Author's Notes:

Wow! It has been ages, huh guys? Alright look, I could come in here and make excuse after excuse about my over 1 year long disappearance, but the truth of the matter is there is no one singular reason for it. Life has been...difficult to say the least. Really painful a lot of the time and it just sapped away any time and motivation I had to continue writing. Luckily though, I'm at a stage right now where I might be able to make an update here and there. I don't want you to think that my desire to finish this story disappeared, because it hasn't. It's just that life throws you a curve ball every so often. It was, and still is, hard to deal with. But I hope you guys understand where I'm coming from. Anyway, for those of you who still want to read this story, enjoy this long awaited update.

"Chapter 83"

5,995 Years Ago

"We've been looking around for hours. Don't you think we should take a break for a little while?"

"Come on, where's your sense of adventure, Sasha?"

The elf with pitch black hair just rolled her eyes and continued following her companion around in a dark cave. Her companion being Brimir, with whom she had been traveling with for the three years since they had met. They had become good friends in that time, though it had not initially started out that way.

Sasha had been quite hostile towards him for the first few months since she'd been rather forced to become his "property", regardless of how he treated her. Part of it was her lack of trust given the circumstance and part of it was being forced to see him going out to war.

Only several months after he resigned from the military of his king did her attitude towards him begin to soften a little, eventually allowing them to become close enough to call each other friends.

"We've had enough adventure for a while. I want to relax for a couple of days." She said, rubbing her sore legs.

Brimir just sighed and rubbed the back of his head. She had always had some innate laziness, or rather innate indifference, so he was used to having a back and forth with her about doing anything. However on that particular occasion, he relented and decided to let her win.

"Alright alright. We can head to an inn to relax. We'll come looking again in a couple of days." He said.

"The hell is it you're looking for anyway? Did you ever actually tell me?" She asked in a sassy tone.

He just sighed and covered his face with his hand, feeling like he was having deja vu already.

"We've been over this. It's a surprise." He replied. "Just have some patience. For someone who wants to relax you sure are a pain in the ass sometimes."

He took her hand rather unexpectedly, causing a slight change in color to her face. However his only intention was making sure she didn't slip on the damp rocks beneath them as they made their way back out of the cave.

They emerged into the cold air of a mountainside, the mountain they had spent the entire day inside searching for something that only one of them knew for sure was really there. Once outside he looked up at the night sky, realizing it was already approaching midnight.

"Alright, maybe we do need a little bit of a break. I didn't think it had been that long. It's going to take forever to get back to the village."

Sasha, looking quite bothered, quickly made him let go of her hand, then began walking down to the woods to find the road back to the village. Brimir walked after her, knowing she'd probably be in a sour mood for a couple of hours.

Their walk back to the village was about two hours, all of which was completely silent, which made him feel very tense. He didn't like to have her genuinely mad at him. Especially during recent months he had tried to keep her more or less happy. Or at least not make her too angry too often. For her to be upset with him at that moment was going to be problematic.

They eventually arrived at the inn they'd been staying at that night, with Sasha immediately going to get her dinner. He decided to leave her be for the time being and instead went upstairs to their room. He took a seat at his desk and opened a large book. Inside are hundreds upon hundreds of pages, some of which he had written himself, others of which were from other books.

The book covered a multitude of subjects, but what he was looking at in that particular moment was the different known magical natures. For the goal he was working towards, the use of magic would be necessary. Unfortunately, he was incapable of using magic. Or rather, his magic was clumsy and useless. He could not conjure water or fire. Create tornadoes or cause mudslides.

It was the cause of endless torment from Sasha who constantly made fun of his uselessness in that regard. Even if she herself wasn't the best at magic, she was far more competent than him. It was part of his motivation at that point. If he could figure out some way to circumvent this weakness of his, then everything would turn out fine.

He was reading for half an hour before Sasha arrived, immediately laying on the bed to try and sleep. Brimir looked at her with rather soft eyes for a moment before turning back to his book.

"I'm going to head out again tomorrow." He said.

"I thought you said we'd fina-" Sasha began before being cut off.

"You can stay and relax here." He said. "I'm just going out on my own this time. I've dragged you around enough for a while."

Sasha sat up, looking quite suspicious about what he was up to, but she didn't feel like he was scheming at that moment, unusual for him.

"Trying to make me not mad at you anymore, huh?" She said rather smugly.

He chuckled a little bit at her statement, smiling just a little bit.

"Something like that." He replied somewhat quietly. "I'm hoping to try and keep you happy going forward. It's not fun when you're mad at me, you know?"

Her cheeks turned a little pink at what he said and it did make her smile a little. But luckily for her, he was facing the other way so couldn't see it. She composed herself, then laid back down on her back.

"You sure talk big for someone who's basically a slave owner." She said with a cocky tone. "I'm only around because I'm basically your slave. You know that right?"

He chuckled again, this time not saying anything to retort. Technically speaking, and with the laws of the world, she was his property following her capture three years ago. He even had a document that listed her as his property. But yet he never treated her as such, which she did appreciate. Even if she didn't show it.

"Well if you insist then I'll stay here for a while." She said. "Maybe go relax in a hot spring."

With that she fell asleep only a few minutes later, leaving him to continue studying. He did so for another hour before getting up himself to get to bed. Seeing as she was on the bed, he decided to sleep on the floor. Before doing so, he made sure to tuck her in and kissed her forehead, then finally laid on a sleeping bag and lost consciousness.

He woke up only four hours later, with the formerly black sky turning a deep royal blue as the sun rise approached. He quietly got up and checked on Sasha. As usual, she was a messy sleeper. Even though he had tucked her in, she had managed in her sleep to cause most of the sheets to fall onto the ground.

He tucked her in once more, then dressed in some warm clothing and departed from the inn. Sasha woke up several hours later, the sun already high in the sky, indicating it was close to mid day. She wasn't surprised that Brimir was gone already. She was actually in quite good mood since she'd be able to relax without getting her hands dirty for once.

For the entire day she was free to do as she pleased, exploring the village, relaxing in hot springs, eating delicious foods and talking to different people. It was a great day for her and she was looking forward to rubbing it in Brimir's face. However, when she went back to her room he was nowhere to be found.

She waited for a few hours until it was mid night, at which point she concluded that he probably wouldn't come back that night. She was particularly worried about him. He was a soldier before so odds were he wouldn't actually be harmed by anyone. Still, she found herself rather missing his presence there.

The process repeated itself the next day, though she felt quite bored with him not around. Yet again, she "enjoyed" herself, but in the back of her mind she felt like it wasn't really complete. There was a sort of boredom that came with being alone, even when she was drinking with other people.

On the night of the third day, she was becoming genuinely worried about him. Even when it was midnight she sat bolt upright in bed, waiting to see if he'd come back. However, this night was no different, and she soon fell asleep all while sitting up.

The next morning, she woke up laying in bed, tucked in in a familiarly comfortable way. She slowly sat up and looked around, instantly noticing her companion sleeping on the ground next to her. He was filthy, covered in dust and scratches from exploring for the past few days.

She was visibly relieved, but could never let him see that, so instead pushed him with her foot to get him to wake up, which he did with a rather annoyed expression.

"Let me sleep, damn it…" He said sleepily.

"When did you get back?" She said, ignoring him.

"Like 3 hours ago." He replied, sitting up. "I haven't slept for 3 days…"

"Well maybe you should have had the sense to come back." She said. "Serves you right."

"Why are you upset about it? Don't tell me you were worried about me…"

"As if!" She exclaimed rather defensively. "I just didn't want anyone getting suspicious of me if you got yourself killed out there."

Brimir chuckled at her reaction, then stood up. Seeing as he was awake already, he decided to go and take a bath, leaving Sasha in their room. She noticed the few scratches he had when he was walking away, which made her feel a little sad, but she didn't say anything.

He was in the bath for a few minutes, using cool water to keep his scratches from stinging. Once he was out, he went with her for breakfast, strangely not mentioning what he had just been doing the previous few days.

"Did you find whatever it is you were looking for?" She asked with a mouth full of food.

"Yeah. It was a pain in my ass but I found it." He replied.

"And? What was it?"

"I'll show you in a couple of hours. It's not quite ready yet." He said. "Just trust me on this one. I think it'll be worth it. I really hope you like it."

She was already skeptical, but just decided to roll with it for the time being. He spent that day actually relaxing, going to a hot spring and doing all the things Sasha had done while on her own. And though she had her usual attitude with him, there was no denying that she was definitely enjoying herself.

As the sun was setting, Sasha started becoming more and more curious about whatever it was he had been searching for, but he never told her anything no matter how much she bothered him about it. Eventually the light in the day ran out and they found themselves in their room again, with Sasha pouting and looking quite upset. Brimir sat in silence in his chair, not addressing her at all. Seemingly on purpose.

Just as Sasha was reaching a boiling point and was about to berate him again, he finally turned around in his chair. He looked very serious, more so than he usually did, so she didn't say anything and decided to wait for him.

"Thank you." He said, rather suddenly.

She was wide eyed for a moment, not really sure what to say. She wondered if it was a trick, but the look in his eyes said otherwise.

"For what, might I ask?" She responded cautiously.

"I know going around to these random places on my whims isn't easy." He said. "I'm pretty sure when you left your home with the elves this wasn't what you had in mind. But you stuck with me, so I have to thank you."

She was a bit shocked that he was so serious about it. They had never really spoken about it, but in the end it was her choice to stick around. She could easily demand that he let her go. Especially since she knew he'd do it if she had just asked him to.

"Well...my goal when I left home was to see more of the world outside of my people's lands." She responded, her face a bit red. "Frankly, traveling with you has likely allowed me to see more than if I had been alone. And besides that, if you hadn't 'taken ownership' of me back when we met, I'd either be dead right now or the play thing of that army."

Brimir said nothing, instead looking out of the window at the two moons up above.

"You know, tomorrow makes three years exactly since that day." He said. "Time sure flies, huh. Things change so much before you even know it…"

He stood up and walked towards her, kneeling in front of her while she sat on their bed.

"You wanted to know what I've been searching for this whole time." He began. "What I was searching for is a stone."

Sasha looked confused, wondering where he was going with that.

"A stone..?" She asked.

"Not just any stone." He said, fumbling in his pocket for something. "It's called a moon's heart stone. It only appears in this particular part of Halkeginia. The Fairies had a few stories about them so I wanted to see if I could find one."

"Moon's heart stone, huh? What does it do?" She asked.

"It's a magical stone that allows a person to see through it." He said. "As long as a contract is made with the stone that is."

Out of his jacket, he pulled out a lustrous silver collar. It was very simple and in its centre rested a spherical, polished green stone. Sasha found it a beautiful piece of jewelry, so much so that it distracted her for a few moments.

"Why did you want such a thing?" She said when she snapped out of it. "Especially with how hard one is to find."

Brimir looked up at her, his face starting to waver and show a bit of embarrassment. The only way he could keep speaking was to look away from her.

"We've been together for a while now…" He began. "We've been through a lot, dangerous situations and stuff, but we have always had each other's backs. But the day's going to come when we're going to be separated. With this...I'll be able to at least know you're safe when we're apart."

Sasha was quite genuinely surprised and touched, with her heart quickly beginning to throb. She'd felt that feeling before and recognized its meaning, but she'd never tell him directly.

"So you just want to keep track of your pet. How touching…" She said, playing it tough.

He looked back up at her directly into her eyes, having regained his composure and his confidence.

"You really never change, huh?" He said, chuckling a little. "That was not the only purpose. I wanted to give it to you as a token...of my affection."

"Huh..?"

"I'm not satisfied with just being friends anymore." He continued. "I want you to accept this stone as a testament to what we have. I don't know if you feel the same way, but...I think we have a shot to make it work."

He looked as serious as he could. It was clear as day to her that his emotions were genuine, and that made her happy.

"You realize you're asking an elf to become your woman right?" She said, smiling a little. "And she just so happens to be your so-called 'property'?"

He nodded, then moved back a little bit. He pulled out a dagger from his coat and place its blade in his palm, mentally preparing for what he was going to do.

"What...are you doing?" She asked, bewildered.

"Making the contract with the stone." He replied. "The contract is made by giving the stone my blood. With my blood, the stone will become like a third eye to me and allow me to see what surrounds it when I choose to."

"That looks like it's going to hurt…" She said, having the urge to stop him.

"Well, yeah. But it's just a moment's pain." He replied, beginning to make a cut. "And in return I can always rest assured that what's closest to my heart is safe."

His blood flowed down from his hand and dripped onto the stone. Nothing happened at first, but soon the blood seemed to be absorbed by the stone, making it start glowing for a few seconds. Brimir got light headache while it glowed, but it went away once the glowing stopped.

He then opened the collar to put it around her neck, but paused before he did so. He remembered how they had met three years ago, and it had started to bother him.

"Something wrong?" She asked him.

"Three years ago, you came with me because you had no other options." He said after a moment's pause. "This time, if you want to be with me, I'd rather it's a choice you make of your own free will. If you'd like me to, I'll burn the ownership papers we have. I'll destroy this stone right now and you'll be free to go anywhere you like."

This move surprised her. Her eyes were wide. Everything that was happening was a bit of a shock. Right then and there, she could have the magical contract that bound her to Brimir removed. She could go wherever she wanted and no longer be called his property.

However, the emotion he had shown for her was one she wanted to reciprocate. She wanted the best of both worlds.

"You may burn our contract…" She said.

It seemed to pain Brimir greatly, like a sword had just been pushed through his heart. He was in great pain and could only look down at her feet. He didn't know what to do. He had promised her that he'd remove their contract, but at the same time he didn't want her gone.

As his mind kept trying to find a solution, he was surprised to feel her hands on his. She pulled them towards her, making them place the stone and collar around her neck. She fastened the collar behind her neck and then had him let go.

"What are you…?" He began.

"I want you to burn the contract. If I'm going to belong to you, then I don't want it to be through contract." She said. "Even with the contract gone, I will stay with you for as long as you'd like me around."

The pain in his face looked to melt away and was replaced with a look of overwhelming relief instead.

"So you're willing to give this a chance?" He asked almost in disbelief. "You see me in the same way I see you?"

After a moment of making sure she had no doubt, she nodded and leaned in to give him a hug, a feeling his heart had been yearning for for quite along time by then.

"For as long as I feel this way about you, I will never take off this collar." She said, hugging him a little tighter. "Whenever we're apart, I'll always have this little piece of you with me. And any time you are feeling down, you can look through this gem and realize that I still love you."

He was astounded tht the hard work he had gone through for her had paid off. Now that they were going to be together, he suddenly felt weak from having been so stressed about whether she would accept him or not.

She too felt incredibly happy. For him to have gone to such lengths to get his feelings across was admirable and endearing. Enough so that she intended to follow through with her promise from that day onward.

For day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade, she kept the collar around her neck as a sign of her love for him. Of course, the time would come when that love would be tested. Strained under the weight of betrayal and heartbreak.

And yet even after the events that transpired, she would wake up day after day and tell herself to take it off, only to look deep inside herself and find that the love she once had for that man had not yet disappeared. She could not break the promise to the Brimir she loved that night, even if faced with the reality of what he had ended up becoming.

Present Day

Wounded, bloodied, covered in dust and her own dried blood, Sasha's emerald eyes slowly opened. She couldn't move very much and her senses were still completely disorientated. Her eyes scanned what blurred images they could make out.

A barren wasteland, dust floating across everything in sight. There were an unfathomable number of craters scattered everywhere along with smoldering pieces of land. Not too far away, she saw the silhouettes of four figures standing, three of them facing one.

They stood still for a short time before engaging in combat, the three of them struggling to bring one down. It took some time for her eyes to focus, at which point she identified the figures as Saito, Louise, and Shion, all of which were clearly battered and broken.

She wanted to help, but she could hardly move her head as it was. She could hardly remember what had happened to put her in such a situation. As she observed her surroundings some more, she noticed her sister leaning against a boulder several metres away. She had a hole in her abdomen that she was covering, but appeared to at least be alive, albeit unconscious.

With that little bit of relief, she started to become lightheaded as blood loss took its toll. Her eyes began to drift closed again, with the last thing she saw being the blonde man who still had a place somewhere in her heart. Who's token of affection she still wore around her neck.

Saito, Louise, and Shion had no knowledge of Sasha waking up momentarily. They were too focused on making sure that Sasha, Mariel, and Alex would live to see the next day. Both Mariel and Sasha had shielded everyone from multiple strikes from the enemy, which caused them to be in their current state. Alex was injured simply due to his fighting style.

He lacked the magical prowess of Shion, and yet also was not as strong as Saito. He had to rely on light and quick strikes at close range, which put him in danger. And though he was quite resilient due to his heritage, there was only so much he could take before he had to fall back. Otherwise he'd just end up in the way.

This left Shion, Louise, and Saito to fight alone against Brimir. They had been fairly successful given their skill sets, but still suffered some heavy injuries. Their survival for that long could be attributed to the fact that Saito seemed to have some connection to the enemy, dodging many attacks that would be lethal and even managing to land attacks of his own.

However, it was clear they were already at their limit. It would only be a matter of time before they could fight no longer. And when that happened, any hope for the rest of the world would be lost. Not just that world, but Saito's world as well.

This was something Saito was already thinking about. It was already looking like they were in a worst case scenario. The enemy was injured, but still standing and still incredibly powerful with no sign of him being brought down any time soon.

There was an air of desperation among them. Whatever their next move would be, it could very well be the difference between keeping the world safe or letting it fell into the hands of their ancient enemy.

Author's Notes:

Okay I'll be honest, this chapter went a lot differently than I had originally intended it to. I've just come back to writing, so I don't really think it's my best work at all, but it's at least something for all of you who were kind enough to keep reading this whole time. I don't know when the next update will be, but I will guarantee at least 3 more chapter updates before 2020 ends. Stay safe out there guys. The world is a crazy place and this year proved it more than most before. Don't take what good things you have for granted. And make sure to keep a positive outlook, got it? Oh, and make sure you leave a review or send me a private message/email of your thoughts about the chapter. I'd really appreciate it! See you next time!