Although the chill of the early evening was seeping into her, Elena remained kneeling on the rocky ground. She had already lost herself in prayer for a few minutes. Once, in another life, her body would have protested about sitting unsheltered in the wild, with the cold metal of her armor digging into her. Nowadays, the connection to her Goddess was one of the greatest sources of comfort when away from civilization.

Sometimes the years as Elena the farm girl, born in a village none of her companions had ever even heard of, felt endlessly far away. Back then, the heroine had not been very pious in her prayers, but the years since had drilled the repetitive actions and words on her lips into a grounding ritual. Ironically, her prayers now represented the greatest connection to her old life.

The heroine was unlikely to ever see Eastwood, her family, or her old friends again, and yet Elena knew her Goddess would keep them safe. Her Lady had an endless capacity for love, not just for her Chosen, but for all of creation. The heroine felt it whenever her Protector’s gaze fell upon her. And ever since the first time it had happened, back when she had been bestowed her powers, Elena had only ever asked one thing of her Goddess: that she kept the people she cared about away from harm. Even if that meant the heroine herself needed to venture into the one area untouched by Her light. Despite her efforts to block out the outside world, Elena couldn’t ignore the weapon stir at that line of thought.

The Shadowlands were a region swathed in mystery and fear. Not much was known about the lands of endless darkness and even less of that information was reliable. Legends told of dark mountains that spewed out cold, black flames, or blood-filled lakes reaching as far as the eye could see. Even worse, though, would be whatever inhabitants called that place home. Birds as large as the grand cathedral with only the tattered bones of its victims for wings, the ghostly apparitions of deceased loved ones endlessly beckoning wanderers in, and, of course, seemingly endless hordes of demons.

Elena’s party members had said she shouldn’t believe every wild tale about their destination, but the one thing all stories agreed on was that the Shadowlands were a region wholly devoid of her Lady’s love. The thought of journeying there should have been distressing, and yet all Elena could focus on right now was the sword in her hands.

Malice brimmed with… anticipation? It almost seemed to vibrate in the heroine’s grip, the corrupted blood dripping out with a little more intensity. Opening her eyes, Elena looked down at her cursed weapon. The mountains around them cast their camp in steep shadows, and only a few rays of light still peeked over them. Even in the darkness, however, Malice stood out. The color wasn’t born from a lack of light, but by the weapon devouring any that touched it. Reaching out with one of her hands, Elena traced the cutting edge of her corrupted sword. A drop of black liquid pooled on it.

Protected by her Goddess, the touch of the fluid didn’t hurt. Instead of wiping the evil liquid off, however, Elena brought her stained hand to her eyes. Two cosmic forces that had been in conflict for longer than humanity had even existed were now fighting on the literal tip of her finger. She could sense the energy contained in that single drop, the potential for destruction it was made of. And yet, it couldn’t harm her. Or rather, her Protector didn’t let it.

Back during the battle against the Imps, Elena had gotten her first real demonstration of what Malice was capable of, but she had paid little mind to the minutiae of how it worked. Staring at the singular black drop, she obviously knew that the two energies battling it out were polar opposites, but she had never actually thought about what that would mean specifically. How could Creation even prevail against a power such as Destruction? Elena had assumed her blessed power would simply prevent the corrupted blood from burning through her body in the first place. As the heroine stared down at where the black drop met her skin, though, she saw the affected area and it looked… different.

The flesh was pale and stood out in the low light around her. For a moment, Elena almost believed it gave off a soft glow. Before she could get a clear look, however, the light had already vanished again, and she wasn’t sure if it had just been her eyes playing tricks on her. Unfortunately, peering directly into the drop of corruption was of little use, so the heroine couldn’t see exactly what was happening to her or the dark blood. All she knew was that it didn’t harm her. In fact, it didn’t really register in her mind at all.

When pressing another probing finger into the black drop, the liquid didn’t offer any resistance. Her other digit simply slid in and got coated in a thin layer of black liquid itself. When she tried to pull them apart, however, the fluid held them together. Obviously, the force was nowhere strong enough to stop the heroine if she truly wanted to, but Elena held herself back just before the bridge of corrupted blood snapped apart. Even though she had stretched the material thin, it retained its infinitely deep, dark quality.

Just because the heroine consciously halted, however, did not mean her power stopped shrinking the drop further. Elena’s blessing worked endlessly to cleanse the drop of evil liquid, and now it had two points to attack from. For a moment, the dark bridge sagged between her fingers, then it finally fell to the ground. The grass beneath the heroine sizzled and started to melt, but the drop had been so small at that point that it caused little damage.

Elena paid the dying plants no mind anyway, as she solely focussed on her fingers. With the last of the corruption purged, she saw it. A flash of light. It was so minuscule she would have missed it if the evening sun hadn’t already been hiding behind the mountains. Before she could study the glow further, however, it disappeared just as quickly again. The only thing left in its aftermath was the area of skin the drop of corruption had been touching.

The tip of Elena’s finger was… pale. That was still the prevailing thought in her mind, before her flesh took on the same pink hue as the rest of her hand. It was a strange sight, but the effect somehow reminded the heroine of the battle against the imps, or rather, what had happened after.

Back then, she had used her power to heal Tino’s injury without really thinking about it. That was simply one way she used her powers to help her companions, after all. But why would her own body be doing such a thing now? The drop hadn’t injured her, it couldn’t have. After all, she was supposed to be immune to her weapon’s corrupting liquid… right?

Elena stared at her fingers. The last traces of her experiment had vanished already, but the heroine’s mind couldn’t help think about the implications. During her training, her divine power had always purified any malicious energies before they could do any damage to her. At least that was what she had assumed.

For a moment, she was tempted to see the effect once more, and her finger already hovered over the cutting edge of Malice. The sword wasn’t happy per se to be used for such experimentation, but it definitely preferred it to the tranquility of the mountains. Before a new drop of liquid could coalesce, however, Elena stopped herself. She had removed herself from the rest of the party to clear her mind, but now her thoughts were racing even more than before. Just that the topic had changed.

In the end, Elena deliberately averted her eyes. Malice was using her own curiosity to make her falter in her faith, she was sure of it. In response, her mouth wordlessly moved through her ingrained prayers. It didn’t matter how exactly her powers worked, as long as they kept her and her companions safe. The expected reassurance felt hollow, though, when the corrupted weapon seemed to delight in her ongoing doubts. So, instead of mulling over these issues of faith, she focussed on the surrounding nature to calm herself down.

As the valleys and creeks below fell into shadow, color had slowly disappeared from the world. Individual trees merged together to form black walls separating the sparsely forested areas from meadows and bare stone. The mountains that towered over all of them transformed as well. The encroaching night turned the gentle, snow-tipped giants that had formed the backdrop for the party’s hike into ominous black teeth jutting out of the earth.

Even though the dark, jagged weapon in her hand welcomed the comparison, the heroine didn’t let it distract her from the natural beauty. As the sun was vanishing, the mountain range might become a more ominous place than most, but it was still part of the Goddess’ creation. If her Lady had created these sights with love in her heart, then her Chosen could appreciate them as well, no matter the time of day. Thus, Elena finally returned to her prayers as the frigid air filled her lungs.

…Or at least she tried to. This time it wasn’t the weapon in her hand that disturbed her inner peace. Instead, her own body protested after just a few moments. With the physical exertion of the day catching up to her, Elena was suddenly very aware of just how long ago her last meal had been, as her stomach rumbled at her neglecting to feed it. The only saving grace, perhaps, was that the stirring solely came from her belly and not further below.

The image of Ray bathing was still stuck in her mind somewhere, but Elena had enough mental focus not to let that thought reach her nether regions, even if her cheeks became a touch warmer at the reminder. Ever since she had retrieved that cursed weapon, a weird new dimension lay upon the interactions with her companions. For now, though, the heroine was content to ignore all the changes that had already taken place as she peeked out of her temporary refuge.

Her party members were sitting around a small fire on the shore of the mountain lake, opposite the waterfall. Presumably something was cooking atop it, but Elena couldn’t see it clearly thanks to the others blocking her view. As she observed her companions, the Blackwolf was the first to spot her back. Ray’s hair was still wet from her dip into the lake and it was unclear when exactly she had gotten out, but at least she had the decency to finally put on some clothes. With her calling out to the heroine, it wasn’t long before the others also noticed Elena, although they quickly returned to what they were doing.

Elena inspected her hands one last time. There was no residue stuck on her fingers, no blackened skin, or any other evidence of her experimentation. Still, the area that had been in contact with the black blood felt strangely tender as she wiped it on her clothes. Brushing off the few pebbles and blades of grass sticking to her armor, the heroine finally got up to rejoin her party. For the moment, they had split into two groups. Tina and Ray were watching over the fire and food, while Rolan, their elven mage, and the other ranger were studying their map.

“—take a few days of travel, probably, but I think it—”

Rolan’s analysis stopped when Tela abruptly perked up at Elena’s return. The smaller woman’s eyes roamed over the heroine, but they especially lingered on Malice in her hands. Of course, the heroine pointed the weapon down and away from them, even if it stirred slightly at the sudden attention. Tela’s words, though, caught Elena off guard.

“Did you find any firewood then?”

The heroine stared down at her companion uncomprehendingly. Then she remembered. That had been the excuse she gave to get away from Ray, hadn’t it? Sheepishly looking away, Elena scanned her surroundings but didn’t even see a branch big enough to bother picking up.

“I… uh, no, I didn’t.” For a moment, she almost felt embarrassed before Elena met Tela’s eyes again. At that point, she truly felt her face flush as the elf apparently had to hold back her own amusement from showing. Normally, the chattier half of the ranger duo would have been the one to make such jokes, so Tela’s… was it even a joke? Anyway, her words had caught Elena by surprise, that was all. Not wanting to give the mage more of a reaction, she turned to the map lying between them instead.

Noticing her wandering eyes, Rolan pointed to a section near the edge of the map. “We were just discussing the next section of the journey. Currently, we are somewhere around this area.”

Fitting, perhaps, for a knight commander, the maps Rolan used were unlike any Elena had ever seen in her old home. They were made to plan out the logistics and battles of wars in the mountains and beyond, so they depicted roads, rivers, and terrain in great detail… except for one region. Whoever had created the map had left the Shadowlands to the northeast almost entirely blank. No man-made path led there, no river flowed out of it, and no settlements survived within.

“With the Cracked Peaks behind us, we will follow the roads to the east for now, but once we leave the mountain range, we will have to decide exactly how we will follow the Lorra.” To illustrate his point, Rolan’s finger traced the most prominent line snaking across the map. From what Elena knew, the Lorra was by far the biggest waterway on the entire continent. It marked the border between the human lands and the elven states somewhere to the south, and was the literal lifeline for the whole region.

“For now, we were planning to stay on the southern bank of the river. If we make good progress, it should be around two weeks of relative safety until we arrive here.” The calloused hand stopped on one of the bigger dots set along the river. The map displayed the city there with a bit more detail, clearly separating the massive southern portion and the smaller northern part, connected by three bridges. Next to it was the one name the heroine had heard all too often in the recent past. Lorraeken.

The city was nestled into the southward bend of the Lorra, and it had once been the most prosperous human settlement east of the mountains. Elena had never seen Lorraeken with her own eyes, but much of Eastwood’s timber, furs, and other trade goods had ended up there one way or another. Thanks to the river being deep enough for vessels to sail until there, it was a natural commercial hub and also easily defended from demonic incursions from the north.

In the last cycle, the Lorra had protected the city from destruction, but this time, the city was one of the first major settlements to fall. Back in the kingdom proper, there had been thousands of refugees from the region, but Elena knew that for everyone that had gotten out in time, three or four times their number hadn’t.

“Best case, we might be able to commandeer a river barge to travel along the shore, but if not, we would have to fight our way over one of the bridges in Lorraeken.” Unlike the heroine, Rolan didn’t seem overly bothered by the fall of the city, and his tone didn’t falter one bit. Elena tried to channel some of the commander’s calm herself, as her eyes retraced the path he had just pointed out.

“Couldn’t we cross the river earlier then? The water shouldn’t be too deep to trudge through here somewhere, right?” Elena was pointing along the early sections of the river, just beyond the mountain range. Although she had trained for it, the thought of actually reaching Lorraeken gave her a few chills when she imagined it. The demons had breached the city months ago. Would there even be anything left of it at this point?

Rolan gave a small nod at her interruption. “We had already given some thought to that idea. The big problem would be that the Lorra is a barrier both for us and the demons. If we cross it too early, we would be caught up in constant skirmishes and harassment. In the long run, I don’t believe it would make our quest go any faster nor any safer.”

As Elena thought about the knight commander’s points, Tino suddenly spoke up as well. “The average demon would also be a lot stronger and harder to avoid. The terrain is flatter along the northern bank, and if a horde overwhelms us there, we might find ourselves pushed into the river without an escape route. Plus, all the settlements were built in the south and away from the demons, anyway.”

Even though Rolan and the ranger twin made sense, Elena couldn’t shake the feeling that Tino sounded a bit annoyed at having to explain such basics to her. Her pride momentarily bristled up in response, but it was true that her training had focussed more on sword fighting and tactics than strategic planning. As she studied the map again, Elena couldn’t help but ultimately agree with their assessment. Besides, she should probably feel more glad to have their expertise by her side.

The only one who hadn’t contributed to the strategic discussion yet was Tela, but as Elena glanced over at the mage for her input, she seemed lost in other thoughts as she just nodded along. At least until she noticed the heroine’s gaze. Although Tela hadn’t been very invested in the earlier talk, as their eyes met, a spark of… something emerged in the elf’s eyes. It quickly caused Elena’s to break off the eye contact before it really began. At least the other party members didn’t seem to notice the unusual tension hanging between the two women.

Instead of risking another glance, Elena turned back to the map. Without conscious thought, she clenched the sword in her hand a bit tighter when her eyes landed on the lands beyond the river. Malice gave off a pulse that shuddered up her arm. While its wielder might dread what they would find there, the blade was starving to satiate its own bloodlust. To Malice, it didn’t matter if it would be on animals, other people, or demons.

Elena’s body, though, had other ideas as it chose that moment to remind the heroine that she too was hungry, even if in a more literal sense. Judging by the way Tino and the knight commander were glancing at her, it must have been loud enough for the others to realize further discussions wouldn’t be very effective before dinner. Not that there was much left to discuss. There was only one way ahead now, even if it was unclear what exactly would await them on it.

Rolan carefully rolled up the map and got up to retrieve its container from his pack while Tino silently moved to help his sister by the fire. Only Tela remained sitting. Before either of the two could address the awkwardness between them, though, the void in her stomach made Elena look over at the food. It smelled surprisingly good, especially when she considered the lack of fresh ingredients they had access to so far up the mountains.

“Come on, we should join them before Ray eats our portions as well.” Elena hadn’t even noticed the smaller woman getting up, as Tela suddenly stood beside her. The mage didn’t wait for an answer as she walked by. Elena’s gaze momentarily lingered on her, but the rest of her party soon caught her attention instead.

Evidently, the heroine wasn’t the only one thinking with her stomach right now, as the Blackwolf had already snatched the first meal away from the rangers keeping watch over the food. Barely waiting for it to cool down, Ray quickly shoveled the first spoonful into her mouth just as Elena finally followed the elf.

While there was no fixed seating order in their party, some sort of system had emerged over the months that they had traveled together. The twins always sat next to each other, with them either whispering among themselves or Tina talking about any- and everything, while her brother remained in the background. Rolan’s place was usually next to them, while the rest of the party sat in a different order almost every day. Today that meant Elena could either sit next to Rolan or the Blackwolf that had gotten replaced by Tino in helping with the food.

Ray didn’t seem bothered by her removal from the impromptu kitchen as she had already moved on from cooking to eating her meal. With her time spent next to the campfire, the Blackwolf had mostly dried up, but just by its sheer volume, Elena could still see that some of her hair remained wet. Hopefully, it would dry up before they went to bed. While beastkin rarely got sick, it was probably best not to tempt fate.

At the moment, though, the Blackwolf also represented another problem for Elena. Sitting next to her would mean being uncomfortably close to the source of her earlier distraction. Although her clothes and the surrounding darkness hid it, the memory of Ray’s body stirred a warmth in Elena’s belly that she quickly tried to ignore. So the heroine steered toward the knight commander instead… only to see Tela already sitting there.

The party was huddled down on the ground, so Elena could technically have squeezed herself between the elf and Rolan without too much trouble. It would definitely have raised some eyebrows, though. In the end, Elena settled down awkwardly between the two women and tried her best to focus on the meal.

As she sat down, she rested Malice’s weight against her thigh. Even though Elena had only retrieved the weapon a few days ago, letting go of its handle already felt strange. It should have been a relief to distance herself from the evil blade, yet a part of Elena couldn’t help but feel vulnerable without it held securely in her hands. Not to mention the risk of someone else accidentally touching it.

Elena was ripped out of her thoughts when a small wooden bowl pushed against her newly emptied hand. Today’s stew was simple: a few root vegetables, dried meats, and wild herbs cooked in the crystal-clear lake water. The only extravagance the party allowed itself was a few spices and seasonings they had packed back in the capital. Despite its simplicity, though, the meal was filling and would keep the cold out. In fact, Elena could already feel the warmth seeping from the bowl into her fingers.

Making sure her sword wouldn’t shift from the movement, the heroine picked up the spoon with her other hand and finally started eating. The stew was creamy, and the vegetables had softened, although some of the dried meat was still a bit too hard to chew comfortably. As she swallowed her first spoonful, Elena let out a satisfied sigh all the same. Her party members similarly focused on their own meals.

With the food distribution finished, the rangers each took a bowl of their own, although Tina ate a lot slower than her brother. The girl seemed to savor every mouthful as if it were her last. Tino and Rolan, meanwhile, both ate with practiced efficiency. And then there was Ray.

The Blackwolf had already finished her first portion, even if half of it had ended up around her mouth instead of in it. Now the woman was lapping up the insides of her bowl as if it was the most normal thing to do. Although that wasn’t too far from the truth for Ray. When it came to meals, the Blackwolf’s usual method was quick and messy. For a moment, Elena couldn’t help but stare at the pink tongue flicking in and out of her mouth, even if it caused the heroine’s thoughts to spiral into a wholly inappropritate direction.

In the end, she stopped herself before either Ray or her own body reacted. Elena instead turned toward the people on her other side. “How long until we reach the first settlement? It should still be a few more days, right?”

The question was directed at Rolan, but he chewed for a few more seconds before answering. “Not that much further, two, maybe three days. Once the mountains get smaller again, we will see the first villages pop up.” The elf between them gave a small nod at his estimate.

“Finally! I can’t wait to sleep in a real bed again.” The most vocal response unexpectedly came from the ranger girl, though. “Lying on the ground is killing my back.”

Before Elena could respond, Tela had already asked the question that sprang to the heroine’s mind. “Aren’t you a ranger? You should be used to sleeping in the open.”

“Just because I’m used to it doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it, okay?” Tina responded with a small pout. Her brother only gave an amused huff of air but didn’t speak up in her defense. Apparently, that had been the wrong reaction, though, as Tina suddenly turned to him with an offended look.

“That is a perfectly normal thought, I’ll have you know. If anything, you are all the weirdos who like camping in the wild.”

For a few more minutes, the party continued with its usual banter and bickering. Although Elena stayed out of it for the most part, it was still comforting. She had the warmth of the stew, the company of her allies, and, of course, her continued faith in her Goddess. It should have been a comfortable evening, and it was, until one little detail soured her mood.

As Elena’s hand brought the last of the stew to her mouth, the fire momentarily reflected off her fingers. She had seen them a thousand times before, so it shouldn’t have caught her interest. But that fact was exactly why Elena now spotted the difference instantly. Her index finger, the one that had touched Malice’s corrupting fluid earlier, was different. Softer, perhaps, the calluses of her training seemed smaller, almost as if they had never been there to begin with. Maybe it was just the low light, or her earlier doubts were muddling her thoughts, but Elena could have sworn they looked different.

“Is something wrong?” The words pulled the heroine back. Tela was still sitting in the same spot as before, but the elf’s posture had slightly shifted. As Elena looked over to her companion, Tela didn’t meet her eyes. Instead, she too was staring at the heroine’s hand. Her absentminded state during the discussion was gone, as the elf’s curiosity had apparently returned in force. The unexpected attention made Elena’s skin prickle, but worse were the thoughts it elicited.

If even Tela noticed some sort of change, then had she really been affected by her earlier experimentation? Before the elf could ask any more questions, Elena quickly put down her empty bowl. She clasped her hands in her lap and hid her fingers from view before she responded. “No, nothing you should worry about.” Tela seemed unconvinced, but didn’t say more.