A day later...
The late afternoon light streamed in through the side of the tent, tinging everything with golden and reddish hues. The heat was mild, and the tribe was moving around outside - laughing, hammering, the metallic sound of weapons being sharpened. Life. Everyday life. Strength.
Seth was sitting near the opening of the tent, his torso bare, watching the horizon in silence. Bastet was asleep a few steps away, curled up in a shady corner, purring softly.
That's when a notification flashed into her vision.
[Countdown to Return to the Human World: 1h:58m]
He let out a long sigh.
"It really is time to go..." he muttered.
Kerissa entered soon after, wearing a simple outfit of leather and cloth. Her hair was tied in loose braids, with a few strands still escaping around her face. She was carrying two steaming clay cups.
"It's been a while," she said, handing him one of the cups with a half-smile. "It smells like 'I need to talk'."
Seth accepted the drink with a tired smile. He took a sip. Bitter, strong, like almost everything else in the world.
"I've got two hours," he said bluntly.
"How do you know that?" she asked, curious. "Until recently, you seemed lost like a wolf cub at the first snowfall."
He gave a short laugh, but not of derision. More of resignation.
"I have... something of my world. A kind of window. Show me some information." He paused. "It says that in less than two hours I'll be teleported back."
Kerissa stared at him for a moment, as if trying to decipher what he was failing to say.
"Alien technology..." she muttered. "And it's come a long way, apparently."
Seth just nodded, staring at the contents of the glass, stirring it slightly.
"You really don't have a choice, do you?"
"Not this time." He looked at her. "But I want to go back."
She arched an eyebrow.
"Because you liked me?"
He laughed, a little surprised at the directness of the question. But he didn't answer right away. He let his gaze wander over the growing shadows of the village, the sounds of children playing, the smell of wood, leather, earth warmed by the sun. And then he spoke, in a lower voice:
"Because... I need to understand what's happening on the other side. There are unfinished things there. People in danger. People I love. I need to resolve this before... allow myself to stay here. Or anywhere else."
Silence. Kerissa turned her face slowly, narrowed her eyes and gave a theatrical little pout.
"Wow... cold. Not even to say you like me." She crossed her arms. "And I chose you, I gave you my virginity, I gave myself like I wouldn't give myself to anyone else and... humpf! What a stupid choice."
Seth's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait... you were..."
"I was," she confirmed seriously. "Queen doesn't mean I belonged to anyone. I never needed a male to validate who I was. Until you came along..." she looked at him, her red eyes shining. "Do you think I usually pull any man into my bed?"
He lowered his eyes, feeling the weight of what she was saying.
"Kerissa, I..." he began, but she held up her hand.
"You don't have to explain yourself. I'm not one for eternal vows. I'm just saying... it hurt a bit, hearing all that and not knowing if I was included in your 'people I love'." She sighed and took a sip of her drink. "But I think I am now."
Seth came closer, put his hand on hers.
"Yes, you are," he said firmly. "I'm just... I'm not good at this. I don't want to make promises I don't know I can keep. But I want to come back. I want to see you again. Even if it takes a while."
Kerissa smiled slightly, and this time there was sincerity in her gaze.
"Good. Because if you didn't come back... I'd end up following you. And frankly, your world doesn't seem ready for me."
Seth laughed. "Not really."
She moved closer, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"What are you going to do there?"
"Find out what's going on with the portals. Save some people. Deal with the chaos. And..." he sighed, "try to keep my world in one piece. Or rebuild it, if it's too late."
"Then go. Do what you have to do." Kerissa looked up, and there was fire there, but a calm, solid fire. "But it won't take long. U'Zhar's tree... will be waiting."
Seth squeezed her hand.
"I'll be back. That's the only promise I can really make."
They stared at each other, and this time, they didn't need any more words.
The sun began to disappear over the horizon as time counted down relentlessly. And even with the end approaching... there was no sadness. Just something new, still being born, but already strong enough to take root.
...
[London - 11:42pm]
The sky was tinged with red, as if the city itself was bleeding. Buildings collapsed, burning cars whistled between muffled sirens. The ground shook with every step of the colossal creature that had emerged from the gaping hole in the middle of Tower Bridge.
The Rank-A Boss, an aberration more than five meters long, with metallic skin and eyes that glowed like furnaces, roared as it tore up slabs of concrete as if they were paper.
Vortex. One of the wandering bosses of the Arch of Ruins, escaped before the Dungeon closed.
And on the front line, Connie and Vixen were almost killing each other.
"Get out of my way, doll!" Vixen spun her twin daggers and leapt over a wrecked car, launching herself into the air.
"If you'd thrown yourself less and fought more, maybe you wouldn't be in my way!" shouted Connie, activating a Ray and firing a blast of bluish energy that exploded into the monster's side.
The creature grunted, turning towards the two of them. Bone tentacles opened on its back like claws, lashing the air with destructive force.
"Take the left side!" Connie shouted, already spinning in the air and floating a few meters away from the monster.
"I know how to split a Boss, super-shock!!!" Vixen replied, driving her blades into the enemy's flank and using them as support to climb onto the creature's shoulder.
The monster screamed, shaking violently.
Connie cast a containment circle below it, trying to arrest its movements with the beams, creating an electric cage. Vixen, meanwhile, detonated a bomb right at the base of the creature's skull.
Explosion. Smoke. The ground cracked under the weight of the Boss.
For a brief second, silence.
Then the unmistakable sound of collapsing rubble.
Vixen fell beside Connie, breathing heavily. They were both dirty, bruised, but standing. And, of course, the silence lasted as long as a fight between the two usually does: nothing.
"You almost hit me with that bolt, you lunatic!" Vixen spat blood on the ground, turning to face her.
"And you nearly died again climbing the monster like it was a playground toy!" Connie retorted, eyes still glowing with residual energy.
"At least I'm not floating around pretending to be important with this lightning magic crap!"
"And at least I'm not trying to impress Seth with clothes that barely cover your inflated ego!"
Silence. Thunder in the distance. Sirens still in the background.
The reference to Seth hung in the air like an invisible blade.
"Ah, so that's it," Vixen crossed her arms, gasping. "Do you think he'll choose you? A half-baked elitist mage?"
"I think he'll choose someone who's on his side for real," Connie retorted firmly. "Not someone who keeps trying to seduce him like a prize."
Vixen narrowed her eyes.
"And you keep pretending you don't feel anything, when everyone realizes you're in love to the bone."
"And you keep thinking that one night with him makes you special. But the truth is that you're afraid of not being enough."
A roar. The Boss stood up, still staggering.
The two of them looked at their enemy together, then looked at each other with sparking eyes.
"This conversation isn't over," growled Vixen, wiping the blood from her lip.
"Good. Because I'm not finished either," replied Connie, preparing another arcane seal.
Together, they threw themselves back into battle, like two halves of a war that only Seth could unify... or destroy.