Chapter 58 Heart to Heart — Cassis

  Cassis felt like the ground had dropped out from beneath his feet. Liam’s new profession took him completely by surprise. He had never heard of anything like it—Nurturer? But it neatly solved the worst of his worries. Liam could grow stronger now. He could survive.

  Before this news, Cassis had kept a sharp eye on his little brother, watching as Liam withdrew more and more with each passing day. Just a little longer, and Cassis was sure he could’ve convinced him—no, forced him—to take off that cursed bracelet. But now everything had changed.

  With this profession and its strange but powerful boosts, Liam had a path forward. A real one.

  A hand touched his arm. Arianna. She brought him back from the flood of thoughts, and only then did he realize he hadn’t moved in a while. He gave her a small nod, then stepped forward to congratulate Liam on his new path. He deserved to enjoy this moment.

  They talked a little longer, exchanging more thoughts and laughter than they’d had energy for before while eating their meals. But eventually, exhaustion won out. As the sky darkened beyond the canopy, they retreated to their tents. Arianna cast her water barrier one last time for safety, though Luke and Nadine had already taken first watch. Liam and Camden would follow, then Arianna and Cassis after that. Helen would take the last shift before dawn.

  Inside the tent, they slipped into their sleeping bags. They snuggled close since it had already become a habit to curl together for warmth and comfort. Arianna fell asleep quickly, as usual. Cassis just lay there for a while, listening to the quiet, steady rhythm of her breathing.

  Then he felt it. The emotions he’d been holding back all day and even longer – 14 years to be precise –, crept in like a tide, and he finally allowed himself to feel.

  Hot tears slipped from his eyes. He didn’t make a sound, but his body trembled under the weight of them.

  A sleepy murmur beside him: “What’s wrong?”

  He looked at her, surprised to find her awake, watching him through the gloom.

  “I can’t...” he started, voice raw. “I just can’t lose anyone anymore. If Liam had stayed stuck at level 7, he would’ve died. There was no question. But now… now he has a chance. I just have to get him through the next two waves. If I can do that, he should be strong enough to survive by then. But just knowing death was hanging over him because of his ideals... I was this close—” he held two fingers apart “—to ambushing him and tearing off that bracelet myself.”

  He waited, bracing himself for laughter or scolding. He knew he could be too intense. Too emotional.

  But instead, Arianna reached out and touched his face, wiping away his tears.

  Then she pulled him close and whispered, “Alright. I understand. Let it out. You need to let it go or it’ll fester. I’m here.”

  So, he let it go. All of it. And eventually, the storm inside him quieted, and sleep took him.

  Cassis woke to the sound of Arianna speaking softly with someone. Liam? Right—it was their turn for watch.

  He stayed still, eyes closed, facing away. He wasn’t ready for Liam or anyone else to see him like this. His eyes felt crusty. They were probably read, signalling that he had cried himself to sleep. After a moment, he heard footsteps as Liam stepped outside the tent, and then Arianna turned back to him.

  She studied him for a few seconds in the dim light before reaching out and gently placing a hand over his eyes. Warmth spread through him as healing magic moved over his skin, soothing the lingering ache in his chest.

  “You shouldn’t waste your mana like that,” he whispered, voice still rough from sleep.

  She smiled. “It didn’t take much. And thanks to my pattern, I already got it back.”

  He nodded, quietly grateful.

  They stepped outside together and stood close, the air cool and still, the forest around them thick with silence. Cassis appreciated that Arianna didn’t bring up what had happened earlier. He hadn’t cried like that in decades—maybe not since he was a child. But he couldn’t let the moment pass without saying something. He had to try, even if it came out awkward.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  She turned to look at him. “You’re welcome.”

  He shook his head. “No, really—thank you. For taking me seriously. For not making a joke of it. For…”

  Arianna’s brow furrowed. “I’d never—” Then she paused, thinking. “Wait. Did I laugh once when I shouldn’t have? I’m sorry. I’m… not always great with these kinds of things. But I’ll be better in the future.”

  She took his hand while she spoke, and he felt something tight in his chest loosen. She wasn’t pulling away. She didn’t think less of him. She hadn’t laughed. She had seen him, really seen him—and she’d stayed.

  Relief surged through him. He pulled her into a tight hug, resting their foreheads together.

  “Thank you,” he whispered again, voice thick with emotion.

  She smiled softly, wrapping an arm around his waist. They stayed like that for a while, simply gazing into each other’s eyes, the world narrowing down to this quiet space between them.

  Something tugged at him. A breath, a moment, a feeling—he leaned in slightly. Barely a millimetre. And Arianna mirrored him.

  Breath mingled. Hearts beat fast. The distance between them shrank until there was almost none left.

  He hesitated. He shouldn’t—not yet. Not before telling her everything.

  But before he could pull back, she leaned in, and their lips brushed.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  It was soft, almost a question. Then it deepened.

  She pulled back slightly, searching his face. Was she unsure?

  He didn’t give her time to doubt. He chased her lips again—gentle touches, once, twice—until they grew more insistent. Her eyes were already closed; his fluttered shut moments later. One hand slid up to the back of her head, holding her close. Her hand around his waist wandered up his back, pressing him further against her.

  When they broke apart, Cassis was stunned. His heart thundered in his chest. That—that—had been the best kiss of his life. No games, no pretence. Just pure feeling.

  They held each other, quietly overwhelmed, letting the storm pass through them.

  This was Arianna—his Arianna—the one who had stayed when he was at his worst. The one who saw him, and didn’t turn away.

  He would never let her go.

  And when the time came to tell her about his wish—about everything—he’d do whatever it took to make her stay. He would beg her to forgive him. He wouldn’t give up.

  They stayed like that for a while longer—talking in quiet murmurs, sharing small smiles, but mostly just content to be near each other. When their watch ended, Arianna quietly recast the water barrier around the camp. They woke Helen, whispered their goodnights, and slipped back into their tent. For a while, Cassis lay awake, Arianna warm beside him, her steady breathing easing the last edge of tension from his mind. Then he fell asleep, dreaming of a different future – one where he could be happy with all his loved ones.

  The next morning, after a quick breakfast, the group gathered to decide their next steps.

  “We should leave immediately,” Luke said, his voice brisk. “We’ve completed one of the objectives, and the more time we waste, the more risks we take.”

  Nadine gave him a side glance and shook her head. “We’ll need to find the gate anyway, since I have no idea anymore where it is located. I kind of lost my sense of direction with all those fights. Might as well try to complete the other objectives while we’re looking for it.”

  Helen grumbled into her cup. “If we’re doing that, we still need three more of those Mesmerizing Blossoms. Ugh.” She looked straight at Cassis and Arianna. “You two are on blossom duty again.”

  Liam gave them an apologetic look. “Sorry, but it looks like you’re the only ones who can get near them. I’ve got nothing that protects me from the sleep effect, and none of the rest of us do either.”

  The group nodded in agreement. Cassis simply shrugged. He didn’t mind. His blazing body skill had proven perfect for the job—burning up the pollen before it could reach his skin and even lungs. As long as he was careful and breathed shallowly, he’d be fine. And Arianna had her own way of resisting the blossoms’ effects.

  Arianna gave a bright smile. “We’ll take care of it.”

  Next came the more difficult topic.

  “The Healing Vine,” Camden said. “We need to find it.”

  Cassis didn’t show it, but he wanted to grimace. He quickly looked down, hiding his expression just in case. He didn’t want to go there—not again. But they’d get extra experience and some other reward for completing all three objectives. And every little bit counted if they wanted to make it through waves.

  He could’ve warned them about the things lurking near the vine, but… no. He wasn’t sure they’d believe him. And if they did, they wouldn’t want to go there. Those monsters hadn’t really been dangerous the one time he had encountered them. Well, for their mental states, they were. But then again—no one would believe it until they saw for themselves.

  He’d found the vine in the other timeline by accident but remembered a sickly-sweet scent, a cloying perfume that hung in the air like rot hiding in flowers in the area. That would be their clue.

  As for the Mesmerizing Blossoms—well, they’d find them or they wouldn’t. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to where they grew. Both times they’d stumbled across them, the terrain looked different and even though he was great at foraging he couldn’t make out any definite markers of the areas they’d grown.

  With the decision made, they broke camp. Everyone was in good health again after the brutal battle with the frogman chief. Spirits were cautiously high. The E-rank boss was dead, so most enemies they’d encounter now would be F-rank or weak E-rank.

  They picked a direction at random, one that led away from the frogman village, and set off in the same formation as before. Camden took point, with Liam and Luke slightly behind and next to him, then came Helen and behind her Nadine. Cassis flanked the rangers on the left and Arianna took the right side.

  The jungle greeted them with more resistance than expected soon after they had started their travel. There must have been a nest of them near because they were constantly harassed by those flying pests.

  The bald macaws with vibrant, rainbow-colored feathers swooped and dive-bombed them from the canopy. The creatures were fast, never landing and just aiming for their heads with their beaks and claws, sometimes even throwing their feathers which were razor sharp through the air like living darts. The warriors had no chance of hitting them.

  The rangers, however, got plenty of practice. Helen and Nadine were quickly honing their reflexes—snapping arrows into the sky. Their skills would likely see a rank-up soon.

  Arianna, on the other hand, looked increasingly frustrated with every pass the birds made.

  Cassis gave her a sidelong glance. Her expression was sharp and calculating.

  He narrowed his eyes.

  Oh no.

  He knew that look.

  He’d seen it before—just before she’d run headfirst into the fight and baited the hobgoblin and later the frogmen chief.

  She might have been a healer by class at first but her new class that also gave her the attributes of a warrior, suited her far better. Right now, she was cooking up something in that fascinating brain of hers. He wouldn’t put it past her to invent a new attack spell out of sheer spite for those birds.

  He nudged her lightly with an elbow. “Don’t do anything reckless.”

  She gave him a too-innocent smile. “Reckless? Me?”

  Cassis just groaned.

  After a while, the bird attacks began to taper off, likely because they had moved farther from the flock’s nesting grounds. It was a relief, especially for everyone who wasn’t a ranger. Those sudden divebombs had been more irritating than dangerous, but they disrupted formation and made progress slow and frustrating.

  Sure, he’d sensed them with his Awareness, but those birds were fast. Even before he could call out warnings they had come through the canopy and attacked. At least, the others got better at sensing monsters, too. Some of them must have ranked up their Awareness feature.

  Unfortunately, the monster attacks didn’t stop—they just changed. Instead of birds, the group now faced snakes and tigerapes. These were easier to fight in most ways, though the tigerapes’ ear-splitting roars were maddening as they called other monsters to join the fight. Arianna could only cast her Silence curse once per day, so that wasn’t an option. The only viable strategy was to kill the tigerapes quickly before their howls attracted more enemies, then clean up the reinforcements.

  During one such battle, Arianna unexpectedly raised her water barrier again. This time, she trapped several monsters inside with the group. Those enemies were swiftly cut down, while the ones outside the barrier slumped into unconsciousness.

  It clicked for Cassis in that moment—this was why the parties he had talked with in the other timeline had managed to safely gather the mesmerizing blossoms. Even if they fell asleep, the monsters would, too. And according to Arianna, the pollen wasn’t quick to dissipate either—it lingered. So any new monsters, would get to sleep, too.

  Luckily, he had a spell that helped him with the pollen. Cassis activated Blazing Body, his flaming aura crackling to life and incinerating any pollen that drifted his way. He moved toward the cluster of blossoms and quickly counted seven. Perfect—a lot more than they needed to complete the objective.

  As usual, he harvested the extras, carefully collecting more of the plant than just the blossoms to give to his future alchemist. The one he still needed to find… His inventory was starting to get full again, but thankfully the others had their own inventories now. He could offload some of the materials if needed.

  On the way back, he easily dispatched the sleeping monsters, most of which never stirred. By the time he returned, Arianna had already neutralized the remaining pollen. Now that it was safe, she lowered the water barrier, and Cassis gathered everyone to share the good news.

  “We’ve got enough mesmerizing blossoms now. That’s another objective completed.”

  A wave of relief passed through the group. Only one item remained on their list—the elusive healing vine.