"Our presence will cause an upheaval," Ellen continued, "and that upheaval will give birth to one of the worst monsters to have ever existed." She glanced at Tear. "Do you remember that monster we ran into in the underground chamber? That thing was created when a man entered Ain Sof Absolute a few years ago. When we go there, we're going to set another monster just like that one free on the world. But since it's me going there, I'm sure it'll be a lot worse."
Tear's expression was completely neutral. If she was scared or worried or confused, it didn't show.
"I wish you'd told me that earlier," Tear said.
"Why?" Ellen blurted out, more angrily than she had intended. "Are you going to abandon me now that you know how much danger we're really facing?"
A wave of regret rolled over her. Tear was her friend, and she didn't deserve this kind of treatment.
"Sorry," Ellen said. "This is too much to deal with. I want to save the world from monsters, but I don't want to get everyone killed. And we have to do something about the monster that's going to appear, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to stop it."
For a moment she expected Tear to get up and walk away, but then Tear moved right up beside her and embraced her.
"I don't care how big the monsters are," Tear said, "I'll stay with you until the very end."
Ellen's eyes watered up in an instant. Tear was her best friend. How could she have ever doubted her? She wrapped her arms around Tear and held her tight.
She noticed something. Tear's eyes were hazel, and they were so very nice looking. She couldn't look away. And her smile filled every inch of her body with warmth. She didn't want to imagine a day without that smile in her life.
"Tear," Ellen said softly. She didn't say anything else. Instead, she puckered her lips and leaned in for a kiss.
Tear's face flushed red, but she didn't pull away. She closed her eyes and held still.
Ellen leaned in closer and closer until finally her lips met Tear's lips, then she held them there. She couldn't believe she had waited so long to do this. Tear's lips had to be the softest, warmest things she'd ever felt. All her tension vanished in an instant.
Without thinking, her tongue moved forward and became intertwined with Tear's tongue. She'd never thought about doing such a thing before, but now that it had been done, she couldn't imagine things any other way. This was the first time in weeks she'd been completely free of all worry and doubt. Despite the long and miserable journey that lay ahead, she felt perfectly content with everything exactly as it was right now.
She wanted more. Ellen grabbed Tear's hands and wove her fingers into Tear's fingers. She didn't feel a simple warmth anymore. Now she felt downright excited.
She only had a moment to enjoy Tear's delicate hands before Tear pulled away.
"You taste like raspberries," Tear said, smiling. Her face was still bright red. "You didn't do that because of your wine, did you?"
"It might've helped, but I've always felt-" Ellen's face became uncomfortably warm. She quickly turned back to her monster meat, hoping to hide her embarrassment. "I treated you badly when we first met, but I really enjoy having you with me."
"And I'll stay with you forever!" Tear exclaimed. Her voice became very serious. "But there's one condition. When we leave this village, you have to leave your wine behind."
That was an unusually cruel condition given what lay ahead, but it was probably for the best. "Okay," Ellen agreed.
"But wait!" Tear said. "Do we have to fight this monster? Why can't we just run away? Plus we're going to lose our magic once we destroy the dream world, aren't we? How are we supposed to fight it?"
"We can't run," Ellen said. "At least, I can't. The monster the Autarch created back then is strong enough to destroy entire dimensions. It already destroyed Amadeo's castle and probably a lot of other dimensions as well. I'm sure the monster I create will be even stronger. There's no way I could live with myself if I created something like that then just ignored it."
"But how are we supposed to fight something like that?"
"You don't," Ellen said bluntly. "You just need to help me reach the White Palace. The man I met in that other world... He said there are a lot of others like him. He said he's going to tell them our plan, and then once I enter Ain Sof Absolute and the monster appears, they'll sacrifice their lives to help me create a weapon to fight with."
Despite all the wine she'd drank, the plan still sounded ridiculous, yet this was the path laid out before her and she planned to follow it to the bitter end.
She couldn't help but wonder where the clerk had disappeared to. Another bottle of wine sounded very temping right now.
She glanced at Tear, and startled. Tear's face was soaking wet with tears, and many more were about to spill out of her eyes. "That's such an awful burden to bear, Ellen. Why can't someone else find the palace and fight this horrible monster? Why does it have to be you?"
"I think it's because... of my knife," Ellen said. "I don't think it came from our world. I think it was created by that other world. So were all of the mysterious stones. I've had my knife for so long I think it's given me some kind of link to that world, which is why I was able to go there. That link might even explain why I have my shield, and why Alice lost hers."
"That's such a stupid explanation," Tear said, smiling. "I think you're just unlucky."
Ellen felt shocked at first. How could Tear call her stupid so brazenly? But then she smiled. There was no doubt about it, she was very unlucky.
"That is a very unpleasant burden to bear."
Ellen looked to the front entrance, and found L.L. watching her.
"Are you still going to come with me?" Ellen asked.
"Yes," L.L. said sharply. "There aren't any safe places in the world. How many times have I said that? Saving the world might come with a high price, but it'll be worth it if nobody has to deal with losing their friends or their family members or their homes ever again." She paused. "Besides, I'd much rather fight the monsters at their source than wait for them to find us. And they will find us. It's just a matter of time."
"So that makes three of us!" Tear said happily. "I wonder what the others will say?"
Brendon nudged L.L. to one side and took her spot in the entrance. "I didn't mean to spy on you, but I figured you were hiding something from us." He cleared his throat, then spent a moment rubbing his temples as if he was gathering his thoughts for something big. "I'll stick with you," he said, then he chuckled.
"I'll go too."
Ellen looked towards the stairs. Alice was ducked behind a rail near the very top, watching her. So was the clerk.
"I don't know where I'd be right now if it wasn't for you, Ellen," Alice said. "So I'll help you even if it kills me!"
She couldn't remember having helped Alice all that much, but Ellen didn't have the clarity of mind to object.
"I'm afraid I won't be going with you," the clerk said, "but I do wish you the best of luck. I'm sure if you ask around the village you'll find plenty of others willing to help."
"I'll give it a shot," Brendon said. He didn't sound the least bit thrilled about the idea.
"What about Amadeo?" Tear asked. "I know I said some rude things to him earlier, but I still want him to come with us."
"I'll ask him when he gets back," Alice said. "I'm sure he'll come with us. He's never said no to me before."
Despite the misery that lay ahead, Ellen felt relieved. She might end up having her head squashed by a monster too large to fathom, but at least she'd have friends with her the whole time.
"And I really want to see what kind of weapon you can create, Ellen," Alice added. "I hope it's better than mine."
Ellen hoped that as well. The weapon she would eventually summon needed to be the most powerful weapon to have ever existed, and if it wasn't, she would not be returning from this journey.
Brendon cleared his throat again. "I wouldn't get excited yet. We still don't know if this White Palace really exists, or wh
ere we'll find it." He turned his back to the visitor center and marched off. "Back to work," he grumbled.
L.L. left with him.
For a moment Ellen considered helping them probe the village for information, but there was no reason to go looking for pain and misery. They would find her on their own. Instead she stayed with Tear, who started giving her more reading lessons.
It was not until three days later that a lead finally surfaced.
"We found something!" Tear shouted from the floor below. "Come down here, Ellen!"
Ellen stashed her half empty wine bottle under her bed then made her way down to the first floor of the visitor center. All of her friends were already there, gathered around Amadeo.
"It exists," Amadeo said. "The White Palace exists, and it's in a dimension called the Unbreeched Requiem."
"That's an ominous name," Brendon said mockingly. "Who told you this?"
"I met the village chief while I was out talking to a scout team. A few years ago, a man came into the Village of Majula-the old village, the one that had been built atop a desert wasteland. He called himself the Autarch."
Ellen perked up. She'd heard that name before, back in the dream world. It looked like everything the strange man had told her was true after all. She didn't know if she should be happy or afraid.
"He charged into the tavern and told everyone that him and his soldiers had discovered an ancient ruin," Amadeo continued. "They called it the White Palace. He said there was a throne inside, and whoever sat on it would be brought to a bizarre, alien world. He said he'd visited that world himself, and by doing so, he'd created the worst monster the world has ever seen."
"Why did he go to the village?" L.L. asked. "I hope he wasn't looking for people to fight this monster of his."
Amadeo shook his head. "No, he was looking for volunteers to help him guard the palace. He claimed if anyone was to ever touch the throne, another unstoppable monster would be set loose upon the world."
"He's right," Ellen said. Even though this meant she'd end up fighting the Autarch, assuming he was still alive and guarding the White Palace, he had very noble intentions and she couldn't help but feel a great deal of respect towards him.
"There's only one multidimensional monster lurking out there," Brendon said, "so I'm guessing he found some help."
"Just about everyone wrote the Autarch off as a deranged preacher and a conman," Amadeo said, "but one group left with him: a man named Sebastian, and his group of twelve friends."
"Wait!" Ellen blurted out. "Sebastian is my guardian's name. What does he have to do with any of this?" Her guardian and his friends had occasionally whispered things about finding the source of all the monsters in the world, but she'd never imagined they knew about the Autarch or the White Palace or the dream world.
"Sebastian isn't that rare of a name," L.L. said dismissively. "What makes you think it was him?"
"Because he has eight friends who follow him everywhere," Ellen said. The only thing racing faster than her mind was her mouth. "He used to have more, but some of them... Well, I'm not sure, but I think they died." That sounded very blunt, but she wanted desperately to know how her guardian tied into all of this.
"The Autarch and Sebastian left the village together," Amadeo said, "and the chief never saw them again." He turned to Ellen. "Why don't you tell us what you know?"
Ellen was taken aback. "N-nothing," she stammered. "My guardian never told me anything."
"Ellen's guardian," Alice said. "I mean, o-our guardian never said anything about his past. But there was one time..." She lowered her head, then after spending a moment deep in thought, she glanced at Ellen. "Do you remember when you first met him? You were living in that orphanage. He said he was going on a long journey, and if he survived, he'd adopt you." She quivered. "You remember what happened next. At least he kept his promise."
"I remember," Ellen said, although she wished she didn't. The orphanage had been shut down and in the worst possible way: a horde of monsters had discovered it. "He said he'd failed his mission, and then he never talked about it again."
Amadeo studied her. His probing gaze made her uncomfortable. "I met your guardian before," he said firmly. "He visited my castle once, back when it was in better shape."
"So have I," L.L. said. "He told my sister and I about the Monad Fortress and how to find it."
"I met him too," Brendon said, then he chuckled. "He was quite the adventurous type back then. I stuck with him for a bit, but I couldn't keep up."
Ellen glanced at each of them. They all knew her guardian. How could they have kept such a thing a secret for so long? "If you knew my guardian then why didn't you ever say anything!" she complained.
"They probably didn't know you had a guardian," Tear said, a warm smile on her face. "Even I didn't you had one until a few days ago. I thought you'd just been, you know, abandoned. Like me."
That was true, she hadn't exactly been open about her past, but Ellen couldn't help but feel a little bit irritated. Who else knew her guardian? And what did he know about the White Palace and the Autarch?
"This doesn't change anything," L.L. said, her voice very matter-of-factly. "We have a better common ground now, but our mission is the same."
Brendon started chuckling. He went on much longer than usual. It was almost uncanny. "I wonder," he said, his gaze on Ellen. "Did your guardian once go on a journey to find the White Palace and save the world from monsters? If that's true, that means his little adopted daughter is following in his footsteps."
Was that really what her guardian was after when she'd first met him back then? It seemed so impossible, yet she wanted nothing more than for it to be true. She could already imagine the look on his face when she found him and told him she'd succeed where he left off.
"So how do we find this Unbreeched Requiem?" L.L. asked. "A name alone usually isn't enough to find a dimension."
"The Autarch gave everyone a description of the region when he was recruiting help," Amadeo said. "The chief remembered bits and pieces of it. It's a very misty place. The ground is barren and red. There are tons of high cliffs, deep canyons and lots of monsters. The White Palace is there too, obviously." He paused. "Of course, it might've all rotted away by now, but something tells me it's still there."
"Sounds like hell." Brendon yawned long and hard. "Let's get going. Putting things off isn't going to make this any easier."
"Wait!" Tear said. "Shouldn't we ask help? I'm sure there are people in the village who-"
"We asked around," L.L. interrupted, sounding annoyed, "but convincing people you can save the world from monsters is not as easy as you'd think."
"I even asked the chief's sons," Alice said, "but no matter what I promised to do with them afterwards, I couldn't convince them to come with us."
"And what did you promise to do with them?" Amadeo asked.
Alice flushed red and looked away.
"It's probably for the best," Brendon said. "More people just means more mouths to feed and more monsters to fight. Besides, we don't need the help." He looked to Ellen. "No offense to your guardian, but him and his friends were just a bunch of hooligans looking for a way to kill time. The girl alone," he added, pointing to Alice, "is stronger than all of them combined. She's stronger than a lot of people. And you-" He pointed to Ellen. "You're the only shield anyone needs. Amadeo is a bit primitive, but he's pretty damn good with that sword of his, and you can't write me or Lindsey off just because we're older than you. If there's a group that can change the world, it's us."
Despite all the worry and dread she'd felt over the last few days, for a moment Ellen felt strangely at peace. They were a very talented group. It would take time, but she had confidence they could find the White Palace. The real issue was the monster that she and she alone would have to fight.
Brendon looked to Tear. The longer he went without speaking, the harsher Tear's frown became. "I'm sure you're good at something," he eventually said.
"I'm
good at a lot of things!" Tear shouted. She lunged forward and tried to attack Brendon, but Brendon caught her by her wrists before she could take a swing, then he held her in place as she struggled to break free, chuckling the whole time.
Ellen couldn't help but smile as Brendon and Tear battled it out, but despite the peace she felt right now, the path laid out before her still made her weary. Not only did they have to travel through a dangerous and most likely decayed dimension in search of a mysterious, ancient palace, they also had to deal with the Autarch and his forces. And monsters too, not just the regular kind but one so massive it would tear apart the world if she could not summon a weapon powerful enough to stop it. But despite the impossible odds, some part of her still believed that she could change the world.
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Scouring Majula (Ellen's Friends Book 3) Page 25
