Alistair was tired of sleeping. He had been doing nothing but that the whole day, as everyone insisted that he needed to recover. But in his opinion, his injuries were blown heavily out of proportion. They looked bad and bled a lot, giving a gruesome impression, but in reality, they were nothing more than deep scratches.

He had felt bad when Melina tiptoed to his bed, drenched in sweat and with an expression full of worry. But a more selfish part of him had been happy that she came—that she had been worried enough to rush over to his side to make sure he was fine.

The feeling had lasted for about as long as it took for Alistair to notice Sienna on her shoulder. Last time a strong monster attacked, she charged straight into the fray to pacify it. The chances that she wouldn't do it again were slim. So after Melina left, Alistair ordered Barrett to watch over her and make sure that she wouldn't charge at the beast alone.

But I certainly wouldn't say no to one of those feyfruit tarts. If it is possible to pacify the monster, then we should try that first.

Unfortunately, Alistair didn't get the chance to go to the bakery himself. Leliana burst into the Guild Hospital shortly after Melina left and would not leave his side, trying to act like a nurse. She constantly asked whether he wanted to drink or eat, or for her to massage his shoulder or soften his pillow, or other nonsense like that.

Even when he pretended to sleep, she remained by his bedside, watching out for his every movement. Alistair wished he could find the gesture admirable, but it was actually stifling. In the end, he had no choice but to go to sleep for real, and he slept until dark, at which point thankfully, Leliana was gone.

With his body fully rested, Alistair decided that it was enough lounging about and quietly went outside. The night sky was clear, he could see the stars glittering as well as the clear round moon. Even with just a shirt, he did not feel cold, signifying the closeness of summer. It was a perfectly peaceful night.

Until he noticed something moving along the far side of the wall. Alistair couldn't tell what it was at first—it was too far away. But then he saw something large scaling the wall from the inside. He was about to yell and raise an alarm, worried that a monster might have made its way inside.

However, he then noticed the distinct orange patterns on the creature and the fact that someone was sitting on top of it. In less than five seconds, they were over the wall, the guards none the wiser of their quick maneuver.

"Dammit, Barrett! You had one job!" Alistair snarled and rushed back into the Guild to grab his sword. There was no time to put on armor—he knew that Sienna was quick.

Oh, Melina! What are you thinking? The forest is teeming with monsters, and the passageway isn't located right next to the wall. She wouldn't have enough tarts to calm all those monsters even if she tried.

With a sword in hand, Alistair rushed to the gate, where two guards gazed into the dark forest. It was no wonder they hadn't noticed Melina—who'd in their right mind expect somebody to sneak out in the middle of the night?

"Lord Sinclair? Aren't you supposed to be resting?" One of the guards asked.

"There's no time for that now. I need to go into the forest."

Both guards looked at each other skeptically. He couldn't even blame them—that's how he got injured in the first place. Alistair was reluctant to say that Melina had snuck out, but he doubted they'd let him through otherwise. Unless he resorted to force, which he definitely didn't want to do.

"Melina went out there! Please, open the gate so I can stop her in time."

"Melina? You mean the baker's apprentice who tamed the ember wyrm?"

"Yes, the very same!"

The guard looked conflicted for a moment. "We'll organize a search party–"

"Of course, but she's on top of her wyrm. By the time we organize it, she might be long-distance away. Allow me through so I can protect her, while you organize the party."

The guards were very still, hesitating. Perhaps, if Alistair weren't a noble, they wouldn't let him through. But refusing him could bring them a lot of trouble, and they knew that.

"Very well! But we'll be sending a party after you," one of the guards said, beginning to turn the mechanism that lifted the gate.

Meanwhile, the other guard offered his lantern to Alistair. "It's not as good as a magitech lamp, but it's better than nothing."

"Thank you!" Alistair said and ran into the forest as soon as the gate was wide enough for him to squeeze through.

It was a good thing that he patrolled these forests at night because otherwise the darkness of the landscape would have made it impossible for him to find his way. But since he had to traverse this forest both during the night and the day, it wasn't too difficult for him to find the tell-tale scorch marks Sienna had left in the trees.

Moonlight from above the treetops also helped him find his way forward, but even so, the progress was painfully slow. He knew that he had to be faster to catch up to the nimble wyrm. He had to catch up to them before something bad happened.

Oh, Melina, why did you have to do such a foolish thing? I swear I will have somebody permanently stand guard at the bakery once I get her out of here. If I get her out of here.

The dreadful thought made his feet move faster. He had to get to Melina before some monster got to her. No, in reality, he was praying that a goblin or something of the sort would block Melina's path. She'd have a decent chance of surviving their attack with Sienna at her side. But the thing that was near the passageway…

No, I can't let her get that far! I must stop her or she'll die for certain.

A loud crash resounded deeper in the forest, followed by a brief flash of light. Alistair's blood ran cold. He ran as fast as he could, following the source of the noise.Another bright light appeared somewhere further ahead, and he followed that. But no matter how much he seemed to run, he couldn't catch up.

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Why am I so slow at a time like this? Wait… Lightning Dash!

The skill propelled him a good distance ahead. Alistair cursed himself for not thinking of this before, and kept zipping ahead, narrowly avoiding some of the trees. His control of the skill had vastly improved, but it was still far from perfect. He had to carefully determine his trajectory before each time he activated the skill.

But it felt like he was finally gaining some ground this way. Flashes of light felt closer than before, and he thought he could now hear an occasional growl coming from Sienna.

Then suddenly everything went completely silent. There were no more crashes, flashes of light, or growls. The only thing he could hear in the moonlit forest was his own ragged breaths.

Please, be safe, Melina.

A deep, insect-like hiss rang through the forest several times. Alistair recognized them—it without a doubt came from the same monster that had injured him. He zipped forward desperately, begging with every fibre of his being that he would make it there in time. That he'd be able to save the fragile girl from certain death.

All of a sudden, he was stopped mid-run, something pulling him back by his waist. He was about to draw his sword and attack the creature when a large paw pulled his sword along with the sheath and the belt away from him and tossed them far away.

"What?!" He gasped and was about to run for his sword when he realized that the creature was none other than Sienna, in her large form. For a moment, Alistair wondered whether she had gone berserk again, but then their eyes met. Her gaze was calm as she pointed her snout at a clearing ahead.

Alistair blinked and saw how Melina was feeding a tart to the insectoid creature. The thing looked even creepier in the moonlight—it had a small head with large eyes, a sleek, long body supported by four equally sleek legs. At the front, it had two long limbs that extended forward almost like scythes.

It was clearly agitated, however, Melina didn't appear scared in the slightest. She broke the piece of shimmertart which seemed to glow even more vibrantly under the moonlight, and offered it to the beast. The insect swayed from side to side, looking at the tart, but eventually lowered its head and nibbled at it.

"There, there. There's no reason to be angry," she cooed, watching the monster eat. A loud crackle and a flash of red appeared right behind the two of them, and the insect hissed again. Alistair flinched, worried it might attack, but Sienna firmly held him back.

"Shhh! It's alright! I understand why you are so angry—let me fix it," she said gently, offering another piece of tart to it. The loud crackling intensified, and Alistair saw blue and red swirls forming behind Melina.

Could that be the passageway to the Monster Realm?

The insect hissed and waved its long appendages in displeasure as the light swirled. Every crackle seemed to agitate it more, and Alistair saw that Melina was growing nervous too.

"I've never seen a passageway this small be so unstable. Don't worry, I can fix it. Just relax and let me through, alright?" she told the creature. The monster swayed for a while, hissing, but slowly began to calm. It took the tart with its front appendages and gnawed on it nervously. "Good girl!"

Melina turned to look at Sienna, but her expression turned to one of horror as she noticed Alistair. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she shook her head and put a finger to her lips, indicating for him to remain quiet.

Alistair nodded nervously, wondering what exactly she intended to do. The insect monster was calm for now, but it wouldn't last long. Each crackle and each swirl of the energy still made it flinch and sway.

But why is the passageway even crackling like that? It doesn't feel right. I can't even explain it, but each time I hear that crackling, it feels like the world itself is breaking apart. Each time those colors swirl, it feels as if toxic waste is leaking into the air.

Melina looked at Alistair with a pained expression. For a moment, he worried that she might have gotten hurt after all, so he took a step closer. But he stopped as soon as she shook her head. Melina looked at the crackling passageway, then at Alistair as if trying to decide something difficult—something that might cost her dearly.

"Sienna, lend me your strength," she finally said, a resigned look on her face. The wyrm looked at Alistair for a moment, letting out a dissatisfied snort in his direction, then walked over to Melina. She reached down to her and for a moment the two of them stood there, their foreheads connected.

They soon separated, and Melina looked at the passageway. "Let's see if I can still do this."

She put her left hand on Sienna's shoulder and extended her other hand towards the passageway.

What is she doing?

Nothing changed initially—she just stood there with her brow furrowed in concentration while the colors swirled and the insect creature hissed occasionally in the background. But then the crackling intensified, and bright red light swirled in a circular pattern.

Melina moved her hand in the same motion, circling alongside it as if trying to match it. Colors began to switch from red to blue to bright purple, and sweat dripped from her forehead. Alistair had no idea what was going on, but then he saw a little tendril extend from her fingertip and connect with colors.

It sparked violently and made noise as loud as if a thunder strike had hit the area, forcing Alistair to cover his ears. Melina let out a pained grunt and nearly fell to her knees, but Sienna supported her, not allowing the girl to fall. The more he looked, the more convinced Alistair was that the bond the two had was not of mere master and pet. It was something way more powerful.

Melina clenched her raised hand into a fist, and the passageway responded with another thundering boom. The faint tether that connected it and Melina grew a bit wider and stronger, and she began to wrangle it like one would a wild dog.

"A bit more, Sienna!" Melina muttered through gritted teeth, and Alistair saw how the wyrm was struggling too—her tail thrashing about wildly while her cat-like eyes were fixed on the passageway. It felt like whatever the two of them were fighting was currently winning.

But all he could do there was stand and watch. Yet again, he couldn't do anything to help while Melina was trying to solve the issue that had proved to be too much for him. How was she able to do it? He had no clue, but one thing was clear—she was not just a baker's apprentice.

Suddenly, the insect monster moved towards Melina, and Alistair stepped forward, worried she might get attacked. But the monster stopped at the same time, swaying from side to side. The motion was somewhat soothing, and the monster extended its long forelimb and placed it gently on Melina's shoulder.

The tether between her and the passageway grew wider and appeared stronger. The colors swirled in almost blurring motion, but the crackling noise grew fainter and fainter. Melina moved the tether this way and that, wrangling it under her control. The colors began to calm, but then blood trickled out of her nose.

"Melina!" He called out, taking a step closer.

"I can do this!" She screamed and yanked on the tether with full strength. A burst of energy swept through the clearing, nearly knocking Alistair off his feet. It knocked the girl to the ground. He ran up to her immediately, gently pulling her up.

"Are you alright?" He asked, watching in horror as blood dripped out of her nose to the ground.

"I am fine!" She shook her head, taking a step back from him. "It's just a bit of mana overflow."

Alistair wanted to ask what exactly she had just done when the insect monster began chittering, lifting its forelimbs high in the air. Was it… celebrating?

"You can return home," Melina said to it, while pressing her bloodied nose into her sleeve.

"Here, take this!" Alistair quickly got the handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it into her hand.

"Thank you…" she muttered quietly, looking nervous. The insect monster chittered some more and then retrieved the remainder of the shimmertart in its forelimbs. After that, it disappeared into the empty space where the passageway stood, hidden from the world.

"Melina, are you perhaps…" Alistair didn't get to finish the question as the girl's eyes glazed over and she fell limp to the ground. "Melina!"

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