Old Friends

Ichiro opened his eyes. White nothingness surrounded him on all sides. He sat up slowly and cautiously. Looking around he saw a memory, or maybe a dream, cloaked in haze. A short distance away, Lenora sat on a log next to a campfire. Ichiro climbed to his feet and walked over to his mentor.

"Lenora?" Ichiro puzzled.

The grizzled old veteran adventurer looked up at him and said, "I've been looking for you. You disappeared a little while ago. Come, sit with me. I have some bad news."

Listening to his elder, Ichiro sat on the log next to Lenora.

"It's wonderful to see you again." Ichiro started. "So much has happened that I haven't been able to tell you about."

"Oh yea?" Lenora questioned.

"It turns out I'm from another world." Ichiro explained excitedly to her.

"I know." Lenora said having let out a big sigh.

"You already know?" He asked.

"Ichiro," Lenora started. "There's a lot that I should explain."

The two sat silent for a moment before Lenora continued with, "I don't know how to tell you this, but you're dead."

"What?" Ichiro faltered. "What do you mean I'm dead."

"Ichiro, you died." Lenora affirmed. "It's the only way you could be here."

"I died?" Ichiro doubted to himself as he tried to remember. "It's all so fuzzy."

"You see," Lenora started. "I learned a lot after I died."

Ichiro, still confused, wondered, "like what?"

"I found out that you were from another world than I was," Lenora started. "But you were an accident. You weren't supposed to be brought. There was no need for you to come, but the process had already started."

"Is that why I was so different?" Ichiro asked for more explanation.

"Well, once they realized you weren't supposed to go, you were granted some powers to make your life easier as an apology." Lenora explained. "You could no longer die from old age because of the power they gave you to help you grow stronger quickly. Your body never degraded so anytime you got stronger would add up and you would never get weaker."

"So, why did they send me back?" Ichiro continued his line of questioning.

"They didn't." Lenora stated. "Bringing someone over takes an immense and almost immeasurable amount of power. Keeping them there slowly and constantly drains what power is left over. Eventually, they ran out of power and it forced you back."

"Oh." Ichiro mumbled with fresh realization.

"That's when I lost track of you." Lenora hesitated. "But then you died. I'm sorry Ichiro."

"Don't be sorry, Lenora." Ichiro smiled. "It helped me reunite with you here."

"No," Lenora began with a solemn tone, "I'm sorry because soon, you're going to realize what's happening in your world."

"What do you mean?" Ichiro thought out loud as his fuzzy memory began to clear itself. "Wait, how did I die. I was attacked. I was attacked by a demon lord."

Ichiro confirmed with Lenora as she nodded along.

"My friends are still there!" Ichiro exclaimed.

"Yes, they are." Lenora said. "But the demon lord that killed you opened a portal which connected your world to the other worlds. If she hadn't done that, I would have never found my way to you."

"So, I should thank her." Ichiro guessed.

"No, Ichiro." Lenora began to sass her student. "You were never good at seeing the big picture. Sure there are some good points associated with it, but the bad far outweighs the good."

"What's the good that's come from it?" Ichiro asked before he realized through some premonition and flashes. "Wait, everyone got their powers back! That's great news! They can fight the demon lord."

"Think deeper Ichiro." Lenora appealed to Ichiro's shortsightedness. "What happens if they can't defeat her? What happens not just to your friends, but your world?"

Ichiro looked down into the fire as he pondered.

"I understand." He stated. "They'll win. They have the heart and drive to win."

"No, Ichiro." Lenora apologized. "They'll lose. Your death broke their spirits. Their morale will falter in the battle and the demon lord will inevitably win."

"Then what happens?" Ichiro begged of Lenora.

"If that portal connects all worlds together," Lenora started. "Then your world will only be the first to fall. It will start a chain reaction that will jump through every realm. The more worlds she destroys, then the more powerful she will become. If she's not stopped now, then there won't be anything left when she's done and nothing will be able to stand in her way."

"What does that have to do with me?" Ichiro asked Lenora. "I'm dead, remember?"

"That's where you have to make a choice." Lenora stated.

"What choice do I have, Lenora? I'm dead!" Ichiro argued with indignation.

Lenora sighed a heavy sigh before she turned to the young man and said, "You were an accident, Ichiro. There's one more apology that is granted to you."

Ichiro's eyes grew wider as he listened intently.

"I can bring you back to the land of the living." Lenora explained.

"Why do I feel like there's a 'but' coming?" he sarcastically said.

Lenora peered at her former student and continued, "But, you will never see me again."

The pair sat quiet for a few moments.

"I only have enough force to send you back once and if you succeed in killing her, the portal's connection will end." The old adventurer claimed. "Once the connection between our worlds is severed, I will never be able to appear for you again."

Ichiro considered the possibilities for a moment.

Lenora felt the need to contribute more with, "And there's no guarantee that even with your assistance, you and your friends will be able to defeat her."

Ichiro continued to sit in silence.

"Further, even if everything goes well and you defeat the demon lord," Lenora looked hard at Ichiro. "There will be long lasting effects from her actions. Life in your world, no matter the outcome, has changed permanently. It will not be an easy life for you or anyone else who survives."

"What's the alternative?" Ichiro asked.

"You can accept death and stay here, with me." Lenora stated.

After sitting in quiet contemplation for a few moments, Ichiro asked. "What's death like?"

Lenora smiled, "Oh, it's really not that bad. There's no pain or suffering. There's no hunger or strife. It's the retirement I dreamed of when I settled in that small cabin where I met you."

"That sounds pleasant." Ichiro mumbled.

"Eventually all your friends will find their way here too." Lenora added. "But I want to caution you, whether you pass or accept this one opportunity, there won't be another."

"I see." Ichiro remarked with the explanation of the situation.

The pair sat quietly like the old times.

"What should I do, Lenora?" Ichiro asked earnestly.

"That's not how this works my friend." Lenora said as she pat him on the leg. "I can't help you make this choice. I'm only here to explain it all and give you the options. You have to decide on your own. I'm sorry."

Ichiro sat and thought hard. Memories of times he spent with Lenora flashed through his head interspersed among memories of his friends in the support group.

"It's a hard decision isn't it?" Lenora asked rhetorically. "Eventually though, we all need to make tough decisions."

Ichiro sat while still considering his options and almost couldn't hear the footsteps behind him. Once the footsteps were right behind him, he turned and saw a familiar, simple looking girl wearing a green dress and a straw hat.

"Inori!" Ichiro exclaimed.

Ichiro's close friend sat on the log with the pair and said, "Hey Ichi! How's it going? I've been watching. You've done good so far. Man, I saw your fight with the guy who killed me! That was crazy! You did great..."

Inori was interrupted by Ichiro lunging forward and hugging her.

The girl, shocked, let out a small chuckle and pat her friend on his head.

"It's okay!" Inori said consolingly. "I got to meet Lenora! She's super nice just like you described!"

"Inori," Ichiro started, "I don't know what to do."

"Well," Inori answered in her usual chipper mood. "That's why I'm here. Like I said back then, anything you need just let me know!'"

"If I stay then I get to be with you and Lenora, but if I go back then I might be able to help the others." Ichiro lamented.

"Hmmm," Inori mumbled. "Well this might be in bad taste but I have a request."

"You want me to do something for you?" Ichiro questioned. "You've always helped me so much I could never repay what you've done for me. Especially now that we're both dead, I don't know what I could do to even start repaying what I owe you. Tell me what I can do and I'll do my best."

"Don't be so quick to agree until you've heard my request." Inori cautioned him. "It's a hard request to fulfill."

"What could be that hard?" Ichiro remarked.

"I...I need you to sacrifice...almost everything you hold near and dear to your heart for it." Inori fumbled through her words. "It will make you hurt and suffer, Ichiro. I want you to understand that."

Ichiro thought about his situation and the near impossible choice he had to make.

"What is it, Inori?" Ichiro reiterated with a determined look in his eye.

Lenora smiled a big smile and stood. The grizzled adventurer was proud of what her protégé had become and she looked down at him with distinction.

Tears nearly formed in Inori's eyes as she announced through a hard smile, "I need you to go back. I need you to save Haruki and the others."