All falxes dropped dead. it had to be the easiest fight I had faced so far. We didn’t give them any time to react or even understand the situation, as they fell one after another.

I didn’t need to use femryn’s jolt because realm slip was far more efficient, which I used with sublime precision. I killed three of them, and Yukina settled with two. We approached the falxes very differently. While my approach was quiet and calm, appearing in front of them to land a fatal strike, Yukina was loud and aggressive as she faced them head-on and overwhelmed them with brute strength before landing fatal blows.

Eliora assumed a battle position as she faced the entirety of the demons with Evren by her side. Lady Charlotte, Maven, and the other five casters provided support, firing a barrage of spells at the demons.

It was dark but constant flashes of spells conjured in different forms and colors, flying from one corner to another, painted beautiful pictures of the battle scene.

Lightning tendrils crackled all over Evren’s body as she shot bolts of it at the demons charging at her. I knew Eliora was predominantly a fire caster, but she tended to favor using ice spells, making me wonder if ice was stronger than fire and its deviants. I watched her as she encased the demon closest to her in an ice capsule, abandoning her to figure out how to break out of it while she faced another one.

Evren didn’t seem to notice that we were done with the falxes since she and Eliora engaged the demons at almost the same time we took on the falxes. Yukina was thinking exactly as I was. We decided to proceed without Evren.

We charged at one of the demons, drawing his attention toward us. Though he was hooded and wore a scarf, I could quickly tell he was male. We managed to isolate him from the rest and made him face us.

Our plan was simple. Yukina would keep him occupied while I attacked his blind spot. I felt the fight had to be easier since it wasn’t the first time we went up against a demon. We were armed with enough experience, so we could pretty much anticipate what he would do.

The demons had a unique fighting style. Every demon I’d watched practically fought the same way. They attacked with whatever spell they had at their disposal and defended with spells that materialized in a solid form. It had to be something they were taught in training since every one of them did the same thing.

The demon Yukina and I faced wielded lightning and ice, and even with the experience we had, Yukina found it difficult to land a clean hit on him because he defended so well. Being involved in the fight and watching everything unfold up close, it was astonishing to see the speed at which he conjured spells to defend against Yukina’s attacks. I kept saying to myself,

“This speed can’t possibly match realm slip.”

I was a passive participant in the fight, almost like the only thing I did was watch Yukina do all the work, even though I was just sticking to the plan. Some spells conjured by the demon managed to find their way toward my direction, and I simply used femryn’s jolt to push them away from me. All I needed was an opening to land a clean stab on his nexus.

Practically, Yukina had had the most experience fighting against a lightning caster since she’d trained with Evren all her life. I wasn’t trying to compare Evren with the demon, who was probably a stronger lightning caster than Evren, but that experience paid off, considering how she approached and handled the fight. She knew when and how to strike and defend against bolts of lightning that were shot at her. Each time lightning hit her body, I shook with fear. Though she appeared unscathed after each hit, I couldn’t help but imagine if they landed on my body. A single lightning bolt was enough to kill a normal person or an unprepared caster, but she stood, taking multiple hits. It was one of those moments which made me appreciate how powerful a stillbringer she was.

It wasn’t the first time I saw tiny lightning-like sparks crackle and course through the blades of Yukina’s swords. I had always wanted to ask her what they were but each time, I forgot. Yukina pressed as she shattered a wall of ice erected by the demon while taking hits from several lightning bolts. Everything was happening so fast in real-time, and though I didn’t switch into the grey domain, the whole action seemed to unfold slowly before my eyes.

The demon was focused on Yukina, or so I thought. His back was completely wide open.

“This is my chance,”

I switched into the grey domain as I triggered realm slip. I marked my destination behind the demon. Though I couldn’t explain how I could do the things I did, I just knew how to do them. I could feel a hungry force pulling me inside the gateway I somehow managed to open. I let myself get sucked in as I instantaneously appeared behind him, ready to drive my sword into his back to where his nexus was located.

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To my bewilderment, an average-sized slab was conjured just in time to meet my sword. I could tell from the shape of the slab that it was roughly conjured like something done hastily. Though I shattered it with the thrust force I was already exerting before the slab was conjured, it bought him just enough time to react before my blade reached him.

The demon side-stepped and changed his stance, repositioning himself so that Yukina and I stood on adjacent sides, with him in the middle. Though the ice slab he conjured did damage control, he was quick to react and reposition himself.

I was still surprised. There was no way he consciously conjured that slab of ice; it wasn’t just possible. I knew how fast movement was using realm slip; blinking was enough to miss it. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he was able to do what he did even when he didn’t see me coming. It was simply mind-blowing.

We were at a standstill. No one pressed. The look on the demon’s face was a relieved one. He knew he was so close to dying, so he had to be more cautious. Yukina was already giving him enough trouble, and I just happened to make things even more difficult for him.

Our brief moment of ceasefire opened the floodgates of thoughts in my head. I remembered Crit and his medallion.

“These demons might have an artifact or something of that nature that helps them defend so well against conjured spells,” I said inwardly.

I didn’t want to think about how it worked, but I believed it didn’t stretch beyond the horizon of possibilities.

I readied myself in the grey domain just in case any spells came flying toward me. I felt a sharp pain flash across my forehead. I thought the pain would subside after a brief moment, but I was wrong. The pain intensity increased steadily until I held my head, screaming. I couldn’t keep myself in the grey domain anymore because it was apparent that I had passed out.

I found myself in a familiar environment, a pitch-dark emptiness with a ground covered with very shallow waters. I sighed,

“Why did you bring me here at this moment? You might have just killed me you….”

I was on the verge of cursing but managed to refrain from doing it.

“I’m pretty sure Yukina is doing a great job keeping you from harm’s way,” a familiar effeminate voice echoed.

“Besides, if you die, I am as good as dead, too,” she continued.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“It seems you’ve gotten stronger. Now I can fully merge my consciousness to this body, your body.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

The darkness slowly faded away until the once sight-impeding environment became bright. It was still an unusual scenery. I was standing in a white room that had no bounds or corners.

A figure approached from a distance, an effeminate one. She had to be the one speaking to me. As she drew closer, I could probably make out her features. She was wearing a sleeveless white dress which she allowed to get wet as she waded toward me.

Her figure was finely cut in the right proportions, and if perfection was a person, I sure was looking at it. Her skin was pale, almost white, and she had long white hair dressed in a way that matched her oval-shaped face. I couldn’t describe what she looked like, out-worldly was the best word I could come up with.

She stood in front of me, and every word I intended to speak disappeared from my mouth.

“At last, we meet. My savior.”

“W-what do you mean?” I stammered.

She smiled at me,

“You will know with time,” she replied.

She stretched her hands,

“You need help, don’t you?”

“I….I….”

“Take my hands. I can help you.”

I was reluctant. Though I didn’t know who she was, I believed she didn’t mean any harm. I slowly stretched my hand to meet hers, unsure of what would happen when they met but hopeful for the best.

Her hands were soft, almost fragile like a newborn's.

“How can someone’s skin be this soft,” I queried myself.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened as I kept on staring at her. I started to feel changes in my body. I didn’t need anyone to tell me that I was returning to the real world as the place started to fade. Both of us held hands one moment, and the next, she was very far away from me, slowly vanishing from sight.

“Your name, what’s your name?” I screamed.

“Darya,” her voice echoed before she completely disappeared from my sight.

* * *

I found myself lying on the floor. I slowly opened my eyes and still felt some pain in my head. I panicked a little as I shot myself to my feet, remembering that a lot of fighting was happening around me. I heard Yukina’s voice scream,

“Svan, are you okay?”

I was relieved, Yukina was well and alive. From the look of things, I understood that I wasn’t passed out for so long, maybe a minute at most. I refocused my attention on the demon. We needed to find a way to kill him as quickly as possible.

Evren seemed to notice we were done with the falxes as she started running toward us. I smiled because she was about to make things easier for us.

“Can you hear me?” A voice asked.

I turned around reflexively, searching for the source of the voice. It was Darya’s voice, but I couldn’t understand how she was able to talk to me.

“Darya, is that you?” I asked inwardly.

“Isn’t it obvious, or are you just stupid?” She said, giggling.

I didn’t know how to respond to her mockery disguised as a question.

“The way you wield my powers makes me sick. You can’t even do the bare minimum.”

It was hard to believe that she was the same sweet-looking person I had just met moments ago. It was apparent I made some sort of connection with her the moment I took her hands wherever that place was.

“What does she mean by her powers?” I queried myself.

I heard Darya’s voice again,

“Say the words, please help me.”

Though it was difficult to understand what was going on as many questions needed to be asked, I felt obliged to do as she said.

“Please help me,” I muttered slowly.

Something strange started happening to me. I felt a weird kind of connection to my body. It felt as like I was watching my body from a distance, even though I could still feel myself in it. I moved, and it felt odd, different. Before I could get a grip on what was happening, I found myself running, charging at the demon alone. It wasn’t my intention, yet I wanted to do it. I was conscious, I knew I could bring myself to stop, but I didn’t want to.

The demon turned in my direction, and his eyes met with mine,

“This is going to be fun.”