Vern and Velvet didn't see Maggie for the next ten minutes, only hearing her work in the kitchen. Although Vern was curious and wanted to look around, he didn't dare to defy her orders at this point. And unfortunately, Velvet couldn't sneak around either in his current state, so they had to be content with waiting.

Eventually, Maggie began silently setting the table for four. Right as she had finished, somebody knocked on the door, and she swiftly made her way over.

»Ah, Maggie«, a man said, greeting her with open arms. »I've heard you have finally brought us trouble with your antics.« His hair was white too, and he wore a similar entire. Rhone was behind him and followed inside.

»Shut up, Valdin«, Maggie replied coldly. »I didn't do anything.«

»Hmm, hmm. Is that so … ?« He glanced at Vern and then closely inspected Velvet lying near the entrance. »Very interesting indeed …« Valdin stretched out his hand, but Velvet moved his body away.

At first, he didn't seem too bothered by this and retrieved his hand, but then a frown appeared on his face.

»Really? Why do you have that hanging here?« He pointed at the dark cloak behind Velvet. »Can't you put your dirty clothes at least somewhere else if you insist on using them?«

»I mean, it's not like I actually invited any of you over«, Maggie replied. »Just don't look at it.«

They walked toward the table Vern was already sitting at.

»Hah, so that's the stray you picked up?« Valdin eyed up Vern.

»I did no such thing!« Maggie grew visibly angrier every time he spoke. »I haven't brought him here!«

»Yes, Rhone already told me on the way here after he had fixed the tree.« He sat down opposite Vern. »Tea?«, he asked Maggie, and she grimaced but turned around to head to the kitchen.

Rhone sat down on the chair beside him.

»Valdin, Rhone«, Valdin said, pointing at himself and Rhone. »What's your name?«

»Vern. Vern von Feuerstein.«

»Ah … Feuerstein.« Valdin scratched his chin, thinking for a moment. »Yes, I remember now. You must be Ignatius' descendant.«

»Well, yes. He is the one that sent me here.«

»Really?« Valdin was surprised and looked at Rhone. »Thought he was dead or did not that much time pass … ?«, he asked him.

Rhodin shrugged his shoulders. »I don't know. Would've guessed the same.«

Maggie entered the room holding a tray with four cups, interrupting their conversation. She elegantly placed all of them down before taking a seat herself.

Rhone and Valdin took a sip of their tea as soon as it was served.

»Delicious«, Rhone said as he put his cup back down. »Yours is always the best.«

But Maggie just grimaced at his compliment.

Vern stared at the white cup in front of him. It was elegantly crafted, with no imperfections to be spotted. The dark, green liquid inside didn't look especially inviting, and neither was the smell.

»What's wrong?«, Valdin asked, who had almost already emptied his cup. »You have to drink it while it's hot.«

However, Vern still hesitated.

»It's totally safe«, Rhone added. »Although these plants don't grow in your world, they aren't toxic to humans.«

Vern nodded, and with all eyes on him, he finally gave in and grasped the cup. Since it was only light warm, to begin with, he quickly downed a large amount of it to avoid tasting it.

The liquid ran down his throat, but the bitterness was still too overwhelming, making Vern contort his face and cough out half of what he had just taken in. Rhone and Valdin burst out laughing. Velvet chimed in as well. Maggie was quite displeased and quickly got a towel to wipe away his mishap.

Vern threw a withering glance at Velvet before apologizing multiple times to Maggie. She ignored him and took his cup with her on the way to the kitchen. When she returned, Rhone and Valdin had regained their composure.

»Well, with that out of the way now«, Valdin said, moving his empty cup aside. »Please explain to us in detail how you know about us and got here.«

»Sure«, Vern replied with his throat somewhat recovered after having emptied the rest of his pocket bottle. »But … I'll better explain the entire story. It's long and will take some time. I hope that's alright …?«

Valdin and Rhone laughed again. »Time? As if we're running low on that«, Rhone uttered amusedly, and Valdin gave him the go-ahead.

The next hour, Vern told them the events starting from the first time he died in the mountains. He tried to keep it short but precise, skipping quite a few details, but nobody interrupted him as he spoke.

After he had finished, the three silently exchanged glances, and Valdin was the first to speak up. »That's indeed quite a lot to stomach. Do you mind showing us the ring you suspect of saving your life?«

»No, here it is«, Vern replied, stripping it off his finger and handing it over. »Please tell me if you know why it didn't work the second time.«

While Rhone and Valdin carefully studied the ring, Maggie turned to Vern. »What interests me most is how Ignatius managed to live that long. Usually, humans live about 100 years, don't they?«

»100 years is already unheard of. But to answer your question, in his memories, he got an amulet from an Eldritch they defeated. So I and Velvet assume that had something to do with it.«

»Hah, interesting«, Rhone chimed in before Maggie could reply. »That amulet you're talking of definitely sounds like something Hephais has created … although for this ring, I am not entirely sure.« He handed it back to Vern. »But it is possible since I don't know about all her projects, and it has that certain crafting to it.«

Vern blinked confusedly, not entirely sure what he was talking about.

»Hah, I knew it«, Maggie said as she put down her cup. »That Ignatius fella was always one of the worst … looking down on us while wanting what we have. Oh, how he must have hated it using one of our creations to extend his life …«

She smiled depreciatingly and shook her head.

»Oh, I didn't know you knew each other that well.«, Vern said.

»Nah, not really. We met only once, but I could tell at first glance what he was like.«

Now that Vern thought about it, it made sense that Durant's animosity wasn't one-sided.

»Anyway.« Vern turned back to Rhone. »If I understand correctly, you said you know who created that amulet. Does that apply to my sword as well?«

Rhone nodded. »Certainly. If it is genuine … which it is«, he added after Maggie confirmed it with a nod. »It is one of the objects made by Hephais and company. She worked on a lot of things that found their way into your world. The sword and amulet are only a few. I suspect the other rings you are wearing are also her creations. However, they were one of the few ones with feasible to mass produce.«

Vern nodded and glanced at his fingers. He was getting answers, but the more he got, the more new questions formed in his mind.

»We're getting nowhere like this«, Valdin said, seeing Vern's perplexed face. »Maggie, go tell him about our history with his world. Only what he needs to know.«

Maggie shook her head uncooperatively.

»Oh, please«, Rhone doubled down. »You know that our memories are always way hazier than yours. And since you still visit that world from time to time, I am sure you can explain things much better than we can.«

Maggie coughed at his flattering attempt but gave in nonetheless.

»Well, what are the essentials you need to know then…?«, she murmured, leaning back in her chair.

»Alright, we begin an eternity ago, where we, later named the so-called Immortals, happily lived in this world. The laws governing nature and the environment are much different than in yours as you've probably already noticed.

Anyway, we just lived our lives, doing things until, eventually, Hephais, who was always quite interested in inventing new things, created a gateway to a whole different world. The tree you injured.« She glanced at him sternly, and Vern nodded sorrily.

»So she found a way for us to access a new world, a world with much more change and diversity than ours. We've never before experienced the difference between night and day, summer and winter, and climate zones. So naturally, many of us were infatuated by this ›new‹ and ›different‹. Additionally, there was also a species of animals, humans, that looked a lot like us but were still very different. You see, instead of just living forever as we do. They were born, then aged, and then died. Very different indeed.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

As we came into their world, many worshipped us in the beginning, but our daily life quickly became very … intertwined.«

She paused to finish her tea, giving Vern time to process the information.

»While there never were any children in our world, by engaging with these humans, all of a sudden, we could make them as well. Meaning they were essentially a mixed bread, which at this point, all humans nowadays are a part of. These new humans were different than both of their parents. On the one hand, they still aged and died like the old humans. However, on the other hand, they received our mana affinity and were capable of using it in ways we couldn't.

For that, you need to know the following:

We assume that our immortality is the cause of the mana that naturally flows through our body, regenerating it endlessly and creating the perfect biological machine. Though we have excellent mana affinity, we can't actively control it. It is just like blood running through our veins.

This new bread, however, was capable of actively controlling it to willingly enhance their bodies to our levels for a limited time. While at first, it seemed like they were just an inferior version of ourselves, it later became clear that this difference enabled them to channel mana into other things outside their bodies. Things that are known under the common name of artifacts in your world.«

She paused again as she saw Vern's urge to ask questions.

»I understand everything so far«, he said slowly. »So, are you also responsible for creating the three artifact weapons?«

»Yes, as I said. I will get into these details now. Please ask questions only after I'm finished since I'll probably answer most of them as I go.«

Vern nodded and signaled her to move on. Since she had started talking, her demeanor had become much more calm and relaxed, so Vern didn't want to change that.

»Well, so where was I … right. The first creations of artifacts. Those mana rings you're wearing were among the first feasible successes. Allowing its user to store mana in an object and drawing from this reserve at any time.

But this became problematic very quickly, as these bridged the gap between their and our abilities even more, making it even possible to exceed ours for a small time frame.

So unlike before, hostility in combination with these rings was actually a threat to our very own lives. While we've seen death in your world, we always saw it as something natural to it. But the first deaths of our kind by the hand of yours shocked us greatly and led to much chaos costing many lives on both sides. While we are Immortal by default, we are still killable.«

She glanced toward Valdin, who slowly nodded in response.

»So, yes, during that chaos, a new enemy rose out of the darkness – the Eldritch Creatures. They posed an even greater threat, as they were stronger than us and also had very long life spans.

In light of this threat, we managed to reconcile with the humans and provided them weapons that only they could successfully wield with their mana against these enemies.

That's where the three artifact weapons came from, though they were constructed to be bound to one bloodline to avoid misuse by others. The three bloodlines chosen had sworn their fidelity, so they wouldn't wield them against us.

And that's where Ignatius comes into the picture. He and the two other wielders were tasked with exterminating the Eldritch and reporting back to us when that was done.

Due to the Eldritch threat, we relocated ourselves back into this world, limiting our outside contact to a minimum. Ever since, we have been waiting for a report, but none of them ever showed up, leaving us wondering if they had succeded.

With your arrival, we now know that they didn't, and that's essentially all you need to know.«

She took a deep breath after she finished and looked at Vern, anticipating his questions.

»So … the sword I'm carrying now … how does it fit into there? It wasn't part of the artifact weapons but also made by your kind, right?«

»Yes, indeed«, Valdin replied in Maggie's stead. »It was one of the earlier prototypes and unfortunately fell into enemy hands. They modified it accordingly into a weapon that empowered them, quite troubling indeed.«

Vern's gaze switched to Maggie, but she just nodded, having nothing to add. He massaged his head for a moment, internalizing all he had just heard.

»So, the main reason I've come here is to defeat those Eldritch«, he said. »Can you help me with this?«

»Well, our interests certainly align in that matter«, Valdin swiftly replied. »And since you are able to use that sword due to your … special circumstances as well, there is a good chance that you can eliminate the enemy with it. All we can provide you with at this point is our training, which will be helpful, but in the end, it will come down only to your abilities.«

Vern nodded slowly, and he suppressed a yawn. All this talking had drained him very much.

»It seems like we should pause this for now«, Maggie said, noticing his tiredness. »Since it was night when I came back, I presume that you are in need of sleep. There is no point in continuing this until your body and mind have recovered.«

»Well, so it seems«, Valdin agreed and stood up. »Since Maggie has brought you here … even if it wasn't her intention«, he added after Maggie glanced at him angrily. »She will provide you with accommodation and everything else you need. Just ask her.«

»What? I don't agree with that at all!«

»Well, Rhone does«, Valdin said, and Rhone nodded in agreement. » So it is decided. Besides, it is only natural that you bear with the consequences of your defiance.«

Maggie bit her lip but didn't talk back.

»Ah, and one more thing«, Valdin added as he was about to leave through the door behind Rhone. He looked at Vern and smirked. »If I were you, I'd pay special attention to all of your rings and other valuables … Maggie hasn't received her name by coincidence since she likes all shiny things, just like a magpie.«

With these words, he quickly stepped outside as Maggie was about to smash the door into his face. She still closed it forcefully, sending a shake through the entire wooden house. Vern heard her breathe deeply in and out a few times before she turned around.

»I … I can also sleep somewhere else«, Vern said, seeing her displeased face.

»No«, she simply responded. »However, I do not have a guest room, so you have to make yourself cozy somewhere on the floor.«

»That's alright. I will just sleep there too.« Vern pointed at the spot Velvet lay.

Maggie nodded. »Good. The bathroom is through that door and on the right, first door. If you need food after you've woken up, just knock on the second door on the right.«

she walked over to the drawer and took out the coins she had stored there earlier. Then she left the room without another word.

After Vern had visited the bathroom, he prepared his makeshift bed out of his coat right next to Velvet. He lay down at watched Velvet's tail occasionally moving across the floor.

›What do you make out of all this?‹, he asked Velvet. ›Although we now know more than before, it doesn't look like they can provide me with any assistance.‹

›Hmm.‹ Velvet laid his head onto his paws. ›I'd like to hear more for sure. They seemed to know a lot that they haven't told us yet. Also, about me.‹

›I guess you're right. Maybe there's some information we can use against the Eldritch.‹

Vern's eyes slowly fell shut as he watched Vern's tail rhythmically sweep across the floor. He really wanted to use it as a pillow, but Velvet had avoided his earlier attempts of grabbing it.

So he drifted into the realm of dreams without a cushion on the hard, wooden floor. Even the light coming through the windows, continuously illuminating the room, couldn't hamper Vern's urge to sleep.