She was quite the sight.

There they all were, watching Puck and Magnifico making fools out of themselves, when the ruler of all elves finally revealed his presence to everyone, after what felt like decades of searching for him.

Well, not exactly. It turned out that the ruler of Elfheim was none other than a woman. And a very powerful one. One needed only one glance to understand they were in the presence of a worthy sovereign. Many of the crew gasped in surprise, his companions included. Everyone had generally assumed the ruler of Elfheim was a man, due to their leader being called a King by everyone, be it by word of mouth or by mythology. In a way, the solider in him understood the elf ruler's logic. Flowerstorm King. Now that's a name cowards would run away from instantly.

Flowerstorm Queen? The trolls alone would definitely have tried to invade this sacred land by now, much less anyone else. Not that they would have been successful, judging by her aura alone.

I've reached her. Guts thought. The lord of the elves…!

He looked down. The raven haired woman in front of him was grabbing all of the petals floating around her however she could. She looked completely distracted from the reveal the humble housekeeper made.

Finally. After so long, he can finally try to have the woman he loved become sane again…

He opened his mouth. "Ar-"e you really her? He couldn't quite believe it himself.

"Please wait. First, we have to punish these children."

Wait...?

To hell with waiting. He waited enough on that boat ride. How much longer did he have to wait?

Thankfully, not that much. The monarch made a mockery out of the two buffoons from the crew, as deserved. Then, she gave her undivided attention to his pack.

"With that dealt with," she said, with an almost childlike glee. "Let's try this again. I am the master of the Fae on this island," the Elfheim lord continued. "And I am known to everyone here and the outside by the title bestowed to me as Flowerstorm King."

Everyone looked impressed. Schierke looked like she was seeing her mistress Flora alive once again.

"But to you, I am Danann. Please call me Danann," she said with a radiant smile.

She'll probably have something else on her mind. Guts prepared himself. More information on Griffith-

"I have heard of your tale, Mister Black Swordsman. You wish to reclaim the mind of the black-haired lady over there, yes?"

That took Guts completely off-guard. He did not expect such a direct question.

Casca almost did reclaim her mind once. But that was such a long time ago. He didn't even accept the company of his current band to join him on his journey back then. Still, he couldn't forget her lucid eyes for that one moment...

That happened before the Skull Knight made the ominous warning about the chance of his beloved wanting to stay in her childlike state in order to keep dreaming.

Dreaming, just to stay away from the barbarity of the Eclipse.

But when she had almost recovered, abet for a few blissful seconds, she told him she had woken up from a bad dream. Why would she want to relive the same bad dream over and over without any promise of escape?

Guts clenched his teeth silently. The image forever burned into his right eye flashed instantly.

Who was telling the truth between them? Skull Knight or Casca?

Guts had to take the risk.

For her.

"Can… can you do that?!" Can she really? He couldn't dare believe.

The monarch stared directly into his left eye. All doubts, abet momentarily, vanished.

"If I could use the 'passage of dreams'… then yes. It is possible."

Everyone started congratulating him. Guts couldn't help but smile himself.

"Yeah..." he stared at Casca. She didn't recoil. Not yet. That alone gave him comfort.

"I was hoping to start a reception banquet first... but it seems you are too under pressure to enjoy that for now, isn't that right. If it pleases you, shall we start the rite immediately?"

Music to his ears. "Please!"

The Flowerstorm King nodded. "Then, the blackhaired lady, the short haired one next to her... and the little mage from outside. If you would all assist me please?"

Guts stayed silent. Perhaps only women could participate in this ritual.

"You want us?" Schierke asked. Perhaps she had the same thought. He could be wrong.

Danann continued. "The people most suited for the rite to be successful are ones with strong ties to the subject. The girl depends on the fair headed lady and is quite attached to her. And you, being Flora's star pupil, you are experienced in the arts are you not?"

Schierke wanted to ask something else. Guts couldn't stay silent.

But then... why not him too? "Wait... then I should too-"

The Flowerstorm King shook her head, almost out of pity. "I am sorry, but I must turn you down."

He knew why. But that doesn't mean he didn't feel that dull knife twist in his heart.

"From the girl, I can sense it... a strong fear, of you. Joining it would impede the rite."

There was no room for doubt was it. He deserved it nonetheless. He had almost lost everything...

They where by the waterfall. Guts had just spilled his darkest secret to his companion after intense lovemaking. "Yes... I killed my father!"

Casca did not care. She still loved him regardless. They had shown to each other their weak spots after all.

"These injures... even the ones from me..." she said tenderly, after kissing the open wound. "Even if it tears us apart..."

Guts looked at her, barely containing himself.

"I want a scar on my body."

Memories of one the darkest nights of his life resurfced, as his Id gleefully licked its chops.

Casca smiled at him lovingly. "From you."

And he regretted every second of it.

"We'll be fine," the young witch reassured him. "I am a witch and so is Farnese."

Farnese nodded. "Guts... please trust in your companions."

Guts took a deep breath. He didn't have much of a choice. At least there is a slight chance for Casca...

"Yeah, I trust you with this. Take care of Casca for me."

They both smiled with determined faces. They left alongside Casca and Danann. Guts could only look at them from a distance. He could hear everyone talking to each other excitedly, but he couldn't hear their words. Was it really possible to see the real Casca again? The woman he fell in love with the instant he saw her? The one who singlehandely saved what remained of the Hawk after Griffith's imprisonment?

The one who handed herself and the rest of the Hawk straight into Griffith's jaws in order to feast upon?

Guts shook his head.

He needed to clear his thoughts. No need to feed the disgusting creature in his mind.

He truly trusted his companions. Like how he did when he was Captain of the Hawks. Visions of his old companions rushed in front of him. Judeau. Corkus. Gaston. Pippin. Everyone...

That scared him. He didn't want to lose them again. He didn't want to lose anyone again.

But you'll soon have to make a choice. The demon within whispered. Soon, you'll have to choose between vengeance and her completely. And when that moment comes, what will you choose?

Isidro was too engrossed talking to his half cast mermaid crush to notice Guts trail behind. Roderick noticed too, but said nothing out of respect.

Noting his leader's quiet distress as well, Serpico offered some advice. "We've come this far. Nothing to do for us now but pray and have faith," he said, as he joined the others.

He was right.

All he can do now is wait.

And hope.

Author's Notes

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did. Hopefully Chapter 348 will be released soon now. In the meantime, I wanted to see Chapter 347 from Guts' perspective. I hope I got his character right. Also, screw Griffith. I hope he gets what he deserves. A very slow, painful death would be a start.

Please rate and review, I appreciate any feedback.

EDIT: People are saying that Void can actually find Elfheim through the Passage of Dreams.

Please let it be untrue. Peace, everyone.