Adam gasped as he awoke, his entire body slick with sweat. He reached up to his heart, all the while the chill tio seep deep within him. He was bundled within his b, without his armour htval bear leather. The Half Elf’s eyes remaiaring at the dark sky for a moment before he tried to sit up.

  “Adam,” Vonda called, pg a hand on his forehead, feeling how cold it was. “You have awoken.”

  “What?” Adam said, staring at her. “What…” He shook his head, which pulsed as he tried to remember what had happened. He remembered being hot, and then… “Lucy? Lucy!” Adam struggled to stand.

  “She’s alright, Adam,” Vonda said, w if she should try to force him back down. “You should sleep.”

  There were within one of the traveller camps, surrounded by the half walls, though there were none of the familiar towers they had e to expect thanks to Adam.

  Adam climbed onto his feet, grabbing onto a half wall for support, his eyes quickly sing the area, before he stumbled towards Lucy. The Demon was sitting up, a b ed around her, c everything but her face. Her eyes so Adam, who dropped down beside her, panting for air.

  Adam’s heart pounded hard, causing his head to hurt too. He stared up ahead of them towards the fire, which crackled rhythmically. The others threw him a look, but left the pair alone.

  Lucy tio rub along her neck, where her skin itched, rubbing her fiips along it. Her eyes were glued to the fire, seeing the st moments of her life.

  Adam eventually calmed, sighing. He had no idea what had happened, but sidering the mood in the air, he could only assume. Vonda brought them bowls of soup, but left them be, allowing them their time to process what had happened.

  The Half Elf wasn’t sure what to say. He wao apologise, and he wao state he empathised, but he couldn’t speak. Was it appropriate?

  Adam remaiill for a while, thinking about what had happehey had been walking around and then, just like that, some random guy they entered almost killed them all.

  Lucy sipped her soup slowly as the minutes passed, still staring into the fire. The fire had overwhelmed her. She, who was the Demon Lord, overwhelmed by fire? It was a ridiculous statement to make.

  “It’s scary, isn’t it?” Lucy whispered.

  “Yeah,” Adam replied. “It is.”

  “Were you afraid when you died?”

  “Not the first time,” Adam admitted. “It just happened, and the hing I knew, I was talking to a God.”

  Lucy slowly nodded her head. “The sed time?”

  “Yeah,” Adam admitted, recalling how he had died. “I was scared. I let him kill me because… because I had hope that everyone would have been okay after I died.”

  “If…” Lucy swallowed, unsure if she should ask. She felt her throat close up, before she fought away the ay. “If I die, will you save Mara?”

  “Firstly,” Adam began, leaning towards Lucy, pressing his shoulder against hers, “I won’t let you die. Sedly, of course.”

  “Thanks.” Lucy pced her head against his shoulder. If it were anyone else, she wasn’t sure if she would have believed it, but having adventured with Adam all this time, and after what happened earlier in the day, she believed him.

  “Any time.” Adam pced his head against hers.

  The pair sat together for a long while, silent, thinking of their deaths. Their deaths had been different, but there were few others who had died aurhe rest of the group, including the two Mithril Rank Iyrme about dealing with the matters of the camp.

  Quest plete: SurviviaihXP Gained: +2000XP: 10 200 -> 12 200

  ‘Yeah. You better give me that much XP after all that.’

  Lucy eventually pulled her head away, ing the b around her pletely. She was too cold, and he time aloo sort out her thoughts.

  Adam eventually withdrew from Lucy, donning his breastpte. The heavy weight against his shoulders and back felt so soothing. He sat down beside Sir Vonda, and pced a diamond in her hand.

  “Thanks,” Adam said. Though Dunes and Vonda both had the ability t Lucy back, there was no doubt it was Vonda who had revived the Demon Lord.

  Vonda ed her fingers around the diamond, bowing her head. She wasn’t sure what to say to Adam, or to Luot without it sounding preachy. The entire party had been lucky that the old man hadn’t decided to kill any more of them. They only had a finite amount of diamonds, not enough for all of them.

  “I’m gd to see you’re all well,” Adam said, nodding his head to the Mithril Rank Iyrmen.

  “We were fortunate he did not kill us,” Okvar said. He sat calm and collected, with bandages around his cuts.

  “We were denied a good death.” Rasam wiped her shield, thinking about the fight which had passed.

  “We have our tasks,” Okvar stated, exging a look with Rasam. No matter what they truly wahe Iyr had sent them out on a particur mission. “Nirot spoke the tale.”

  “Yeah?”

  “A being like he must know Lord Strom,” Okvar said. The Iyrman decided against mentioning Lucy’s death. He knew a little about Adam, and uood that Adam robably thinking about the matter deeply.

  “I’m thinking the same.” Adam nodded his head, recalling what he could from their meeting. Whoever he was, he robably one of the stro figures he had met thus far, save for perhaps the Eldritch monstrosity in his previous life. “Strom doesn’t seem too powerful right now, but…”

  “He gave up his Spark,” Jurot tinued, join in to the versation. “This figure may be someone who did not.” There were other beings in the world who did not hold Sparks, or held something simir to a Spark, but called something else.

  “Yeah.” Adam swallowed. “Whatever he was, I’m sure we did enough to basically kill any Iyrman.” It was that which worried him the most. There were very few figures in this world that could fa entire group like theirs so casually. Adam had thought the old man was arrogant, allowing them to prepare to face him, but…

  Jurot nodded. He was certain that even his grandfather would have fallen after fag both Rasam and Okvar, ahis figure had mao defeat the pair handily, and then casually defeated them. He recalled how the old man had cut Lucy’s thrht in front of him, and his hands and arms tensed up.

  “We o keep watake sure he doesn’t e back, just in case he realises Lucy is alive.” Adam had the sneaking suspi that the man knew Lucy was still alive. “We’ll stick with the same watch order, and Hades and Zeus will be able to support us well enough.”

  “You should sleep,” Jurot said, keeping an eye on Adam.

  “I’m fine,” Adam replied. “I’ll take first watch.”

  Jurot said no more. Adam was his own man, and if he didn’t want to rest, then that was his own choice. Jurot hoped, whatever happened earlier in the day, would not affect Adam’s heart. His ow had been overwhelmed with darkness, but he could not allow it to overwhelm him.

  Jaygak stared at the stars, readying to sleep. Stormdrake y against her side, the hilt of the bde over her shoulder. Her arm coiled around the bde, not allowing it to escape from her grasp. Somehow, she had not died, ahat had not been the most terrifying thing that day.

  Kitool remai the side of the camp. She repyed the fight within her miedly, remembering every sensation she had felt. She had fallen almht away, which was surprising, but not ued. She was the most nimble, but even she would find it difficult to deal with such a great ability like the fmes of the great being they had faced.

  The amount of great figures she had e across, from Lord Strom and Crowseer, to whoever this being was, it was strao her. Strange, but, she uood the differeween herself and such figures. She wondered if her grandaunt would have been able to deal with such a figure. Thinking back to how easily the figure had killed Lucy right in front of both Jurot and her, while Jurot was trying to cut the figure’s finger off, she was certain even her grandaunt, alone, would not have been able to hahe great being.

  Before everyoo sleep, Adam walked around and asked if everyone was alright, gaining looks of fusion.

  “What of you, Adam?” Vonda asked.

  Adam nodded. “I’m good. You, uh, you sure yood?”

  “I was not the one who almost died,” Vonda said.

  “Sure, but…” Adam wasn’t sure how to approach the topic. “I mean. You know. The fire and everything.”

  Vonda bowed her head slowly in response. “I am fine, Adam. Thank you.”

  “Sure.” Adam smiled, before leaving them all to sleep. Though he was on lookout, his mind wahe stars twinkled in the night sky, but they had never been so dim.

  ‘Paragon isn’t enough.’

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  Paragon isn't enough.