Lena wakes up in the middle of the forest. Once again.
She raises her upper half and looks around. With her left eye she looks at her surroundings and there is one other person there. She looks at them for a bit then yawns. She gets up and prepares for taking off, while preparing said person gets up themselves. An Octan who hasn't aged a single day immediately gets up and asks Lena to take of his stuff. Lena nods.
"*yawn* another day, another forest. I wonder why I'm even doing this... Why do you think Lena?" Octan asks Lena who is a couple of steps behind.
Lena doesn't reply.
"*sigh* same Lena as usual..." Octan says brushing the conversation off.
This time around they are heading to nikolovia, Kouko and Wagnon had invited them over for dinner that day.
"But you know I would really like to test one of these car things once we are there!" Octan says excited.
"I heard they can reach unimaginable speeds! and even go vroom and shit like that! Don't you think that's cool! Like imagine your driving one over a goblin gathering I bet it would be way too much fun!" Octan says as he jumps around acting out how driving a car would be like.
"That torik guy is great I Should thank him personally!" Octan declares.
After that they suddenly entered a tavern that appeared.
"2 drinks!" Octan shouts as he and Lena sit down on an empty table.
"Right up!" The sound of a little girl comes from the inside.
"Lena Lena! Look at this!" Said the magician kid sitting on the empty sit to the left of Lena.
He was holding an adventurer's carving. A gold custom.
"I made my custom carving a reference to your dull sword!" The kid who hasnt aged a single day says with a smile.
Lena says nothing and just pats the kid's head with a smile.
"Just you wait, I will get as strong as you someday..." Says jack sitting on the other side of the table.
"You just had a head start that's all..." Jack said looking at the kid with jealousy.
The kid sticks up his tongue towards jack.
"You little..." Jack holds his anger back.
"Two drinks right up!" A small toto appears holding a tray with 2 alcoholic drinks.
"Finally!" Octan says as he takes them both and jugs them down.
"Wha- I thought one would be for Lena! That's mean!" Toto says pouting.
"Well It would've, but you see Lena here doesn't like to drink." Octan says.
"Oh is that so... Then I hate to drink too! I will become just like big sis Lena, A strong adventurer." Toto says putting her fists to her waists and puffing out her chest.
"Wha- If you want to become strong it must be like me! Not her!" Octan says annoyed.
Lena looks to a table further away. With massive armor, one of the few people Lena know's taller than her, Elstat waves at Lena with his right arm that is missing it's gear piece, of course it is after all Lena's wearing it.
All of them enjoy their time there for a bit while Lena sits in silence, after that they all got up and headed the same way. To nikolovia!
"Lena I wonder, you haven't talked at all today. Could it be because you're sick?" Octan asks walking ahead of everyone with a couple of steps.
Lena shakes her head.
"If you say so." Octan says without turning his head.
Walking through the woods Lena looked towards the clearing to the right. There sat the king with the missing head. A blood fountain replacing with he is missing.
Lena closed her eyes and cursed herself. Only a bit more she said to herself.
"Oh would you look at that! It's an Alpha!" Octan says to the monstrous wolf giant ahead of them.
Lena looks away as Octan massacred it in an instant.
"Oh We were too late huh..." Octan said looking at 4 adventurer corpses laying around the corpse of the giant Alpha wolf.
"Well, We have a date to reach so can't do anything about it." Octan said continuing to move further.
Lena followed as she looked at the sky above as to not look at the corpses.
"Oh look we are here!" Octan said as everyone suddenly stopped.
In front of them was kouko's house.
Octan knocks on the door and short while later its answered. As the door slowly opens Lena's heart suddenly starts rapidly beating. She can hear her heartbeat. Behind that door Is Kouko. Such a simple thought had her unimaginably happy, but not yet. For the person behind the door was Wagnon.
"Oh! Welcome, Welcome! I Welcome to you u all friends of my precious wife!" Wagnon said as he opened the door widely welcoming everyone in.
They all flowed right into the guest's room.
"So how is everyone doing today!" Wagnon said as he sat down with us.
Octan smacked his lips in dissatisfaction.
"Hmm? What is it Mr. octan?" Wagnon said in a tone that annoyed octan for whatever reason.
"Oh shut the fuck up, I can't handle talking to you." Octan said as he looked away with an annoyed expression.
"Oh is that s--" Wagnon was suddenly cut by a small girl.
"Papa! Papa!" The kid cried as she signaled wagnon to carry her up.
"Lena, darling!" Wagnon said as he picked up the little girl.
"Lena?" toto asked intrigued by her potential new play friend.
"Ah yes, Do not mistake her with the Lena we all know and love, but this is our daughter you see. Kouko persisted on naming her Lena, she didn't leave any fighting space for me. *sigh*" Wagnon said with a warm smile as he patted Lena's head.
"Oh is that so!" Toto said excited.
"then that would mean I have a small sister and a big sister called Lena! wait... isn't that a bit confusing?" toto said as she tilts her head.
"I bet he just named her that to suck up to kouko anyway." Octan said as he snickered.
"Shut it, ex." Wagnon replies to one of octan's attacks for the first time ever.
"Oh look at that, you can actually fight back! well little did you know, but I fucked your wife first! Bitch." Octan said with the look of a winner.
"Please, darling can you stand on your own for a second." Wagnong said as he put lena down.
lena then moved towards Lena and stood right in front of her.
It was as if she was staring at her child self.
lena then says "Mom is waiting upstairs! she asked me to get you!" lena said as she disappeared.
hearing that Lena stood up and went upstairs.
With each step her heart's beats only increased in speed.
As she slowly raised up the endless stairs she suddenly reached her destination.
A door stood in front of her. Behind that door is no one, but Kouko herself.
As she slowly put her hand on the handle her excitement reached it's peak.
Finally, she can meet her again. Even if it is only in this world, Even if it is only for a moment.
Slowly opening the door she can see the light from the other side.
Then Immediately someone's hand is brought to the handle from the right of Lena and pulls it shut. After pulling it shut said person immediately stands in front of Lena.
Huffing and puffing for air Trestina stood there.
"I *gasp* m-made it... woooo... oh god..." Trestina said as her breath was taken away.
"What were you gonna do. Were you planning on joining her?" Trestina suddenly asks.
Lena doesn't reply.
"Lena, Wake the fuck up. This isn't just a dream, Do you think a dream would be this lucid and function for this long? Lena you are at death's door. At this very moment you are a step away from death hallucinating. You take a single step inside and it means you had made your choice." Trestina says.
"No. This is my choice, if it means death so be it. It's not like I've got anything else to do. Hell if I Don't die here I will definitely die there, in a world where they will only see me as a murderer worth fucking money." Lena said to the trestina in front of her.
"You think I can take this any longer! I can't trestina! I just can't! I have grown too weak. The other day I could barely lift my right arm with that stupid fucking armor piece, and I don't even have the choice to change it anymore, Hell if I take it off for a second I might die. The last time I ate an actual meal was weeks ago. I have no money left, nor a way to make it! This is it for me Trestina. It's either I get to see her one more time and die, or die on my own in the middle of god knows where!" Lena said screaming.
"I-I just want to tell her I'm sorry, trestina. The last time we met I hadn't realized how blessed I was to meet her again. I took her for granted, I even judged her actions. I just wish I could tell the old me to hug her one last time, that's all, trestina. Just a single hug. Even with everything she had done. I know she isn't a bad person, she would trust me to death, and yet I saw her as an eyesore. Do you know how I felt when I saw it on the newspaper! I was angered! If it wasn't for the kid, I don't even know what I would've done! They treated her death as if it was nothing! Just a piece of information! Hell, A fucking profit! That didn't sit right with me, yet I just shut up and took it. With the same look as always I stared at it. My whole life was a mistake, every decision I had made, ever route I had taken, Hell even before I was born people suffered. Had I ever told you, Trestia? About how my father died protect his weak pregnant wife, and about how my mother killed herself to not hurt me because she had hated my whole existence? Well it doesn't matter anyway does it. For This is nothing, but hallucination. You are a piece of mind so you already know that, you already know everything I went through, but that raises even more questions. Why would you even after knowing everything still want me to move on. You have seen it, my sad excuse of a life. Just leave me alone, trestina." Lena said trying to push trestina out of the way.
"I did. I know it all, unlike the me on the otherside I know you even more than you know yourself. that's why I know. You do not know what happened to us back in Kinolera. So I won't forgive you. Ever." Trestina said as she walked away.
Lena was left with the door. sighing she took off her right armor piece.
Lena wakes up in the middle of the forest. Once again.
She raises her upper half and looks around. With her left eye she looks at her surroundings. There is no one there. her body has become extremely malnourished. She barely stands up and fumbles off of her steps. She drags her right arm behind her as she walks the path once again.
"Next town... I will ask about it... Kinolera... Trestina... Toto... I wonder if time is still moving for them too." Lena said with dry lips.
"Octan... Are you really out there... And even if you are... Will you be the same..." Lena says as she hunches her back while her right arm drags behind her with the weight of the massive armor piece.