I didn't like the idea of someone trying to take the food right out of my mouth. Sooner or later, I would have confronted him.
But another problem arose—one that halted both my actions and those of the mysterious young man. A problem that forced me to drag Hannah along with me, completely interrupting her secret encounters.
Elise had been out of contact for too long, and it was high time I went to see what was happening.
Elise's situation was, to me, a haunting unknown.
I knew she was safe and sound; there were no signals of immediate danger… but she had gone far too long without responding to my messages or providing reports. That, in itself, was cause for concern. I was almost certain it wasn't anything grave, but I feared another possibility: that she was doing something she didn't dare tell me, and that was why she had disconnected completely.
In theory, this could have been a quick, solo trip. But even so, I took Hannah with me.
The situation with that strange fellow was still looping in my head. I could never find him. Hannah resisted introducing us, and I couldn't find a convincing excuse to leave her under the watch of a clone without looking controlling—which I was, but I didn't want to show it, not now that our relationship seemed to be moving along so well.
So, I brought her along under the guise of "an adventure." In the process, I could watch her closely and let my clones try one more time to locate that mysterious individual.
What truly bothered me was the coincidence: it seemed only Hannah could find him. He always knew when I was near, when a clone was about to catch him. Something—or someone—intervened at just the right moment to stop me.
After this trip, I was determined to undo the Aspect of Death. I needed invisibility at maximum power. And this time, I wasn't going to fail.
The journey was long, though my abilities shortened it considerably.
Elise had flown very far, crossing several cities. Fortunately, the [Map] at my current level allowed companions to explore on their own. It didn't show everything with precision, but it marked cities and major transport points, provided they were within a certain distance of areas I had explored.
That was also why I was only going to look for her now: I had sent clones in different directions, using various methods, trying to reach as far as possible to trace her path.
If I had complained before about structures with architecture that looked Aztec… I couldn't do it anymore. Because we were clearly entering Mayan territories—or something very similar.
Elise had gone truly far.
Every time a new teleportation point she had explored was unlocked, we went there. Thus, we passed through many different cities. I used the descriptions Elise had given me as a reference, comparing them with what we saw, discarding them one by one.
Until, finally, we reached a truly massive city.
Based on the descriptions… it had to be this one.
That, and the engravings of alicorns carved into the stone. Fabrics embroidered with alicorns, the sun, the moon, and the stars, in a style that felt dangerously familiar. Too much like MLP to be a coincidence.
"Yeah… something definitely happened," I sighed.
Hannah looked at me without understanding. She only recognized figures of Elise repeated on banners and murals, but she didn't grasp the weight of what I was seeing.
We entered the city.
It was large, developed… excessively so. I didn't know if it was already like this or if Elise had something to do with it, but the further we went, the more I noticed things out of time. Impossible constructions, architectural and agricultural solutions that shouldn't exist there, not even with common magic.
After living in this world for so long, Hannah and I had learned to camouflage ourselves well among the people, so we infiltrated without raising suspicion to investigate.
What we saw was… unsettling.
An exaggerated development of vegetation, but not chaotic. Fruit trees everywhere, abundant crops, medicinal plants growing almost perfectly. Plazas with fountains… and in them, statues of Elise.
But if there was one thing that stood out above everything else, it was the temple.
A massive temple. Towering. The kind that would catch anyone's eye even in the modern era. It was made of an opaque golden stone that didn't reflect light, but still transmitted an overwhelming sense of opulence and majesty.
I didn't know why, but I couldn't help but think of The Road to El Dorado.
Our destination was clear.
That temple—or palace—was the center of everything. We were in a distant region with a different language, but fortunately, [Subtitles] allowed me to eavesdrop on fragments of conversation. And whenever "the Great Goddess" was mentioned, all eyes turned toward that place.
I heard many other things as well. I preferred to think they were misunderstandings… because if not, this was going to be very awkward.
As we approached the temple, we saw it was surrounded by brawny, armed men. Soldiers. Many of them. Positioned both to protect and to impose a presence.
As soon as we approached, we were stopped. Quickly surrounded.
I didn't think they'd let us through just like that. And honestly, the ideal move would have been to enter by stealth.
But I decided to do things openly, just to confirm if everything I had heard in this city… was actually true.
I had used the Merchant and the Archmage to develop a new consumable item. One intended to eliminate the language barrier.
It was a candy, a blend of magic and futuristic technology. Hannah and I ate it before approaching the temple, which allowed us to communicate on a basic level. It wasn't perfect: understanding was still crude, fragmented, sometimes ambiguous… but functional.
Regardless, that was just an extra. We didn't expect to have to talk much with the guards who were already starting to surround us.
I didn't know if it was because we were strangers in this city, for trying to enter the temple, or for not kneeling in worship like the others… but the hostility was clear. It seemed their intention was simple: break our legs to force us to our knees.
With a flick of my wand, the nearest warriors were repelled.
But unlike what would have happened elsewhere, these Muggle soldiers showed neither fear nor hesitation.
Upon seeing the magic, they didn't retreat. They became more ferocious. More serious.
They took up combat stances with absolute determination, as if they were prepared—even eager—to die fighting us. And not just them: the other warriors watching joined in immediately, forming a genuine military phalanx. Warriors, archers, spearmen… all aligned, ready for a brutal skirmish, regardless of losses or the outcome.
That was what truly surprised me.
Rarely do you see an army so well-trained… or so willing to face something that, deep down, they know surpasses them. But it wasn't exactly blind courage… it was something else.
I didn't think of it at the moment, but the correct word to describe them was: religious fanatics.
Hannah and I cast off our disguises.
We were ready to see how seriously they took their duty. We didn't plan on killing anyone; our objective was Elise. This fight, at most, should be a demonstration of power, something to make things easier for us.
But it didn't go that way.
Just as the silence before the combat became thick and absolute, a man descended the long stairs of the temple, making his way through the soldiers.
By his clothes, he was a priest. By his aura, a powerful wizard.
"Let them pass," he ordered, watching us closely as if he were evaluating us… or appraising us.
He had magical power, that was evident. But his presence wasn't that of a simple local wizard or a battle sorcerer. It was that of a spiritual leader. An intermediary.
He signaled for us to follow him, and we began to climb the temple stairs.
During the ascent, we "spoke," if it could be called that. The faulty translation, combined with his way of speaking—a mix of superiority and total lack of interest in our opinion—made communication uncomfortable and fragmented. Still, a few phrases managed to get through to us:
—"…young witch… soon… leave… apprentice… beautiful…"
—"…strange wizard… perhaps lineage… exotic… maybe she'll like him…"
—"…I also was… saw her light…"
—"…others fought… died or… now subjects… slaves…"
—"…you will understand… greatness… her…"
Everything we heard was strange. Too strange.
I wanted to attribute it to the bad translation, because I didn't like what I was understanding at all. But what we saw along the way didn't help: various rituals, symbols engraved in stone… and in some cases, sacrifices.
Every step we climbed made it harder to ignore an uncomfortable truth: Elise… clearly wasn't here as a mere visitor.
At a certain point, we were almost there, but they made us wait outside. The priest went ahead alone.
That area was much more protected. Several mages dressed identically—clearly a uniform—guarded the entrance. There were many… too many. Enough to be unsettling. Rarely did you see an "army" of mages so well-organized in this era.
But I couldn't wait any longer.
Using the Jarjacha wands, I cast a large-scale confusion spell, then took Hannah and brought her directly to the summit of the temple.
I had already felt Elise up there. And I needed answers.
We entered through one of the side accesses to the upper area—a mostly open space with only one roofed section. And then the image revealed itself before us.
A throne… and on it, Elise.
She was sitting with an almost divine arrogance, reclining carelessly. Two people were fanning her while she completely ignored the man speaking to her, as if the information he was trying to convey didn't deserve a second of her attention.
I couldn't hold back anymore.
I stepped forward at a slow pace, face serious, gaze fixed on Elise, revealing myself to everyone present.
"What in the—?" the priest exclaimed upon seeing us. "How dare you?! Irreverent heretics!" he shouted, full of fury, ready to punish us.
"It wasn't time for you to come… but I am happy to see you, my husband," Elise said, turning her gaze to where Hannah and I were standing, her tone haughty, almost playful.
Upon hearing her, everyone—except Hannah and me—seemed to freeze.
As a divine entity, Elise had no language barrier. She not only understood perfectly but transmitted intent, meaning, and emotion absolutely.
In the next instant, everyone fell sharply to their knees.
Especially the priest, who seconds earlier was shouting at us. He bowed before me with pure fear, with genuine dread.
Elise snorted with annoyance.
With a simple flick of her head, the priest began to float. His expression of terror intensified as his body began to swell, like a balloon about to burst.
I immediately stepped between him and Elise.
"Elise, stop!" I shouted in a firm voice. "You can't kill him!" I said it knowing full well how grotesque the scene would be if it continued… though, being honest, it wasn't because I cared about the guy.
"And why shouldn't I?" she replied with total naturalness. "He stood in the way and insulted my beloved little husband. He doesn't deserve to exist."
"Are you even listening to yourself?!" I yelled at her. "Since when do you kill without reason? Yes, you've had your moments, but this…" I looked at her harshly. The Elise in front of me seemed like a different person, and I knew I had to stand my ground and find an explanation. "You're supposed to be the good one between the two of us! Drop him and explain to us what the hell is going on!"
Elise huffed, rolling her eyes.
The priest continued to float, but his body returned to normal. In the next instant, with a simple flick of her wing, Elise tossed him toward the stairs.
The man tumbled violently downward.
Yeah. That was very bad. The temple was high; if he didn't stop, he could die. But somehow, it was better than exploding into pieces. At least now he had a chance to survive… though his injuries would be severe either way.
I exhaled slowly, rubbing my temple with my eyes closed.
"Elise… tell me what the hell happened here. How did we end up like this?" I said, knowing that nothing was going as I had imagined.
"What is there to explain?" she replied lightly. "It's just the natural development of things. I actually wanted to tell you, but I was hoping my kingdom would grow a bit more first… You ruined the surprise."
She said it with an unsettling coquettishness, even as she used her power to lift the servants and make them resume the task of fanning her, as if none of this were out of the ordinary.