Chapter 464: Old Friends

AN: This is my first day sitting down and trying to 0-100 write a full chapter. Let me know if the quality is noticeably different one way or another.

I leisurely flew back home. I didn’t want flying to become perfunctory. I didn’t want it to become just a way of getting from A to B. I had a bit of time to simply enjoy it, to revel in the absolute freedom of unconstrained motion, knowing that I could simply pick a direction and fly for hours if I wanted to.

I did want to see Iona, spend as much time as possible with her before her trip, and check up on Auri, so I still headed homewards.

[The World Around Me] gave me a perfect sphere of perception around me, but my ‘basic’ senses were still ludicrous beyond that sphere. I could see and hear things from great distances, and once in a while my ability to see deeper into the UV spectrum than normal humans revealed interesting things. The drab, colorless birds? Turned out they were gorgeous, with brightly colored stripes all over their feathers! Hidden just out of the human spectrum. Flowers had additional dots, and some plants looked like an artist had taken a bucket of paint to them.

It let me see farther, and most importantly, hear farther. Usually, [The World Around Me] helped control it, so I wasn’t trying to process an entire city’s worth of gossip at once. It did occasionally let me pick out distant voices, and hear what they were saying.

Brains were weird. A distant voice chatting? Easy to filter out, it was done unconsciously.

A voice I recognized? A voice that cut to the very core of my being, a voice that practically raised me, a voice from my childhood, who’d molded me into the person I was today? A voice that was practically family?

“Artemis!” I yelled to the great blue sky, and moved. The anti-friction runes tattooed on my skin started to glow as I poured power into them, making a beeline straight to home. I pushed my body and wings to their top speed, cranking out every inch of performance in my desire to go faster.

I made it home in seconds, and used a gravity assist to dive down, pushing my speed to the utter limit. I got a glimpse of Fenrir trying to dig into the side of the mountain as I dove, but couldn’t get a perfect look as I started to ‘wobble’ in my dive. My magic wasn’t suited for the speeds I was going at, and I was starting to lose control.

Haste made waste.

Slow was smooth, smooth was fast.

I flared my wings, bleeding off some speed as I bolted through the front door, the bucket of water artfully placed on top not even starting to fall when I was already through the room.

I careened around some corners, occasionally bumping into a wall in my haste. The mango peels on the floor only distracted me because mango!, but flying left no chance at all that I’d slip on them. A bookcase had all of its books rearranged from the proper arrangement to ‘largest sized book to smallest’, which was another outrage.

I smelled Artemis’s dirty hands behind all of them. It was like she had nothing better to do!

Hang on, wait. Iona was also here, and the water bucket at the front was freshly set up!

Thinking time was over as I burst into the living room where everyone was sitting around.

Including Artemis and Julius.

“Artemis!” I yelled again, taking the most direct path to her. She spun, automatically lashing out with Lightning and Darkness. Oooh! She got a new element!

Didn’t blame her for lashing out, it was the only way she could possibly hope to survive a high-speed attack, which my rushing looked like.

I only slowed myself down enough to not turn us all into high-speed paste, but otherwise eagerly threw myself into a hug. Her face went from fear to terror as she recognized me, then morphed quickly to delight as my healing utterly negated everything she’d tried.

“Healy-bug!” She laughed with delight, spinning me around before knuckling my hair. “How’ve you been?” In the distance, a water pail finished crashing to the floor.

Iona and Julius were already out of their chairs in alarm, only just starting to relax as they realized everything was fine. I was unhurt, Artemis wasn’t being attacked, life was good.

There’d probably be a round of scolding all around, but eh, as long as Artemis and I were cool with it.

My eyes sparkled as I separated from Artemis, a mad grin splitting my face.

“Great! You’re here! And Julius!”

I was a little more restrained with Julius, just because I was already stopped. The years had added a few more lines to his face, and his hair was going grey. The System and vitality helped slow down aging, not stop it entirely, and Julius was around 55.

The thought brought me up short. Artemis was around 45 herself. Gods, where did the time go? It was only yesterday that we were all young.

Well, with [The Stars Never Fade], old age claiming my closest friends would never be a concern.

“Elaine! It’s great to see you again!” Julius grinned.

Iona sat back down in her own chair, torn between amusement and glaring at Artemis, letting me reconnect with my friends. Nina was harder to read, standing in a corner of the room, looking relieved.

Hang on…

“Where’s Auri?” I asked.

“Cooking.” Artemis promptly answered.

“Brrrpt!” A shriek of protest came from the small kitchen, Auri objecting and saying she was baking,

not cooking.

“If I say you’re cooking, you’re cooking!” Artemis roared back.

“....brpt.” A very small squeak of assent came back from the kitchen. I raised an eyebrow.

“Wow. What did you do to Auri?” I asked.

Artemis flapped a hand at me, sitting back down. I sat on my favorite seat - Iona’s lap. She nuzzled me gently with her nose.

“Oh, she tried to boss us around when we first showed up. We had some fruitful discussions about the pecking order.”

Julius and I dutifully groaned at the pun. I looked around.

“The villa is still standing.” I said with some surprise. I wouldn’t use the word ‘restrained’ with either Artemis or Auri.

I split off a [Parallel Thought] to properly observe everything. There was an empty bowl that smelled faintly of mangos on a table, with an eye-rollingly bad half-circle of sliced mushrooms around it. The side near Artemis had clearly been munched on, the mage’s hunger getting the better of her ‘fairy ring’ prank.

Speaking of - levels!

[Mage - 525] - Artemis was doing well for herself! I’d seen the third element earlier, but still! That was a lot of levels.

[Leader - 333] - Julius looked like he was stalling out for some reason. I had some thoughts why, but I’d chat with him about it.

I’d never answered Artemis’s question.

“I’m doing great! OH! Night’s alive!” I was so excited to share that tidbit.

Artemis got real quiet for a moment. I felt Iona’s hands subtly tense around my waist, the Valkyrie about to jump in and make it not-awkward.

Julius saved the moment.

“It’ll be nice to see him again. Do you think he’d be open to that?”

I nodded.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Oh yeah! He’d be delighted!”

Artemis cracked a grin, one that I knew was fake from all the time I’d spent around her. I considered butting in, but no. I’d let Artemis work through her own emotions first, then maybe Julius. If that didn’t work, then maybe, maybe, I’d ask Iona for advice.

Wooo! I was figuring out this social and interpersonal relationship stuff one small revelation at a time! One day my big mental book of ‘all the rules to operate under in polite society’ would be complete, and I’d never need to worry about it again!

It was a little disheartening that interacting with Artemis vaguely fell under social stuff these days. Then again, maybe I was just getting better at all of it, and starting to see the lines and connections where before I’d been oblivious.

“What else have you been up to?” Julius asked after a brief, almost-awkward moment.

“Oh, tons!” I eagerly jumped in, and Artemis laser focused on me, whatever was haunting her vanishing. “We just came back from a mission. The stupidest mission I’ve ever been on, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Let me start with when we sent you the letters from the School. We left shortly after and…”

I regaled them with my - our - tale, as Nina served the refreshments Auri had baked. Iona joined in, adding her thoughts and perspective from time to time.

I did a double-take at her story of meeting Nina. I hadn’t realized quite how much violence had been involved with her tackling the Dragon Triad’s outpost. Artemis approved.

I naturally included all of my new classes and skills - after casting a few privacy spells.

“... and then we got back. You see why I called it the stupidest mission - let me finish!” I protested as Artemis shamelessly laughed herself sick, not even bothering to try to stay in her chair. Julius was holding his head in his hands.

“Of all the reports I ever received…” He bemoaned for an instant before shaking his head again. Iona was smirking behind me.

I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure I’ll find it hilarious in a week or two. How about you? Picked out your third class yet?”

I knew Iona could tell me, but hey, it was Artemis’s story to tell, not mine.

Artemis stretched with a grin.

“I did! Dark mage. Technically, it’s got a bit of a teaching aspect to it, but hey, I was always teaching practical combat. Only fits! I was lacking the oomph to kill things really fast, so I grabbed it!”

I looked at her with a flat stare. Artemis, one of the deadliest mages I knew, felt like she was lacking oomph?

Dear goddesses, just how deadly was she now, and with how jumpy she was, how much had I taken my life into my own hands just now?!

“That’s fantastic! Any idea what advanced element you’ll pick?” I asked.

Artemis shook her head.

“Nah. I’m thinking maaaaybe I merge my Earth and Dark class into Gravity, but eh, I don’t really care that much for the element. Would give me a nice pile of stats, but then I’m a shittier Earth mage, and I need to start on Dark again. Void would be nice, but everyone here’s so uptight about it. Humph.”

Artemis crossed her arms and pouted, as Iona looked Seriously Alarmed. She shifted me off her lap, and leaned forward.

“You can’t take a Void mage class.” She stared right into Artemis’s eyes, speaking with deadly seriousness.

Artemis narrowed her eyes back, the Lightning deep inside them flickering like a tempest.

“Who’s going to stop me, you?” She challenged.

“Yes. It’ll break my heart, it might ruin my relationship with Elaine, but yes, I absolutely will.” Iona said with deadly sincerity.

The two women stared at each other for a moment, Julius and I trading nervous looks. Nina bailed out the side door.

Artemis cracked a smile after a tense moment.

“See! I told you everyone gets really uptight about it!” She tried to sock Julius in the arm, who effortlessly dodged. He was still a speedster, and Artemis was more of a pure mage than I was. “You’ve picked a good one here Elaine! Don’t let go of her!”

Iona’s shoulders relaxed, and she sat back down in her chair.

“Don’t joke about that.” She chuckled with a nervous laugh. “I had no idea how that would’ve ended.”

“We’ve got some tales of our own.” Julius smoothly changed the direction of the conversation.

Artemis bolted upright.

“Oh! Oh! Tell them about the fire-breathing megalosaurus!”

Julius gave her a puzzled look.

“You hate that story, you got roasted.” He said. Nina chose that moment to re-enter the room with her trusty rod, awkwardly slipping it behind her back when she saw we weren’t fighting after all.

Artemis waved her hand.

“Yeah, but after Elaine’s Nippon-Koku disaster, they could use a laugh at my expense.”

There was something about Artemis cheerfully serving herself up for our mirth and entertainment that touched me. I felt a tear well up, and I went and gave her another hug.

“Missed you.” I whispered quietly.

“... then the diplodocus redirected the meteor up, and, and…” Julius was wheezing with laughter as he tried to finish the story. “... it landed right back on its head!” He smacked his fist into his other hand, miming it exploding like a ripe cantaloupe.

Iona chuckled and shook her head. Nina and Auri had eventually joined us, and the squire’s mouth dropped open in horror.

“No, you’re kidding.” Nina said.

Artemis shook her head.

“Not in the slightest. Sometimes, now and then, the people you’re fighting will screw up. Sometimes, rarely, it’s a trap. It usually isn’t, and exploiting your enemy’s mistakes is vital.”

Nina was internalizing everything Artemis was saying hard. Given her teaching credentials, given that she was still alive - and I was also still alive, in large part thanks to her - there were worse sources to learn from.

I laughed and smiled with them all, wondering. Hoping.

“What are you two planning on next?” I asked.

“Having babies.” Artemis said with a stony face.

She what?! Artemis was going to-!?!?

Julius choked and started coughing, pounding on his chest.

Artemis cracked one of her infamous grins.

“Nah, just fucking with you. Should’ve seen the looks on all your faces!” She leaned back and pretended to fan herself. “Priceless.”

Artemis slunk slowly deeper and deeper into the chair as we all threw murderous looks in her direction. Nina quickly caught on and joined in, putting her hands on her hips, while Auri did her best ‘I’m not mad, I’m disappointed’ slow beak shakes.

“That is a shit joke.” Julius decreed when he finished getting the wine out of the wrong pipe. “Utterly terrible. Worse than bringing over some mangos for Elaine, then eating them before she showed up.”

“I was hungry!” Artemis weakly protested.

She read the room and shut up. Julius sighed.

“We don’t know.” He said. “We’ve discussed a lot of options. Artemis got some interesting classes relating to the School of Sorcery and Spellcraft that you two attended.”

“Brrrpt!” Auri protested.

“Four of us attended.” I quickly translated Auri’s correction. “Not sure if I’d properly count Fenrir in though.”

Julius nodded.

“Either way, that’s a thing. No idea what to do with that knowledge. Made Artemis’s third class incredibly potent.” There was a sad note in Julius’s sentence. “Hunting things is decent work, although it’s losing its appeal. It’s pretty nice here, it feels like Remus in a few ways. The ways it doesn’t are jarring, but we might stick around. Teaching is an option. I’ve wanted to try it myself for a while. Tutoring. All that’s gone out the window when you mentioned Night was still around, and you got back pay. He’s clearly willing to lend a helping hand, and he’d open far more doors, and know about options we have no idea about. We should talk with him to find out more.”

I completely agreed, and I’d had a persistent thought telling me the same thing.

“Exactly what I was thinking.” I said. “But if you ask for backpay, make sure to specify modern currency.”

Artemis laughed at that, pounding her fist on the side of the chair.

“That’s just like Night!” She howled with laughter, Iona joining in on the fun, before Julius’s stern glare got her to calm down.

Julius and Artemis traded a look.

“Give us some time?” Julius asked.

“Of course.” Iona smoothly stood up, grabbing her dishes and our guests’s. I jumped in, trying to make sure I pulled more than my fair share.

After a few minutes of a private discussion - I’d made sure my quick wards could keep my senses out when I’d set them earlier - the two of them exited the room.

“We’re ready! No time like the present!” Artemis cheerfully decreed, and we were off.

The hardest part was figuring who would come. We eventually decided to keep it small - just me, Artemis, and Julius.

It didn’t take too long to get back to Sanguino, navigate the lines, guards, and streets, and finally make it to Night’s place.

I knocked on the door, deep underground.

“Nice digs.” Artemis looked around and marveled. “They’ve done something to the stone here, I can’t get any grip on it with my magic.”

Didn’t surprise me to hear that Night had layers upon layers of defenses in his home. Didn’t survive for tens of thousands of years without security.

Night opened the door with a smile.

“Artemis. Julius. I have missed the two of you, and it brings me no greater joy than to see the two of you darken my doorstep once again.”

I protested.

“Hey! How do you remember them immediately, and had to go to the wall for me!?”

My protests were utterly ignored by the other three. Artemis socked Night in the arm, who permitted it.

“Hey Night you old bloodsucker! You’ll have to try harder to bump me off next time.”

Julius coughed.

“Didn’t you explicitly want to go on the mission, no matter what anyone said?”

Artemis waved him off.

“Details. Semantics.”

Night chuckled darkly.

“Come in, come in.” We all piled in, and started to follow Night. “As for how I immediately recognize Julius and Artemis, it is simplicity itself. When I retrieved my memories of you, dear Dawn, they required context. Other people and events that shaped you, that were important to understanding who you are. Naturally, Julius and Artemis were included in that list, quite highly too I might add. That was before your report mentioning that the two of them had come with you to this era upon Pallos. It would not do for them to remain locked away, in storage. On to celebrations! I am certain that I have a bottle of a most wonderful vintage. Sadly, I drank my last bottle from old Remus a few thousand years ago - a celebration of finding an original piece of the Indomitable Wall - but I have some fine imitation wines.”

Artemis missed a step at the mention of the Wall.

“Can we see it?” She asked.

Night paused, then smoothly continued on in a different direction.

“Naturally. Forgive me, it should have been the first place I went to. It is inevitable. With only a few exceptions, almost everyone who has ended up surviving their name being placed on the Indomitable Wall wishes to see it. Reactions differ, you must understand, but the desire to see, to know, remains almost universal.”

We quickly reached the Wall, and Artemis honed in on her name. Julius followed more somberly, taking the time to read every single name on the wall.

Even as a speedster, even with his ability to zip through them, it’d take him hours or days to read every name in the hallowed hall. Night chose to walk with him, and no amount of Immortality, no gifts of Gods or the System could remove the weight of time and memories on his face. The tens of millions of friends he’d made, then buried. The names that would only ever come from his lips.

An eternal Sentinel. Watchful. Remembering.

Artemis got real quiet when she saw her name chiseled into the wall. Simply ‘Artemis’. No modifiers. No ‘of’.

No Sentinel title.

A single word in a lonely hallway was the sum of her life, the only echo of her work as a Ranger coming down through the years. If not for the mention of the School, perhaps it would be the only trace of her life, of her entire existence.

I stood near her, offering her comfort. I pretended not to see the tear rolling down her face.

Then in a twist, she barked out a laugh, pointing at her name.

“Ha!” Her shout echoed down the hallway, Julius frowning slightly but Night remaining stoic. “I survived!”

And, as Artemis was wont to do,

She danced a merry jig in front of her grave.