Hunter of the Evernight-Chapter 827: Are you alright?

"How do we even get through that?" Elena couldn’t help but ask, her future sight having been the reason they were able to get away before the area around Sklaviunt was devoured by the darkness, leaving behind a black hole and the ethereal-looking River of Time.

"First of all, it’s best not to try and pry into the mysteries of the River, unless you wish to lose your mind in the resulting influx of history."

"I had no such intentions."

"But other people might." Ana calmly pointed out. "Work on sealing up this location, we can’t allow ordinary people to walk in here, at least not until the aether seals up this wound in reality."

"Understood," Elena replied, aware of the resulting dangers should the wound be left unchecked.

Worst-case scenario, it could spread, causing an even greater wound.

"What about you?"

"I’ll work on finding..."

Before she finished her statement, there was a flash of blackness so consuming that all the light around it completely vanished.

By the time the light returned, the blackness was gone, and in its place, an unconscious Alexander.

"Alex!" Both women exclaimed simultaneously as they rushed over to him.

Once they got on both sides, they began to shake him vigorously while calling out his name.

Surprisingly, that seemed to work as Alex jolted awake.

However, before they could ask him anything, he practically shoved them aside and got to his feet after which he rushed in the direction of the black hole.

Erratic as he was, both Elena and Ana didn’t hesitate to stop him as he suddenly slowed down while a box forged out of golden energy appeared around him.

Then, they rushed over and this time, Ana held on tightly, ensuring that he would not break away.

"Alex, what’s going on?... What happened?" Ana asked with Alex completely ignoring her, his attention completely focused on the black hole ahead.

"It’s all gone." He breathed out.

Closing his eyes, he dropped to his knees and muttered yet again. "It’s all gone."

Ana and Elena exchanged looks, both unsure of what he was talking about or even how to go about tackling his current state.

"Alex, what happened?... What’s going on?... Where’s Arwen?"

They asked in quick succession, however, it was only their last question that managed to gain Alex’s attention, not because he had the answer to the question but because of the name they mentioned.

"Arwen." He said in a low tone.

She has been with him throughout most of it, she might be able to remember.

His Shadows would also have seen things through his eyes which meant they could help him rewrite his diary, rewrite all the memories he’d written down.

All hope wasn’t lost.

And with that realization, Alex finally calmed, taking a deep breath that helped to take away the last of his worries.

Then, he got to his feet, taking on the dignified demeanor he always tried to maintain.

Alas, there was one slight problem.

"Uhmm..."

Neither Ana nor Elena could get themselves to say anything as they stared at it blankly while strange and vile thoughts ran through their mind.

Taking another deep breath, Alex looked down at them only to discover that they were staring at his waist, prompting him to look down and in that moment, a great deal of awkwardness settled over the trio.

***

Soon, Alex was on a rock, completely enshrouded by Flames of Twilight.

"What happened?" Ana asked with Alex replying.

"It’s a long story, one I’d like to forget. We should focus on finding Arwen and getting the hell out of here."

"That would be difficult," Ana admitted. "We have no idea where she is, so we wouldn’t know where to start looking."

"That’s true," Alex muttered, taking a moment to ponder if Thera had let anything slip as to where she had kept Arwen.

She was definitely not in Sklaviunt based on the facts, so where else could she have taken her?

Just then, Ana let out a light uhmm, catching the attention of the other two.

Then, she turned in the direction of the black hole not too far away and then, exerted her Will.

The aether rippled in response, and a moment later, a slightly aged-up Arwen stepped through the void of space, catching everyone by surprise.

"Huh?" Neither Alex nor Elena could understand what had just happened, while Ana simply stared at her palm.

Meanwhile, Arwen regarded the trio briefly after which an excited smile blossomed on her lips.

"It worked!" She exclaimed in joy as she rushed over and embraced Ana, then dragged her along so she could also embrace Alex, then she pulled in Elena as well.

None could breathe but no one dared to say a word, for some reason allowing Arwen to indulge in her happiness.

"Uhmm, Arwen, where have you been?" Alex finally managed to ask after Arwen had calmed down long enough to let them go.

Letting out a sigh, she replied. "The past."

"Wait what?"

"I’m not sure when but it’s within the last thousand years," Arwen added.

"Okay, back track," Alex said. "What do you mean you were in the past?"

"During my battle with Thera, I lost and she transported me back in time. At first, I was distraught, but then I decided that wouldn’t help in any way, so I found a way to travel to Ra’as to meet with Ana from the past and convinced her to send me back to the future... or the present, I’m not too clear on the details."

"You did all that?" Alex inquired before taking the time to really study the Arwen standing before him.

She seemed like someone in their early twenties, which went to show just how much time she’d spent in the past, considering she was supposed to be in her late teens.

"That explains why I suddenly got the urge to create a temporal gateway."

"Past Ana gave me an enchantment, said it would help me call out to you to bring me back."

"Well, that’s a lot to take in," Elena admitted from the side.

Taking a step forward, Alex placed a hand on Arwen’s shoulder and sincerely asked. "Are you alright?"