Chapter 25

Eric blinked slowly, staring around at the wooden walls of his living room. It was one of those strange moments when, just upon entering the room, you forgot what you were doing in there. Except that he’d just woken up from a nap, and couldn’t recall what he’d been doing. He shook his head slowly, trying to gather his thoughts, then pushed himself out of his chair.

He felt as though he’d been sitting there for longer than a few hours. Emma definitely wouldn’t like that he’d slept in the chair. Luckily she was out, or she’d chew his ear off for not taking a nap on the bed. She was a stickler for the small details like that, he thought, letting out a quiet chuckle. He took off the thin blanket he’d been wearing, and threw it onto the chair, stretching slowly. His stiff muscles protested at the small movement, but he was in good shape, so he didn’t have to wait long for them to move as normal.

There was a faint scratching sound at the door that led to the backyard. He was confused at first, but then remembered Hunter. How long had the dog been outside? Hopefully not too long, he thought. It had been a slightly warmer winter than usual, but extended time outside still wasn’t good. He moved to the door and opened it, letting the dog inside. He didn’t seem overly cold, at least.

He knelt down a moment or two to pet Hunter, feeling the dog’s frigid fur under his fingers. It was long and thick, offering the dog plenty of protection from the elements. Hunter licked his hand in a perfunctory sort of way as if thanking Eric for letting him back in. Then he pulled away, going towards the corner where his food and water bowls were located, and began eating. Eric listened to the tinkling of the food as Hunter nudged it around. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something. Something important…

He shook his head again, sure that it would either come to him or the feeling would fade. He made his way to the kitchen to fix himself a small snack, settling the pangs in his stomach. Once that was settled, he wandered deeper into the house, to find Emma and Emily. It was almost morning, and they’d probably be hungry too. Emily specifically, he thought, with a smile. The girl had a voracious appetite for her age.

“Just like her father,” he chuckled to himself, putting one hand on the door to her room and opening it as quietly as possible. “Emily, dear, time to wake up.”

It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the darker lighting of the room. Emily was a brave kid, and seemed to have no fear of the darkness like her peers. She liked having the lights off when she slept. But when he squinted through the dim light to her bed, he realized that she wasn’t in it. For that matter, there was no bed. The room, a spare he’d always planned on having be hers when she was old enough, was empty. Only a few boxes lingered in the corner. They’d gathered just enough dust to hint that they’d been there a few weeks.

“What?” He asked the thin air, peering around at the walls. Where was the painting that Samuel had made for her? And her toys, especially the one that Ryllae had created, were nowhere to be seen. The older couple doted on Emily whenever they came to visit and had lavished her with gifts for each of her name days.

Birthdays, he corrected himself mentally. Nobody on Earth called them name days anymore. He froze, feeling that sensation of forgetting something important once again. Earth… Name Days… No, they were definitely called Birthdays. The only time he’d ever heard them called Name Days was during his visit to Ahya…

He let out a gasp, feeling the memories come flooding back to him with a sharpness that left him wondering how he could have forgotten them, even for a moment. He bolted out of the room, careening down the hallway towards his and Emma’s room. Again, there was no sign of his wife. He stared frantically out the window of their shared room, his mind calling to the front plenty of memories of waking up in that same bed beside his wife.

Emma had never been to Earth, he was sure of that. So why did he have memories of a life spent here with her, and with their daughter? He shook his head more vigorously, trying to get it in order, but to no avail. Try as he might, he could still remember days, months, even years spent in this house in Alaska, spending a happy life with Emma. Samuel had given him so much money that he no longer had to work in Earth. He’d even bought this house, planning for a future with his wife-to-be.

“Samuel,” he said, surprised to find his voice choked with emotion. Without meaning to, he wiped tears from his eyes. A guiding hand, one of his best teachers, and the thought brought him sadness? The Archmage must be involved, he thought. He’d brought Eric to Ahya and given him the skills he needed to survive, hadn’t he? He had to be involved in creating this strange scenario.

Back in the living room, he sat on his chair once again, putting his head in his hands, and tried to think through what was going on. He couldn’t comprehend what was going on. Why weren’t his wife and children with him? Why had he been sent back to Earth? Samuel had allowed him to stay after his purpose was completed, hadn’t he? What had changed his mind now?

“It wasn’t Samuel that sent you here,” a voice said. The voice itself seemed to come from the back of his own mind, and when he looked up, he could only see Hunter, laying at his feet and dozing quietly.

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“Who said that?” Eric asked aloud, looking around. “Who’s here?”

Hunter lifted his head at the unexpected noise, peering at Eric, as usual, saying nothing. But then the voice came again. “Samuel isn’t responsible for this. You know who sent you here, don’t you?”

Covering his ears with his hands didn’t stop the sound of that voice from coming. He looked at Hunter, the strangest idea occurring. “Hunter? Is that you I’m hearing?”

“Wondered how long it would take you to reach that answer,” the voice said. Hunter turned away from him, heading towards the front door of his home. He could see the thick blizzard outside. “Now, let’s go. The faster you complete your test, the better.”

Eric rose slowly, staring at the dog. “What test?”

Only then, of course, did he remember. It seemed like it had happened ages ago. Ehran had told him that a test was necessary. He had to prove himself mentally strong enough to accept the greater connection to Longfang and make Hunter even stronger. He’d expected a physical test, like the many kinds of duels one took part of in Issho-Ni, to show his strength and how far he’d come as a warrior.

“Although, to be honest, that would be easier for you to pass.”

The words drifted back to him, coupled with the pained expression that Ehran had worn. He took a step forward, then hesitated, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Hunter more closely. There was still a part of him that said that this was some strange dream. He’d wake up, and find that he hadn’t left Ahya at all. “What am I going to face in this test?”

For a few seconds, there was no reply. He was just starting to think that Hunter wouldn’t explain at all. Then, “You must come to terms with where you stand in the world. You have to choose your path, and show that you are strong enough to stay on it.”

Eric was surprised to feel annoyance welling inside himself at that. Had he not proven himself loyal time and time again already? “You don’t trust me, even after all this time? I’ve done so much for Ahya, and you still doubt my loyalty?”

“We do not doubt your loyalty to Ahya,” Hunter said. “We doubt your loyalty to yourself. Prove that you can stay true to your personal cause, and you will receive the power necessary to follow your chosen path.”

And, in the typical way of Issho-Ni and their patron deity Shigeru, he found that the meaning of his test was far more literal than he could have expected. When he opened the door, he found that, instead of the long driveway that meandered down the hill toward the highway, there were two paths in front of him. He let out a snort of laughter and looked back at Hunter, who was standing on his left.

“A little on the nose, don’t you think?” He asked the dog. In the back of his mind, he found it odd how quickly he’d accepted having a conversation with the shard of Longfang. “How am I supposed to know what each path means?”

Hunter simply looked from one to the other. “I wouldn’t know. They’re not my paths. Perhaps if you focus, you’ll know the meaning yourself.”

So Eric did just that. He focused his attention on the left-hand path, staring intently down it. The thick snow whirling around him stopped him from seeing more than a couple of feet, but as he strained his ears to pick up anything apart from the wind, he thought could hear… laughter. That was definitely strange. The laughter had a static-like interference to it, as though he were listening through a radio.

The more he focused, the more he noticed other things. Was it just his imagination, or could he see what looked like a grown Emily, dressed in deep blue robes? Of course, he had no clue what that was about. She looked happy, at least, studying hard in college and spending time with her aged mother. It was like he was watching a sped-up movie about her life. One thing was clear, however. He wasn’t in it. She was as happy and healthy as he could hope, but he was absent.

“This is what her life will be like if you take this path,” Hunter explained. Despite claiming not to know the paths, he sure was ready with an explanation. “You fight in the upcoming battle, and though you’re successful, you die. The Infernals are purged, and she gets to live a peaceful, happy life.”

Eric chose not to comment on that, and instead looked down the right path. This also featured Emily and his wife, but he was there, old and decrepit as his grown daughter moved around their home, doing chores to help him out. He had an obvious injury on his side, and though he couldn’t know why, he knew that the injury had taken him out of work, forcing him to live the rest of his years out honored but crippled.

“This is what may also happen if you take part in the battle,” Hunter said. “You win but are critically injured. The Infernals are not purged, but your daughter is granted a peaceful life nonetheless. You are honored by a few, but ultimately forgotten.”

“So either way,” Eric said slowly, thinking it through, “If I fight, I’ll risk my life.”

“Yes. But if you do not fight, then you do not succeed. Others may accomplish the goal in your place, but you cannot be sure.”

That was typical of the way things like this worked, Eric thought. He would have laughed at the irony of it all if he wasn’t so horrified by the thought that he might miss out on Emily’s childhood. “Is it guaranteed that I’m killed or wounded if I fight?”

“I cannot predict the future,” Hunter replied. “You must take a path, even if you do not know what lies ahead.”

In the future, Eric would look back at that moment and laugh ruefully at the wolf’s last comment. But standing before the split paths, he’d come to one realization, and he’d come to it so quickly that no other answer would have come close. It was an easy choice. Even if he would risk fading into nothingness, even if he and his feats were forgotten, as long as Emily was safe and happy, he’d be content.

“Which way do you move?” The wolf asked. And, as Eric reached his decision, the images and sounds down the paths faded. In fact, both paths faded, leaving him facing the long driveway down away from his home. Because of course, there was only one path. There’d never been any other for him.

“Forward.”