A Nightmare's End
I awoke laying face first on the ground looking towards the large Spirit Tree. As I started to get up, screams pierced my ears. Quickly turning I saw Lariss being held by the dream copies of her parents while the entity in yellow was pressing its long fingernail into her forehead. Stumbling towards them I filled my sword with my Lydos aura.
The Moonlight Slash I sent out was stronger than it usually was but nowhere near what it had been when I dreamed of being at the Grand Master stage. It hit the entity in the back to little effect. Slowly it turned towards me and removed its finger from her forehead.
"That's a disappointment. Was the dream not to your liking?" It said.
"I prefer reality." I said.
"What a boring preference. I had hoped to take you back to my court Little Star, I have so many of your kind there. The fact that you are one of Their favorites would have made it all the more delectable. They might have even started a war for you." It said.
"Sorry to disappoint you." I charged towards him.
"A pity." It raised its hand at me.
My attacks thus far had done nothing to harm it but I had a wild idea. This thing seemed to be more thought based than physical. I pulled my sword into my Storage Ring and brought out the scroll I had found in the maze. As I infused the central glyph with my mana the magic contained within activated. The mental calming spell hit the entity as it expected me to strike with my sword.
Reality vibrated around us. The dream forms of Lariss' parents broke apart as they screamed, allowing her to fall to the ground. The entity in yellow shook as it tried to keep itself together. My sword was back in my hand and bursting with what remained of my aura. It met no resistance as it passed through the entity's neck. Looking back the head laid on its side, the flesh vail had fallen revealing an indescribable face.
What I took for a mouth opened as it spoke. "Such a waste of decades. If this had been more than a shadow stuck here, I'd be mildly upset and you wouldn't have had it so easy. Till next time Little Star."
The body picked up the head and placed it back on. Its form broke apart into tiny stars before ascending into the sky. The sun dimmed and a star filled heaven that I didn't recognize, filled with colors that turned my stomach, appeared. When the entity in yellow joined them, the sun began to shine once more. I collapsed to my knees as I began to realize those weren't stars but some form of eyes.
Lariss' groan brought me back to reality. Crawling over to her, I pulled her head into my lap. I pulled out a minor health potion and poured it down her throat. It didn't go down easily and had little effect. Whatever attack it did to her, must have affected her mind.
A cool fragrant breeze swept by. Looking up I saw the limbs of the large Spirit Tree blowing in the wind. An overwhelming sense of peace came over me. Whatever invisible barrier had been protecting the Spirit Tree was gone.
"Please, help her. You wouldn't be able to be free if it wasn't for her." I prayed to the Tree.
Leaves of unspeakably beautiful colors floated down. As they got closer to us they turned into brightly colored dust just like what Lariss had used in the cleansing prayers. After a few moments she began to stir and slowly opened her eyes.
"What… Is it over?" She asked.
"It's over." I replied.
"To clarify, is it over because we died and this is Paradise? Or is that thing gone?" She said.
"So your version of Paradise has me in it? Good to know." I said.
She let out a weak laugh. "This hurts too much to be paradise."
"Just rest then. We should be safe for a moment." I said.
Picking her up I went over and set her among the roots of the Spirit Tree. As I did so, the roots began to move and open up around the base of the trunk. After setting Lariss down to rest, I inspected the area and found a green haired baby swaddled in the leaves of the Spirit Tree. The baby looked healthy but wasn't breathing.
"Am I supposed to take her?" I asked. A warm breeze swept past me and I felt a positive affirmation in my soul.
Pulling the baby into my arms, I felt something around it break and breath entered its lungs. After that I joined Lariss to rest while the baby slept peacefully in my arms. I couldn't help thinking of my own children and what I had just given up. A fake life with nothing of substance. But I couldn't deny that it would have been a pleasant dream. A dream that I had to give up, I wasn't going back to Earth and I wasn't even sure I wanted to even if I had the chance.
A few hours later Lariss opened her eyes and stared at the infant in my arms.
"Umm how long was I out?" She asked.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten your own child?" I said.
"Recent events are a little blurry but not that blurry." She replied.
"I found her sleeping in the Spirit Tree." I said.
Lariss' eyes brightened. "Are you serious, she was in the tree?"
"Right after I laid you down the trunk opened up and she was resting there." I said.
Lariss ran her hand through the baby's short green hair as a tear ran down her face. "She's the child of a Great Spirit. That makes her a Grand Witch. There hasn't been a Grand Witch born in over 500 years."
"I wonder how long she's been waiting here?" I said.
Lariss took the baby from me and convinced me to sleep, letting me know she didn't have any bad dreams while she slept. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep. I dreamed of the Court of Masks and how I came to this world. I didn't know how long I was asleep, but when I woke up it was night. Around us I saw several dark shapes laying around. Realizing they were wolves I pulled out my sword.
"It's okay. They're here for our protection." Lariss put her hand on my arm to calm me.
I then felt a cooling chill in my bones that confirmed they were there to help.
"One of the Great Spirits of the forest is a wolf. They must have sent them to watch over us until we leave. The source of the corruption is gone but there are still many monsters roaming the forest. It will be a little more difficult with this little one on the way out." Lariss said.
It was possible that the Great Spirit Wolf had sent them, but I was sure my blessing was also a part of it. I took the infant back and allowed Lariss to sleep some more. Towards dawn she began to get fussy and I began to worry about how we were going to feed her. Before I had the chance to think of a solution a female wolf walked towards us and laid on its side. Taking the hint I placed the baby where she could suckle.
In the morning I woke up Lariss and we started our way out of the forest. We encountered a few monsters along the way but they were easily handled by the wolf pack and me. At night we took turns sleeping but I let her have twice as long to sleep as me. I could tell that she still hadn't recovered from what that entity in yellow had done to her.
It was on the morning of the third day that I became concerned. We still had two days left on our way out when I awoke to the baby crying and I heard Lariss humming a tune to the baby.
"Lariss, what are you doing?" I yelled.
"Hmm. What? I'm just calming her." She had a placid look on her face.
I immediately took the baby from her. "That was the melody to the Song. Please tell me that you didn't sing her the words." That Song wasn't from this world and I was positive that it had come from the entity in yellow.
"No, no. I wouldn't do that." She had a confused look on her face. "Did I?"
"We're going to have to be more careful. I'm not sure how the Song will affect her." I said.
The following days I kept the baby and stayed up throughout the night. At random times Lariss would start to hum the melody and I'd have to call out to her to make her stop. Half way through the last day she would start to sing the words. We had to rely on the wolves more and more as even when she wasn't caught up in the Song, she had a blank look on her face and had trouble hitting her targets.
Thankfully the sight of Svanhildr's straw guardians came into view close to sunset. The witch opened the door as we approached. After a moment of disbelief she ran towards us and pulled Lariss into her arms.
"I'm so glad you made it. I knew something… What's wrong? What happened to her?" Svanhildr gave me a worried look as Lariss mumbled the words to the Song.
"At one of the ritual sites we came across a blue haired woman and she was singing this..." I started.
"Spirits be, you heard the Song. No one is supposed to know the Song any more." She placed her hands on the sides of Lariss' face. As Svanhildr's hand glowed with spiritual energy, the elf fainted into her arms.
Picking her up, she started to carry her towards her house. "You can explain the baby after I save her."
I followed her into the house and had to clench my jaw as I heard myself starting to hum.