Naturally, Erik eventually managed to pierce through the obsession, which then began to be slowly reined in by Elora''s growing love for him. But, it never entirely disappeared, as part of the obsession simply changed faces.


    Suddenly realising what she had just said, Elora coughed a little and had a rare, embarrassed expression on her face, "A- Anyway, let''s get going?"


    Erik snickered and caressed her head with a finger, "You know I don''t mind when you get a little crazy over me, right? In fact, I might even like it."


    She still looked a little ufortable but enjoyed his caress while answering, "Yeah, but… I don''t like myself that way… back when all my feelings for you stemmed from obsession over my own desires, I didn''t treat you very well."


    She particrly remembered the first time she infused Erik with a bloodline.


    She shook her head, "And I don''t want to return to that."


    Erik smiled at her, "You worry too much. It''s not like your feelings for me are suddenly going to disappear, after all."


    Sporting a relieved smile, Elora shook her head, "No… Of course not."


    Feeling the conversation''s end and seeing the anticipation in Elora''s eyes, Erik finally approached the edge and, despite being unsure why, had to sigh in relief when he saw Frostviky spread out below them, mostly intact yet unfamiliar.


    Themon building, the heart of the vige, and more a bar than anything else stood as a reminder of amunal life so distant from his current reality. The simple yet sturdy houses evoked memories of a simpler, unburdened existence.


    A wave of nostalgia washed over him. He was thrilled with his current life and was not interested in returning to his old one, but he had a happy youth in Frostvik until it ended. Many memories he had suppressed because of Edda started floating to the surface again.


    But there were also the bad memories, particrly of that night. It was from here that he witnessed both of his parents fighting for their lives, and in particr, his kind and loving father was driven into a corner on the verge of being killed.


    He turned to where hest saw his mother while she valiantly led the vige in its defence. Would she have approved of his choice to run away? Or would she have preferred he stand his ground together with the vige?


    He had asked himself this question in the past and always concluded that she would have wanted him to run, especially considering what running away led him to. Yet, doubt always managed to creep itself back in.


    Shaking himself free from these thoughts and once again confirming to himself that he did the right thing, he kept inspecting the town.


    There were new additions that caught his eye – a robust fence, for one.


    When he lived here, there was no need for such a thing, as it would have been hard to build anything that would actually protect against hunters and vampires, while a shapeshifter''s strong hearing and sense of smell were usually enough to warn of any intruders.


    Unless someone had poisoned the whole town with wolfsbane, of course.


    It was a blessing that aetherium had severely reduced a shapeshifter''s weakness to wolfsbane in the same way as it had done with a vampire''s weakness to light.


    The second new addition he could see had some more impact — it was a graveyard, a stark memorial to the lost. His gaze lingered on the stones, each a silent guardian of a story that ended too soon.


    His heart began to beat faster. "Could someone have survived?" he mumbled. "Someone who went through the trouble of burying everyone?"


    Yet, the voice of harsh reality came from his shoulder. "I don''t want to stomp on your hope, but we can''t assume that," Elora said. "Seven years is a long time, and we don''t even know if it''s actually your people that are buried there."


    Erik put a halt to his thoughts and sighed, "I know. You''re right. We should get down there and check the ce out."


    While she couldn''t read his thoughts, Elora did notice the swirl of emotions he was going through and put her small hand on his cheek as she smiled. "There''s no point to stewing in your own thoughts when you can find out the truth for yourself."


    Erik sighed. She was right. And when had he be so emotional anyway? He thought he''d put all this behind him during his time on S?l, but just being here made it alle rushing back.


    He smiled and turned to the three women behind him, "Come on. Let''s see what''s left of my old home."


    Emma smiled, but Emily lookedplicated. She may havee to some form of agreement with Erik, but she still wasn''t sure how much she actually cared about him emotionally.


    Meanwhile, Astrid naturally didn''t react at all.


    They descended a path to the right and soon found themselves in front of the fence. Strangely, there didn''t appear to be any opening or gate to allow people through. It was all just one long, uninterrupted wall of stone, wood, chain-link fencing, and barbed wire.


    Naturally, this didn''t stop them, but since all his methods were a little too destructive, he asked Emily to use her corrosive darkness to create a hole instead.


    Emily nodded without saying anything. She noticed Erik''s emotional mood and felt that her input would only make things awkward.


    Instead, she just conjured her five dark orbs,bined them all into one big, t surface, and covered as much of the fence with it as she could.


    Soon, a hole appeared that wasrge enough for them to fit themselves through, and not long after that, they were all standing next to the first house.


    It looked intact.


    In fact, just from looking at this settlement, you wouldn''t be able to tell that the inhabitants were once ughtered. But that wasn''t a big surprise. Those hunters used abination of guns and melee weaponry, which meant norge explosions.


    After all, back when the hunters attacked, the destructive powers of today''s Earth were still rare.


    Currently, he and Elora suspected Erik''s mother of having already been a rank-one back then, which meant the hunters likely had a rank-one as well, assuming they investigated their opponent before attacking.


    Yet, two initiate-rank fighters were not enough to demolish a town like Frostvik, where the houses were sturdy and had plenty of space between them.


    The worst he found were some bullet holes in the walls.


    Erik''s footsteps crunched in the snow. Each step felt like a journey back in time as they passed house by house. Sometimes, Erik would stand still and let some memories of his past drown out the present.


    While reminiscing, he told the girls everything that came to him. It helped to talk about it out loud. That way, the memories became real and no longer locked inside his head.


    Emily and Emma just followed silently, not wishing to disturb Erik''s moment.


    Sometimes, he would look at a spot and recognize it as the location of a significant memory. Like the ce he first kissed Edda, one of the many would-be sweet memories, which Edda''s betrayal had turned sour instead.


    Or where he talked about the birds and the bees with his father after the man learned about that exact kiss.


    Or the spot where he often trained with his mother. A bittersweet memory, as he got to spend time with his mother while doing something he didn''t enjoy at the time.


    He also saw himself being pampered by Aunt Ingrid and Uncle Viljar. They were his actual Aunt and Uncle because Ingrid had been his father''s sister.


    As he passed their home, he could almost smell the hearty stews and hear the warmth of theirughter. Ingrid, always bustling around with a smile, and Viljar, the gentle giant whose strength was matched only by his kindness.


    It was them who adopted Edda when she and Viljar found her as a baby, left alone in the woods. Fury rose inside him when he thought about their kindness being used against them. Against their family. But he quickly shook it off. This was not the time for anger.


    Viljar was a werebear, but most just called him the local teddybear, despite his absolutely fearsome strength being only second in the entire vige, right after Runa, Erik''s mother.


    Approaching themon house, the heart of theirmunity, Erik''s eyes fell upon the makeshift graveyard. The snowy undisturbed, each grave marked by a boulder, names etched with a care that spoke of respect and mourning. His heart tightened at the sight – a tangible reminder of what was lost.


    He seemed to hesitate a moment but immediately shook his head. He had already sorted through his emotions earlier. Now, it was time to act. It was time to find out whose graves these were.