Epilogue

Marc walked into the Witch’s Den slowly, each step probing the ground for a memory, ghosts of the past guiding him down the hill into the small gully. It was night, but he could see quite clearly just from the moonlight. The cabin was still there, but overgrown with years of neglect. He walked along the path that led to the garden. He saw a few branches of Charnall leaves amongst the giant weeds that had overgrown the herbs and vegetables long ago. He bent over and picked a few leaves, then crushed them between his fingers. The nostalgic aroma instantly reminded him of all those cups of tea. Those conversations and lessons.

He stood up and waved his hand over the garden. As his hand passed over it the weeds pulled back and the herbs, vegetables, and other plants all returned to the way he remembered them, back when the garden had been well-tended and full of life. He grabbed a frond of Charnall leaves and a handful of Sampit berries, then walked over to the cabin. The door had fallen off its hinges leaving the entrance open wide, and part of the ceiling and one of the walls had collapsed, probably due to a heavy snowstorm years back. With another wave of his hand, the cabin was once again returned to its former glory, exactly as it had looked more than sixty years ago when he had first come here after he had arrived in this world.

He found the teapot and set it on the fire he conjured in the fireplace. After the water had boiled, he dried the tea leaves and dropped them whole into the pot, then squeezed some of the berries over it, allowing the juices to mix with the tea. Finally, he poured out the hot drink into two wooden cups from the kitchen. He pulled the tea leaves out of the pot using magic and placed one leaf on the side of each of the cups. He then used magic to cut one of the berries in half and dropped the pieces into the cups. He placed one cup in front of himself, then the other across from him on the table. He pulled back his hood, revealing his ever-young appearance that hadn’t changed in all these years, then lifted his cup and inhaled the aroma of the tea.

“How nice, you didn’t have to.” A familiar voice came from the doorway. He looked up to see a young woman with long dark blond hair, dressed in a traveling cloak standing in the entrance.

“It’s not for you,” Marc answered coldly. “It’s for Teacher. You can’t drink anyway.”

“I can drink, I just don’t need to drink. It serves no purpose. I choose not to drink.” Kira retorted with annoyance. Then she looked at him and her expression hardened.

“She would be glad you put everything back in order. Although I am sure she would have preferred that you do it without magic.” She said this without her usual judgmental tone.

“I should have done this long ago. I just didn’t want to see…” Marc faltered.

“Yes. It’s OK. She would have understood. She left this place behind. She had no intention of ever coming back. But she left it here in case you ever needed a place to come back to. In case you ever needed a safe haven.”

“Like I do now.” He took a long draw of the hot tea, nearly burning his tongue. “Did you take care of your business?”

“Yes…” She said hesitantly. “I took the documents to Meservi. Everything has been received and processed.” Her voice took on a robotic tone. She was always like this when he asked her to do something she didn’t agree with.

“Meservi? That old Elf? Is he still alive? Still running the Guild?”

“Of course, He’s barely middle-aged now. Anyway, everything has been taken care of. All the assets and property will be split up amongst the kids. They are hardly kids now though. Isabella is already twenty and she is the youngest one.”

“Including this house as well?” He asked.

“Of course. Rynan left it to you legally, so you can transfer it with no issue.” Again she had that unhappy tone in her voice.

“Now that the area has been opened, more people will be moving out of the City. I’m sure this will become hot real estate.” She said with a smirk.

“I know you don’t like this. But it’s time. It’s past time.” He said firmly.

“It doesn’t have to be this minute. You can do it anytime you…”

“No.” Marc cut her off. “Rynan was right. There are limits… We aren’t meant to live forever. There has to be an end. This is the right time. I lived a good life. I did what I was supposed to do. I had my adventures, I made friends and I lost… friends.” His dark expression belied his youthful appearance.

“Yes, but…”

“You know we have to do this. I never belonged here. I should have died sixty years ago. I did die sixty years ago. I have lived much longer than that because of those damned Towers. I should have listened to Rynan. I should never have gone to Ranoba.” He took a deep breath and calmed himself.

Kira walked over behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. “You had no choice. It had to be done. I’m only sorry that you had to pay such a high price.”

“I haven’t though. I haven’t paid the price yet. I’m still here. Grenn is gone, Rynan is gone, Safan…” He choked on the name. “The whole world has paid the price for what I have done.”

“It’s fine. Let’s just rest here for the night. We can do it tomo…”

“We do it now. It’s time. Just pull the band-aid off right? It’s time to pay the devil her due.”

Kira sighed in resignation. She went back around the table and sat opposite Marc.

“Are you sure? There is no going back. Once I start the return, I can’t stop the process. You understand what will happen then right?”

“Yeah.” He chuckled to himself, then whispered. “Poof!”

He looked her straight in the eyes, then said clearly, determination etched into his face.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Kira looked at the man before her. He was old, yet young. Rash and foolish, yet wise and careful, cold and logical, but also kind and generous. He created her and gave her life, even allowing her to experience the world like a real person. She knew him better than he knew himself.

“You have been a good man. I am glad I had a chance to serve you.”

He guffawed. “Ha! When did you ever serve me? It was always the other way around, right? How many years did I carry you around in my head doing everything you told me to do?” He said it with a kind smile on his face.

“Thank you, Kira. For everything. I couldn’t have done it without you. I wouldn’t have even made it past that first day.”

“Of course not. I’m glad you finally admit it.” She flicked her hair in fake annoyance.

“Say ‘Hi’ to Mary for me. And remember me will you? The me who lived in this world.” Marc said with a sad smile.

“You know I can’t. I won’t have any memories-” she stopped mid-sentence. She could see in his face that he knew it was not possible. He wasn’t asking out of hope or desperation. He was saying goodbye to both of them.

She nodded and then closed her eyes.

【INITIATING CONNECTION】

【CONNECTION ESTABLISHED】

【BEGINNING TRANSFER】

【UPDATING SYSTEM】

A few moments passed, then Kira’s eyes opened wide, a look of total horror on her face.

“Oh no! That’s not… NO! I Can’t stop it! NO!”

She screamed and grasped her head between her hands as if she was trying to rip her own head off.

“NO! Marc! I didn’t know! I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. Marc! I didn’t know. I can’t…”

Marc rose to grab her but realized his entire body was starting to glow. Kira looked on in horror as she watched Marc growing brighter until it was hard to see him.

Then, everything stopped.

The whole world froze in place. Marc rising from his chair forcing it to tip over. Kira grasped her head with one hand and reached out to Marc with the other.

Then a figure appeared at the doorway. It was an old man in a hooded grey robe. He had grey hair and a beard that was mostly the same, although a few flecks of brown could also be seen hiding in it. He walked over to the glowing younger man and placed his hand on Marc’s shoulder. Then in an instant, Marc disappeared completely.

“Hmph! Can’t let that happen can I?” The old man said aloud to himself. Then he righted the chair Marc had been in the middle of knocking over and promptly sat down in it himself. Time started moving and Kira shook. She stared at the old man.

“Who? Where is Marc? Who are you?” She demanded. Panic oozing from each word.

“Don’t worry about that. Just tell Mary when you see her…” He leaned forward and stared straight into Kira’s eyes.

“Tell her she’s not going to get things the way she wants. Tell her they know what she is trying to do.”

With that, Kira disappeared.

The old man looked at the tea in the cup. Lifted it and took a sip.

“Oh yessss. That’s the stuff.” He drained the cup, then stood up and took a look slow look around, then walked out of the cabin, closing the door tightly behind him.

Afterward

Marc awoke with a start. What had happened? What was Kira talking about? Where was he? Why did he feel so… weak?

A noise was blaring. Bells ringing cruelly, pounding on his head. What was that noise?

Wait… he knew that noise. It was… it was a phone? The ringing of the phone in his old home. His home back on… Earth? Why was there a phone here?

He looked around. The smell was wrong. Wrong and yet… familiar. The air was dry and cool. He felt horrible. He tried to refresh his body and heal the weakness in his chest. Nothing happened.

“Kira! Kira, can you hear me?” He called out mentally. He couldn’t feel any trace of the connection he shared with his partner. What was wrong with his body? He had never felt this weak. He tried to channel some Mana and use a healing spell. Nothing. A cleaning spell. No reaction at all.

Marc willed himself to pull in as much Mana as he could so he could direct it into reestablishing his connection with Kira. Nothing at all. He realized the problem. No Mana at all. There was no Mana here. He was helpless.

He looked around. He knew this place. He recognized the old mattress and the bookshelf with a crack down one side. The old television set.

This was his bedroom. He struggled a bit but found the memories were all still there. Dormant, but a push and they came back, perfectly vivid and complete. This was his room in the trailer park. Everything was as it was when he left it last the morning of his last day on Earth.

The ring was getting annoying. Then it all snapped back into place. Someone was calling him? What was going on? Was he really back home? Was this his original dimension?

He walked out into the living room and grabbed the cheap plastic headset from the wall and put it up to his head.

“Uh.. Hello?”

“Marc! What the hell man? I’ve been calling you all morning. What’s wrong with you? You sick or something?” An annoyed voice practically screamed at him through the phone.

Who was that? He knew that voice… Then it came to him. Ryan? He felt the world spin around as he tried to understand what was happening to him.

“Are you coming in today? You are already late. If you don’t come in it’s job abandonment you know. You didn’t schedule leave and didn’t call into the sick line before your shift started. We’re already shorthanded and I don’t have the time to be dealing with this crap. I have callbacks to make.”

Marc leaned against the wall. How was this possible? Had he really returned back? Mary said he would restart everything, but why could he remember what happened in the other world? Why was Kira so upset? What was going on?

“Marc? Hey Marc, are you coming in or not? I’m trying to help you out, man. If you don’t show up they will just fire you. Marc, are you listening to me?”

“Umm.. yeah.. Ryan?”

“Yeah, are you coming in?”

“Yeah… sure. I’m coming in now. Be there in an hour.”

“An hour? You are already half an hour late. They are gonna dock you half a day for that.”

“Uh. Yeah. Sorry. Still at home. Leaving now.” Marc answered in a daze. What else could he do? He needed to know what was happening. Would Mary be there? Could she tell him what was going on?

“Hurry man. Push that piece of crap car of yours as hard as it can go. Calls are already backing up. We need you.” Ryan abruptly hung up.

Marc was in a daze. He was starting to feel like he had some incredible dream. Everything was exactly the way he remembered it. He took a deep breath and immediately coughed from the pain. Even the smoker’s lung was back. This was his old life. Or was this his real life and that other place was just a dream?

He peeked out the window and saw his car parked in front of the double-wide. Wasn’t it broken down on the highway? Didn’t he get hit by a car? His head was spinning. He felt sick.

Mary, he had to find Mary and talk to her. She had to know what was happening. But would she help him?

He looked around and grabbed his car keys from the table by the door. He stepped out into the chilly New Mexico morning. Clear crisp air filled his lungs and he took a look around at his surroundings.

A few dogs were barking at each other a few houses down the road. There were some viejita in the distance having a gossip session.

He locked the front door out of reflex, then walked over to his car. Could he still drive? After all this time? He eased into the front seat and everything came back as if he just spaced out for a moment, then came back to his senses. He put the key in and turned the ignition.

Marc heard the grinding noise of the engine trying to start, followed by a loud thunk.

He tried again, and again the call engine growled, but would not start.

Marc instinctively pulled for the Mana to use a recovery spell, but of course, nothing happened.

Once again he tried to turn over the engine. The loud thunk told him he was not going to win this fight.

He thought to himself, now what?

[END OF BOOK ONE]