Why is Elowen here? Why is he together with Alistair?

Melina did her best to appear calm, but she could feel her hands trembling. Alistair noticed her distress immediately, inserting himself between Melina and the elf. "How have you been?"

"I-I'm alright… I…" She couldn't concentrate, her eyes drawn to Elowen.

Does he remember what happened? He seems to recognize me. Or at least I seem familiar to him. Does he have a skill similar to <General's Echo>? Even if he doesn't remember everything that happened before, he'll surely remember it eventually.

"You must be surprised by our elf visitor," Alistair explained. "His name is Elowen, and he helped me through my journey."

Helped? So he went to see the Architect too? Did they even find it?

Melina activated <Mask of Deceit> before her panic became too apparent. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Elowen. I'm Melina Dufour."

"You—" Elowen began, recognition all too apparent in his face. Melina cut him off.

"I'm sure you came to report to the Guildmaster, Alistair. I won't hold you up. We can talk later," she stepped around them, eager to make her escape.

"Melina, wait…" Alistair began, reaching out his hand to her. But then he glanced at Elowen and clicked his tongue in annoyance. Melina blinked in surprise. She'd never seen him be so openly annoyed with somebody.

Are they fighting just like they did in the past? Oh no… As if there wasn't enough to worry about already.

"I'll stop by the bakery once I'm done here. Is that alright?" Alistair asked.

"Of course," she said, praying that Elowen wouldn't be coming along with him. But she had a strong suspicion that he would. She inclined her head in goodbye and rushed away, trying her best to ignore the pair of silver eyes looking after her.

"Master, this is a disaster!" Melina exclaimed the moment she got back to the bakery. Sienna peered at her curiously, not understanding her outburst.

"What did you do now? Did you manage to piss off Arianne somehow? I thought she'd be ecstatic about healing waffles," Gilbert huffed as he prepared a batch of dough for tomorrow.

"No, it's not about her or the waffles. I've managed to secure a deal where I make a batch of 30 waffles each week for a gold coin."

"That's great news!" The old baker perked up, then looked at Melina suspiciously. "What's the problem then?"

"Alistair is back!"

Gilbert looked even more puzzled. "I'd expect you to be happy about his return? Why the panic?"

"He came back with an elf!"

"Since when did you hate elves?"

"I don't hate elves, but I think this elf recognized me. From before I rewound time because I've never met him in this timeline yet."

"Recognized you?! Are you certain?"

"Well… Not 100%, but his reaction seemed like he knew me in some way," she explained as she paced around the kitchen. "If he remembers everything that happened before, I'm sure he'll try to kill me."

Gilbert groaned. "What did you do to this particular elf?"

"Not to him, but rather to the world as a whole..." Melina said shamefully. " He asked, begged me repeatedly not to sever the connection between Human and Monster Realms. Many elves did, but in the end, I didn't listen."

Melina groaned and then slumped to the floor, clutching her head. "No matter how hard I try, I can't really erase the past."

"Well, if he remembers the past, why don't you explain that you regret your actions?"

"What?" Melina looked up at him incredulously. "Master, it's not that simple—"

"No, it is exactly that simple! You tell him you realized your mistake and abandoned your [Archmage] persona just to prevent the disaster from repeating itself."

"But—"

"No buts! If you truly regret what you did, then face the past and own up to your mistakes."

Master Gilbert is right. It might be scary to face Elowen, but running isn't the answer. I need to explain myself to him. Reassure him that I'd never try to separate realms again. I couldn't even if I wanted to.

Despite that, Melina was a nervous wreck. She didn't know how to explain herself to the elf without it sounding like excuses. Not to mention that she didn't know the result of Alistair's excursion. In that brief moment, he didn't seem any different from before. Was the <General's Echo> gone?

After a moment of contemplation, Melina decided that it was best to keep herself busy and think matters through slowly. She headed outside. The garden was growing nicely. Her little seeds had grown into small seedlings while the strawberries she had planted started to grow their first buds. Bees were eagerly flying around and searching for freshly opened flower buds.

The sight calmed her, as did the presence of Knight. He was roaming around the garden, careful not to trample the seedlings. Melina had left him a little corner where he could graze and eat all the weeds and grass he wanted.

"Hello, Knight," she greeted the nightmare, who replied with a snort. Sienna scuttled up on his back and basked in the warm sunlight. Initially, Knight didn't take kindly to Sienna doing this and tried to shake her off. But eventually, the two of them formed a tentative friendship.

Melina went to the back of the yard, near Knight's grazing spot, doing her best not to let her dark thoughts take hold. She observed the spot she had chosen for Sienna's enclosure. Currently, it was nothing more than a barren piece of land. She had cleared away all the weeds and shrubs, but otherwise, there wasn't much progress.

"I'll definitely need some rocks. Sienna loves lying on those during the day. But I'd need really large rocks for Sienna's big form," she muttered, walking around the area and pulling out a rogue weed or two. It should be large enough for Melina to build Sienna a shelter of sorts, but how would she go about doing that?

Her eyes landed on a large pile of rocks sitting in the very corner of the garden. The pile had grown larger over time as Melina dug out more rocks from the soil. She looked over the spot where she was standing, and then an idea struck her.

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Melina rushed to the shed, retrieved a shovel, and began digging the foundation of Sienna's enclosure. It was a large area, and it would take a lot of digging to realize the idea that she had in mind. But with any luck, the wyrm would have a nice place to rest in her large form.

She dug and dug, her hands quickly getting exhausted. But the monotone motion helped her calm and organize her thoughts. Melina knew she wasn't ready to face Elowen head-on just yet, but perhaps she could reveal the truth to him slowly.

Melina was so into her task that she didn't even notice when Alistair, with Elowen following closely behind him, came into the backyard. Only when Knight let out a dissatisfied snort did she notice both men. She had no clue how to react.

"Hello?"

"Hello. I hope I'm not interrupting anything important," Alistair asked sheepishly.

"Oh, no… I was just digging."

"Is that an ember wyrm? And a nightmare?" Elowen asked, looking at both beasts.

"Nightmare?" Alistair questioned.

Melina groaned inwardly. She had no clue how to deal with one of them, but dealing with both of them at once… There couldn't be a worse situation. How could she even reply to this?

"Sienna is an ember wyrm—yes!" She said, trying her best to appear calm. Elowen narrowed his eyes.

"How did a human manage to tame one?"

Human? Elowen wouldn't refer to me as just a human if he remembered me. He always called me "mage". I doubt he'd be surprised about me taming an ember wyrm. So does he not remember me after all?

The silver elf was studying her cautiously. He definitely remembered something, but his memories were probably fragmented just like Alistair's. There was a chance for Melina to appeal to him and make him believe that she'd never try to break the world apart again. If she could do that before he remembered what she had done, then there would be a better chance of him listening to her.

"With a tart," Melina said calmly. She motioned for Sienna to come over. The wyrm reluctantly left the warm spot on Knight's back and hurried into Melina's palm she had lowered to the ground.

"Fascinating! She listens to your commands as well. She must be your familiar, meaning that you're a System user."

Melina froze. Alistair frowned. It took Elowen just a few minutes to figure out her secret. If he weren't an elf, she might have panicked. But Melina knew that elves didn't care much for the Church.

"I won't deny it, but please, do not refer to me as a System user in public. I do not wish to be involved with the Church."

"Really?" Elowen seemed pleased by that fact. "Odd choice, but one I can certainly agree with."

"In either case, this is not the reason for our visit. There's something I'd like to discuss with you, Melina," Alistair said, glaring at the elf.

"Of course, but…" She paused, looking at Elowen. She wanted to ask why he had come together with Alistair.

"Why am I here? The Elders deemed it necessary for me to come to Sunglow, and since we did a favor for Lord Sinclair, he became my guide," Elowen replied, sensing her question.

Alistair didn't look pleased by that fact in the slightest.

Somehow, out of all elves, Elowen ended up as Alistair's guide. What are the chances of that happening? It's as if past events are trying to repeat themselves...

"Yes, although I do not understand why you have to follow me everywhere?" Alistair grumbled.

"Is it not fair that you guide me just like I have guided you?" Elowen asked.

"Yes, it is fair. However, there is no need to follow me everywhere. Besides, I wish to speak with Melina privately."

"I understand your eagerness, however, I will be in Sunglow only for a short while. I would like to learn more about a human who can tame a wyrm. System or not, you don't seem like a fighter. You feel more suited to a mage role."

Melina activated <Mask of Deceit> to retain her calm exterior.

Now I am certain that he's seen me in visions. A small village girl doesn't resemble a mage in any way. However, his memories are certainly incomplete. If he remembered me properly, Elowen wouldn't be this calm.

"I'm afraid you're vastly overestimating my abilities. I am just a baker's apprentice," she said.

"Wait… a baker? That… That can't be right," Elowen frowned.

"It is true. Everyone in Sunglow knows that," Alistair confirmed.

"Why don't we head inside? I'll show you," Melina said, then noticed her dirty hands. "Just let me wash up quickly."

They headed inside, where Gilbert first looked surprised by the company, then annoyed. "Oh, great. You've made a new friend. And this time it's an elf."

"I'm sorry for the intrusion, Master Gilbert," Alistair bowed slightly.

"Excuse me for the rudeness. There are matters I wished to discuss with your apprentice. My name is Elowen Freyer."

"Yeah, yeah. If you were truly sorry, you wouldn't have intruded in the first place. Head into the living room and wait there. At least have the common decency to let a lady wash up," Gilbert grumbled.

Melina felt a bit bad for Alistair. He didn't really deserve the verbal beating. But on the other hand, Elowen looked even more out of his element. Elves took the rules of hospitality seriously, and intruding into another's person's home was not something done without a good reason.

She'd use it to her advantage. Melina hurried upstairs and headed into the bathroom. Elowen might have caught her unaware in the morning, but she felt far more comfortable in her home, with Master Gilbert nearby. So she washed up and put on one of her nice dresses to appear more like a human girl rather than a mage.

After some time, when she was clean and her heart was calm, she headed downstairs. Elowen and Alistair were both sitting silently in the living room, looking gloomy. The moment she entered, both of them perked up.

Elowen looked mostly relieved that the wait was over, but Alistair… She didn't quite understand the expression he bore. He was gaping at her with wide eyes. Did she look weird? Maybe this dress was a bit much for the occasion.

As much as she would have liked to understand what that expression meant, Melina's first task was to deal with Elowen. "So, Elowen, right? What exactly did you want to know? How I tamed Sienna?"

The wyrm was sitting on her usual spot on Melina's shoulder, eyeing Elowen suspiciously.

"Yes. That was one. Quite frankly, I've never seen a human so close to a monster before. Discounting any fighting, of course."

"Melina tamed Sienna when I wasn't able to defeat her," Alistair said, somewhat ashamed.

"It was not your fault. Besides, my success is largely due to good luck," Melina said, and then explained the partially fake story she had told to Sunglowers. That Gilbert had provided her with the recipe, that she'd gotten feyfruit from a contest, and how the only actually impressive thing she did was handing the tart to Sienna.

"Fascinating… to think that something like that could be done. I understand now. It honestly puts my mind at ease. I've always hoped that humans would try to learn more about monsters instead of just killing them. For the longest time, it seemed like humans would never learn, but I see that there is hope now."

Suddenly, Elowen clutched onto his head as if struck by pain.

"Are you alright?" She asked, jumping up from her seat.

Elowen held up his hand, forcing her to pause and wait. After a moment, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "I've said these words to you before, haven't I?"

He just saw the vision, didn't he? The circumstances were a bit different then, but he had indeed told her those words before. It was the first time Melina disobeyed an order from the Church, instead staging the death of the rare phoenix and letting it go free.

Alistair perked up, his eyes looking hopeful. Wait, why was Alistair looking at her like that? It was as if he, too, remembered. Didn't he erase <General's Echo>? Did they not find the Architect?

When Melina didn't answer right away, Elowen continued. "For about two months, I would occasionally see visions. Glimpses of events I haven't lived through but which felt very real. Initially, I dismissed them as madness, but after a while, I spoke to the Elders about it. They concluded that what I saw were glimpses of a possible future."

"In these glimpses, I often saw various horrible events. Mostly involving elves and humans who tried to kill us. But every so often I would see you, as well as Lord Sinclair."

Melina had been right. However, it still surprised her that Elowen talked so openly about it. Usually, elves were much more secretive.

"From our excursion to the Architect and also from the account of Lord Sinclair, I've concluded that the Elders were right. I would like to know if you, the one who so often shows up in my visions, also have something similar."

"Architect?" Melina blinked, staring at Alistair. They had found it after all, but then…

"The one from the recipe," Alistair said, looking Melina deeply in the eyes. His gaze said it all. He knew that she was the one who wrote the letter. He hadn't erased his skill. He remembered.

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