Chapter 479: Future of Her Own

Neria woke up before Damon.

He discovered this when he left his room and found her already sitting in the inn’s small common room, eating bread while watching the activity in the village through the window. Fishermen crossed the street carrying nets, two children chased something Damon couldn’t identify, and one man argued with another about the weight of a crate of fish.

Nothing extraordinary.

Neria seemed to be paying as much attention to it as she had to the ocean the previous day.

Damon sat across from her.

"Did you sleep?"

"Yes."

"Any pain?"

"No."

"Dizziness?"

"No."

Neria put a piece of bread into her mouth.

Damon waited.

She finished chewing.

"You’re copying Ester."

"I’m trying to avoid having her blame me if you come back in pieces."

"She would do that."

"Exactly."

Neria looked toward the window again.

"I want to stop by the beach before we leave."

Damon picked up the bread on the table.

"What for?"

"To see it in the morning."

"It’s the same sea."

"It’s not the same light."

He fell silent.

Neria raised an eyebrow.

"You’re learning."

"Don’t tell anyone."

After breakfast, they returned to the coast, but this time they didn’t go down to the water. They stayed in a lower part of the village, where the sea was visible between the anchored boats.

The surface was darker than the previous day, with almost no sunlight reflecting off it. Neria remained there for a few minutes, watching the fishermen set out.

One of them was pushing a small boat while another shouted something about the tide.

"Want to get on a boat?" Damon asked.

Neria immediately looked at him.

"Not today."

"Good."

"You didn’t want to?"

"I have absolutely no interest in finding out whether you get seasick."

She thought about it.

"Now I want to know."

Damon closed his eyes.

"Forget it."

Neria smiled.

The return journey to the Transfer point took a little longer than the trip there. Neria’s body was tired from the previous day’s walk, and she made no attempt to hide it.

She stopped three times.

During the second break, she lay down on the grass for a few minutes and stared at the sky.

Damon sat nearby.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"Need more time?"

"Five minutes."

He nodded.

No negotiation.

Neria noticed.

"You’re not going to say ten?"

"You asked for five."

"You’d normally increase it."

"I’m trying to mature."

She slowly turned her head.

"Don’t say that around Jian Yue."

"I have no intention of doing so."

Neria closed her eyes.

After a few seconds, she asked:

"Do you think I’ll be able to travel alone?"

Damon didn’t answer immediately.

"Today?"

"No."

"Then yes."

She opened her eyes.

"That was simple."

"You’re walking for hours, managing your breaks, carrying your own things, and recognizing when your body needs to stop. What you lack is practice, not some mysterious ability."

"Would you let me?"

Damon looked at her.

"It’s not up to me to let you."

Neria fell silent.

Damon continued:

"If someday you tell me you want to travel alone, I might think it’s a bad idea. Ester might think it’s dangerous. And Eir would probably be devastated."

"Probably?"

"Definitely."

Neria smiled.

"But it would still be your choice."

She continued looking at the sky.

"That still feels strange."

"It will for a while."

"Do you know that from experience?"

"Unfortunately."

Later, when they reached the safe point, Damon sent a signal to Mirath.

Aria responded almost immediately, but the Transfer took a few minutes to prepare.

When it opened, Ester was standing on the other side.

Neria looked at Damon.

"She was waiting."

"Naturally."

Ester didn’t even greet them.

"How are you?"

"Fine."

"That’s not enough."

Neria crossed through.

Damon followed immediately afterward.

Ester placed a hand on Neria’s arm before the passage had even closed, checked her temperature, and then examined her eyes.

"Any dizziness?"

"No."

"Weakness?"

"I’m tired."

"How much?"

"Normal."

"That’s not a measurement either."

Damon walked past them.

"Good luck."

Neria pointed at him.

"You were with me."

Ester looked at Damon.

He stopped.

"Betrayal."

"Report."

Damon sighed.

He told her about the breaks, the climb to the cliff, the descent to the beach, the return to the village, and that morning’s walk.

Ester listened without interrupting.

When he finished, she looked at Neria.

"You respected your limits."

"Yes."

"You stopped before becoming exhausted."

"Yes."

"You didn’t try to hide any symptoms."

"There were no symptoms."

"Even better."

Neria waited.

Ester nodded.

"Good trip."

She froze.

"That’s all?"

Damon began laughing.

"Now you understand."

Neria narrowed her eyes.

"You’ve spoiled me."

They returned to the Valley that afternoon.

Liora was waiting near the passage.

With Eir.

Or, more precisely, surrounded by enough roots to make it obvious that Eir was trying to appear casual and failing completely.

As soon as the passage opened, Liora ran forward.

"Did you bring food?"

Neria stopped.

Damon raised a hand.

"I knew it."

Neria opened her bag.

"I did."

Liora received a small package of sweets purchased in the village and immediately lost interest in everything else about the trip.

Eir didn’t.

The roots moved a few centimeters but remained at a distance.

Waiting.

Neria crossed through.

Took two steps.

Then opened one hand.

The roots came toward her.

Not quickly.

They wrapped around her ankles and then climbed slightly around her wrists, establishing contact.

Eir spoke.

"Sea."

Neria began smiling.

"Yes."

"Cold?"

"Very."

"I told you."

Damon crossed his arms.

"You warned her a hundred and seventeen years ago. That doesn’t count."

Eir ignored him.

Neria touched one of the roots.

"It’s still big."

"Yes."

"It’s still difficult."

"Yes."

"And I liked it."

There was a pause.

"Good."

Neria looked at Damon.

He immediately understood.

"And?"

Eir took a moment.

"I want to know."

Neria became serious.

"What?"

"Everything."

She laughed.

"Then this is going to take a while."

"I have time."

Damon sat on a root farther away.

"That was almost a joke."

"No."

"Even worse."

Neria started from the beginning.

She told Eir about the hills, the road, the unfamiliar houses, and the smell of salt arriving before the sound of the waves.

She spoke about the village, the boats, and the fish Damon had hated.

"I didn’t hate it."

"You made that face."

"It was a strong smell."

"You complained."

"Once."

"Three times."

Damon decided not to argue with someone who was reconstructing recent memories aloud.

Neria told her about the cliff.

When she described the sea appearing beyond the final bend, Eir remained completely motionless.

Even the surrounding roots stopped moving.

"Did you remember?" Eir asked.

"Yes."

"The same?"

"No."

Eir took a moment.

Neria continued before she could ask.

"I was different."

"Yes."

"So it couldn’t be the same."

Eir absorbed that in silence.

Neria explained that she had thought seeing the ocean again would be like recovering an old part of her life.

Then she explained that it hadn’t been.

"Were you sad?" Eir asked.

"A little."

Damon looked at her.

Neria noticed.

"A little."

"You said it wasn’t bad."

"It wasn’t."

Eir seemed to struggle with that.

"Sad. Good."

"They can happen together."

"Complicated."

Damon smiled.

"Welcome to the club."

Neria continued.

She talked about going down to the beach.

About taking off her shoes.

About the first freezing wave and her immediate reaction.

Liora, who was eating the last sweet, looked at her.

"Did you run away?"

"One step."

"Coward."

Neria opened her mouth.

Damon started laughing before she could respond.

"Where did you learn that?"

Liora pointed at him.

"Naturally."

Neria finished by explaining that she had stayed in the water afterward.

That nothing had happened.

No structure had reacted.

No problems had arisen.

She had simply stood there.

Eir listened to everything.

When Neria finished, the forest remained quiet for a few seconds.

"Wished I was there."

Neria gently squeezed one of the roots.

"I know."

"But didn’t need to be."

"No."

More silence.

"Liked hearing it."

Neria smiled.

"Then it worked."

Eir seemed to consider that.

"Can know without being there."

"Sometimes."

"Not the same."

"No."

"But still know."

"Yes."

Damon understood what that meant for Eir.

For practically her entire existence, knowing something meant touching it, sensing it through the soil, the roots, or the organisms connected to her territory.

Indirect experience probably seemed like an incomplete version of reality.

Now Neria had gone somewhere Eir couldn’t be and returned carrying something she could share without having to surrender her own body or allow Eir to experience it through her.

A story.

Nothing more.

Eir spoke.

"Want more."

Neria laughed.

"On my next trip."

"There will be another."

It wasn’t a question.

Neria looked at Damon.

He shrugged.

"I have no authority here."

"Good."

Eir answered before she could.

"Good."

Damon narrowed his eyes.

"You’re all conspiring against me."

Liora, still chewing, confirmed:

"Yes."

Neria rested for the remainder of the day.

The following day, Ester returned to the Valley to examine her.

The results were better than expected.

The alternative circulatory pathway had sustained her time away from Eir without showing signs of overload. Upon returning, its activity had decreased naturally, while the regulator Neria had decided to keep resumed part of its function near Eir’s presence.

Neither pathway had interfered with the other.

Ester examined the projection for a few seconds.

"Your body is handling the change in environment well."

Neria looked at the image.

"I can travel again."

Ester didn’t even look up.

"You can continue recovering."

"That wasn’t a no."

Damon, sitting nearby, smiled.

"She’s getting good at this."

Ester looked at him.

"Don’t encourage her."

Neria continued:

"I want to learn swordsmanship."

Now Ester raised her head.

Damon immediately pointed toward Jian Yue, who was standing a few meters behind them.

"Her."

Jian Yue looked surprised.

"You’re dragging me into this?"

"She chose you."

Neria corrected him.

"I’m still choosing."

"Choose her."

Jian Yue crossed her arms.

"Why?"

"Because you’re a better teacher."

Silence.

Damon realized his mistake too late.

Jian Yue smiled.

"You admitted it again."

He closed his eyes.

"That was a mistake."

Neria began laughing.

Ester watched the scene for a few seconds before returning her attention to the projection.

"Basic training. No impact for now."

Neria stopped laughing.

"Was that a yes?"

"Yes."

She remained motionless for a moment.

Then looked at Jian Yue.

"When do we start?"

Jian Yue thought about it.

"Tomorrow."

Neria smiled.

Damon knew that expression.

The same one she had worn when she managed to stand on her own.

This wasn’t about learning to kill.

Nor was it about recovering what the Order had taken from her.

It was simply one more thing that would begin afterward.

And for the first time in a very long time, Neria’s future was filling with things she had chosen for herself.