SVAN CHORYTH

I opened my eyes to find myself lying on a grassland that stretched beyond what I could see. I didn't panic because I had an idea about where I was. I helped myself to sit up though I felt a little fatigued. Darya was sitting right in front of me.

“I knew it,” I remarked.

Her pale skin and white dress contrasted the greenery of the whole area, almost like a dent in it. She stared intently at me, wordless, and I couldn’t help but wonder why she looked at me that way. I didn't know what exactly to say to her, but it would be awkward if we just stared at each other.

“Why does the scenery of this place change constantly?” I asked Darya.

“It changes into whatever I want. Do you have any problems with that?”

“No. Not at all.”

“How long have I been asleep here?”

“Quite some time, though I would have preferred it remained that way.”

I nodded slowly,

“I see. You know, I am struggling to understand you, everything about you. Just like now, you are putting on this facade of hostility, this passive-aggressive behavior. One moment, you are sweet, and the other, I don't even know what to say. Is it just you, or is there more to it? Because I don't understand.”

“You've been asleep here for quite some time and I've been sitting here, watching you sleep. You...”

Darya heaved. She didn't finish what she was saying, stopping herself from saying more. She paused momentarily, wearing a faint frown on her face.

“She is just annoyingly beautiful,” I muttered.

“How much longer do I need to keep babysitting you here?” Darya said, clicking her lip.

“This is very frustrating, I need my peace.”

“Too bad. I don't know where you want me to go. This is my consciousness, remember? If anyone should leave, it's you.”

I felt like I needed to come at her strong, just to see how she would react. Her reaction wasn't what I was expecting,

“As if,” she scoffed.

I knew I wasn't getting anywhere but I wasn't giving up. Topping off the fact that she was a difficult person to understand, she was also unpredictable.

“It's unusually peaceful here,” I heaved, ignoring the discontent on her face.

Darya didn't say anything as she kept staring at me.

“Come on, let's not bore each other. Besides, there are a lot of things I want to know and you hold answers to them.”

Darya sighed,

“I won't answer your questions,” she said.

“You know, it's unfair. You know everything about me, but I don't know a single thing about you. It's supposed to be a mutual relationship, right? One where we can rely on each other, and trust each other, but you are making it difficult for us to have such a relationship. If you don't want to tell me anything, at least give me a concrete reason why you won't, not telling me ‘it wouldn't do me any good.”

Darya just stared at me, wearing an expression that was difficult to understand.

“You are persistent, huh?” she asked.

“Not really. I just don't want to think of you as a stranger.”

Darya wore a sudden and surprised expression.

“Wait, you think of me as a stranger?”

“Wow. You didn't know? Of course, I do. To me, you are a stranger that I happened to get comfortable with.”

Darya slowly nodded,

“I see,” she remarked, speaking as slowly as she nodded.

Both of us stayed silent, and somehow, I felt guilty for saying those words to her, given that she had saved my life a couple of times. I knew that she was still looking at me, but I didn't look back at her as I stared at the ground.

“Alright, ask me your questions, curious cat.”

My eyes widened as I reacted in surprise. I was expecting her to come up with an excuse to repeat her famed “it wouldn't do you any good.” There were a lot of questions eagerly waiting to leave my mouth, yet I hesitated to say a word.

“This connection we have, it wouldn’t last for too long, right? It’s bound to end someday, right? I mean, everything comes to an end eventually.”

“Is this the question you want to ask?” Darya said, a bit surprised.

“What were you expecting? My questions are my choice, and besides, I have my reasons, so, please answer truthfully,” I said to her

“Why did you ask that?” Darya queried.

“Hey, I am not dumb you know. You've been with me for a very long time, yet you never revealed yourself until recently. There has to be a reason why you kept your identity a secret so I gave some thought to it. Maybe revealing yourself wasn't necessarily a good thing and if it wasn't a good thing, this connection is bound to end soon.”

There was a faint smile on her face,

“I always seem to underestimate the fact that you are smart,” Darya said to me.

“Yes, it has to end if you don't want to die young.”

I wouldn't say I was shocked when she remarked about dying. I was unusually calm.

“Why is that?” I asked her.

“I'm killing you slowly but you just don't know that. Two consciousness cannot exist in one being. The body can't handle the strain.”

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“That is why you keep interactions with me at the minimum,” I said slowly.

“Yes. To make matters worse, you can manipulate my abilities which technically accelerates your death.”

It was a lot easier to understand. That was the reason she kept her identity a secret and didn't let me use her abilities for a long time.

I smiled,

“Don't you think that you are being selfish? You know that you are killing me, yet you don't want to leave.”

I couldn't discern if the expression on her face was a sorry or sad one.

“I will die too if I leave, and a lot quicker.”

I nodded,

“I thought so.”

I heaved, trying to get myself to relax and properly process what Darya said to me. I didn't care if I was dying or not, I still wanted Darya to stay. Because of her, my life changed. For the first time in a long while, I felt different, I felt strong. Life just seemed to be unfair to me. Just when I thought I had finally gained abilities, it turned out that they came at a very expensive price.

I clearly understood what Darya was trying to say; the more I used the grey domain, realm slip, or femryn’s jolt, the faster I die.

“There has to be a solution other than leaving right?” I asked.

Darya didn't respond, rather she kept her face down, looking at the grass beneath.

“Well, I would take it that you don't know about a solution yet so we just have to find one together,” I said, as I stood from where I was seated.

Darya stole a glance at me and though I saw her, I pretended I didn't. She smiled and I understood what that smile meant.

“So how did you end up here with me, what happened? I asked Darya.

“Now you are asking a reasonable question,” she responded.

Darya paused, inhaling with her mouth while making a sizzling sound.

“Someone from where I came from killed me, or rather tried to kill me.

“I know, I know that.”

“Huh?” she said, a bit surprised.

“Then why did you ask?” she continued.

“What I meant was, how is it possible? It's like you are dead but you aren't, right?”

“Well, you could say that, but it's a bit different for us.”

I gave Darya an expectant stare. I wanted to ask her what she meant by ‘us’ but I decided to let her finish.

“You see, a being like me is kept alive by two forces; life force and existential force.”

I opened my mouth to speak but closed them as she signaled that she wasn't done talking.

“We share similarities with humans but the difference is that for us, these forces are separate components and we can exert some influence over them. For humans, these forces are somewhat fused. The life force is what you know as your physical condition; your beating heart, your brain, your lungs, and everything that functions to keep you alive. Existential force would be most likened to your consciousness. For you, you perceive the two forces as part of a single component, and can't separate them, but for me, I don't, and can separate them.”

“I still don't understand,” I said to her.

“If I take a knife and stab through your chest, into your heart, what will happen to you?” Darya asked.

“I will die.”

“Good. So what happens after that?”

“I don't know. Just death, one ceases to exist.”

Darya nodded,

“That’s what I am talking about. Your physical body and your consciousness cease to exist when you are dead, but for me, if I am aware death is imminent, I can preserve my existential force.”

I heaved, but I was nowhere relieved. It was more like I wanted to catch my breath.

“It’s almost like saying you, and people like you are immortal,” I said to Darya.

“No, we are not. The existential force can only survive on its own for just so long. It needs a life force to ensure its survival. Also, if we aren't able to split the two forces before we die, everything is gone as well. We cease to exist.”

“Apart from splitting the two forces, I don't see much of an influence,” I said to her.

“Probably. But just being able to perceive both forces as separate components and separate them makes a lot of difference, don't you think?”

“But we can't split both forces as we like because it can't be reversed. Once they are split, the life force dies out and the existential force survives for a short while. That is why it is almost always done on the verge of death.”

“So why me?” I queried.

Darya scoffed,

“I don't know. A coincidence I guess, or maybe something more that I don't know about.”

“Technically, you are just a parasite leeching off my life force,” I joked.

There was a frown on her face as she looked at me without saying a word.

“Come on, I was just joking,” I said, trying to shrug off the tension she was about to create.

When the frown on her face disappeared, I said to her,

“Where are you from? As weird as it sounds, I don’t think you are from this world. Based on what you have said so far, it sounds like you are from somewhere else, another world or realm. Which is it?”

“You are right. I am not from here, and I don't know how I got my existential force here.”

Darya stopped talking for a moment, looking a bit lost. It felt as though she was talking to herself,

“It happened fast. For a moment, I snapped. I thought I was going mad. I knew I wasn't going to win against him so I decided to take him down with me. I initiated a very powerful destructive spell before I split from my life force. I didn't know what happened next and I happened to find myself here. Luckily, there was a newborn nearby.”

“And that newborn was me?”

“Yes.”

“Does that mean that an existential force just like yours can only merge with the life force of a newborn?”

Darya nodded slowly,

“Yes, she said.

“And how long does an existential force last without a life force?”

“A day at most,” Darya replied.

“It isn't much, you guys could still die easily.”

“I know. Like I said earlier, I was lucky.”

I couldn't still wrap my head around the fact that there was another world with people living in it. From the way I saw it, they are a lot stronger than we were. Even Darya was defeated in a fight. There were a lot more questions I wanted to ask but I wasn't asking any because I was still trying to digest what Darya said to me. I had to accept the fact that I would come across even more dumbfounding discoveries so I had to prepare myself.

“These demons, are they from your world too?” I asked out of curiosity.

“No,” she replied.

My hopes were squashed as quickly as they were raised, but what she said opened the gates of new possibilities.

I started to feel odd, but the feeling was familiar.

“I guess it's time to leave, I remarked.

Darya’s face was beaming with a smile,

“Can't be happier,” she said.

“Hey, we still have a lot of talking to do.”

My voice was distant and I watched Darya slowly vanish from my sight. I slowly opened my eyes to find myself lying on my bed. I tried to sit up but I felt a sharp pain in my torso, reminding me that I was stabbed, almost killed. Turning to my right, I saw Eliora sleeping by my bedside. She was seated beside my bed, resting her head on it as she slept. My movement woke her up and she immediately turned in my direction.

“Svan, you are awake,” she muttered in a breaking voice.

I smiled,

“Yes.”

Tears streaked from her eyes as she sat up properly. She didn't want me to see her crying, avoiding eye contact while she wiped the tears from her face.

“Mom,” I called her.

She couldn't fight the tears anymore and started to sob.

“It’s okay, I am fine.”

She wrapped her arms around me and in between sobs, she said to me,

“Yes my sweet boy, you are fine.”