Endless Path

       Sylvarien tossed and turned in her bed, desperately trying to fall asleep.

       It had been a few hours since Corbin and Valerith had gone to sleep. However, she was the exception.

       Corbin’s soft breathing didn’t help her restlessness at all. After he offered her some of his memories, all she could think about was how someone’s memories from a different world would taste.

       Eventually caving in, she quietly pulled her blanket off her body and got out of bed. Her bare feet touched the stone ground, slightly warm from being underground but still chilly.

       The cave was pitch black, Valerith must have turned all the candles out before he started restoring his energy. Her Varren power luckily allowed her to see in the dark just as good as day.

       Sylvarien slowly walked her way over to where Corbin was sleeping and stood beside his bed.

       She began to drool slightly, the sight in front of her was tempting. Even though she had broken free from her sin, it still showed its influence on her at times.

       Her mouth started to water heavily, and she could feel her stomach longing for any memory of love at all, no matter how insignificant.

       Sylvarien put her hands on the makeshift bed and got down onto her knees, slowly inching closer to Corbin’s neck while her mouth opened, revealing her fangs.

       After getting only centimeters away from Corbin’s neck, she regained her senses and pulled back silently.

       She cursed herself for getting to this point knowing that she just took a memory from Valerith a few days ago. 

       “What am I thinking?” she whispered to herself, careful to ensure Corbin doesn’t hear her.

       Without another word, she got up and went back to her bed, again, failing to fall asleep.

                                                                           ...

       Valerith stood up from the ground and sensed his surroundings, noting that it was almost sunrise, but neither Corbin nor Sylvarien were up yet.

       “Wake up,” he projected into Corbin’s mind. “We must pack our stuff immediately and depart as soon as possible, it is nearly sunrise.”

       Corbin slowly got up and reached into his pocket to look at the time on his phone instinctively.

       “8:24. This world must be behind mine by a few hours if it’s just now sunrise.”

       Without paying any attention to what Corbin was saying, Valerith began to pack up all the scrolls and papers into two separate backpacks that were made of the same red cloth as the rug-like items.

       “Could you do me a favor and wake up Sylvarien for me please?” he asked Corbin.

       “Sure thing.” He went over to where she was sleeping and tapped her shoulder. “Hey, Valerith says we need to get up. “

       She groaned and turned to face the other way.

       “What are you? A college student or something?”

       “Well, I guess she looks about college age, so maybe habits with age are the same in both worlds,” he thought.

       Corbin shook her whole body this time.

       “If you don’t get up, we can’t go to the temple.”

       She jolted awake at the sound of that.

       “Woah, you look dead, did you not sleep well?” 

       Sylvarien yawned before speaking.

       “I could barely sleep last night.” She uncovered herself and went over to put on her dress. “I had a lot on my mind.”

       “I hear you, I bet after searching for months, it feels good to finally have a clue as to where the temple you’re looking for is.”

       She pulled her hair from out of the dress and looked back at him.

       “Tell me about it,” she said guiltily.

       “Are you okay?” Corbin noticed the tone in her voice that wasn’t there yesterday.

       “I am fine,” she announced. “Just tired still.”

       “Could you help me pack all of the papers up please?” Valerith asked from the other side of the room. “We must leave in a few minutes.”

       Sylvarien grabbed the empty backpack from him with her speed and returned to the side of the room with Corbin.

       “Are we just taking all the papers or is there other stuff too?” he asked.

       “Just the papers,” Valerith confirmed. “Now that we’ll get to the temple within our next journey, we have no more use for this hideout anymore.”

       “If you just leave the hideout whenever you go somewhere new, does that mean you guys have multiple hideouts across the west continent?” Corbin asked.

       “I believe that we have three including this one across the continent,” Sylvarien said. “We only have two, this one, and one in Varren territory.”

       “We’ve mainly been exploring the world since finding each other,” Valerith said.

       “I am done packing my stuff,” Sylvarien announced. “May we go now?”

       “Do I have something to carry?” Corbin asked. “I feel awkward that I’m not carrying anything.” 

       “Carrying our papers is a trivial task. You have the important job of leading us to the temple.” Sylvarien pushed the door open, eager to get out and go. “Come now, it is not a big deal. If we find something that we would like to keep on the journey, you may carry that.”

       “Better than nothing I guess.” Corbin and Valerith walked out of the cave to Sylvarien.

       Valerith used his senses to detect if there were any Sivketh in the area.

       “We’re okay to leave, there’s nothing around us.”

       The three of them walked their way through the tunnels and eventually, came out of the cave back to the surface.

       Corbin put his hands up to his face to block the suns. Many hours in candlelight and complete darkness had left his eyes sensitive.

       “We should go to where I fell originally first,” he said. “I can tell where the temple is from there.

       Together, they walked through the forest, avoiding making any sounds and hiding behind trees whenever they saw a Sivketh.

       “This was where you landed, yes?” Sylvarien asked him.

       “Yes, that was certainly an experience that I never want to relive.” Corbin shivered at the thought of free falling through the sky again. “I’m pretty sure I fell from the right, and I think that the ruins were on my right when I was falling, so that would mean we just keep going straight from here. Maybe a little to the left.”

       Corbin pointed to the sky as he was talking.

       “You are ‘pretty sure’ and ‘you think’?” Valerith asked. “You don’t sound too confident.”

       “That’s just way we say that we’re very confident in my world,” he explained.

       “Let us hope that your confidence translates to certainty,” Sylvarien said. “How far do you think it was?” 

       “I’m not too sure.” Corbin thought for a bit, trying to remember how far it seemed. “Maybe a few hundred kilometers, probably 450 or 500. My estimations are never accurate so I can’t say for sure.”

       “Regardless, if it is a few hundred kilometers away, that will take quite some time to travel.” Valerith said. “Sylvarien could probably travel that distance in about a week by herself, but we will unfortunately slow her down.”

       Sylvarien puffed out her cheeks, pouting that she could make it there three times faster if she was alone.

       “Sorry about that,” Corbin told her.

       She sighed.

       “It is fine. I have waiting months for this; an extra three weeks is bearable.”

       “Should we get going now?” Valerith asked them.

       “Yes, yes, please. Let us go now. I cannot wait any longer.” Sylvarien started walking at a brisk pace before Corbin could even respond.

       “Wait up.” Corbin ran after her as quietly as he could, followed by Valerith.

                                                                         ...

       Corbin breathed heavily as he walked. Sweat dripped down from every corner of his body and fell to the ground.

       “This is... a lot more... work than I thought it... would be.” His feet dragged along the ground, kicking up bare dirt and tiny pebbles. “I haven’t walked this much... in forever.”

       “It has barely been 12 hours of walking though,” Sylvarien said. “Maybe the humans from your world are weaker than the humans in this world. To them, this would be their halfway point.”

       “Maybe this would be my halfway point too if we stopped for breaks at some points.” His voice got higher as he ran out of breath talking. 

       “Shhhh,” Sylvarien put her finger to his mouth. “You will attract any nearby Sivketh with your high-pitched voice.

       Corbin made sure to catch his breath before speaking again.

       “Can we please find some place to rest?” he practically begged. “The sun has nearly set anyways.”

       “He’s right,” Valerith agreed. “We should probably find somewhere to rest for the night. We can’t afford to be out at night.”

       “Thank you so much, Valerith. I am forever grateful.” Corbin was practically crying from happiness.

       They checked all over for some sort of cave to camp out in, but to no avail. The ground was completely flush, and the suns were getting closer to the horizon.

       “What happens now?” Corbin asked.

       “We go up.” Sylvarien pointed up to the trees. “Can you climb well?”

       “Huh?!” Corbin was slightly shocked for a moment before coming back. “No, I can’t. I’m from the city, there’s no trees large enough to climb there.”

       Sylvarien scooped up Corbin in a princess carry.

       “I guess I will take you with me.” She turned her gaze to Valerith. “Ready?”

       “I don’t think it’s possible for me to be more ready.”

       Sylvarien squatted down and then jumped. She went flying up into the trees, using one of her feet to catch the lowest branch and landing gracefully on it. There was plenty of room on the rather thick branch for her to stand on.

       “Holy moly!” Corbin whisper shouted. “That was exhilarating.”

       “Right?” She smiled at Corbin, who was still in her arms. “I will set you down now, be very careful. Just sit on the tree for now, I do not want you to fall.”

       She set Corbin gently onto the thick branch and waited until he was fully secured to look down and give Valerith the go ahead. 

       He used his small amount of control over the elements to lift himself up three meters off the ground using wind.

       Once he was at his peak, Sylvarien leaned down and grabbed his outstretched arm then pulling him up and using the momentum to put him onto the branch right next to theirs.

       “So that’s where you guys sleep if there’s no caves,” Corbin said, interested. “Could you help me get into a position where I can sleep without the fear of losing my grip and falling?”

       Sylvarien laughed and sat against the trunk of the tree.

       “Can you scoot yourself back a little bit?” she requested. “I cannot reach you from there.”

       “I’ll try.” Corbin, still with all fours clutched onto the tree branch, scooted back slowly until Sylvarien told him to stop.

       “This part might be a little scary.” She leaned forward and grabbed under his shoulders, pulling him back so his back was against her.

       “Oh, that wasn’t that bad.”

       “I’m not done yet.” She used her legs to kick Corbin’s so that instead of clutching the tree, they were stretched out in front of him.

       Corbin gasped as she did that, feeling like he would fall off for a split second.

       “You were right. That was scary.”

       She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and put his legs in between hers, ensuring that no part of him would fall off during the night.

       “Are you good over there?” she asked Valerith.

       “I’m doing just fine,” he confirmed. “I have found a nice position to sleep in. What about you guys?”

       “We are doing good too,” she said.

       Corbin leaned his head back and looked up at her face. 

       “You’re sure I’ll be fine if I sleep? You won’t let go?”

       “You will be fine. We have so much strength that our muscles do not relax fully at night. So, my arms and legs will stay right where they are,” she reassured him.

       He sighed in relief.

       “That’s good to know.” Corbin yawned. “I think I’m going to go to sleep now.”

       “I will as well. I think Valerith will begin his rest shortly too.”

       Corbin leaned his head back against her and fell asleep, exhausted from the long day of walking.

                                                                           ...

       “It is time to wake up.” Sylvarien poked Corbin’s cheek. “Valerith is already waiting for us at the bottom. We must go quickly before any Sivketh see us.”

       Corbin yawned and sat up, allowing her to stand up and put him into a princess carry yet again.

       She jumped down from the tree and landed gracefully beside Valerith.

       “It’s this way.” He pointed with his robe straight ahead.

       Sylvarien set Corbin down, allowing him to walk.

       As soon as he took a step, Corbin felt a jolt of pain and discomfort run up his leg.

       “Ah,” he grunted.

       “Are you okay?” Valerith asked him.

       Corbin fought back some tears and shook his head no.

       “I think I might have a bunch of blisters and a swollen foot.”

       “I am not sure what either of those are, but it seems like they hurt, would you like to ride on my back today?” Sylvarien asked him.

       “Yes. Yes please. Thank you very much.” 

       Sylvarien handed Valerith her backpack and prompted Corbin to get on her back in a piggyback position.

       He happily got on her back.

       “I can carry the backpack if you want,” he told Valerith as they started walking.

       “No need to worry. I got it handled.”

       “Okay, if you need me to carry anything, I’m your guy.”

                                                                           ...

       It had been a week of constant walking, Sylvarien carried Corbin on her back every other day. The three of them didn’t have to face any Sivkeths, though there were some close calls at times.

       On the seventh day of walking, they came across a wide and rampaging river, too wide for Sylvarien to jump over.

       “I’m surprised the Sivketh haven’t consumed all of the water,” Corbin pointed out.

       “They have to drink too,” Sylvarien said. “It is not their favorite, so they do not hunger for it a lot, but it is necessary for their survival.

       The rushing water hit a large rock on the shore and slashed up, hitting Corbin and Sylvarien. Valerith blocked the water with his elemental control, not letting it get his robe wet.

       “Show off,” Corbin said.

       “This is quite a predicament,” Valerith said. “I can’t control this much water, and I don’t think that I can control enough wind to carry us across.”

       “There’s a dead tree over there.” Corbin pointed to the right at a large tree that was greyer than the others. “Couldn’t Sylvarien push it over or something so that we have a bridge?”

       “That could indeed work,” she said. “I should give it a try.”

       Sylvarien went over to the tree, followed by Corbin and Valerith. She went to the side in front of the river and pushed, knocking it over with relative ease.  

       The tree fell over and landed over the river, covering the whole length plus some extra.

       “Nice job.” Corbin put his hand out, aiming to high five Sylvarien. Instead, all he got was a blank look. “Sorry, I forgot that you don’t know. It’s a think where we hit our hands together, it’s a thing we do in my world for a job well done.”

       Corbin grabbed her wrist with his other hand and showed her the movement for a high five.

       “I see. It is very exhilarating to do.” Sylvarien high fived him a few more times before refocusing on crossing the tree. “Would you like me to carry you across, or do you want to try it yourself?”

       “I think I can do it myself,” Corbin said. “These past few days have toughened me up quite a bit.”

       “No, don’t risk that. Let her carry you,” Valerith said. “We can’t have you falling into the river and getting swept away.”

       “Fine.” Corbin reluctantly let Sylvarien pick him up in the princess carry.

       Valerith led the way, redirecting any water that would hit her.

       They made it across the makeshift bridge with haste, landing on the other side of the river. Sylvarien set Corbin down and made sure they had everything before setting off again.

       “You were right,” Corbin said. “That felt intense just being carried. I wouldn’t want to have walked that.”

       “Told you.”

       They walked for an hour before encountering another river to cross.

       “Woah, Deja Vu,” Corbin said. “How many big rivers are in this forest that look like each other?”

       “Nothing is impossible in nature,” Valerith said. “Let’s look for a way to get across it.”

       “Is that the same tree?” Sylvarien pointed out a dead tree in the same location as the one from the river before. 

       “Are you sure this is just a coincidence?” Corbin asked Valerith.

       “Hmmm... this is certainly an anomaly.”

       “Sylvarien, could you do me a favor, please?” he asked.

       She looked over at him.

       “Do you by chance have improved sight along with your Varren powers?”

       “I do, yes. I can see much further than what Valerith can sense.”

       “The Varren are closer to vampires than I thought before,” he mumbled to himself. “Could you go to the top of a tree and see how far we are from temple?”

       “I can try.” Sylvarien immediately jumped into the branches of the nearest tree, constantly going from branch to branch.

       They both lost eyesight of her after a few seconds of climbing.

       As Sylvarien reached the top, she looked further in the direction of where they were walking and faintly spotted the ruins far away. She jumped back down from the tree and landed on the ground, startling Corbin who didn’t expect a thing.

       “I saw the temple,” Sylvarien said. “But, it looks just as far away as you described when we left.”

       “I knew it,” Corbin said.

       “Do you know what’s happening?” Valerith asked.

       “I’m not certain, but I’ve seen things similar in movies, sorry, stories, from my world.” Corbin looked proud to finally be able to help them with something. “I think what’s happening, is that there’s some kind of barrier around the temple, making it seem like it’s always far away when in reality, it might be closer. Additionally, to protect it from anyone who figures the trick out, the barrier also warps the person traveling to it in an endless loop, meaning that no one can enter the temple.”

       The two of them thought for a while, trying to find anything that could be wrong with that theory. 

       “Of course,” Corbin started again. “I’m just throwing an idea out there, so it could be that I’m off completely.”

       “No,” Valerith said. “Your reasoning seems like it could most likely be correct. I can’t find any major flaws in it.”

       “How do we get out of it and get to the temple though?” Sylvarien asked him.

       “I think the main logic would be to walk backwards to get to the temple, but if Sivketh live around here, then they probably do that all the time without knowing. And if whoever built the barrier knew what they were doing, they would’ve foreseen that and made the way to get in different. Maybe something like, walk along the river going the opposite direction the water is flowing,” he thought out loud.

       “Are you saying that’s what we need to do?” Valerith asked.

       “I mean, I was just thinking of possible scenarios, but if we’re always brought back to this river no matter where we go, it wouldn’t hurt to try it.” Corbin said hesitantly.

       Sylvarien led the way, walking ever so slightly faster than before at the prospect of breaking into the barrier that guards the temple.

       They walked for a few hours, eventually, Corbin’s feet got tired again and he had to piggyback on Sylvarien.

       “How long is this freaking river?” Corbin asked rhetorically.

       “Look on the bright side,” Valerith said. “At least we haven’t come across a different river yet.”

       “I didn’t know we had a comedy genius over here,” Corbin said playfully.

       “It seems like we still have a while before we reach the temple,” Sylvarien said. “I still can’t see the end of the river.”

       Corbin groaned loudly.

       Sylvarien took another step forward and instead of dirt, she felt grass on her feet suddenly. Her foot pulled back instinctively, feeling a new sensation from normal. 

       “What’s wrong?” Corbin hopped off her back and walked forward to where she stopped.

       “It felt like grass, but I do not see any greenery on the ground in front of us.”

       Corbin put his hand out and touched the ground in front of him. Feeling brave, he slowly took a step forward.

       Just one step forward, the scenery was completely different. Grass covered the area and trees greener than the ones in the Sivketh’s territory grew.

       “Are you okay?” Valerith asked. “You’re just standing there.”

       “Take a step forward. It’s fine.”

       Sylvarien and Valerith both stepped forward, now next to Corbin.

       In front of them stood a large and worn-down archway covered in vines and moss.

       “I think this is the entrance to the temple city,” Corbin said.