The heart of a cloud fort. Dallion kept thinking about it as he washed in his usual city lake. Normally, people wouldn’t be allowed to do that during the day, but both the city guard and the guardians in question turned a blind eye.

Little is known about the other races, Nil said. And by little, I mean next to nothing. Most of the information is hoarded by the Academy and the Order, and they have a tendency to hide things or make others forget. I suspect the Empire also had a hand in that. There were a number of wars between it and the cloud fortresses at one point. The records are kept away, but the information has leaked through literary works and memoirs. A case of air versus magic. There even were accounts that the furies were winning until the great hero Tamin the first organized an army of human awakened and destroyed a few cloud castles. Allegedly, that was the turning point marking the furies’ downfall and the rise of the human empire.

Allegedly? Dallion asked.

It’s poetry, the old echo explained with a sigh. Things tend to be over-glorified, especially in cases in which the poems in question were written centuries after the event. Of course, there are arguments that poets used earlier sources long since destroyed, but we can only guess what really happened. As a friend of mine used to say, history is merely fiction we choose to believe in.

That sounds a bit cynical.

My friend was an extremely cynical person, Nil grumbled. In any event, what will you do? Jiroh won’t be happy when she sees you destroy an entire cloud fortress.

Dallion didn’t reply. He knew that better than anyone. However, he had no choice in the matter. The debt had to be repaid, especially since Moon vows were involved. Back when Dallion had gone to the general asking for help to save Nerosal, he knew that he would get a bad deal, but he didn’t think he’d end up sacrificing one city to save another. If the heart was the force that held the cloud fortress together, removing it was essentially the same as dissolving the fortress itself. The only alleviating circumstance was that he was sacrificing an abandoned city.

Submerging one final time, Dallion got out of the lake and put on his clothes. Done, he left his secluded spot and went back into the streets of the city. Strangely enough, those hadn’t changed—some of them were still small and crowded, full of the same stalls, shops, people, and items. There were a lot of mirror pool members as well. Dallion was almost surprised how many of them were hiding in plain sight. Thanks to his empathy stat it was child’s play to find out who they were. The sloppy ones he could tell at a single glance—the blocker rings they wore were an obvious sign, rendering them incapable of emitting internal emotions. As for the good ones—no matter how careful each had at least one item they were attached too, and despite what people thought, items had a tendency to speak a lot.

“Dal?” someone yelled.

Dallion turned around to see a young woman wave at him with a smile. Her hair and clothes were completely new to him. Her face, however, was quite familiar.

“Hey, Bel.” He forced a semi-smile.

She had been one of the people he had taken his first guild admission trial with. Back then, she had a much punkier appearance. Now, she had turned her hair black and short, traded her often wild clothes to a more respectable traveler’s outfit—realm travelers, that was—and had had procured her a rather good set of combat gear. A quick chat with it, let Dallion know that the armor and weapons found her quite passable, even if there was a lot she could learn.

“Didn’t know you were in town.”

“I just came back,” Dallion said, flanking in the rough direction of the town gate.

“Tough ride in the wilderness, eh?”

“Something like that. Silver emblem?” he pointed at the guild sign hanging from her neck. “You must be rising in the hierarchy.”

“I wish. At this point, I’m just the newbie. I got moved to building duty. It’s…” she paused, trying to come up with the words. “…different. Much better than sanitation and a lot more difficult than item exploration. It has its charm, though.”

“That it does.” It felt like ages since Dallion had been on one of those. “Tell the band hi from me.”

“Definitely. Actually, why not do it yourself? Looking at you, you could use some real food, not the roots and twigs you eat out in the wilderness. There’s always a feast going on at the hall. I’m sure everyone will be glad to see you.”

There was a long pause. This was the sort of question Dallion feared he might be asked. He feared it, because the answer could only be one and the same.

“Maybe some other time.” He shook his head.

“Right.” Bel caught the hint.

To a degree, Dallion still felt guilty about his decision while being in the guilt. However, that wasn’t the main reason he was avoiding it. The Icepicker guild was the source of a lot of good moments, and a few bad, but it wasn’t part of his life anymore. More than likely, Jiroh and Eury had gone through the same. Maybe in a few more months he’d be able to pass by the guild as they did, but that time hadn’t come yet.

“Did you manage to become a hunter?”

“Soon.” Dallion said with a faint chuckle. “Was nice seeing you, Bel. You take care of yourself.”

“When have I done that?” The woman laughed, but knew that the conversation was over. “Catch you again sometime.” Aware of the awkwardness of the situation, she walked off.

That could have gone better, Nil said.

You’re starting to sound like Vihrogon. Dallion walked off.

I was rather serious, dear boy. If you’d stop ignoring me, I’d have shared all my knowledge on the topic, including—

Another time, Nil. I’ve already got too much on my mind.

I suppose you’re right. It’s not like your first months in Nerosal, when you rushed after every task or whim.

The echo kept talking, but Dallion had gone to ignore mode. Right now, the thing he needed was real information, and there was only one place he could trust to get it. Unlike the guild, it was a place he had continued to frequent, more or less, ever since leaving the guild. Also, it provided the best food in the Nerosal.

It remained a mystery why the inn was called The Gremlin’s Timepiece. Each time Dallion asked Hannah, she’d either shout or grumble at him, then come up with a completely different story each time. In some versions, it had the name when she had bought it, in others—she had named it as a way to mock the world. In a third instance, it was named so after losing a bet. Personally, Dallion liked that version most.

All of the tables in the street that were present during the festival were long gone. Upon stepping inside, Dallion saw the same few regulars he’d served upon first coming to the city. Having grown accustomed to him, a few waved or gave him a nod in greeting.

“Back already?” Hannah said in her usual fashion. The woman was nothing if not consistent. She never hid the fact that she didn’t appreciate him leaving, and especially moving in with Eury. However, thanks to his music skills, he could tell that the innkeeper cared about both of them just as much as she cared about Jiroh.

“It took longer than expected.” Dallion placed a gold coin on the counter.

The woman glared at it.

“I’ll need a bit more food this time,” Dallion said. “Was a tough trip.”

“Aspan, get something ready for Dal!” Hannah shouted. “You can go get it in a bit.”

Dallion smiled on the inside. Aspan—the so called cook of the inn—was rumored to never have left the kitchen. That was untrue, of course. He had left it on at least three occasions in the last year. What most didn’t know was that he was a member of a banished race, probably the only one who had managed to escape his banishment and return to the real world. What most didn’t know either, was that he also was an otherworlder—the fifth in Nerosal.

Hannah took the coin, then slid a half full glass of light green liquid to Dallion.

“Lime,” she said.

“Thanks.” Dallion took a sip. The taste was outstanding. “The place looks a bit rough. I can mend it up for you.”

“I don’t have the money to hire an awakened.”

“You don’t have it. I’m a future hunter. I’ll put it on your tab.”

The woman snorted.

“If you want to fix it for free, that’s your choice. I didn’t ask for it.”

“I know.” Dallion placed his hand on the counter. Moments later, all cracks, chips, and scratches were gone. “I’ll take care of the rest after I get my food.”

“Uh-huh.” Hannah had her doubts.

“Really, I will.” Dallion gulped down the glass, then upgraded it.

The innkeeper grumbled, and took it from him, before Dallion changed it into something even fancier.

“I met Diroh when we were out,” he said, testing the waters. “I didn’t expect that.”

“Give it time. You’ll learn to expect the unexpected.”

“You know?”

“I heard a year before you came to the city. It’s her business, so it didn’t concern you.”

That wasn’t the answer Dallion wanted to hear, but one he could understand.

“Fair enough.” Dallion mended the chair and was about to make his way to the kitchen, when the innkeeper grabbed his hand.

“What about you?”

“Hmm?” Dallion didn’t know how to react. He had seen the woman shout a lot, sometimes he’d seen her get tough on people who had a few drinks too many. Her speed, however, surpassed everything that he had seen so far.

“Is becoming a hunter all you want?”

“Yes. You know that.”

“So, you’ve given up on the idea of going home.”

Oh, not this again. Dallion sighed internally. He had no idea why the woman was so insistent about it, but she clearly was. The issue was that he had no intention of returning to Dherma. Visiting wasn’t a bad idea, but going back for good… that was definitely not in the cards for the near future.

“I don’t fit in there anymore. It’s Veil’s place now.”

“I’m not talking about the village. I’m asking about your real home. Are you thinking of going back there?”

The question echoed like thunder in a clear sky. Had she just asked him whether he wanted to get back to Earth?

“No,” Dallion replied. “I thought it was impossible.”

“How would you know? Have you tried finding a way?”

Another good question. The short answer was “no.” The longer—that Dallion had no inclination of doing anything of the sort. In fact, he didn’t have any inclination to seek out other people from Earth. There was no logical reason for it, simply something that had never crossed his mind. After all, half his memories were of this place, so, if anything, if he were to leave, he’d miss this place even more.

“There’s no way back.” He pulled his hand away, putting an end to the conversation. “Thanks for the drink, Hannah.” Dallion made his way to the kitchen.

“Don’t waste too much of his time,” the innkeeper said, before he could enter. “Aspan’s got a lot of work.”

“I’ll do my best not to bore him.”

“You should let him talk about his home sometime when he’s less busy. I’m sure both of you would find it interesting.”

“Maybe we will.” What’s gotten into her?

The innkeeper wasn’t one to delve into one’s past. That was pretty much the firmest rule. Everyone had their past, according to her, and as long as they were in the inn, they were free not to share it. Maybe the fact that Dallion had become a hunter had changed her view a bit. As far as Dallion could tell, thanks to his music skills, the woman had suddenly become saddened by something. Saddened and concerned. And it all had to do with him…