They left most of the Tigrex's body in the Vale. As Valen stated that he didn’t need them, Aiden had carved the important parts from them. After that, they waited for Rapha?lle, who thanked them for being able to take care of the Tigrex, as it allowed her to complete her hunt with the Odogaron. She also told them that she had made some discoveries in her discussion with the Tracker and that they should return to Astera immediately: something was wrong with Zorah.

  The group returned to the Airship with haste, though when they got there Valen, contrary to his habits, immediately went to rest and have some time alone. This was encouraged by Aiden and Adem since they knew he needed to make his peace with his past, but it didn’t stop him from feeling guilty about leaving them all to do the boring work… but he admitted he needed it.

  His past had plagued him for most of his life, and there had only been improvements after he met Nikki. But now? Now he felt free, lighter than he had ever been, and he was grateful for that fact. He smiled. He had probably almost broken the Guild’s rules on poaching, but they would also decide that it was justified, given the circumstances, and besides, the Research Commission rules were more lax on this, given the nature of the uncharted territory.

  Valen laid down to rest with a lightened heart, falling asleep instantly.

  He was back in the nightmare, but this time it was different. The village was still in ruins and burning, but it wasn’t the hellish landscape that he had grown to be afraid of. It was simply the result of a tragedy, of bad luck.

  He also was not a frail kid, somebody who could do nothing. He was clad in his armor, holding his weapon to the side, and he noted the presence of blood.

  Movement to his side drew his attention and he knew immediately that it was Nikki coming to his side, her silver scales gleaming in the sunlight, scattering the light everywhere. She looked at him and rumbled, then looked in front of her, drawing Valen's gaze.

  The bloodied form of the creature of his nightmares lay there, no longer a demon of evil, but simply a Tigrex that descended into madness caused by starvation, unleashing its rage on the first thing it found. It was full of cuts and bruises, and still alive, but only barely. It was clear that it would not survive.

  Next to it was a figure clad in Rathalos Armor, wielding a Hammer made of what looked like the whole of the monster’s head. He was using the weapon for support, panting hard. It was clear that he had suffered his share of injuries, one leg was broken and a large gash was visible on his side, blood pouring out of it. He did not have long to live either. He looked at Valen and beckoned him to come closer.

  Warily, Valen complied, keeping his weapon in hand. He stared at the Tigrex, which no longer had the energy to move and was simply breathing hard. Once he came close, the Hunter spoke.

  “It would be easy for you to hate every monster for what this one has inflicted on you, kid… to swear vengeance upon all of them. But I implore you, do not. A Hunter’s role is to preserve the balance, and such a thing would be anathema to this cause. So find the will within yourself to understand, to accept it. Do not forget, however, and be aware that such a thing may happen again, but next time you may be able to be quick enough to prevent disaster… Unlike me.”

  They looked at the Tigrex, which had finally expired, and then the Hunter finished. “Fair winds, and may the Sapphire Star light your way in life.” And with that, the Hunter exhaled his last breath, his eyes closing. Then the dream faded away.

  Valen woke up early in the morning, but not drenched in sweat as he usually was with those nightmares. No, instead he felt amazing, and well-rested, which was the real difference. He looked outside, the sun had already started to rise. He had an early night, so that made sense, but was probably also helped by the strange dream… No, this wasn’t a dream. Valen was certain most of it was a real memory, with some outside elements added in. The ship was quiet, which was different from the usual movement of researchers walking around to consult books and the like. Valen quietly left his bed and put on his armor, feeling more comfortable in it. He then discretely exited the ship, wanting to bask in the cool morning air, which felt amazing.

  After a whole night to calm down and allow his emotions to rest, he was now sure that the way the events happened the day before was a great boon to him. It completed the work Nikki had started long ago by making him face his nightmares, and he was certain they would no longer plague him. He knew it.

  Sitting on a rock, he took a deep breath and simply enjoyed the moment, taking the time to truly understand how much he loved his life… though he also felt like something was missing. He missed something to truly make sure what happened would stick, that it would not revert to the previous state.

  And he had an inkling as to what he needed for that, so he looked up, and sure enough… He could see Nikki flying above. She frequently passed through the area in the morning, knowing he was there, closer than he usually was.

  Valen hesitated only a split second before making a decision. He waved at Nikki, and got the confirmation that she saw him by seeing a faint explosion behind her, then said to her ‘Meet, land nearby.’ Immediately she changed her current course and headed in a new direction… And he knew she would hold it.

  He felt guilty about disappearing without bringing Adem, but he needed it, so he simply scribbled on a piece of paper an arrow followed by the first letter of Nikki’s name. He knew that Adem would understand the meaning. He gave the paper to the guard hunter who was about to finish his turn on the watch, instructing him to give the paper to Adem, then whistled softly to his Wingdrake, which swooped down to allow him to grapple on and fly towards where he saw Nikki go. He was carried up past the cliff’s top then towards the red comet only just visible in the distance.

  He had flown for most of the morning, and his Wingdrake was starting to get tired. The Wingdrakes domesticated by Astera had incredible endurance, but even they had limits. They usually needed to rest a couple of times throughout the day when they ferried Hunters across long distances. But Valen also knew that he was getting close. The Scoutflies, which he rarely used as he preferred using the traditional methods of tracking, had changed from their usual green glow towards blue. They did this only when they sensed nearby Elders or their tracks, as it had been observed when they were studying Zorah’s paths or the signs left by Nergigante. However, he didn’t need them to guide him as he knew Nikki’s habits, and there were signs of one of her preferred clearings ahead.

  And sure enough, as he crested one of the flat gigantic coral structures Nikki was there, sitting down and now looking at him. The Wingdrake noticed her and became visibly anxious, so Valen simply led it to drop down immediately and unhooked himself from it, which caused it to immediately refuge in a crevice in the cliff where it could hide safely. It was in no real danger from Nikki, but the domesticated Wingdrake couldn’t know that.

  He waited a bit to confirm that the small monster would not simply fly away, as much as it seemed to want to, then started going down the cliff. Nikki was now observing him but not going to lend him assistance. She knew he could manage fine, so she simply let him be.

  He took a bit to climb down the cliff, but eventually, he dropped the last few lengths into the clearing… then, he looked at Nikki.

  She was watching him with a bit of a worried look. She had already noticed something changed in him, but she did not know what it was.

  Valen removed his helmet, allowing her to see his face, and then she tilted her head, rumbling inquisitively. Valen sighed, then started to sign.

  ‘Yesterday… Danger for companion. Tigrex.’

  Nikki froze when he signed that last word, she was aware of his trauma and how she had helped him in that regard. She immediately stood up and walked closer to him, rubbing her head on his shoulder, a gaze full of compassion in her visible eye.

  Valen smiled and continued. ‘I… froze. I remembered, I was back there. Companions woke me. I full resolve. Killed Tigrex. Now? Free.’

  Nikki rumbled, it was joyful, happy. She was happy for him, she knew that he had been plagued by the nightmares before she saved his life, and she knew just as much as him that he would only benefit by being delivered from them.

  He rubbed her face, enjoying this moment that they had together. They hadn’t seen each other for months by this point, Valen having been too busy to be able to visit her. He thus got her up to speed as to what he had been doing. He explained that they had lost the path of Zorah Magdaros, and were surprised they hadn’t found him either in the Highlands or the Vale, and were starting to be worried.

  Though when he looked at Nikki, he felt like something was amiss indeed, but that she wouldn’t tell him what. He was used to it by then, Nikki always had been mysterious to him and she was usually reluctant to reveal facts that Elders seemed to know naturally.

  They enjoyed their time together. Valen knew that it was limited, as he would have to go back to the ship eventually, or else they would get worried for him. He believed Adem would reassure them that he would be fine. He still felt guilty to have left without his companion, but he needed this time with Nikki.

  The sun above was still rising, which meant it was still the morning. Looking above, Valen noticed that his Wingdrake finally got the courage to escape its hiding hole and was preening itself at the top of the cliff, though always keeping an eye on Nikki.

  However, not that long after he saw that the Wingdrake seemed to look behind itself, and then emitted a calling cry, one that they emitted only to alert others of their kind to their presence. Valen felt a chill on his back. It could only mean that another Wingdrake was nearby, and given that they weren’t native to this zone… another hunter was coming close. It would in no way miss the presence of Valen’s Wingdrake, not after it attracted attention to itself.

  Nikki seemed to sense his alarm and immediately went into alert, standing up and ready for action if the need arose. Valen, however, tried to calm her down. He knew that should they be discovered, seeing Nikki in a combat posture next to him would send the wrong message. So he repressed the instinct that he had to grip his weapon and prepared himself for a confrontation, to reveal his secret to somebody else. Although the fact that they were even found at all was suspicious, Valen believed that he had been careless when leaving the airship.

  They looked at the sky in tense silence, waiting for another Wingdrake to appear at any time. The one Valen rode on was looking again at Nikki, only periodically glancing behind itself. Valen noticed that it looked somewhere closer to the ground, which meant that the unknown Wingdrake had landed on the ground, which seemed a bit odd to Valen.

  Then suddenly, Adem appeared at the top of the cliff, and Valen exhaled in relief. “There you are Meowster! You woke me up when you got out of your bed. You always forget that I have more sensitive hearing than you!”

  “Adem! You scared me, I thought somebody else followed me.” Then Felyne immediately became shifty, which worried Valen.

  “I’m sorry Meowster, but I was really worried for you.” Then Adem looked behind himself and said something to somebody else that Valen couldn’t understand, the distance being too far.

  Valen waited for a tense moment, and then Aiden appeared at the top of the crater, seeing Valen first, then spotting the Gammoth in the room. He recoiled back in surprise, instinctively reaching for his weapon before Adem stopped him. Nikki was watching him impassively, making no threatening gestures, but her posture clearly showed that she would not stay idle in case of a hostile action.

  Then as if to make it worse, Ikari appeared at the top of the cliff as well. This time he noticed Nikki first and backpedaled, his instinctive reaction being to get away from a monster, though he still stayed at the top of the cliff.

  There was a tense moment as Aiden was rapidly looking between Valen and Nikki with an air of bewilderment, Ikari seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack, and Nikki simply looked at the two of them impassively.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Valen knew he had to do something to defuse the situation, so he took a deep breath and scratched Nikki’s head, then said. “Aiden, Ikari, meet Nikki. Without her, I would not be here, so please give her the respect she deserves.”

  Aiden finally seemed like he found his voice, and grinned. “So, it seems like you have been holding out on us Valen! She won’t attack, right?”

  “As long as you do not. You can come, she’s friendly,” Valen said, and then he turned to Ikari. “You don’t need to come close if you don’t want to Ikari, I know it’s already a big enough shock for you.”

  Aiden seemed to debate the matter before shrugging and starting to climb down. Adem stayed at the top though, to give reassurance to Ikari. There was still a bit of tension in the air, but the worst of it had been defused. Valen was relieved internally, he did not intend to be found at all, and if he had to, he would have preferred to introduce them to Nikki in a safer manner, especially Ikari.

  Once Aiden finally finished climbing down, he examined Nikki, who stared at him in return, neither making any movements. After a bit, he nodded. “It feels different to be in the presence of an Elder that doesn’t want to simply murder you.”

  “You were part of the team that repelled the Kushala in Dundorma right?”

  “I was, and there was the Lunastra I helped repel when I was young too.” He shook his head. “How did it happen?”

  Valen sighed. “It was a… harsh time for me, but wait a moment.” He looked up and spoke louder. “Ikari, do you feel better now?”

  His Handler did not reply immediately, but eventually, he answered, somewhat shakily. “A-a bit… I don’t think I’ll c-c-come down anytime soon though. Adem is he-helping, but… Valen, t-that’s an Elder.”

  “I know. I’m gonna explain how it happened, if you don’t understand, ask Adem to relay.”

  “I-I will try.”

  “Go ahead Meowster, I’ll keep him claw-pany!”

  Valen nodded, then took a deep breath. “You remember that hunt I did where my whole team got wiped by a Seregios? Well, I should have died there too, if not for Nikki.”

  “She saved you right?”

  “She killed the Seregios as it was pouncing to finish me, and then she brought me back to her nest so that I could heal. She even cauterized my face, because the ear was cut off by a Seregios scale. I will admit that when I woke up and I realized I was in her nest I panicked. Thankfully, she kept her distance and proved to me that she simply wanted to save me.”

  “Wait a Gog-damn moment, how intelligent is she?”

  At this, Valen simply smiled and turned towards Nikki. ‘How intelligent are you?’ he signed to her.

  She replied, and Valen heard a gasp coming from Aiden as she signed back. ‘Very, me smart.’

  He looked at Ikari and believed that his eyes were wide, though it was hard to tell at this distance. Aiden seemed taken aback before he answered. “You can talk with her?”

  “More like we can communicate very well. I think she cannot hear all of the registers that we talk at, I think she doesn’t hear the lower-pitched sounds. Besides, she wouldn’t be able to talk back either. It’s a bit rough, but signing allows proper communication between the two of us. Also, she’s crazy good at geometry, it’s impressive.”

  “This… changes things. Are all Elders as intelligent as her? Because if so, the implications are frightening.”

  Valen shook his head. “I asked her this question once, and she explained that she’s smarter than most of them, but also that she is different in other ways. I think most of them simply view the world differently than us. The main thing, however, is that she is empathetic. ”

  “I see… Kind of makes sense.” Then he frowned. “Wait, the Valstrax you hunted? It was after you met her?”

  “Believe me, it was her who wanted me to hunt him. I probably wouldn’t have gone for him, but she asked me to kill him, and I believe that is because he was afflicted with something. After spending so much time with her, it was pretty clear that there was certainly something wrong with him. She never told me what though, even after pressing the issue multiple times.”

  “That is worrying, but understandable. She probably has some secrets she wants to keep.”

  They stayed in silence for a moment before Aiden asked, “Do the both of you spar? I’m certain having a reliable training monster would be invaluable for any hunter.”

  Valen smiled. “Oh, you have no idea. Hey, let us give you a demonstration.” He turned to Nikki and signed. ‘Spar?’

  She simply nodded, and thus they started their pre-spar routine, her bolstering the defenses of his armor first before draining his weapon. Aiden seemed to have noticed it was something unusual, but Valen simply said. “I’ll explain after.”

  The area they were in had limited space, which would restrict Nikki’s movements, but not overly so, and they posted each other at opposite ends. The world around them became insignificant, Valen now focused only on Nikki. He drew his weapon in Axe form and they stared at each other, waiting for the other to make their first move. Valen was the one to do so this time, starting to run immediately. Nikki shifted only slightly in response, having learned to hide her tells over time, though Valen could still discern them if he focused. And so he was able to dodge the wing spear she threw at him with a quick sidestep, then jumped over the sweeping motion she did with it, having pivoted her whole body.

  Valen was now in striking range after this quick probe, but Nikki was already preparing her next attack, and she lunged forward, attempting to bite him.

  He shifted to the side, dodging the bite, but instead of exploiting the presumed opening, he tensed to dodge another attack. His gut feelings proved to be right as Nikki attempted to swat him away with her paw, which he dodged by jumping. But now that he knew she had to recover, he immediately struck with his weapon, striking Nikki’s chin with it, snapping her mouth shut.

  He did not have enough room to do a follow-up strike, but he wouldn’t have had time to anyway. He heard a whistling that filled the air, which could only mean that Nikki was about to rocket forward. He would ordinarily dodge to the side when she did it, but he decided to attempt something different for once.

  He jumped again, twisting to the side in the air and repositioning his weapon behind him… then he ignited the thrusters on both his weapon and armor at full power.

  The strange nature of the Bioenergy contained in the armor protected him from the great acceleration that his body withstood, and he was rewarded by achieving something that he had never done before.

  He kept up with Nikki on her short dash powered by her wings. Even better, he was slightly above her when she dug her claws into the ground to stop herself before she crashed into the wall. Valen was only keeping up with his momentum, his thrusters having depleted the safe amount of power available. He twisted in the air and managed to stop his dash by hooking one of her wing arms at the base with his weapon, though the sudden deceleration felt like his arms almost were wrenched out of his sockets. Nikki seemed surprised by the maneuver, so he did not waste the opportunity. Before she could recover, he gripped her shoulder, morphed his weapon into sword mode, and pressed the point of it at the base of the wing.

  Nikki stiffened, then relaxed and admitted defeat by striking her tail on the ground three times. Valen was a bit winded but less than usual. He was surprised by how quickly the spar had ended, they usually went on for longer, but he guessed he managed to pull out a reckless enough move that she was surprised.

  Valen sheathed his weapon now that he had achieved victory, and Nikki crouched low to allow him to get off her back. They nodded to each other, then looked at Aiden.

  He had a gigantic smile on his face, and then he said, “Well I must say, Valen, that Blast Dash Valst-rocked!”

  The first urge of Valen was to facepalm, but instead, he laughed. He laughed hard until he had to catch his breath, which made Nikki seem a bit worried about him but she stayed where she was. Aiden had followed him in his laughter until Valen had caught his breath and recovered. “That was awful, but I understand why. Nice one.”

  Aiden pumped his fist in the air in victory, then he asked, “Do all of your spars go that way?”

  Valen shook his head. “They usually last longer, and she wins half of them. And when we started… Well, let’s just say that she had a gigantic win streak. I just pulled something new and she wasn’t prepared for it. Doubtless that next time I do that she’ll react differently.”

  Aiden looked at Nikki and examined her closely. “I wonder if it would be too much to ask for a spar myself.”

  Valen chuckled. “She probably would accept, but I think you’d have to wait for another time… Besides, I think you’d need the training shells for Gunlance.”

  “Good point. I wouldn’t want to injure her.”

  Valen was about to say something else when Adem caught their attention. “Meowster, Ikari asks what Nikki did to your armor and weapon before the spar started.”

  He understood that was something crucial to know for a handler. He faced Ikari and answered. “Bioenergy. Nikki showed me early on that Elders can manipulate Bioenergy directly. She drains what is contained in my weapon so that I can’t injure her and boosts my armor so that her attacks can’t just break me. It allows us to go all out in our spars and not worry about hurting each other.” He took a deep breath. “She confirmed Elders are all able to at least manipulate it to that scale, some at an even grander one.”

  Ikari was furiously writing in his notebook while Aiden looked at Valen. “All? That is worrying. If something the scale of Zorah can do it in a large area…”

  “Indeed, and it is even full of it. I did not realize it at the time, but I now realize I could feel it. The concentration he has of it is nothing short of mind-boggling. And we still don’t know why he came to the New World, so the fact we aren’t seeing signs of it is worrying.”

  “We will get to the bottom of it Valen, do not worry.”

  They stayed in silence before Valen sighed. “We should go soon. You came to make sure I made it back to the airship, right?”

  Aiden nodded. “They leave tomorrow, so we should make certain we are there when they do.”

  “The moment we get some time, we’ll see Nikki again, and you’ll be able to see how you measure against her.” He chuckled. “I’m certain I’m the only one that has a chance against her at this point. She has learned so much from me that nobody else would be a match.”

  Aiden grinned. “I look forward to it. Also, I’ll keep quiet about her until you decide to share the secret yourself. I understand why you did not reveal her, though I believe Arcos would understand. You would have to worry about the swarm of researchers battling to see her once they find out though.”

  “Which is the main reason I probably won’t. Ikari should be enough, though I’ll have to ask him to keep his findings in his notes, and only share them when I reveal her.”

  He turned to face Nikki. ‘We leave, thank you for help.’

  She rumbled and nuzzled Valen with her beak.

  Aiden and Valen climbed back up the cliff to rejoin Ikari. Once they reached the top, Valen looked at Nikki and waved at her before they called for their Wingdrakes and flew back towards the ship.

  The journey was made in silence, each of them having their thoughts to ponder. Valen was mostly relieved that somebody stumbling on his secret ended up going well in the end. Though he definitely would get back at Adem for having put him in this situation.

  They arrived at the airship and were welcomed back by the researchers. But what was surprising was that the Third Fleet master immediately called for a meeting, which Valen obliged. Once all of them were reunited, she turned towards Rapha?lle. “I wasn’t the one to call this meeting, but her. She has discovered something with the Tracker, but waited for now to share their findings so that we could rest from the ordeal.”

  Rapha?lle nodded as she started to speak. “After my journeys, me and Sophie confirmed the Vale is a graveyard. It is where most monsters end up when they die… But most importantly, it’s where Elders go when they die. We didn’t find Elder bones on the surface because they were buried deeper, closer to the pools of acid that we found. But one worrying thing was that all of them were old, very old. The most recent ones we could find…”

  “Were more than a century old.” Sophie completed.

  Valen raised an eyebrow. “So before the Elder’s crossing started increasing in frequency.”

  Sophie nodded. “Kora confirmed it to me, the Bioenergy monsters and Elders contain is purified in the Vale and spread out through the New World, allowing the insane amount of growth of the Forest, sustaining the Highlands, and more. It is the equivalent of the digestive system of the New World. But that begs the question… ”

  Rapha?lle followed up, “Where is Zorah Magdaros? Where are all the Elders that did the crossing recently? By all logic, Zorah should have ended his path here and waited for his death, but he is yet to be seen.”

  “This is worrying indeed.” Valen answered. “My own wanderings also showed me that Zorah traveled near, But that he was diverted somewhere else. The question is where.”

  “It’s the reason I’ll go look for the First Wyverians once we are back in Astera, as the Third Fleet Master suggested. They have been living here even before the First Fleet arrived, so they are certainly more knowledgeable about the land than us, so they might have the answer.”

  Aiden nodded. “I am worried about what would be powerful enough to lure Elders away from their place of final rest.”

  “So we have no objections then? We set a course for Astera?”

  Valen raised his hand. “Will Kora be okay without the support of the Third Fleet airship?”

  “I already asked her this question and she said that she could pursue her job while we are gone,” Masani replied. “And we have nothing preventing us from coming back. Besides, as good of a job we did repairing the ship, I want to have the Airship Engineer with us to work on the Airship so we do not have a repeat of the event that grounded us. It almost happened again with that despicable Legiana attack, and I do not wish to have a third repeat. The airship should hold until we arrive back at Astera for sure.”

  “Then I have no objections.” Valen nodded.

  Nobody else had any objections either, so the meeting was called to an end and everybody was free to do their own business until the following day. Valen decided to have some time in his room so he could get out of his armor and relax. To his surprise, Aiden joined him. While they avoided the obvious topic, they still chatted about the events that happened in the New World so far, and what they thought would happen next… Because Valen had the feeling something major would happen soon.