"There are people who live in worse conditions, Ungrth..."

Laurance spoke aloud, making his way through the thickness of the forest. He had already stopped by his makeshift home in the vast cave system in the mountains, packing up everything he needed for his little... "vacation".

His metal boots were caked in mud, some of it getting through the creases and on his feet. He cringed at the disgusting feeling, but there were people who lived in worse conditions every day. He had known who too had their fair share of hardships in life. He had known quite a lot of people like that, actually. He thought it had been quite common back in his day to be homeless, but seeing the modern age of this Realm made him think otherwise. In this time period, you couldn't stroll ten feet in a city without finding a homeless person begging for spare change.

He didn't exactly know where he was going, but he could take a fair guess. Since he was going after Lucinda, he would try Pikoro Village. Or at least what was Pikoro Village.. he wondered if Lucibda even recognized the modern place as the same one she once called home. He had seen Meteli change over the years, first starting with New Meteli, the village rebuilt after Meteli had been burned down. He missed Meteli... but that place there now was not his home, nor would it ever be.

Did he even have a home at this point? All of his homes had been either destroyed, temporary, or something horrible had happened there to make him leave. The only place he had ever really been able to call "home" was the End... but he was all alone there, and the palace built in the End had been more of a prison for him if anything. Still, it had been thoughtful of Garroth to build him a home away from "home".

He tripped on a tree root, falling face first into the wet ground. He groaned, spitting the mud and grass from his mouth. He could taste some remaining bits, but it would have to wait until he could find a clean water source to wash his mouth out with. The water sources here were either filled with pollution and bacteria, or were murky and muddy, which would've gone against the entire purpose of finding a water source in the first place.

He didn't know how long he had been walking. Hours, definitely, just not how many exactly. One second the Sun was high in the sky, the next time he looked up it was just beginning to set. He froze in place, wondering if time had always gone by so fast. But all that aside, he would need a place to spend the night.

Or you could just keep going. You're capable of it, don't stop until you found Boobcinda, one of the voices in his head told him, not being either Ungrth or the Shadow Soul.

Her name is Lucinda, not "Boobcinda", Laurance corrected the voice.

By Irene, are we his only friends? He's actually correcting us, another voice grumbled.

I never said you were my "friends", but you are my only company, Laurance responded.

The unidentified voices didn't respond this time, and neither Ungrth nor the Shadow Soul said anything. Laurance let out a quiet sigh, continuing ahead as the nighttime began. He was partially thankful that all the species of Monsters had been sealed in another Realm, at least they wouldn't be able to pop up out of nowhere and make him jump. Even if they did attack him, he could easily handle them. Besides, he couldn't die. Even if he got injured to the point of dying, the Ender Crystal kept him alive.

Then again, the banishment of the Monsters left this Realm completely inexperienced when fighting powerful beings. The inhabitants wouldn't last a second in Laurance's time, both Aphmau and Irene forbid that they get involved with Aldroth. It was kind of pathetic and pitiful, honestly. This society only saw value and worth in the rich, sex, money, and politics. Technically his time had placed high value on the rich and politics as well, but this time period took it to entirely new levels.

He put one arm around his belly slightly, pausing for a moment as a loud growl was heard. It.. hadn't been that long since he last ate... before that was an entirely different story. Hey, it wasn't his fault! There wasn't any food in the End, and all the food in the citues and towns was all artificial! That and he didn't travel through Realm Barriers and hunt down food while he was in his comas.

It wasn't like he wasn't used to it. He was always starving, even when he was being forcefed an entire buffet. It wasn't because he was a pig, it was because since he had been starved for so long he had dangerously unhealthy eating habits. Whenever he ate anything he felt an overwhelming urge to throw it all up, like nothing would agree with his systems.

Sleep, the voices whispered to him.

Sleep... sleep sounds good... He meekly thought, slowly giving in.

Sleep until morning's dawn, everything will be okay, they continued to whisper.

I need to find Lucinda... Laurance thought, taking a few more steps forward. I can't stop, I need to find her...

Taking one more step forward, his knees buckled. He collapsed onto the ground, struggling to keep himself in a conscious state of mind. His vision was starting to fade in and out, and the voices were getting louder and louder.

Dammit Ungrth, not now! Laurance thought furiously, gritting his teeth.

It's not mt fault you're always so hard on yourself, Laurance. Take a trip down Memory Lane, remember why this is all happening, the corrupt Wyvern spoke to him.

I refuse to go back to Aldroth! I refuse to marry him!! He snapped, managing to stand up.

And yet you carried and delivered two of his children... his only children... your only children! They snapped back at him.

That wasn't my fault! He defended himself. Garroth's powers are immense, and his hypnotic mind control is nearly impossible to resist!

All of this can easily come to a stop, Laurance. All you have to go is marry him, they reminded him. You think you're doing everyone a favor? They'd be much safer if you just calmed down and agreed to the engagement.

If I give in... if I ever stop fighting... all of the Realms will be in far greater danger than when they're dragged into the war, Laurance thought with guilt, though he didn't know why.

What's the worst that can happen? They questioned, as usual whenever he did anything.

Garroth is going to cause an inter-dimensional massacre. He will kill anyone who won't follow his reign, Laurance reminded them, knowing they remembered the warfare very well. If I agree to the marriage, if I let him win, he'll destroy all of you too.

The voices were silent after that, even Ungrth was at a loss of words. Laurance let out a shaky sigh of relief, crawling his way up one of the trees and sitting on one of the branches. It was at the top of the tree, or at least as high up as it could be. He sat on it with his back pressed against the bark of the trunk, his head tilted back so he could look up at the night sky.

He remembered going stargazing with his sister once. She had been the Lord of New Meteli, and an allie during the first Aldrothian War. She had always been there for Laurance as moral support, which was something he probably needed the most right now. Ever since she had been killed on the battlefield in the Nether, part of him had been missing.

He reached down the breastplate of his armor, pulling out a locket that he kept hidden for safety reasons. It was a normal locket from his time period, made of a metallic material and it opened and shut. Opening it, he forced a weak smile as he saw the picture of his sister.

He had tried to save her. By the Divines, he had tried so desperately to save her. To save everyone who had died or was going to. But there was only so much that the Ender Crystal could do for others, and it was only so long that the effects of its restoration powers would last on anyone that wasn't him.

He leaned back against the tree, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. His sister, his friends, his frenemies, everyone... they were all dead. That was something he had easily come to terms with. Some had called him "nearly" heartless and far too pessimistic when the funerals were held, but Laurance was far too familiar with the face of death to be bothered by such a dark presence any longer. Yet there Lucinda was, on TV in the modern age.

Maybe, just maybe Cadenza was here too...

"Laurance?"

Laurance's eyes snapped open, momentarily blinding him with the light of day.

Had he slept through the entire night? He admitted with a certain guilt that he did have a type of obsession with sleep, one that had developed over the millennia. Not only was hibernation part of the enchantment bound over everyone involved with the Aldrothian Wars, but it had become an easily likeable bypass of time on Laurance's end. What else was he supposed to do while he was locked in the End, or when he was awaiting the day when he would finally die permanently?

"Um... hey, Laurance, I said something to you." The voice spoke again, this time louder and more stern.

Laurance squeezed his eyes shut, to the point where he could feel a little pain in his forehead. He rubbed his face with his hands, before looking down at the ground. He hadn't planned on sleeping the entire night, let alone actually rest. He had gone every previous Aldrothian War without letting his guard down or resting once, and the Aldrothian Wars usually took up to about... eighty years? It was hard to remember the time span of each war so far, and it was painful to remember.

At the base of the tree was a female figure, looking up at him with a confused expression. Her sweater was made of white wool, with a red and black checkered flannel jacket overtop. A pair of dark blue jeans covered the lower half of her body, with fur boots to keep her feet warm. She was about ankle deep in the red and yellow leaves covering the ground of the forest, as more continued to fall with the wind.

That's right, it's autumn... Laurance thought, jumping down from the branch. I've been confining myself to hiding spots for so long... I almost forgot what season it was.

He landed on the ground with a thud, some pain shooting through his feet as they came into contact with the Earth. He knew he had broken the bones in them, but the Ender Crystal was already at work on repairing them. One of the great things about the ancient Relic was that it didn't have a consciousness of its own, so it couldn't snap at him every time he carelessly broke a bone or got an injury of some sort. Unfortunately it didn't heal or provide a type of treatment for mental illnesses and damage, that was something he could use all the time.

"Well, good to see you're still sane." The girl giggled, grinning at him. "You are Laurance, right?"

"Yes, that would be me..." He replied slowly, narrowing his eyes at her. "Should I know you?"

The girl stared at him for a moment, blinking. Then she let out a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. She shook her head, clearing her throat.

"No, no you wouldn't.... but you do know my mother." She answered, turning around. "The last name Anagnos... does it seem familiar to you?"

"Anagnos? Yes... I am familiar with that last name. I remember your mother well... she's still alive?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, the Angels and Demons made a peace treaty not too long ago, and Aldroth hasn't been active yet so we've had peaceful lives." She nodded, beginning to walk. "Come on, I'll take you to her."

Laurance felt a wince as she mentioned Aldroth, and pitied her as then as they thought Aldroth wasn't active yet. How was he supposed to tell her that the Aldrothian War was going to start again? Kassandra had a family now, a daughter... he couldn't put the burden of warfare on her shoulders.

Still, he couldn't just leave. That would make Kassandra suspicious of his behavior, and he didn't need anyone chasing after him. Not when Garroth was going to be hunting him down any second now, if he wasn't already.

"Mom! I brought a special visitor!!" The girl called out as they neared a small hut, petting a golden retriever as it ran up to her. "Hey there, girl."

"Kiara, what did I say about bringing people here without my--" Kassandra began, opening the front door and storming out.

In her hands she was holding a pot of some sort, with what he assumed to be that night's supper. The second her eyes landed on Laurance, her jaw dropped and her grip on the pot loosened. It hit the patio of the hut, the contents all spilling out onto the stone. From what he could tell, they were supposed to be having some kind of stew.

"L.... Laurance....!?" Kassandra gasped, disbelief evident in her voice and eyes.

"Hey..." Laurance waved slightly, his face blank of any emotion, as usual.

"Don't say 'hey' so casually, like we're best friends in high school or something! Especially after everything that has happened!" She scolded him, running towards him at a full sprint.

She smacked into him, wrapping her arms around him and locking him into a crushing hug. Literally, it had broken a rib. He and his allies always forgot that he still felt the actual pain of the injuries, and still felt pain even when the Ender Crystal was repairing his body. If he wasn't as solid as he was, her tackle would've most likely taken him to the ground for a few feet.

"Kassandra? Who is that?" A deeper voice asked from behind them.

Kassandra let go of Laurance, turning around to face the new person. He was a Demon obviously, one that had lived in the Nether. And, judging from the resemblance in the eyes between him and Kiara, Laurance assumed that he was Kassandra's husband. He had worked him too during the Aldrothian Wars, but they had never gotten to actually know each other.

"Thalmor, this is Laurance. We worked with him during the wars, remember?" Kassandra said sweetly, grabbing her husband's arm.

"That's Laurance?" Thalmor questioned, his eyes widening as he looked Laurance over. "O-Oh my... I've seen you once or twice on the battlefield or around headquarters, but I never thought I'd actually get to meet you in person."

With that, the Demon got on one knee. It was nothing personal, just common courtesy and respectful terms of the medieval times. Of course Laurance couldn't help but want to blush out of embarrassment, but that could've put them in danger if someone or something from Aldroth was watching them right now. That and he had lost his abilities to visibly display his feelings a long time ago.

"Please, there is no need for that." Laurance murmured, crossing his arms and shaking out his wings uncomfortably.

"Yes, Sir Laur-- I mean, just Laurance." Thalmor corrected himself, standing up and brushing off his pants. "Again, it's an honor to meet you."

"Mama and the old man have always told me such great stories about you and the other reformed Divine Warriors!" Kiara cut in, smiling brightly. But that smile soon faded. "But what I don't understand is why. Why are you called the reformed Divine Warriors?"

"That, sweetheart, is a story for another day, when you're older." Thalmor quickly said, looking to the side.

"Yes..." Kassandra agreed with her husband, but her smile returned nonetheless. "Please, Laurance, come inside."

"Right now? Don't you want to clean up your dinner first?" He asked, blinking as he eyed the mess. "Er... sorry for that."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Meeko will get it." Kiara answered him excitedly, gesturing to the dog.

"Yes, Meeko loves to clean things up around here." Thalmor nodded, opening the door to the hut.

Kiara followed in after her father, excitedly chattering about how she was going to learn so much from Laurance's visit. The brunette sighed heavily, but couldn't help other than to feel a small bit of relief at her optimism. The weight of Aldroth was still on his shoulders, but he would alert Kassandra and Thalmor of it once they could speak alone. He... really hoped that Kiara had a bedtime.

"Please, Laurance, do come inside." Kassandra beamed, leading him into the hut.

Laurance followed after her, keeping his wings close to his body so they didn't smack into the doorway or walls. The woman before him looked over her shoulder, her sapphire blue eyes twinkling.

"We have lots to discuss." She added, and Laurance couldn't agree more.

Thalmor shut the door once they were in, and Kiara brought them a tray with cups of tea and some cheese and crackers. The four settled down in the living room, where they would begin their discussions. For a small moment, Laurance could feel at ease. He could feel safe. He knew Kassandra, and he had no doubt he would come to know Thalmor and their daughter, Kiara.

Aldroth could wait. There was no need to ruin such a relaxed moment, especially when it mat very well be the last one they have.