It took us a minute or five until either Sigmir’s or my own body were capable of doing more than shaking and clinging to the other, as waves of sensation were sweeping through us. I had never felt anything even remotely close to it, a pleasure so intense it bordered on pain, as if every nerve in my body was lighting up at the same time.

Finally, I was able to lean back a little, my body slick with sweat and looked at Sigmir, trying to get my mind back into a semblance of order, trying to understand what had happened. I could see that Sigmir’s state was quite similar, only that her kneeling posture had allowed her to keep her balance easier.

“Wow…” I muttered, my voice feeling a little scratchy, making me wonder if I had screamed. Sigmir looked back at me, her eyes fluttering, her pupils trying to focus.

“That was…” she began, her voice sounding little better than my own, only to stop, at a loss for words. My own mind was similarly blank, every thought, every emotion purged by the overload I had experienced. It made me feel strangely loopy, as if my head was floating above the ground, my body simply dangling below it, like a marionette at its strings.

Sigmir tried to stand but stumbled, her legs not quite willing to go along with the commands of her mind, causing her to fall over. Normally, I would have chuckled and given her a hand to pull her up but there was that small problem of me being in her embrace and just as shaky on my feet as she was. In normal circumstances I would have been able to support her and hold her up despite the difference in size between the two of us, such was the magic of the attribute-system. While I had never put any points in strength, crossing the first divide meant that I gained some, giving me superhuman strength, if barely. But all strength in the world wouldn’t have helped me, not with my legs in the condition they were in.

We went down together.

Lying half on, half under Sigmir, in a tangle of limbs, I started to giggle at the situation. Here, we were lying in the aftermath of what I could only describe as a mind-blowing orgasm, looking more like we were about to start the naughty festivities instead of having planned a serious discussion.

At the same time, the short moment I had gotten into contact with Sigmir’s mind, amplified by or amplifying the gentle kiss she had given me had, quite literally, blown my mind. There was no doubt within me that Sigmir had meant what she said, every word and so much more. Her feelings were not made of a burning passion, even if I felt quite a bit of that as well, but they felt solid, steady, unshakeable as a mountain and rooted just as deep within her being. The mountains would get eroded and wither away before her feelings for me faded or she would consider leaving me.

“I could feel you, right next to me.” Sigmir whispered, taking into account the closeness of our faces and the roughness of her throat. “So fierce, so proud.” she whispered, before pulling me closer, a gesture I gladly returned, wiggling a little to snuggle in closer, simply relaxing in her embrace. For the first time, since learning that Sigmir had crossed the second divide, there was no doubt in my mind, no questions that I didn’t want to ask lest they be answered. But now, I was feeling supremely content, secure in the truth of Sigmir’s feelings

“I’m sorry for doubting you.” I muttered, not really wanting to speak up but feeling that it was the right thing to do.

“It’s fine. But I want to ask you, to never do something like that again. If you question, if you doubt, talk to me. I could feel you pulling away and was afraid I had made a mistake and was about to lose you” she told me, her voice still quiet but filled with emotion. At the same time, I could vaguely feel her emotions directly, not in any clear sense but a general feeling of contentment but if I focused I noticed the echoes of intense pleasure but also gripping sadness mixed with fear.

“I will, I promise.” I told her, meaning it. I had once heard that communication was the key to making a relationship work, something I had forgotten previously. I would have to do better in the future.

For a bit, we just laid there, clinging to one-another while our bodies stopped singing. Finally, Sigmir carefully disentangled herself, suggesting that we should look for a good spot to wash up, we were starting to get sticky. I had to agree, I could feel the sweat drying on my skin, a rather uncomfortable feeling. I let myself be pulled up by Sigmir, keeping her hand in mine, as we started to continue our walk, feeling closer than ever.

I noticed a small patch of frozen ground, right where we had been standing and pointed it out to Sigmir.

“Mhm, you were rather upset earlier. Your magic was just flowing out of you, I think it might have been from then.” she suggested, making sense.

“Did I hurt you?!” I asked, realising that if I had frozen the ground without meaning to, I might have hurt her as well.

“No, you didn’t.” she answered, making me wonder if she had used her aura because of my power going out of control. “For one, I’m rather hard to hurt anyway but I didn’t even have to resist your powers, even when they were going out of control a part of you made sure that I wouldn’t get hurt.” she added, giving me a gentle smile.

“Why did you use your aura then? Earlier, I mean.” I asked, my curiosity now awake.

“Because I wanted to protect you.” she answered, a little cryptically. Before I could push for a better answer, she continued, her smile growing wider and a little teasing.

“Yes, I know you want details.” she stopped again, just to tease me a little more, before she explained. “I told you, the second divide was one of emotion for me, of emotion and control about them. Feelings and emotion can drive you to great power but they can also shatter you, just as they did with you earlier. In my case, I wanted to incorporate my emotions into my class, something many warrior who follow a path similar to mine do. For some it is hate, hate for a foe channeled into a frenzy to strike down their enemies. For others it is reverence towards a totem-animal, allowing them to take on some of its characteristics.”

“For me, it was my desire to protect you, the love I felt for you. It took me a bit, to find the balance between letting my emotions rule me, pushing me beyond my previous limits while keeping enough control to protect you was a little difficult but I managed. There is a little more to it, something to do with my willingness to do everything for you, even split open the skies, which is why my new class is called Skysplitter.” she finished, without answering my original question. It was interesting, making me wonder just how the process of crossing the divide had worked for her but it didn’t tell me why I had been enveloped by her aura.

She chuckled for a moment, looking at my face, before giving me the answer I wanted.

“You know how my aura protects me, increases my physical capabilities and allows me to shrug off some damage? I can now spread it to you as well but with a bit of a difference.” she closed her eyes for a moment, apparently struggling with herself.

“For you, it doesn’t increase your capabilities, it only protects you. While you are protected by it, it will greatly weaken any attack striking you but instead I will have to pay the price.” she finished, my eyes going wide. I didn’t want her to sacrifice herself for me, not now, not ever. I opened my mouth, wanting to implore her to never use it, but the look in her eyes stopped me.

“I don’t want to be without you, I told you. I will protect you, no matter what.” she added, causing a tear to come to my eyes.

“That means I’ll have to gain power, enough power to make sure that you never have to sacrifice yourself for me. Because without you, I wouldn’t want to be here, either.” I told her, meaning every word. Once again, the logical voice that questioned, reminded me that Road to Purgatory was supposed to be a game and that the beta would end was ignored, stuffed into a box, the box sealed and dropped into a dark hole.

For now, the world was as it should be and soon Sigmir and I found a small brook, just big enough to wash up. We helped each other wash and once we were clean, our respective self-control broke, the gentle motion of flesh having worn at it during the washing. We ended up having to wash up again, maybe half an hour later.