Chapter 39 : Kiss Me

Elvaria steps toward the key on the ground and kneels to pick it up. She gently grasps it between her fingers before turning to Valentin and me.

"Do you know where the exit is?" she asks, her eyes scrutinizing us, searching for an answer.

"Yes!" we reply in unison, without even thinking.

Alfira, exhausted from the battle, is still deeply asleep. Elvaria approaches me to hand over the key, before carrying her on her back. The young princess of Iveralm falls asleep instantly, her face peaceful. I can’t help but think that carrying someone who’s asleep like that must be awkward, but after all, she’s never experienced such an adventure. I understand her exhaustion.

"Shall we take a break on the last floor?" Valentin suggests, his gaze scanning our tired faces.

"Good idea," I reply, visibly relieved.

We then head toward the cathedral, using our movement skills to leap from the ground to the top of the hill where the massive building stands. We cross the main hall, made of dark, imposing stones, the echoes of our footsteps reverberating off the immense walls. The main room, which Valentin and I slightly damaged, stretches before us. We approach the circle engraved on the ground, its glow barely perceptible in the darkness.

"Well, it’s time to move on. Can you redo the ritual?" Valentin asks, placing his hands on his hips as he stretches.

"The thing is... Alfira is still asleep, and..." Elvaria murmurs, hesitant.

I finish her sentence for her, smiling.

"Yeah, she deserves to rest. Besides, she’s really adorable when she sleeps, a striking contrast to her usual rambunctious side. Let’s leave her be."

A light silence settles, floating in the thick air of the cathedral. Valentin and Elvaria slowly nod, clearly agreeing with me.

But… How do we move to the next floor? No idea. I take the moment to observe the room around me. The atmosphere of this place overwhelms me with a strange nostalgia. Who was worshipped here? I don’t know, but whoever ruled this place must have been of great importance to the inhabitants of this fallen city.

I admire the gothic details of the cathedral, the architecture, the broken stained glass. This ambiance reminds me of…

– Of paradise, isn’t it? Aleystria… the worst of all the gods.

Suddenly, a voice echoes in my head, and in an instant, I’m transported to another dimension, a sort of waking dream. My eyes struggle to adjust to the brilliant light surrounding me. I’m overwhelmed.

When my eyes finally reopen, I find myself in a suspended garden, floating above the heavens themselves. The ground is covered in a carpet of shimmering clouds. Below me, infinite celestial expanses stretch as far as the eye can see, and above, another sky, infinite and vibrant. It’s as if I’m in a divine temple, balanced between two worlds. The air itself feels filled with purity, charged with a celestial energy that my senses struggle to contain.

Majestic columns rise all around, decorated with ancient patterns, and shadows... figures float on the horizon. Hundreds of indistinct shapes, all looking at me with enigmatic smiles. These smiles… They seem bitter, as if something important still escapes me, but they also exude a kind of quiet happiness. Why? I have no idea.

I squint, trying to make out the figures in the blinding light. Then, one silhouette stands out among them... I clearly recognize...

Suddenly, everything disappears in a blinding flash, and I’m abruptly brought back to reality. I’m back in the cathedral, everything is just as before. Time hasn’t moved for them. But... did Elvaria see something too?

"Elvie, did you have some kind of vision?" I murmur, my mind still clouded by what I just experienced.

"No? Did you have one?" she replies, visibly concerned, but before she can delve deeper into her thoughts, something catches our attention.

The circle engraved on the ground suddenly begins to glow brightly.

"What?! The key just got inserted into the circle without anyone doing anything!" Valentin exclaims, stunned.

Before our astonished eyes, the key begins to sparkle more and more intensely, before disintegrating into a shower of luminous particles. The door to the next floor has just activated.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

But how... and why...?

Alfira slowly wakes up, climbing down from Elvaria’s back with slow movements, as if something is irresistibly drawing her. She squints her eyes, still tired, and murmurs while staring at the floor.

"Divine magic inscriptions..." she says, her voice barely audible.

Intrigued, Valentin crouches down to examine more closely the glowing engravings shimmering on the floor. However, his expression suddenly freezes.

"I can’t read this language..." he admits, a little embarrassed.

Elvaria also crouches in front of the glowing circle, carefully avoiding stepping inside to prevent being accidentally teleported to the next floor. She scrutinizes the symbols with particular attention, her lips pressed into a thin line. Then, slowly, she begins to read aloud the inscriptions that have just appeared.

"Humans, in their tireless desire for life, became invincible. We had to contain them, regulate them, but one day, one of them discovered our sacred magic, the Stria. Through this forbidden knowledge, he transcended time, becoming an immortal being. He was not alone, for others followed, all driven by the same quest: to survive, no matter the cost. But their quest was also ours. And thus, under the will of the world, the one who created our two existences, the Holy War was born. A divine conflict that forced us to fight each other, to destroy one another, until complete annihilation. At the end of this celestial cataclysm, only..."

Suddenly, Elvie’s voice falters.

"I can’t read the rest," she says, standing up, visibly perplexed.

I nod, thoughtful. "Let’s go to the next floor and finish this."

Without a word, Valentin grabs his sword, steps toward the circle, and disappears instantly in a flash of light, teleported to the next floor before our eyes.

"I’m going too," announces Elvaria, adjusting Alfira, still asleep, on her back. "It should teleport her too." She calmly steps toward the circle and disappears as well.

I find myself alone in the ruined cathedral. The silence is heavy, filled with a strange serenity. I take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself, then step toward the teleportation circle. A flash of light envelops me, and for a fraction of a second, I glimpse a familiar figure. A smile filled with sorrow floats in the air. I try to focus, but the light blinds me, and finally, I’m teleported.

When the light fades, my eyes open to a breathtaking sight. I find myself in an immense clearing bathed in a soft light, exactly what I had glimpsed in my vision at the inn. Blue flowers cover the ground like a carpet, swaying under a gentle breeze. At the center of this idyllic place stands a modest house, solitary but magnificent in its simplicity. Seeing this place, a certainty dawns on me.

This is home.

I see Elvaria looking around, tears brimming in her eyes. She too seems overwhelmed by a sense of nostalgia in the face of this landscape. Meanwhile, Valentin has wandered off to observe a lake that winds between the towering mountains surrounding this hidden valley, where the house stands.

I feel an intense desire to stay here, to never move again. This place makes me want to stop, to simply exist in this peaceful beauty. But I know it’s not possible.

"Aley, did you know such a... beautiful landscape was hidden deep inside this dungeon? Look at the sky, it seems so real. Even the sun seems to move. Is it possible there’s a day-night cycle here..." Valentin says, lifting his gaze from the lake where he had been staring to the false sky above us.

Elvaria then speaks. "I wish I could wake Alfira so she could see this. It’s really beautiful, it was worth going through that hellish dungeon," she says, still with Alfira asleep on her back.

"I’m already in love with this place," I say with a smile, before continuing. "Let’s go inside the house and find a spot where you can lay Alfira down and let her sleep."

At my words, Elvaria and Valentin head toward the solitary house, and I follow close behind, my heart racing.

We finally find ourselves in front of the wooden door of this simple home, and yet... my heart pounds, as if the very idea of entering awakens something deep within me. A troubling anticipation, almost oppressive.

"I’m going in..." murmurs Elvaria, visibly as nervous as I am. She slowly pushes the door open, revealing the inside of the house.

The interior is warm, almost ordinary for a medieval world. Everything is made of wood, a large wolf fur rug covers the floor. It’s warm, and a soft sense of safety envelops us. A wooden staircase leads to the second floor, probably where the bedrooms are. The ground floor holds a modest living room, a kitchen, and well-organized storage spaces.

"I’d love to live here," says Valentin, a dreamy smile on his lips as he surveys the place.

"But that’s impossible, we’re deep in a dungeon," I reply with a touch of realism, though the idea is terribly tempting.

Elvaria gently places Alfira, still asleep, on a wooden chair in the living room.

She then speaks, her confident tone contrasting with her visible emotions.

"There’s a way to access this place whenever we want," she declares with surprising confidence, a mischievous smile lighting up her face.

Her green eyes sparkle.

"How?" I asked, a smile forming on my face in turn. The idea of being able to return here is far too tempting to ignore. Even Valentin seems to be hanging on her lips, waiting for the answer.

"Aley and I, we can create a link with this place," Elvaria explains. It makes sense—if this place is connected to our former existences as Aleystria and Elvaristria, then it would be logical that we could access it at will.

"And how do we do that?" I pressed, intrigued by the process.

"Well, uh..." Elvaria stammers, her cheeks suddenly turning scarlet.

"Do I have to leave...?" Valentin asks, visibly uncomfortable with the situation.

"Yes, please. Just a few minutes, it won't take long," replies Elvaria, her cheeks red, but her smile betraying a certain mischief.

Valentin, without asking any more questions, steps out of the house and waits by the door. Now, it's just me, Elvaria, and Alfira, peacefully sleeping on her wooden chair in the living room.

"Aley..." Elvaria begins softly, breaking the silence.

"Kiss me," she whispers, determined, though her cheeks are still a bright pink, a shy smile on her lips, but with an unshakable certainty in her gaze.

"Kiss you?!" I exclaimed, surprised.