#final battles

“Get up.” My words were cold, but K’llean almost seemed relieved as he jumped to his feet.

“Belaire…”

I interrupted him. “Gather the best warriors you’ve got. We’ll track down Stella before she can do anything bad with the amulet.

“Priestess, bad news!”

Dangit! Curse my foreshadowing mouth!

I looked over, surprised to see Violet the fairy, waving her hands anxiously as she called out to me. I reached out to her, and she landed on my shoulder collapsing and trying to catch her breath.

“Violet, what’s going on?”

“The Dark forces are rising deep in the forest.” Her small hands clutched by hair, trembling as she spoke. “The monsters are gathering.”

I felt my stomach drop. “how many?”

“Too many to count!” Purple colored tears dripped from her eyes. “They destroyed our flowers!”

“And they’re on their way here.” Prince Henry walked in behind her, his face grim. “My men have confirmed it. A shadow monster horde. Larger than anything we have ever seen.”

“Stella?”

He winced at the name. “She’s… leading them. Her magic has converted to dark magic now, but it’s much more powerful than it ever was in the past.”  

To my surprise he fell to his knees in front of me, bowing his head in shame. 

“I’m sorry, Priestess. We brought the enemy right through your doors, claiming her to be the savior. I ignored her willful and selfish ways, spoiled her shamelessly, always thinking she was the one spoke of in the prophecies that would save us all.” His head slowly raised. “But I was wrong.”

I grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. “We all make our own choices, prince. And we will all face our own consequences for them. I won’t hold you accountable for her mistakes.”

“Thank you.”  A small smile flitted across his features. “I almost wish you were from another world. You are definitely someone I could trust with the fate of us all…”

…

I felt my smile stiffen in place as I turned towards Liam who winked at me, frowning back at him. Ignoring him as he broke into laughter, I finally met K’llean’s uncomfortable stare.

“Gather all the warriors, as well as everyone who can use magic.”

“Will we be able to defeat them?” He asked quietly.

“The horde? Definitely. Stella? It depends.”

“Depends on what?”

“Depends on just how much magic that amulet gave her.”

Taking a deep breath, I headed back towards my home.

“Where are you going?” Liam caught up with me.

“Changing clothes. I refuse to die in my pajamas.”

“…How about not dying at all?!”

I grinned, touching his face. “Of course. I haven’t kept my promise to marry you yet.”

“Belaire.” His voice was serious, catching my attention, forcing me to a halt. He seemed to be struggling to find the words to say, reaching over to pull me into a tight hug. “What if we’re not strong enough to beat them?”

“I’ll find a way.”

“But a life oath would multiply your strength ten times.” My face was pressed against his chest so I couldn’t see his expression, but his voice sounded near tears. “I can’t…”

“Liam.” I pulled back from his hug, reaching out to hold his face between my hands. His eyes widened at the short distance between us. “I won’t betray you.”

“But…”

“No buts.” I leaned forward, kissing him gently on the lips. “Stay by my side.”

“Okay.” Nodding with a helpless smile, we headed back to change.

Despite my confident words however, I felt a growing sense of dread. My mission was to push back the darkness without sacrificing the life of the priestess. It would have been fine if it was the original Dark Lord from the stories, but this was the Chosen One. She had already been powerful before encountering the dark artifact. If I wasn’t strong enough to take on Stella and the amulet alone…

You can’t escape your fate.

I shivered, feeling cold despite the summer’s warmth.

___________________________

“They’re coming.”

I stood at the main gate of the Elven Village, K’llean, Liam and Prince Henry at my side. Behind us were all the elven warriors, the rest of Stella’s party, as well as a few human guards that had come on the prince’s Request. We numbered less than a hundred, a pitiful few compared to the force we were facing.

I smiled at Liam. “Let’s move forward. I’ll keep a ward around the village, while everyone who can fight can try to take out as many monsters as possible.

“Wait.” Prince Henry frowned. “Why not just stay behind your ward if it’s so effective?”

“First, I don’t have infinite magic, and shadow monsters don’t tire like normal creatures. They would still be here long after my ward is down. Second, although it is a very powerful defense, I don’t know how much stronger Stella has gotten.” I gestured to the dark, shadowy forms in the distance. “She’s doing us the favor of sending her army in first, so we need to take the opportunity. If I have to face her and the monsters together…”

The prince grimaced, nodding his head. “Great, just great.”

“Regretting joining with us yet?”

“Give me a minute, I’m trying to find a suitably diplomatic answer.”

I laughed and walked forward, pulling Liam beside me. K’llean called out an order to the warriors behind us, and the elves marched behind, brandishing their weapons. I caught him glancing at me in the corner of my eye, and seeing my attention, he looked away uncomfortably.

“Don’t get hurt.” Mumbling softly, he drew his large sword, checking it over carefully.

“Same.” I closed my eyes briefly, finding my magic source and bringing it to reality. A light-filled dome surrounded the village, closing in behind the warriors that stepped forward. I opened my hand, and a sword made of light magic formed in it. Ready for battle, I watched, my heart racing as the twisted army approached.

One of the lead monsters, a seven foot long centipede-like creature with bright red eyes and large fangs, lifted its head up to the sky and let out a terrifying scream. The surrounding monsters, more than I could count, roared back, and then charged towards our small force.

The fight for survival had begun.

___________________________

I leapt forward, blade raised, slicing off the head of the centipede before slipping between the first line of creatures. Every step I was avoiding an attack, each movement a close brush with death. I struck left and right, leaving most of my technique behind. The monsters were so tightly crowded that even wild swings had a large effect. With each attack of my blade, light magic moved out in waves, burning and destroying the creatures around me.

To my right I could see K’llean, swinging his sword with both hands, taking out multiple creatures at a time with ease. The harsh training he had undergone, working tirelessly day and night to get stronger shined brightly, his movements flawless as he attacked in every direction. He coated his sword in light magic, occasionally sending out beams of it to assist some of the elven warriors who looked overrun.

Even in battle he’s still looking out for them.

Liam hung back, avoiding getting in the way of our light magic attacks. His bow drawn he shot arrows made of dark magic into the crowds. The arrows disintegrated each of the bodies it passed through, a wholly deadly force. It seems like as long as the dark magic is strong enough, it is definitely deadly even to shadow creatures, same element or not.

ROAR!

The angry cry of the creature in front of me brought my attention back to my own fight. Slowly, as I danced in between the monsters, I slipped into a comfortable mentality, one I hadn’t used since coming to this world. This was the me after Liam’s death in the zombie apocalypse. A warrior. Something that only existed to destroy all the monsters around me. I gave myself over to it, fighting on instinct, rampaging through their ranks.

I lost track of the hours, continuing to fight.

“She’s coming!” Violet’s whisper in my ear broke my daze, I sent out a wave of light magic, clearing enough space for our remaining fighters to fall back. As we gathered at the edge of my ward, I took gauge of our losses, feeling a pang as I realized that a quarter of our warriors were gone.

This wouldn’t have happened if I had formed a life oath. I wouldn’t have had to reserve my magic in fear of fighting Stella.

Selfish. Cruel.

Pushing these thoughts back, I had K’llean bring the fighters within the ward and turned back to see the situation.

Hundreds of shadow monster corpses littered the ground, splintered and broken. With my last magical attack the main wave had broken, the monsters fleeing back to hide behind their master who was walking slowly towards us.

Stella.

She looked the same but different. Dark mist surrounded her, moving restlessly along the ground, killing every plant it touched. Her body seemed unreal, as if the edges of her form were pushing against the air, breaking the reality around us. Her eyes glowed a bright red, the light in them pulsing in time to the glowing black jewel hanging around her neck.

She came to a stop a 50 yards away, speaking normally but her voice echoed in my ear as if she were right beside me.

“Belaire. I bet you weren’t expecting me...”

“Hey Stella. Going for a walk?” I smiled as I greeted her nonchalantly. “That’s great! Good for the health, you know, get outside, and breathe in that fresh smell of the rotting corpses of your evil minions.”

“YOU…!” Stella’s face distorted with rage, but I interrupted her swiftly.

“By the way, love the new look! The glowing red eyes really suit you!” I glanced down, grimacing. “Can’t say the same about your accessories, though, your taste in jewelry is just awful.”

“…”

“…”

Prince Henry sighed. “Please don’t antagonize the new Dark Lord before the final battle priestess.”

“What? I’m complimenting her!”

Stella couldn’t stay silent at that. “Shut up! I won’t let you annoy me this time around, elf!”

“Really?” I tilted my head quizzically.   “Cause it sure seems like I’m annoying you.”

“SHUT UP!”

Prince Henry turned to Liam. “Can’t you rein her in a little?”

He shook his head. “No. I like her like this.”

“Don’t bother with them, Henry.” K’llean exited the ward after helping the last of the injured across. Ignoring Stella, he came to stand on the other side of me, shaking his head. “I’ve been trying for years to correct their bad attitudes without success. Something small like the end of the world wouldn’t be near enough to set them right.”

“Ah, I’ll bow to your superior experience then.”

I shrugged at Liam. “Why are they acting like we’re the strange ones?”

“Beats me.”

“STOP IGNORING ME!” Stella’s voice was inhuman, a monstrous roar that echoed through the forest. Her power soared. The skies started turning dark as all the surrounding areas filled with dark magic.

Ooh, that struck a nerve. Looks like becoming the new Dark Lord didn’t rid her of her inferiority complex.

I made sure Liam was out of the way, and then enlarged my ward to protect all of us, pouring as much of my magic as I could into it.

“You think you can beat me now?” Stella laughed excitedly. “You have no idea!” Her magic continued to grow, the trees and grass between us and her completely died as the space condensed with darkness. I felt the pressure against my ward, it bent inwards against the pressure.

The dome of my magic glowed brightly, but I could no longer see beyond it, everything outside my ward was filled with darkness.

She’s… a lot stronger than I was hoping she’d be.

A hand wrapped in dark magic could be seen just outside my ward, the fist coming down to strike it with a large ringing noise. I felt a stabbing pain in my head at the blow, forcing myself to stay focused, to strengthen the ward.

Stella’s eyes shone through the darkness as she stood just outside my protective spell.

“Do you know what wish the amulet granted me?” Her whisper traveled across the space louder than a shout. “My greatest desire was to be strong enough to utterly destroy you.” Her fist slammed against the ward again. I swayed in place.

Crap.

BAM! Her fist struck the ward again, fine cracks appearing at the blow. I hastily repaired them.

Is this really it?

BAM!

All those years of work, of getting stronger, of slowly feeding my life force to grow my magic, and she can be twice as strong with a WISH?!”

BAM!”

I felt a strong rage building within me; a frustration against the world that only gave benefits to the heroine, evil or no.

I hate main characters.

BAM!

“Belaire.” Liam’s pained cry distracted me for a moment. I could barely see through a red haze that was filling my vision, I felt something warm dripping from my nose. I reached up to wipe it with my hand, and it came away bloody.

“You can’t beat her.” His voice was filled with agony, as if he were the one Stella was attacking with her fist.

BAM!

“I can handle it.” I struggled to talk, blood spitting out with the words.  My head was splitting, the pain increasing with every blow.

I have to save everyone from the Dark Lord to finish the mission. If I fail…I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I felt in my heart that it would be worse than death.

But the mission also states I can’t sacrifice my life like the previous priestess did. Given how powerful Stella is now, it would take every ounce of life force I have to beat her.

Is there really no way?

“Belaire.” K’llean sighed stepping in front of me, his face hazy in my blood stained vision. “She’s too strong.”

BAM!

Blood was dripping constantly on the ground, I pressed my hands against my head as if to hold it in.

“Please.” He begged. “Please, form a life oath with me.”

“No.”

“It’s okay if you don’t love me. But if you can’t combine your magic, you’re going to die!”

“…” I shook my head, having a hard time speaking any more.

BAM!

“PLEASE!” He grabbed my face, his  tear-filled eyes the only thing I could see. “Don’t throw your life away! Even if you form the life oath, I’ll let you go with him! I won’t bind you to me, just don’t die!”

All nice sounding words. But he was wrong. A life oath would bind our souls together. For me to leave him would mean tearing his or my soul, like the priestess had suffered in the original story. There was no simple way to untangle a life oath.

But the harsh truth was I didn’t have enough magic to win.

“I could try.” Liam’s defeated tone made my stomach drop, even as I struggled to hold on to my ward. “If I fuel my magic with all of my life energy, I might have enough to win. “

“Don’t you dare!” I snapped, trying to focus through the pain. “I won’t lose you again!”

The look on Liam’s face as he died in my arms in the zombie world was imprinted on my brain, unable to be removed. I missed my chance in the last world. I can’t let him sacrifice himself for me again.

BAM!

“Belaire, please. It’s the only way to save us all.”

Is it?

I felt like everything had slowed to a standstill around me.

Is this the only way? A life bond with K’llean? Is this some sort of twisted destiny I can’t avoid?

Is this my fate?

___________________________

I walked down a path, silk cloth rustling as I moved. The garden around me was beautiful, teeming with life, the heavy scent of flowers hanging in the air.

“Mistress! Please slow down!”  A voice called behind me, but I didn’t turn back.

“I can’t! He’s waiting for me!” My voice was filled with anticipation, excitement.

With love.

“MISTRESS!”

A white blur rushed past me, landing with a crash at my feet. I paused, my feet slowing coming to a stop as I stared down with confusion and growing horror.

A dove?

It had dived into the ground in front of me, landing head first on the stone path. Its neck was bent at a severe angle, clearly broken, its form was still.

Why?

From the ruined mess of flesh that had been its head, blood pooled, far more than could ever be contained within the body of such a small creature. The red liquid condensed, forming letters at my feet.

YOU MUST ACCEPT YOUR FATE

“No.” I was whispering, my head pounding, my vision tunneling.

“MISTRESS!” I head one last scream behind me, before I felt my whole body descend into darkness.

___________________________

“No.” 

I spoke out loud, blinking back a memory that had overwhelmed my senses, coming and leaving without warning. “I won’t accept my fate.”

K’llean was crying now, trying to heal me even as I continued to sway on my feet. “Belaire… I know you love him, but magical attributes are an integral part of magic. It cannot be changed.”

Wait.

It can’t be changed?

Isn’t that what we said about the amount of magic? That we are born with a fixed final amount? But I proved that wrong. The priestess proved it wrong in the original story.

Magic can be changed.

It just comes at a price.

I looked up at the sky, laughing with relief.

“Liam.” I called out softly, immediately feeling his hand grasping mine.

“Yes?”

“If I told you there was a way to save everyone, AND stay by my side, but that it would cost you almost everything, would you do it?”

His hand tightened on my own, as he answered without hesitation. “Even if you want my life, its yours.”

BAM!

“I won’t take everything.” I turned around, pushing away K’llean’s hand that was applying healing magic and grabbed Liam’s face, bringing it close to my own. “But we’re not going to live long after this.”

“Belaire!” At K’llean’s shout I turned to look at him

“Get ready to protect the village, my magic won’t work well for wards in a few moments.”

“You…”

“I’m sorry, K’llean.” I smiled. “I’m not a heroine. I’m actually pretty selfish.”

Before he could answer I looked back at Liam and kissed him deeply.

The ward around us disappeared, but K’llean immediately replaced it, his face turning bright white at the strain. He was powerful, but nowhere near my level.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOUR STRUGGLES ARE MEANINGLESS!” Stella screamed as she attacked again. “I AM THE CHOSEN ONE!”

BAM!

We didn’t have much time.

I drew Liam’s magic towards me, our kiss dampening my gasp of pain as I felt it burning even as it just came near my soul. The light and dark attiributes were truly opposites, repelling each other even before they could touch.

But magic could be changed.

I drew from my life force, feeling it quickly drain from me.

Deep inside I felt a panic, an emotion not mine but from the priestess’ remnant.

I’m not sacrificing myself, Priestess. At least not my whole life.

Before I drew too much, I began pulling life energy from Liam as well. The power  within me was bursting at the seems, and I applied it to my magic without hesitation.

One of us had to change to combine. We both needed to be light or dark.

I started changing my magic to dark.

As I used the energy to change the magic within me, I felt the light that shined deep within my soul turn black. My hair which was always a golden blond, turned black at the roots, the color slowly taking over the long locks hanging down my back. It was painful, deeply painful. Not just losing my life force but the changing of something so integral to my existence was pure agony.

Which is why I changed my magic and not Liam’s

Besides, dark magic is a better fit for a villainess like me.

As my magic changed attributes, I quickly began forming a life oath with Liam, our thoughts integrating with each other, saying the words of the oath silently between us.

I trust you with my life, my heart, my magic.

I will walk hand and hand and face all danger with you.

I promise to stay by your side forever, until there is nothing left but dust.

As the last of our magic combined, I whispered out loud. “I love you.”

The life oath was complete.

___________________________

As the magic combined, just as they said, the amount was ten times or more my natural source. Reaching for the unfamiliar dark magic, I stepped outside the barrier, smiling at Stella.

“Hey, Chosen One.”

Her dark magic crumbled around her, being overwhelmed by a much stronger force.

“Turns out you aren’t so special after all.” As her magic was crushed, I lifted her up into the air, separating the amulet from her.

I can give you everything you wanted.

I heard the faintest of whispers from the artifact, before using my dark magic to crush it to pieces. After not being able to leave even the smallest scratch on it when I had tried to destroy it months ago with light magic, the dark magic easily consumed it, seemingly breaking it down from the inside.

“NOOOOOOOO!” I wasn’t sure if it was Stella or the amulet that screamed in pain and anger, but I didn’t care. I walked closer to the heroine, my magic holding her in place. Leaning forward, I whispered in her ear.

“You’re not the only world traveling girl around. And I’m a lot meaner.”

Before she could respond, I reared my arm back and punched her in the face. She fell to the ground unconscious.

I heard cheering behind me, but I ignored it as I placed my hand against her head, using my powers to burn up all traces of her magic. When it was done, I leaned back with a sigh. 

“You’re not going to kill her?”

“Too easy.” I grinned. “The thing she hated most was being unimportant. And now she’s completely powerless.” I stood up, cleaning my hands. “You can have her. Imprison her, cast her out in exile. I don’t care. Just don’t kill her.”

It wasn’t that I was against killing. I had already done plenty of that. But I wasn’t sure what would happen to a story world whose heroine was killed early, even a broken one like her.

Turning around, I stumbled a bit, the loss of life energy and the depletion of my magic making me feel drained. An equally tired but happy looking Liam placed his arm around my waist, supporting me.

“Thanks.” I smiled at him, feeling the comfortable bond of his soul against mine.

Liam placed his forehead against mine. “Anytime.”

“… I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

I sighed. “I had to use up the majority of our life force. We’ll only be able to live another five or ten years.” Compared to the centuries that the life expectancy of elves normally ran, it was a blink of an eye, but Liam just shrugged, unconcerned.

“Better five years as your husband than hundreds without you.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Noted.”

“…” An awkward silence fell as we reached K’llean, who was staring at me with a lost expression.

Finally I smiled sadly at him. “Sorry, K’llean, I won’t be able to be the priestess anymore.”

K’llean stared at my newly darkened hair, nodding slowly.

“Liam and I will get married, and then I think we’ll travel around…”

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” A loud shout interrupted  us, as the elder of the village came out of hiding, glaring at me. “I don’t know how you CORRUPTED your magic, but you will fix it immediately!”

I chuckled. “Sorry, can’t. Even if it wouldn’t literally kill me to change it again, I’m already bonded to Liam here.”

“YOU BLASPHEME YOUR HOLY ROLE!”

“You’re welcome, by the way, for saving the village… and the world.” I shrugged. “But I’m not your priestess anymore, and I don’t feel like sticking around and waiting for you to figure out how to use my newly upgraded magic for your own benefit.”

“You can’t leave! You made oaths to stay and lead us!”

K’llean laughed, but it was a deeply sad sound. “She can leave anytime she wants. Her oath was to stay, lead, guide and protect us for as long as the light magic shines within her.” He smiled at the elder, gesturing at my changed appearance. “As you can well see… it no longer shines. So she’s free.”

“YOU…”

“Just shut up.” Sighing with frustration, K’llean applied magic over the elder’s mouth, as I had done multiple times in the past. I nodded with approval, giving him an awkward smile

“Thanks…”

“Don’t thank me.” He interrupted, no longer meeting my gaze. “You would rather risk everything, giving up the majority of your life span, than choose me.”

“…” I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. He was speaking the truth.

His eyes finally met mine, but the pain in them was hard to watch. “It’s better if you both leave sooner than later. The village won’t forgive what you’ve done.”

“… Will you?”

“Forgive you?” He gave a helpless smile, looking up at the sky. “I honestly don’t know.”

“Then I’ll say goodbye, K’llean. I’m glad you were my friend.”

I took Liam’s hand and we walked towards Prince Henry, but behind us I heard a soft whisper.

“Live well, my friends.”

I felt a deep sense of relief and gratefulness. The last of the Priestess’ remaining emotions. I had saved her people, and found my own happiness. I smiled, feeling the last remnant of her faded away.

“Rest in peace, Priestess.”

In front of me formed bright blue words.

100% complete.

**** You have finished the mission! ****

Stay in this world?

YES/NO

I smiled, and for the first time in response to this question, said “Yes.”

Granted.

You will be transported to the next world at the end of your character’s natural life.

I was almost knocked over as Liam knocked into me, grabbing and holding me tightly to his chest, his face desperate.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked confused. “I don’t know. I just felt for a moment that you might leave me, and I was terrified to let you go.”

I grinned, kissing him. “Don’t worry. I’m here to stay.”

___________________________

We lived for eight years together as husband and wife.

Although the life oath was more intimate than any title, Liam insisted that we hold a ceremony in the capital of the human territory. Prince Henry helped him plan it out, and since I was the technical savior of the world, it turned into a rather large party.

Looking at the lavish decorations, the happy faces and magical lights floating in the air like balloons, I felt something within me relax.

I wish the Blood Wolves could have seen this party. Although they would have complained about the lack of explosive balloons and weapons.

The fairies had shown up, dancing in the air and drinking too much wine. Violet became a purple blur as she whizzed over our heads, shouting “Congratulations!”

K’llean was invited, but he never came.

___________________________

After the wedding, Liam and I traveled the world. Exploring dungeons, riding desert creatures, diving into the deepest of the dwarves mines, we tried it all, hand in hand.

One night, as we slept under the stars, a thought occurred to me, and I asked him.

“What do you think you would have done if we never met?”

Liam frowned, holding me tightly against his chest. “We did meet though. We’re married. No take backs!”

“No, I just mean, hypothetically, if you and I never met, what do you think you would have done?” I leaned into his embrace, patting his head comfortingly. It wasn’t as soft as his fur in his wolf form, but I did still like touching his hair.

“It… wouldn’t have ended well.” Liam sighed. “I was already on the brink of completely losing myself. I spent more time as beast than elf. If I hadn’t met you… I think I would have left to get stronger, and eventually come back to destroy them… maybe destroy everything.”

“So if you had run into the woods and say, found the amulet…”

“I would have immediately taken the power it offered.” Liam nuzzled my shoulder. “I’m not a good person, Belaire. Do you regret it?”

Did I marry the original Dark Lord?

I shrugged. “I’m not a good person either, so I think we’re even.”

___________________________

After six years, we ran into Stella again. It was on the streets of an outer human town. We had come back from a monster slaying quest, and had just turned in our spoils for a good profit. As I skipped next to him, happily counting our coins and discussing the lavish meal we would buy with it, I heard an angry shout.

“YOU SHOULD ALL FEAR ME!”

Liam eyes met my own.

“Is that…?” I hesitantly asked.

We both looked over. A disheveled young woman with wide eyes rushed towards a random pedestrian.

“I AM THE CHOSEN ONE! THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD!” She shook her head, confused. “No…. wait… I’m the DARK LORD! I will destroy you all!”

I stared at her, feeling conflicted.

What are the odds that we’d run into her?I shook my head. Nevermind, she’s the heroine, she runs into everyone.

I hadn’t liked her, in either the original story or this lifetime. But there was no escaping that I had changed her life.

Stella sat down, glaring at the ground. “If it weren’t for that stupid elf priestess, I would be living wonderfully. They’d be pampering me, protecting me... IT’S ALL HER FAULT! I’m going to kill her! Tear her to pieces!”

Well… not gonna lie… that makes me feel a bit better.

Liam was uncomfortably silent for a few moments. “Do you want me to kill her?”

I kissed his cheek, pulling him away. “Thanks for the thought, but she’s not a threat anymore.”

We left her behind, and never saw her again.

___________________________

Years passed, we lived each day side-by-side, happy to be in each other’s company. But all things come to an end, and as we came close to the eight year mark after the defeat of the Dark Lord, I could feel the life energy within me running out.

“Liam.” I held his hand. “I want to go back to the forest.”

He stared at me quietly for a few moments, and then smiled. “Of course.”

When we entered the village, I noticed a few differences. The area was bustling, filled with activity. There were more people from other races, traces of multiple types of magic being used. I walked further in, hand in hand with Liam, staring around in excitement.

“Belaire?” A familiar voice called out, and we both turned to see K’llean standing off to the side, watching us with a complicated expression. Despite the passage of time, he hadn’t aged much, other than a gentle maturity in his eyes.

“K’llean.” I smiled tiredly at him. “We’re home.”

He brought us to a large home in the center or town, one that hadn’t existed when we left eight years ago.

“Is this yours?”

K’llean smiled. “Yeah, it’s mine.”

“How’d you get such nice place?”

“Well…”  Before he could answer fully, the door slammed open and a young warrior elf barged in.

“Elder, that brat the advance class is causing trouble again, can you come yell at him? You’re the only one he’s scared of.” He then noticed Liam’s and my presence. “Oh, sorry, didn’t know you had guests… dark magic elves?”

K’llean rubbed his forehead. “T’nial…”

“Do you know Belaire and Liam?” The young elf was too excited to notice K’llean’s warning tone. “They had dark magic too! They saved the world, you know, and they’re from our village!”

“T’NIAL!”

“What? Come on Teach, you act like you don’t talk about them all the time.”

Liam and I grinned. Seeing our expressions, K’llean frowned walking to the door.

“Out. Now.”

“But…”

“Or do you want to take over training the youngest class?”

“I’m heading out now!” With a cheerful wave, T’nial ran out, leaving a slightly awkward silence behind.

“Elder?”

“You talk about us?”

Liam and I asked different questions at the same time.

He sighed in response. “Yes I am the new village elder since the last one died three years ago. No I don’t talk about you all the time.”

We sat down, and K’llean made us some tea. As he poured, he asked quietly. “So what brings you two back? I thought you weren’t planning to come back.”

I leaned back in my chair, smiling at Liam. “We came back to die.”

CRASH!

K’llean’s hands faltered as I spoke, dropping the cup onto the floor, which shattered into multiple pieces. He blinked, staring down at the mess in confusion, and then looked up at me again.

“What did you say?”

“Our life energy is running out.”

“… “ He grabbed another cup, starting to pour tea again. “How long?

“A week, at most.”

He sat down hard, putting his head in his hands. “You really know how to break news, huh?”

“What do you mean? I’m super sensitive!”

Liam started to chuckle, a sound that he quickly disguised as coughs.  I glared at him, causing both K’llean and Liam both lose it and laugh loudly.

After things had calmed down, K’llean sighed. “You two haven’t changed.” Pausing he added. “No… you’re happier than you ever were here.”

“You’ve done well too.” I grinned. “The village is so exciting now.”

“Just a few small changes.” He shrugged. “If we stay mired in our past, we’ll never move forward.”

“…K’llean?”

“Yes?”

“Can we stay here until the end?”

“…” There was a long, tense silence before he finally grinned. “Until the very end.”

There were tears in his eyes, but we  all ignored them.

___________________________

A week passed quickly. I spent time walking the forest with Liam and K’llean, visiting our old training spots, seeing all the new changes with a smile. We argued constantly over trivial memories, none of us mentioned the fights that had truly torn us apart.

My energy ran out first, which didn’t surprise me as I had originally taken more from myself than from Liam. As I rested in bed, feeling the remainder of my life fade. K’llean sat down to say his goodbyes.

He reached out and held my hand. “I‘ll always love you, you know.”

I smiled at him. “I know. I love you too.”

“… just not in the way I wanted.”

“No. But you’re family, whether you want it or not.”

He laughed, gripping my hand as if he was afraid to lose it. “No, I want it.”  Taking a deep breath, he added. “I’m sorry, that I tried to force you two apart.”

“It’s okay, fortunately you’re terrible at being the villain.”

“Fortunately.”

“…”

“… Did I ever have a chance?”

I sighed quietly. “No. It was always him.”

“Well… at least you’re honest.”  He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, his eyes closed to hide his tears. “I’ll go get your husband before he thinks you’re running off with me.”

“K’llean.”

He paused, looking back at me. In his eyes I still saw the shadow of the arrogant boy declaring that he was the strongest elf and would protect everyone. “Yes, Belaire?”

“Live well. Be happy, please.”

“Hmm…” He leaned his head against the doorframe, forcing a smile. “I was fortunate enough in this lifetime to love you. How can I not live well?”

He left, and Liam came by. Skipping the chair by the bed entirely, He laid down next to me, gathering me in his arms.

“Liam, sorry, I have to go first.”

“… You should be sorry. Next time don’t divide things so unevenly.”

We hugged silently for a few minutes, before I finally spoke up, my voice soft.

“I’m scared.”

“Don’t be, I’m here.”

“What if I can’t find you in the next world?”

He paused at that. “Even if you don’t, I’ll find you.”

“But you never remember me.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll love you each time we meet.”

I leaned close, kissing his cheek. “Good. Next time, you chase me, courting you is exhausting.”

“I’ll listen, wife.” Liam smiled. “I’ll definitely chase you next time.”

“Don’t forget your promise.” I tucked my head against his chest. “See you in the next world.”

He hugged me tightly. “See you soon.”

I closed my eyes, and in the darkness, bright blue words formed.

CHARACTER LIFE AT END.

TRANSPORTING TO NEXT WORLD…

I felt the brief nothingness between worlds, and almost instantly arrived in the next one. Surprised, I realized I was still lying down, but the soft bed beneath me had been replaced by a hard flat surface.

I opened my eyes, but saw nothing but darkness. Trying to sit up, I immediately hit my head on something hard.

“OUCH!” the sound as I yelled with pain was muffled. Concerned, I reached around, realizing the confined space I was in, Just big enough to hold my body laying flat. As I felt the velvet inner lining around me, I came to a grim realization:

I was in a coffin.

“SON OF A…”

___________________________

K’llean sat up as he saw Liam enter the room, dried tears on his face.

“Is she…”

Liam nodded. “She’s gone.”

He let out a breath he felt he’d been holding all day.

She was gone.

Ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest, he looked up at the dark haired elf. “How much longer until you…?”

Liam shrugged nonchalantly, sitting lazily down on the chair in front of him. “I’ll go in a little bit. No use staying here without her. But you looked like you wanted to talk first.”

K’llean’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you so different?” The change after Belaire had passed was striking. He looked the same, his form unchanged, but his eyes…

They were suddenly filled with a sense of deep wisdom, of strong power…

Of horrifying sadness.

Liam smiled. “I only get to remember things at the very end. Kind of a middle finger to me from the universe as I realize just how futile our goal is.” He shook his head. “But you don’t need to know all that. Why don’t you ask the questions you really want to know the answer to?”

“…”

“Come on, don’t be shy, I’m in a bad mood right now, so I’m much more likely to tell you the unpleasant truth than a sweet lie.”

“…Why did she never even consider me?” K’llean threw up his hands. “We met when we were kids, for crying out loud! I know I was little annoying…”

“Very annoying.”

“I know I was very annoying, but I matured, grew strong. I always stayed by her side, supported her, helped her… but she never even thought about loving me the way she did you.” He leaned back with a groan. “I just don’t know why.”

“Well, leaving out the complex discussion of my amnesiac wife being the woman you fell in love with, and how you’re lucky you struck out… the easy explanation is that you already had your chance, and you blew it.”

“I what?”

Liam looked up in the sky, seemingly silently conversing with something. “You owe me.” He muttered out loud, before opening his clenched hand to reveal a small red object. ”Ooh, a red pill, very sci-fi.”  He tossed it to K’llean, who caught it, looking at it uncertainly.

“What is….”

“Swallow it.”  Liam spread out his hands. “It will give you memories that you never should have had. Of this world as it was before my wife fixed it for you.”

Feeling a deep sense of dread, K’llean lifted the pill to his mouth and swallowed it. Immediately it felt that his head was splitting open and he fell to the ground, gagging.

“Oh you can’t throw it up. Knowledge, once you gain it, is yours forever.”  He grinned. “Serves you right.”

K’llean blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the completely different lifetime of memories that he had acquired. “I… married her?”

“Well, not really her. You did grow up with the Priestess. You married her. You betrayed her, and watched her die to save you and your lover.” Liam’s gaze was cold. “Now do you understand? You never had a chance because you already wasted it.”

“No… this isn’t right. Belaire… she never would have taken things so calmly… I could never turn my back on her.”

“On Belaire… no. On the priestess… definitely. You see, in the original, you grew up thinking you were the greatest. And the priestess always just agreed. You were an entitled, selfish brat who had everything, including affection, handed to you, and you thought it was what you were owed.”

“What I was owed…” K’llean winced. “It makes me sound like Stella.”

“Exactly, which is honestly why it’s surprising you hit it off with her so well. I assume it was some main character magic forcing the issue, at least partly.” He leaned forward. “At the end of the day, I don’t think you really loved the Priestess. I think you were fond of her. You saw her as a friend, as a companion. But, she was never as important to you as your happiness.”

“I…”

“My wife on the other hand… She ran circles around you!” He laughed. “No matter how hard you tried, you could never be stronger than her. She worked harder, cared more, and did it all without ever looking your way. You learned from her how to care for others, how to put everyone else before yourself. But you never lost that desire… the desire for family, for that perfect happiness that you sensed was within reach but could never touch.”

Liam stood up. “You went a bit crazy back then… but all protagonists do when the world that used to revolve around them suddenly grows bigger. It seems that you’ve become a good person despite it all, and I applaud you for it.” He started walking back to the room where Belaire had rested.

“Where are you going?”

“To follow my wife. She’s gone to the next world without me, and I can’t let her down.”

K’llean stood up. “What if… what if I followed her… tried to win her over this time?”

“You could.” Liam laughed. “But you wouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“It costs too much.”  

“I’m willing to pay any price!”

Liam shook his head. “You know, you’re better than that other asshole that half-heartedly follows her now.  I actually thought you might be him for a quick minute… but you’re too messy in front of her. That guy always has to be the perfect hero, because he thinks that’s what she wants. He refused to sacrifice anything really, so he can’t follow her carefully, he just depends on that damned protagonist luck of his.”

“What are you…?”

“You’d probably be willing to give up your life, your future, even your memories… But what about the village?”

“…”

“What about those kids out there that you’re teaching magic to? What if the cost was all of them as well?”

“…” K’llean hung his head, surprised when Liam patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s okay. That’s why you’re a hero.” His body started being covered in a black fog. “And why I’m a villain.”

Now in wolf form, the familiar dark blue eyes seemed to be laughing as he disappeared into the room next door.

Stunned, K’llean followed after him, only to see the two lying side by side, no longer breathing.

“You both keep calling yourself villains.” He muttered to himself. “Why can’t I believe it?”

___________________________

Seven hundred years later…

K’llean found the old cave, the one where Liam, Belaire and him used to practice in. His bones creaked as he laid down, looking at the familiar patterns on the stone ceiling.

“I lived a long life, Belaire. I was happy enough I think. Are you proud?”

There was no answer.

He laughed softly, tears forming in his eyes. “I miss you, you know. Even after all these years.”

He rested in silence, counting his breaths, only to be shocked by the formation of bright blue words in front of him. He reached out to touch them, but his hand passed right through them.

“Magic?” He whispered, staring at the words.

Do you plan to reject your fate and follow?

“Follow?” His breath caught. “You mean see Belaire again?”

Yes.

Part of him wanted to shout “yes.” But he remembered that conversation with Liam all those years ago.

“What would it cost?” he asked instead

Paragraph after paragraph filled out in front of him, which he read with increasing horror.

“Liam, you bastard.” He finally whispered. “No wonder you call yourself a villain.”

He sighed, leaning back and covering his eyes with a hand.

Do you plan to reject your fate and follow?

K’llean laughed bitterly to himself. “No.”

You were right, Liam. I wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice that much.

The words disappeared, never to be seen again.