The noise of someone complaining disturbed my rest; my eyes opened a little, but my vision was still blurry. All I could make out was someone going back and forth in a hurry. As my vision cleared, I was able to see the figure. Their muscular arms and well-built physique gave them a formidable appearance; their crimson hair reached down to their neck, and their visible ear pointed out. Hmm, a young elf? That was probably the Spirit Bearer, but weren't they supposed to be beasts? Whatever, my only knowledge about them came from Darak's memories, which might be invalid at this point. I made some noise, attracting the elf's attention as I attempted to support my body to get up, forgetting that my left hand wasn't available at the moment.

Ah, we were still in my domain; I understood why he seemed distressed. I was glad that my weapon was still unconscious. Could it switch form on its own? I would probably test later. I dismissed my thoughts as I noticed the elf approaching me.

"Human, Phantom, or whatever the fuck you are, I don't care anymore. How about you get us out of this creepy place before I lose it?" Oh my, for how long have I been keeping that guy here? I never knew how this place felt to outsiders, at least it felt home to me. I just hope he didn't go around--oh well...

"Did the sound of silence stress you out that much, Mr. Spirit Bearer? Or did you run around looking for an exit?" I questioned him with a smirk painted on my face. "You could have waited for me to awaken. Why did you torture yourself?" I asked him, what could have been worse than running around in circles? Right?

"I'm an elf, please! Get me out!", That's Interesting, what was an elf doing all alone in this forest? A level thirty won't make any progress here, no? Something felt wrong. Maybe I should--

"I beg you! Thank you for granting me freedom but I can't take it anymore," Ah yes, the elf. His scream brought my attention back to him. Too much stuff was on my mind right now, so I pushed them aside for later as I recalled my domain back. The darkness slowly collapsed leaving me alone in the cool breeze. The moon sailed across the sky illuminating the quiet forest below it then a thought came to my mind. Did you leave this guy inside? Darak questioned me as my vision wandered, did I just leave him inside the domain? Whoops, I kind of forgot I had to touch him to bring him out as well. I quickly recalled my ability, the elf sat curled up on the dark floor shivering, his head shoved between his knees. My silent arrival didn't seem to affect anything until I started making my way to him.

He looked at me as if I was his only savior, giving birth to a couple of bad ideas which I could use later. I reached out to the elf and placed my hands on his shoulders as I retracted the darkness back into my body, leaving us both outside. Finally, his mood seemed to improve, although not by much yet.

Time passed as I waited for the elf to recover from his state. Meanwhile, thoughts about the parasite rambled in my head. What did it do exactly? After searching my counterpart's memories for a while, nothing was found. It was as new as the elf being a Spirit Bearer. It made me question how long Darak lived, how long he had been imprisoned in that cave, and by whom. Were they even alive by now? I couldn't sense anything else other than his hunger and the will to live as a human among humans. Or because he never encountered anything similar. A part of me hoped that it was behind my betrayal; at least it had to be responsible for their weird behaviors.

Do not make a worthless excuse just to forgive them! Darak's meaning was clear, either way, I wasn't letting go of my revenge any time soon. I was completely fine with anything other than eating them. Finally, the elf seemed to have sobered up, his cough brought my attention to him. His disheveled hair and long beard made me wonder how long has been in this state, reminded me of myself except he looked way worse. At last, he decided to speak up.

"It is nice to be an elf again after 12 years. Nice to meet you, I'm Tristan" I nodded in acknowledgment then asked him to elaborate further, I wanted to know how he kept track of time and his past in general.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Atreus! Oh, I almost forgot; I'm sorry for attempting to eat you twice. And I hope you won't blame me for it since you looked nothing more than a tasty bear to us."

"Such unfortunate meeting but I'm a little curious; Why were you classified as Spirit Bearer while you are an elf? And how did you keep track of time?"

"Probably similar to your condition, Spirit Bearer is my transformation. Although if you attempt to {Identify} me now you will find my true identity."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"That thing you killed had partial control over my body, unless I took on my beast form I would lose control of my body."

"Interesting, a clever way to keep yourself in check. Sorry for interrupting, feel free to continue..."

"It's okay, the parasite would slowly take over. No, it felt like someone used it as a means to control my body. It started small but the more time passed the easier it became for me to lose myself," He passed for a moment seemingly to take his breath then continued his tail. "After two years of leveling and struggling to keep it at bay and by heaven's grace I received my beast transformation."

"For the first time, I was able to act completely on my own. The strange influence coming from it no longer seemed to affect me," He continued, "Although it came at a price, the transformation felt unnatural and painful as hell. Then my body won't revert unless I willed it to"

"After making up my mind, I decided to distance myself from my kind. I never knew what the parasite could do in my place. I abandoned them and came to this forest, nothing seemed to have the ability to rival me until you appeared."

"Understandable, I couldn't think of a better decision. But why didn't you ask your kind for help? and what is 'Heaven' to you? I have a similar situation here."

"I did, nothing could help much against it. Some potions worked for a while then it would be completely resisted by the parasite," Then he said "Heaven, I assume your race calls it god. That's pretty much all I can think of, a belief."

"A belief? I don't think so." I made a quick statement, Narco was proof of their existence. Deep down I think everything happening around me is proof as well, Maybe I should keep that for myself for now. "Anyway, did anyone strange the moment you entered the darkness?" I asked considering the parasite revealed its existence in my domain.

"I don't recall anything past a mountain falling on my back and sending me asleep. Then I woke up later and found myself in elf form with nothing trying to control me. Happiness washed over me until I realized that I was stuck in that hell."

"I could hear nothing, feel nothing in this darkness and the further I distanced myself from your body the closer I found myself to you. It just drove me insane, even the sound of your heartbeat was so faint making me you were dying. Then you didn't seem to awaken anytime soon, making me pray with my utmost sincerity."

"I guess your prayers were answered," Well, not really. I was just asleep but I appreciated it nonetheless "I'm glad we are both fine but I still have some doubts."

"Pardon my curiosity, how are still standing despite the damage I caused to you? Ah, I can't {Indentify} so judging you is impossible. Not even the fact that you are an elf," I said making my circumstances clear. "I had to attack you to figure out you were a Spirit Bearer. And I'd have to attack you again to confirm that you are an elf, not that I have any plans to do so"

"That explains it, but I still don't understand why would you want to eat me when any of these animals could fill you up easily and comfortably," He caressed his chin thinking for a moment then he looked at me as "Whatever it is, I think it is related to your class."

"About me, my class is a hybrid just like yours. A mix between a druid and and healer, both inherited from my parents. I spent all my time casting my healing skill on myself while you were out until I was back in shape. But what about you, you seem weirder, how the hell don't you have {Identify}?"

"This is complicated, although I could explain a little but I quite don't know myself well anymore. I was born human, a completely normal human except my soul was a fragment causing me to be inflicted with Soul Decay," Then I proceed with my tale. "Then with a whim, I found myself granting my other total control over my body. We both imagined we'd become one soul, but it didn't seem like it"

"I think you are better off not knowing the rest, for your own sake." I finished keeping some details for myself, "As you can tell, I'm level 10 with strength that doesn't match my level." I assumed he could guess why since my growth was unnatural and my class was visible to him. It was time to move on from this topic. There was nothing else I wanted to know and at best his sense of time would be flawed somehow as much as mine. It's not like he had a calendar.

"I guess you are as tired as I am. We could continue later tomorrow, but do you plan on leaving this forest any time soon?" I made my inquiry, maybe if I followed him back to his home there could be someone who could do my request. I saw no reason for him to dwell in here anymore.

"Yes, I should probably return soon. I've been here for so long. Plus I miss my family more than you do," I nodded in understanding, if it was 12 years then that meant a whole lot of patience.

"How about assisting with something, in return I will take you on a flight home. You see I've been trying to fulfill some requirements that would be hard alone. I need a few corpses of any level above fifteen and with no {Identify} I'm no different from a blind man."

"You can fly?!" I expected his surprise, just not this much. I guess I had to elaborate further.

"I have an ability that allows me to take the form of whatever I ate, except my size would be abnormal. I assume you wouldn't have any problems assisting your benefactor a little, no?"

"None at all, I would gladly repay the favor. Let's do it later, I'm tired now too."

"Goodnight, although I'm in a hurry as much as you are I don't think I can fly without my left hand intact," That was another problem. Hopefully, it would heal by the dawn. I took on my serpent form and slithered up the tree, wherever he chose to sleep was not my my business.