A Hero With/Out Time

Chapter 22: Our change of pace. (Part 1)

Chapter 22: Our change of pace.

We ran back the way we came. The sun had risen now and the streets were beginning to fill with demons going about their business. All of them oblivious to what we had just done, smiling and believing in the future their Lord had instilled in their hearts. The future we had just taken from them. There was no time for regrets however. As we reached the borders of the city an alarm rang and guards quickly spread like ants in panic. They began to search for anyone suspicious, and with how we were dressed, we definitely were.

It was too late for them however as we made it to the clearing in the forest. Ronalt placed the unconscious Ardent down, he hadn't woken up and nothing Marley or I did stirred him. The amount of effort and mana he had gone through to keep Lara and the Demon Lord sealed was beyond ordinary comprehension. Lara wasn't in much better shape, only moving with Taylor's help.

"Now what?" Earnest asked.

"Without Ardent we are stuck here," Ronalt replied sternly. "We can only wait till he has recovered.

"It won't take long for the search to reach here, and as I said before, I'd like to keep my head."

"How about we run further north?" Marley suggested. "Once Ardent wakes up we can just make a new circuit."

"We might just have to," Ronalt looked down. "For now let us destroy this one and remove the evidence."

"Hold on," I held up my hand to stop them. "Let me finish it."

"You can do that?" Ronalt asked in suspicious surprise.

"I get the general gist of it. As long as you know the location of the portal on the Kingdom's side it should be fine."

"If a guide is what you need, then yes, I have been there several times." He straightened his back and looked down at me, "However Rain you have a lot to account for."

I sighed. I'd need to make something up but for now, I waved it away. "Later Ronalt. Concentrate on the image of the portal, the Kingdom, wherever it is. The clearer the better. Marley see to Lara and use as many potions as you need to get her better. We'll need her as the core."

"On it," she saluted and skipped over to Lara.

"As for me...," I stood above the circuit. It was complex even for the knowledge the Goddess had gifted me. Worse still, the last parts were the mana inlays that Ardent had yet to finish. Which meant this was going to really be a pain. I took out my knife and dug it into my wrist. The blood pooled and as my mana and heart flared, I began my work. The usual crunching pain clouded my vision as I made my way over the circuit rapidly filling in the gaps. It would be really awkward if my heart burst as we'd be back fighting the Demon Lord.

In minutes I finished and fell to my knees tiredly. Taylor shoved a potion in my face.

"Drink it before you die," she looked at me with a stern concern.

"Thanks," I looked at the vial. "You actually grabbed the right one."

"I've been watching enough to know a few things now."

I drank it greedily and stood up, "Everyone let's go."

"Good because I think I see them coming," Earnest said and waltzed over casually.

"Lara I need you in the centre, you're the one charging this thing. Can you do that?" I asked her as she stood shakily.

"Yeah, I can do it," she replied with a determined nod.

"Ronalt stand beside her, remember where we're going. As much as Ardent and I have put in the co-ordinates I really don't want to appear in a wall."

"I understand," he nodded grimly. I would have preferred a confident smile. Pina and the carriage were already ready and everyone stood in a circle.

"Now everyone hold hands," I took Lara on my left and Taylor on my right. As we completed the link the circuit began to glow purple and light up the forest. We would be a clear sight from the Capital. "Lara charge it!"

A burst of energy flooded from her and into the circuit below us. The world began to spin as the forest faded and was replaced by a limbo of colours. What looked like stars in a dark sky surrounded us. What they really were however was unknown. For a long moment we sat in that world of confusion and briefly I felt a familiar warm touch on my cheek. A white figure distorted into my mind smiling, Well Done, then it was gone.

The world around us shattered, cracking like glass and without realising it we found ourselves inside a brightly lit room. We had made it. Human magicians stood around the edges and the visage of the Queen crossed my blurred gaze. A sudden pain burst across my chest and blood vomited from my mouth as I hit the ground, staining the polished stone red. My heart had given way. As it would turn out, the spell used more of me than I had intended. Darkness took me away as I really did hope I wouldn't die.

*

A room of pure white. I was back there again. The shadowless unending white that took up my whole vision. As eerier as it always was, I was getting used to it now.

"So we talking again or what?" I called out as the Goddess's figure didn't appear.

"I was waiting for you to call first," the figure blended into existence, standing only a few feet away.

"If I'm here, I'm going to assume I'm not dead yet."

"You would be correct."

"Ahhh," I sighed and relieved my tension. "Thank God."

"You mean thank me?"

"Did I say thank the Goddess?" I smirked. "In Jane's world there were many concepts of God."

"But for now at least there is only me in this world," she floated closer.

"Or so I've been led to believe," I faced the figure. "Is there a reason I'm here? Maybe to explain that cliff hanger you left me on before?"

She laughed a joyful melodic chime, "No. That secret you are already part way to discovering. There are some misunderstandings but I'll leave them as they are. I can't wait to see your face when you realise."

I sighed, "That's just mean. As much as I'm thankful to you, you really do make it hard to mean it."

"The reason I did bring you here was to simply say, congratulations. You made it. Hurray. The Demon Lord is defeated. Despite him having the same ability as you, you triumphed."

"Yeah... we stopped the war. That is unless they still decide to attack us in spite or the Empire gets greedy again."

"Well that certainly is a possibility."

"Screw it, I'm done," I waved away the responsibility. "It's the Kingdom's job to negotiate the aftermath now."

The Goddess laughed again. Slowly her hands extended around my cheeks and touched them, "Our time is up once more. Good luck for the future." She sniggered, "Oops, was that a little to foreboding?"

"You really aren't a nice Goddess are you?"

She continued to smile as the world broke around me.