[ Hakon ]

“Eric! Are you alright?” Shouted Hakon as he walked down the mountain with all the survivors behind him.

[ Eric ]

“I’m alright… I defeated the monster…”

[ Hakon ]

“What was that power? Those daggers. Where do you have them?”

[ Eric ]

“Well… I don’t know what was that but I know that I’ll never be able to use it again.”

[ Hakon ]

“At least it proved useful to you. Have you seen any survivors? Or at least… where the bodies of the fallen are?”

I looked behind me at the pail of rocks. I was going to say something about everyone being dead but the blood disappeared. I rash to the rocks and searched for the bodies but they were nowhere to be found. No trace of them at all.

[ Eric ]

“The bodies… They were here a minute ago… What happened?”

[ Hakon ]

“What do you mean?”

[ Eric ]

“I promise that there were bodies and their blood all over those rocks… But there is nothing there right now…”

[ Hakon ]

“You mean all the dead people vanished?”

[ Eric ]

“Looks like it… Wait… No. No. No…”

[ Hakon ]

“What is it?”

[ Eric ]

“I need to check something…” I said as I ran away toward the beach.

[ Hakon ]

“We’ll be waiting for you in the village!”

I felt slow. I got too used to the power boost from those daggers. The body of the guard that was killed by the tree also vanished. When I arrived at the village near the market the pile of bodies also disappeared. Again, no trace of the bodies like they weren't even there. I hope this one thing didn’t vanish into thin air.

I arrived at the beach hoping to see him or at least his body. I couldn’t see it. Last time I was in a rush so I don’t remember where exactly he was. Then I found a blood stain on the ground. It was definitely Tae’s blood. Usually, bodies disappeared without a trace so why is there his blood?

[ Voice ]

“Finally found you.”

I looked behind, the sun was raising and shining straight into my eyes. Then I saw him with ripped clothes, covered in blood, and a few visible scars on him. Tae was alive.

[ Eric ]

“You survived…”

[ Tae ]

“Of course I did. Thanks to you…”

[ Eric ]

“So you heard me… Good.”

[ Tae ]

“Yeah. I tried to take so little to survive and not take a lot from you.”

[ Eric ]

“Good. Hope it’s not years of life you took from me. Right?”

[ Tae ]

“Nah… Maybe a week or two. That’s why I’m still a bit hurt.”

[ Eric ]

“Right. Let’s take you to the village. Or at least what’s left of it.”

Tae was healed but not completely he needed my help to walk. There was a battle on the beach but nothing left of it. Just destroyed barricades.

[ Tae ]

“So. How many survived?”

[ Eric ]

“Children, wolves, and few adults like Hakon.”

[ Tae ]

“That many died?”

[ Eric ]

“Yeah… And the weirdest part is that there is no trace of them.”

[ Tae ]

“None? How is that posible?”

[ Eric ]

“I don’t know how. We are in a mythological fantasy world. If I think that way it’s not that big of a surprise. Still shocking news.”

All buildings close to the dock were completely destroyed. Jarl’s house was only damaged a little bit and everything behind it looked fine. Even my not finished house was untouched. Since Jarl’s house was in a good state then the supplies from Pure Sun should be safe there. While we can repair the village it won’t be the same.

Hakon didn’t have time to cry because he was already preparing the village for repairs. He was gathering all the rubble from the paths and throwing it at destroyed houses. It looked like the inn and Jarl’s house will provide shelter for those without a house. When Hakon saw us he put his work away to talk with us.

[ Hakon ]

“Are you alright? Do you need help? Bandages? Medicine?”

[ Tae ]

“I’m just exhausted. Once I rest I’ll heal myself. After all, Frejr is a god who blessed me.”

[ Hakon ]

“Right. Take him to my home. You can use one of the guest rooms.”

[ Eric ]

“If we have your permission. Sure. Definitely better than the bed in the hut.”

I took Tae to the room Hakon told me about. For a guest room, it was quite big and there was this big bed that might be even for up to three people. What kind of guests do Jarls have? Once Tae was put to bed he immediately fell asleep. I noticed he was shaking a bit because of how cold it is. It’s almost winter after all. I lit the fireplace and stayed by his side for a few minutes. Then I also fell asleep. It was a very cozy chair so how could I not? And a warm fireplace next to me. What else could I wish for?

For the next few days, I was helping with the cleaning and repairs of the village. I didn’t say no since they promised me free meals for work days. I didn’t earn any money but I didn’t lose any too. If I didn’t work I would need to cook for myself and I’m not good with that. I don’t think poison resistance would help me very much.

As for Tae, he was sleeping this all days while I was working. I know he is alive since I checked his pulse a few times. I’m not that worried about him! He took some of my life from me so, of course, I don’t want to lose it for nothing! One day he finally woke up but he still didn’t have the strength to move. At least he was able to eat by himself because I wasn’t going to be the one feeding him.

Before the first snow, the village was repaired and Tae could walk but his strength wasn’t fully recovered. He was almost as weak as an old man. Hakon was slowly getting used to being a Jarl. Merchants also were getting back. There were fewer of them than usual. They probably heard what happened to the village. One of them was Galmar who I haven’t seen for two months. I visited him at his stand since I needed some tools for my house.

[ Galmar ]

“Haven’t seen this face in a while.”

[ Eric ]

“Thought you’ll never come back.” I said as we both shook hands.

[ Galmar ]

“Well. It was a hard decision to come back here after all that happened.”

[ Eric ]

“One attack scared you that much?”

[ Galmar ]

“One? Eric… Didn’t you hear? There were seventeen attacks in total around here.”

[ Eric ]

“We weren’t the only ones attacked?”