Lucas moved on to the next patient, and the process of extracting the corruption was easier this time, even if he didn't have the guiding presence of the fae circle helping him along. Now that the monster possessing the goblins had abandoned the area, the corruption within the surviving guards did not fight back so much either. The...ease and abrupt-ness of it all felt wrong, but he wouldn't linger on that thought.

He moved to the next patient.

After the majority of the goblins started dropping, those that didn't became understandably panicked and started fleeing. Lucas wasn't sure if all of them died in the end--frankly, he didn't want to press his luck by entertaining the possibility too much--but at this point, the forest was quiet. He went about his task to the sole noise of his companions breathing and shuffling in their sleep.

He moved to the next patient.

This had to be the longest night of Lucas's life. Looking at the sky, there was still no way of telling how far off dawn was. He felt like it should have come already, but maybe that was just his weariness talking. More than ever before, Lucas felt drained. Each survivor he freed from corruption saw his mana replenished just a little bit, and his newly evolved [Unflagging Physique] Skill would probably make it so he could go for days more, but it was just a lot.

Maybe I'll take a break from leveling, fighting--everything, after this.

Lucas just wanted to sleep, and not worry about anyone's safety for...a week? A week would be nice. But he did not forget that his peace was now on a timer. The creature that possessed the goblins and started all of this would come for him, eventually. Maybe it would be best if he just left now, so that when it came for him, his family wouldn't be caught in the crossfire...

Lucas moved on to the next patient, and he stopped. The woman he stopped before was far more disheveled and dirty than the rest. She looked as if she had been beaten as well. All the other survivors had been in good shape, aside from the corruption, but not this woman. He took a moment to wipe the caked dirt and dried blood from her face a little, then sat back in mild surprise.

It was the guard's commander, Iltani. Lucas wasn't quite sure why he was surprised because, in some way, it made sense that the highest-leveled [Warrior] that set out with the ill-fated hunting party survived. He'd just kind of assumed she hadn't. In his subconscious mind, he'd still thought the only way they could have been captured was if the Commander died, but here she was.

In this state, Commander Iltani did not look like the great [Warrior] Lucas had always taken her to be. She looked old and weak. The highest-leveled fighter in the village, and the monster made her look like this.

Lucas pulsed [Arclight Renewal] and extracted the corruption from her body, adding it to his authority in the way the other being had shown him, then moved on to his next patient. For a time, he didn't think of anything at all and just went about his task mindlessly. It was remarkably difficult to cull his lightning-quick thoughts, but he managed to set aside his worries for the moment.

He moved on to the next patient, followed by the next, until he had freed every survivor of corruption.

And when there was nothing left to keep him moving, Lucas let himself fall right to the ground. He didn't even bother locating a comfortable-looking clod of grass to rest in--anything would do, so long as he wasn't on his feet anymore. He rolled onto his back, limbs splayed out, and looked up at the dark sky.

What am I going to do?

As much as he wanted to see the world, he didn't want it to be like this. The village was his home. Quinn, Belinda, Eugene, Mary--even Harry, for all that their relationship had started out horribly. Lucas didn't want to leave any of them. His plan had always been to explore the world and return to the village between adventures.

...but if being around everyone puts them in danger...

A face flashed before his eyes--one belonging to a woman he couldn't remember. The one his mind had impersonated the last time he had a vision of his past and urged him to wake from. The one who called him Adam. Lucas watched as his mind replayed the moment of her death, and he knew it was his fault.

Staying wouldn't be the first time my presence put those I love in danger.

Lucas shut his eyes tight, but he couldn't immediately banish the fragmented memory. A downside of his mental Skill, perhaps, or maybe he didn't want to forget. As painful as the image of that woman run through with a sword was, his mind clung to it like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood. Eventually, however, the image did go away.

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Lucas knew what he had to do, so even if all he wanted was to shut his eyes and let sleep take him, he got back to his feet and started walking. He passed by Harry, where he was curled up into himself, not quite relaxed even in his sleep. He passed by Belinda, where she rested loosely in complete exhaustion, the previous hours' exertions having left her with too little energy to remain as rigid as Harry. Lucas passed by his mother and Eugene, where they laid nearly side-by-side, facing each other.

He lingered there for a couple minutes, but eventually he had to go. If he stayed too long, there was a good chance he wouldn't be able to follow through with what needed to be done. Lucas kept walking toward the edge of the circle, only for thee silence to be broken by a groan and the sound of someone rousing.

"Nnnrrm...urgh, Lucas?"

Lucas turned and met the bleary eyes of the man that was the closest thing he had to a father. He froze, for a moment uncertain, then he turned fully around and moved so fast, he might have accidentally activated [Quick Step].

"Oof! Whoa, kid! Give me a moment," Eugene complained as the force of the momentum Lucas carried into the hug knocked them both back to the ground.

"You're okay," Lucas said, but buried as his face was in the man's chest, it probably didn't come out all right.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," Eugene assured him and patted his back. "What happened?"

"You almost died, or maybe something worse," another voice answered, and they both looked over to see Lucas's mother awake, watching them with the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "But you're okay now."

Lucas tried to get up and let Eugene rise as well, but Mary took the moment to shoot forward and wrap her own arms around them both, knocking all three of them to the ground all over again.

"Oomph," Eugene and Lucas both blew out at once. Lucas was pinned between the two adults, but despite the somewhat uncomfortable arrangement, no one moved for several minutes. When they did finally separated, the three of them simply rose to a sitting position, but stayed within an arm's reach of each other. Eugene got a good look around the surroundings for the first time.

"We're...in a fae circle, surrounded by dead goblins, with my sister..." he called out each detail as his gaze drifted around the area, until he stopped on the other survivors of the hunting party, "...and far too few guards." Eugene looked back to Lucas and Mary, and repeated his earlier question. "What happened?"

"A lot," Lucas's mother answered, "where should I even begin?"

"I remember setting out with everyone and finding the monsters' camp outside the Dungeon," Eugene recounted, "but everything after that is just a dark blank."

"Well," Lucas started, "for us, it all started when the goblins launched an attack on the village..."

Together, he and his mom recounted the events that had led all of them to the fae circle, from the battle and the first sign of the corruption, to the battle against the first corrupted vessel and extraction of the survivors from the monsters' camp, all the way to their luck in coming across a fae circle. Lucas had more than a little to personally explain regarding the corruption and almost everything he'd personally been a part of, but he kept the explanations brief for the time being.

He wasn't sure how to describe the beings that kept speaking to him--both the one that helped, and the one that stood behind the goblins--so he kept those particular details vague. Some of it was tied to his memories of his past life as well, and he wasn't ready to share any of that yet. He never lied, however. Lucas's reluctance to share everything was helped along by the fact that there was still so much he didn't know.

Eugene reacted strongly to two parts: first, the corruption, realizing that it was almost certainly the reason behind his missing time; and second, to hearing about the danger they went through to get him back. That second one in particular brought a measure of panic to his expression, and he held tight to Mary's hand as they explained everything. He only spoke when the tale was fully completed.

"You-you could have died..." he stuttered. "Coming after me put you all in danger, you shouldn't have--"

"Shut up." Mary firmly interrupted. "You think we'd just leave you? No, not when there was anything we could do about it."

"That's right," Lucas agreed.

Mary continued. "We stick together, Eugene. Always. So long as we're together, we will always make it through."

Eugene opened his mouth to reply, but had to shut it again when he choked up. He swallowed and paused for a moment, looking into Mary's eyes. He squeezed her hand, and when he could speak again, he only said three words. "I love you."

Mary returned the squeeze and answered, "I love you too."

"Come here," Eugene held out both his arms and wrapped them both in another hug that lasted much longer than the previous one.

For all that Lucas joined in the hug, his mind was stuck on a single sentence--the words replaying in his head repeatedly. So long as we're together, we will always make it through. That's what his mother said, and it resonated with something deep inside him. They didn't know. He didn't tell them that he'd been about to leave before Eugene had woken up, and the man himself hadn't even asked what Lucas was doing so close to the fae circle's edge. But those words were exactly what he needed to hear.

"You and me, Ana. So long as we're together, everything will turn out alright."

"It's a dinner with my parents, Adam, not a duel to the death. I don't know what's got you so worried."

"A duel is nothing to worry about, but your mother..."

In the memory, Ana--the very same woman Lucas had been seeing in his visions--laughed, and the sound seemed to lift a physical weight off of Lucas.

"You're right, my mother. But it'll be okay. We will be okay, together."

As quickly as it had come, the new memory flitted away, but it left Lucas lighter in its wake. That time was gone now, and in the end, he and Ana had been separated. The exact circumstances behind their deaths had not yet returned to him, but in addition to what he'd learned from the new memory, Lucas knew one thing.

He'd fought to the bitter end to stay by her side. No matter what name he went by, he wasn't the kind of person to leave people behind, and that would not change in this life. Whatever threats awaited in the future, they would face them together.