The moment Aresando stepped through the portal, he felt it again — Solarnis. The world hummed differently. Like a chord in a song that only his soul could hear. The skies above shimmered in colors no physics teacher would ever believe existed. The air smelled like wild lavender, steel, and just a hint of fire magic.
Jade hadn't let go of him.
Not for a full minute.
Then, very quietly, she whispered: "Next time you disappear, I will follow you through time, dimensions, or the stomach of a lava worm. Got it?"
"Crystal clear," Aresando replied, trying not to laugh — and failing when she swatted the back of his head.
The portal behind him fizzled out with a crackle, the coin dropping into his palm once again — quiet now, but faintly warm. Like it approved.
---
Back at the Guild of Valkirya, the welcome was surprisingly casual.
"Back already?" said Valkirya, arms crossed, leaning against the guild's front desk with a knowing smirk. Her long silver braid glinted like a whip of moonlight.
Jade lifted Aresando's arm like a trophy. "He teleported back through space and time just to see me. So, yes."
Valkirya raised an eyebrow. "Mm-hm. And I bet you didn't threaten seven mages and one librarian to figure out how to find him."
Jade looked innocent. "I only threatened six."
Aresando cleared his throat. "Actually, I think I need a break from being tossed across realities. Can we... do a normal quest? Maybe something that doesn't involve haunted mirrors or giant shadow-dragons?"
Valkirya smirked. "You're in luck. There's a nest of pickpocket gremlins stealing laundry outside Mistveil Village. Want it?"
"…Perfect."
---
The Days That Followed
Aresando and Jade began taking missions again — but not the world-shattering kind. No, this time they did normal adventuring things.
Escorting a baker's shipment of cursed muffins (don't eat the jam-filled ones).
Clearing a mine of singing slimes (too catchy — they were stuck humming for days).
Helping an old dryad plant magical turnips (they exploded when overwatered).
And slowly — something shifted.
Solarnis was changing.
The towns they visited whispered stories of a past hero — the Silver Flame — a man who wielded both blade and spell, who disappeared decades ago.
His name?
Thaleon.
Aresando's grandfather.
Some called him a myth. Others said he died fighting the King of Cinders atop the Embered Spire. But in hidden corners — ancient texts, enchanted ruins, old bards around tavern fires — his name always carried weight.
And now… so did Aresando's.
---
A Night in the Fields of Solarnis
One evening, after returning from a mission involving a runaway enchanted pumpkin, they camped under the stars — in the wide-open moonflower fields outside Mistveil.
Jade lay beside him, tail flicking lazily, watching the sky with her head resting on his arm.
"I saw your face when the villagers mentioned Thaleon," she murmured. "You're thinking too much again."
"I just didn't know he was this important."
"He was," she said softly. "But you're not him, Aresando. You're… you."
"…What if I'm just some cheap knockoff?"
Jade rolled over, looking him in the eyes. "Then you're my favorite knockoff. Besides—" She poked his cheek, "—you're way cuter."
He blushed. "You think I'm cuter than a legendary hero who slayed a volcano serpent?"
She grinned, fangs gleaming. "Definitely. Thaleon didn't have fluffy ears to pet every night."
Aresando stared.
"I don't have fluffy ears."
"No," she said smugly, curling her tail around his waist. "But I do. And you have me."
---
Lore Unfolds
In the following days, Aresando began to piece together more of his grandfather's story.
An old draconic mural in a crumbling temple showed Thaleon sealing away a great evil called The Hollow Crown, an entity that twists desire into corruption.
A diary hidden in Valkirya's archives revealed that Thaleon had disappeared shortly after using a forbidden coin — one crafted by a god of balance to test "the worth of fate."
The same kind of coin Aresando now held.
And then, a final piece.
In a sealed envelope, tucked inside a false panel of his grandfather's old cloak (which he found, hilariously, being used by Jade as a blanket), Aresando found a letter.
"If you're reading this, it means you've stepped where I once did. Solarnis isn't just a world — it's a choice. One that calls to us. Protect her. Laugh, love, and fall. But above all... stay human."
It was signed simply: —Thaleon
Aresando stared at the letter for a long time.
Then he turned to Jade.
"…Wanna go kill a few more pickpocket gremlins before bedtime?"
Jade snorted. "You're such a romantic."