A few days earlier…
Aulora didn't even remember when she had fallen asleep. She woke up after a long nap. Glancing at the others, she saw Nevai and Haien playing cards, arguing as usual, while the old man guided the boat steadily across waters darkened by the night sky.
Aulora looked up at the stars.
Evenings like this always remind me of who I wanted to be when I grew up, she thought, smiling faintly to herself. She tugged her hat down over her face, as if to hide that small, soft smile.
I wonder what my mother would say if she saw me now. Mom, do you remember, when I was just five, how I said with that silly, proud grin that I'd become the most famous, the greatest fire mage Atoria would ever remember?
Nothing went according to plan, did it?
Aulora tried to hold back the tears sliding down her cheeks, but she couldn't. A warm wave of nostalgia hit her at one of the worst moments in her life, only making her long for the past even more. And that made her feel worse.
You'd probably scold me from top to bottom. Your daughter broke the ideals of your beloved homeland.
Mom… if we ever meet again, I want to know – what's truly good, and what's truly evil? What does loving your country really mean?
I once thought I had big ambitions, a clear purpose.
Now I have nothing – only a future in the endless desert. I don't know how Zetto plans to survive there, with so many women and children to look after. The Northeastern Deserts aren't abandoned without reason…
Maybe I'm overthinking everything, but I can't help it. I never imagined I'd question what once seemed so certain. Life really knows how to play cruel tricks.
Aulora pushed herself up from half-lying to sitting. She clutched her staff tightly, as if squeezing all the emotions of the past days into the wood itself.
I don't know which path I should follow. I just hope that, in the end, I made the right choice.
"Haien," she spoke shyly. "How much longer do we still have to travel?"
"Hmm, I'd say a dozen hours or so. We've been unusually lucky so far," Haien added with a goofy grin.
"Don't tempt fate," Nevai shot back gruffly.
The boat stopped dead in the middle of nohere.
"What the…?" the old man muttered under his breath, then started cursing.
Aulora turned around.
"This place… it's full of magic," she said fearfully. "Watch out!" she shouted, surrounding the boat with a barrier of flames.
From the water burst a massive creature covered in black scales, its bulging red eyes glowing above a maw lined with thin, needle-like teeth. It looked like some twisted hybrid between an eel and an anglerfish. The monster launched a stream of burning acid.
"See? You've pushed our luck," Nevai sighed, then vanished – only to reappear on the monster's head. "Nice welcome, freak," he sneered, drawing a dagger from beneath his cloak and driving it down toward its eye.
"Nevai, look out!" Aulora screamed, but it was too late.
The dagger bounced off a small magical barrier protecting the creature's eye. The blow threw Nevai off balance, and he fell into the water. The monster flailed wildly, shaking him off.
"All right, my turn," Haien said, already pulling on his brass knuckles.
"No," Aulora whispered. "It's pointless to fight it physically. I–I have to…" She raised her staff with trembling hands. If I don't act now, Nevai will die. But how the hell do you survive in this world without killing anyone – or anything? Is that even possible?
Before Nevai could teleport away, the monster charged, its snake-like body whipping upward before diving straight for him. Without Aulora, Tiriga's warrior would have been dragged into the depths and devoured.
The mage struck first, blasting the beast with a fireball that burst into blazing light, blinding a predator so used to darkness.
That was the moment Haien made his move. He launched himself off the edge of the boat, springing forward with one of his gauntleted fists. His blow unleashed a massive, dome-shaped shockwave that sliced clean through the monster's neck.
Haien landed smoothly back on the boat, just as the creature's headless body crashed into the sea.
"Not bad, kid," he said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Th-thank you," she said, blushing. "And I'm sorry I didn't use that spell earlier… I just… I can't kill anyone. I never have. I don't know anything, and…"
Haien patted her on the back.
"You don't need to explain yourself. What matters is that you're following your own path. Someday, you'll find answers to all – or at least most – of the questions that trouble you. Don't worry about it. Nevai and I are both well into our forties, and we still don't always know what we're doing, right, Nevai?"
"Tch," Nevai muttered, turning his head away.
"Don't mind him. He's only pretending to be annoyed that a kid like you just saved his life. Maybe someday he'll actually thank you for it," Haien said with a laugh.
Aulora nodded softly, then gazed out at the dark waters. The fiery barrier over the boat vanished. The old man, who had been shivering with fear, started rowing again.
"I don't know what the hell that was," he said, his voice still shaking, "but the important thing is you took it down. Shame such a huge fish went to waste… it could have fed a whole village for days."
"Want to dive in and go fetch it?" Haien joked.
The old man didn't even crack a smile.
"No. I don't even want to know what eats the corpse of that thing. My late father used to say –never reach where your eyes can't see. It's a sacred rule, and it's kept me alive, even while venturing into dangerous waters."
Nevai sighed.
"Too bad I can't just teleport us to places I haven't been before… or where I can't see. That would make things much easier."
"You could always try teleporting at random," Haien replied.
"Mhm, and we might just end up on the other side of the globe," Nevai muttered.
"I know, I know. Stop being so gloomy. We're alive, and we're getting closer to our goal – that's what matters," Haien said, sitting down and grabbing the oars again with enthusiasm.
Nevai shot Aulora a sidelong glance, as if scolding her. Feeling his gaze, she pretended to be lost in the endless, rolling waves. Later, he started bantering with Haien, who teased him back playfully.
"Land ahead!" the old man announced enthusiastically.
Finally, I'm useful for something, Aulora thought, staring at the endless sea. If I had hesitated again… would we even be alive? No, no point in "what ifs." What matters is that I finally took the step.
Just like the first time I used magic to put on a show for the people of Gerai, right before their last battle.
I think I'm slowly finding a new me… but I still have a long way to go before I can truly say I am who I am.
For now, I'm just a bunch of questions and doubts.
But thanks to them, she thought watching Nevai and Haien messing with each other, I feel a little better. Maybe that's how it's supposed to be.
Aulora couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the two Tiriga ribbing each other.