"I can't stand what happened to you guys!" I said and jumped to my feet. The unfairness of their situation finally pushed me over the edge.
"Yeah, I really wish we could do something to make it right, or at least avenge Elias," Bella said. It had to be the first time she had ever agreed with me about something.
"Well, that's why I'm sitting here with you all," Laura said and smiled.
"Wait, so that whole take me to the shrine bit was a lie?" Teresa asked, she looked genuinely upset.
"You can't seriously have just figured that out?" Bella said. The look on her face was somewhere between concerned and amused.
"Of course I did," Teresa said and stared at the floor.
"Anyway, what did you have in mind?" I asked and ignored how obviously embarrassed Teresa was.
"Before I answer that, do you know how those bracelets you all wear work?" Laura asked.
The words you all struck a chord with me. I looked at her wrists and realized she didn't have one on.
"They allow our bodies to get stronger by converting the experience we gain into energy," Bella said with a satisfied smile.
"That's a really good explanation. They were created for several reasons. The first one being that they provided every person with a way to become stronger. Before the bracelets, some people had no choice but to live boring, mundane lives," she said.
I thought about the way I lived before that night in the tavern, mundane was the only way to describe it.
"The main reason for them though, was that they made it safe for people to become stronger. When people relied on natural energy to become stronger there was no way to know exactly how that energy would affect them. For some, they became powerful, and everything was fine. For some others though, the energy changed them, a lot of those times, it turned them into some kind of creature. There's no scarier moment than when the strongest warrior in your town suddenly becomes a minotaur, or something like that," Laura said.
"The texts don't mention people turning into other creatures," Bella said, she was clearly enraged by what we had just heard.
"Well, that's simply because the people that wrote them don't want that knowledge made public, for whatever reason. My reason for mentioning this is because The Lover's Blade combines those processes. It takes the energy from the natural world around us and converts it into experience our bodies can safely use to get stronger," Laura said.
"It sounds the same to me," I said and shook my head. I sat back down next to Teresa and held her hand.
"So, here's the difference you missed. The bracelet takes the experience your body creates and turns that into energy. Our bodies have a limit to how much experience they can make on their own, and the higher your level, the more experience you need, to advance to the next level. The Lover's Blade turns natural energy into safe energy your body uses to get stronger. There's no limit to the amount of energy in nature and no matter how much your body needs to advance, it can gather it," she said and looked at me.
"So that means that the wielder can get stronger than someone wearing a bracelet, right?" I asked.
"Not just stronger, eventually it wouldn't even be comparable. The person with the sword would be more like a god than a human," Teresa said, and sat forward suddenly.
"That's amazing and all, but how will that help us avenge you," Bella asked.
"Well, I want you all to understand what exactly I'm giving you. So, you can fully appreciate it," Laura said.
"How will that work? is there some sort of spell or ceremony we need to perform?" Bella asked.
"Bella, are you sure you even want the sword? Suddenly gaining unlimited power, sounds like it could easily corrupt a person," I asked.
"Me, I was assuming Teresa would be the one to wield it," she said while shaking her head.
Laura giggled quietly and the rest of us gave her our full attention. We stared at her and waited for an explanation.
"I apologize if my laughter seemed disrespectful. It's just been a very long time since I've spent time with good people. I actually am giving the sword to Simeon though. Since his levels in most things are so low, he has time to adjust to the power he will be receiving. That will also give you two a chance to handle any changes in his personality before they become major problems. This is also assuming he has any personality changes. None of the men who have handled the sword in the past have. Your situation will be different though," she said.
"How will it be different," I asked. My heart rate had already quickened.
"You will be the first ever person to wield the sword constantly, every other wielder's lover became the sword. You won't have to deal with that," she said and smiled.
"So, what you're going to turn into the blade and then just never turn back into yourself again?" Bella asked.
"I won't be around any longer. I believe I only lived this long because I was spirit bound to Elias. The moment he found peace and moved on I was released from that binding," she said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"What did I miss? Why are you sad?" I asked
"It's a mixture of sadness and hope that's making me cry. I could always feel Elias' spirit. The moment he moved on; I became truly alone for the first time in my entire life. I'm hopeful though that whatever comes next will reunite us for eternity," she said and wiped her tears.
"So, are you sure you want to leave the sword to us? Don't you have any descendants you wanna leave it to?" I asked.
"I wish, but sadly Elias and I never had time to start a family, and since I was an only child the lineage stops with me," she said.
"Can we stop with all the questions; I really want her and Elias to be reunited. I just know he's somewhere waiting for her right now," Teresa said as she wrung her hands together.
"You're more excited than I am," Laura said.
"Yeah, love is kinda her thing," I said.
"It's your thing too, you just hide it better," Laura said and stood up.
She held out her right hand as if she was offering me a handshake. I stood up and gripped her hand.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked as our hands began to glow.
"You'll see," she said before the light between our hands became so bright it almost blinded me.
I shielded my eyes with my left hand but as long as I felt her hand in mine, I never broke my grip. After a few seconds I couldn't feel her hand anymore but there was definitely something heavy in my grasp. I removed my left hand from my face and there was a beautiful sword in my hand. It looked like it was made from silver, and the grip was ornamented with red, yellow, orange and blue gems.
"Oh, cool, the Lover's blade is silver so it can also slay monsters," Teresa said excitedly.
"No, that's not silver, that's platinum, this sword can slay gods if we need it to," Bella said as she studied the sword.