Since he had chosen to save those people and assist in the killing of that giant creature, his companion had been absent during that affair. After a few minutes of wandering through the toxic green fog however, Lar eventually reappeared on his shoulder managing to catch up.

He grabbed her from his shoulder and held her up to his face. She tried to escape by moving her legs rapidly. She soon gave up however letting out a heavy sigh.

“You want to explain why you didn’t help me out back there with fighting that giant?”

“I actually have a really good explanation for that.”

“Out with it then because your absence made things a lot more difficult for me and them.”

“Well here’s the thing. A lot of humans aren’t exactly fond of familiars, especially those humans we came across. If they knew you had a familiar they would’ve been even more openly hostile towards you so I decided to let you handle things to keep our relationship a secret.”

“So the relations between our two kinds are that bad?”

“That’s probably the kindest way to word the relationship between us. You see there was this war that happened a long time ago—”

He let out a yawn disrupting Lar’s train of thought. He then dropped Lar back onto his right shoulder.

He was so tired after that fight that he was ready to fall right asleep so he sat himself down beside a big dead tree trunk and went unconscious mere seconds later.

From the recesses of a sleeping mind, the haunting vision that he had experienced when he first began this new life came once more. The pain coming from a crystal-like blade entering and exiting his body over and over again felt entirely real. And as his body eventually burst into flame, he thought he could get a glance at the one who was actively inflicting all of this upon him. But no matter how hard he concentrated on their face, it would not register to him completely. The only details he could tell about them were that they had long brown hair and that they were male.

The vision of his last moment of his previous life came to its end once more providing him with no answers to his past or anything that might illuminate his current situation.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Lar in his lap breathing in and out. He ran his hand across her white fur and saw her open one of her eyes waking from her slumber.

The cusp of morning was coming. The sun hadn’t begun to reveal itself fully but the morning glow began to take to the horizon.

He thought to ask a question that had been on his mind as Lar woke up. “Tell me, and tell me truthfully. Am I human?”

“You seem human to me,” Lar said after a yawn.

“According to that woman I helped save yesterday, humans can’t survive in this fog so wouldn’t that suggest I am something, other, than human?”

“I would take whatever a nut like her thinks with a grain of salt. Besides, that’s just her speaking in generalizations. Who knows, you could just be naturally tolerant of this fog. All I know is that I can’t tell a difference between you and any other human as far as souls are concerned.”

Lar didn’t seem to be lying to him, but he honestly couldn’t tell. The unfortunate reality was that his knowledge of the world was limited and that meant he couldn’t be completely sure whether his companion was telling him the truth. He figured if he could ever find and locate a trustworthy source, he could verify all of her claims but it could be a long time until he ever found such a person. Once he did find such a person however, he would unload on them and be able to better tell whether his companion was truly trustworthy or not. Until then, he could only speculate as to whether or not some of what they spoke to him about were either truths or mistruths.

He lifted his arms over his head and stretched out those long hairy legs of his. His body felt worn down after that fight against the giant. Sleep had failed in healing him sufficiently but he did in fact feel mostly rested after the long uninterrupted sleep he managed to get.

By around midday, they had managed to gain some more progress heading towards their goal of reaching some kind of human civilization. According to Lar, they were only a few days away from Liall which was supposed to be where all the humans lived at in this domain. They had been journeying for so long at this point, that he hoped he hadn’t been tricked into winding up heading completely towards the wrong direction from such a place.

But there was no sense in worrying too much about it despite still holding some skepticism towards Lar even though she had helped him on plenty of occasions at this point.

I can’t be too picky with the company I choose. This world is rough enough as is. I can’t afford to remain alone under these odd circumstances. Even with a somewhat potentially untrustworthy companion, he preferred having her rather than being all alone. Isolation in a world as cruel as this one would’ve made things far less tolerable. It was truthfully thanks to Lar that he had managed to travel these desolate lands and maintain his sanity.

For those reasons alone, he had decided to continue having an amicable relationship with Lar and so long as they proved useful he wouldn’t mind having them around. The troubling scenario however that he did entertain was if she ever proved to not be useful. He had signed a soul contract with her and ridding himself of it could pose an issue. He wanted to avoid that possibility at all costs. Contracts sure can be troublesome things. But there’s nothing to be done about it now. What’s done is done.

His stomach growled as they passed through a bit of land that appeared almost entirely flat and barren of anything but soil beneath his bare feet.

He hadn’t had a single thing to eat since he awakened without his memories. It was beginning to drive him mad. If he wasn’t careful, he imagined himself grabbing Lar and having her for dinner.

She was thankfully unaware of that passing thought. She simply strode along the ground walking just a few feet ahead of him.

“So, I’ve been thinking just a little bit,” she began to say.

“What is it?”

“That fighting you showcased yesterday. That was kind of impressive.”

“You think so?”

“Sure it was! You may not have been the one who had slain it but you held up your own remarkably well for someone that hasn’t really ever fought properly before with, you know, this new life of yours. It at the very least makes me feel better about me joining my soul with yours.”

“If you say so.” He was still kind of irritated thinking about how Lar hadn’t helped him out during that conflict. Of course her excuse was that she didn’t want to make it obvious that he had a familiar as a companion but that was the sort of convenient excuse that any lazy bumpkin would use. ‘Oh there’s no way I can help you! I would have only made it worse I promise mister!’

“I’m curious,” he began to say only for her to look at him funny.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Curious about what?”

“Whether or not this city we’re heading towards is truly the last real civilization for humanity. It’s kind of sad to think that it’s all there is for an entire species.”

TShe sighed realizing she was about to have to explain more details to him. “Listen, it’s a bit more complicated than that. It’s the last remaining civilization in this particular domain, of which there are five total.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“Here, let me compress a big ol’ tale for that tiny brain of yours. Long ago, there was an event known as The Great Fracturing. This was a calamitous event that separated our planet into five domains. And when I say separated, I don’t mean like the planet was split up physically or anything like that. Instead there’s this energy or force that has enveloped our world. We refer to this force as a distortion or rather, a distorted reality. This energy however does not fully envelop this planet leaving us with five domains not fully touched by it that allows people like us to still exist.”

“I take it then traveling between them domains isn’t easy then?”

“Yes. There are two ways to travel to another domain. Travel through the distorted reality or create a portal to another domain. Neither of those two are easy by the way.”

“And what exactly is this distorted reality anyways?”

“Frankly I don’t have a full grasp of it myself. You’d know if you saw it but basically in every domain, you’ll only be able to walk so far until you run into it. It’s what separates the five domains on this fractured planet and it’s also where many think these monsters come from.”

“So which domain are we in?”

“We’re in the fifth domain. And if you ask me, it’s one of the least bad domains out there.”

“You mean to tell me there are worse places out there than this hellscape?”

“Sure there are. Just be glad we’re here in this domain and not in the others. We’ll go spend the rest of our days living out in the city of Liall and settle down there. There’s plenty of problems in that city but it beats pretty much every other place if you ask me.”

“If that’s the case, why are you hundreds of miles away from there?”

“I—” His question had made Lar hesitate in wanting to answer. “I don’t really want to talk about it. I have my reasons. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Now you’ve just made me more curious. While he wanted to go into more detail, he also didn’t want to pressure her. Whatever it was that caused her to want to avoid the city, apparently, it wasn’t enough to keep her away forever.

After several more days of travel, the fog began to disappear and all of the land ahead of them was clear of it altogether. A giant pillar jutted out of the ground and went high up into the sky. It was made out of a white stone with hard-to-see runes carved onto its surfaces. At the very top of the pillar, a faint greenish aura moved around like fire.

“You can thank pillars like that for allowing a city like Liall to even exist,” Lar said from atop his shoulder.

He observed the pillar and thanked it for serving its purpose. He had grown so tired of breathing in that toxic fog that he couldn’t begin to describe how happy he was to be rid of it.

“They have a bunch of these pillars all around the outside land that surrounds the city to keep the humans that live in this area alive. If it weren’t for them, humanity would’ve long died out here in this domain.”

“What exactly do the pillars do anyways?”

“Well, they’re what produce the fog that we’ve been wading through for months now.”

“Wait, these are the reason my lungs have been suffering?”

“Well yes, but before you get angry, there’s a good reason for it.” There had better be otherwise I’m ready to take some pillars down. “The reason for the pillars has to do with the monsters outside of these lands. If it weren’t for the fog, there’d be entire armies of them swarming this domain. The queen who rules over these lands is who had them constructed a long time ago to serve the purpose of keeping the monsters from spawning out there.”

He had trouble wrapping his mind around purposefully having a toxic fog envelope all of the lands outside of the pillars immediate proximity.

Compared to the rest of the desolate landscapes he had been traveling upon, these lands were instead covered in farmland. And unlike all the areas they had wandered through where the fog ruled, these parts flourished with green grasses, green forests, hills with multicolored flowers, and actual animals such as one with antlers atop its head looking over towards them.

“I wish I had a bow or something to kill that thing,” he said aloud sad that the deer wouldn’t fill his belly. As they neared it, it ran off across the grasslands.

“Don’t worry. It won’t be all that long until you can get your hands on all the food you could ever dream of. I think you’ll like it here. It’s not perhaps the most safe location for someone such as I, but I much prefer its dangers over the ones outside of it by a long shot.”

He would take her at her word. As they walked onto an incline and eventually reached the top of a hill, a giant city only a few miles away awaited them far off on the horizon.

To say it was beautiful would not do it justice. It was simply magnificent. From atop this hill at this particular vantage point, he could get a good top-down perspective of the city. It had massive white walls which surrounded it and many hundreds, if not thousands of buildings within with some being impressively large. And unlike the pillars that kept a circular parameter miles away from the city, an even larger pillar lay directly in the center of this city casting its long shadow across the city reaching all the way outside its tall white walls.

She hopped off his shoulder and looked out as he did. “The city of Liall. A jewel surrounded by filth. It is where all of humanity for the most part have chosen to be within this domain.”

So much of this domain had been in utter ruin, that to see a place full of life and beauty, had a way of pulling at his heart and causing him to grin as he took it all in.

He did not delay in their approach to reach the city of Liall. He gladly approached finding it to be even more impressively massive as he neared its southern gate. They walked by more farmlands that existed right outside the city and he waved towards the people who worked on the farms. They wore dirtied clothing but they still appeared far cleaner than him. He also still wore what was practically a burlap sack over his body that made him look unappealing to a civilized person and even off-putting he imagined. Perhaps his nice smile could sway their minds to his side.

So far he hadn’t been given any grievance when entering the city. The guards who kept guard near the gates on the outside and the inside paid him little mind. Their plate armor was similar to the kind that those fighters who he had saved days ago wore except their capes were blue instead of green.

And he hadn’t noticed it until now whilst he strolled more into the city, but Lar for whatever reason had decided to disappear.

“Where’d you go,” he said telepathically.

“I should probably find an alternative way inside. I wouldn’t want them to see a familiar just walking on through here. That’d be a bit awkward for them and I. I’ll come and meet with you soon I promise after I find another way in.”

It was becoming more and more clear that familiars were seen in such a negative light to such a degree, that he had better not get caught having her with him. Fortunately so far it didn’t appear that anyone gave him much thought as he waltzed through the city motioning by the folk all eager to do their business for the day. He was just another man going about his own business. And he preferred for it to stay that way.

Most people who saw him probably didn’t think much of him honestly. He wasn’t particularly impressive to look at. He looked like any other bum off the streets. In many ways, he’d fit right in at wherever the slums were at. A few bums in fact were around although not many. He might have to chat a few up and see what they thought about things. For now however, he had other things to do.

While some of the buildings inside Liall were white much like the walls which surrounded the city, some buildings were given the opportunity to exhibit a bit of color. One building painted in a light orange had a signpost dangling outside of it showcasing a pony on its hind legs drinking ale somehow. The place was aptly named The Drunken Pony.

His belly growled again demanding he find something to eat. Unfortunately, it was only made worse as he could smell the wonderful scents emanating from within the inn. Its front door and shutters were all open allowing the food being provided to its clientèle to reach his nose.

My, oh my, he thought to himself as he rubbed his belly. I’m not sure I can think of anywhere else to go but inside there.

But he was in a bit of a tricky bind. He didn’t have a single bit of coin which posed a serious problem. How am I to fill my belly if I don’t have coin?

He then realized. He had to get a job. And where better to work than at this inn that surely had an opening for someone such as him.