I woke up right on the grass. The dew unpleasantly chilled my neck, and the sun had only just begun to lick the tops of the trees.

  Elvindor sat nearby, watching the rising sun.

  — Well, that's it, — he said quietly. — Seeing you rise for the last time, you old luminary.

  He turned to me. He looked surprisingly spry for a dead man walking.

  — Alright, Zen, up you get. Let's go, you need to dig me a hole.

  I reluctantly got up, brushing the clinging blades of grass off my pants.

  — Fine. Where's Lucia?

  — She shouldn't see this, — the elf cut me off. — She'll have enough tears as it is.

  We walked along the forest path. The old man grumbled the whole way like a picky client.

  — No, the light falls wrong here... The grass is the wrong shade here, in a couple of months everything will be overgrown with weeds and they won't find the grave...

  — Listen, Zenhald, — he added, turning serious. — I sent word a week ago that I would die today. A whole crowd of people from all over the world will come running here soon. Remember this spot: they'll erect a massive monolith here. So get ready, you'll be fighting off guests with a stick.

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  We climbed a small hill overlooking the river. Elvindor stomped his bony foot.

  — Here.

  — What dimensions? — I asked, rolling my shoulders.

  — We-e-ell... — he pondered. — I want it three meters long, three wide. And five meters deep.

  I froze.

  — Five meters? Elvindor, did you sign up to be a giant? You'll get lost in there. Why such depth?

  — Because I want to, that's why, — he grumbled. — It's a dying wish, have a heart.

  I sighed. Fine, it's no skin off my nose.

  I simply stomped my foot on the indicated spot, channeling a directed pulse of earth mana into the strike.

  BAM!

  The soil parted obediently, throwing the excess dirt to the sides. Before us yawned a perfectly even square of the specified dimensions.

  — Here's your cellar, — I said.

  Elvindor walked up to the edge, looked down, and then shifted his gaze back to the sun.

  — I know, Zen... — he whispered so quietly I could barely make it out. — One day you will finally find true happiness. The kind you won't forget.

  And it began.

  His body was suddenly laced with bright yellow lines, like cracks in glowing hot stone. A sharp gust of wind blew, and Elvindor... simply crumbled. Instantly. He turned into a cloud of golden sand, which the wind immediately caught and carried away toward the forest.

  I stood there, staring into the void.

  — Another one gone... — I said to myself. My voice sounded hoarse.

  I looked at the massive empty pit I had just dug.

  — And what did he make me dig for, if he was just going to scatter in the wind anyway? — I fumed, feeling a lump rise in my throat. — That old geezer... Even while dying, he managed to make me do pointless manual labor. Sadist. A genuine elven sadist.

  I turned around and trudged back toward the house. In my pocket lay the letter for Riza.

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