Using mana for the first time in ages, Vern felt amazed. He could determine so much better its flow now and was even able to channel it into single muscle fibers.

After running at full speed over hedge and ditch for a few minutes, he had become used to it again. He stopped at a clearing to contemplate his next steps.

First and foremost, he checked the contents of his rings. They were still amply filled, even though he hadn't had any opportunity to recharge them since chasing Maggie.

Velvet appeared next to him and revolved around himself in his silvery body.

›It's weird‹, he stated. ›Not feeling the ground or the air … I have grown way too accustomed to that.‹

Vern smiled at him while he walked through some trees.

›So what should we do?‹, he asked Velvet. ›I am not entirely sure where we are since we just went after Maggie.‹

›Hmm, maybe just roughly run the way back until we find pathways‹, Velvet suggested. ›From there, we can follow them back to the village and use it as our base of operations once again.‹

›Good idea, since we certainly need more information on the situation too.‹ Vern looked into the sky. ›Yeah, this should be the approximate direction.‹

He turned slightly west and dashed forward, Velvet following at his side. While traversing the forest, Vern thought about what it will be like to visit that village after over six years.

There was no way that the siblings were still there, right? Well, they could've settled down at that place for all he knew.

Vern sighed. ›I can't believe they didn't tell me that time doesn't flow the same in their world‹, Vern complained. ›This completely throws me off.‹

›Yeah. Maybe they're not really aware of the difference themselves.‹

›Hah, good point.‹ Vern lunged forward to squeeze his body through a tiny opening in a massive scrub wall. ›Knowing them, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.‹

Unexpectedly, a tingling sensation shot through Vern's body. It only lasted a split second, but it was enough for him to take note and stop.

He went back where it had happened, and it was what he suspected.

›The bailiwick border is here already‹, Vern said as he pushed his hand in and out of it. When holding it still, he could even feel how it expanded its reach – slowly but surely with a few milimeters a second.

›Hmm‹, Velvet said. ›That's further than expected, even considering how much time has passed. The village is likely also engulfed by this point.‹

Vern's face darkened, and he accelerated his steps, running even faster than before. Maybe there was still something left to save.

The monsters didn't keep their existence hidden for long, and soon Vern had to deal with them constantly. But in the darkness, Valvet's spotting abilities were a great asset. As most of the monsters were weak, he could just drive–by them without slowing down, leaving the stronger ones to chase after him.

As he passed through the last lines of trees, he quickly found familiar paths that would lead him to the village. Soon, he saw smoke rising ahead in the distance, which allowed him to stray off-path and sprint straight toward it.

A few kilometers of grassland later, he finally arrived at the outskirts and slowed down. By now, he had left all his pursuers far enough behind to not have to worry about them.

›I don't see anybody‹, Velvet said. ›Strange that there is still fire when all have left … or maybe they just died‹

Vern gulped at his remarks and walked in the shadows of the buildings to the center where the fire was coming from. As he passed by, he peeked through the windows inside the houses. They all looked abandoned – and not in a hasty manner. Furthermore, there were no corpses or really any sign of a fight, for that matter.

This relieved Vern a little, as it suggested that everybody had already evacuated beforehand – but there was still that fire. He hurried toward it, being on edge even though Velvet still hadn't spotted any friends or foes.

He arrived at the central square of the village where a hill-sized pile of straw innocently burned away, setting nearby houses on fire. This was definitely not naturally caused and was quite a recent occurrence.

Vern exchanged glances with Velvet, but he didn't know what this could mean either until his eyes suddenly widened, and his head turned around in all directions.

›We're getting surrounded!‹, Velvet exclaimed, and Vern swiftly drew his sword. ›They're approaching slowly … and I also recognize a white presence among them. Over there.‹

Velvet's tail pointed to the left, and Vern turned in that direction.

›Well, I guess this will come to an end rather sooner than later‹, Vern said with a smile on his face, looking at his sword that radiated faint purple light. ›At least they don't run from us.‹

A few minutes of intense silence passed, only interrupted by Velvet's occasional updates and the crackling fire in the background. When the first monsters showed face on the rooftops, they were already numbering in the thousands according to Velvet.

They all stopped at a safe distance, and their red eyes fixated on Vern. The crowd that had formed in front of him parted, and a hooded figure emerged from its midst.

Vern immediately recognized the sword in its hand and sighed. At this point, it genuinely did look like he hadn't achieved anything – besides making things worse.

»Well, guess we'll have a rematch then!«, Vern shouted, and the figure lifted its head up.

Although still resembling Alvyn, dark scales had covered large parts of his face, and the eyes had a reddish glint in them.

»That's good! If you look like this, I won't run the risk of hesitating!« Vern swung his sword a few times provokingly through the air.

But the creature that once had been his brother didn't react. It stopped moving several meters before Vern, and its gaze was uninterruptedly set on him. Only when Velvet beside him growled menacingly, it flickered away for a moment.

Vern wasn't entirely sure how their battle would play out, but if he was given a chance, he couldn't ignore it. Thus, noticing the Eldritch's sword lowered to the ground, he swiftly fetched a shuriken and threw it in the same motion. Despite the lack of distance and the subpar throwing angle, it managed to gain a lot of momentum, sending a sonic boom through the air right before it collided with Alvyn's raised sword.

Vern blinked a few times at that impressive reaction time, which he could barely follow, and readied his sword for a counterattack.

»I see«, the creature uttered in a screeching voice, looking at the sword. »You are indeed the one that has everything I am looking for.«

Vern grimaced. There was a sudden turmoil in his head, trying to disperse his attention from the enemy in front.

»You can have them back, but only if I am allowed to impale you with this sword in return.«

Another wave of screeching voices rippled through his mind, and at the same time, the Eldritch lunged forward. Vern had expected it to attack dirty like this and swiftly moved aside while confining all the voices inside a soundproof mental cage.

In his stead, Velvet jumped at the Eldritch in an effort to divert its attention, and Vern reacted with a counterstrike. Completely ignoring Velvet's antics, it blocked Vern's attacks, and sparks flew as metal hit metal.

The creature pushed forward, ending their bind, and the

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force sent Vern flying several meters back, dangerously close to the ongoing fire.

With this brief exchange, Vern had learned a lot. His enemy was definitely stronger than him. But how long could it last?

There was a decent chance that he would win a battle of attrition due to the massive reserves of his rings – and the Eldritch didn't seem to have any. Consequently, his best strategy was to increase both of their drains.

›Velvet!‹, Vern shouted while not moving his eyes away from the enemy that approached him deceptively sluggishly. ›I'll try to keep the battle only between the two of us and tire it out. You'll have to tell me if the spectators try to backstab me at some point.‹

›Roger that!‹ Velvet jumped on top of the burning straw pile to get a full view of the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Eldritch casually prepared for his next lunge, not hiding his attacking intention in the slightest.

When it dashed forward, Vern had already moved away, not trying to push his luck with close combat exchanges. It immediately went after him with consequent attempts, but Vern had enough space on the square to avoid everything while also circling his attacker to not get cornered.

›They are tightening the encirclement!‹, Velvet announced. ›Be careful.‹

Vern nodded, glancing to the side to confirm how badly his maneuverability would soon be hampered. He had expected this to happen, but it also confirmed one thing to Vern – his opponent was definitely somewhat in a hurry.

Either the Eldritch had other business to attend to, or it didn't fancy its chances in a battle of attrition. Although this was getting dangerous now, he was happy to see that his hunch might be correct after all.

›Velvet, look for ways where I may be able to break the encirclement. Just in case I'll need it.‹

He had no attention to spare on his greater surroundings as the Eldritch started to pound out attacks to push him into one of the unescapable corners that had formed. Consequently, Vern had to parry some attacks in close range to avoid getting stuck. Every strike hitting his sword was so heavy that Vern felt the impact marrow-deep. But for now, he could hold off.

Suddenly, the Eldritch distance itself of its own volition, and Vern told Velvet to now pay special attention to insidious monster interference.

The Eldritch gave Vern a crooked smile and switched to an underhand grip on his sword. Then it slowly pulled his hand back as if it intended to throw his sword like a spear at him.

Vern didn't understand what it was doing and suspected this to be some kind of faint.

Nonetheless, he prepared his stance to avoid the sword's indicated trajectory and mentally planned the route he would take to attack the Eldritch if it really was foolish enough to throw its weapon.

A few moments later, the sword left the Eldritch hand and darted toward Vern, who didn't hesitate to take the opportunity.

›Don't!‹, Velvet cried out, but it was too late. Vern had lunged forward, and as the sword flew by him, it revealed something else flying at him in its blind area.

His eyes widened, and with his feet currently off the ground, there was no way to dodge it. Desperately, Vern tried to get his sword down in time to block the back knife aimed at his lower body.

Pain rushed through Vern's nervous system and numbed him as the knife collided with the sword's hilt – and his dominant hand. He screamed. His right middle and index finger dropped to the ground, and the spurting blood made his grip even more slippery.

The Eldritch used this moment to rush forward, and Vern frantically swung its sword at it. However, it had taken a page out of his book and only moved forward to bait Vern's strike. It slipped passed him to casually retrieve its sword while Vern had trouble holding his.

It was over. The realization hit Vern, but he still had to keep fighting. That's what he owed all those he had sacrificed.

He blocked the blood flowing out of his gaping wounds with mana as best as he could and switched his sword hands, making his left the dominant one. In reality, he had no illusions he could even block one more strike like this. To make matters worse, he had lost two of the rings along his fingers, and keeping the wound sealed was also a massive mana drain. Thus, escaping wasn't an option in this state either.

›Vern! Vern!‹

Velvet had been shouting all this time, but he hadn't consciously noticed until now.

›Yeah, I am sorry‹, he replied. ›Guess I lost for good now, thanks to my cockiness.‹ He watched the Eldritch pull out the sword off a wooden wall and leisurely turned around. The expression on its face was that of a cat eyeing up a bird that had broken its wing.

›Vern! Listen!‹ He looked up at the fire behind the Eldritch, where Velvet was still sitting. ›I've got a plan! Don't know if it works, but I don't think we have a choice now!‹

›Alright. What do we do?‹

›I need about 90 percent of your remaining mana! And be ready to use the opening!‹

Vern blinked perplexedly. He had no clue what Velvet talked about or how he could give him the mana even if he wanted. But immediately after, he felt something trying to access his mana reserves and let it happen. The massive amounts that were immediately drained made Vern's knee wobble, and he had trouble standing straight.

Seeing Vern's weakness, the Eldritch smirked derisively. It was only a couple of meters away and had already raised its sword for one last, decisive strike.

The ground suddenly trembled, and Vern's eyes widened as he watched Velvet rush at the Eldritch from behind. It also tilted its head to look for the cause of the tremor but didn't manage to comprehend the situation in time.

Velvet plunged its teeth into the Eldritch's sword arm, and it frantically tried to shake off the massive fox. The monsters in the circle around them all started to charge at them in an unorganized manner.

Vern dropped the seal on his wound and channeled all remains into his feet for one last lunge. In the meantime, the Eldritch had pounded away at Velvet's head, causing him visible pain in the process, and it finally managed to break free.

But just as it shifted its attention back to Vern, it was already too late. All it could do was follow the blade with its eyes as it shot forward, plunging into its chest.

The Eldritch cried out, and purple lighting exploded out of the sword, blinding Vern completely. He felt how the sword sucked dry the enemy, and the soul fractions inside him gained more strength by the second. Thus, the fight was far from over.

Vern barricaded his mind against the growing darkness spreading throughout his body, trying to delay their takeover.

He noticed Velvet entering his body and helping him out. It was just the two of them, holding shut a gate with their hands and paws against the powerful waves slamming against the fortification – while a devastating tsunami was rising in the distance that would wipe out everything.

›That was quite the neat trick‹, Vern said. ›Guess you'll always have to save me.‹

›Don't worry about it. We're a team after all.‹

Vern smiled and noticed that the sword had completed its task. ›It was a fun time for sure.‹

Just as the tsunami was about to make landfall Vern pulled the sword out of the Eldritch's corpse and flipped it in his left hand. Although nobody had explicitly mentioned it, it had always been implied, so it hadn't gone past him.

The gate was pressured open, and darkness flooded into Vern's mind, just as he pushed his physical forward into the blade.

The flood flailed violently while Vern and Velvet clasped at each other's bodies, trying to stay afloat. A massive vortex formed at the bottom, draining the liquid and everything with it.

Velvet and Vern rode along its edge together, enjoying the few seconds they had left. During this brief moment, Vern felt deeply satisfied, and his mind was at peace.

As the last drops vanished, it was finally their part to plummet into the void, and his vision went completely white.

Was this the end …?

His body felt warm and cozy. Vern breathed calmly in and out. The pain and the exhaustion of the fight were no more. As he slowly gained consciousness and remembered the past events, his eyes opened abruptly. It was dark, but he still recognized the outlines of a ceiling. He studied it for a moment as it was so familiar to him, and yet he didn't know where he was.

In the meantime, he moved his hands around his body, checking if every part was still there. And indeed they were – even the fingers he had previously lost. A wave of joy overcame Vern, and he burst out laughing.

He jumped out of the bed and looked out the window at the partially hidden moon in the sky. Although he didn't know exactly how he was once again back where he had started.

›Velvet, Velvet, are you there?‹, he asked, and concern diminished his cheerfulness slightly. A few seconds passed in silence.

›I … am here … surprisingly‹, the familiar voice replied in his head, and Vern sighed in relief. ›I am still exhausted from just now, but it looks like we ended up somewhere unexpectedly.‹

Suddenly, the door flung open, and Alvyn stormed into the room with his sword in hand. Vern swiftly turned around and ran at him.

»Ahh, be careful!«, Alvyn cried out and quickly moved his sword out of the way as Vern hugged him boisterously.

»Are you okay? I heard noises coming out of your room.« He tried to escape his grasp, but Vern didn't let loose.

»Please stop it«, Alvyn said and finally managed to push his brother off. »You're behaving weirdly.«

Vern stepped back and smiled. »Oh, I am sorry. I was just happy to see you … «

Alvyn raised his eyebrow, clearly even more confused by this statement.

»I'll explain …«, Vern added and spread out his arms. »But you'll have to come here.«

»No … No!« His brother backed off. »Stop teasing me!«

Vern laughed and followed him.

»I … I have to get back to sleep «, Alvyn declared. »Otherwise, I'll be too tired tomorrow, and Ezra will be mad.« He stepped into the corridor. »You can tell me sometime else.«

Vern delightedly watched his brother take flight down the corridor and then returned to his room.

The mattress bounced up and down as he jumped into his bed, and in a few seconds, Vern's writhing had completely untidied the bedding.

He stopped and lay still, looking at the ceiling. ›I can't feel them inside me anymore‹, Vern said. ›Are they gone or just dormant?‹

›Hmm, there are indeed gone. I guess the sword destroyed their souls first, and when it was our turn, the ring activated somehow …‹

›But we are back in time, so that never really happened, right?‹

›Well, as far as I know, the sword permanently deletes souls out of existence, and thus, they didn't travel back in time with us. As to why the ring did what it did when it did, I am not entirely sure …‹

Vern contemplated Velvet's words. If the sword had that power, then anything he had killed with it wasn't there anymore. And that meant the knight he had slaughtered was still dead … or non-existent.

His face contorted. There were real consequences after all that he had to bear for the rest of his life. At least he could call himself lucky that Irina should still be fine.

Vern sighed. ›Well, we should probably check on the Eldritch we've killed with it regardless, just to be sure. Of course, only after they've trained sufficiently for it.‹

Now that only his and Velvet's souls resided in him, he was once again unable to wield any powerful weapon. But that was alright with him.

He closed his eyes and focused on his body. The blood ran through his veins at a steady pace, synchronized with his heartbeats. His lungs slowly filled with fresh air. As Vern got sleepy, the only thought present in his mind was how amazing it felt to just be alive. Even if his life lasted only one more day, he would enjoy every second of it.