“There she is!” the old man from before shouted.

Two other men began to chase Emilia. They appeared to have body-length birdlike wings. “What a masquerade,” she thought. Their wings spread and both of them ascended into the air. They flew after Emilia while she tried to escape.

“Leave me be!”

She ran past others, who stepped out of her way and watched her as if she was an alien.

“What are you looking at?! It’s you who’s acting all weird!”

One of the bird men swooped from above right onto Emilia, pinning her to the ground with his talons. The old man reached them shortly after.

“I told you to lift the spell, there are no humans here. Are you hiding something?!”

“I don’t know what you are talking about…”

“Don’t fool around, who are you?!”

The talons clenched into Emilia even harder and it began to slightly hurt. While inspecting her, the old man’s eyes suddenly widened.

“But that means… you’re a human! Quick! Take her to a cell-”

“I will take care of her.”

Emilia looked up and to her surprise, she finally found Aleric.

“So good to see you, though, what happened to your ears? Anyway, Ken and the others are in dan- aaargh!” Emilia groaned in pain as the claws drilled into her.

“Quiet! Intruders are not to speak!” said the bird man.

“Calm down, Troy… she’s not an intruder,” Aleric said, “She’s a friend of mine.”

“Master… so you know her,” said Troy and released Emilia from his restrain. “My deepest apologies, young lady. I beg for your forgiveness.”

Emilia, overwhelmingly confused, slowly got on her knees and witnessed him from up close. Huge talons with sharp claws formed the man’s legs. Silver armor covered the body, which seemed normal, but a pair of magnificent amber wings connected to its back. They were almost touching the ground, partially obscuring the two sheathed swords hanging on the sides of his waist. Some of the armor looked like it was made of pure diamond, and on top of all that, a handsome human face. Emilia timidly reached her hand to him.

“An… angel? That proves it… I must be dreaming.”

Troy grabbed the hand and lifted her up to her feet.

“He’s no angel,” Aleric said, “Come with me, I will explain everything.”

Aleric took her to a room which looked pretty usual, a good place to calm down from all the craziness. She felt kinda relieved, as she made herself comfortable on a couch.

“So, tell me, what kind of a party is going on? All these weird people… and why were kids dressed up as short long-bearded grandpas while drinking beer?

“Dwarves…”

“What?”

“I am going to tell you some facts that will be a bit hard to comprehend, so please listen very carefully, I will try to speak as plainly as possible… You asked about my ears, so I will start with that. Well, you see, I am an elf…

Emilia began to chuckle, but Aleric continued.

“...and I came from a different world-”

She let out an intense laughter, since she couldn’t believe his words. She expected them, as she actually understood what is happening around, but it was so hard to believe. So unthinkable to consider it real. This nonsense was too beautiful to be true.

“You’re kidding, right?” said Emilia while taking breaks in between the bursts of amusement. “What were you to say next? That you are from a different world full of magic, wizards, dragons and stuff?” She resumed to laughter.

Aleric didn’t seem to be laughing along. Instead, he gave her the most expressionless, serious look ever. Emilia’s laughter slowly faded.

“Bingo…” she said and snuggled to her knees.

“The shockwave back then, did not come out of nowhere. On Earth, humans weren’t able to use magic, because Pura, the essence required to do so, was not present in your atmosphere. However, when the entrance opened, a huge mass of it bursted in from our world and unfortunately, caused the devastation.”

“Entrance? What entrance? Wait… so you are responsible for everything that happened?!”

“We were forced to use a device to form a bridge between the two realms.”

“Great. Absolutely fantastic. So you’re here for a quick visit?”

“A certain woman has to return to us. She should have followed after we came, but we’re still waiting.”

“I see, it’s that girlfriend you’ve been keeping secret, huh?”

“No… she’s the one with the device.

Ken woke up to fire crackling. Crickets were chirping and the gentle breeze played with the tree branches as they kept covering and uncovering the tiny stars.

“Guess who fell asleep!” Charlotte said.

“Ah, my bad… we should go...”

Ken sat up.

“Don’t worry, you haven’t been out for long.” said Marvin while looking at Shira, who was still unconscious. “What if… the rumours about the rift are true? It could have been some kind of a portal, that would explain where she came from. It would also mean there is another world or something! Do you remember when we were joking around as kids, guessing how a place like that would look like? Dragons, more magic, a breathtaking nature, just imagine… If there are elves, there might be some other races too, maybe even catgi-”

“Dude,” Ken eagerly halted the flourishing speech.

But, the thought of it stroke him with hope. A place where Charlotte could live happily and in peace. An untainted world, where the future is bright and holds seeds for a new beginning. A home, where one could fall into dreams without worrying about anything. “If only…” he thought, watching the flames in the fireplace.

“A fire?!”

Ken quickly stood up and immediately began throwing soil and rocks at the fire to extinguish it.

“What are you doing? It’s cold.” Marvin said.

“Are you out of your mind? They will find us!”

“We are alone in this sheer nothingness.”

“When did you start it?”

“Like, ten minutes ago.”

The cricket chirping vanished. A few seconds of silence followed.

“I located it, keep an eye on me.”

They turned to the source of the voice. It was a Laar soldier walking towards them alongside the cliff and talking on a transmitter.

“You there! Identify yourselves!” he said and pointed a gun at them.

Ken reached for his rifle, but the soldier spotted it and fired at him. Ken’s vision got instantly obscured by an ice barrier. It was Shira protecting him and the others quickly took cover as well.

“So you’re back… when I tell you, make it vanish,” Ken said.

The enemy kept firing in salvos, as if he was trying to find a weak spot.

“Hold it...”

After a short while, the firing stopped.

“Now!”

The ice scattered and the soldier was about to grab his pistol after running out of ammo, but it was too late, as he was in both Ken’s and Marvin’s sights. He slowly raised his hands.

“Please, don’t! I have children!”

“You have children, we have a question,” Ken said. “What is going to happen to Nataran?”

“Shut your mouth!” came from the transmitter.

The soldier turned it off. “Yes, yes, I will tell you everything! Just please don’t kill me! This sunrise-”

A loud shot echoed through the forest and the man’s head popped.

“Sniper!” Ken shouted and based on the corpse, he made out the direction where the shot came from. He wasn’t sure whether Shira would understand what east means, so he just pointed in that direction.

“There!”

Another round passed by.

Ken grabbed Charlotte and everyone stacked behind a thick tree in time for the next shot, which scraped its side, blasting the crust off.

“He’s on the cliff!” Marvin said.

Shira left the cover, fully exposing herself.

“Wait, what are you doing?!”

“I see him!” she said.

Shira instantly dispersed into a white cloud before the upcoming shot dug into the ground where she stood. The cloud headed towards the shooter. Ken peeked the tree and he saw it rapidly travel in between the other trees while the rounds of shots going through it didn’t seem to do any harm. It touched the cliff below the man and climbed upwards. Upon reaching the top, it mid-air assembled back into Shira herself. An ice spear materialized in her right hand, then she landed on her foe and thrusted it through him.

Ken, Charlotte and Marvin ran after her around the cliff. When they came to her, there were two horses and the enemy lying on the side with the spear in his body. Blackness spread slowly from the wound through the body like a poison, until it got consumed completely.

“Is this your doing?” Marvin asked.

“Yes…”

Ken observed the corpse and he noticed the damage has been caused by frostbite. Surprisingly, without any signs of actual freezing. The icy weapon didn’t melt either.

“There’s no cure to it,” Shira said, “It can’t be undone.”

“Be careful not to cut yourself,” Marvin said humorously.

She gently smiled, “Shall we go?”

“Indeed,” Ken said, “But first, can you tell us where you came from?”

Shira took in the view from the cliff, watching the decaying wastelands bathe in the moonlight.

“A world different from yours…”

Marvin stepped closer. “How different? Is it magical? See, Ken, I told you it’s real!”

“Definitely more lively,” she laughed.

“Why are you here?” Ken asked.

“To put it shortly, we had to escape the Sorrowbringer and this was our only option.”

Ken got disturbed by the answer more than he expected.

“We? Are there more of you?”

“Yes… our army’s survivors from the battle four years ago.”

The next question was on the tip of Ken’s tongue, but Charlotte stole it.

“The Sorrowbringer? Who is that?”

“The leader of the Cryth Empire.”

Ken was slightly getting annoyed that every answer sprouted more questions. One step at a time.

“How come you’re wandering alone, where are your people?”

“Well...” Shira looked at Charlotte, “Little girl, you said you got the thingy from a friend, right?”

“Oh yes, Aleric gave it to me. But I know nothing!”

From a simple smile, Shira’s face filled with joy.

“Aleric? He is here? You must lead me to him. Please!”

“Do you know him?” Marvin asked.

“Of course, he is one of us! And all of our people are with him!”

Ken stood there shocked. He didn’t understand how could Aleric be possibly accompanied by an army, or related to this at all. Though when he met him one year after the calamity, his common sense seemed a bit shaky. The way he spoke and behaved was unstable, but Ken thought he was just shy around people.

“You two have a lot of explaining to do,” he said, “We should go.”

There was no time for more chatting. Based on the soldier’s last words from before, Ken knew they have to return before sunrise and alert the higher-ups. Laar will very likely soon invade Nataran.

He noticed a strange tube attached to Shira’s belt, among other pouches.

“What’s this?”

She took it out. It was made of stone and had a small hole on both sides. With some runes etched into the cylinder, it looked like some ancient artifact.

“This… is the doorway between our worlds.”

Emilia finally began to calm down as everything started to make sense. There was so much more she wanted to ask, but her mind was about to explode.

“I can’t take in any more… first the Laar shelter and now this…”

“Laar? What’s with them, are they causing trouble again?”

“Trouble would be a weak word. They have probably hunted down our expedition groups already…”

“What do you mean?” Aleric said, roaming around the room.

It was Emilia’s turn to do the explaining.

“The fuel delivery didn’t arrive because they halted it. Our communication with the expedition has been suddenly breached. This everything just before the expedition… They planned it so that we are an easy target for them.”

Aleric impulsively turned to Emilia.

“What about Ken and Marvin?!”

“They are out there… and Charlotte with them, somehow. The military leaders, including David, refused to take any action because of us being in a huge disadvantage.”

“I can’t believe Nataran is just waiting, doing nothing,” Aleric said, “Someone is giving them a hand from inside, don’t you think? How could they even know where the groups are?”

“I really have no idea… I don’t know anybody who would possibly-”

Emilia got struck with a thought. She realized that Daniel would usually be the first person to make the call for liberation, but for some reason, he had backed off. As if something, or someone had been holding him hostage. It’s not like Nataran didn’t have any fuel left, they could have used it to further investigate the situation. Instead, they have sent a van to Tagume for more fuel tanks, claiming they need a bigger amount to commence a rescue mission… such an illogical waste, all of the leaders have lost their minds.

“Daniel!”

Emilia stood up and decided to meet up with him, he is probably still at the headquarters. However, Aleric caught her before she left the room.

“I am incredibly sorry... but I can’t let you leave. Not right after you’ve seen this place.”

She frowned, “Bro, are you serious now? Our friends are in danger and I might get some crucial info out of Daniel.”

“There’s a reason why we are hiding in secret, “ Aleric said, “If we were revealed, Nataran, or even the rest of the world would fall into chaos and put our plan at risk. You guys are not prepared yet, just look at yourself how you reacted! Wait until you get a hold of yourself, okay?”

“So when the promised woman comes back, you all are going to leave as if nothing happened? You have destroyed our home, our lives! I don’t care that you were in some stupid war, why should we suffer for your problems?!”

Emilia attempted to get away, but Aleric held her tightly.

“Listen up. If she comes back, we will, in a calm and organized manner, explain the whole situation to everyone. Thanks to Nataran’s mayor and a few individuals in the higher posts, we will be able to join forces with humans and retake the lands of Aeterra together.”

Aleric slowly released her, as she didn’t resist anymore. Emilia looked into his eyes.

“So now you… you want us to fight for you?” she calmly turned to the building’s exit. “Bullshit,” she said and rushed outside towards the passage where she came from. After a few seconds, Troy landed on her from the side and pushed her to the ground.”

“You again?!” she muttered.

“My apologies, young lady. I have been ordered not to let you out for some time, until your manners calm down.”

Emilia laughed and rested herself on the soil.

“You will soon run out of apologies… but alright, alright. I give up.”

Marvin hadn’t ridden a horseback with a girl before, so he savored every moment. Especially with someone like Shira, whose warm and soft hands gently clung to him from behind. When he saw her the first time, his heart melted from the gorgeous sight and through her deep blue eyes, he dove into her divine soul. Calling it love would be rushed, but he definitely found something special in her. A reason to go on.

Marvin was growing impatient, wondering about the other world, how it is like... All of his fantasies, he never could have imagined that one day, they might come true.

The starry sky was fading off when they finally arrived at the Nataran’s front gate. A guard was watching the two horses come closer from a short tower near the tall wall when he saw them. He climbed down and welcomed them.

“You have made it guys! The first ones after we heard the bad news… What happened?”

“Seriously? No one else?” Marvin said, “We have to talk to Daniel asap.”

“Hold up, who is that?” the guard nodded at Shira.

“Oh, she is a special guest, could you please let us in?”

“I am sorry, but you will have to wait for Daniel to grant her a visa, as for everyone who wants to enter. Rules are rules.”

“I see. I will go and search for him.” Marvin and Shira dismounted their horse. “Wait here until we get back.”

Ken jumped down from his saddle as well and helped Charlotte to do so. The guard gave Shira a few curious looks before he climbed back onto his little tower and pulled a few levers on a controller. He opened the gate and the three went inside, leaving Shira behind. There was another security guy who demanded them to dispose of their weapons before going further.

“Alright then, I will alert the headquarters about Laar and come back with Daniel to check Shira in. Then, we should meet up with Aleric and Emilia” Marvin said.

“I am going to take Charlotte home and follow you after. If you bump into them, tell them we are fine. The other guys though...”

Marvin knew not everyone was lucky enough to survive. Without the elvish angel, they would have become lab rats, or corpses by now as well. “Emilia must have been worried about us. I bet she will go crazy when I tell her about Shira and everything else!” he thought.

They split up, but Marvin stood in place for a moment.

“Hey Ken,” he said and made Ken turn back, “If we happen to somehow visit the other world… I want all of us to go and explore it together. To share any wonderful experiences that may come.”

Ken smiled.

“Sure! Let’s have some ooze beer brewed by the local slimes!”

They laughed and continued their way. Even though Ken didn’t look very excited, it’s an opportunity for mankind to get back on its feet and he surely has realized that.

When Marvin reached the headquarters, he found Marco sitting at a table near a covered window. With only a desk lamp, he was reading some papers and comfortably drinking coffee.

“Not planning to sleep anytime soon, huh?”

Marco choked on a mouthful of the coffee, spilling it on his clothes.

“You’re back!”

“And with bad news. Where is Daniel?”

“In his office… what happened?” Marco put down his coffee cup and tried to clean up the mess.

“I need to talk to him. We have to prepare what’s left of our military for an upcoming battle. Laar is about to invade us, at sunrise.”

“At… sunrise?!” Marco uncovered the nearby window and the dawn light blinded him for a moment. “But it’s almost that!”

Ken went through the sports hall with Charlotte, since it was a nice shortcut. When they arrived home, he rummaged through a few shelves to find some snacks for her and told her to take a rest. She didn’t have a pleasant experience in the past couple of hours and it clearly showed on her distressed face. Ken headed towards the headquarters, hoping to join Marvin on his way back.

When he walked near the Nataran Markets, he saw someone come out from an alley. As the person came closer, he saw it was Aleric. They looked at each other like on a miracle.

“Ken? Is that you?”

Emilia ran past Aleric’s back.

“Laters bro!-”

Upon seeing Ken, she stopped immediately and gazed at him. She slowly approached him and gave him a big hug.

"I am so relieved… What about the others?" she asked.

"Charlotte and Marvin are here, as for the rest..."

Emilia tightened the hug and Ken could feel her tears dripping on his neck.

"Laar is going to attack us soon, Marvin went to alert the headquarters."

"What?" Emilia stepped back.

"And you," Ken looked at Aleric, "You have a lot to explain, world traveler. But let's start with properly introducing me to a woman that has been so eagerly searching for you."

Aleric got confused at first, he seemed to understand that his identity got uncovered. But he got extremely excited and happy after hearing about the woman.

"Where is she?!"

“At the front gate, we just have to-”

The sentence couldn’t even be finished before Aleric hurriedly set off.

“Geez, wait for us!” Ken said and followed him with Emilia.

“Oh, so that’s the girl!” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“I have seen and heard some crazy stuff… This is nuts!”

Ken thought Emilia might have witnessed something similar as he did, meaning Aleric is likely connected to this after all. The rush he made after Shira only confirms it. They ran all the way back to the front gate right when Aleric went outside. As the gate stayed open, they went through and saw him standing immovably, not even flinching. He was gazing at Shira from ten meters away.

“Emilia, this will open the entrance to the place we were at.” He threw a coin shaped object at her, ”As fast as you can, go there and tell Troy to call everyone to arms. He will understand.”

“Huh?”

“Just go!” he shouted and Emilia listened. “Ken, take Charlotte and run away from Nataran.”

Ken came closer to him, while the guard was spectating from the tower.

“Dude, what happened?”

“Please… for your own good…”

Aleric was pretty serious, but Ken didn’t understand where it’s all coming from. Maybe it was because of the woman, so he decided to clear things up.

“You don’t recognize her? This is-”

“Shira…” Aleric looked at Ken, with a face of a man having stared into death itself. “The Sorrowbringer!”

“Long time no see,” Shira said.

“How did you get here...”

She took the stone tube she had attached to her belt and raised it above her head.

“Where is she?!” Aleric asked with a trembling voice, “What have you done to Solaris?!”

He moved his hands into a position as if he was aiming with a bow at Shira. Soon after, it appeared in a form of light. Instead of an arrow, the string held something like an energy missile.

“Oh, no worries,” Shira malevolently laughed. “I made her into something immortal. She will live on forever... as a memory.”

“You...” Aleric released the missile and it flew right at her. She made an effortless swipe with her hand and distorted its trajectory, making it hit the ground nearby. It exploded and covered Shira in smoke. She ran out of it and threw a massive blue fireball at Aleric, whose bow disappeared as he jumped out of the way. The fireball hit the front gate, blasting the whole wall apart and creating a huge breach in it. A noisy alarm came from Nataran, probably started by the guard who was already gone.

Shira threw the stone tube into the air far behind herself and it floated there, before a burst of energy splashed from its sides. The energy cracked the atmosphere in a width of a few dozens of meters. Then, the tube vertically dissected into two, opening the rift. Strong wind came from it, pushing Ken and Aleric enough to lose balance. There was nothing inside but violet blackness wavering like a water surface. A portal.

A man fully in dark armor emerged from the nothingness, with a sword unsheathed. After a while, another one, on a horse armored alike, holding a mighty lance. More followed through all over the portal’s width. Either on feet or riding some kinds of beasts, different from usual animals. Feet rumbling echoed around as hundreds of warriors were assembling into an army.

Shira crushed a blue crystal in her right hand. It released an aetheric essence that surrounded her body and got slowly absorbed.

“Well then… shall we finish this?”