Chapter 2 - Parting Ways (1)

I leaned against a pillar in the corridor crossing the manor, waiting for Lisa.

  I spotted her walking from the end of the corridor, having finished her private lesson. She slowly approached me.

  Then, she hugged me. It became a habit for us to embrace each other. After sharing our warmth for a while, she finally spoke, “Haa, I feel alive again.”

  “How are the lessons going?”

  “They’re fine...”

  After saying that, she stood there in silence for quite some time.

  “I love you.”

  Her sudden confession set my heart ablaze. But soon, I accepted her passionate words as naturally as the passing of seasons. We had already known it through the time we spent with one another, going beyond mere words or actions.

  “Yeah, I love you too.”

  Being able to connect with Lisa was the greatest blessing of my life.

  Sadly, our time together was running out.

  Discussions regarding Lisa’s enrollment at Eternia Academy were already underway between the high priest and the vassals of the Pascal family. Regardless of her will, Lisa had to go. Since the academy was in a distant foreign land, we’d have to part ways for life if she left.

  I couldn’t go to the academy. I had no talent for magic, and even if I did, I couldn’t possibly afford the exorbitant tuition fees.

  We racked our brains, trying to find a way to stay together after we had to leave the temple. But no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t come up with a feasible solution.

  Lisa would often burst into tears while hugging me. I didn’t have to ask why; I already knew after all.

  One day at dawn, Lisa snuck into my room, evading the nuns’ watchful eyes. She disrupted my sleep with an excited voice, “I saw a star fall!”

  “So?”

  “They say the fragments of a fallen star hold tremendous energy. Also, there’s a herb that grows from the energy found around the impact of the star. It’s said that whoever eats the herb will have the ability to look into the future. It was written in the book of the Great Sage Rutavis.”

  “The ability… to look into the future?”

  “If I can look into the future, I might be able to solve the problem that has been troubling the both of us. And if we somehow manage to sell the star fragment, we could use the funds to live together for the rest of our lives.”

  “But there’s no way we’ll be able to find it.”

  “It’s not impossible. I saw it really close by. I’ve marked the estimated location on this map. We can make the trip in about a week…”

  Lisa showed a map with a circle drawn on one corner. It was in uncharted territory, known to be full of dangers. The most perilous among them were the “magic creatures”.

  “It’s too dangerous.”

  “I don’t care about the danger. We don’t have any other choice. You know that.”

  Lisa had already made up her mind. She spoke as if she were possessed. I doubt I’d be able to change her mind, no matter what I said.

  We prepared for the journey separately. I gathered all the money I had saved up from my job at the workshop, and packed camping supplies and a tool that looked intimidating enough to serve as makeshift weapons.

  I felt like it might be a long journey and struggled to think of what I could say to the head nun. Lisa, however, insisted we had no time to waste, urging me to leave immediately.

  “We can’t delay any longer, let’s leave today.”

  We filled our bags with jerky and biscuits from the storeroom and snuck out.

  And so, we set off in search of the star fragment.

  On the first day, we walked from dawn till dusk, reaching the outskirts of the city by the time night fell. To conserve food, we spent money to buy our meals.

  On the second day, we entered the plains. Along the way, Lisa picked herbs she thought could aid our stamina. I frequently kept check of her condition. If her health even slightly declined, I was prepared to turn back without hesitation.

  On the third day, it rained. A fierce thunderstorm with strong winds poured relentlessly. We lost our way several times, and even though we were wearing robes, we were soaked to the bone. Lisa began to show signs of hypothermia, so we ended the day’s journey earlier than planned.

  We sought refuge in a cave beneath a cliff to avoid the storm.

  Lisa was unable to focus due to her mental and physical exhaustion. On top of that, all the firewood we had got soaked, so we couldn’t even light a fire with magic.

  We spent the night huddled together while wearing nothing but our undergarments, sharing our body heat while wrapped in a waterproof tarp.

  By morning, Lisa’s body was burning hot. She showed symptoms of a high fever. I gathered dry twigs to start a fire, then went into the forest to find herbs to bring down her fever.

  I pleaded with her, “This isn’t going to work. Please, let’s go back.”

  “...I don’t want to.”

  “You can’t keep going like this.”

  “No, I can keep going.”

  Lisa stubbornly held her ground.

  After eating breakfast and getting some rest, we set out once again. Although the storm had calmed, a light drizzle still lingered. Lisa frequently stumbled and collapsed from exhaustion as we walked. Each time, I carried her for hours on end.

  We continued walking aimlessly. I wasn’t entirely sure if we were heading in the right direction, but strangely, the farther we went, the closer I felt to the star fragment.

  Lisa, still slumped on my back, woke from her sleep and asked in a drowsy voice, “Are we on the right path…?”

  “I memorized the map. Don’t worry about it.”

  Still feeling uneasy, Lisa clung to my shoulders even more tightly.

  By nightfall, we camped at an abandoned cabin. We lit a fire in the dusty fireplace and had jerky for dinner.

  Lisa, claiming to be cold, hugged me as we slept. Despite our clothes being damp from our sweat, her embrace never wavered.

  The following two days, we kept moving.

  We hadn’t bathed in days, our food supply was dwindling, and our clothes were torn in various places.

  Lisa didn’t care about her sweaty, dirty body. She clung to me every night without fail. But even after experiencing all this hardship, she always smelled great. When I asked her why, even Lisa herself didn’t seem to know.

  When we woke up, we climbed a hill with a view of the surroundings. In the distance, we could see a large, bright blue lake.

  Lisa’s voice was filled with excitement, “We’ve come to the right place. It’s definitely near that lake!”

  But rather than excitement, I felt uneasy. I wasn’t sure if the mysterious herb that could show the future even existed, and even then, we were in uncharted territory, where wild animals or magic creatures could attack at any moment.

  My unease turned out to be well-founded because not long after, we were attacked by a magic creature.

***

  We set off again, aiming for the lake. Though we knew which direction to go, the dense forest disoriented us, causing us to lose our way twice.

  As we wandered, Lisa suddenly grabbed my wrist and stopped.

  “Something’s wrong. I can feel magic.”

  “What do you mean by ‘wrong’?”

  “It’s definitely magic, but it’s not from a person.”

  At that moment, the wind picked up. An eerie chill swept through, causing the trees to sway and leaves to scatter. It felt as if the very forest itself was trembling in fear. The surroundings grew darker.

  From one side of the forest, a strange wailing could be heard. I instinctively knew it wasn't human, nor did it belong to an animal or beast.

  Soon, a pitch-black figure flew towards us from a deep shadow cast by the forest.

  Lisa shouted, “Wraith… It’s a wraith!”

  I had only ever heard of wraiths in books or the tales of adventures. An otherworldly being that could effortlessly kill the great adventurers who felled colossal beasts, knights who had swept across continents, and even the heads of mercenary groups who threatened empires.

  Lisa immediately assumed a combat stance and began drawing up her magic to cast a spell.

  In front of her, I pulled out the hammer I used in the workshop. I knew it would be ineffective, but I had to buy time for Lisa to cast her spell from behind.

  The wraith flew towards us at high speed, hovering just a few meters away.

  Ssshh… ssss…

  That eerie wail made every hair on my body stand on end.

  The wraith was cloaked in a black robe with mummified arms and long, grotesque fingers like a spider’s legs. Each finger seemed to be at least three times the length of a normal person’s.

  Beneath its billowing cloak was nothing but emptiness, and black smoke jetted out in place of feet.

  Its mere presence caused me to tremble all over. I couldn’t fathom why such a terrifying entity was here of all places.

  Lisa, having gathered her mana, chanted a spell, and a pumpkin-sized fireball hurtled toward the wraith.

  However, the fireball passed right through the wraith’s body and crashed into a tree behind it, splitting the tree in two in a loud crack.

  “It… passed through?”

  Lisa, showing signs of panic, hastily began chanting another spell.

  But once again, her spell passed straight through the wraith’s body.

  The wraith didn’t so much as flinch in response to Lisa’s attacks. Suddenly, it extended its ghastly fingers towards me.

  Backing up, I wildly swung my hammer.

  “Damn it, get the hell away!”

  The wraith didn’t react to my threat. We were like cornered mice.

  Just as its fingers were about to touch me, I swung my hammer with all my might.

  With a dull thud, the wraith’s hand recoiled from the unexpected blow, backing away in surprise.

  “Run!”

  I grabbed Lisa’s hand and bolted, leaving our bags and supplies behind in exchange for speed.

  Before long, the wind howled behind us, and the forest began to quiver. The wraith’s wail echoed all around.

  All I could think about was saving Lisa, even at the cost of my life.

  Looking back, I saw the wraith chasing us at terrifying speeds.

  While running, Lisa chanted another spell, firing a sphere of light behind us. Unfortunately, it had no effect on the wraith.

  “How did you hit that wraith?”

  “You think I know?! Now isn’t the time to think about this!”

  Lisa, panting heavily, spoke again, “No, we need to know! That’s the only way we’ll be able to do anything to it!”

  “I just hit it, and it worked.”

  “Wraiths are immune to physical attacks! How did you do it?!”

  “I don’t know!”

  Running mindlessly, we reached an uphill slope. The wraith was rapidly closing in on us. Without hesitation, we sprinted up the hill. At the top, we halted in our tracks—a cliff lay before us.

  I bit my lip. We were cornered.

  The wraith approached, exuding black smoke as it drew ever closer.

  It let out a hideous, spine-chilling sound.

  I stood in front of Lisa, facing the wraith with my hammer in hand. As it reached for me again, I swung my hammer. This time, the wraith seemed cautious, flinching slightly at the threat.

  When it came close enough, I swung hard and struck its hand.

  Ssssh, sssssss…

  From the lower part of the wraith, black smoke billowed. The smoke enveloped me, trapping me in place. I swung the hammer to stir up the air, but it was futile.

  The smoke constricted around me, leaving me unable to move.

  “I can’t move… damn it, damn it!”

  “Hold on a little longer! I’ll use magic…!”

  As the smoke held me captive, the wraith extended its fingers again and swiftly impaled me through the abdomen. I didn’t even have a chance to resist.

  The pain that surged through my waist and organs was the most excruciating thing I had ever felt.

  “Kuhurk…!”

  Blood gushed out of my mouth.

  The wraith effortlessly lifted me into the air. I dangled helplessly as it raised me over its head like a skewer. My blood trickled onto its pitch-black face. Then, it twisted the fingers that had pierced me. My body was wrung like a fruit, and blood poured out in spurts.

  I let out a scream of agony.

  The wraith seemed to savor my blood.

  Yet, all I could think about was saving Lisa. I turned my head, but my vision was too blurred to see her clearly. I could faintly hear her screaming something, but the sound never reached me.

  I mustered all my strength to scream.

  Run.

  But no sound came out. Only my lips moved soundlessly.

  Suddenly, the wraith’s movements stopped. It began to spasm. The arm that had impaled me vibrated slightly. Then, its whole body shook violently and contracted.

  Kiiiiii—

  Black blood spewed from the wraith’s face. Once, twice, like a sneeze, blood gushed from its orifices. Then, as if it had swallowed rancid wine, it started to vomit all the blood it had absorbed from me.

  Something seemed to torment the wraith.

  It twisted and writhed in agony before flinging my body off the cliff’s edge.

  My body fell through the air, drawing an arc as it plunged.

  Time slowed. A flash of silver caught my eye.

  It was Lisa, reaching out her hand from below the cliff. I stretched my hand toward her, but we were already too far apart.

  I gazed at Lisa, capturing her image until the very end.