After Tela’s surprise visit, the rest of Elena’s watch passed uneventfully and the heroine soon returned to her cosy bedroll as well. At first, she couldn’t quite fall back to sleep, though. Every time she shifted her body, her lower parts would brush up against the inner padding. The sensation of this contact inevitably reminded her new genitals of her elven companion. For a minute or two, Elena even thought about wearing her lower armour and simply sleeping with it on.

However, the sweet embrace of sleep did eventually lull her in. At first, the heroine's dreams that night were the bizarre jumble of scenes she had grown used to. After a few shifts in location, though, a weird feeling of lucidity entered her mind.

The scene before her was a tranquil green field stretching out to the horizon. Despite the peaceful landscape, though, the first thing the heroine took note of was her solitude. Except for the swaying grass, Elena found herself truly alone for the first time in months. It was almost enough for her to push her adventures and hardships out of her thoughts if one new circumstance didn't constantly remind her of it. Even in her dreams, the heroine felt the weight of her corrupted weapon and it seemed almost glued to her hand. Looking down on herself, she eventually noticed how her… other new sword was present as well.

However, the meadow of swaying grass, small flowers, and an endless blue sky did at least put the heroine at ease. For who knows how long, Elena simply stood on the flower field and basked in the pleasantly warm sunshine. Even if she knew that she was technically already asleep, the soft grass below and heat from above made it tough to do more than relax. Eventually, perhaps minutes or maybe even hours later, she did feel a presence behind her, though.

Quickly turning around, the Chosen's first instinct was to prepare for an attack. However, the figure before her wasn't focused on the heroine. In fact, the ethereal woman looking over the field was staring off into the distance just as Elena had done moments before. Of course, the heroine instantly recognised the Goddess before her, although she had rarely seen her in person. As she was trying to speak up, though, something prevented the words from properly coming together.

After a few more fruitless attempts, Elena instead followed her Lady's gaze. The eyes of the Goddess looked off into the distance. Beyond the green hill they were standing on, away from the beautiful array of flowers and sunshine towards a singular spot in the distance. Glancing around, the heroine soon realised what was different about that one spot. Off in the distance, the seemingly endless grass and flowers around them abruptly stopped. The boundary was still infinitely far away, but to Elena, the lifeless strip of land seemed closer than ever as she finally realised what it represented.

For a while, both Goddess and her Chosen wordlessly stared off into the tasks that lay both physically and temporally ahead of them. Eventually, her Lady’s eyes did drift away though, as she turned down toward the patch of grass before her. There was a single white flower in the vicinity, and the Goddess carefully picked it up. For a few moments, the divine being held the plant between her fingers, before finally turning towards her heroine.

Elena, again, wanted to speak up, but no sound escaped her. A second or two later, the Goddess took a step forward and her long, flowing dress floated just above the grass as she approached. With the flower still in hand, her Lady now stood before Elena and put the small plant behind the heroine's ear as she ultimately broke the silence herself.

“Stay strong, my Chosen...”

The words were barely more than a whisper, but they still seemed to get carried by the wind, as the meadow around them swayed in their wake. Separating from the heroine again, Elena had expected to see her Goddess’ usual soft smile or maybe a look of determination. Instead, though, she only found saddened eyes glancing back at her. Before she could ask what her Goddess meant, the lucid moment abruptly came to an end, and Elena’s usual dreams instantly took over again.

As the first rays of light crested over the mountain tops, the group awoke at roughly the same time. Ray was, as usual, the first out of bed, as she called out to the sleepy-looking Tela on watch.

Even in her normal morning grogginess, a part of Elena had already noticed the small tent in her own bedroll. Her member seemed almost desperate as it pressed against it from the inside. However, the heroine hadn’t fully registered that fact as something unusual just yet. As her brain slowly woke up, she finally realised what the weird sensation coming from her crotch was.

From one moment to the next, Elena was wide awake. Casting a brief glance at the bulge, it wasn’t instantly noticeable, thanks to the thick outer padding. If one knew what to look out for, though, it was undeniably there. The only saving grace was that the others didn't seem to have noticed anything yet, so the heroine tried her best to casually sit up. Thinking she got away with it this time, Elena let out a small sigh of relief.

After a second, however, she did feel someone staring at her back. For a moment, it reminded the Chosen of her dream visit, but upon turning around, Elena was instead met with the eyes of her elven companion. The eye contact only lasted for a moment before Tela wordlessly passed by the heroine. Their nightly... encounter already echoed through Elena’s mind, though.

She was still hiding the newest addition to her body from the people she normally trusted the most. In fact, she would have also kept it a secret from the elf. But with Tela already figuring out what had happened, was the heroine actually... embarrassed about the penis between her legs?

It had been a gift by her Goddess, so naturally Elena’s first instinct was to deny the notion. The heroine had never felt embarrassed about a gift from her Lady before. However, this time was a lot different to her blessed suit of armour, or the Chosen’s uniquely powerful magic. In contrast to the member between Elena’s legs, both of those godsends had come with the express purpose of helping her in future battles, after all. Thinking about it some more, the heroine’s thoughts also soon returned to her Protector.

The Goddess had looked uniquely sad while looking at Elena, but maybe there had also been a tinge of... disappointment in those eyes? Unfortunately, Elena was unsure if the matters were even related to begin with. Plus, she hadn't gotten the chance to ask why exactly her Lady had bestowed her with her newest gift. For the moment, the Chosen again decided against revealing the truth. While the group had already shared a lot about themselves, that didn't mean they had no more secrets among themselves. That was doubly true about such... intimate matters.

In fact, the most open about those topics had been the elven woman. Before the two rangers had even joined their party, she had one night approached Elena with a very similar proposition. Back then, Tela had been a lot less insistent, though. After all, that first offer had not been born from her innate thirst for knowledge, but a simple 'offer of companionship'. Even if the heroine had been tempted by the prospect for a while, she had ultimately rejected Tela's advances.

Becoming the Chosen had already drastically changed the outlook of Elena's love life. Any romantic partner would inevitably have to be left behind unless they accompanied the heroine to the most dangerous place in the world, after all. However, knowing that once they reached demon territory, they could still very much die - or worse - also made Elena reluctant to indulge in such distractions with her companions.

For now, the heroine simply figured that keeping last night’s happenings as a one-time thing would probably be for the best. Finally putting her thoughts to rest, she instead re-focused on the journey ahead. While she had been lost in thought, Elena’s hard-on had thankfully calmed down as well. Eventually, she managed to put her armour back on, before packing up the rest of her stuff.

The group’s breakfast this time around consisted mainly of their unappetizing, but long-lasting rations. In the corrupted mountains around them, few edible plants grew and most animals had already been contaminated by demonic influences. As a result, foraging for supplies would have been a waste of time anyway.

After a few more minutes of planning out today’s trek, the six companions were soon back on the road. This time around, there was no indication of any sudden ambushes or another demon horde closing in though. Instead, the journey over the mountains was filled with idle chit-chat.

“Soo... you really have to carry this thing around with you at all times then?”

Tina was walking ahead of the heroine, with her back turned towards the road. Despite walking backwards, though, the girl somehow managed to perceive where she was going. Somehow, the ranger simply stepped over any protruding rocks or holes in the ground as if it was the most natural thing to do. Instead, her focus was solely on the black sword in Elena’s hand.

“Yes. If I were to let go of it, the blade would soon corrupt its surroundings before returning to its scabbard at some point.”

“Then why not just take the sheath with you...? Seems a lot more convenient than stabbing yourself as soon as you trip over something.”

The mental image of that caused a small chuckle from the heroine. After a moment, she simply decided to demonstrate why that wouldn’t be a problem, though. As Elena loosened her left glove, a small area of bare skin soon peeked out below. Laying the cutting edge of her weapon against her wrist, she made sure the ranger was actually paying attention. Normally that simple touch should have already damaged her flesh, but as the Chosen of her Lady, even pulling the blade along her skin didn’t pierce it.

“As long as I hold true to my Goddess, the blade can’t hurt me. As for the scabbard, I...”

Elena thought about that for a few seconds. Why exactly didn’t the Chosen ever pick up Malice’s sheath?

“... I’m not really sure.”

As was often the solution to such knowledge gaps, the Heroine turned towards her elven companion. Tela was making up the rear of their group and normally she would have answered already. Right now, though, the shorter woman seemed even more tired than she had during Elena’s watch.

For a moment, the way the normally so perceptive woman was passively following the group had Elena a bit worried. However, as the heroine looked closer, she noticed how Tela’s eyes seemed focused on a singular point before her. Following her line of sight, both women were soon staring… down at Elena's crotch.

That realisation caused an involuntary wave of excitement to travel down the Chosen's spine. The twitch in her nether regions also seemed to get picked up by Tela. The ranger girl didn’t notice where the odd behaviour was focused, though, as she slowed down and shook the elf's shoulder.

“You... alright, there?”

“Wh-What? Yes, yes. I'm okay. What were we talking about again?”

Tina shared a quick worried glance with Elena, but after a while, the group simply continued on their track.

“Well, the question was why the Chosen doesn’t just carry the sword’s sheath around with them? Seems a lot more convenient to me.”

As she repeated her question, a rarity with the elven woman, Tina soon returned to her laid-back walking style.

“Ah, well... The answer to that is two-fold. Number one, the scabbard of Malice is nearly as corrupted as the sword itself. It was exposed to millennia of unholy energy, after all, so touching it directly would be... ill-advised for anyone not immune to its effects.”

As she started her explanation, the usual sharpness soon returned to the elf’s eyes. Her previous bout of lethargy already seemed like a thing of the past.

“And number two, the sword will eventually return to its sheath after its wielder... completed their journey. It is a slow process and not fully understood, as any who witnessed it didn’t live long enough to tell the tale, but sooner or later, the weapon will return to its prison. If the scabbard therefore fell into Evil’s hand, it would again and again return to the Shadowlands. Most likely it would just be used to sow mindless destruction there, but its displacement would make it significantly harder for future Chosen to acquire the weapon.”

While the rational part of Elena could understand the reasoning behind that, a small voice in the back of her mind actually got mad at that explanation. One of the reasons she had to hold on to the corrupted blade for the rest of her life was that her end had already been taken into account. It was only a small nagging thought, and for the most part, she understood the need for a contingency. It did cause her mood to darken a bit, though.

After the elf’s explanation, the conversation eventually descended back into meaningless chatter. Slowly but surely, the landscape also became more natural again, as the half-corroded mountains of the Cracked Peaks gave way to the snow-topped ridges of the majestic eastern mountain range.

Hundreds of miles north of their position, there also existed a small, easily overlooked village named Eastwood. It was little more than half a dozen houses in the middle of nowhere, getting by mainly through forestry and hunting. In these chaotic times, most people would have already written the settlement off as a lost cause. The heroine, though, offered another silent prayer as she thought back to her old home.

For the most part, the life of Elena the farm girl and Elena the Chosen Heroine were two very distinct periods in her life. It was unlikely she would ever see her old home again, assuming her family’s house still stood to begin with. For Elena, her Goddess-given task meant heading even further east, into the lands Her light had never touched. Not much was known about the Shadowlands and even less of that information was actually reliable.

From supposedly blood-filled lakes reaching out to the horizon; to monstrous skeletal birds as large as the grand cathedral soaring through the sky; to even some daring travellers claiming they had seen dead loved ones beckoning them further in - the only thing all stories agreed on was that the Shadowlands were a region wholly devoid of her Lady’s love.

Perhaps then, knowing they were headed to that cursed region was the reason the group took an early break today. It was important to remember what their struggles and sacrifices were protecting, after all. Therefore, the six companions soon sat up their camp near a small idyllic waterfall. Even though the crystal clear water came from one of the glaciers and was still ice cold, the basin it filled up below was a welcome respite nonetheless. Before the group relaxed in earnest, though, Rolan pulled out the map from his pack. Making sure that everyone paid attention, he began his briefing.

“We are currently somewhere in this area.” He pointed at a small line snaking across the mountains. “Tomorrow eve at the latest, we will have left the toughest terrain of the mountain range behind us and will continue along the south bank of the Lorra. If we make good progress, we will travel along the river for a week, maybe a ten-day at most, until we arrive here.”

The knight commander was dragging his gloved finger along the river to a small dot on its southern bank. Next to the position was the one name Elena had heard all too often during her early days of becoming the Chosen.

Lorraeken.

The city had once been a prosperous trading hub between the kingdom and the elven lands further to the southeast. Thanks to the river offering an excellent defensive line, it had also been spared the worst of the last few cycles. In less than a month, however, the demons had overrun the entire urban area this time around and scarcely few refugees had managed to escape the slaughter.

“Our best bet would probably be to commandeer a vessel before reaching the city proper, hopefully crossing the river unseen. If we are unlucky, though, we might have to fight our way over one of the bridges. After that, we will head to the actual Shadowlands.”

It was a grim reminder of how much had already been lost, that the heroine hadn’t even reached the heart of Darkness yet. However, keeping a cool head, an idea soon popped into Elena's mind.

“Then what if we cross the river right here instead?” She was pointing at a small unnamed village just beyond the mountain range. “The water levels shouldn’t be too high to wade through there, right?”

The knight commander gave a small nod at the idea.

“I had thought about that as well, but as much as the Lorra is a barrier for us, the same is true for the more dangerous demons. If we crossed it too early, we might get overwhelmed and pushed back into the river ourselves.”

Sharing a few glances among the group, Tina soon gave her own opinion on the matter.

“I also say we stay south of the river. Once we cross it, the terrain will soon flatten out, making it a lot harder to conceal our position.”

“...I agree. Adding to my sister’s point, the hills on our side will also slow down any larger hordes and demon groups. It should allow us to outmanoeuvre anything we can’t handle in a fight,” the other ranger also added after a few moments.

Once again, Elena was glad to have the two siblings in her party. Despite their apparent youth, they were actually very well-versed in their craft.

Ray, for her part, had stayed out of the strategic discussion as usual, but Tela also seemed weirdly absentminded again as she simply stared at the map. For a moment, everyone waited for her to add her own analysis, but even after a dozen seconds had passed, nothing came. Noticing the awkward silence and how everyone seemed to focus on her, however, the elf suddenly blinked a few times as her head turned a few shades redder.

“I-I’m sorry. What was the question again?”

“Are you alright, Tela? Earlier you also seemed a bit out of it.”

Just like last time, the worried question came from the ranger girl. The other group members were also concerned about her condition though.

“I... I’m fine, trust me. Just... just something I ate, or... something.”

The normally quick-witted woman already seemed to get lost in her thoughts again. However, Elena did notice how Tela’s focus shifted to her or, more specifically, how it seemed to drift down her body. Just like back on the road, something about her friend’s condition, against her better judgment, actually caused a small surge of arousal in the heroine. She was unsure where exactly those feelings had sprung up from.