I awaken after a night of pondering. It is knocking at my door that causes me to exit the contradictory comfort of a mattress.

Olivia, Seraphina, and I exit the inn after a meal. We would need all the energy we can get for the road ahead of us.

The road out of the city was packed with people like always, however, in one spot it was far more busy than any other. People surrounded a platform where a man with a mustache spoke loudly.

“Citizens! Can you not see that God is dead? I witnessed the hell that is beneath us, I witnessed what happens when men are left to their own accord. God would not permit this, God would permit nothing.

Monsters I tell you, are precisely what we have become. When all is relative, all is permitted. When men no longer have guidance, this is what they become. What was beneath you all along has come to the surface, you abhorrent creatures.

Possession does not occur when one is assaulted by the darkness, it occurs when one invites the evils into themselves. By inviting wickedness into themselves, they bring it to you.

Beware the gusts of wind, the pools of mud, the hail, the black snow, the hunger of the Cerberus, the pools of excrement and boiling blood, the blocks of ice, and the gnawing jaw of the greatest evil.

Earth shall burn, and I tell you, it will be glorious!”

The man was dragged off the stage and beaten by guards. No one entered the fray to help him. Yet, he was not shaken by this. ‘There is nothing that can phase me, there is nothing I have not seen.’ is what his eyes told me.

My captivation with the unfolding scene was interrupted by a tug on my sleeve, it is time to go.

Once out of the city, the two of them hopped on horses. Soon, the sound of hoofs on the dirt road would lull us into hypnosis. Time went by with haste as if it was running to escape the present.

It took two days to reach the ravine. We got over the bridge and into The Duchy of Wyrmsau without incident.

After another two weeks of travel, we reach the mountain pass. Summer has come to an end, we will experience winter in the mountains. Winter in the mountains is not a fatal risk, especially with my magic, but it will be an extra challenge regardless.

The trail itself will take six months to travel and there is only one route from east to west. Taking a south-to-north route would be an extra three months of detouring.

We stopped at a trade city just outside of the entrance. Most of the traders who began their journey in early spring had finished the journey through the mansion, thus the city was filled with people. Unlike Tharros, the people here were very unlikely to have ties to Amidonia, Aenes, or Carthigus. We could relax while here.

The traders here had rough and rugged looks to them. They built careers traveling rough and dangerous paths and carry an appearance that matches this.

The goods they were selling were all from the Magic Kingdom. Staffs, perfumes, unique metal alloys, fabrics, and many other goods that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Seraphina took a special interest in something being sold, but I couldn’t tell exactly what.

There was still sunlight, but I was very tired. I brought us straight to an inn and got two rooms like always. Before I went up the stairs, Seraphina told me,

“Ah sorry, Olivia and I have something to do. Feel free to go to sleep without us.”

I could tell by Olivia’s expression she had no clue what this ‘something’ was, but she played along with it obediently. I just acknowledged this and went to bed.

The words of that man in Tharros invaded my mind and echoed through my head as I closed my eyes. Before I knew it, I found myself on a street corner in my old world.

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New York City, a place I had only been once in my life. Yet, the image is clear. Behind me a girl is crossing the street, she is either finishing high school or starting college. She is walking while reading a book.

In front of me is a man with a draw, facing another man. Both of their faces are blurred. Standing in the middle of the street is a man wearing the red robe of a minister, with a wreath upon his head.

The moment I am done taking in my surroundings, the man with the knife lunges at the other man.

I have to stop this.

I run up behind him and pull him back. With my hands on his wrists, I control the blade and drag him back.

It is only once I have moved the man with the knife out of the way that I see… The other man has a gun.

He fires it once, striking the girl behind me. Her movement ceases while forward momentum flings her face first onto the pavement. Her book falls to the ground, still open.

The man holding the knife turns to dust in my arms, and the knife drops at my feet. I make no movement to pick it up, simply crumbling onto the ground.

The man with the gun walks up to me, heels clacking on the sidewalk. In a slow movement, he raises the gun from his side and points it at me.

*BANG*

I am shot in the liver.

He turns around and walks away, leaving me lying there in my blood.

Still, there is one thing I want to see.

I stand up with all my strength, turn around, and march toward the girl. The man loudly starts to speak as I walk.

“A corrupted soul

Desperate to console with

His winter solstice

Ignorant to

What is true”

The girl who lay on the street wore the face of Seraphina. I stare for a moment at this sight, only for her body to disappear when I blink.

All that remains at my feet is a book, soaked in blood. The only words I can make out are the ones printed at the top of the page in bold letters.

‘What is Noble?’

I wake up from this nightmare without a gasp or a cry. Morning light is pouring through the window. The sun is above the houses. I overslept.

Dragging myself out of bed, I put on my gray robe over some light clothes I got at the border village. I walk with caution down the stairs to the tavern, my head still spinning with momentum.

Immediately, I catch sight of Olivia and Seraphina at a table. A long thin object covered in cloth lay across the table. Multiple mugs are scattered in front of them, they must have been there a while, drinking and talking.

“Ah, the sleepyhead has finally risen.”

“Yeah.”

After Seraphina’s joke, Olivia turned around and looked at me. A moment of excitement on her face was interrupted by concern. She rose to her feet and approached me. After inspecting my face, she asks me in a soft and concerned voice,

“What happened? You look awful.”

I touch my face, but am unable to make out my own expression. All I can feel is my stubble of a beard above a layer of smooth skin.

“When do I not?” I respond with a forced chuckle.

“You know what I mean.”

“I just couldn’t sleep, I kept thinking about the logistics of the mountain pass.”

“If you say so…”

Sensing the end of this inquiry Seraphina tries to shift the mood. With an exciting tone, she runs up behind me and guides me toward the table. I sit down and she gestures toward Olivia.

Olivia becomes excited once more as she picks up the wrapped object on the table. I have it shoved into my arms as I’m told to unwrap it.

When I pull the cloth off, I find a long gray stick with a light blue gem at the tip of it. It is a staff, a masterfully crafted one at that. It is sanded down enough that you would not get blisters from sliding your hand across it, yet you can still see the patterns from the tee it was cut from.

The gem is alluring. Clear enough to read a book through, yet the patterns within it could be mistaken for the structure of an entire universe.

The staff was cut to my exact height. It is perfect, in every way.

“I can’t… Thank you… I appreciate it a lot.”

Olivia who has been with me a while can see my genuine appreciation in this broken language. She cheerfully responds;

“You’re welcome!”

“You’re welcome!”

Seraphina takes the same attitude as Olivia and even copies her response.

With a new day and a journey one step away, we decide not to waste time after our late breakfast. Luggage on my back and brand new staff in my hand, we exit the inn and leave toward the mountain pass.