I can’t fight this time now

The rumble grows louder, a deafening roar tearing through my ears, chest, and bones, the turbulence turns into violent jolts, the elevator tossed around like a toy, gravity vanishes for an instant, only to return with brutal force, slamming us to the floor, the crash is one single, shattering sound—metal bending, tearing apart, darkness swallows everything as my head smashes against something hard, sending a sharp jolt of pain through my skull, the air reeks of ozone and dust.

I’m still holding Nadia tightly against me, but I can’t feel her grip anymore. «Nadia!» I call out, shaking her gently. A weak gasp escapes her lips. “Thank.”

The elevator is bent and twisted, its doors blown off, revealing a clear sky above us. From somewhere close yet distant, I hear Laila’s irritated voice. «Are you moving, or should I wait until you’re done messing around?» Her presence is a relief. Ignoring the pain, I push myself to my feet.

Carrying Nadia in my arms, I step out. Small flames crackle weakly around us. The ground is swampy, lifeless. No grass, just black trees, even though it’s night.

«Lay the girl down somewhere.»

«Okay,» I answer, carefully placing Nadia on the ground. «Why?»

«Now, take off your shirt. I need to put a symbol on you.»

«O-okay…» I mutter, pulling it off, the freezing air biting against my bare skin. “Great, now I really feel the cold…” Laila steps closer, a glowing sigil forming on her palm, like the one on the arrow. She presses her warm hand gently against my chest. “She wants to finish this quickly. She’s softer than before, but I can still feel the distance. Sure, sometimes we have normal interactions, but they’re just echoes of what we used to have. I miss that. She’d never explain things—she would’ve just said something like, “Good, now strip,” and I’d get the wrong idea, and she’d laugh her ass off… But it’s too late. I ruined it. All I can do now is let her go, along with the past, and move forward.”

«I’m done. Put your shirt back on,» she says, pulling her hand away.

«What’s the symbol for?»

«It hides us from magical tracking. We Haab-shu and our prisons have it by default, otherwise anyone could find us.»

“I see…” Laila crouches down, bringing her hand close to Nadia’s chest. “Wait!” I blurt out. «Why don’t you take her shirt off, or touch her like you did with me?»

«Because it’s not necessary.»

«Then why did you make me take mine off?»

«To make you freeze a little. Now quit distracting me.» “That doesn’t sound convincing at all…” «Hold on…»

«What?» I ask, kneeling beside her.

«She already has another tracking-ward sigil on her right arm.»

«So, what does that mean?»

«Has your brain fried from overthinking? It means she’s already dealt with a Haab-shu before. Not to mention, she’s the daughter of that bastard.»

«You mean the king?»

«Yes! We need to wake her up and ask her some questions.»

I place a hand on her shoulder. She turns to me. «Let her wake on her own… She needs to rest.»

«But—!» she snaps, jumping to her feet.

«Now it’s your turn to think. She’s used her powers for two days straight, then ran into her parents who’ve been hunting her for three hundred years and turned Spis into a wasteland. She deserves a moment of peace, because right now the only place she can find it is in her dreams.»

«So, this girl is three hundred years old?» she asks, glancing at her. «When exactly was she planning to tell you that?»

«She didn’t. I figured it out when Goran said she was his daughter.»

«And how do you know she’s three hundred?»

«Because I studied with her while teaching her to speak.»

Laila sighs, rubbing her eyes. «Fine, let’s take this damn break.» With a snap of her fingers, a wooden platform appears, carrying three oversized poufs. Gently, she floats Nadia onto one before collapsing heavily onto another. «So, can you at least tell me where we are with one of your endless rambles? At least it’ll kill some time in this godforsaken swamp.»

«O-okay, if you insist,» I reply, climbing onto the platform. “She’s never asked me about this realm before. In a way, it feels nice that, even if it’s in her own way, Laila’s starting to show some interest… And that she actually wants to hear me ‘ramble’.”

I drop onto the remaining pouf beside her. «Could I kindly ask you for some tea?»

«Fine,» she answers, snapping her fingers lazily without taking her eyes off the stars.

«Thanks…» My aches and fatigue hit me harder now. «Oh, and… could you turn this pouf into a chair?»

«Uuuuuugh,» she groans dramatically, but with a snap, she actually does it.

I take a sip of the tea. “Damn, it’s good… Right, it probably drained a ton of my energy…” «All right,» I sigh, leaning back into the chair, «Where do I start?»

«How should I know? Does this place even have a name?»

Looking around, only one comes to mind. «Hmm, this must be the Forest of the Risi.»

«And why’s it called that?»

«Because of the battle two hundred years ago, when Goran fought the Risi. If you’re wondering, the Risi were a race of giant beings of immense strength who lived north of Spis.»

«Lived? So they migrated somewhere else?»

«No. This forest is the place where they were all slaughtered trying to protect their home. Where the mountain kingdom of Fjellheimr once thrived, now it’s just part of Spis.»

«So this…»

«Exactly, it’s a cemetery stretching on for miles. The trees are nothing more than the mummified arms of the fallen, jutting out of the ground. They haven’t decayed because of the swampy soil the king created to preserve them.» A heavy silence falls between us… «Laila,» I say, standing.

«Yes?»

«Thanks. You helped me realize where we are.»

«Didn’t you already know?» she asks, looking puzzled.

«No, I mean… yes, kind of. You reminded me of the geography—I know how we can leave this realm.»

«You want to leave the realm?» She gets to her feet too.

«Honestly? Yes. I don’t want to keep nearly dying just because I get hungry.»

«What?»

«Forget it.» I wave my hands dismissively. «The truth is… I wasn’t cut out for my own world, and this one is even worse. The only ones who can really do anything are you and Nadia, and when things got dangerous, both of you had a breakdown, and I ended up facing not one, not two, but four bosses—one of them the final one. So thanks, but no thanks. I’ve had enough.»

She locks eyes with me, her expression dripping with contempt for every word I just said. My eyes sting, I can’t hold her gaze, and I drop mine. “Great. I panicked and blurted out nonsense. Just scold me already, and let’s do whatever you want.” «Fine.»

«What?!» I snap my head up, only to see her staring into the forest with a strange, distant look.

«I told you on the first day—it’s your wish. You decide where we go. If you feel we should leave, then that’s what we’ll do.»

«You’re not going to tell me to grow a pair? To toughen up? To go back and face the demon king like in every damn isekai story?»

She slowly turns her head toward me. “What’s that faint smile? I’ve never seen her like this. It’s not even a real smile… It looks like one of mine…” «You’re right, Søren. You’ve already risked your life far too many times. If you don’t feel safe here, then let’s move somewhere quieter.»