"T-That is…." Zoe continued in a low voice, freezing as she saw something so surreal that we only knew from history books.
"The Tree of the beginning." We finally said in unison, amazed by the majesty of that tree that rose among the heights, being larger than any mountain, taller than the clouds themselves and firmer than any rock I had seen in my life.
About five days had passed since we separated from the caravan. Deciding to take the most optimal path, we moved away from any road or population, so as to reach Barton as soon as possible.
In these days of complete isolation and solitude with my sister, I had enough time to digest and plan actions against the vision I had, in addition to thinking about the things we would do in the coming months, or years. Or so I tried, because in truth, I couldn't think clearly due to the strong and instinctive attraction I felt for her, a sensation so potent that several times, while I slept, I continued touching her unconsciously, forcing me to sleep outside the tent or even not sleep at all, since, lately, sometimes she behaved strangely, seeming as if she were also going through something similar to me.
Exhausted both physically and mentally by the countless questions toward my own impulses and her strange behavior, I felt a ray of hope when I managed to spot by chance a section of The Tree of the beginning in the distance.
Convincing Zoe to take this detour, we were able to get here, where I hoped the sight of something so ancient and rare as this tree would help me calm the obsession I felt a bit, in addition to using the memories and promises of Angélica to try to regain control of my mind.
With Zoe's gaze fixed on the beautiful landscape, I observed her for a moment before closing my eyes, trying to curb those carnal instincts that clouded my consciousness.
Truly, I forced myself in that moment to remember Angélica, focusing all my thoughts on the moments I spent with her, on our talks, our promises and on our first kiss... until suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to open my eyes to find my sister's face a few centimeters from me.
"Drake, are you okay?" She asked, sounding confused by my behavior while showing a flushed expression that finished taking away the little calm I managed to gather.
"Y-y-yes… I'm fine." I replied, looking away while trying to hide my frustration, even biting my tongue to calm any stupid impulse I might have against her.
SHIT! AGAIN!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME!?
…
With that feeling, we stood watching something I had been dreaming of seeing for years, until after several minutes talking about different things, we decided to go down from that hill as the sky began to turn orange because of the sun, which was hiding over the mountains at our backs.
Camping under a tree and beside a river, we prepared our bed while deciding on the watch shifts, to be alert in case monsters decided to attack while we slept, something that had already happened a couple of times.
"All right, I'll take the second watch." I answered tiredly, before going to look for a couple of fish in the small river, since luckily, it wasn't frozen despite the snow there was.
Damn it… this heat won't go away…. I said in my mind, while using Perception to search for and catch fish taking advantage of the fact that it was night. Hahh… damn it, I think I'll have to stay awake all night again.
After dinner, I pretended to lie down to sleep, when in truth, I was doing everything possible to stay awake, so as to avoid doing anything indecent while Zoe was awake.
After a few minutes, I stayed still, pretending to be asleep while fighting an internal battle against the sweet and pleasant scent of Zoe, which flooded my entire mind as if it were a drink. It was a constant torture that wouldn't let me truly close my eyes, until finally I felt her hand on my shoulder to notify me that my two hours of rest had passed.
I pretended to wake up heavily, letting out a fake groan so she wouldn't suspect anything.
"All right, I'll take over now." I said in a low voice, sitting up while she gave me the relay and prepared to sleep.
In the next few minutes, I stayed inside the tent waiting for Zoe to fall completely asleep, until the fatigue of the last few days began to weigh on me so much that my eyes threatened to close on their own. Luckily, before falling into sleep, I gave myself a couple of hard slaps on the face that helped me react.
I can't go on like this, or I'm going to end up doing something stupid even if I stay here. I thought, feeling the heat burning me inside. I need to clear my head once and for all.
Decided to do something that night, I looked for options until I decided that the best thing would be to take a bath in the river to see if the cold managed to cool my thoughts.
Yes, it's a bit extreme, but I think it will be for the best, that way I won't fall asleep either... I thought in an attempt to convince myself.
Careful not to make any noise, I took off my clothes and searched for a clean upper garment in my dimensional space, carrying it in my hand to avoid dirtying it with the sweat from my body, while the clothes I was wearing I left lying right there, on the floor of the tent.
I went out into the freezing night air and, after removing my mana layers and taking a deep breath, I strongly felt the pure air of the forest. With extreme cold, I threw myself suddenly into the river.
The impact of the freezing water was like an electric shock that ran through my entire system, forcing me to let out a choked gasp while I hoped that sensation would extinguish the heat that was driving me crazy.
Several minutes passed until I felt much calmer. I came out of the water shivering a bit, changing clothes quickly while covering myself with a thin layer of mana to regain some heat.
By the time I was finishing settling in, suddenly, I felt a presence about five hundred meters from where we were, deep in the forest.
I was immediately alerted, covering myself with even more mana to accelerate my movements. With agility and speed, I began to climb through the trees to investigate what was happening. I moved in silence, attentive to any crackle, until I reached a spot that allowed me to see that it was only a couple of weak monsters, similar to the wolves I used to hunt as a child in the Birton forest.
Without hesitation and with a simple movement of my hand, I used earth magic to create a couple of stone spikes that shot up from the ground, piercing the monsters and killing them on the spot.
"Good thing it was just them." I whispered to myself. "Otherwise they would have taken more of my time."
Activating Perception again, I confirmed that there was no other nearby danger, so calmer, I started the way back while taking advantage of my calm to reflect on what was happening to me.
What can I do… what can I do… Ahh!! I don't know! Damn it! I thought without reaching a conclusion, given the difficult situation I found myself in.
If only this were a story like the ones I read in my old life… everything would be simpler… But, in reality, this sucks, it sucks a lot!
With a blank mind after those words, a couple of intrusive thoughts came to my mind, followed by some images generated by the depraved part I had, forcing me to grab snow from the ground and smash it against my face.
No!! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! NO!!! What the hell am I thinking!? I scolded myself internally, feeling how I gritted my teeth hard while I continued my way through the dark forest. Shit… this feels very strange… very instinctive, almost primitive. Wait, of course!! This shit has to be something about our race, something biological! although, wait… that wouldn't make any sense either, since she is… my sister?
I felt completely lost, trapped between the sensations of my body and the logic of my mind. I didn't know if this really was because of some kind of natural "heat", because if it wasn't that, why the hell did I feel this attraction so violent for Zoe? She was supposed to be my family, my blood, and I shouldn't feel anything strange for her. It simply had no logic.
Sighing in frustration, I searched my memories for any word from Kadian about sexual impulses between relatives, something that was a strange topic in itself and that we never mentioned. Clearly without finding anything, I diverted my mind elsewhere, I recalled the information I found after the time Zoe told me about our family's past in Clifland. I remembered having investigated the Kingdom and its lineage thoroughly, managing to trace our grandparents and great-grandparents, and I was certain I hadn't found a single record of incest in our race or our family.
If it's not genetic, and it's not because of the lineage… then what the shit is this. I concluded, feeling how my headache increased.
With those doubts, I walked until I finally reached the vicinity of the tent, and after seeing it I heard a sound that contrasted with the silence of the forest.
Quickly hiding my presence, I wrapped myself in a layer of mana to investigate again, but seeing that the sound was coming from the tent, I let out a sigh of relief, thinking that Zoe had already gotten up.
Taking the opportunity to approach without her noticing, I headed to the river to resume my watch, until I started to recognize those sounds as I got closer… making me change my destination toward the tent.
Being right in front of the entrance, my blood turned completely cold as I recognized the sound of agitated gasps, accompanied by my own name whispered in the darkness.
"Yes… Drake… Drake…."
Feeling the world lose color while my mind struggled to process what I was hearing, a mixture of doubts and denial invaded my head.
This… it can't be… right? I thought, before slightly moving the entrance of the tent, finding something I never expected… to see.
"Zoe?" I said in a low voice, causing her, who was masturbating with the garment I had left recently, to stop short.
…
The seconds passed… the minutes passed… the hours passed… without anyone daring to speak inside that tent while we sat, each looking at the ground and sunk in their thoughts.
Why…? It was the only question running through my head. I think… with this… everything… broke….
"Drake…" Zoe suddenly said, breaking the silence with a voice that sounded broken while she looked at the ground, preventing me from looking her directly in the eyes. "F-forgive me… forgive me… the truth is… I let myself be carried away by the sensation that invaded me… by the pheromones we expel."
I went completely blank, turning toward her with a look of an idiot because I didn't understand what she was getting at, seriously doubting whether that was a silly excuse or the truth. "Pheromones? What do you mean by that?"
"Y-you see, at 50 years old, the women of our race begin to expel pheromones that attract the male of our species that they love." She explained in a low voice, keeping her gaze fixed on the snow under her feet to avoid me looking at her directly. "And if that person feels something similar for her, his body answers to those pheromones, expelling ones that attract the woman. Something like a biological cycle…."
"Answer? You mean reciprocate?" I repeated, feeling how desperation began to overflow due to the situation in which it left me. "Zoe, that makes no sense! We are family! We don't feel that kind of love for each other. It's not right and it has no logic that something like that would happen between us, because if so, there would be relationships among the whole family and Kadian nor anyone ever mentioned anything about that! Besides… I investigated it! I looked for information about the Kingdom of Clifland and didn't find anything related to this that you're using as an excuse!"
I felt a couple of tears of frustration starting to blur my vision, as this whole situation hurt me, because it was something that broke several beautiful memories I spent with her. Meanwhile, my voice became sharper and more desperate from the outburst I was making, as I truly hated feeling like this, especially because of her.
"Sincerely… even if what you say is true, I don't understand how the shit you let yourself be carried away by that sensation… because for me… It repulses me to feel this for my sister! For you!" I shouted, letting the words come out without any kind of filter, feeling a knot starting to form in my throat as I let out more stupidities. "I hate this feeling Zoe! I hate that my body reacts in this way! I hate that it's toward you! I hate it because you are my family… my sister…!"
Zoe lowered her gaze more, staying in silence while she listened to me let out all the poison, the disgust and the hatred I felt for everything we were going through. It seemed that each of my words hit her physically, sinking her more into her own place.
After my words, I stayed panting and feeling worse, contrary to what I thought I would feel after letting out everything I felt and thought.
Like trash, I stayed quiet until she spoke again with a completely broken voice sinking me further into the void.
"Yes… I know…."
Heavily, silence reigned again, but this time accompanied by the sound of her muffled sobs, letting me feel worse and worse.
Damn it…. this… all of this is… shit.
…
Once again time passed, until after thinking about it a lot, I finally wanted to say something, but I couldn't because Zoe spoke first, stopping me just when I was about to open my mouth to try to apologize.
"Drake... I planned to keep it for much longer, I really wanted to, but, after everything that just happened... I feel like I can't take it anymore." She said, while she wiped away her last tears with the back of her hand, making a visible effort to regain a composure that was already broken.
I stayed in silence, observing her with a mixture of doubt and fatigue, while feeling how the atmosphere in the tent became even heavier than before.
"When you insisted so much that I tell you about our family's past back in Clifland... the truth is that I never got to tell you the whole truth." She continued, her voice becoming a bit firmer as she spoke, though without stopping looking at her hands. "In that story I told you, I omitted a very important part, because… saying it meant also telling you my truth."
I looked at her confused, trying to process what I was hearing while perceiving a familiar presence in the distance, approaching our direction at full speed.
Taking a deep breath, as if she were gathering courage for what was coming, Zoe proceeded with her account.
"You see... since Kadian was from the royalty, the second prince of the kingdom, he already had servants at his disposal from the moment he was born. And among all of them, there was one family in specific that was assigned to him, one that took care of him and accompanied him from the beginning, remaining faithful, even after the betrayal and the fall of the kingdom at the hands of Boris Helkar." She explained, as I realized the sincerity of her words, making me completely ignore that presence that kept approaching.
"That family escaped alongside Kadian and Irisha when everything collapsed, when they fled the kingdom and escaped for their lives, but, that family died trying to protect them while they crossed the desert of the country of Alister. They died there, in the sand, so that they could keep going, or so they said." She said with a slight smile.
"Drake helkar… those people were… Kurt Rainhard and his wife, Aria Rainhard." She finally let out, lifting her gaze to see me directly in the eyes, noticing how they were still red and swollen. "Those people really… really were my true parents."
With a silence, several ideas and memories began to click in my head, several situations that explained the strange behavior of my parents with Zoe, the way in which she treated me, the words she said and what they implied….
"Wow… so, in the end, it turned out to be true that you weren't my sister…." I whispered, thinking of an old memory that came to my mind at that same moment….
"If what is written here is true… How could my parents have had two children?" I said, when I was barely learning to walk with this body. "Either this book is incorrect or Zoe is not my biological sister."
Ahh…. I'm stupid for not realizing sooner. I finally thought, until those presences finally arrived, making a great commotion outside the tent.
Zoe, alerted for a moment by the strong winds outside the tent, calmed down, noticing it was only the arrival of Mork and Ness.