A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Suddenly, it was like a shift rippled through Erik's body. His demeanour changed. The look in his eyes showed more callous cunning and possessed less emotion. Like… he'd suddenly become another person.

"I don't see you coming to meet me, Corpse. I highly doubt this is your real host." Erik said in a strange tone more reminiscent of Elora than himself.

But it was all just to fool this man. With his permission, Elora could absolutely take over Erik's body, but not while she was stuck in his dimension. No, this was just Erik showing off his acting talent and the deep, intimate knowledge he had of Elora's mannerisms.

Deceiving this person wasn't his main goal, however. He simply didn't want Elora to leave his dimension, for the simple reason that she was more vulnerable than ever.

Back when Frostfang mortally wounded her, she'd survived only because Erik was able to absorb her into his body to protect her soul, while her physical essence was nurtured by Erik's. But with her spot in his soul occupied, this was no longer an option. That meant he wasn't about to allow her relatively vulnerable physical form to enter a battlefield of third-rankers. Discover hidden stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Besides that, however, they also didn't want to reveal their current inability to merge. At least, not to this man… or rather, woman…. because male fairies didn't exist.

A strange glint of excitement went through the man's eyes. The very thought of Erik managing to deceive her didn't even register as a possibility. Instead, all she felt was elation.

"By the spirits, you don't know how good it feels to finally meet another fairy again," Corpse said with a contented sigh and a strange, whistful smile. "Being surrounded by only humans and these abominations of nature calling themselves Runebound for so many years has truly been hard on my poor psyche."

Beside him, Lilith didn't seem surprised in the least. Apparently, the hunter's human-centric policies were actually Arcanist-centric, which… actually changed very little. Especially because it was likely only the confessors, like Lilith, who knew the truth.

A strange glint passed through the obviously possessed man, and Erik quickly recognized it for barely hidden madness. Yet, before he could point that out in a sarcastic manner, the man continued.

Meanwhile, the man continued, his gaze seeming far away, a strange smile still playing on his lips. "When I noticed the clear signs of my own kind's magic on Lilith here, I was truly elated!"

But then, he raised an eyebrow, looked straight at Erik again with a hint of confusion, and muttered, "Although, I must say I'm surprised at your choice of words. I can forgive the lack of manners you've taught your slave there, but surely you can give me the basic respect of calling me by my name?"

"Why?" Erik asked immediately, genuine confusion on his face. This time, he was simply repeating the words Elora asked him to say. "Have you been away from other fairies for so long that you forgot respect is supposed to be earned?"

Erik shrugged dismissively in Elora's place. "So far, your faction has only waylaid and annoyed me. I see no reason to respect you just for being a fairy. Furthermore, I doubt Primus is your real name, which means you don't even have the basic respect of telling me that much. Finally, it's a ridiculous name, and I refuse to utter it more than absolutely necessary."

However, rather than get angry at her words, the possessed man's eyes started shining, and he completely ignored them. "So you really are from another world! For a moment, I thought I'd somehow missed another fairy surviving the cataclysm those two idiots brought down on Earth!"

Immediately, Erik and Elora's brains started whirring. "That must be Audumla and the old man Eira mentioned, right?" Erik pondered through his bond with Elora.

"Who is also likely the giant from your vision, Ymir," Elora nodded thoughtfully in agreement.

Meanwhile, the man continued, his eyes shining with curiosity and excitement. "So, how did you get here?! I know there are difficult and expensive methods to travel to worlds that haven't fully linked up with the network yet, but even if the other families knew of Earth's location, they surely wouldn't have used those to send a single young fairy?"

Suddenly, his excitement seemed to rise. "Or… are there more of us?!"

"This fairy doesn't have a good filter…" Erik chuckled through his bond with Elora. They didn't actually know anything about this person before, except that she was a fairy. But without any real prompting, they'd already learned a lot.

First of all, this fairy was the hunter's leader. Second of all, she'd been living here since the severing, more than eight thousand years ago, somehow keeping herself alive all this time despite the lack of aetherium. And, finally, her mind didn't seem to be in the best place.

"It's the excitement," Elora answered thoughtfully, actually not sure what to think of this fairy. "After eight thousand years of practical isolation, she's finally met another of her kind again, and her lips are loosening because of it. She probably thinks of me as an ally, like a drop of water after a drought that lasted far too long."

Erik nodded in his mind, his metaphysical brows furrowing slightly. "How'd she survive until now, though? Isn't a lifespan that long reserved for, like, rank six or seven, at least? I know fairies don't have much in terms of offensive capabilities, but I still don't like our chances going up against a seventh-rank fairy."

Elora immediately waved her hand dismissively. "Regardless of what her rank was before the severing, there's no way she's managed to retain it for eight thousand years. Don't worry about that."

Then, a small, smug smile appeared on Elora's face. "As for her unusual lifespan, that's actually easily explained. When our physical essence is merged with that of our protector, the one we're bonded with, our ageing is halted. She's probably spent all this time jumping from host to host, which…"

Suddenly, she fell silent, as if she'd realized something she hadn't thought of before.

Then, she spoke again, her voice surprisingly grave and laden with a hint of pity and understanding. "…which… must have been mentally exhausting. The bond is extremely intimate, and even if we enslave our protectors, they still become a part of us. To have to sever that bond, even just every 150 years or so, is… a horrifying thought."