This is a translation of my original story. Please note that English is not my first language, so there may be some language errors in the text. I am open to feedback.

Chapter 1
"Helping Hand"

It was a beautiful summer's day. The scorching sun was slowly disappearing behind the treetops, moving westwards and heralding the coming of night. Birds soared towards the clouds, their wings cutting through the endless expanse of the sky, but there was something that disturbed the beauty and peace of nature...

"Gourry, stay away from my fish!" shouted Lina Inverse, the ginger master of black magic.

There were few things that could make Lina lose her balance, but sharing a meal with Gourry was certainly one of them. This was one thing the two of them could never agree on. Apart from this one small exception, Lina and Gourry had always been a great team. Since the day they met by chance on the trail, they had become inseparable. Together they faced every new challenge and honed their skills. In recent years, Lina had delved into the secrets of magic inaccessible to mere mortals, while Gourry, heir to the legendary Sword of Light, had perfected the art of fencing.

"No way! I caught it, so it's mine!" the blonde replied, smiling as he pushed away the girl who was desperately trying to grab the last of the food.

"Oh, is that so?" the sorceress growled, her eyebrows twitching dangerously. "You forget who the hell you're dealing with..." After a moment, a red light flickered in her hand. "Source of all power... Scarlet Flame..." she began to recite a familiar spell.

"Oh, Lina, stop it!" groaned a frightened Gourry. Realising the situation, he immediately got up and ran to the nearby stream, trying to prevent the inevitable, as Lina, due to her innate stubbornness, never interrupted a spell once it had started.

"Here, here! More fish! They're all yours!" he babbled in horror as he tried to fish more of the unfortunate creatures out of the nets he had set out earlier.

"Join with my hand and be my power..." she continued. "Fireball!" she finally shouted, smiling happily. "Thank you, Gourry!" she added as she approached the charred blonde and took the fish from his hand.

Of course, the power of the spell was adjusted so that it only showed who was in charge and did no real damage.

"Look... It's even cooked!" she grinned ironically.

"Oh, you're acting like children! Will you never grow up?" Amelia summed up, forcing herself into a playful tone.

The truth was, she didn't mind their behaviour. It was something she had gotten used to over the years. Sometimes she just had to stand aside and wait, which she knew very well.

Amelia met Lina and Gourry shortly after they met. Another coincidence brought their paths together. At first, Amelia was impressed by Lina's skills. As a sorceress herself, she would like to reach that level of power one day. However, unlike Lina, Amelia specialised in white magic and had a much stronger sense of morality. This was probably due to the fact that, as a princess of the capital of white magic, Saillune, Amelia had always been brought up in the spirit of goodness and justice.

Finally, Amelia decided to do what she always did and just stay out of her friends' arguments, and out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of someone else...

Zelgadis was sitting by the stream, staring at his own reflection. Amelia knew exactly what Chimera... no, not Chimera... what Zelgadis was thinking about. She knew he was thinking about how to return to his normal body and how to remove the curse. His obsessive search for the cure. But she couldn't understand why. Zelgadis didn't need the cure, at least not according to Amelia. But she didn't dare tell him. Long ago, she had decided that all she could do was be with him. To accompany him on his arduous journey to find the cure. She hoped that if he stopped focusing on how he looked, then maybe... maybe?

Zelgadis usually went his own way, often travelling with Lina, Gourry and Amelia, though he could disappear for weeks at a time without telling anyone or saying what he was doing. The others, of course, suspected that these disappearances had something to do with finding a way to lift the curse. At the age of fifteen, Zelgadis was transformed into a Chimera by a powerful spell. He was now a cross between a human, a golem and a demon, which was reflected in his unusual appearance - hard, blue, stone-like skin, pointed ears and unnaturally white hair. Zelgadis also gained incredible reflexes, strength and speed, which, combined with his already excellent magic and fencing skills, made him a killing machine.

None of the four friends present had any idea that Zelgadis' obsession would lead to tragedy. For now, they could enjoy one of their last carefree evenings.

"Zel!" Lina called. "Zel! Come on! We have to make camp! It's getting dark!"

When Zelgadis turned, Amelia quickly looked down, blushing and hoping he hadn't noticed her. Only now did she realise that she had been staring at him intensely the whole time. Despite her momentary anxiety, Zelgadis ignored her completely. Taking a deep breath, Amelia finally collected herself and followed him in silence. They had to make camp before nightfall.

The rest of the evening passed quietly. After setting up camp and lighting the fire, there were minor arguments between Lina and Gourry. Zelgadis sat in silence as usual, and it was clear that his thoughts were far away. Amelia glanced at him from time to time, keeping an eye on Lina to make sure she didn't cast a spell on poor Gourry and burn down half the forest.

"It's just another evening," Amelia sighed to herself.

"Lina, tell us a story," Gourry finally suggested, warming his hands over the fire.

"A story? Gourry, what's the point? You wouldn't understand it anyway," Lina replied snidely, winking at him at the same time.

"Oh, Miss Lina, could you show some respect for Mr Gourry..." Amelia replied, but quickly fell silent at the sight of her friend's expression.

"Oh, whatever you want... About the hierarchy of our world, perhaps? I've been reading about it lately... I think Gourry, as usual, knows nothing about it or has forgotten," Lina said, smiling to herself. "Hmm... where to start?" she thought for a moment. "Okay, I've got it!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Well... In the beginning there was only the Sea of Chaos. No one knows exactly, or even approximately, when or how it came into existence. But we do know that it is one being - the Lord of Nightmares. Four separate pillars have emerged from it. One of them is our world. We have very little knowledge of the others. Each pillar was assigned a Divine Ruler and a Demonic Lord to maintain balance. The Ruler was to protect the world and the Lord, of course, to take control of it. They also create their own minions - various creatures, demons..." she began to recite enthusiastically, but a sudden snore interrupted her measured monologue. "Gourry, you birdbrain, how could you fall asleep during my speech!" she shouted, nudging him with her foot."But why...?" he whimpered, opening his eyes.

"Idiot," Lina muttered to herself, shaking her head in resignation. "Why am I even trying?" she grumbled for a while, dissatisfied. "All right, guys, I think it's time to go to sleep," she concluded and turned towards the makeshift bed as if nothing had happened. Gourry got up too, nodded goodbye to Amelia and Zelgadis, and then lay down by the fire.

…

They sat in silence for a long time, the silence between them growing increasingly awkward. Amelia stared at the fire with a tense expression. The tongues of flame teased each other, seeming to play some strange, unfathomable game. Zelgadis, on the other hand, looked into the darkness between the trees, trying to pierce its depths with his gaze, pondering something deeply.

"You don't have to..." the girl coughed softly, and Zelgadis looked at her in surprise.

"Don't have to what?" Amelia blushed at the thought of him actually noticing her.

"You don't have to look for a cure..." His lips twisted slightly at her reply.

"You don't understand," he cut her off.

He hadn't said anything wrong, he hadn't insulted her, and yet... Amelia felt hurt. She could have just said nothing and enjoyed his company. She swallowed loudly and with it the bitterness of the words she heard.

"I'm going to look for more firewood, the fire is dying down," she said nervously, trying to change the subject, but the boy did not seem to be listening to her anymore.

"Stupid!" Amelia thought irritably. "How could I ever think that he and I...? We've known each other for three years! And in those three years? Nothing!"

She walked away from the campsite, not even looking where she was going, cursing herself inwardly. Suddenly she heard the sound of branches breaking behind her. Someone or something was coming towards her. The fear that gripped her was unnatural. She knew it could just be an animal, but her intuition told her it was something far worse.

With growing fear, she realised that the footsteps were getting louder. She clenched her fists as hard as she could to stop them shaking, and the pain brutally but effectively brought her back to reality. Something was seriously wrong. For a split second, time slowed and seemed to stretch into infinity. She could swear she felt a cold, disembodied touch on her neck. The limits of what she could endure had just been crossed. She ran through the forest as fast as she could.

"Help!" she screamed with her last breath, gasping for air that felt like it was tearing her lungs apart.

Ignoring the direction she was running, she pushed through the bushes as fast as she could. She couldn't think about casting spells right now. She didn't know why, but subconsciously she knew she wouldn't stand a chance against the power that lurked in the darkness of the forest. Suddenly, she tripped on one of the protruding roots and fell. Looking up from the ground, she saw a figure standing over her.

Long black hair intertwined with the darkness and disappeared into it. A robe fluttered in the wind, shattering the silence of the forest. Ruby eyes, even redder than Lina Inverse's, stared at Amelia. Like blood, warm and yet containing a certain horror and coldness. A tall, slender figure radiated a powerful aura.

"Who are you?" Amelia asked, still staring at the mysterious figure in horror.

"I am your salvation," he replied with a smile. "They call me Kazuki."

"Kazuki?" Amelia didn't have a chance to ask anything else when she saw the man leaning towards her. She felt a light touch and then lost consciousness.

…

Amelia felt terrible. For a moment she even felt like she was in pain in more parts of her body than she actually had. She tried to open her eyes but immediately regretted it, the light was too bright. What was happening to her? She tried to move, but something was holding her back. Someone was holding her, carrying her. Who was it? She tried to open her eyes again, more slowly this time. After a moment, her eyes adjusted to the light cast by a spell. She opened them wider and looked in the direction of the person holding her. She immediately recognised...

"Mr Zelgadis?" she asked quietly. Zelgadis was genuinely nervous and frightened.

"Amelia!" he exclaimed, relief written all over his face. "You scared me..." he said more calmly, hugging her tightly.

Amelia was a little embarrassed by his behaviour and felt herself blushing involuntarily. Their relationship had been quite good so far, they were able to spend time together and often found interesting things to talk about, but any sign of closeness always made her feel uncomfortable. She knew she was always imagining more than Zelgadis had in mind. She sighed, feeling tired.

"What happened?" she finally asked, trying to control her voice, which was difficult with the strong arms around her.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he replied seriously. "You said you were going to get some firewood, but you didn't come back for a long time. I started to get worried and then I heard you scream. I immediately got up and ran to find you, and when I finally found you, you were with that guy..." He nodded his head at someone behind him. "I want to know what happened? You were unconscious..."

"Dear sir, I don't think the princess remembers what happened." Amelia looked at the stranger emerging from behind Zelgadis. "When I found her, she was terrified. She could have been in shock," the dark-haired man said with a warm, concerned smile. "Perhaps I can explain?" Zelgadis nodded uncertainly. "Well, as I said... I was travelling through here. I had my camp nearby, and suddenly I heard a scream coming from the forest. I decided to see if anything had happened. A moment later I found the princess. I recognised her because I used to live in her town. I decided to help her, but as I bent over her, she fainted. You know the rest..."

"Amelia?" Zelgadis asked, expecting the stranger's words to be confirmed.

"I... I can't remember," she finally admitted with a sour face.

Amelia really tried to remember, but... she couldn't. She remembered running ahead and being afraid of something. Later she bumped into someone... yes, that was probably that man. He seemed to be saying something about salvation? And wait, wait, what was his name?

"Kazuki." Zelgadis looked at the stranger questioningly. "My name is Kazuki," he said with a smile. "I forgot to introduce myself earlier because of all the trouble."

Yes, that was Kazuki! Although the man didn't look threatening at all, on the contrary, he was charming... She had the impression that he couldn't do anything to her, and yet she couldn't deny that she felt something unbelievably evil in the forest...

After a few minutes of walking, they reached the camp. Lina and Gourry were fast asleep, unaware of anything. Zelgadis laid Amelia on his cloak by the fire, then woke the sleeping duo.

"Hey, hey, are you mad, Zel?!" Lina shouted, startled from her sleep. "It's the middle of the night! Get your hands off me unless you want to get hit!"

"What's going on?" Gourry yawned.

"We have a guest," Zelgadis replied, explaining the situation in his usual unemotional tone while trying not to let the man overhear.

"What do we do with him? I have a feeling he's up to something," Lina whispered conspiratorially.

"Maybe, but we have no proof. Amelia doesn't remember anything, maybe he just wanted to help her? But why does she look like she just got into a fight?" Zelgadis wondered aloud.

"Zel, don't worry. We don't have to take him the rest of the way," the redhead smiled reassuringly. She knew that Zel was worried about Amelia, even though the mage didn't usually show his emotions. Zelgadis and Lina continued to talk for a while when an unexpected voice interrupted their conversation.

"I think I can help you," Kazuki interjected, standing next to Gourry. "This nice young man has revealed the purpose of your journey to me, and I think I know how to help..."

The fire in the pit slowly lost the battle against the darkness, and only the light of a spell revealed the thoughtful travellers. Lina and Gourry exchanged knowing glances, while Zelgadis looked at the stranger with his usual calm expression, even though he felt torn inside. It wasn't an easy decision, especially for him.

He felt as if his own thoughts and emotions were tearing him apart. On the one hand, this stranger was offering him what he had always wanted, what he had been searching for. He could finally be normal again. He wouldn't have to hide his face every time they entered a town. He wouldn't have to be ashamed of the way he looked and hate himself. Would he finally stop hating himself? Was it really all about his looks? And was this what he had always been looking for?

Amelia... he couldn't endanger Amelia. This man might be an impostor, he might want to harm her! Maybe he was the reason why she was so exhausted and weak? But what could he do to her? On the other hand... what if it wasn't his fault? What if he was honest and had good intentions? He couldn't let the chance of a lifetime slip away... What should he do? Why did he have to choose? Friend or foe?

"How do we know that you're telling the truth?" Lina's voice finally interrupted Zelgadis' inner struggle.

"You don't have to believe me. I just want to help. It's up to you if you want to accept my offer," Kazuki explained, making Zelgadis admit that the man was right.

"Hmm..." the redhead pondered. "Okay..." she said after a moment. "So tell me, how are you going to help us? How do you know how to put a chimera back into a human body?"

"Have you ever heard of the Temple of Chaos?" Kazuki answered with a strange smile.

"Temple of Chaos?" Gourry pondered. "Do they have food there?"

"Gourry, you idiot!" Lina looked at him angrily.

"But Lina! You don't know what it is either!" Gourry was right; Lina didn't know.

"What kind of place is this?" Zelgadis' question interrupted their discussion.

"The Temple of Chaos is a legendary place! Strange that you've never heard of it. The Temple of Chaos is where the Book of Chaos is kept. The Book contains all the knowledge of the Lord of Nightmares. It was written shortly after she created the Four Pillars. As you know, the knowledge of the Lord of Nightmares is infinite. Surely, solving this problem and lifting the curse is a small matter when you have something like this," Kazuki explained confidently.

"Yes! Of course!" Lina exclaimed happily. "Since you were kind enough to reveal the secrets of this place to us, we can go there now. Alone." She winked at Zelgadis. They started to pack their things to go in the opposite direction when a sudden voice interrupted them:

"Do you know where it is?" Kazuki asked with polite curiosity.

"Hmm... you said it was a legendary place, so someone must know where it is," Gourry said, making a thoughtful face.

"Exactly! Since even Gourry figured it out, it's very obvious!"

"Do you think if it was really that easy to get there, the book would still be there?" A mocking smile crept onto Kazuki's face. This question killed everyone's enthusiasm. He was right. Once again.

"So it seems that you are doomed to rely on me if you want to get there," he said.

"And how do you know that?" Zelgadis inquired.

"Let's just say I have my sources."

"And why exactly are you going to help us?" Lina crossed her arms and eyed the man sceptically, trying to gauge his intentions.

"I already mentioned that I lived in Saillune. I remember that place as an incredibly good place, and I have many fond memories of that time. So how could I refuse to help the friends of Princess Amelia?" he said rhetorically.

Friend or foe? Zelgadis still couldn't decide.

"We're not going anywhere with you," the Chimera finally said, after a long silence.

"Zel..." Lina looked at him sympathetically, but also with admiration. How difficult such a decision must have been?

"Not true. Mr Zelgadis doesn't know what he's saying," Amelia said, stepping into the light. "Mr Kazuki... we'll go with you!" she said, smiling at Zelgadis, who looked at her in surprise.

"Perfect! Then we'll leave early in the morning!" Kazuki exclaimed enthusiastically.