Part 1
Evlin entered the guild's bar with a pair of red eyes on her face.
She was attracting the looks of many guild members as she walked and approached the bartender.
Some of the members where adventurers she recognized from quests where she acted as a bodyguard which resulted in many of them trying to greet her as she moved. She was used to this scenario, she had become friends with many of these people and would gladly greet anyone of them back. Not today however.
Today she just wanted to have a moment for herself so she ignored everyone that tried to talk to her. She sits on the chair and started to chat with the bartender.
"Hello, Evlin... What can I do for you today?"
"Hey, Ashley... Can you give me something to drink?"
Ashley the bartender was a close friend of Evlin, mostly due to her sharing the same name as her sister from her original world which would make her feel like a familiar face. Evlin would often chat with her many times whenever she wanted to hear rumors that could be useful to her.
"Something to drink...? You not here to form a party to go after the ogre like usual?"
"No I... Kinda already defeated the ogre a while ago..."
The adventures heard what Evlin had just stated and started to raise their ears in absolute curiosity.
"You... You what?? With whom?? You have been trying to kill that guy for weeks now!"
"I went by myself... Instead of trying to hurt him with attacks that kept having no effect I just tried to lure him into a cliff and made gravity do all the work..."
"What... But... Evlin shouldn't we celebrate?? You have been after that guy for so long now!"
"I don't feel like celebrating... I just did that because someone told me that if I put my mind into something there was nothing I couldn't do... I wanted to know if she was right..."
"I see..."
"So... Can I have something strong to drink...? I'm finally sixteen, I think it's ok to start drinking now..."
Ashley looked at the other adventurers who were nervously making signals for her as if saying 'Don't do it!! Don't let our little angel be corrupted!!'. Ashley shared the sentiment and tried to find out what was troubling the girl.
"Evlin, is Dalla ok with you drinking like this...? Wasn't she against you trying alcohol?"
"... Dalla died... I want to drink because I don't want to think about it anymore..."
"Oh! Oh, my little girl!"
Ashley leaped off the balcony and locked Evlin in a deep hug. The rest of the guild members almost rushed to do the same. The sight of Evlin depressed was something that none of them ever expected nor wished to see.
"It must have felt so awful! I'm sorry that you had to go through this."
"I'm fine..."
"Unless you are a machine there is no way you are fine... It's ok to cry!"
"I already cried... I cried for hours and it didn't make me feel any better... I tried to kill that dumb ogre and it also didn't make me feel any better... I came here because I was hoping you could give me something to make me feel better..."
"Sweetie, passing out drunk will definitely not make you feel any better..."
"Then what am I supposed to do...?"
"Let's go to my inn first. You will take a bath and try to sleep for now. You had a busy day and now you need to rest."
"Fine... Not like I had any other place to go..."
Evlin waited for Ashley's shift to be over before leaving. She tried to offer Evlin something to eat but she said that she wasn't hungry. The leader of the guild heard what happened and let Ashely leave earlier than usual. Ashley dragged Evlin to the inn she was living where she stayed by her side and took care of her until morning.
The two spent most of their time in silence but at one moment in the middle of the night, Evlin started to speak while the two were in bed.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this... I'm sorry..."
"Sorry for what sweetie?"
"I was supposed to have been past the point where I needed people to take care of me..."
"Oh, my little girl... There is never a time where people don't need someone else's help. You didn't come to the bar tonight to knock yourself out... You just didn't want to be alone."
"... I see..."
"Also, there is no shame in asking for company when you are in pain. No one should suffer alone."
"So you want to suffer alongside me?"
"For you? Any time!"
"Thanks, Ashley..."
"No problem!"
Evlin tried to relax a little bit and started to feel like some kind of massive chain-ball that was tied to her leg was finally starting to get a little loose. She was starting to realize how tired she was and finally let her body gain some rest by going into a deep sleep.
The next day had arrived and Evlin was feeling a little better. The pain was still deep inside her heart with the feeling that something that was part of her for a long time had suddenly been removed without her consent. But as she kept trying to accept it and realize that there was nothing that could be done, that pain slowly started to shrink, little by little.
Ashley asked if she wanted to stay inside the room for the day resting and Evlin considered the idea for a second. It would probably create a small sense of nostalgia from the old days where Dalla would take care of her which was very tempting. But as the idea hit her head she was reminded that Dalla wished for Evlin to keep moving forward so she politely refused.
"I think I shouldn't stay still for a little while... But I also don't want to be alone today... Can I keep you company at the bar...?"
"Oh... I'm not going to the bar today."
"You're not?"
"There will be a big announcement today. All the workers were dispensed so that they could attend it. Wanna come with me?"
"What kind of announcement?"
"It seems like the living weapon has returned!"
Part 2
Living weapon, living weapon. Why was the term sounding so familiar? Is what Evlin was thinking. She remembered the prince saying something about it when she was summoned to this world. Something about how he wanted a princess from the same world as the living weapon. So whoever that was it would probably be a human that was transported here just like Evlin. She also remembered Dalla saying that the way Evlin would use magic to change the shape of her weapons felt rather similar to the living weapon. Because of that, Evlin assumed that this person was some kind of famous magician who had mastered modeling magic just like her.
"Hey, Ash...? Why is this living weapon guy such a big deal...?"
"The living weapon, according to what rumors say, was a man blessed by the god with the ability to change his body into the strongest blades in the world, able to cut virtually anything."
"Oh... So he is literally a living weapon... Cool."
Evlin was relieved to find she wasn't a straight copy and paste of some important figure. She was afraid of having to face some sort of lawsuit.
"Not only that, it seems he was also granted an immortal body and has been alive for more than two hundred years!"
"Wow! He must look old as- Wait... He has lived for two-hundred years?"
"That is what I heard..."
Two-hundred years. Someone so old must have immense knowledge of how this world works and all the kinds of secret spells it could possess. On top of that, he was from the same world as Evlin, so he must have tried to find ways to return home as well. But if he stayed here for such a long time, doesn't that mean he failed to find a way home? No, he is a famous hero after all, he could have found a way and simply decided not to return to enjoy life here. Regardless, this was the best chance Evlin has had in a long time. As she was thinking about all these things Ashley called her attention.
"Evlin that's him!! The living weapon!!"
"Where? I can't see anything with all these people!"
Evlin was desperately trying to catch sight of the man that could give her a clue on how to return home. Sadly while she had gotten taller, she was still pretty short for her age so she could barely see anything with such a huge crowd in front of her. Despite not being able to see him, the famous hero started to talk and Evlin made sure to pay attention to every word he would say.
"My name is Marceus... Many of you known me as the living weapon, the sacred sword of the god, the one destined to one day rid the world of all evil..."
"Wow... He is not very modest is he?"
"Evlin, please..."
"Sorry..."
"I came to you all today to announce that I have failed my long mission. Age has finally taken the best of me and I will soon no longer be able to fight... Thus... I came by here today to announce that a new living weapon shall descend upon this world after my passing."
Evlin was starting to be filled with despair. Did the man who could solve all her problems just told the world that he was dying? Was that some cruel joke of fate? Reveal that there was a solution to her issue only to say 'except not really...'?
"His name is Marcus... He is my son and once I'm gone, he will inherit all of my powers. The ability to act as the sword of the gods and grant it's wearer an immense boost of power and strength. I now leave my son, the next blessed sword, in your hands. He is out there in this vast world, waiting for the one who shall be worthy of wielding his power. Anyone who desires to taste the blessing with your own hands, go forward now and take the challenge! If you are able to find my son Marcus, you will be worthy of wielding his power however you want it!"
Evlin was confused. She didn't know what she expected from such a big announcement but she definitely did not expect it to end with a proposal to play the world's biggest game of 'where is waldo?'. How on earth is anyone supposed to find this guy's son without any sort of clue whatsoever? For all we know, this Marcus kid could be living inside of a volcano or at the bottom of the ocean.
She still couldn't see the figure of Marceus himself behind this sea of heads but she noticed that a silver light was starting to shine from the area his voice was coming from. She guessed that the announcement had come to an end and that he was about to leave.
"Farewell challengers, and good luck!"
She realized that the man was surrounded with silver light and that he was the source of that immense shine she was seeing before. He made a small leap and started to fly like a bullet slightly above the crowd. Evlin panicked and started to move towards his line of movement. She had to stop him and talk to him. If she missed him now there might never be a better chance again. She pointed her crossbow towards the ground and released a bullet of earth modeling magic that created a rising platform beneath her feet and threw her towards the path of the silver man.
She could hear some viewers asking in confusion what she was doing but now is not the time to care about appearances. She tried to grab Marceus but he was just too fast for her. She extended her hand and managed to get hold of a piece of his cloth but it seems like he didn't even notice it.
Evlin fell face first in the ground while the shinning man disappeared into the horizon. Ashley rushed towards her trying to make sense of the situation.
"Evlin!! What was that!!? Are you crazy? You saw the speed he was flying at! If that had been a direct hit you would be dead now!!"
"..."
"Evlin...?"
Evlin was laying on the ground in fetal position covering her face that was about to burst into tears. She started to shake and whispered a few words.
"It's hopeless..."
"What... What is wrong?"
"He was my best chance on finding an answer!! And now he's gone!! My best chance is gone forever!!"
"Evlin... What are you-"
"He knows how to return to my world!! I'm sure he does!! If only I could have talked with him I might have gotten an answer!! But he just told everyone that he would die soon!! So now I got nothing again!!!"
"Evlin calm down..."
"This isn't fair!!! I didn't do anything wrong!! I studied, I trained, I searched, I kept trying, I never gave up, I believed that if I just kept insisting I would find a way! But now that I finally found it just runs away from me!!"
"Evlin please..."
"What did I do wrong!?? Someone tell me what was I supposed to do!??"
"Evlin!!"
"What!!??"
"... You just need to talk to him right...?"
"... You... You can help me?"
"Not me... But I know a guy..."
Part 3
Ashley led Evlin to a dark-red inn on one of the deepest corners of the city. Evlin had heard about that place before from Dalla. apparently this area was reserved for the personal mercenaries of the king who needed a place to hide after handling some more extreme jobs. The knights of the castle would turn a blind eye to anything that happened inside of it so many citizens were advised not to go near that area as they would receive no help from anyone in there.
"Ashley... Why are we here...?"
"This is the place where the only mage that can help you lives..."
"What kind of mage...?"
"A tracking mage... If you give him that piece of cloth that you took he will be able to find a way to help you talk with you-know-who."
Ashley avoided saying the name Marceus out loud. It probably wasn't a good idea to let a bunch of suspicious mercenaries find out that the two of them had a way to reach the most desired weapon on the planet.
"All I gotta do is give him this cloth?"
"The cloth is how he will perform the magic. But he will probably ask for something in return..."
"... He... Is not gonna ask for my body, is he...? I'm desperate but not that desperate..."
"Probably not... That is... As long as I'm here at least..."
"Why is that...?"
"Because I'm his sister..."
"!!!"
"Yeah, I know... Let's just hope for the best..."
The two entered the inn and Ashley quickly found the tracking mage in a table reading a book of spells. They approached him and before they could call him out he answered without removing his eyes from the book.
"Nice to see you sis..."
"Kinda wish you would say that after actually looking at me bro..."
The young man closed his book and hid it inside his cloak. He turned around and exchanged a quick look with Ashley, then proceeded to look at Evlin for a few seconds.
"Quite the guest you brought me..."
"We need your help."
"You mean you want to hire me."
"Do I really need to hire my own brother?"
"So I can go to your bar and drink every bottle I order for free?"
"Ugh... Fine... We want to hire you..."
"Now we're talking! What can I do for you?"
"Can you find a way to help her talk with the owner of this piece of cloth?"
"Oh... You want me to perform a tracking spell... Sure no problem!"
"Really!!?"
Evlin jumped with joy but Ashley made an expression showing that that was a huge mistake.
"Oho... Looks like you really want to talk with this person... No, wait... It's more than that... You need to talk with this person!"
"Huh..."
Evlin looked at Ashley who was now making a face that was saying 'you just doomed us both...'. Now that her brother knew how much they needed his help he would probably request a higher price. Ashley decided to stop dancing around the subject and just address it for good.
"How much will this cost...?"
"A simple tracking spell? Not much... A tracking spell for the youngest expert-rank magician? A little more! A tracking spell to find you-know-who? Even more!"
"You... You knew?"
"I saw you two at the announcement a few days ago. People think you were some desperate fan-girl trying to catch the living weapon to herself."
"Ugh..."
They are not completely wrong, is what Evlin was thinking.
"I knew you two would come to me sooner or later..."
"So what will be the price?"
The young mage moved towards Evlin's ear and whispered something to her. He then distanced himself and returned to his chair. Evlin remained in silence for a while and then gave her answer.
"Fine..."
Ashley looked at her worried.
"Evlin... What did he ask for?"
"If everything goes right... Nothing that I can't live without..."
"It's a deal then!"
The three of them moved inside Ashley's brother's room where he began the spell. Suddenly Evlin fell into a deep sleep. When she regained her consciousness she found herself into a deep white space wearing the same clothes she had when she first came into this world. In front of her was a young black-haired boy who seemed to be about the same age as her and just as shocked as she was. The boy still confused tried to talk to her.
"Huh... Hi..."
She took another look at him and realized that his eyes were red.
"Were you crying...?"