The rider who came was not Trim nor the Prince but one of the soldiers who carried a message to El that the Prince was waiting for the darkness and would take up the position as per their agreement where he would wait for El’s further instructions. He also informed them that no goblins had been spotted and that their trails all lead to the dungeon’s ground.

Soon, the night came and the wind howled, sucking all the warmth out of their bodies, pushing them into their cottages where they huddled together around fires.

Alice set between El and Tarra, dozing off. When people around fell asleep and started to snore, she heard El’s quiet voice speak, and she shook herself from sleep.

“Before I came here, the supreme powers told me of you,” El told her.

“Yeah. I bet they had a lot of nice things to say about me,” Tarra answered sarcastically. “Since I slayed one of them, I have not been one of their favorites.”

“What? How did that happen?”

Tarra sighed. “It’s a long story, best left for some other times.”

El shook his head. “Yeah, some other times. They said… you had problems.”

“Yeah, anger issues. You should know something about that too, from what I’ve seen so far.”

“True. Trying to work it out.”

“Well, they did not give you that much time to work it out, did they? Out of the fire, into a frying pan, huh?”

“Yeah, but I won’t complain. Maybe it’s better that way. They also said that there was a dungeon here that was being administered by one of our agents.”

Tarra cast him a quick glance. “It’s not this one. I know which one it is. They put an agent in the one dungeon in Green River district. Up the Blackins Mountain Range.* That’s to the East from here.”

“Can it be worked with? Is it malignant?”

“Hard to say. I visited it a few weeks ago. It is still trying to find its way, make up its mind on what team it wants to play."

Alice noticed a dark shadow settle on Tarra's face and suspected there was a lot more to it. "Can you tell us more about it?"

Tarra sighed, thought about it, and then nodded her head. "We started on a very good foot, right when its new administrator landed. And everything was going great. But then, things got complicated and went astray. And, now I'm not sure where we stand.

They both could see a deep remorse on Tarra's face but decided not to press her, waiting for her to continue.

"But, you do not need to concern yourself with it," Tarra finally said, not ready to go into any more details. "It's my problem. I’m hoping maybe I can still find a common ground with it. Maybe if I help him we can still turn our relationship around. I do not know. Honestly, I am not sure I'll be able to sway it and move it our side. I understand it's hard. Once you're given all that power, things change. Easy to get corrupted. But, we'll see.”

“Is that why you don’t want me to destroy this dungeon completely? You want something from it?”

“That is true. The parts that make dungeons so powerful and so unique are very rare. There are whole solar systems that have only one dungeon in them. And this planet is so rich with them. Still, it would be very wasteful to just burn it all down. But, we are getting a way ahead of ourselves. If we ever get to that part, I’ll explain it all to you then.”

“I see,” El said as he stared at the flames.

They turned around to look at the door that suddenly opened and a guard, covered in snow, stumbled inside, shaking a soldier by the door to go and take his post.

"It's still snowing outside," Alice said, not enjoying the sight of it one bit. "And the way it is going, it may snow all night."

El sighed and said, "Maybe we can use that to our advantage. It might be a blessing rather than a curse."

“Okay, that sounds interesting, but I just can’t see how. So, what do you have in mind?”

El decided not to offer an answer but instead used one of the sticks to poke at the fire, making it flare higher. Then, he got up, dropped another log on it before he disappeared to the outside.

"Let him be. At least, he is starting to use his head. That's a good thing. Maybe too late, but still, a good thing," Tarra said as she saw Alice debating whether she should go outside and join El.

“You seem to know so much more than I and El,” Alice said quietly, joining their conversation. “You said something about me, how I never learned-”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“I should not have said anything,” Tarra interrupted her. “I know you’re looking for answers, just like the rest of us. By now, you know lives are not only what we know and see. That there are powers and forces and they move energies in a way that is hard to understand or conceptualize.”

“Yes, just by being here, I’m sensing some of that.”

“I am not even sure I could explain it right. Some things are so easily misunderstood. It’s better you learn it your own way.”

“Yeah, well, I may die tomorrow. No harm if I don’t get it.”

“That’s exactly why I’m not sure I should be saying anything. Time is so short. But, anyway, you should know that the essence of your existence, what some people refer to as your soul, it does not get lost so easily. A lot of souls are old. Lived lives after lives, never able to raise themselves enough to attract the interest of the Eternalas.”

“So, obviously then, I lived before.”

“In another body, of course.”

Alice nodded her head, and then the obvious question slipped from her lips, “Have we met before?”

“Yes,” Tarra answered, surprising herself at answering it so easily.

“Were we friends?”

That’s when Tarra stopped, sighed, and Alice looked at the lost glance in her eyes, even sadness that suddenly appeared there, and suddenly, Alice did not even need to hear an answer.

“If you want to know the truth and the extent of our previous relationship, you have to remember your past life.”

“Fine, but how did it end?”

Tarra shook her head. “The agents of Darkness killed you, and your soul was captured by a dark dungeon. Eventually, your soul was liberated when the dungeon was destroyed. And… the Eternals decided to hide you, hide you from everyone, even yourself. They gave you a new start on Earth. That is what I learned. But… It is not right for me to talk about it. It can only… mislead you. And, I have no intention of doing that. So, I will not answer any more questions about your past life. When you are ready to handle the truth, you will find it for yourself.”

It was a lot for Alice to process. Even El was hearing a lot of things for the very first time, which made him all quiet and pensive, thinking what was actually implied by those words of a Warden who was so much more advanced than him. It gave him a new glimpse into the living world, the scent of what the future could be for him if he was to be successful and grow.

“Anything else you want to know about?” Tarra said, interrupting the silence.

“Million of things. Even more, I want to know about the things I do not even suspect that I should want to know, the things I should be asking about but have no idea I should concern myself with. You know what I mean?”

“Maybe.”

“So, then tell me. What should I know?”

Tarra sighed. “After arriving at this planet, El came here up North to fight this dungeon. Did not even think if he could beat it or not. He just wanted to fight it,” Tarra said slowly. “He could debate that it was needed to save others. I could debate that what he is looking for is not to save people but to punish himself for what he thinks he did wrong. So… You’ve seen this for yourself. El came here to die. A glorious death that might be, but to die regardless of anything else. Because, deep down, he knows that, most likely, the dungeon will find a way to turn things around and all the plans will be flipped upside down. And it will kill him.”

A moment ago, El was ready to walk back in the cabin, but then he heard those words, stopped his hand at opening the door and just stood there, suddenly feeling his mind whirling, his throat constricting and closing. He wanted to say something, but no words could come out of it.

“Just that he rose two levels up here, is something that was not expected,” Tarra said, suddenly looking at him. “But he did not change yourself enough. Probably could not do so in such a short time anyway. I am not powerful enough to kill this dungeon. And neither is he. So, yeah. El will die. And, when this dungeon kills him and you, it will imprison your souls. You will be kept in the darkness where your energy will be squeezed out of your miserable existences, just as if you were cows being milked. You need to know that. And, then, maybe in a hundred years or so, the dungeon might release you, in case it gets tired of you.”

“How?”

“Might sell you on the marketplace to another dungeon or Eternal that might decide to buy you and place you somewhere else… in case they find you of interest, that is.”

“Why then did they even send him here then?” Alice asked. “And me?”

“Maybe they saw something in two of you, something more than I can see. Maybe you two together... I do not know. But, I hope he does not drag you down with him.”

“You think I want Alice dead?” El asked as he suddenly burst in, hurt and disappointment in his voice.

“Of course not. You did not want your homeplace burned down either. Not that any of that is your fault. But you’re the first one that needs to understand that. Besides, if I thought you were kind of a person who would want someone like Alice dead, you think you’d still be breathing?”

El opened his mouth to protest but Alice spoke faster, “Are you going to help us?”

“Some. But, I can’t heal broken hearts and dark urges that inevitably lead to self-destruction. That is beyond my power.”

“How, how did you raise up so much? How did you become so powerful and so smart?” Alice asked.

“I suffered a lot. I can say through suffering. Maybe I ran into the right people. They helped me. I do not know why. But, I am not as powerful as you may think I am. For example, I can’t use Mana nearly as well as El can. I grew up in a world where it was not possible to cultivate it, and up to this day, I have not learned how to do it right.”

“I see.”

“All of us are different. Have different paths. We try to live in light and seek truth and justice.”

Alice “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

“I think you deserve to know it.”

“You came here, all this way up North, because of me, didn’t you?”

“Yes. That also is true,” Tarra said as she lowered her head down, buried it over her hands, and closed her eyes, trying to hide her tears.