I couldn't sleep. By the time dawn broke, Aeola stirred with the rising sun. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, but when she noticed me awake, she snapped into alertness and threw her arms around me, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry," she whispered again and again, her voice trembling.
I gently pulled back from her embrace, tilting my head in feigned confusion. "Sorry? For what?"
Her gaze fell to the floor, tears dripping onto her hands. "I failed to protect you," she said, choking on the words. "After all my promises, I did nothing when it mattered."
Her guilt cut deep, because it mirrored my own weakness. But I masked the ache with a smile. "It's fine. The pain's gone, the injuries healed. That's what matters."
She looked up, her eyes red. "But it cost us nearly all our money. What are we going to do now?"
The question struck me like a blade. My mind raced—until I remembered the words of the entity from my dreams.
"Isn't it simple?" I said, grinning with sudden resolve. "We'll take a quest."
The guild's medics cleared me after their final checks, and Aeola and I walked once more through the grand corridors until we reached the reception. The same receptionist from yesterday greeted us warmly.
"It's you two again," she said, bowing slightly. "Thank you, sir, for your help yesterday. I truly appreciate it."
Her smile lingered on me, and I felt my cheeks flush. "No problem. You're welcome," I replied, earning an even brighter smile—one that seemed to irritate Aeola.
"What can I help you with today?" the receptionist asked.
Before I could answer, Aeola cut in. "We'd like a quest, please."
The receptionist's expression shifted to concern. "Are you sure? You were badly injured last night."
"I'll be fine," I said firmly. "I'm tougher than I look."
Aeola added quickly, "And he has me."
The receptionist studied us for a moment. "Are you two… a couple?"
"No," I said. "She's my sister."
Her eyes lit up. "Then you'll need to register first." She placed a parchment and a glowing orb on the desk. "Write your names and sign beneath."
Aeola went first. As the orb touched the parchment, it glowed white, transforming into a guild card. "Wow, that's amazing!" she exclaimed. I nodded, still trying to comprehend the magic.
When my turn was done, the receptionist pulled several quest scrolls from the shelves. Most were D-ranked, but one was marked E. I chose it immediately.
"Are you sure?" both Aeola and the receptionist asked.
"Yes," I said. "I don't want to push myself too hard yet."
Satisfied, she handed us the scroll.
The quest was simple: retrieve a lost pen from a monster nest. Oddly trivial, yet something about it unsettled me. Why would the entity in my dream urge me toward this?
Aeola rented a horse, and we rode out. By the time we reached the nest, we were fully prepared—Aeola in her enchanted armor, me with my uncle's sword and my mother's gear. Before entering, Aeola asked me to paint the markings of adulthood on her face. When I finished, they glowed faintly before fading.
Together, we stepped into the cave.
The entrance sealed behind us with a shimmering barrier. Crystals lit the walls, beautiful yet ominous.
"This isn't E-ranked," Aeola whispered.
"Not even close," I agreed.
A dripping, sizzling sound echoed. From the shadows emerged a slime shaped like a dragon, its body decaying, corrosive liquid dripping from its form.
"What the hell is that?" I shouted.
It heard me. Its chest swelled, then it unleashed a beam of raw energy. Aeola transformed into a silver falcon, dodging the blast and striking back. I seized the moment, slipping into its blind spot and severing its head with my sword.
The creature's death cry shook the cavern. From the tunnels ahead, more horrors approached. Aeola shifted into a horse, urging me to mount, but the horde closed in from every direction.
"Damn it!" I cursed.
With no escape, Aeola clung to me, trembling. Then I heard it—a whisper urging me to look down. The ground was weak, wet, unstable.
"Turn into something that can fly!" I shouted.
Confused but trusting, Aeola became the falcon again. I climbed onto her back as the monsters unleashed their beams. The blasts collided, shaking the cavern until the floor collapsed beneath us.
The force threw me off her back. I plummeted into the abyss, Aeola diving after me, dodging the mutated dragon-slimes that swarmed her. She reached for me but couldn't break through.
I hit the rushing stream below, the current dragging me into darkness. My consciousness slipped away.