A few days later, Timothy and Josh continued their journey towards the sanctum, its location unknown to Timothy. Determined, Timothy decided not to ask Josh any more questions. However, he had one important question to ask. As he turned to Josh, who seemed calm and content, Timothy opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly his mouth became dry. His lips cracked and his tongue felt parched, as if he had lost every drop of moisture in his body.
"What's wrong now? Hey, hey, Moirai, speak to me." Josh's tone shifted from calm to panic when he saw Timothy's state. Timothy fell, his body quickly losing all its moisture, resembling a mummified corpse. Josh caught him before he hit the ground and quickly brought a skin of water to Timothy's mouth, pouring it in slowly. Timothy's life seemed to hang by a thread.
"Hang on, Moirai. Damnit, what could be the cause of this? Did we stumble upon one of The Twisted Lands?" Josh closed his eyes and spread out his senses, hoping to detect any abnormalities in the environment. Twisted Lands always appeared deceptively serene, with rolling hills and lush forests. But as one journeyed deeper, subtle anomalies revealed themselves: paths bending impossibly, trees with grotesque branches, and an eerie atmosphere.
Despite his efforts, Josh found nothing unusual. Just then, a loud, friendly voice spoke from behind him, jolting him out of his panic. "Well, hello there! Howdy, stranger!" Josh turned to see a young man a few yards away. The young man looked like a countryside inhabitant, tall and broad-shouldered, with sun-kissed skin and deep blue eyes. His rugged charm and practical attire added to his approachable nature.
Josh quickly remembered Timothy's urgent need for help. "Boy, is there a river nearby?" Josh asked urgently, standing up with Timothy in his arms. The young man, shocked by Timothy's shriveled form, pointed west. "There's a river over there, just past those trees! What happened to him? Oh lordy, is he still living?" Josh didn't respond, rushing in the direction indicated. His speed was beyond human, leaving the young man staring in awe. "Good lord, I better follow him," he muttered, taking off after Josh.
Josh made his way to the river, leaping through the trees. 'Hold on, Moirai,' he thought, hearing the sound of water. He leapt off the last tree, landing gracefully on the riverbank. Without hesitation, he threw Timothy into the river and took a handful of river sand. Biting his finger, he let drops of blood fall onto the sand before throwing it into the river and clasping his hands together.
"Summoning, Aquila Elderguard," Josh declared boldly. Moments passed with nothing happening, then the world seemed to go still. A vortex shimmered in the river, and a pillar of emerald water shot into the sky. When the pillar dispersed, a creature with long green hair, algae, scales, and red eyes emerged. Its human-like body, covered in slime, had a face resembling a woman's. It stood on the water, observing Josh.
"Let me guess, someone close to you is dying, and that's why you summoned me again, 'master'?" the creature mocked. Josh nodded and pointed to Timothy, whose body was slowly sinking. The creature knelt, dipped a finger into the water, and Timothy's body began to rise again.
The creature inspected Timothy, whose form resembled that of a dead man. It moved to touch Timothy's forehead and closed its eyes. A set of Veilstones appeared on the creature's forehead, shimmering with an otherworldly light. The same type of Veilstones then appeared on Timothy's wrinkled forehead. The creature established a spiritual connection with Timothy, In the depths of Timothy's consciousness, Richard shielded himself from the probing eye of the intruder. He was well aware of what was happening to Timothy and could feel the seal that bound them together weakening. However, there was nothing he could do—he simply wasn't strong enough.
The creature probed through Timothy's mind and found something shocking. His mind was chaotic, with missing memories creating a spiral maze. Despite this, it learned more about Timothy than Josh had. Due to the spiritual connection, both the creature and Timothy appeared in their soul forms. The creature's soul was slightly different from its regular appearance, covered in Veilstones that were dormant. Timothy's soul, vast and towering over the creature, took the form of a 12-winged being also covered in Veilstones. However, something was wrong with it—it was slowly drying up, like a plague was consuming it.
"With a soul that vast, just what are you?" the creature questioned, but received no answer.
"I can save you, you know, but you will have to owe me. I know you are still too weak now, but in the future, I hope you can repay this debt. Someone placed a seed of drought in your soul, and it's very strong. To destroy it, I will have to sacrifice my essence, which will turn me human. But it's okay—I will risk it, as long as it means I can have you in my debt. Oh, and just to make sure you keep your promise, I'm also going to leave a piece of me here with you. When you wake up, you will know what to do," the creature spoke with a smile. As it moved forward, the once dormant Veilstones began shimmering brightly as it approached Timothy's soul.
Slowly, Timothy's face began regaining its vitality, and soon he was back to his normal self, though he remained unconscious. Josh heaved a sigh of relief but then turned his attention to the creature. The creature's body had shrunk to the size of a child, and its features had transformed into those of a young girl. It had turned human. Quickly, Josh took off his coat and covered the small, naked girl with it, then whispered a question, "Why?"
"He was dying. I had to. His soul is ancient and vast, so I spent most of my essence trying to heal his drying up soul. There was a seed of drought placed in his soul. If his soul wasn't so vast, he would have long died," the young girl explained, her red irises the only reminder of what she used to be.
To Josh, this all made no sense. "But there was no reason for you to sacrifice your primordial essence, Mahome'i. By doing that, you have upset the natural balance of the world. For an elderguard, you sure think slow. I just needed you to diagnose the boy, and maybe I could have healed him. But you went on to sacrifice yourself and put the rest of the world in jeopardy," Josh spoke, his tone shifting from calmness to anger.
Mahome'i just looked at him and smiled. "He will restore me. I believe he will restore everything. But for now, you are stuck with me. And look on the bright side—I left a seedling of essence for myself. With his growth, it will slowly grow, and in no time, I will be back to my normal self. Or are you afraid to admit that you preferred me with scales?" Mahome'i mocked, earning an eye roll from Josh.
"What in the lord's name is going on?" Josh immediately recognized the voice. It was the boy who had pointed him towards the river. Josh picked up Mahome'i and took slow steps back to the riverbank. He wasn't worried that the boy was watching him walk on water because he was about erase the boy's memories of ever meeting him.
"What did you say your name was again?" Josh asked the boy upon reaching the riverbank. The boy had his eyes on the two people Josh was carrying: a small girl with emerald hair and flawless pale skin with dark red pupils, and Timothy, who had previously looked shriveled and dry, almost resembling a corpse but now looked healthy and normal. Josh's words brought the boy out of his shocked state.
"Jeremy—Jeremy Helendale. But wait, I never told you my name, mister." He quickly recognized his mistake. Josh smiled briefly and carefully placed the two people he was carrying down. Taking slow steps towards Jeremy, Josh's eyes displayed a piercing hue, drawing everyone's attention to them.
"Jeremy Helendale, you will now forget ever meeting me or seeing the scene before you. You will return home and never remember any of this." As he spoke, Jeremy's eyes slightly lost focus, and he slowly nodded. Josh stared at him for a brief moment, then turned to pick up Timothy and Mahome'i.
"But this is my home, mister. Where shall I go?" Jeremy's voice resounded from behind Josh, and Josh's eyes widened in genuine surprise. Turning around slowly, Josh saw Jeremy staring directly at him with confusion etched on his face.
"What did you just say?"...