A few days had passed ever since I came to this remote mortal village. I would like to say that time has passed relatively peacefully, with Syra occasionally leaving us to 'take care of some business.'

I'm sure we all knew what taking care of business entailed, and honestly, I was simply happy to be able to finally sit down and relax. Although being restrained to a mortal form was anything but comfortable, I did manage to get used to it.

The same could not be told about Ynos, however, as he constantly grumbled about the flimsiness of his newfound limbs. Unsurprisingly, Essie was the one most comfortable and happy about our arrangement.

I stretched my arms as I walked downstairs, a yawn escaping my mouth. A quick glance toward the living room revealed a collapsed Ynos sleeping on the couch. Sitting on the table were both Sidus and Immy playing with what looked like a chess board, and from the looks of their faces, Sidus was losing.

Little Essie was floating about around them, a bored expression on her face as she glanced at their game with disinterest. The second she saw me, her face perked and she hastily flew over.

"You're finally awake!"

I gently ruffled her short green hair with a smile, "What did I miss?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Essie landed before me and replied, "Nothing much, Ynos is not leaving the couch, and Sidus and Immy have been playing that game all morning."

Just then, Sidus's enraged voice reverberated across the first floor, "You can't do that!"

"Of course, I can, you idiot," Immy replied with a roll of her eyes.

"It's against the rules," he insisted.

"Just because you don't remember them, doesn't make it against the rules," Immy sighed.

"They've been at it since they woke up," Essie whispered by my side.

"I see," I glanced around one final time before I hunched to whisper in her ears, "In that case, how about we get out of here?"

Her eyes widened, and she hastily nodded. "Yes!"

I nodded and motioned toward the door with my head. Essie turned to look at the others before she silently made her way out. The door creaked as she opened it and sneaked outside.

"You leaving?" Sidus suddenly asked.

"Yeah, I'll take a walk around the village. Besides, Essie seems bored to death as well," I replied, earning a nod from Sidus.

"Don't stray too far, and try not to use magic in front of the villagers. They already know we are not normal, but there's no need to frighten them." Immy suddenly added.

"Yes Mom," I replied nonchalantly.

Once outside, I was greeted by the bright gentle sunlight peeking down from behind the clouds. My hand moved almost subconsciously to shield myself from the light as I adjusted myself to sudden brightness.

"Come on! Let's go!"

An over-enthusiastic Essie suddenly grabbed me by the hand and dragged me away from the house.

The second we stepped out, a lot of eyes were on us. Most people gave us warm smiles with a few nods here and there. Looks like Syra was very well-respected around here, I mentally noted,

The village itself was nothing impressive, it was quite simple, with mostly one-story high stone buildings. Occasionally we would come across some two stories high ones.

The roads were surprisingly clean, and I was surprised by the lack of bad smell. As far as I knew, villages like this weren't quite well-known for their ideal hygiene standards, this one, however, was surprisingly clean.

'Syra's doing, I would assume,' I inwardly mumbled.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Our short trip soon landed us in what looked like the market area. Some Vendors were settled on the ground, with a few shops open shops in between. The market was mostly for fruits, vegetables, and meat.

A few rare ones seemed to sell weapons, and I managed to spot one that looked like it sold clothes. Essie was skipping about next to me, her eyes shining as she kept glancing at everything.

Her lively and cute appearance quickly attracted the attention of the vendors and marketgoers, and sure enough, some began to offer her some of their wares.

An Apple here, a strawberry there, a meat skewer here. Not long after, Essie was walking down the street with a massive grin on her face. Her cheeks bulged as she kept throwing food into her mouth.

"Slow down, no one's going to take them away from you," I chuckled.

"Itsh delichious!" She replied.

I gently flicked her forehead and answered, "Don't speak with your mouth open."

"Oww!"

****

By the time we finished our walk, the sun was close to setting, casting a beautiful orange hue in the sky. We found ourselves standing at the entrance of the village.

The guard gave us a slight nod but otherwise did not stop us from leaving. We continued our walk until we were out of sight before Essie used her magic, causing wind mana to swirl around us and carry us toward the top of the mountain.

The wind howled around us at the peak as we glanced at our surroundings. The celestial mountain range was still as beautiful as I remembered.

I sat down, content to simply watch the sky and the distant mountains, while Essie flew toward the sky, soon disappearing amongst the clouds. I could still sense her presence, however, so I was not worried.

Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes for a second, lost in the moment before a slight steer caused me to open them and turn to my right.

My heart skipped a beat, but I tried to maintain my calm. I didn't stand up, instead, I turned to continue enjoying the view.

The sound of steps echoed through the mountain peak and soon came to a stop before me. My attention was divided between the newcomer and Essie's presence, high in the sky.

"Greetings, Voidwalker," he said, his voice surprisingly normal.

"I prefer, Aether," I replied calmly.

"My apologies then, Aether," he answered and sat down next to me.

I couldn't help but turn to glance at him once more. His features were that of a normal middle-aged elf, with short blonde hair and a few strands of grey. He would have looked completely normal if not for his dark obsidian eyes lacking pupils, and his disgusting aura.

"To what do I owe this pleasure," I replied, trying to keep my tone neutral.

The 'man' looked at the sky and spoke, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

I frowned, but still replied, "It is."

"But none of it is real."

His words made me raise my brow.

"We do not belong here, Aether. All of this, it's all but a cage meant to hold us."

"Is that so?" I responded.

"I am aware of the prejudice you hold against me, against us. But I promise you, we merely want to be free, to set all of us, free."

I remained silent, as the man stood up and gave me one final nod before an abyssal darkness opened and swallowed him whole.

Right after that, the figure of a Chronicle materialized next to me. His slit-shaped pupils bore down on me with a strong pressure that caused me to frown, before he disappeared.

"Tsk, I just wanted to take a walk," I grumbled.