Chuck could tell the puddles left behind by the dead slimes were starting to eat through his shoes. For some reason the process seemed slower than when it was eating through metal which didn’t make much sense to his panicked brain. He continued his mad dash, focusing on his destination instead of the fact that his feet weren’t melting yet.
They managed to make it to the altar which looked similar to the platform in the graveyard. He and Tess ran up the steps to the top and only then did he look back. He couldn’t see R2 because of all the slimes in the way but it sounded like he was still fighting. There was nothing he could do for R2, so instead concentrated on his task.
There were slimes approaching from both sides of the altar but for some reason they stopped at the bottom of the steps. There seemed to be some kind of invisible barrier stopping them. Chuck hadn’t noticed anything when they ran up the steps but he would gladly accept any help available. The barrier was a good thing as he hadn’t realized the sheer number of giant slimes there were.
For some reason they had dropped their camouflage ability and he could see hundreds if not thousands of them. It had been a miracle they had managed to make it to the altar in one piece. They had used up most of their ammo during the dash to the altar so if the barrier failed then they would be in serious trouble.
Chuck pulled out the vial with shaking hands and poured it on top of the altar. At first nothing happened and he was starting to think he had been tricked but then the altar starting glowing beneath their feet. Tess grabbed onto him tightly as the glow got brighter and brighter. Soon he had to shut his eyes against the brilliance. Suddenly the light vanished and he slowly opened his eyes.
He panicked when he couldn’t see anything and could no longer feel Tess grabbing onto him. It was like he was floating in a void with no ground beneath his feet. “Hello.” Chuck called out. “Tess, are you there? Tess!” he yelled frantically but there was only silence and darkness. He tried rubbing his eyes thinking that he had been temporarily blinded but it didn’t do anything.
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Then he could feel a stifling presence that surrounded him, making it hard to breathe. “Congratulations Champion. You have completed your task and will now be rewarded.” A robotic like voice called out. “Where is Tess?” Chuck demanded. “Your companion will be transported along with you to your desired destination.” The voice explained. “You mean I can really go back to Earth?” he asked excitedly.
“Yes, if that is your wish.” The voice replied. He and Tess had a conversation on their way to the mountain where he asked her what she wanted to do. He had reminded her that there was no magic on Earth and no other shapeshifters or races other than humans. She had seemed excited about the prospect of going to Earth from seeing all his memories. Chuck secretly thought she just wanted to discover more music.
With that in mind, the choice was clear. He would feel bad about Tess not being able to see the rest of her clan, but she had already made her decision. “I want to go back to Earth. I don’t suppose you can bring my pickup and R2 back with us?” Chuck asked but he felt he already knew the answer. “Only what reached the altar can be transported. You will receive a blessing however which will give you a longer lifespan to match that of your companion and your body will be strengthened beyond that of a normal human from your world.” The voice continued.
If Chuck remembered right, Tess said that shapeshifters could live to 200. He was glad he would get to grow old with her. With that, everything got bright again and he was forced to close his eyes. When he opened them, he found he was laying on the ground. At first he didn’t know where he was but after looking around he realized it was the same place that he got a flat tire and got transported to the other world.
He immediately looked around for Tess and found her on the other side of him. He breathed a huge sigh of relief and gently shook her awake. “What happened? Where are we?” Tess asked groggily. “We made it. Welcome to Earth.” Chuck said smiling and hugging her tightly. Tess looked around in wonder, not really believing it. His worn and tattered clothes were like new again and there was a bag next to them with food and water. They still had their weapons and he even had the pistol on his hip which made him grin foolishly.
Chuck wasn’t sure how much time had passed on Earth but the weather was nice. It looked like it was morning with the sun just rising into the sky. Without the pickup, they had a ways to walk to get back home. There was no hurry however as arm in arm they started walking down the gravel road towards the sunrise and their new life together.