Elincia covered her mouth as she glanced at the Changeling’s new appearance. A tall man with wide shoulders, blond hair, a strong jaw, and fair eyes. It was a perfect copy of my long deceased father.

The Changeling had managed to capture details about my father I thought I had forgotten. His right shoulder stood higher than the left due to an old accident at the logging station, he also had a missing piece of ear, and his ring finger lacked a nail. I had never considered how battered my old man’s body was, but I remember the stories he used to tell me when I was little. Most of them involved gruesome accidents with machinery and lots of blood.

He used to say he was lucky to have all his digits.

The Changeling also had captured my father’s essence to perfection; his warm smile, his comforting presence, and the inexplicable feeling that everything was going to be alright if he was around to solve things. Or maybe, it was the feelings of my five-year-old self filling the gaps in the creature’s work.

A sense of peace seized me but I also felt an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy.

“The one and only, James Clarke.” I said, my voice catching slightly.

Elincia grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Despite the fact her eyes were watery, her voice came out steady.

“He looks so carefree and kind.”

Elincia didn’t mention how different he was from me.

“You would’ve loved him. He’s quite the camping partner.” I replied with a weak smile.

“I’ll have to thank him for not raising a wimpy Scholar then.” Elincia squeezed my hand once again.

There was so much I had to thank my father for.

The Changeling combed back its thin blond hair with its hand. I had always hated that gesture because it left the hair in the exact same place as it was in the first place. My father always replied it was a habit from his hippie days, which further bothered me. I had never seen a picture of my father’s alleged hippie phase no matter how deep I dug at grandma’s place. There weren’t any vinyls of psychedelic rock either, just cassettes with old country songs. If that wasn’t enough to dismiss his hippie past, my old man was also adamantly against the legalization of pot.

The words stuck in my mouth like leather boots in the mud. “I haven’t told this to anyone before but the reason I act like a maniac is him.”

Not even Laura, my ex, was aware about the issues I had with my father after a decade of relationship. She just assumed it was part of my overall personality and I couldn’t blame her. There were no secrets between us, not until near the end in any case. Laura couldn’t have guessed I kept something so important for her.

I was a good liar.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t feel like it.” Elincia said, caressing the palm of my hand with her thumb. More than the Governess comforting one of her kids, the contact felt intimate.

The Changeling raised its eyebrows just like my father did when he expected me to admit wrongdoing. It might be a coincidence but that night I had a lot of confessions to make. Elincia deserved the truth after everything she had done for me.

“I want to tell you this. It might sound strange, but I want you to know everything about me.” I said, feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Effects of denial are subsiding. You have obtained Denial Lv. 3. Temporary.

For the first time, I didn’t feel like rebelling against the System. Sure, the System was still playing some sort of sick mind game with me, but I didn’t care anymore.

“Before you say anything, I’m aware I’m a weirdo.” I said.

“Just in the right amount.” Elincia replied, softly bumping onto my shoulder.

The contact gave me courage to keep talking.

“I’m aware I act like a maniac quite often. It’s not a new behavior and I can’t do anything to avoid it.” I said. “Everything. Choosing a teaching career, working an obscene amount of hours every week at the expense of my relationship, donating all my herbs to the orphanage while having no money, picking a fight with the Marquis, choosing the orphanage over the Imperial Library. Every decision I’ve made was because of him.”

Elincia leaned closer, her presence comforted me as I tried to put words to feelings I had never communicated. My chest ached, as if my body rejected the idea of displaying my vulnerability. It was ironic. A hundred times I had told my students to freely express their feelings and yet I couldn’t do it myself.

“My father wasn’t my real father. My real one was long gone by the time I was born. James Clarke wasn’t my biological father and yet he devoted his life to me. He spent his life looking after me when he could’ve been doing a hundred different things. He was the best father I could ever hope for.” I said, my voice almost breaking with accumulated emotions. “Deep down, I’m a weak person. But, somehow, my father managed to harden me, to turn me into an actual human being.”

Elincia’s fingers intertwined with mine, offering me her silent support.

“He died before I could repay him, so I figured I had to do the same thing he did for me. I became a teacher. I worked long hours and amassed all these titles but in the end nothing wasn’t enough to repay him. I have to give more and more, otherwise this sensation of ungratefulness won’t go away.” I bitterly said.

At that point, my voice was barely louder than a whisper.

“In a sense, I’m just like Holst and the Marquis. I’m using the orphanage for my own selfish benefit. Unlike you, I’m using the kids to settle this debt I have with my father.” I said.

Elincia’s eyes were filled with compassion and tears.

A lump was forming in my throat but I didn’t know if I should spit or swallow. That was it. I had laid it for her to see, my deepest secrets, my Achilles heel, my bare heart. If she wanted, she could crush it with a single word.

Elincia shook her head.

“I think it’s okay for your motivations not to be completely pure. I also think it’s okay to want to repay kindness with kindness. You are not in the wrong there, Rob.” Elincia cupped my cheek and forced me to look at her face. “I might be a little biased, but you are nothing like them. You are here in the mud, day after day, teaching the kids while others turn a blind eye. That makes you far from selfish and you should know it.”

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my words, but Elincia’s words had struck a chord inside me.

“It doesn’t change the fact I’m haunted by these feelings. No matter how much I do, it never feels like enough.” I said.

“You can’t pour from an empty cup, Rob.” Elincia interrupted me.

“I can’t stop. I’ve been like this for too long, this is what I am.” I replied, my voice filled with desperation. During the last years I had abandoned my teaching career thinking the feeling would go away but little did I know. It made things worse.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Elincia gently combed my hair out of my face.

“It’s alright. If you are going too fast I’ll slow you down and I’ll remind you that you are not incompetent for slowing down as long as you keep going.”

The weight on my shoulders felt a little lighter. I’d been an idiot for pretending I could accomplish everything by myself. I glanced at Elincia’s eyes and noticed she was doing her best to not burst into tears. A weak smile tugged my lips. I just needed to find the right person to lean on and ask for help when I needed it.

“Thank you for having my back.” I wasn’t able to completely hide the gratitude in my words but it didn’t bother me. After our conversation, Elincia knew me better than anybody else.

“Always. No matter what happens.” Elincia winked back, letting go of my hand.

We faced the Changeling, the embodiment of my insecurities, but it had already changed its form. Not having to see my father in the face again was relieving. However, my respite didn’t last long. The Changeling had adopted another appearance who would haunt me by the next month. This time, the Changeling looked like when I was a kid.

I stretched out my hand to cover Elincia’s eyes but it was too late. My chubby baby face, my bowl cut, my round glasses, a shirt with sassy text printed on it, every single aspect of my most awkward phase was on display for Elincia to see.

“Oh my, you were so cute!” She said as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

“Can we not dwell on that phase of my life? I was a walking disaster without fashion sense.” I said, hiding my face in my hands.

Elincia’s laugh was warm, without any trace of mockery.

“Oh, come on, Rob. You were adorable.” She teased, pulling my hands from my face so I could observe my past self silently performing a Kamehameha. The form was perfect, which added even more to my embarrassment.

I begrudgingly spread my fingers. Regardless of how my past self looked and acted, Elincia had the incredible skill to make me feel comfortable with it. For a moment I thought it wasn’t that bad. Then the Changeling stopped with the ki techniques and just stood in front of us. It was worse than I expected. My awkward mannerisms and my goofy expression were almost enough to kill me.

“Aged like fine wine.” Elincia poked my ribs, sending a painful signal across my body.

“You know two people can play this game, don’t you?” I grinned, my face still blushed.

It took a second for Elincia to realize the meaning of my words.

“Robert, no.” Elincia tried to cover my mouth just to turn around to face the Changeling. “Don’t you dare!”

“Don’t you dare!” The creature replied.

Before Elincia could do anything, the Changeling morphed into a tornado of black mana particles. Just as I did a minute before, Elincia tried to cover my eyes but it was too late. Standing in front of me there was a younger version of Elincia. Short fashionable hair, black eyeliner, black leather jacket and high boots, and a whole lot of belts.

Her smug defiant expression made her look like a seasoned corsair.

The orphanage must have been through its golden age, because Elincia’s clothing looked brand new. What’s more, that dark, slightly ‘piratesque’ style fit her to perfection. Unlike my ungainly past self, the young Elincia looked like the real deal.

“That was my Sky Pirate phase.” Elincia sighed as the Changeling walked around with the elegance of a peacock and the killing intent of a cat.

“Elincia…”

“Robert, no. You have to be kidding me. I looked ridiculous. Look at that aberration. You can tell from miles away I was not mentally all there.” Elincia replied, consternated. “No, no, no, and a thousand times no. I refuse to look like that ever again.”

A man could dream.

* * *

The third day of our expedition into the Farlands was a strange one. As usual, Elincia opened the march with me closely behind, but this time we had a third companion closing the march. Despite Elincia’s prediction, the Changeling didn’t get bored of us. For some reason it had grown fond of me and refused to leave my side.

Elincia was annoyed with the Changeling copying her younger version so I convinced the small monster to adopt a different appearance. For the time being, the Changeling looked like my mother’s dog, an old Bernese Mountain Dog with silky hair and a long hanging tongue.

I honestly couldn’t resist scratching it behind the ears, even if I knew it was no dog.

“Who’s a good boy?” I asked and the Changeling answered by violently moving its tail.

The Changeling ran forward and licked Elincia’s hand while she was crouching, glancing at the border of the forest.

“Damn beast!” Elincia yelled.

“Damn beast!” The Changeling barked back in Elincia’s voice, but she snapped around at it with a glare that made it cower.

The Changeling ran back and hid behind me, whimpering with its tail between its legs.

“Can’t you control it? It’s going to get us killed.” Elincia yelled again.

As we went up the mountain path, the magical fog had become thinner but still there was a white wall that prevented us from seeing very far.

“You heard the lady, you help watch over the forest or you are off the team.” I said with my hands on my hips.

The Bernese Mountain Changeling gave a groaning whine before walking away from us while sniffing the ground.

“I told you it would get tired of us, it’s in their nature. They copy one or two memories and then they leave… or people kick them out.” Elincia said as she observed the forest. The mana swirling around her eyes told me she was using one of her skills to amplify her sight.

I understood why people disliked Changelings, not only did they spy on people’s memories but they also took human form without being one. Even in my world there were various stories about evil Shapeshifters. People seemed to have an instinctive fear for things pretending to be persons.

“The wolves are still near, they seem to be running away from something. You can’t see it but over the eastern mountains the Rok Harpies are uneasy.” Elincia said, pointing towards the mountain range crossing the forest. “We should hurry, I don’t want to get trapped in the Farlands if this turns out to be a Monster Surge.”

We didn’t waste time discussing our next move and resumed the hike. The terrain grew increasingly rough as we climbed the mountainside until the animal trail disappeared completely.

“We are getting close.” Elincia said while trying to catch her breath.

As we continued through unmarked paths the landscape began to change. The trees grew sparser and the stones larger until we were surrounded by nothing but jagged peaks and expanses of gravel. The wind howled with wrath, threatening to beat us to the ground, but we pressed on, stumbling with rocks and climbing increasingly steep walls of stone.

I couldn’t help but notice the amounts of mana swirling around us, as if someone had summoned those sudden gusts.

“One last push!” Elincia yelled.

I pulled my cloak over my head and pushed forward.

After another hour of climbing with my face down to avoid the cold wind, Elincia grabbed my hand and pointed towards the valley. My mouth opened in awe. The fog had disappeared. Miles and miles of dark forests, deep valleys, jagged peaks, and silver rivers stretched before us like a diminutive diorama. A sudden dizziness seized me. The Farlands pulsated like a living organism packed to the brim with mana, and we were immersed on it.

“You okay?” Elincia fought the wind to make herself heard.

I gave her a thumbs up as the dizziness abandoned me, leaving only amazement.

“This would be more fun without the constant threat of monsters!” I yelled and my voice echoed against the mountain. Even the wind had suddenly stopped.

“Are you crazy?! That’s half of the fun!” Elincia replied.

Monsters meant experience, experience meant leveling up, and leveling up meant progress. I rolled my eyes. The memory of the Stone Giant was still fresh in my mind, and yet, I was curious about what kind of skills new levels will bring me. I blamed the hundreds of hours I played RPG games, but maybe I was getting infected by Elincia’s philosophy.

“Where are we going anyway?” I asked.

“Mister Lowell’s secret harvesting spot. Not even the Sentinels know it exists.” Elincia said, unable to contain her excitement.

My train of thought was crushed by the sight of the Bernese Mountain Changeling sprinting like an arrow directly at us. Suddenly, a gust of wind whipped us mercilessly and I fell to the ground. My eyelashes froze on contact.

Elincia’s eyes shone with magic.

“An area spell.” She muttered as she pulled me to my feet.

For an agonizing moment, the gelid wind seemed to penetrate into my very bones. Fingers of ice crept up the mountainside, almost touching the Changeling’s heels. We turned around and ran uphill as far as our legs allowed.

The loosened rocks made me falter and my lungs burn with liquid fire.

“The entrance is near!” Elincia gasped.

The Changeling barked from the top of the slope, prompting us to hurry up.

Elincia grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. When we reached the top, I raised my head and saw a shadowy cave in the mountainside hidden in the depths of a ravine. Behind us, the frozen claws gained ground on us.

Without a second thought, we slid down the ravine and entered the cave just as the ice encroached the mountainside.

“It’s going to get us killed!” The Changeling yelled as the cave entrance started freezing.