The morning of the next day, Ervan woke up, but he still had a hard time getting up to just stand on the bed. While Cailena healed him, the physical trauma that his body suffered would take some time to make him return to his tip-top condition.
"It seems that I worried you all," Ervan said while showing a tired expression. "I was counting on you to heal me, but I didn't expect that you would do it so fast, Cailena."
"Well, I learned a few things by watching Malon and Ailen," Cailena forced a smile.
"It is weird that Malon made so much progress in the last week, even I learned a few things from him," Ailen said while furrowing his eyebrows.
"I told you, I have some surges of inspiration now and then," Malon shrugged.
"I see…" Ervan said and then took a deep breath.
"Why did you come here?" Siora asked. "If you are from fifty years in the future, you didn't appear in this forest out of coincidence."
"... You are right; I knew about you," Ervan replied after a few seconds of silence. "In my time, you disappeared a few decades ago; no one knows what happened to you. It felt like you just vanished while leaving all this behind. I kept my distance because you don't have to bear the burden of your father's actions, but things have changed now, and we can't afford to be selective about what we need to do to win."
"... She is his daughter?" Malon opened his eyes widely. "Wait, how? He isn't from this period of time, so…"
"Time isn't a limitation for him like it is for us; you should know that by now since he is rewriting history," Ervan said. "Tenebres tends to do a lot of things when he is bored, and he doesn't mind the consequences of his actions in other periods."
"Anyway, I don't want to deal with you guys or with him, so you should leave as soon as possible," Siora said and then left the house.
"Her actions and words are weird…" Ailen furrowed his eyebrows. "She told us to leave and then left the house…"
"Try to understand her situation a bit, she is right in the middle of two sides, and she doesn't know what she should do; that is why she is trying to stay away from those that might involve her in this battle," Ervan said and then sighed. "Keep this a secret from her, but we need to convince her to join us… she will eventually be dealt with if she were to stay here forever."
"... By her own father?" Cailena asked, visibly shocked.
"I don't think that he will, but he has enough minions to do things behind his back if they think that she could become a threat; she basically has half of his potential, after all."
That made sense; everyone could imagine the dark knight doing that kind of dirty work while his master wasn't looking. It felt like the kind of job that would suit him. Regardless, Ervan wanted to spare Siora from the pain of that kind of information and the pain of death… she might end up thinking that her father sent his minions after her. She was really in a bad spot.
"It isn't like we can force her to come with us," Ailen shrugged.
"Just give them some time, and she will change her mind," Ervan said. "I should be able to move normally in three days; that should be enough time for her to understand a lot of things about what is happening."
Malon, Ailen, Sailene, and Vaeral found themselves in a situation where they were not feeling entirely confident about Ervan's idea. Still, they chose to follow his plan nonetheless. Despite their reservations, they recognized the importance of teamwork and unity in achieving their common goal. Besides, they would get a powerful ally if it were to work.
In the next few days, the group consisting of Malon, Ailen, Sailene, and Vaeral devoted themselves to intense training sessions, determined to polish their skills in magic, swordplay, and archery.
It reached a point where Malon was able to use his Timeless Slash two out of three times when he had mana. That was what he decided to call his newest technique.
Ailen became skilled enough to fire arrows and even pierce leaves that were falling from the trees, his accuracy was crazy, and he always hit them around the height of the tree. At the same time, Sailene was able to enhance her healing abilities, making them close wounds and alleviate pain many times faster.
Aion was expecting to get some new classes by watching them train, but it seemed that things weren't that simple… perhaps he was getting too spoiled. Regardless, during that time, Siora watched them patiently, hoping that they would leave as soon as possible. Not because they were bad company but because they made her feel like she had to do something as well.
On the night of the third day, the group was expecting to see some changes in Siora. Still, they didn't notice anything in particular. They waited for Ervan to do something, but he just shrugged.
"I guess my plan failed…" Ervan said, and everyone felt like facepalming.
As the group sat around the crackling campfire, the aroma of roasting rabbits mingled with the air, creating a cozy atmosphere that encouraged open discussion. With satisfied bellies and refreshed spirits, they began deliberating their next steps, particularly regarding the elemental spirits they should seek out after their encounter with the wind spirit. Ervan leaned forward, his gaze focused and determined, despite his last failure.
"Now that we have communed with the wind spirit and gained its blessings, it's time to consider our next elemental ally. We need a spirit that can aid us in our upcoming challenges. Any suggestions?" Ervan asked.
"We should head to the nearest one; it will be better that way to save time," Vaeral declared. "The next one is the fire spirit, and I will be able to combine both elements with some practice; it is our best option."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢