To my surprise, Nila was not too far away this time. Up the hill that merged with the forest to the left, she was sitting on top of her suitcase, but once she noticed me, her frame moved downwards towards me. It was surprising to see her this early, considering I spent so little time within the barrier, yet there she was enjoying the views of the human realm in solitude.
Once she came closer to me, I immediately asked, "By the way, what exactly is the barrier? What are those eyes that followed my movements? I never had a chance to ask while being chased down by monsters and…"
Before I could mention Manuela, Nila nodded to my curiosity and sighed, "Would you like to hear about theories regarding the monster realm? Unfortunately, there is no definite answer for the reason of its existence. My guess is that it was the way Farhen separated 5 realms for whatever reason. As for the eyes, those are called observers, they are harmless and just exist within the barrier. No one knows about their origin either."
"Farhen."
It was the second time I heard the name of the goddess ever since I came to this world. I believe it was not a rarity to hear it, especially from someone of a strong belief, but it was still unusual to hear the name of my target like that. In the end, my final goal was to slay her, the goddess of this world. I pondered for a few minutes what else to say and while I did, Nila strolled forward down the road and said, "We are in no rush now, however, I would like to spend the night a little further away from the barrier. The harvester might still be within the monster realm, we can't risk being ambushed in our sleep."
It would certainly not be a problem for someone who sleeps with one of their eyes open like myself, but I could see Nila being taken off guard as her slumber is deeper than my dislike of loud noises. Despite that, I did not move as she was getting further away from me. At one point, she stopped and glanced back at me with her head tilted to the side.
"What is the matter, Dusk?"
I hesitated to speak, my eyes were directed at the ground. But once her shadow appeared in my eyesight as she walked towards me, I raised my head and said, "We got to the Dlayla region… does it mean that our paths will now get separated?"
Nila looked at the sky for a second, but then parried with a question of her own, "Where are you heading?"
"I…" Once again, I hesitated to speak. In the end, my ultimate goal is to kill the goddess she was praying to. I could not possibly voice this condition, but I also could not lie about my pathway towards her. My goal was not a noble one, vice versa, it was befitting of the Dusk whom she knew, an arsonist and a criminal. That's right, Nila would be way better off without me as I was weak and useless with only great goals to boast about, despite my inability to reach them. After further consideration, I finally whispered, giving a sigh of relief and sorrow.
"I want to slay her, the goddess."
Nila's eyes widened slightly to no one's surprise, my wish certainly sounded as absurd as the need for all the money the world had to offer. It was an impossible desire, augmented with greed and selfishness with very questionable gains. Befitting of the sly criminal as myself and the one that brought only frowns out of common folk. However, what Nila showed me… was a smile. Not a mocking one, but rather one of great interest, as if she was considering the possibility of this goal being achieved.
She finally nodded and said, "Then you certainly need someone who could guide you to the Gods realm, right? Then our only option would be the deal extension."
Now it was my turn to lose words, I could not believe what she just said. She agreed to help me? Did my ears deceive me?
"But why? Why are you doing this for me? I am a goddamn criminal, the one who wrecked havoc in the Schöltum region! I deceived you, lied to you, yet you tell me that you want to help!?"
I could not comprehend what she was thinking, it did not make any sense at all! But then, she added even more oil to this fire of resentment.
"This is why I can't let you go rogue, Dusk, I saved you and took you in as my pupil. As your master, this is my responsibility to change your ways and make you a better person. What you committed in the past, shall stay there. Only the future matters, all is as easy as that."
"What!? Who said that you are my master? And my past deeds do, in fact, matter! Would you really be as dumb as to sleep under the same room with the murderer?"
Nila shook her head, her voice remained calm despite my rising impatience, "You can't tame a tiger without being within its claws' range. The fact that you already look back at your misdeeds is a great starting point, let it all sink and change your ways. My lifespan is far greater than yours, so I will be patient." Then she rubbed her chin and tilted her head to the side once again, "And what do you mean by "who said that you are my master?"? If I remember correctly, you are the one who asked me to teach you magic, and I agreed."
Her first line of thought was full of holes, she wanted me to disregard my past, but also look back at those misdeeds? How was I supposed to split up like that? But her latter statement had a point. I really wanted to learn magic, and her guidance could potentially increase my chances against the goddess, but I was still not happy about this outcome.
Before I managed to raise further complaints, my eyes fixated on the hand that she extended to me, she said with her calm, yet confident voice, "I am not the best teacher or a person as well. I have a great deal of sins that weigh my shoulders, after all. But the power of empathy can change anyone, and I believe that you have as much aptitude to this change as you do to magic."
I continued my staredown against her hand. It was the very same hand that persuaded me in unpleasant dreams on top of the cliff, when I was at the lowest point ever since I came to this world. In fact, my life only went downwards after attaining freedom to do whatever I wanted, I could have died if it was not for Nila. I could have burned down that village as well, or got executed in the city of Wiskoschia. As much as I wanted to think of myself as free and chauffeur of my own destiny, the shackles in the form of Solitaire and Nila were always present within me. I never became my own man. I remained Dusk the Snatcher, the one who was reliant on others, foolishly assuming that I was in charge of everything.
I hated my weakness, hated the fact that I had to rely on someone else to survive. But for this instant, I did not feel sick from the idea of taking her hand. It was inviting, eager to help me and now, I really could not resist it.
Finally, I grasped Nila's hand in a firm handshake, to which she smiled and turned away. Then, we strolled further away from the barrier in search of the camping spot. Our short term goal was to skip the night and move on to the next city that lay ahead of this road.