Within the confines of his room sat a silent Damian at his desk. His fingers laced together, creating a platform for his forehead to lay on. Little beads of sweat slowly fell down his cheeks. The curtains were closed, rejecting the fleeting sunlight. However, the room was not without brightness as a small lamp that resided at Damian's desk dimly illuminated the dark room. The room was neat and tidy, an accomplishment that belonged to Yena, his caretaker. Damian had asked her to "tell the others to leave me alone unless the adventurers come" upon his arrival.

[It's almost time.]

An hour and forty minutes remained until the sun set. An hour and forty minutes before the beast would attack. No adventurers had accepted the quest yet. The likelihood of their survival without any assistance was close to none. Damian's thoughts were clouded with the terrors of the previous timelines. Would this time end in tragedy like before? Would he have to watch helplessly as the villagers that cared for him and took him in as one of their own die horrible deaths? His breaths were shallow and heavy, as if his thoughts were constricting his own neck.

[I need to get some fresh air. I'm gonna die from a stress-induced stroke if I keep this up.]

To this conclusion Damian stood up from his chair and exited his gloomy residence. He trudged along the empty path, steadily making his way to the village gates. By now all the villagers had entered their houses, ready to retire for the night with their families. The gate guards Richard and Timithus sat near the gates, playing cards to pass the time.

"Damian! What brings ya here so late?" Questioned Richard.

"I'm heading to the tree. I'll be back soon."

"At this time? I don't think ya should go alone. Especially because of that beast that's supposedly around here. If ya really want to go I'll go with ya."

"No, it's fine. I promise I'll be extra careful so let me go this once. Please?"

A low growling sound emitted from the depths of Richard's throat, like a lion's purr.

"Fine. But if yar not back in ten minutes I'm gonna come find ya and give ya an earful ya got me?"

"Yes sir."

Damian left the guards to continue their game. Along the way Damian dreamily stared into the sky as he walked. The orange tinted sky reminded Damian of flames. In fact, the forest almost seemed to be ablaze from how orange everything was. The air was cool in contrast to the fiercely warm color of the sky. The short and weak gusts of wind seemed to wash away Damian's worries and concerns, leaving him with one honest thought:

[This feels nice]

Damian finally made it to his destination. A small clearing within the forest, where a lone 50-ft Quaking Aspen tree sat upon a small hill. He made his way up the hill and to the tree, reaching out to it with his right hand. The texture of the bark was rough like the other trees but it's color was an olive-gray while the ones around it were a classic brown. Damian slid his fingers down the surface of the bark and took a seat at the foot of the tree. He would often visit the tree in hopes of discovering a way home. However, after numerous failed attempts, he adopted the setting as a cozy hangout. For some reason, Damian always felt at ease whenever he came to the tree. Something about it was reassuring but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. As he rested on the tree, his mind drifted to more pressing matters.

[I need to think of something. Just because we don't have any help doesn't mean we shouldn't try. But to beat that beast we'll need a well thought out plan. Our power doesn't even come close so we have to rely on our brains. There's still time before the attack happens. I should call for a strategy meeting with everyone. If we all brainstorm together we should be able to come up with something.]

The quiet and peaceful air was abruptly disrupted by the rustling of leaves. Damian immediately got to his feet, ready to run for his life. Thankfully for Damian, a familiar looking female elf emerged from the trees.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" Rose apologized.

"Just a little." Damian exhaled in relief. "What's up?"

"Frank is calling for you. An adventurer has arrived."

"An adventurer? Just one?"

"Yes, but he seems strong."

"I hope he is. If he's not, this battle is gonna be a rough one. I'm still grateful he came though. I was assuming none would show up at all."

The sun was now barely in the sky. The sky's orangish tint was now darkened and muddy.

"Let's hurry. There isn't much time left." Damian announced.

He patted his knee. The wound was for the most part gone. It didn't hurt to run anymore so he did just that.

"There isn't much time left until what?" Rose asked as she effortlessly ran besides him.

"U-until the sun goes down! You know, it's always a bad idea to be out after sundown."

"Oh that's what you meant."

******

Knock Knock

"Come in." Damian heard from inside the cabin.

With their approval, Damian opened the door. In the single room cabin sat Frank and who Damian deduced was the adventurer at the sides of a table. The adventurer was a handsome man, maybe about twenty-five years old. His brown, silky-smooth hair parted from the left side of his hairline and was long enough to partially cover his right eye but not enough to reach his chin. His eyes were small, not because of genetics but rather because he didn't put in the effort to keep them open the way most people did. If you saw only his eyes he appeared lazy, sleepy even. His smile on the other hand, was big and wide. Putting the two features created the face of an overconfident jerk, the type that thought he was better than everyone. His cocky expression was complemented by his oversized armor. His silver shoulder pads were about the size of his head and his chestplate was at least two. He even wore a red cape that flowed from his back and down to his knees. Besides his hip was a longsword within its sheath, which had a golden shine. He truly looked the part of a giant knight, clad in silver armor.

"Took you long enough." Frank snorted.

"Sorry about that. Hey. I'm Damian and this is Rose." Damian extended his hand towards the adventurer.

"I'm Charles. Pleased to meet you." Charles accepted Damian's hand and waved to Rose, who waved back.

Damian and Rose took their seats at the table. The flame within the lamp illuminating the room flickered, threatening to turn dark.

"So, what have you guys discussed so far?" Damian asked.

"Nothing." Frank answered. "We've been waiting for you two."

"Oh. Well let's go over the mission. Charles, you know what you're supposed to do right?"

"Yes. To protect the village from an ape beast. Is that correct?"

"Yeah. If the ape appears then you are to lure him away to a clearing in the forest located north of the village and finish it off there. Rose and the two guards at the gate, Timithus and Richard will assist you."

"Ah, no that's fine. I can handle it by myself."

"You're planning to fight it one on one? That's insane!"

"I'm sure my skill level will be adequate for this fight. There's no need for...reinforcements."

The way Charles hesitated before saying reinforcements seemed to imply that he viewed them as baggage rather than actual support and was searching for a nicer way to phrase it. This seemed to upset Rose so she spoke up:

"How can you be that confident without knowing how strong it is?" Rose queried.

"The reason is simple: I can't lose."

"You can't lose?"

"I have the Blessing of Survival. It gives me absolute insight in battle, allowing me to dodge any deadly attack and grants me increased strength the lower my chances of survival."

"That sounds overpowered." Damian enviously remarked.

[It's like the opposite of my blessing. Mine encourages death while his' encourages living. I would trade my blessing for his in a heartbeat if I could.]

"With my ability I should be able to take it alone. So I appreciate your concern but I will handle it on my own."

"Sorry but we're still tagging along, just in case." Damian stubbornly challenged.

"I assure you it's unnecessary but I doubt you'd listen." Charles chuckled. "Just try to keep up with me."

******

The sun had finally set. The only light sources were the lit torches and the radiant moonlight. At Damian's request, he, Rose, Charles, Richard, and Timithus lay wait at the village gates for the beast to arrive. Frank had decided to retire home as he had no combat experience and came to the conclusion that he couldn't help in any way. Damian was even more useless than Frank in battle, but he decided to tag along anyways. His nerves wouldn't allow him to stay at home and pray for good news.

Damian stared intensely into the dark forest, keeping a lookout. The others stayed attentive but weren't as nearly as tense as Damian. Richard surprised him with a heavy slap in the back.

"Chipper up, kid. Yar bringing down the atmosphere here."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry, Damian." Charles, the most relaxed of the group, spoke up. "I'll definitely kill it."

"I appreciate your optimism but I still can't help but worry."

"I-" Charles suddenly went quiet and gazed into the forest. "Something's coming."

All five of them focused their vision where Charles was facing. Glowing red eyes emitted from the darkness. The beast leaped from brush, pouncing on its target, Damian. Charles unsheathed his blade and blocked the attack with his great sword in the nick of time. He slashed at the beast, forcing it to retreat backwards.

The fight for their lives had begun.