Chapter 10 - The Way Forward (1/2)

Mordred

Xavier was very persistent in his search for Epoch. I had actually met him years prior. He was an expert in most fields of magic, but where he truly shined was in the art of destruction. Epoch served in the army for over a decade, and was a survivor of the Bloody First. He retired soon after that and focused on research. He mainly studied other dimensions, presumably hoping to find a way to defeat the demons. When I first met him, I thought he might be able to send me home, but I soon realized that he was only interested in researching ways of permanently killing a demon. I never met him again, but I heard that he was most frequently seen in the mage guild in the capital.

With that in mind, I led Xavier inside. After asking around a bit, we discovered that Epoch was not there. We started to head back to the tavern when the sun was low in the sky. I noticed that Xavier kept looking around. ”What's wrong?”

”I feel like something is… Off. We need to get inside, fast.”

”What is it exactly?”

”Just a sense of dread.”

”Because an inexplicable feeling of dread is a sure indicator that something is wrong,” I snorted. ”It's probably nothing.”

As we continued walking, Xavier's words started to worry me. He was usually right about those things, so I felt it was prudent to hurry to the tavern. When we finally reached it, I let out a sigh of relief. We saw Solskin sitting in the bar, staring into a mug. Probably drunk. I waved and continued upstairs while Xavier began talking to him. I flopped down on my bed and fell asleep quite peacefully.

Xavier

”What's wrong?”

”I was useless in the fight. I feel like I'm eight all over again.” Solskin lamented. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. ”Have you heard about the attacks ten years ago? There was a really bad one in my village.”

”Yes.”

”You feel that way because you nearly died.” I said, keeping my voice neutral.

”Yes.” Solskin seemed far away. He was looking in his mug.

”I remember my first near-death experience. There is no use panicking.”

”Mmhmm.”

”You don't seem to be coping well.”

Solskin snapped up. ”Of course not!” he yelled, his voice cracking, ”I'm not used to… Situations like this. Not like you. Back there, when we were falling, I kept thinking about that night.”