Tristan held a broom as he strolled through the old temple, which used to be his home and soon would be again. He swept dust off the floor and cleared spiderwebs from hidden corners, triggering memories from the past. Every room he glanced into brought a flood of memories and emotions. "Dang, you're losing it, Tristan," he muttered, rubbing his head and emitting an empty laugh.
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Tristan did his best to clear his head as he walked outside towards the temple grounds, but what he saw almost took his breath away. There stood Loraura, her elegance undeniable, as the morning sun illuminated her. With a rake in hand, she gathered fallen leaves into a huge pile, appearing more beautiful to Tristan than ever before.
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As Loraura smiled upon seeing Tristan on the front porch, he realized he had been caught and blushed with embarrassment. "Uh, the rooms are pretty much as clean as they're going to get," Tristan said as he approached her. "But I'm afraid a broom just won't be enough."
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"What do you mean?" Loraura asked, her curiosity piqued.
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"Well, a few of the rooms suffer from water damage, and some of the wood is moldy," Tristan explained, gesturing towards the temple. "Also, we can't ignore the fact that our roof has a massive hole in it, can we?" He sighed, leaning on the broom. "There's no getting around it; the amount of work ahead of us isn't small."77Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOrXI8XIMB
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"That may be," Loraura acknowledged, unfazed as she continued raking the leaves. "But the amount of hard work we put in will only be rewarded with greatness. After all, hard work is the key to success, even for a god."
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"So even gods have to work hard, huh?" Tristan remarked with a smile.
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"More than you know," Loraura replied, giggling in a way that Tristan found cute.
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"Well, that's all way beyond me," Tristan chuckled. "Well, break's over." He declared with determination. "I'm going to go and fix the roof." With that, he began walking towards the far-off shed that held the ladder.
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For a moment, Loraura stopped raking and watched Tristan's back as he walked away. Then, with a nod and a smile, she returned to her work.
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Tristan, wearing a small smile, approached the shed to fetch the ladder. He never thought he would be happy to do a little hard work. It was Loraura—her personality, her upbeat attitude—that was changing him, making him think differently, all from just a single day of knowing her. To Tristan, it was a scary thought.
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Standing in front of the shed, which seemed more worn down than the temple, Tristan noticed its exterior covered in broken and cracked wood. The small windows on the side were broken, and even the doors seemed to be almost falling off their hinges.
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With a look of disgust, Tristan reached out and grabbed the door handle, which creaked as he began to turn it.
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"Ah!" Tristan yelled as the door came off its hinges and fell to the ground. "I swear this place really has seen better days," he muttered, glancing down at the fallen door.
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Without wasting any more time, Tristan stepped over the door. "I'll fix that later," he decided as he stepped inside the shed.
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The dark room smelled of rust and dirt as Tristan scanned it, searching for the ladder. His eyes were drawn to something sticking out of the dirt on the ground. He bent down on one knee, digging his fingers into the dirt and grabbing hold of the white fabric. "Bandages," he murmured, noticing they were covered in dried blood.
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Tristan fell silent as he examined the bandages in his hand. A smile slowly spread across his face as he clenched his fingers into a fist. "Memories," he said softly, shaking his head. "Damn memories."
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Tristan's expression turned cold as he tossed the bandages onto the ground. His gaze shifted to the right, where he noticed the ladder resting against the wall.
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Tristan walked out of the shed with the ladder in hand and headed towards the temple. Setting up the ladder, he gathered spare wood from the back and climbed onto the roof with a hammer to fix it.
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After an hour of work, Tristan stood tiredly, taking a breather and admiring the view from the roof. He spotted Loraura finishing up raking the temple grounds below. Closing his eyes as a cool wind blew through his hair, he remarked, "Today's a beautiful day."
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Lost in thought, Tristan took a step forward, but with a small yelp, he slipped on a loose stone tile. He tumbled down the roof, hands reaching out desperately to stop his fall.
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"Tristan!" Loraura's voice rang out as she saw him falling. Dropping her rake, she sprinted towards the temple.
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"Spirits of the wind, heed my call and save him!" Loraura cried out, Her words filled with power as she extended her arms outward.
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The wind around Loraura stirred and came to life, starting as a gentle breath and growing into a small hurricane underneath Tristan, halting his fall and carrying him gently to the ground.
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Loraura knelt down next to Tristan, who was completely still from shock.
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"Tristan, are you okay?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.
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"Yeah, uh, yeah," Tristan replied, looking at Loraura.
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"What was that?" Tristan asked, still trying to process what had just happened.
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"I asked for the spirits of the wind to help you," Loraura explained, resting on both of her knees. "I'm sorry, Tristan."
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"What are you apologizing for?" Tristan questioned, puzzled.
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"I promised you I wouldn't use my power. Forgive me, for I couldn't keep that promise," Loraura said, her voice tinged with shame.
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"You only did it to save my life," Tristan reassured her. "So don't worry about it. Thank you for saving me," he added with a smile.
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Loraura looked at Tristan, her eyes softening, and warmly smiled. With a laugh, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug.
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"Always," she said sincerely.
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***
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Author notes: Please support my work on Patreon for early access to new chapters. https://patreon.com/DarkMatteromniverse
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