A burst of concentrated earthen spires tear through the northwestern blockade of ravenous basilisks.

  “Now!” Lasula chants.

  The spikes immediately recede into the ground, acting as my signal to charge with all my might. The dazed basilisks fail to recover in time for me to break the circle with Lyra clinging to me as tightly as she can.

  I run, my legs kicking faster than they’ve ever gone before— Because unlike the other times I’ve ran… this time a failure to run fast enough means death by bloodthirsty monsters.

  “Here it comes!” I hear Lasula shout from the distance.

  I glance over my shoulder… to see a horde of basilisks chasing after me. And they’re catching up. I can hear their howls and the snapping of their jaws as they bite at my ankles.

  But as they near attacking range…

  A massive shockwave causes the ground underneath my feet to tremble. Thousands of spikes jut out in rings originating from where Lasula stands. The ground morphs and crumbles with the shifting of the spikes, the trees of the nearby forest creaking and falling over as the wave of attacks reaches it. The attack quickly envelopes the basilisks chasing me one after another. It’s proving to be effective. Only…

  “Marco! You must get out of the way—!” Lasula wails.

  I haven’t cleared the range yet. In the split second that they took to appear, the spikes have caught up to me. With one final lunge, I throw myself into the air. I see the spikes forming just under my feet, the basilisks getting caught one after another…

  I land and begin to roll. A massive wave of spikes is flung just past us. Lyra comes loose from me and also goes into a tumble. I soon after come to a stop… but the spikes don’t. Now on the ground and unable to run any further, I cover my head with my arms—

  But they stop. I open my eyes. The last ring extended only feet from where I sit. Any closer and I would’ve become a pin cushion. Once again… I might’ve shat myself.

  I struggle to my feet and then pace over to Lyra.

  “You alright?” I ask.

  “…Suffer eternal damnation, brutish ruffian,” she mutters.

  “Good to hear,” I grumble. I help her up.

  After brushing herself off, Lyra glances around.

  The row of spikes that shot past us must’ve been redirected by Lasula to save us. It goes on super far ahead— like a quarter mile.

  “…Where is Lasula?” Lyra asks me.

  “Doubt she went anywhere. Probably still in the center of that,” I reply, motioning to the attack radius. “C’mon. We gotta see if she’s alright.”

  Lyra nods.

  We make our way back towards the center. The spikes are mostly taller than me, and stick out at an outwards angle which kinda makes it feel like I’m going through some kinda trippy forest. All that’s left of the monsters chasing us is a bunch of dust here and there, in and around the small spaces between spikes. Apparently monsters don’t leave bodies behind when they die.

  “Ow, curses—! Suffer eternal damnation!” Lyra spouts from behind.

  “I didn’t do it,” I reply.

  “No… It was the ground. There are very small spikes as well,” she says.

  “Huh really?”

  I glance down at my feet, and can indeed confirm that even the space between the big spikes is full of tiny ones about the length of a fingernail.

  “…Do not kneel,” she says.

  “Yeah… don’t need to tell me that.”

  Lasula’s attack has some serious power to it. The spikes obscure most of my vision, but looking up— I can see that the forest has receded all the way to the edge of her attack. The rest was toppled over, the trees lying collapsed in heaps from the wave of destruction.

  As I reach the center, the spikes grow smaller and smaller, with sharper and sharper outward angles finally leading up to…

  “…Lasula—!” I holler.

  Lasula is collapsed in a small pool of blood.

  I rush up to her, Lyra right behind me. Carefully, I lift her head. Lyra paces around me, peering at the scene from several angles.

  “…She must have gone unconscious,” she says. “Landing on the small spikes must have caused her to bleed.”

  The side of Lasula’s face is bloody. But looking closer, I see that the sources are several pinpricks, confirming what Lyra hypothesized. She’s still breathing, too. That’s good.

  “Lyra, we’re gonna move her—“ I begin. But I’m interrupted by a low growling.

  Turning to the side… I see a lone basilisk creep out from around the spikes towards the forest. There’s a limp in its step. It was probably injured during Lasula’s attack.

  “…Lyra, get Lasula,” I say.

  She nods and takes her head. I nervously hold out my sword towards the creature.

  “…Are you going to fight it…?” Lyra asks.

  “D-Damn right,” I nod. “Just one… I got this.”

  The basilisk lunges at me with surprising speed. I’m taken off guard and am forced to block it with my sword. But instead of repelling it, the monster bites down on my blade and clamps it tightly, shaking its whole body to try to loose it from my fingers. It takes all my effort not to give it any ground.

  I clench my teeth and reel back my leg, drawing all my energy and letting loose with a heavy kick to its stomach that finally knocks it free.

As it’s stunned, I immediately follow up with a quick downwards swipe that strikes it dead on. But even though my sword makes contact, it ends up ricocheting off as if its scales were made of steel. The shock of it travels up my hands and forces me to drop my sword. The beast quickly recovers and bares its teeth threateningly.

  “O-Oh crap,” I mutter.

  I subconsciously bend down to reach for my weapon, but as I do the basilisk leaps at me one last time with all its power.

  Then suddenly… it bursts into a roaring flame. It wails as it crashes to the ground, allowing me to clamber away to safety.

  It’s then that I see Lasula pace up to it, her hand extended and enveloped in a dark purple glow. Whatever she’s doing seems to be keeping the beast on fire. And there’s… a dark look in her eye. A really scary look, as blood trickles down the side of her head. She keeps… whatever magic it is, going until the creature’s agonized wails pitter out to nothing as it collapses into a heap of dust.

  At first, I’m nervous to say anything.

  “…Lasula, what was…”

  As I say it, it’s like she wakes up for real. Her eyes widen.

  “I-I was… I just—“ she stammers, glancing around.

  “Was that… Flame Magic?” I ask. “I thought you said…”

  But I trail off. Based on the look she’s got on, I decide not to finish.

  “…It’s… It’s only…” she mutters.

  There’s panic in her voice. Not sure what it’s about… but I’ve gotta calm her down, somehow.

  “H-Hey, uh— Lasula…?” I say. Her eyes snap to me. I clear my throat. “Um… just… wanted to say, uh… T-Thanks… for saving me.”

  Somehow this works. I think. The panic in Lasula’s eye slowly begins to fade out. She glances towards Lyra, who gives a slow nod. She then turns back to me. With a deep breath, she laces her fingers in front of her and closes her eyes.

  “…We should move on,” she says. “If there were any more lying in wait, they will regroup soon.”

  The walk from then on was dead silent. Night had fallen by the time we stopped to set up camp, on the edge of the forest. Now Lasula sits across from me, with a campfire between us. The only sounds are the chirping of crickets, the crackling of the fire, and the soft breeze rustling the tall grasses.

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  Lyra is already asleep, with her head resting in Lasula’s lap. Lasula tenderly strokes her hair with one hand while hovering her green-glowing free hand over her own wounds.

  “…I should not have lied,” she finally says, finally breaking the silence. “And I hope you understand that I can’t tell you my reasoning.”

  I sit cross-legged, bouncing my leg.

  “…Well, I was gonna keep my sword a secret from you, so… I guess we’re kinda even. Or something.”

  She smiles.

  “You are smart to be cautious,” she says. It’s then that the look in her eye begins to sadden. “…The world may be at peace now, but there are yet some who would abuse your powers if given the opportunity. Train your eye to distinguish good intent from bad.”

  “Is that why you don’t want people to know about your Flame Magic?”

  She hesitates.

  “…My vow to non-violence was a promise to the world,” she says. “And my vow against Destruction Magic is… one I pledged to myself. Please understand this is all I am willing to share.”

  “O-Oh…” I mutter. “Oh—! Oh, yeah… sorry. I’m done.”

  It’s not that I’m not curious. But I won’t push my luck with the woman who saved my life three times already. And… I don’t wanna make her feel uncomfortable…

  Lasula finishes healing her wounds, and settles her free hand in her lap. Her eyes wander down to the sleeping Lyra, and another soft smile grows on her lips. She continues to idly brush her hair with her fingers.

  “…I will say that I vastly overestimated my ability,” she says without glancing back up. “It has been… years since I tested my magic to such an extent, and I never realized how much I had receded.”

  “Holy crap, you mean you were even stronger than that?” I say.

  “Indeed,” she nods. “…I once carved a trail one mile long into the rock face of a mountain, wide enough for a caravan. Knowing my limit now… I wouldn’t make it a quarter of the distance. Maybe… I really am due to continue my training…”

  “Huh?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing,” she says, waving dismissively. “However, on the topic of training… I noticed you have excellent posture when wielding your sword. Of course… your footing could have used some work. I surmise that you have experience in swinging your sword, but not fighting with it. Is this correct?”

  “Well yeah, I did practice swings basically every day. Never had a teacher, though,” I say, resting my head in my hand.

  “Well… I might be willing to train you, if it interests you,” she says. “I am not as knowledgeable with the sword as I am magic, but… I know my fair share.”

  “R-Really—? Hell yeah!” I burst.

  Lasula hushes me with a finger to her lips. She points down to the sleeping Lyra, then rests her hand in her lap once again. She puts on another smile.

  “…Now, Marco… I am willing to teach you, but only on one condition,” she says. “A sword should only be used in defense of yourself and others. Reckless youth often seek conflict… But that is one place I will not allow you to go. You must promise me you will not use your sword to inflict undue harm.”

  I pause. A certain memory comes to mind, from years ago. I reflect on it for a second.

  “…I’ve been in fights before, with some of the older kids back in the village,” I say. “But I never really started any of those. They’d punch me, and I’d punch them back. Only… after the first fight… I realized I was way stronger than any of them. The thought of being the strongest was entertaining. I’d beat them back. I’d even start fights because I knew they’d always take the bait. After a while though, I started to realize something. That… it made me feel like shit. I liked the power, but… when I realized I was just hurting them, it… A-Anyways, I stopped getting into fights with them after that. I… never wanted to hurt them…”

  Lasula doesn’t say anything. She only smiles.

  “…Aargh—! Why the hell did I say that?!” I spout, clutching the sides of my head. “F-Forget it! All of it!”

  “You are very prideful… and yet incredibly empathetic, it sounds like,” she says. “If you understand… then we’ll start training tomorrow.”

  “R—Really?”

  “Nothing major at first. Your footwork is something you can practice while we walk,” she replies. “But for now… Why don’t you get some rest?”

  “O-Oh, I’m… not all that tired just yet,” I say. “Y’know… I think I’ll actually take a bit of a walk, in the, uh— in the woods over there. Won’t be long.”

  “Oh?” She pauses. “Well that’s fine, I suppose. But here… It’s dark, so I’ll give this to you.”

  She holds out a hand, and it begins to emit a warm light. From her palm, this… small orb thing pops out. She bobbles it in her hand a bit. It seems to have weight, and takes a while to sink back down after she lightly tosses it into the air. Once it lands again, she throws it one last time, this time towards me. I catch it, and feel it with my hand. It’s warm, and kinda feels like a sac of water in my palm.

  “That should be enough light for you,” she says. “And don’t ask how I made it unless you want all the boring calculations and subtle methods I used to invent it.”

  “Won't ask. Got it.”

  “Be safe.”

  It’s only once I’m plenty far enough away from Lasula’s earshot that a queasiness washes over me, my pounding headache growing way too severe. I put a hand against a tree and hunch over, breathing heavily through grit teeth.

  “…I thought I was done with you,” I mutter.

  A voice pops into my head. The voice… sounds like it’s mine.

  “A decade of training— and you were nearly killed by a single wounded monster… It must really be eating you up inside.”

  “Sh… Shut the hell up. I’m supposed to be done with you…”

  “Fresh wounds… pry open old scars.”

  “Go to hell…”

  “You ran from your problems. And right about now… I would imagine your childhood sweetheart is making love to her betrothed… in their forever home, with promises of creating a loving family. How many nights do you suspect you will awaken and become weary that there is another man sleeping with the one you love— at that very moment?”

  “Piss off… Piss off… Piss off…” I curse, knocking my head against the tree.

  “…But it’s all because you are weak. We are weak. What did we do the other day when those townspeople cursed our existence? We ran. When they attacked, we hid behind a human shield. And again when the monsters surrounded us. The only courage we had was when there was one left and it was inches from death-— and we still failed. Because we are weak.”

  “Go away, you little bastard…” I mutter.

  “Oh, I will… for now. But every night you will awaken and recall what I said. What will you do then? Will you curse your feeble heart and slowly give into your anger? When you do… that is when I will return. I will always return.”

  It’s not a demon whispering things into my ear. It’s not a ghost that invaded my head. It’s the personified voice of my collective thoughts I’ve kept shoved down deep inside me. Thoughts like the undeniable truth that after everything I told myself… I’m not over Sera. That I wasn’t strong enough to keep her from leaving me behind. That I’m still weak, that I’m still scared… That no matter how strong I get, I can never win her back.

  …But I’ll keep going anyways. That’s all there is left to do.

  “…Alright, old friend,” I mutter, pushing myself off from the tree. “We’re weak, huh—? Yeah, sure as shit checks out. So I just won’t be. Screw off… and see for yourself just what kinda man I’ll become.”