-Oliver-

I woke up feeling warm and cozy under Jaden's arm and his chest as my pillow. I'd slept through the night without waking up once, so I felt much better and stronger now. It had to be quite late already since the cave was quite silent, except for the silent murmurs of my friends. The beasts had gone back to sleep.

"Good morning," Jaden murmured, and moved his hand to play with my hair.

"Morning," I said, and snuggled tighter against him. "Did you sleep well?"

"Surprisingly well," he admitted. "The noise didn't really bother me."

"Maybe because it didn't bother me," I mumbled, and yawned.

"Probably," he agreed quietly.

I let my eyelids fall closed again and just enjoyed the closeness with Jaden, and the hand playing with my hair. I was well aware of the fact that we didn't really have time to waste, and that we needed to get going, but... I didn't want to get up yet. I was so comfortable...

My soul... I always tried my best to ignore it, but right now, it felt much better. The pain was more like numb aching, but I knew that once I got up on my feet, and we'd continue our journey, it would grow worse. It would drain me and my energy if I got up.

"I can carry you again," Jaden noted. "Then it won't get much worse."

"I don't want to treat you like a horse," I murmured.

Jaden whinnied quietly at me, and I had to laugh. He hugged me gently, but didn't loosen his grip on me.

"I'll carry you to the end of the world if I must," he whispered in my ear, and kissed my temple. "I'll do whatever it takes if it makes you feel even a little bit better. I'll be your horse or a donkey or a dog or a bird, whatever you need me to be."

I smiled against his chest and held onto him tighter. Maybe I imagined it, but his words seemed to heal my soul a little bit...

"And I will find Adam and get your other half back from him, that I swear. You will be whole again," he added, and I could feel his anger sparkling in his soul.

"I love you. You know that, right?" I said, nearly in tears.

"I know. And I love you too," he whispered back. "I will make things right again."

"I know..." I whispered. "I know you will... That's why I'm not scared."

"Good," he murmured.

We stayed there under the covers for a moment longer while I tried to get myself calm enough to get up. I... I was scared. Of course I was, even though I'd tried to act like I was fine. That fear was constantly bubbling under the surface, trying to suffocate me. But Jaden's words gave me strength and hope. It was easy to believe him because I could feel his determination.

Everything would be fine. I had to believe so, or I would lose my mind to fear.

I needed ten more minutes to get mentally ready to get out of bed. I was feeling quite sore, even though I hadn't done much walking the previous day, but I guess holding onto Jaden had taken its toll on me. I didn't mention it to anyone, and I did my best to hide it, but of course Jaden knew about it before I could even get up on my feet.

"Yeah, I'll carry you today," he said, giving me his hand to help me up.

"I'm fine, I'm fine..." I mumbled, but he wouldn't listen.

"Right," he said with raised eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes at him.

We joined the others by the tables, and I was secretly glad I got to sit down. The others wished their good mornings, some looking more tired than others, and asked me how I was doing.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine..." I grumbled.

"Maybe a little cranky," Jaden said with a grin, and I squinted my eyes at him.

"We have a long journey ahead of us today," Fenrir spoke, giving me concerned looks.

"I'll carry him," Jaden said reassuringly.

"Unless..." Ben spoke up, but paused with an unsure expression on his face. "I should be able to shape a piece of log into some kind of wagon you can pull. The terrain down here looks even enough for that. But that is, if I have enough power in me to make one."

"Oh! Like a rickshaw!" Tilly said in excitement.

"Exactly."

"That would be so great," Jaden said, turning to me in excitement. "That way you can sleep as much as you want."

"But is it better for you?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Who cares?"

"I do," I said quietly.

"Then yes, it is better for me, too," he said reassuringly, but clearly just to humor me.

But I guess pulling a small wagon was better than carrying me on his back the entire way. I had to admit, sitting in a wagon sounded comfortable. It would definitely save my energy, but I still felt bad for making Jaden do that for me.

"We can put all our bags in it, too," Jaden added.

"And we can switch if you want a break," Arch suggested.

Oh, goodness...

We ate our breakfast and packed our bags and got ready to leave. I wasn't allowed to do anything, of course, so I just sat on the edge of our bed and looked around the cave.

"I wish we could come back here just to have a slumber party," I spoke out loud to no one in particular.

"Maybe we can," Cedric replied to me. "This is your dimension, after all."

"Mine...?" I repeated.

"What part of being the actual Death do you not understand?" Cameron asked in annoyance.

"Cam..." Cedric said in a scolding manner, and my corrupted guardian glanced at him, then walked away. "Sorry about him..." Cedric told me, and came to me.

"Don't worry about it. I know this place is getting on his nerves, and his corruption is getting worse," I said quietly.

"It's not an excuse to be a dickhead..." Cedric mumbled.

I reached up to pat his arm and smiled. "We will find a way to clear his corruption."

"I don't know if it's enough..." he said, glancing over his shoulder. "I fear the corruption has destroyed his good heart."

I took a gentle hold on his feathery wrist and waited until he looked at me. "He would not be here with us as our ally and a friend if it had. His goodness is greater than his corruption. He is still the man you knew."

Cedric stared at me, then smiled as well. "You may be right."

"You will see," I said reassuringly. "Anyway. What about my dimension?"

"Well, this is Hades' home, and you're his Harbinger. You are Death. This place is where your power comes from," he explained.

"Shouldn't I be feeling stronger in that case?" I asked.

"Well, you get your power through Hades. If he can ever leave his prison and return home, it will strengthen both of you. But until then..."

"Right," I muttered, and sighed.

"Are we ready to go?" Fenrir asked as he approached us.

"I think so," I said, searching for Jaden, who had packed my bag and was now helping Tilly clean the last of our messes.

"Good. We can't waste too much time, or we won't reach the next shelter," Fenrir said, peering outside through the open doors.

"Great... We get to run again, huh?" I asked.

"I'm afraid so," he said apologetically. "The closer we get to Hades' castle, beasts will get... No, never mind."

"Bigger and stronger?" I guessed.

"...Yeah."

"Awesome," I said, and let Cedric help me up.

Jaden quickly joined me when he noticed I was up on my feet, but didn't try to stop me when I made my way to the doors, searching for Ben and Tilly. I spotted them behind the trees with a huge, chopped log between them.

Ben took his medallion and let it float in the air in front of him, then concentrated. The log was soon surrounded by a cloud of black dust which grew so intense the log vanished inside it. I almost held my breath as I watched the swirling dust picking up speed. Even though I was already quite used to this supernatural world by now, the peacekeeper magic would never stop to amaze me. Because holy shit! Magic! Actual magic!

And then the dust cloud exploded, leaving behind a wagon. A wagon. It was still quite hard to believe my eyes sometimes. Seeing a log turn into a wagon wasn't quite fitting in my head, even though I knew it was possible.

It got me thinking about that brain tumor I used to think I had...

"Man... I want to use magic too," Jaden grumbled next to me, crossing his arms and pouting.

"You are a werewolf with the ability to heal people with your voice," I noted.

"It's so lame..." he mumbled, and I had to laugh.

"Yes, so lame," said Jack when he and Arch passed us by. "Saving people's lives – mine included – is totally lame."

"Are you telling me you're jealous of my ability?" Jaden asked.

"Sure, if it makes you feel better," Jack said without stopping.

"It does, yes," Jaden said with a grin.

I shook my head in amusement, then made my way to the shiny new wagon. Jaden followed me closely, and I could feel his concerned eyes on me, but he had nothing to worry about. I was feeling better now. Getting to walk eased my sore muscles a little, and my mood was coming up. Maybe I wasn't that weak, after all. Maybe I could walk for an hour or so, so I didn't have to ask Jaden–

"No, no, no, no," my mate interrupted my thoughts. "No walking for you. You have to save your strength."

I let out a deep, grumpy sigh.

We reached the wagon and stopped to admire it. It was very simple and small. It was basically just a seat, two big, thin tires, long handles for Jaden to hold on to, and a small box-like compartment behind the backrest where we could store our bags.

"That looks really great," I told Ben. "Please tell me you didn't have to drain your powers to make it for me?"

"It was fine," he said reassuringly. "It doesn't drain me. My locket has enough power for small things."

"Cool," I said, and turned to stare at the wagon again. "It's... Actually really cute."

"I know right?!" Tilly chirped and jumped a little in her excitement. "I want to try sitting in it too!"

"I don't mind walking," I hurried to tell her, but Jaden cleared his throat. "I mean, you'll have to ask Jaden first..."

"You can play with it when we're having a break," Jaden told her.

I chuckled at him, shaking my head. "So... I guess we're ready to go now?"

"Yes, we must," Fenrir spoke as he joined us. "We have no time to waste."

"Let's get going then," Jaden said, and gave me his hand to help me get seated.

The little wagon was surprisingly sturdy. It moved a little back and forth while I got on and sat down, but Jaden made sure I didn't fall. The seat itself was obviously quite hard, but still surprisingly comfortable with a tall backrest, sturdy armrests, and support for my feet. I felt really, really weird sitting in it while everyone else had to walk, though, but even the thought of arguing about it exhausted me.

The rest dropped their bags into the box behind me, and soon we were ready to get going. I suddenly felt a little nervous when I turned my attention to the river. It was quite cloudy today, so we couldn't see as far as we did yesterday, but I saw something massive looming up ahead. Way up ahead.

"Are those... pillars?" I asked.

Everyone turned to look at what I was looking at, but no one said anything. I could feel their shock when they understood what they were looking at, although our spirit friends weren't surprised at all.

"It's the final archway," Fenrir said. "Hades' castle lies behind them."

"We still have five or six or maybe seven days to go before we reach them," Cedric added.

"You can't say for sure?" Jack asked.

"Time is... fickle... around here," Cedric explained. "Some days are longer, some are shorter."

"Do I want to ask you to explain, or will I just get a headache if you try?" Jaden asked him.

"We will know the difference only when we reach the shelters," Fenrir said. "If we get to the next shelter while the sun is still up, we know the day is longer."

"And what if it's too short?" Jack asked.

"That is why we better get going," Fenrir said in a grim voice.

That we did.

Jaden stepped between the two shafts and picked them up carefully so I wouldn't lose my balance.

"You good?" he asked me.

"A little embarrassed, but good," I said.

"Don't be. You're not well," he said sternly, but gently. "Just sit back and relax. This donkey will take good care of you."

I had to laugh at his joke, which really did make me feel better. I did as he asked and made myself comfortable while he took his first, careful steps forward.

Donkey, huh...?

Yes...

I was still smiling as we headed closer to the river, and I took a moment to admire the view. This place was really pretty, and I really hoped we could come back once this war was over. A wide pathway made of gravel and sand traveled alongside the river, and it was perfectly smooth, like someone was maintaining it. Nature was trying to push it back here and there, and large trees grew over it to give us shade and protection from prying eyes.

My smile faded. I felt plenty of eyes on us.

I couldn't say how I could feel them, but I knew they were there, watching us. The way my companions peered over their shoulders told me that they could feel them, too. No one really said anything, either, so I knew they were nervous, but we trusted Fenrir. And Cameron, who sometimes took off to fly slow circles around us to make sure there were no threats nearby.

As the time went on, and nothing happened, I could sense my friends relaxing a little. Not much, but enough to stop peering around so often. The scenery didn't really change, either, so eventually, my mate got bored.

"So? Anyone seen any good movies lately?" he asked.

"We're living in a fucking movie..." Jack muttered.

"With a happy end, I hope," I muttered as I peered at the pillars in the distance.

"Of course this will have a happy end," Jaden said with such confidence it was almost scary.

"Sure," Jack said with a snort.

I believed Jaden. I smiled at his strong back, and took in a deep breath, which I let out slowly. Jaden would make sure we had a happy end. Of course he would. We would defeat Adam and get my soul back and win this war just because he said so.

But that was probably his feelings I was feeling...

Suddenly, something burned my index finger, and I hissed out loud and brought the finger up to see what happened. I froze to stare at it.

My fingertip was black.

And I felt something... Someone... There was a presence in my head. I could feel screech-like breathing, and laughter... It was a weary laugh... strengthless, like that someone had just ran a marathon.

'Useless... Pointless... Doomed... I will... consume you... if you try...'

Part of me was scared, but I tried not to let him feel that.

My second half.

'I will find a way to bring us back together,' I told the other Oliver.

'No... We will be... doomed... We... can't... control it...!' he suddenly screeched at me.

'So you are here to warn me?' I asked.

'I... failed... You... do not... Find the scythe... Destroy me... End Adam... End this war...'

'You know I can't do that. I need you. I need my second half. I can't live with a torn spirit,' I tried, but my second half was disappointed.

'Then he... wins...' he said, and disappeared from my head.

I gasped for air and sat up, only to realize I was surrounded by everyone, and I was receiving worried and scared looks. I glanced at my finger, but it wasn't black anymore, then faced my friends and Jaden, who was holding onto my arm so tightly it hurt.

"I'm fine," I said as soon as I found my voice.

"What happened?" Jaden asked demandingly, and I told them about the short interaction with my second half.

My explanation did not make any of them feel any better.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jaden asked. "You'll both be consumed if we put you back together? By the corruption?"

"I guess so," I said and sighed. "But I'm not leaving him. I can't live with a broken spirit. We have to find a way to get rid of the corruption and then fix us."

Jaden stared at me, but he did agree with me. "Yeah, of course."

"You were strong enough to fight the corruption when your spirit was intact," Fenrir added. "That corruption feeds on the negative emotions and memories your second half is made of. Of course it can't control it."

"But this is good, right?" Tilly spoke. "Now we know he's trying to help us, not lure us into a trap."

Cameron let out a loud snort and rolled his eyes so hard I could almost hear his eyeballs in their sockets. I expected him to tell us we were being stupid and childish, but he suddenly sprung around, his feathers ruffled, and his weapons in his hands.

There were three... humanoids... standing in the middle of the path, watching us.