# Chapter 10

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I had to ask for some help writing this part, sometimes all you need is a change of perspective…

Forget what I said about being good at fighting…

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I felt like we'd be making a lot more journeys together after this, didn't make it any easier this first time.

The three of us kept an awkward silence most of the way to our destination, maybe we should have made a plan to reach the center of the forest, but as it stood now it seemed like those two didn't feel conformable speaking to me. So many possibilities ran through my mind, they didn't seem to hate me, we're they scared of me?

I decided to push that thought to the back of my mind.

The edge of the forest spread out before us, I was on firewood duty, but had no ax…

I had felt like this quite a few times in the past few days.

Whatever, I could take it as a test, incidentally I had no weapons to speak of at all, I could never choose what weapon to learn. “Maybe a sword like Jupiter?” I wondered aloud, was it the weapons that made the knight?, was I being barbaric by using my fists?

I don't think either of them would mind, they always seemed to be talking about more important matters, most of which flew over my head. One day I would be able to decipher everything they said, but for now I aught to just listen. “Any tree should do right?” The deeper I went into the forest supposedly I'd be likely to run into the shrine, and that if I did I should find Jupiter and Europa. I could handle that…

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This was about the samurai in the forest.

Write here, remember to erase this when you start.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

-Elias

Yeah whatever, thanks for letting me see this project you're working on

When you get this back you should give it everyone I'm sure they want a say in history

Well I should start explaining my part shouldn't I?

Then… my name is Europa, and hey we didn't know what a samurai was back then you're getting sloppy!

But I'll tell you what I saw

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Jupiter has just set me off into the forest, we had arrived at the shrine quickly once we entered the forest, but that was only because we knew the trick, Elias was supposed to make it here on his own.

“Things never go as planned do they?” I breathed a heavy sigh, I want a smoke, I rested on Jupiter's shoulder, we did this all the time when we traveled but it was embarrassing to do in front of anyone else.

I could walk on my own.

“We planned for this didn't we?, please don't lose hope so early in” Jupiter was always the voice of reason, but I didn't want to listen to reason right now. “He does even remember us.” At some level I felt cheated, I mean how could he?

“Why would he, he went through the same thing you did.”

God I wanted to punch him in that big stupid metal faceplate, but every time I did he had to heal my hand… so maybe not.

“So you don't feel bad at all? I know you got some feelings in that old head.” I settled for wobbling his helmet back and forth like a joyst- fern. He still stood as stoic and motionless as ever, was it just me or was he colder recently?

“Plenty, what, you can't tell by my face?” he turned that baking pan looking helmet at me, oh he's got jokes now, maybe I was just imagining it…

“Fine fine, well what are we going to do, I didn't know He was here” Sure I knew we kept plenty of secrets from Elias, but there were still a lot of things we didn't know, maybe it was Karma…

The most pressing being who was He?, a swordsman that has been following us for the past year, maybe even longer, normally we would take care of anyone that got in our way, but there was something different about him.

He was obviously sentient, no average person could keep up with our movement patterns even if they were given orders to, even still we couldn't rule out the possibility him being a pawn of someone greater. As far as we could tell sentience happening immediately and all at once, but if someone found a way to say, only give half, who knew what havoc they could wreck. “So do we deal with him now?” I decided asking Jupiter was the smart thing to do, he was never wrong.

“It's likely he followed us here to reach Elias, with unclear intentions it's best to put him in the ground and ask questions from there.” Every so often a bit of brutal words came out of his mouth, I could never tell if he was mad or just didn't know how to talk to people, well I guess there aren't many people. Regardless what he said made sense, and perhaps crushing someone after Elias would help him to trust us more, but he always seemed so distant, should I warm up to him? no… the thought of it made me shudder.

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And so that's why I was sent, alone, a girl in a dark forest with a questionably motivated scary swordsman, and a hero of prophecy. I would complain about it more but I had agreed to this a long time ago, without hesitation I let the magic seep out of my slowly, manifestations and spectral limbs surrounded me. They assisted with everything, movement, combat, all 6 senses, in truth I had to learn no skills, those within me were genius hunters. Still though, I was the only vessel they could act through, I didn't want to disappoint, with that I laid as quietly as possible against the ground, I'm sure any passersby would think they've seen a corpse, that's a rude thing to call a girl! You know I could kill you with the snap of my-

Before my imagination could run wild I was interrupted by a voice from behind me. “Excuse me kid, if you get in my way you'll have to die, I don't kid around.”

WHAT A SHITTY PUN! GO DIE IN HELL DIE! DIE! DIE!!!

Calm down, you got snuck up on it's not the end of the world but who could it be?, no that was a stupid question.

Encased within armor in the color of a feild of flowers, having only one arm and wearing a broad rimmed mushroomed shaped helmet, he held his arm on the hilt of his strange long curved blade.

The person that had been following us…someone from Outside.