Despite the group’s concern about Tela’s condition, they eventually finished their plans for the next leg of the journey. The biggest unknown was obviously what kind of resistance they would meet along the way. Weighing a few potential routes against each other, they still decided to follow the main road along the river. For one, it would be the most direct path to Lorraeken and the group would be able to scavenge more supplies along the way. Typically, demons also rapidly moved on from a destroyed settlement, searching for their next victim. All things considered, the road would probably be less dangerous than one might at first assume.

With the preliminary plan set, Elena and her companions soon finished setting up their camp. Despite the early hour, the sun was already touching the mountains in the west and their long shadows obscured large swaths of the valley below. In contrast, the small lake and waterfall still reflected the sunshine in a shimmering sea of endless sparkles. If the world had been in more peaceful times, the heroine was sure this place would have been a popular resting spot for hikers, tourists, and merchants alike. Right now, though, they had the beautiful area all for themselves.

Unfortunately, the water’s temperature stopped anyone but the most foolhardy of adventurers from actually entering it. This, naturally, meant Ray was already floating in the crystal clear basin. It wasn't the first time Elena had seen the Beastkin woman naked, of course. Travelling in such a tight-knit group meant few truly private moments, but something about it now evoked a distinctly different feeling in the heroine.

Ever since she had left that most unholy sanctum, she noticed how it was a lot easier to arouse her. Before long, Ray’s trained body caused the same pressure against her lower armour plate that Elena had grown accustomed to during the last few days. Sensing the eyes on her body, the bigger woman soon caught the heroine staring. Instead of hiding in the waters, however, the Beastkin shifted her body around to stand up taller. The small lake wasn’t very deep, so Ray’s upper body soon peeked out above the waterline.

“Elena, come on! It’s not that cold, trust me!”

“No, thanks... One of us falling ill is already more than enough!”

The Blackwolf just gave a dismissive hand wave in response, but the heroine saw the smile on Ray's face. Elena's gaze soon dropped down again. Her eyes lazily followed a drop of water flowing over her companion’s perky breasts, down to her trained muscles, before it merged back into the lake. Ray’s nipples were also clearly visible, as they betrayed how the taller woman was very much affected by the temperature.

The sight caused Elena to swallow a bit, alongside a much more noticeable reaction down below. The heroine was still unsure how exactly she felt about all these new urges, though. If it had been a gift from her Lady, did the Goddess really want her Chosen to make use of her new tool? That question still hadn’t been explicitly answered, so part of her still felt conflicted about the whole ordeal.

As her thoughts were clouded by arousal, Elena also recalled last night once more. For a moment, the memory of Tela’s mouth caused another big twitch of her member. However, it also made the heroine realise that the elf wasn’t anywhere in sight. Unlike the ranger twins and knight commander, cleaning their gear in the basin’s drain, the elf wasn't anywhere near the small stream. Perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising. Tela's gear hadn’t been as exposed to the demon’s innards, after all. Plus, Elena hadn't forgotten the exhausted state the mage had been in.

Looking around, she soon found her missing companion resting on her sprayed-out bedroll instead. The elven woman sat there with her knees in her arms, seemingly lost in thought again. Eventually, Elena decided to check if she was feeling any better. Mainly out of worry, but the heroine also felt unsure of her ability to hide the still ongoing erection from the others.

As she approached, Elena saw how Tela’s gaze seemed almost more unfocussed than before. Despite her absentminded state, though, the mage still noticed the Chosen’s approach, as she suddenly perked up and looked around. Just like on the road, a small, tired smile soon appeared on Tela’s face.

“Elena...”

The word came out dreamy and seemingly only half on purpose. Once more, the state of her friend caused a weird stir of emotions in the heroine’s mind. For the most part, she was concerned about what was going on with the elf. Elena had seen the mage absentminded before, sure, but those episodes had always been over quickly. Despite her worry, though, the heroine also couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement heating up her body. For some reason, Tela's passive state was almost as arousing as the sight of the naked Ray had been. At the moment, the heroine tried to suppress those more than inappropriate feelings though.

“Hey... Tela.”

For a few seconds, there hung an awkward silence in the air, but the mage didn’t seem to notice.

“H-How you feeling?”

Elena had hoped that her arousal was simply an aftereffect of what had transpired between the two last time they were alone. However, the sensations from her erect member only seemed to intensify as the heroine started talking. That fact also wasn’t helped by the way Tela had to look up at Elena or that her eyes continued to flicker down towards the other woman’s crotch now and then.

“... I’m good... Don’t worry about me.”

“Really? You seem even more distracted than earlier.”

That caused a small genuine smile on Tela’s face, as her cheeks got a tinge redder. Unlike before, though, the elf’s eyes were still unfocused and didn’t regain their usual spark of intelligence.

“I’m just... thinking... about some... stuff, you know...”

It was obvious that something was still very much happening with the other woman. However, Elena was far from an expert on these things. Some part of her did feel that it was her fault, though, as yesterday Tela had seemed as healthy as ever. But, despite her best efforts, the heroine was unsure how their… shared moment could have caused this state. Her own arousal also made it hard to see last night as bad per se, as her new member seemed very intent on picking up where they left off. For now, Elena simply tried to keep a clear head as she focused on the conversation.

“You sure you’re okay? Something like this ever happened before to you?”

Lightly shaking her head, Tela at first remained silent.

“... Hmm, no... but I will be fine... trust me.”

After a fruitless while of asking more questions, the elf’s smile slowly returned to a perfectly neutral expression. Even though it seemed impossible at first, her eyes also grew emptier. With Tela growing unresponsive, Elena was unsure what exactly she could do to help, though.

Ultimately, the heroine’s arousal had calmed down again, so she eventually returned to the rest of her party. It quickly became apparent that neither the rangers, Rolan, nor the Blackwolf knew what was going on with the elf though. In the end, they simply decided to let Tela rest for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, the woman would recover on her own before they reached the demon-controlled lands in earnest.

Another hour or so later, the rest of the group went to their bedrolls as well. In the last dim light of the sinking sun and, with the stars already trying to imitate the light giver,  the ranger twins took over the first two guard shifts. The chance of encountering demons outside the Cracked Peaks was low, but with one member already incapacitated, it was better to be safe than sorry. As a repeat of last night, Elena’s dreams eventually shifted to a familiar sight of flowing green hills sprinkled with flowers. The peacefully swaying grass was as green as she remembered. Off in the distance, Elena noticed how the edge of the lifeless grey wastes seemed to have come that tiny bit closer.

It was normally pretty rare - even for the Chosen - to see her Lady so soon again. After just a few moments, though, Elena already felt a familiar presence beside her. This time the Goddess had appeared directly to the heroine’s side, as they were both staring at the forsaken realm lying off in the distance.

Looking up at her Protector, Elena at first thought she would be unable to speak again. However, as the Goddess’ focus shifted towards her, the heroine eventually felt the pressure in her mind vanish. A part of her instantly wanted to ask the one question that had been occupying her mind since she first got her weapon. In the end, Elena felt a bit too... embarrassed to open up with that. Quickly going through all the other questions in her brain, she instead said something more appropriate as an opener.

“My Lady... I am glad to see you again so soon, though I am also surprised by it.”

As soon as the sentence left her mouth, the Goddess turned back towards the grey strip in the distance. Her eyes revealed the same sadness that Elena had felt the last time they were here.

“My Chosen...”

Despite the words being that of her Goddess, something felt off about them this time. Elena didn’t let that distract her too much, though.

“I do not come without reason. This is a warning from me to you... An encouragement from me to you... A farewell from me to you...”

As the implication of that last statement hit, Elena felt the thoughts in her head go off in all different directions. Had she actually disappointed her Lady? Had she somehow already... failed her mission? Seemingly picking up on these assumptions, the Goddess let out a small chuckle as she glanced back to her Chosen.

“Elena... No, your promise to me still stands, trust me.”

However, as her Lady talked, her momentary amusement was soon replaced with sadness again.

“No, this is far from the end of your journey. It will, however, be the last time we will be able to meet like this, at least until the completion of your task.”

As her Goddess went on, Elena soon realised what the discrepancy she had felt earlier was. Instead of the normal warmth and sunshine that resonated in her soul when her Protector spoke, she felt... nothing?

“What do you mean, my Lady?”

Rather than answering with words, the Goddess of Creation called upon her own power. Concentrating for a second, the ethereal woman soon held an orb of pure light in her hand. It was as bright as the sun itself, but Elena barely had time to get blinded by it, before the sphere already flew off towards the lifeless void in the distance. The heroine had expected the star to beat back the wasteland easily and spread her Lady’s light into the region. To her shock, it was instead whittled down before it vanished again. After a few moments, it was as if the brilliant creation had never existed to begin with.

“Every step you take towards that accursed place is a step I won’t be able to easily follow. I will still protect you and your allies, but all of you will have to remain more vigilant than ever before. Once you step into the Heart of Darkness, you will have to rely on your own strengths. Calling upon my power will only work in the most dire of circumstances and every time you do, the servants of Destruction will be drawn to it like moths to a flame... But, have faith and you will see to the end of Evil before any of you get lost in the Dark.”

Even the swaying grass seemed shocked at that revelation, as the soft summer breeze suddenly stopped. Elena had known her journey would be far from easy, but she had also been convinced that her Lady’s power would always be there to rely on.

“That was my warning, but I am also here to encourage. You and your companions are more than up to the task, believe me. Utilise your strengths, protect each other’s weaknesses and you will defeat Evil soon enough.”

The words reminded the heroine of the fact that her party members were more than capable fighters in their own right. However, the question from earlier also suddenly re-emerged in her mind. Most of Elena’s strength was a direct result of the godsends from her Lady, but the heroine was still unsure what to make of the final gift between her legs. Sensing the question in Elena’s mind, the Goddess simply waited for her to speak up.

“My Lady... I know that you give me the strength to fight Evil, and I am eternally grateful for that, but I was curious about your last… ahem, gift to me.”

For some reason, that caused another smile on the Goddess’ face. Like her voice before, though, something seemed off about it this time. It wasn’t an expression of joy or innocent amusement. Instead, it evoked the distinct feeling that her Lady was in on a joke and found the confusion of her Chosen funny. Approaching Elena, the Goddess laid one of her hands on the girl’s shoulder. Again, the usual warmth that touch should have brought seemed missing, but, for now, the heroine had no time to ponder over that fact.

“A good question, and one I will answer after you...”

“... Wake up, Elena.”

The hand shaking her shoulder instantly had the heroine on alert. For the first few moments of consciousness, Elena saw the image of her Lady, brightly illuminated by the sun, overlaid over the silhouette of the ranger, barely visible in the moonlight. Seeing that the sleeping girl was already waking up, Tino took a half-step back to let her sit up. The boy didn’t look as tired as one might have expected so late at night.

Usually, the night watch of the group was divided into four blocks of about two hours each. With six total party members, it meant every third night they could have an undisturbed sleep, assuming no actual danger approached the camp. This time, though, the order had to be shaken up a bit, as Tela was obviously unfit to take over.

Therefore, Elena had already known the ranger would wake her up sometime during the night. She still felt her frustration grow at the interrupted dream though. After finally getting to the question, the heroine got the only chance at an explanation denied. At least her Lady had said she would answer it, eventually. With the heroine waking up, Tino would normally have prepared for his own sleep by now. This time, the boy waited for Elena to fully sit up before he whispered a few more words.

“Keep an eye on Tela, okay? I think she developed a fever.”

Looking over to the elven woman, the heroine instantly saw what he meant. Tela was shifting in her sleep and her breathing seemed heavy. On her head, there also was a folded-up piece of cloth, probably drenched in the icy lake water. After that, Tino removed the bow on his back and some of the more uncomfortable armour pieces before he crawled into his bedroll. In contrast, the heroine simply gathered up her gear beside herself and put most of it on.

The first thing she did after was actually to check on the ill woman. The towel seemed to have just been replaced, and, even if Tela seemed uncomfortable, she didn’t look to be in much pain. The mage was still restlessly shifting in her sleep, though, and her breathing sounded a lot more laboured than usual. Thankfully, Elena’s body didn’t react to her friend’s state this time around, as she was mainly just feeling worried. For the moment, there was little more the heroine could do, so she simply started her watch.

The group had set the camp up on a small plateau beside the basin opposite the waterfall. The spot was chosen mainly to avoid the odd drop of ice-cold water from falling on them. With the actual danger of an attack being slim, though, the heroine soon approached the sparkling surface of the lake, as she reflected on her dream. The words of her Lady still rang clearly in her head. A warning that the journey was still far from over. Plus the fact that her power might not actually be as useful as she had hoped for...

The more she got lost in thought, though, the more the whole thing also seemed off somehow. Why had she been visited so soon in the first place if they had barely spoken last night...? Add to that the weirdly missing warmth from her Goddess... And lastly, the amusement at the Chosen’s question...

Eventually, though, Elena realised there was a much simpler explanation for all of those sudden discrepancies. As she thought about that possibility some more, the heroine subconsciously clutched her weapon tighter. Soon she felt herself getting a bit angry at her own mistake. Before she could do much more, though, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a groan coming from the camp. Looking over to her companions, Elena saw how Tela was turning more forcefully in her sleep than before. After a second, the heroine also heard a few more involuntary noises from the elf.

Quickly making her way over, Elena noticed how the cloth on Tela’s head seemed almost completely dried up. That was unusual, to say the least, as not much time had passed since she first checked. While reaching out for the towel, Elena's hand also lightly touched the forehead of the ill woman. Instantly, Elena noticed how her companion's skin was boiling hot compared to the surrounding air.

As the skin contact went on, the elf stirred in her sleep again. Soon enough, the heroine also realised how the elf's prior noises hadn’t been born out of discomfort alone. The moan was, thankfully, not loud enough to wake up the others, but that didn’t stop Elena’s member from rousing out of its own slumber. With each passing moment, the held-back wails of the woman below her only grew more intense. Before the heroine could retract her arm, Tela suddenly woke up. Reaching out for Elena's hand, she held onto the forearm with one of her burning hands. After another moment, the elf finally opened her eyes.

“Ha! E-Elena! Please! U-Use me again!”