Svilran had waited before the black dome that Fainn created for five hours. She spent the entire time staring and straining her ears for any hint of what was occurring. She had also, quite nervously, bitten her nails down to the bed.

This former goddess, stunned into inaction, wouldn’t move from the spot Fainn left her in until he returned. Thankfully for her, she was used to staying still for long periods of time.

Finally, at the fifth hour, something changed—the dome’s surface became less dark.

“Fainn?” she asked as she looked for any sign of the man. Her hopes grew when she saw something stirring, but they quickly died when she realized the approaching figure was not Fainn. It wasn’t the shadows of the squirming tentacles that scared her. It wasn’t the outline of the wings, and it wasn’t the hints of sharp edges. No, it was the sheer size of the creature.

Svilran whimpered as she looked up. She stammered—she couldn’t get past the first letter of the man’s name.

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The creature hit the boundary of the barrier, and tears flowed from Svilran’s eyes with the power of a mighty river. The colossal creature had fang-filled mouths for a stomach, hands, and eyes. Red, pulsating orbs littered its body, and tentacles acted as its legs. It pressed itself against the barrier, at times looking as ridiculous as a child pressing the face against a glass door. Slowly, the creature started losing its form as smoke escaped the dome. Cracks propagated from everywhere the creature touched, and with one last push, the dome shattered. With it went the image of the creature—as if it was an imprint on a pane of glass.

Svilran cast her gaze downward at all that was left—that figure—as he walked out of the smoke.

She struggled with his name. He didn’t with hers.

“Svilran, sorry about that.”

Fainn—looking as normal as he did when he disappeared—walked out. The mysterious nun was in his arms, unconscious and with the pole—and the lantern hanging from it—still pressed against her back.

He walked up to the fountain, panting furiously as he did, and gently set the woman down.

“She had more energy than I thought she had.” He looked up at the shocked goddess. “Alright, does this woman have heroic potential or what?”

There were so many questions in Svilran’s mind, but she was just stuck on his name.

“Fainn...” she said with a teary smile.