1 week after we first met
Julia slurped from her straw in front of me. "See Ash, what did I tell you? No crazy guy trying to take you, just you, me, and this huge milkshake on a beautiful night like this.
I just nodded and stared at my own straw. We were at a diner, sharing what was called a "couple's special" milkshake. It was in a huge glass, twice as large as the ones used for the regular-sized shakes I've seen.
"You haven't even touched our milkshake Ash." Julia pointed out, "I bought this for the both of us you know."
"W-well..." I said as I tried to come up with what to say.
"Wait a minute," Julia smirked, "You were too busy looking at me, weren't you?"
"Wh-what? No, I-"
"Oh come on darling, I bet you were staring right at my boobs." As she said that, she grabbed her boobs and lifted them so I could see them better. I could've sworn I felt myself blush a the sight of them. "Oh come on, you know you can't resist them, especially when I push them up against your face. You even slept on them like they were pillows one night, remember?"
I immediately began to slurp from my straw, hoping to change the subject. I felt the sweet-tasting shake burst into my mouth; I had never tasted anything sweet in my life, not before I had met Julia. Although as sweet as this shake was, Julia's saliva always tasted sweeter.
"So, do you like it?" Julia asked before continuing to slurp from her straw.
I nodded before continuing to do the same. This continued until the entire shake was gone.
"Th-thank you Julia, for t-taking me here."
"Oh, it's nothing really," she smiled, "I just wanted you to, you know, finally come out of the house and see Belfort for yourself." She giggled before suddenly groaning and clutching her crotch. "Ugh, shouldn't have drank so much." She got up, "I've got to go Ash."
Upon hearing this, I immediately sprang from my chair and grabbed her arm. "N-no, don't go. Wh-what if 'he' comes a-and..."
Julia sighed and rolled her eyes. "Really Ash? Do you really think your fa- I mean, that crazy guy is stupid enough to try and take you away in a crowded place like this?"
I looked around. Sure enough, it seemed impossible that a kidnapping would go unnoticed, there were so many people, both humans, and monsters, eating here. To our left, a human woman was enjoying a large steak. To our right, what looked like a green-skinned girl in a giant flower was having a drink with a young man, probably her husband, before he straight up climbed into her flower which closed. I was able to hear moans coming from within. Behind us, a sleepy-looking sheep-like girl with wool growing all over her body was eyeing another man sitting at the table across from her, minding his own business. Meanwhile, sitting at the table in front of us was a lone man, enjoying his meal. He would occasionally glance at his surroundings, probably looking for a potential mate of his own, before going back to his meal.
"N-no, I guess not." I answered before looking back at Julia.
"Ash, listen, I'm only going to the bathroom for a minute and then I'll be back. Also, you have to stop living in the past. You can't keep living your life worrying that someone's out to get you."
"B-but..." I couldn't find the right words to say.
Julia held my hands, "Ash if you did get kidnapped, no matter where they took you, I'll always find you and punish whoever did it. Just remember, there is no distance too great, no wall too high, no fortress too strong. Love will always overcome all of them."
I just looked at her. "R-really?"
"Oh, it's just some quote from a romance novel I was reading. Besides, I'll see you in a minute." She then kissed me. And when she was done, she turned around and walked away.
(000)
Present-day
No. My mind raced as it tried to comprehend what just happened. Julia had just offered herself to the old man so he could reverse her mind and erase her memories in exchange for him letting the rest of us go, and he did.
The last words Julia said before the old man reversed her mind were, "I'LL ALWAYS LO-!" and then the orb fired its beam and a holographic clock going in reverse appeared in front of her head. When the beam stopped and the holographic clock vanished, the old man dropped her to the floor. She then stood up, groaning as she rubbed her head.
"What happened?" She asked as she looked around. She then looked down and was appalled when she saw what she was wearing "Wh-why am I dressed like a slut?!"
"Because you were a monster." The old man said.
She turned to face him, "What?"
"I said you were a monster, girl" The old man answered, "but I cured you and turned you back."
Julia looked surprised, "I-I was a monster?" She coughed up another splotch of blood. "What the, I'm still sick?"
The old man chuckled, "So it worked. IT FINALLY WORKED!"
I ignored him and tried to call Julia, "J-Julia?"
She immediately turned her head. "Um, who are you and how do you know my name?"
"That boy is a heretic," the old man stated, as he reached into his satchel and pulled the All-Seeing Eye, the thing he used to find us, "he's on the side of the monsters."
"What?" Julia backed away from me, albeit slowly, too weak from her disease."
"W-wait no Julia it's m-me!" I tried walking over.
"No, get away from me!" Julia yells and then in what seemed like a rush of adrenaline, she shot up and ran, right into the old man.
"Oof," They both said as they fell. The old man, having had his back turned as he seemed to have been using the eye, seemed angry. "Hey, watch it!"
I walked to where Julia was, "J-Julia, it's me, Ash. P-please try to reme-"
And then the unthinkable happened: Julia slapped me.
Julia, the same girl who saved me when I tried to take my own life to escape my father, the same girl who took care of me the way like my mother should've, the same girl who gave me seemingly endless nights of unimaginable pleasure, slapped me. It only stung for a bit, but it was nothing compared to the damage done inside me. I fell on my butt, too damaged from the inside to
She yelled, "Don't you come any clo-!" before being interrupted by another series of coughs followed by another splotch of blood flying out of her mouth.
The old man grabbed her from behind, "How about we leave this place girl. Besides, thanks to the eye, I now know where 'she' is." He then turned to our friends. "And as for the rest of you, I'll let you live. Just so you can spread the word that the Overlord's fall is now inevitable." And at that moment, they disappeared, the Sandals of Hermes on the old man's feet having made him so fast, I couldn't even see where they went. I looked at my friends; all of them were staring at the scene that had just transpired; none of them able to do anything about it.
Eventually, I got up, walked over to the couch, and threw myself on it before crying for the first time in what seemed like forever. First my mother, then "him", and now Julia. All of them either hurt me or left me, and Julia had done both. I remember many years ago during the first days of being held in that room by "him", I would always cry myself to sleep every night. I cried because at the time, I didn't know if I would ever get out of that room. Part of me believed that maybe "he" would come to his senses and let me out. Then "he" would say how he was sorry for making me go through all that pain. Maybe we even would've went somewhere, perhaps a party that honored the Chief God hosted by the church in town or maybe to the park. But as time went on, that hope slowly faded into nothingness. And when the day came when I finally ran out of tears to cry, all remaining hope of "him" changing back to the way he was before had slipped into nothingness, along with any faith in the Chief God and the Order that I had left in me.
I heard footsteps come towards me. I look and see Arthur standing by my side.
"Ash," He said calmly, "Julia doesn't hate you now, she just lost her memories. I'm sure she would be ashamed of herself right now for that slap if it wasn't for that guy."
"I-I know..." I answered as I got up and sat back down, "It's just, w-when she slapped me I-I felt like I lost a p-part of myself, like s-something that was really i-important to me just turned against me."
"Must be painful." Arthur said as he sat next to me, "after all, when a man is married to a mamono, they are soul-bound. No force is capable of separating them. Or at least, that's what everybody thought until now."
I nodded. In fact, now that I thought about it, when Julia was turned back into a human, I actually did feel something, like a mysterious bind being broken, but I didn't think to consider it until now.
Arthur continued, "I don't know how I would feel if I lost Hazel. I mean, who would've known? You get something real nice that seems like it would never go away, and you take it for granted. Then one day some force swoops in and takes it from you and you just don't know what to do anymore. Life sure can be hard like that sometimes."
"I-I should've told her." I muttered.
"What?"
"I-I should've told J-Julia about the dream I had last night."
"Why? What happened in it?"
"W-well, ever since J-Julia saved me from 'h-him', I would have this n-nightmare every once in a w-while were I wake up i-in the same room 'he' k-kept me for so long and th-then 'he' would sh-show up and do th-the same things 'he' d-did to me before a-all over again." I sniffed, "Then he pointed to a corner of the room, and Julia would be there..."
"Hang on a second, so you were having all these dreams where that crazy guy captures you again and tortures you again? And Julia was in them?"
"Y-yeah."
"Did she try to save you or something?"
"N-no, she was th-there, but but..." I held back a tear, "'H-he' always did s-something to her, something t-terrible. She always l-looked tortured, even w-worse than I was. I-it was different e-every night; horns sm-smashed off, wings r-ripped off, arms broken, once it e-even looked like 'he' h-hanged her, then I r-realised that the r-rope she was h-hanging from was a-actually her tail, her torn off t-tail."
"You actually dreamed all of that?" Arthur asked.
I nodded.
"Did Julia know?"
"Y-yes. But I never told her the worst part."
"What worst part?"
"Th-that in every d-dream, she was still a-alive." I shed a few tears saying that, "It didn't matter w-what 'he' did to her, I-I could just see it, sh-she was still alive. She was a-also always looking at m-me, even if her e-eyes were gouged out, a-and she looked as if sh-she failed me, or that I f-failed her."
"Failed her? Failed her at what?"
"F-failed her at l-leaving my past b-behind. Julia always wanted m-me to 'move on w-with my life' and 'st-stop living in my past.' B-but I was always a-afraid that 'he' really w-would come here and t-take me and that the n-nightmares were warning me a-about it."
"But they're just dreams Ash." Arthur assured.
"I-I know, but th-this one was different; i-it was the first t-time the dream happened t-two nights in a row, and n-not only that but J-Julia was a human in it, j-just like in real l-life. No horns, no t-tail, no wings, no p-pleasure runes, just an o-ordinary human girl. I-I think it's a s-sign that it's all c-coming true."
"You really think so?"
"W-well yeah, I mean, the r-recall bed, the one J-Julia bought so I c-could return here if I e-ever did get kidnapped, it's d-destroyed now. Now 'he' r-really can take me."
"But does he even know where you live?"
"W-well..." I thought about, there was no way 'he' could know exactly which apartment I lived in. "No, I don't th-think so."
"Well then maybe that's the problem," Arthur said, "you're so worried about something that wouldn't even happen that it's interfering with your life. Some nights, Hazel would tell me that Julia told her that you weren't going hard on her."
"B-but what if I do s-something wrong and hurt h-her and make her m-mad or-"
"You won't Ash." Arthur insisted, "We all make mistakes, but were not like your father!"
I immediately turned to him. "Wh-what?"
"You have to accept that man was your father Ash! I know he's done terrible things to you before you met Julia, but if you don't accept it, you will never get over it. You also have to stop living in the past.! You can't change it, you can only accept it and move on! Otherwise, you will always be a paranoid boy who stutters."
"B-but..." Julia would always tell me these kinds of things, and as much as I wanted to change like Arthur just insisted, it just seemed so hard.
"Ash, listen, I'm not trying to be mean or anything, I'm only trying to help you. I promise, we'll find Julia and change her back, but in the meantime, just try to forget about your past, please. Would you do that for me, for us, for Julia?"
I just looked down, unsure of what to say.
"I'll leave you alone for now." Arthur said as he got up and went to Hazel to help her recover.
"I think he took all his stuff when he left." I suddenly heard Jonathan say, having recovered from the previous ordeal. I looked up to see what he was talking about.
"What do you mean?" Xhymza asked, having now stood up after almost being turned into an undead popsicle.
"Just look, the artifacts are gone; the band, the mudgar, even the ward. He must've used the sandals to get them when he took Julia."
"Well now that you mention the ward..." Xhymza tried her magic and sure enough, a few purple sparks came out of her hand, "Looks like we can use magic again. Still, did you see that? He erased Julia's memory, then he took her, just like that."
"Don't forget that he also turned her against us." Jonathan said, "She even slapped Ash, her own husband."
"And did you hear what that guy was saying?" Xhymza asked, "He was talking about how he was going to 'turn the tide of the war' and how 'the Overlord's fall was now inevitable'. I'm starting to think he has other plans besides just turning his daughter back."
This seemed to worry everyone, including myself a bit. "Well let's just focus on finding him for now."
"But we don't even know where to look," Xhymza said, "for all we know, he could be miles away from here."
That's when Hazel stood up, "I don't think it'll be so hard, look!" she then pointed her finger towards where the old man was before he vanished with Julia.
I looked towards where she was pointing and couldn't believe what I saw: the All-Seeing Eye.
"But how?" Arthur asked as he saw it too.
"The old man must've dropped it when Julia bumped into him and he forgot it when he left." Jonathan suggested.
I got up and walked over to it just to make sure it really was the eye. "I-it's the eye alright." I said as I picked it up, "J-just how do we u-use it?"
Jonathan thought for a minute, "I don't remember the book saying how to use the artifacts, maybe if you-"
Suddenly, a voice boomed into my head, "To the one who wishes to use this object, be it to find every last monster, or to find a friend, close your eyes and think with your heart, think deeply about the one you want to find. Then you shall see where they are."
"Ash?" Jonathan said as the message ended, "You okay? You seemed to drift off while I was talking."
"I-I don't know." I responded, "A-all of a sudden, I h-heard somebody t-talking, I think he was t-telling me how to u-use the eye."
"Well, I guess we now know how the old man knew how to use the artifacts." Xhymza said.
"Well I say we go after him!" Arthur shouted.
Hazel looked at him in shock, "What, but darling, you saw what he was capable of."
"Exactly!" Xhymza exclaimed, "We need to go to Lescatie and tell them that there's a crazy old guy wielding a bunch of dangerous things that could destroy monster kind!"
"Yeah," Jonathan added, "they're our best chance at getting Julia back safe and sound."
"No!" I yelled, "H-he's right, we should be the o-ones to get Julia back."
"Are you crazy?" Jonathan exclaimed, "He could kill us!"
"B-but where still the o-only ones who could s-stop him." I spoke. "Think of i-it, were the only people wh-who know what's happening. By the t-time we get to Lescatie, the o-old man could be who kn-knows where with the artifacts. A-and Julia..." I stopped for a moment. "Julia could be d-dead, you saw how she w-was, coughing up all that b-blood and barely moving, it's o-only a matter of time. A-and I should go too, because it's my f-fault Julia's human again. I-I should've moved out of th-the way when the old m-man fired the orb. Th-then Julia wouldn't have h-had to jump in and g-get hit. Now the old man i-is going to help the O-Order win thanks to me."
For a moment, all was silent. Then Jonathan walked over to me. I was expecting him to say something about me being a bad influence, instead he said this. "You shouldn't blame yourself Ash." I gaped at him. "If it wasn't you or her, the old man would've just found someone else to use his orb on. It would've made no difference if you avoided the beam or not."
"And besides," Xhymza said as she also walked over, "you were right about one thing, we really are the only ones who can help Julia now."
"And let's not forget the old man," Hazel added as she joined in, "or what he tried to do to us."
"Yeah!" Arthur yelled behind her.
"We'll always your friends Ash." Jonathan said. "And Julia will always be your wife, no matter what."
I smiled, "Th-thanks guys." Then I closed my eyes and concentrated my thoughts on Julia, just as the eye told me to do. Then I saw her. She was with the old man all right, and they appeared to be on some kind of beach. The old man was carrying Julia by the arm, taking her some where. It looked like they were talking, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Then the vision panned upwards and I couldn't believe what I was looking at: The Floating Island, the place where this all began. It was like the vision knew that I would know which beach they were on exactly by showing me the island, and now I did.
I opened my eyes.
"So?" Jonathan asked.
"Th-they're at the beach, the one s-surrounding the cliff th-that's next to The Floating Island."
"But by the time we get there, they could already be gone." Arthur said.
"Then we'll just have to teleport there." Xhymza said as she took out her spell book, Jonathan doing the same with his own spell book which he retrieved while I was on the couch.
"You're going to teleport us there?" Hazel asked.
"Exactly!" Jonathan said, "He definitely won't expect us teleporting to him."
"But is it safe?"
"You should be fine Hazel."
"But shouldn't we have a plan first?"
"Oh, don't worry," Xhymza said, "I have a spell that I was saving for a good time, like this one."
Jonathan looked at her like he knew what she was talking about. "I hope you know what you're doing if you're talking about 'that' spell."
They began turning the pages of their spell books. When they found what they were looking for, they looked at each other and nodded.
"Are you guys ready for this?" Jonathan asked.
"I'm always ready!" Arthur exclaimed.
Then Jonathan and Xhymza each concentrated their mana into one of their hands before clasping them together. At that moment, a dark greenish-brown circle appeared beneath the 5 of us and for a moment, it looked like I was in two places at once.
I'm coming for you Julia, I thought as the teleportation process continued, It's just as you said, there is no distance too great, no wall too high, no fortress too strong. Love will always overcome all of them. But there is one more thing that can't beat love, no magical artifact too powerful.
