other side. Doi couldn’t believe his red teary eyes as he tried to hold back his tears. He didn’t want to let out his emotions, but the death of the young girl got to him as much as Kris crying waterfalls of tears on his shoulder. During the whole hunt, this was the first time he felt insecure: “H-H-How is that possible?” Doi stuttered. Dea shook her head. It wasn’t necessary to know how or why. It was important she came back to life. She leaned toward Akally to hug him: “Thank you,” she said out loud, before she hugged him tightly, “don’t tell them anything, we will talk later, after we get out,” she whispered in his ear silently so nobody else could hear her. The lad pulled away from hug and nodded.
A few hours after the resurrection they all sat around blazing flames, alive and well. Dea saw that the redheaded boy would like to say something, but she inconspicuously gave him a sign with a small shake of her head to stay quiet. It was not a good time to talk about it here. Although Doi and Kristina were not really bad people, information like that spread like wildfire. A tiny spark is enough to burn the whole forest. The less they know, the lower chance anybody will believe any rumours.
After enough rest, they continued with their journey home. But they were still inside the alter, the rule to never let your guard down was as important as ever. In the front line was of course Kristina, behind crawled Doi with Akally by his side. Right behind them in the rear went Dea. No conversation was going on. Every single one of them thought about their plans when they return. Kristina was looking forward to taking off her sweaty clothes. She will grace herself with a long hot relaxing shower, then laze for the rest of the day in a loose tracksuit and listen to Billie Holiday and other jazz legends. On the other hand, stoic leader Doi sees his future in watching new season of Outlander with a bowl of cookies with a chocolate layer. Even the newbie wished for peaceful rest of the day when Dea’s hand pulled him a little back.
“When we are out, we will meet in an hour at Marry’s. Do you know it?” she told in low voice.
Akally nodded.
“Great,” she let him go back to Doi.
“Not even one word,” told ginger to his Patron in his mind.
[Last survivor asks if you can read mind as well?]
In two hours, they have arrived to the gate into their world, so Dea put her white mask and grey hood back on, and then proceeded in. The light green energy vortex collapsed in itself when the last person came through and it disappeared without a trace. Hunt was successful. Agents of MITEM began to clear the blocked street. An almost two meters tall dark skinned bald man with muscles even bigger than Kristina’s approached the four-man party. He took off his sunglasses and hung them by their little arm in the pocket of his suit: „Before you go, do you have anything unusual to report or important information for MITEM?” asked in rough deep voice.
“I don’t know if it is important,” started Doi, “after all you have information about every hunter, but Akally has-”
“Has got a problem fighting with monsters,” Dea stepped in, “he is only good as a support for the rest of the group. But on his first hunt, he did well.”
The agent looked at his tablet and searched through the profiles of members of this group before he stopped at Akally. Quickly rushed through text: „From his psychological exam, there should be no problem. Probably he is too young or needs more experience. I see everybody is okay, so I guess he did his job good enough. Anything else to report?”
Doi stared at Dea with question on tip of his tongue, but when he couldn’t see any reaction over her mask, he decided to let it go: “No, that’s all. Newbie got little training, next time he will do better.”
“In that case that’s all from me,” rumbled mountain, “thank you for your service,” the agent saluted shortly before leaving to his colleagues.
It was time to say goodbye. Nobody knew if they will ever see each other again. In this line of work people often create a permanent team and hunters with big differences in rank rarely meet. Doi and Kris went in the same direction, only Akally and Dea remained.
“You have said in an hour at Marry’s, right?” the lad asked uncertainly.
“Yes. If you come on time, you can buy me lunch,” joked the girl and left.
Redhead stayed for a moment in place and watched how the place, which could change in disaster, changed back to a regular street. Tired from a crazy morning he walked home. As he went past Kart’s ruined store, Akally held his arm high with his thumb up.