The time between us slipped lightly, like a sigh that escapes between the fingers. And yet, my body was on the verge of collapse. Victoria had drained me in a brutal way: I had no strength left, no air left, not even a spark that could still pretend to have strength.
— …Oh no… that was unforgivable on my part… —she stammered, covered in a trembling blush—. I-I got carried away by the euphoria…
I let out a bitter laugh.
— Relax… I thought you were going to squeeze until the very last drop until you killed me.
Her face turned even more scarlet.
— I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to, but… unconsciously I… —her voice trembled—. Master… your Souls are so delicious… I got carried away… I'm so sorry… I-I'll take responsibility! Please, allow me to serve you for the rest of my life!
— No, no, relax —I replied, raising my hands—. You don't have to do such a thing.
But she took a step forward, determined, almost trembling with resolve.
— N-no! I'll do my very best! I know they've called me clumsy, awkward, or useless, but it's not true! I-I'll attend to you during the nights… completely… W-would you be willing to accept me?
I stood still. What could I say to her? Abandoning her in that place would have been cruel, almost inhuman. And though I wasn't looking for another burden, I also couldn't turn my back on someone who, in the end, was only asking for a place to exist.
I sighed, accepting the inevitable.
— Fine.
She lit up like a beacon.
— Thank you so much, Master! I'll serve you the best I can! If anything happens, I'll be by your side immediately… Please, treat me well… Master…
As soon as she finished saying it, she wrapped me in a warm, unexpected hug, as if her body had decided to move ahead of her mind. I, stunned, simply returned it awkwardly.
I took her with me to the bonfire, teleporting her to the Sacred Forest. There she would be safe. There no one would hurt her. There she could start over.
And without wasting time, I returned to the mansion.
The air inside the mansion had an old smell, as if the centuries had become trapped between its walls. I walked the hallways I already knew and stopped in front of the door I hadn't been able to open before. This time, the key rested cold in my hand.
I inserted it. Turned it.
The door gave way.
Upon crossing it, I immediately appeared at the back of the mansion. An icy wind hit my face as I gazed at the enormous stone stairs that climbed toward Fort Ivern, a colossus of ruins, history, and scars of war.
I began to climb.
On either side, two ancient statues seemed to pray in silence, their faces eroded by time and sadness. I passed between them without stopping. The stairs were cracked, broken, devoured by centuries of neglect. Among the cracks there were bones… bones of soldiers who never returned home.
In front of me, a knight possessed by the mist emerged staggering. His blackened armor gleamed with a sinister glow when he launched the first attack. I responded instinctively. Steel against steel. Sparks against death.
It took time, but I finally defeated him.
I kept climbing. Another knight. Then two. Then five. The mist had devoured them all, leaving them hollow, broken, turned into shadows with human shape. I fought each one, with fatigue building up in my muscles. But I kept going. I had to keep going.
And then, I heard it.
A roar that tore the sky.
A roar that made the stones beneath my feet tremble.
A roar that reminded me why I was there.
I clenched my fist, swallowing hard.
I continued climbing. The stairs were increasingly destroyed, as if the whole world had been bitten by a giant. And at the end of the path…
I saw it.
The dragon.
Huge. Gigantic. A living wall made of scales, fire, and fury. Emerging from among ruins and wind, imposing itself before me like an ancient god ready to crush my existence.
I didn't hesitate.
— Leaf —I whispered, summoning her.
She appeared, as always, with her bright smile and a childish excitement that contrasted with the beast in front of us.
— Woooow, Grimmn! Look, look! It's a dragon! So cool!
I didn't share her enthusiasm.
I looked at the monster, feeling the weight of my memories stabbing into my chest.
— This is your end… you wretch —I murmured—. Today you'll pay for Jeanne's death.
Without waiting, I ran toward it. I was faster than before. My blows were firmer, more accurate. The first time I faced it, I could barely fight it. But now… now it was different.
Leaf began to cast her magic. The dragon inhaled deeply, preparing an attack whose name I didn't want to know.
Leaf's magic fired first.
— Soul Discharge! —she shouted.
From her hands emerged four consecutive arrows of pure energy, shining like furious stars. Each one impacted against the dragon's scales, tearing off pieces of its natural armor.
I kept attacking its legs, its sides, everything I could reach. My sword slashes left deep wounds, though not as lethal as Leaf's magic.
But the dragon was enormous. Far too enormous. The blood it lost seemed insignificant compared to its colossal size.
Leaf noticed.
— It's not enough! I'm going with something bigger!
She unleashed another spell, much brighter, much more brutal.
— Soul Brilliance Magic!
Above the dragon appeared gigantic arrows of pure light, like spears fallen from the sky. They fell one after another, piercing its flesh, breaking bones, burning its blood. Each impact thundered like thunder.
The dragon roared in fury. It no longer looked at me. Now it wanted Leaf. And seeing her in danger froze my spine.
It turned toward her, spreading its wings to lunge on top of her.
— No! —I shouted, interposing my sword.
I took brutal blows. Resisting them broke my body, shattered my arms, tore the breath from me. But I wouldn't let Leaf die. Not again. Not someone else. No more losses on my hands.
Leaf, panting, opened a vial and took a long drink to recover magic. Her body glowed slightly. She straightened up again.
— …Just distract it a little longer!
I nodded, clenching my jaw.
I attacked without rest. Blows, thrusts, feints. It wasn't enough to kill it, but it was enough to force it to focus on me.
Leaf raised both hands. The light gathered above her head like a rising sun.
— Soul Brilliance… final!
The arrows appeared again, even larger, even more perfect.
The dragon opened its mouth to launch its attack, but I leaped forward, striking it with all my strength, forcing it to avert its gaze for an instant.
That instant was enough.
The arrows descended.
And one of them pierced its heart.
The roar it let out was a heart-wrenching lament, the final song of a beast that once ruled the skies. Its body began to fall, crashing against rocks and ruins.
And in its fall, it released something.
A sword.
It slid from one of the dragon's wounds, as if it had been trapped in its flesh since time immemorial.
I picked it up.
It was reddish, with a strange edge, almost alive. Heavy, sturdy. Filled with a magic that pulsed like a sleeping heart.
I hung it on my back.
You never know when death asks for another tool.
I continued the path alongside Leaf.
I reached the exact spot where Jeanne had died. The wind blew with a sad murmur, as if remembering the final scream of a life taken away.
I knelt.
I took out a small urn I carried with me and, carefully, gathered her ashes. It wasn't much. It wasn't enough. But it was what remained of her.
— I'll take you to the Sacred Forest… —I whispered—. There you'll rest. There no one will be able to touch you.
I stored the urn while my hands trembled a little.
And I kept walking.
With a dead dragon behind me.
With a promise to fulfill.
With a future that, though uncertain, kept moving forward with me.