"Our journey? What does it even mean?" I asked.

"It means what it means," Akios said uninterested and proceeded to walk among a field riddled with black holes.

"Wait!" I yelled and ran towards him, but I tripped on something and fell while darkness consumed me. The next second I opened my eyes and looked at my outstretched hand. I could feel the heat and swat overflowing me even though it was just a dream.

The metallic door swung open and Akios quickly walked to my side. "I could hear you from the other room," Akios checked my forehead for temperature "It's fine... now get dressed and meet me outside."

I still needed a few moments before I could jump out of bed, so I decided to lay down with my open eyes until my body calms down. My attention focused on the large wooden beams that run across the ceiling that were probably made from rough-hewn wood. The entire room except for the door was made of wood. It was such an oddity, but Akios was still my number one in strange oddities.

What was that nightmare even about? I've been travelling with Akios for a while now, a week to be exact. Travelling with him wasn't bad. We actually got along well although he likes to keep a lot of secrets. There were even a few fun times. Last night was particularly fun.

There was a big wedding celebration when we arrived at the inn. I was ready to head out as soon as I saw a crowd, but the guests stopped Akios and me from leaving.

"It's grand feast," they said and invited us to join the fun. They sat us down and gave us free food and drinks. We ate delicious, high-quality meat that brought me tears of joy. I didn't remember the last time when I ate something so nice. Akios was stuffing himself with the food too. He seemed like he didn't eat anything this good in a while too. We did eat, ordinary, tasty food during our travels but nothing this exquisite.

"This was so delicious," I complimented the host, but they couldn't hear me due to the loud music.

Once we were done eating we were still unable to go because the crowd didn't let us. They pressured us to dance with them. Just like me Akios didn't seem to know to how to dance but we improvised. Everybody laughed merrily whether they knew the moves or not. I decided to improve the feast by adding some colourful, dancing lightning to the party and Akios started singing in a loud tune. The sound of his singing voice made me stop everything for a while. His voice sounded perfect. It was as though he was practicing singing for his entire life.

Everybody in the room stopped for a few seconds just to hear his voice but soon the song got carried by many voices. I didn't know how to sing so I opened and closed my lips pretending to be singing.

The night was long, and we danced it all away. There was even a time when everybody formed couples and danced holding hands. Akios and me joined hands too and even though the beginning was awkward we managed to dance. I was so proud afterwards that I didn't stomp his feat.

A quiet knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. "I'm coming," I yelled to Akios but he didn't say anything.

"Miss witch," I heard a child's voice before the door. A little boy dressed in shabby clothes humbly entered the room. He didn't look directly at me until I got up and walked closer. His read eyes shone brightly in the dim light of the room. Without a word it presented a silver ornamental dagger before me.

After a few moments the child spoke "Master Lemniselenis would love you to have this," I took the dagger in my hands and watched it from every angle. It featured small, elaborate details on its etched in the blade engraved. There were too small and intricate to be watched by the naked eye. If I had a magnifying glass, I would examine it a lot longer. The blade had a mirrored finish in which I could see my reflection clearly.

It was very light and easy to make moves with. Its handle was made of ivory, adorned with red jeweled embellishments that reminded me of vampire eyes. Rheya also had red eyes but hers were totally different from the vampire. It was hard to explain because it was more of a feeling than a fact.

"It can hurt anyone, even a magical creature," the child explained.

"I'm grateful but I don't think I need one," so far my policy was one of peace. After the incident with the king of Aweretaton where I actually tried to kill someone, but my try was denied I realized I didn't actually want to kill anyone myself, but a crime must be punished.

"You'll need all the help you can get against Akios," the child didn't beat around the bush. "Kill Akios, save the world."

I looked at the blade once more and then at the child who seemed to disappear somewhere. Did they think I'd do it? From a stranger's perspective seeing me being bonded by an unfavorable contract and shown a serious doubt in what Akios's actions were it would be plausible to think I could hurt him, but that didn't feel right.

"Cayltrix," I could hear Akios from the entrance. He could enter the room any minute, so I quickly put the dagger in my bag. I wasn't sure why I hid it from him, it was probably because I couldn't fully trust him.

"Just a second," I yelled

"Mutare vestimenta," I chanted to quickly get a quick magical change of clothes and hurried out.

Akios was in a foul mood that I left him waiting. "It's been half an hour," he said.

"That long," I gasped because it seemed like it was only five minutes. As Akios angrily stared at me I avoided his gaze and looked around. Merchants... Shops... Cartwheels... And magnificent sunflowers on our left. "Look, those sunflowers are so pretty," I tried to lighten the mood, but it didn't help.

Since I was at fault, I had to set things right again. "How about I treat you to something nice? As an apology for waiting."

"After yesterday, I don't want to think about food and drinks for a while," he said.

We did eat quite a lot and I was feeling full too. "Let's go," he said and tipsily walked in front of me. His usual strong aura was gone as he walked unsteadily.

"Are you..." I asked but he couldn't hear me from the noise of the carriages that passed by. We walked upon a cobbly road which intensified all the loud sounds of wheels, horses and even people passing by.

He was definitely still drunk. I tried to remember how much he had to drink. If I remember correctly 2 jugs full of wine were placed before us. I took a little bit of wine that I mixed with a lot of water while Akios drank it all by himself. He didn't water any of it judging by his left and right walking.

"Let's sit down," I proposed, and he looked back to me. Akios managed to stand straight without moving but there wasn't any place to sit down. Ahead and behind us was a long winding road full of shops around it since we were at the marketplace of the town. There were no rocks or chairs we could sit on. Sitting on the ground we would seem like a pair of beggars and that would be a disgrace to our magic.

"You're looking awfully cute today, " Akios said as he caught a lock of my hair.

"A-Akios" I stuttered "You're acting weird."

"Coming through!" A man behind me yelled"Coming through!" Akios moved me out of the way as the man carrying heavy bags in each of his arms and one behind his back passed through.

A sudden realization struck me. Akios is in kind of a vulnerable state right now and probably off guard. I could use the situation to gather information from him.

"Akios, tell me everything you know," I said while intensely looking at his eyes.

"When I was a wee lad I hated oranges and then..." he burst out laughing and couldn't continue his fake scenario. "I wanted to see how you'd use a drunk person but that isn't a way," he evilly smirked. "You think a drunk person can clearly think? You would have to specify the question and dumb it out a lot."

I felt anger swelling up in me. "Forget it," I walked in front without glancing back.

"Where are you going?" Akios stopped me but I still didn't want to look at him. "The magical forest is in the opposite direction." We agreed we'd follow my original travel plan. I remember when I showed my plan to Akios. He didn't say a word of disagreement, but I felt embarrassed because my plan was full of sightseeing spots that weren't practical.

The magical forest was described as one where magic occurred without witches and even without the spirits intervention either. A place that defied all the natural rules and existed separately. Whatever happened here wouldn't be strange. Expect the unexpected was the only principle. It was also said that the forest could enhance a person's emotions and make them very happy or terribly sad.

"I see," Akios said as soon as we stepped out of the forest.

"Can you sense something?" I asked in a low voice. It was utterly devastating that I couldn't feel anything strange.

"The line between the worlds is thin here," Akios said"it would be easy to slip elsewhere."

"To another world?" I asked out loud even though I wasn't interested because I haven't even discovered my world.

The clean forest air was filled with a soft, shimmering mist. Ancient, towering trees surrounded us. Their bark was covered in intricate patterns that reminded me of runes. The strangest thing was that their leaves were coloured in a strange deep purple. Dark green vines with luminescent tendrils wrapped around the trees.

The forest was covered in bright green moss that felt soft upon walking. It almost made me want to take off my boots and walk barefoot. It was kind of beautiful but with my expectations let down I couldn't appreciate the beauty.

Akios solemnly stood as he looked at the bark of the tree.

"Let's go," I said"there doesn't seem to be anything here."

"Wait," Akios sad and I reluctantly stopped moving.

Tiny creatures with translucent wings resembling those of butterflies appeared out of the tree. They left a trail of shiny dust wherever they flew. I wanted to get closer, but they were faster. A little being with the body of a miniature female was looking at my face and laughing. It felt awkward so I pulled back because I didn't know it the creature was mocking me, or it was their way of greeting.

I saw that the rest of the miniature flying people were preoccupied with Akios. Some of them flew all around him as though they were inspecting him from head to toe. A miniature man tried to pull Akios's hair. I expected Akios to crush him, but the creature was faster. He cast lightning bolts at them, but they were faster.

The little winged woman tried to pull my hair too, so I made hand movements to get her away. For a second I swear I could see her sticking out her tongue at me.

"These creatures are called fairies," Akios said. "They adore mischief before anything else,"

"Fairies," I repeat in order to remember the name."Did they slip from another world?"

"Yes," Akios smiled."We should return them. Dead or alive!"

The fairies shivered at his words, but they quickly regained their composure and started mocking us again. "Let's keep them alive," I said even though they were quite annoying. An incident of murder between worlds is something I'd like to avoid very much. Akios cast a strong wind to push the faries back to the tree. They resisted with all of their might, but they didn't really have a chance. I could sense a little bit of magic from them, but it was so little that even a baby witch could hurt them.

I quickly pulled the bark back of the tree in which they fled and chanted a magic spell to keep it on. "I guess we're done," I dried the sweat from my forehead with my hand.

Akios looked around. "It seems that we caught all of them."

"I kind of hope we don't encounter them again," I said even though it sounded mean. These little creatures weren't native to my world so who know what kind of an effect it could cause, besides who knows if they could grow to like it here.

"If we stick around, maybe something else will pop out," Akios suggested.

"I'm not sure I'm ready for more surprises, " I said.

In the distance, we heard a gentle trickle of a water stream which I didn't hear before. As I looked at the direction of the sound I noticed a glimpse of red forest fur quickly passed by.

Akios was lost in thought for a minute and then he started to examine various trees, stones and even grass patched.

"Are all of them entrances to another world?" I asked.

"Some of them, " he replied"some are easier to access and some would be a challenge."

"Can you access your home?" I asked and noticed how his expression instantly changed for the worse. It was a face filled with grief and anger. I instantly regrated asking but I couldn't take my words back.

It took him a while before he answered, "I can access my place at any time."

"You know... I miss my home sometimes," I tried to smooth the conversation which didn't seem to help. Akios continued to look at spaces that connected to other places so I tried following his example but it didn't seem to work. I couldn't detect any magic or anything strange.

I took a big rock and examined it from underneath only to find big white worms. They seemed so slimy and unfriendly. I quickly put the rock back down and in that moment the forest lost all of its light. Nighttime arrived far too quickly accompanied by a sudden chill in the air and black mist. Did I just open a bad portal?

The sounds of bells filled the air. The kind off that one could hear in a funeral procession. It was bad. Maybe we should get out of the forest, but I couldn't see anything anymore. Only darkness.

"I am sorry worms, I should have been gentler," I apologized to them in case they were the cause of this.

"Don't be silly Calytrix," I hear Akios nearby."Didn't you say this forest amplified emotions?"

"I don't feel any kinds of emotions that could manifest it," I said.

"It could be a scared animal perhaps," Akios explained.

"Or you," I quietly said.

"Whatever it is, we'll have to deal with the entities that came to hunt us," I could feel Akios's back against mine which meant we were surrounded. He started chanting a strange melody and I called forth a protective shield. We didn't have to wait long to see dark, decaying hands and legs trying to break my defenses. Akios was burning the creatures which screamed in agony, but the coldness and the dark didn't go away.

"There is too many of them," Akios said.

What should we do? Will we fight for hours? Would someone come to rescue us? A million questions popped inside my head.

"I guess I'll need to use my full power," Akios said and filled the entire air with fire. I've never seen such a grand fire, but it wasn't a warm cozy fire. It was more of an emotionless ghost flame that consumed everything. "That should have taken care of them," Akios clasped his hands and the forest returned to normal. I felt silly for doubting Akios for a second there. The tremendous magic he wielded needed a lot more than that to be defeated.

"Let's just go," I quickened my step towards the exit of the forest.

"Done already?" Akios asked."But what about the nine-tailed fox?" I immediately imagined it.

"That would be quite interesting," I said but I shook my head, "Something like that won't be enough to make me stay," I hastened my step. Akios remained silent as I marched on. The path ahead was filled with stones covered in moss that didn't present a problem until I took an unsafe landing and fell directly on my face.

"Calytrix, you okay?" Akios said but I was feeling too embarrassed to face him. I stroked my face with my hand to clear the sweat but my hand ended up being coloured in droplets blood."All is fine," I said because I knew it was just a scratch.

Akios teleported in front of me with a shocked expression."You're bleeding?" I wished I could erase his memory because falling like this and hurting oneself was the type of stuff little kids did all the time but not full-fledged witches. He urged me to sit down on a nearby rock and I did what he said, because I was too embarrassed to do or say anything at the moment.

He sat down next to me as I prepared to heal myself from the little scratch. Akios stopped my hand. "Let me take care of it" He opened a small interdimensional pocket from which he took out a small bottle.

"A healing potion?" I asked.

"Not at all, " he said, "this is an ointment form my world that helps wounds to heal fast." He poured some of the oil on my face and happily said."All healed."

No way would a wound be healed without magic that fast. "Pondero Vitrum!" I called forth a glass that would make my reflection visible in which I clearly saw that my face was without a single scratch. The glass quickly disappeared due to my shock. "What is this type of instant healing?"

"It isn't magic, it is since," he said.

"Science..." I pondered "it was said that it had the potential to become greater than magic." People were relying on it more since magic started to slowly disappear."

"Both are great," Akios said.

"Does your world have science and magic," I asked.

"Only since," he answered which didn't make sense. "But you are a mage with trendemus magic power,"

"It is all a part of Andrezey's power, but due to the pact it will stay with me as long as I live," his confession made me sad. There were no magical males after all. The magic I saw so far felt like a lie. It was all demonic power.

"Calytrix?" Akios said"Why do you look like all of your boats sunk?"All this time I was fearing and trying to compete with demonic magic. I really did want to have a human rival that had natural magic power who developed it over time just like me.

"I-I" I was finding the right words to say."I will free you from the demon!" that kind of cursed power was something nobody should ever wield.

Akios looked at me flabbergasted. "I am not the one in need for help. You are the one bound in contract with me which you didn't desire," he said.

"True," I said, "But demonic power... taking power from someone else feels like cheating all the rules," I said. "Besides magic is something from females only."

"It is a means to an end, just like science or anything else, " Akios calmly said. "Maybe in your world men can't wield magic and mine is one completely out of magic but there could be worlds where everyone could wield magic." Akios continued" Since I accepted this magic it became a part of me and bends to my will."

"That is correct," I thought about it deeply." Even witches get could drastically change their initial magic power as the grow up and work on it."

"Besides, I can beat you in magic anytime," Akios evilly smirked,"you need to train a lot more until you get the right to criticize others."

That was true but I didn't want to comment it. "How did you get a pact with Andrezey in the first place? Why would a demon give so much of its power to someone else."

"This might be a tremendous power to the both of us, but it isn't even a third of his power," Akios said.

"Such power... even if all the witches in my world unite together I'm not sure whether we could defeat or even hit Andrezey with a spell," I said.

"Even the strongest one have weakness," Akios gazed at me with as strange look on his face. I couldn't determine his emotions at all.

There was silence between us for what seemed like an eternity before I decided to inquire more: "Why did you really come here Akios?"

"If I told you everything at once it wouldn't no fun at all," Akios winked.

"Whatever, " I angrily stood up and marched on.

"Where are you going?" Akios asked.

"To the glowing sea," I said."My next destination we agreed on."

"That's a walking distance of a few days," he commented. "We should hunt and eat something first."

Now that he mentioned, I was getting a bit hungry. "That proposition wouldn't be bad."

"One can't travel on an empty stomach, " Akios said.