The morning after I waited in town, in the quild actually, where people clapped for me and cheered.
"That's the lord of no-mans land."
"Don't forget to mention us if someone asks about your past."
I laughed loudly just as Luna came to me. "Svetislav, there you are, we have your grand reward ready of-"
"Nah, keep it as a check for everyone, I don't need any blood money." I said with a large smile.
Everyone cheered louder as they heard my words. "Thank you all, and thanks to my old friends, I wouldn't have come this far without yall." I announced as I stepped onto an empty table.
The mood of the entire guild went up quite significantly.
I sat with them, telling stories of what happened and what's to happen, of all the new farms that I would make now that the whole fricking desert belongs to me. If I enter the market, I instantly get the title of a monopolist.
Soon enough all those carriages, which were carrying the furniture that I ordered from the trusted merchant arrived in time.
"It's been great, but it's my time to make my leave." I say, waving high as I left the building and went to the merchant, where I took the furniture in my astral storage and then left to the desert.
Acat parred beneath me, its rhythmic puffs steady as a heartbeat. The landscape slowly changed - from winding roads on mountains, then the sands of the badlands, then the slope of the man-made hill road winding upwards. Ahead, the 'ancient' wall loomed, the gates closed, seperating the desert and the world I'd carved into it.
I rolled Acat to a halt before the great wooden gates. With the river now flowing, my home knows me, and it opened them automatically for me.
I rolled in and parked just beside the entrance next to the 1 day granny tree, because she grew to a hundred years in just a day.
I walked through the main road and to the lower part of the oasis, where our home was positioned. There I began placing all the furniture, the bed, the couch, the tables, the chairs and all in-between. I even made a fridge that listens to intentions, just say what you want and it will reach into my astral storage to give you it.
By the end of the day, the sunset shone in such a way, that the shadows were beautiful.
"My dear!" I didn't even use her name - I knew she'd understand.
Light shimmered in the air, and she descended from the afterlide with a soft rush, her voice as tender as her smile. "Yes, my love?"
"Feast your eyes on my creation!" I gestured wide. "This is our new home. An isolated heaven, just for the two of us."
Eris spun slowly where she stood, her night-colored hair catching the gold of senset. The streetlights flickered to life - mana to light conversion - castint a glow neither too bright not too dim. The temperature was perfect, a perpetual dusk breeze carrying th scent of earth and fruit. The fortress was alive, and she could feel it.
"I've put a part of my soul into this, like I always do," I said softly. "It is my domain... and, in turn, yours."
Her eyes met mine, but behind me she caught sight of the little workers plucking grapes from the vines that climbed the inner walls above the river.
"Hm?" I saw her glancing back, so I looked over my shoulder, chuckling at the sight. "Want one?" I pulled a fat, dark grapr from my astral storage, it's skin cool against my fingers.
"Yes, I'd like that." She stepped closer, taking it from me.
"There are many fruits," I said, spreading my arms. "Many, many. And you can have them all. You just need to talk to my sentient storage unit." My tone turned jocking, even though it wasn't a joke. "Come... Let me show you our house."
Her fingers slid into mine without hesitation.
I led he down the side path. The air smelled faintly of soil anr blossoms, the flowerbeds spilling with colors. Her shoes clicked softly against the stone tiles, each step echoing faintly.
"Do you like it?" I asked, almost hesitant, my voice quieter than I intended.
She turned her gaze toward me and gave a smile so radiant it disarmed me completely. "I love it... And I love you."
I smiled back. "I love you too."
We passed by the small building I'd prepared for winemaking, eventually reaching the main road. The pavers here were kn circular patterns, small bri ks fitted in crude but living geometry.
"Fun fact," I said, brrushing mu hand over the stone wall on our right, "this place is inspired by somrthing from back home - the queen's residence in Balchik. Well. Technically it wasn't hers anymore by the time I saw it, but the place stayed in my mind.
"Bulgaria?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Yes." I breath out, the word carryint the weight of continents. "My homeland. I kind of miss it. Tsarevo, it's another place I miss... Then Burgas, the city where I was born."
The memories flooded back in, familiar faces, streets, laughter... Something I won't experience again.
She noticed immediately, and without a word, she stopped me, gently blocking my steps.
"I miss it..." I murmured, my voice raw.
She reached forward and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a soft, steadying embrace. Her words were quiet, almost like a prayer. "I understand..."
The ache in my chest eased just enough to move again. After a long moment, we resumed walking, hand in hand, until we reached thr modest castle home.
I opened the door for her, bowing slightly with mock formality. "Welcome to our little kingdom."
Inside, I first showed her the living room, which was lovely a hearth, a couch, a table and cabinets for stuff that I might get in the future.
Then the kitchen. She knew my technology, but then she granced at the small metal box. "When I said you'd need to talk to my storage unit, I meant this little thing. It has access to everythint in my astral storage - as long as it can fit inside, that is. Try it. For example: dragon fruit."
Curious, she leaned toward thr box, whispering, "dragon fruit."
The air inside the box shimmered - and there it was. She gasped softly.
I grinned. "See? And if you place it back, the box reabsorbs it, reducing it back into information."
She did as instructed, carefully placing the fruit back inside. It dissolved like sand slipping through fingers, vanishing.
"Practical and elegant," she said, amused.
"Much like you," I teased lightly.
She rolled her eyes, but her blush betrayed her.
And so I guuded her from room to room. Unlike the gaudy noble mansion of Alderp I went to, this home was humble, intentional, and almost natural in its flow.
Finally, I led her out to the balcony. The view stretched over the treetops, where the sun was slowly sinking, it's golden light filtering through the crowns of green. The air shimmered with warmth, but the evening breeze softened it.
For a while, neither of use spoke. She leaned her elbows on the wooden railing, eyes on the horizon.
"It fells alive," she whispered at last. "Not just a home, but... like the land itself wants us here."
I smiled faintly, resting my hand over hers. "That's because a piece of me is literally woven into it. This place... it's as much soul as stone."
"Then it really is ours."
Just as we were about to head back inside, Eris froze mid-step, her nose twitchint slightly. She sniffed again, sharp and rapid, before her brows knitted into a frown.
"I can smell..." she muttered, her tone dropping into something cold. Another sniff, sharper this time. "...undead."
Her eyes narrowed, and slowly, a smile crept across her face. Sweet, but far too sweet, like honey on a knife. She turned to me, voice melodic and soft: "Just a moment, my love."
Before I could reply, she was gone. Out through the door, out past the wall of the oasis fortress, her steps light but purposeful.
The night air shifted, and in the distance, I heard it - faint shrieks, guttural groans, and then flashes or holy radiance cutting through the dark. Eris' exorcism wasn't a solemn rite; thete was an edge of sadistic glee in the way she enjoyed purging them, a side of her I didn't even knew existed.
And then, silence.
The door opened with a gentle creak. She stepped back inside, her expression bright and cheerful as though nothing had happened. "I'm back."
I couldn't help but smile faintly at the whiplash. "Welcome home, angel of mine."
She giggled, slipping off her shoes, and joined me upstairs.
And so, after the long day and the tour, after work and play and even a brief hunt for restless dead, we finally slipped benesth the covers of our new home.
Her warmth curled against me, her hair brhshing my cheek. I whispered a soft "Goodnight, my beloved," and drifted to sleep.