Chapter 16

(Author's note: I decided to change the point of view to a third person perspective. Hope you guys like the change)

With Melromarc behind them, Mercury, Makoto and Daenerys followed the map to Siltvelt. If this place was as good as he heard, he might make plans to stay for good. A place where he didn't have to deal with a piece of shit king, a bitchy princess, and the other heroes, besides Naofumi, sounded like paradise. He began to picture it, and hoped it was just as great a place as he imagined.

"Wouldn't it be faster if I flew us there?" Daenerys suddenly asked. "Going by carriage would take quite a bit of time."

"Yeah, but I don't think Makoto is ready for it yet." Mercury said as he looked back at his party member. She was leaning on the back of his seat, shaking her head at the idea.

Daenerys pouted a bit. "Mmm." she groaned.

"Besides," Mercury continued. "I was planning on stopping a few times to hunt. Maybe find a rare monster and harvest it for my dagger."

Daenerys seemed to cheer up a bit. "That wouldn't be too bad."

Hours later

Once the three of them made it out of the country, they entered a sort of sand biome. "Ugh." Mercury groaned.

"What is it?" Daenerys asked.

"Nothing. I just hate sand." Mercury replied.

"That's a weird thing to admit out of the blue." Daenerys said, confused. "There's no sand anywhere near."

Mercury cocked his head in confusion. "What are you talking about? You're literally walking on sand now."

Daenerys stopped and looked back at Mercury. "Did you hit your head? I'm still following the dirt path."

Mercury grew even more confused as he looked towards Makoto, whose hair was grey, showing her confusion as well. Looking back the way they came, everything was replaced by an endless sea of sand.

"Do you really not see any of this?" Mercury asked as he looked to Daenerys. However, Daenerys didn't reply. "Daenerys?"

She remained silent.

Getting off the carriage, Daenery still stared at the spot Liam was previously sitting. As for Makoto, she was frozen in place, leaning over the back of the seat.

"What the hell?" Mercury said softly.

"You are the one..." a mysterious female voice echoed. "The fifth hero that was never meant to be..."

Mercury cautiously took a step away from the carriage, only for it to be eaten by a cloud of sand and vanish, leaving Mercury alone. "Daenerys! Makoto!" Mercury shouted.

"You are a special one..." the woman's voice continued. "To exist where one shouldn't exist. You're being here has thrown things..." the sand blew away, leaving Mercury on a skinny piece of wood that was teetering on the tip of a pointed rock. Far below him was a pit of darkness. And before him, a giant woman with black hair and a red dress appeared, towering over Mercury. "...out of balance." using her index finger, she flicked the wooden beam, sending Mercury falling to the pits below.

After a few seconds, Mercury landed on a slope of sand, tumbling down it for what felt like ages before coming to a stop face first in the sand. Pushing himself up, the woman, now as tall as Mercury, approached him. "You should never have existed in this place. And yet, here you are."

"Who are you?" Mercury asked, clenching his fists.

The woman smiled as she reached him. Placing a hand on Mercury's chest, the woman slowly circled him, tracing a finger across his chest, shoulders and face.

"I am simply interested in this unforeseen turn of events."

As if his motions weren't his own, Mercury quickly drew his dagger and stabbed the woman. However, she vanished in a cloud of sand. "Don't disappoint me, Dagger hero."

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Mercury looked over to see Makoto staring at him. Looking around, he saw the he was back on the dirt path leading away from Melromarc.

"You okay?" Daenerys asked.

"Y-yeah..." Mercury nodded. "Let's keep moving."

Daenerys nodded before continuing down the path.

Looking at his hand, he held onto a handful of sand. Out of curiosity, Mercury pulled out his dagger, feeding the sands to the jewel on the hilt.

Before his eyes, a new section of abilities unlocked. The title of the new skill tree was "The Dagger of Time."

End of chapter 16