Inside the chamber, deep within the statue, Vorthakar waited. He had long accepted the end of the world, but without warning, something stirred. He woke up in a moment he never expected to relive.
"Hmm... but eternity isn't the kind of love I desire, Vorthakar."
"...Keylys?" His voice trembled, tears forming in his eyes.
"Yeah, love. What's wrong?"
It was her. Princess Keylys, his beloved. She was real, in his arms. Vorthakar embraced her tightly, realization dawning. Nathan had done something with the hourglass. Something incredible. A gift Vorthakar had never expected from a human, much less a human who was not one of his followers.
"Thank you... thank you... thank you."
It wasn't much for a dead god, but it was enough. He got to relive an eternity with the one he loved, together in a fracture of time.
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"…Grnn."
"Nathan?! Nathan, wake up!"
A ray of sunlight flickered across Nathan's face. He stirred, jolting awake as if from a nightmare. They were finally out of that cursed time fracture, back in the forest they had once desperately tried to escape.
"I think I'm gonna throw up," he groaned, rubbing his face.
"Hey, stop. We can leave now."
"You sure?"
"...Let's hope."
Nathan rose, leaning heavily on his sword, the one he taken from a demonic cultist. Everything else he gained inside the fracture had vanished, except one thing: the bracelet Vorthakar had given to Lilo.
"It's so beautiful, isn't it?" Lilo asked, admiring the golden band on her wrist.
"Yeah. You should treasure it."
"Of course! It's a gift from a god!"
The two made their way through the forest again, this time praying they'd escape for good, without being pulled back into another anomaly.
"Ugh, what's with all this muscle ache?"
"Wait! I'll help."
A warm, sun like glow surrounded Nathan's body. Lilo's powers. She tried to ease his pain, and it worked a little... until something unexpected happened.
"Huh?"
The bracelet on her wrist pulsed with magenta energy. Her healing grew stronger. Nathan's pain dulled. His limbs felt lighter, stronger.
"Oh ... looks like that bracelet isn't useless after all," Nathan said.
"Yay! This is the best gift!"
"Hah... I don't regret using mine for Vorthakar."
Nathan didn't feel guilty. Helping the dead god reunite with his lover had felt right, even if it meant tearing down the Empire. There wasn't good or evil anymore. Just people, broken and helpless in the face of powers too vast to fight.
"Nathan, I think I see the end."
"Good… I was getting tired of this forest."
Finally, after what felt like forever, they reached the forest's edge. Before them lay a vast green field, open grassland swaying in the breeze.
"Well... let's go."
"Another long walk. How boring," Lilo muttered.
They followed the road through the field, the trees behind them at last.
"I'm not stepping into a forest for a long time," Nathan said.
"Hey, don't blame the forest."
"Stop being biased, nymph."
"Ugh." Lilo stuck her tongue out.
The day was warm, the wind soft, the grass rustling peacefully. Their chatter faded when a low rumble echoed ahead. Dust rose in the distance.
"Nathan, let's run!"
Nathan squinted, eyes narrowing as something fast approached. A carriage, pulled by horses, kicking up a cloud of dirt.
"Nathan! Nathan!"
Lilo tugged at him, but he didn't move. His eyes locked onto the design, the people. He recognized the look. Only one kind of people traveled like that out here... bandits. Slave traders.
"Lilo, get behind me."
The carriage drew closer. It had a cage built into its back. No doubt now, they were slavers, hunting the roads for lone travelers.
"Catch him alive!"
"Careful! He's got a sword ... and a flying fairy?"
"Don't kill the fairy! It might be worth something!"
They were already thinking about their worth. Lilo clung to the back of Nathan's shirt, trembling. Nathan shifted, his stance hardening.
"Hey! Easy now! Drop the sword!"
"Drop it or die!"
He didn't move. The carriage screeched to a halt. The slavers jumped off. From inside the cage, the cries of children spilled into the open air. Nathan's hands clenched tighter around his sword.
"Fine. Then let it be force!"
One of them charged with a machete .... but his head hit the ground before his body did.
"!!!"
"Then come if you dare."
Nathan's eyes turned cold. No mercy left. Not this time. He was going to save those kids, unlike the ones he'd watched die in the forest.
"Brother! You bastard!"
An arrow whistled past. Nathan deflected it with a sharp flick of his blade, the steel ringing out.
"F*ck! CHARGE!"
"Kill the kid! Take the fairy!"
Their focus shifted. Nathan was the target.
"Lilo! Hide in the grass!"
"O-okay!!"
Lilo darted away, vanishing into the tall grass. Small enough to disappear, just as the fight began.