CHAPTER 100.

Amber stared at the smiling elf, her bleached orange hair hanging and her silver eyes were curled following her smile. Yet it almost felt as if she was the devil herself, and that was because Frei, the elf before Amber, was level 300 and a member of the Arcane Council.

Finally, after staring at the peach fuzz-haired woman for a moment, Amber finally regained her bearings.

“Why would you⁠— no.” Amber shook her head. “Take your dagger off Asil first.”

Frei blinked for a moment before looking at the groaning elf on the ground. Oddly enough, there was no blood but he was very obviously in deep pain, and Cecile was desperately trying to remove the dagger but with no success as if it were glued there.

“Ya know you’re in no position to make demands, right?” Frei asked, as if pointing out the obvious before smiling. “But since I want go about things the nice way, and I’m interested in ya, I’ll listen~”

With a playful tone, she disappeared and basically shoved Cecile to the side before gripping the dagger and⁠ janking it out. It came out with no blade, but it shortly gained one after it morphed from the black material in the handle.

And Asil clearly relaxed, letting out a deep breath.

“There ya go, happy I hope?” she asked, glancing back at Amber.

“Very,” Amber replied sarcastically.

Frei smiled, sitting on a bed and crossing her legs. There was a silence of multiple seconds before she spoke cheerfully.

“Glad to hear that.”

Amber wanted to sigh but instead she turned to look at Cecile, who was helping Asil get up. His breathing was rugged and he looked like a sweaty mess.

“What did you even do to him?”

“Hm?” Frei tilted her head. “I won’t be answering those kinds of questions until you agree to help me.”

“Can’t you just… walk away from the organization?” Cecile said, sounding frustrated.

The female elf’s eyes widened for a moment, placing a hand on her mouth. “My, my, at last you speak to me.”

Cecile just glared before Frei chuckled.

“If it were that simple I would’ve done it a while ago, y’know?” She shook her head. “Unfortunately, I need Miss’ help over here. She is a Cursebearer and all that shit.”

“And the fuck you want me to do?” Amber asked with frustration.

“Gooood, question!”

The elf disappeared and reappeared next to Amber, grabbing her by the shoulder as if they were buddies⁠, making her frown. Does everyone do that?

“Ya see my dearest Amber, I was forced to make a vow upon joining the mysterious and world-wide organization known as the Arcane Council, and because of this fucking vow, I cannot leave it! So ain’t that fantastic?”

“A vow? If it’s like the ones made with primordials I can’t help you with that.”

Amber tried to scurry out of her grip but she was just pressed against the woman’s shoulder again.

“Exactly like that! But there are many layers of curses interacting with the vow, so I need your help removing those. As for removing the vow?” She tilted her head. “Well, given ya got access to the secret of the gods, I’m sure you can figure it out.”

Amber paused. “I don’t?”

“Nah, you murdered Zodos, he ain’t stupid enough to die to just anyone. In fact, you had to have overwhelmed him so hard that both of them failed to run given we’ve heard jackshit from them. Plus, whatever the fuck your elf friend did did not fit his level either.”

She let go of Amber before smiling.

“So with all that said, I have faith in ya.”

Amber frowned. “I’m telling you⁠—”

“Gee, relax. You automatically make a vow to not mention it when you’re let in on it, unless those around you also know of it you’ll go mute.” She thought for a moment. “At least from what I know. Well, there may be an exception like⁠— if the other person is trusted by a Primordial Spirit enough to know their name, but I don’t know that. It’s a law of the world, sort to speak.”

Frei the elf shrugged, and Amber was left befuddled. She had never tried to speak of Ill’hine to someone else, let alone talk about Essence, but was that really the case? It was hard to trust this… Arcane Council member.

Finally, a sigh left the woman.

“I want out because I know being a member automatically makes it impossible for me to be trusted, and I want to go… To that promised land, to the land of stars; I want to see my… ancestors…”

Her voice trailed to a mere whisper as she spoke wistfully, and yet Amber’s eyes widened. She knows of Ill’hine’s existence… that means the Arcane Council knows too…? That… she didn’t know how she felt about that fact.

“Impossible. You…” Asil bit his tongue, keeping to himself what he intended to say.

“Oh the Arcane Council shouldn’t know that?” Frei tilted her head, smiling at both of the expressions given to her before answering. “They don’t. Just me, never told ‘em about it. I hope it’s what gets me redemption in the eyes of whichever Primordial Spirit I meet after this shit blows over.”

Amber didn’t really know what to say to that, Frei was odd. She was an individual that had thrown her expectations out of the window again and again and again. But even then, she was reluctant to help her.

“You need me alive to help you with that, right?”

“Yep.” Frei nodded lightly.

Amber frowned. “How do I know I can trust you after the fact.”

“Well I won’t kill ya if that’s what your worried about⁠, because that would be royally—” And she paused. “Oh, the guards are here.”

“You are lying,” Asil said.

“No, they really are here,” Amber corrected. “I can sense them.”

“Yep, I really like you⁠; your senses are great.” Frei grinned, putting her hood on again. “I’ll leave for now, if the baron finds out I was the cause of this I’ll be in trouble. Ta, ta.”

And she disappeared with a wave, leaving all three alone in the room. As soon as she left, Amber was the one to get a sense of relief. It was odd, meeting any high level individual they just took control of the conversation; and the reason for that was the lack of respect for her. Which… only getting stronger would truly fix.

Cecile looked relieved and Asil was still in evident pain.

The merchant asked, concerned. “What did she stab you with?”

“Some kind of darkness element skill.” He grunted. “It’s not poison either, it just paralyzes you.”

Amber made note of it in her mind then turned to the broken down door. For now she had to deal with the guards. It was clear that her only recourse was to flex her noble title. And so, she waited for the guards only to do just that.

And so she waited standing in between the door and her two companions, and a short moment later one after another, guards stormed the room with their weapons ready, before finally the captain came in.

“You are arrested for acts of terrorism.”

Amber blinked. Terrorism? That’s quite the descriptor.

“I was defending myself,” Amber explained. “In fact, that was a deflected attack from the assassin that came after me.”

The captain met Amber’s gaze with narrowed eyes.

“And why on Vir would someone want to assassinate you, Miss?” he asked with a hiss.

“Oh, that is simple, really.” Amber smiled innocently. “As the hero of Cytel, Demonkiller and a duchess it is not the first time someone has tried to have me assassinated.”

The captain frowned, and the knights paused looking at her dubiously.

“There is no way on⁠—”

“It’s true!” a knight said, shuffling for a picture. “It really is her!”

“Let me see.”

And just like that, her fame had solved all trouble.

* * *

Or so she thought. In the end, she still found herself sitting before the head baron. At first he had been angry, but after explaining that this was caused by the Arcane Council and this was the reason she had come to talk to him he relaxed. Though he was still annoyed that Amber hadn’t immediately told him about it all, but after explaining that Frei had caused the member of the council to run, the baron became more amiable.

After all, the great mercenary Frei had taken care of things like she said she would. And given the situation had basically resolved itself, all the baron had to do was fix some damage done to the town and also send a report to the king of all things.

By the end of things, he was congratulating Frei for saving the city, and he was also relieved that Amber hadn’t died because it would’ve caused trouble if she died in his city or something.

Amber wasn’t well-versed in a lot of things or how the kingdom worked, but of course, she didn’t say that; instead she just nodded along to whatever the head baron was saying. And finally, after numerous hours, and made to stay overnight just in case anything popped up, Amber was let go well past noon of the next day.

After that, she met up with Cecile and Asil who had been waiting outside ⁠— thankfully they weren’t interrogated after she herself was taken to the head baron. Cecile was the first to speak up after they found themselves another room to stay in and made themselves comfortable on the beds and chairs.

“I’m surprised you were let go that fast,” she said quietly. “Terrorism is… high on the list.”

“I didn’t even do it in the first place.” Amber breathed.

“Right.” Cecile took a pause. “We’ve discussed that we should probably leave town.”

“She’ll just chase after us.” Amber sighed. “This needs to be resolved first.”

At that, she was met with some reluctant nods. And after a few moments, she began to think about things. She thought back on her encounter with Frei, it was… tense. But at least it was over. Still, on one hand she wanted to reprimand Asil, but she had to ask something before doing that.

“Asil, if your attack hit that elf, what would’ve happened?”

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The elf raised his head surprised.

“I’ll tell you in a second.”

Then, after casting a spell with his staff to probably soundproof the room, he began to explain.

“Cecile would’ve been protected by me, you would have survived albeit in a lot of pain and… Frei who was at the center would have died.”

“You did consider all of that when doing it, right?”

He nodded. “I did, and I stand by my decision; getting rid of her was the only thing that mattered, and I seized the chance when she let her guard down.”

“I see.”

His recklessness had been completely on purpose it seemed. And so, she couldn’t even be angry about it; if he thought she could survive then she most definitely could, and Cecile would’ve been safe either. At least, Asil had given her no reason to doubt him thus far. And so, she moved to the next thing in her mind. Not before looking over at Cecile.

To some extent, Cecile understood at this point that there was something happening between her and Asil, and Amber was certain that Cecile was aware of Asil’s imprisonment by Sid’fril. And so, with all that in mind, Amber decided that it was fine to have this conversation in her presence; especially given that she had witnessed the conversation with Frei too.

Finally, she asked Asil what she had in mind.

“And the thing she said about… the vow, is it true?”

Asil nodded with a sigh. “It is only something that can be divulged if you have permission from a primordial to do so; and only to people you genuinely deem trustworthy from the bottom of your heart. Or a primordial must tell you, and trust you from the bottom of their heart when doing so.”

Amber nodded, and also noted that it went to show just how close Val’leri was to Ax’thra given she easily told her everything she needed to know. But that also left the question:

“Did a primordial tell you about it or?”

“No, the matriarch and patriarch of my family did, the ancestors of the Dazdril family.”

“Is the secret of the gods that… important?” Cecile asked dubiously and shifting on her spot. “I mean, I know that… for it to be that closely guarded it must be, but isn’t it ultimately just… information?”

Both of them turned to regard her as she flinched.

“I just can’t see it…”

“It’s a bit more than information; or rather it is information that can lead you to acquiring something else,” Asil answered, smiling lightly. “Thanks to it, when I was a measly level 30 I killed a level 482 Crimson Draco of the Flame; a dragon; all in a single attack.”

Amber paused, and Cecile did too. Amber was surprised, because while she understood that Asil had been strong before having his core shattered, she didn’t know he was stronger than Dargon or other members of the Arcane Council. Meanwhile Cecile was just gaping.

“But now that you are close to 150… how come you couldn’t kill⁠—”

“Because I can’t make use of that secret anymore,” Asil said bitterly. “But putting it into perspective; that is why it matters so much to the Arcane Council; they want the power of the gods.”

Cecile nodded before slowly regarding Amber. “I see… then are you really sure you can trust someone from the Arcane Council to uphold their promises and not return to the council once they attain their goal?”

“I can’t, and that’s the problem. Once she successfully leaves, I don’t know what will happen after. Even if she doesn’t rejoin them or whatever.”

A sigh left Amber and at that moment the door was knocked.

“I know y’all are having a private conversation or whatever, but we still need to sort some things out,” a familiar voice echoed into the room, albeit muffled.

“She is here.” Cecile tensed.

“Indeed.” Asil nodded.

And all Amber had in response was to shake her head. Might as well get this over with.

She went to receive the elf, who was still dressed in the same cloak and with a smile she offered her hand.

“Let’s go for a walk, Amber?”

Amber frowned for a moment. “Only if it’s just you and me.”

Frei chuckled. “That’s what I meant.”

She didn’t want another dumb hostage situation, and while she didn’t know what Frei had planned, she made her decision. She did not want Cecile or Asil to get hurt because of her after all.

“Alright then.”

Asil tensed. “Amber, if you bring me along⁠—”

Amber shook her head. “Go into hiding while I’m gone and leave the city if I don’t come back. Otherwise I’ll come back here and call you. You can sense my fire, can’t you?”

At that, the white-haired elf slowly nodded. Then, finally Amber turned and walked past Frei who had a small smile.

“Let’s go then, on a walk.”

* * *

She had expected some sort of trap, but in the end they were indeed just walking on the streets of the town, both of them with their respective cloaks. And as they were walking down a street market, the elf finally spoke.

“It’s lively, isn’t it?” Frei asked.

Amber frowned. “It is.”

“People with their own behaviors and traditions; a unique culture that perhaps you can’t find anywhere else in Vir but Cytel,” she spoke.

“Right.”

“And yet, this is just one of many. Doesn’t that interest you?”

Frei grabbed a fruit off a street vendor before tossing a coin over at the flustered man, who failed to catch it. They didn’t stop walking for a second.

“I guess it slightly does?” Amber answered after a couple of seconds, unsure.

“Maybe this doesn’t actually interest ya, it’s what you’re used to.” She shrugged, taking a bite. “But, what about other empires? We are somewhat near the Sacred Forest, aren’t ya interested in what elves eat? How they live? Their religion if they have one? How strong they are and how they go about attaining that strength?”

Amber hesitated before nodding. “I am interested, yes.”

“Exactly,” Frei smiled, before grabbing a dagger of darkness and cutting into the fruit. “And those are exactly my feelings towards that place.”

She offered a piece of fruit which Amber took with some hesitation.

“I know ya don’t trust me for shit, I mean who would? I’m part of some trashy organization whose pursuit for their ideals have caused multiple catastrophes across history and has even killed weak gods in the process.” She laughed to herself.

Amber just kept quiet and listened to the elven woman as they walked through the town. All while holding a piece of some watermelon-looking thing on her fingers.

“But, I want you to trust me, because making you my enemy would be unwise,” she said with a tone of seriousness. “Seriously, I’ve seen enough tragedies in my life to sense the start of one.”

“Right.”

“Are you gonna eat that by the way?” she asked, glancing over.

Amber sighed and raised her hand. “You can have it.”

The elf plucked it off her and ate it with a smile.

And slowly, as they walked the conversation continued. Frei went on to explain that she had stopped being loyal to the Arcane Council not even five years after joining, but she has been a member for fifty years and has been looking for a way out ever since her first decade.

All because she realized that the Arcane Council was incredibly likely to never learn the secret of the gods. There was also the fact that she hated some of their executives, but Amber didn’t ask about that.

Instead, she listened to Frei explain herself some more, and mention some of the ways she had tried to get rid of the vow⁠— from trying to find other Primordial Spirits to even seeking the Saints of Truth to get rid of the curses relating to the vow. But nothing seemed to be effective. The Saints couldn’t get rid of the curse and even attempted to capture her for further research on the subject, while the spirits gave her a very stern warning on killing her should they see her again.

Val’leri was included apparently, but she didn’t know of the other primordial spirits she mentioned.

By the end of things, Amber ended up on a hill overlooking the town, the sun was now beginning to set, and Frei had been guiding the walk, so they ended up here.

“Y’know, when I’m feeling… down I come here,” she said after a moment. “I find this sight comforting.”

Amber stared at the woman who no longer had her hood up. Her peach fuzz colored hair was shining in the sunlight, and her silver eyes looked warm and full of life. Amber’s view of her had changed from an enemy to a human, it still hadn’t changed that much more. And that was why she was fed up with this. A sigh left her.

“I still can’t trust you.”

Frei looked over. “I know.”

Amber shook her head. “You are part of the Arcane Council, and while you want to leave, nothing guarantees that you won’t go and do something stupid after.”

“That’s true, I won’t argue with that.” She nodded, looking back at the horizon.

“So, why should I trust you?”

Frei smiled, still looking at the sun. “I believe ya know that everything I talked about is for you to trust me.”

“Why do you want to go to that place so bad?” Amber frowned. “You seem very fixated on it, like it’s your life goal. Why?”

At that, for the first time since meeting her, she showed a different kind of expression. One that showed sadness and longing.

“It’s been about one hundred and eighty two years since my family was wiped by a Primordial Spirit,” she spoke simply. “It happened overnight.”

She closed her eyes.

“After that, I found myself adopted by mercenaries at about fifteen years old, and they raised me for fifty years… hence my manner of speech,” she said simply. “But even then, I have memories of my elven family…”

She opened her silver eyes and looked at the sun with a sense of yearning, one that made Amber feel somewhat taken aback.

“Have ya ever been promised something for years only for it to be taken away?” she asked simply.

“My mom abandoned me over my life choices, but I don’t think that’s the same.” Amber shook her head.

“Well, regardless, the grand grandpa of the family used to tell me that one day I’ll see the land of the stars, where he and our ancestors lived. Unlike other members of the family, he had had an extra set of arms; they were amputated for some reason, don’t know why.”

She smiled bitterly to herself.

“I never got to know all that much about my family really, aside from the fact that we’ve retained our noble status in spite of what happened to us.” She turned and smiled wryly. “In fact, I have the right to participate to be the next matriarch of the Sacred Forest.”

“Right.”

Frei turned to the sky. “What I do know is that, I was promised by my grand grandpa to one day know of the secret of our origin. For many years I heard wondrous tales of the children of the stars, of those that are known as the gods of Vir.”

She reached her hand upwards.

“And yet, one of those same gods eradicated every single person in my family that knew of their secret. They killed every single one of them before my eyes.”

And then she closed it with great strength, keeping her grip tight.

“Everyone that I cherished, died right then and there.”

There was some silence before she continued with a hint of melancholy.

“I still don’t know what my original family did, or why they were wiped, but I wish to find out. I also wish to know how to go to that land, yet the spirits don’t trust me because of the blood within my veins. Because my family did something that angered them.”

She slowly relaxed, bringing her arm down.

“And now, after trying and failing to learn of that wondrous land with the Arcane Council, I only wish for atonement. I am not like my ancestors…”

Frei moved to the hand on her chest and looked towards the sun.

“While power is nice, I just wish to see where my bloodline is from… where all elves hail from. I wish to see the wondrous world I heard about for the first fifteen years of my life. And I wish to fulfill the promise of being happy to my adoptive fathers and sisters. And I believe you’re the answer to that.”

Amber blinked seeing a tear come from her eye, but she turned with a resolute gaze, seemingly unaffected by whatever emotions she was feeling.

“Unlike the other times, I believe you can solve my plight. That not only can you allow me to leave the Arcane Council, but that you can also take me to that land.”

Frei flashed a smile.

“And if you can indeed do that; if you can fulfill my life goal of almost two centuries, then I will pledge myself to you with absolute loyalty.”

The elf’s hair rustled with the wind as the sunlight shone upon both of them, and Amber was having a hard time processing, finally she spoke.

“But if I can’t do that, aren't you kind of screwed?”

At that, the elf laughed. “Indeed I would be!”

With that, she disappeared and Amber felt her hand being held. She blinked seeing the elven woman holding her arm and with a rather coy smile she knelt, holding Amber’s hand.

“Then, how about I do it now? I will pledge my loyalty to you with a vow made to you. That way you can be fully aware that I will not betray you or betray the spirits.”

“I can’t do a vow.” Amber frowned, displeased by the development.

She smiled. “You absolutely can, you have the secret of the gods within you. It’ll be no different to the one that binds me to the Arcane Council.”

“Does that mean that the vow you made⁠—”

“Answering that will make me lose my life,” she interrupted with a more serious tone. “So, what do you say, Amber?”

She looked at the confident elf, and for a moment she was doubtful. But if Frei had already engaged in an Essence Contract then, she could try. Based on how Essence worked, she should have been able to tell if the vow was made properly or not.

“Alright.” She sighed, moving her Essence to her hand. “I can’t believe I really am doing this with you.”

“Make a vow for me that if broken kills me, one that does not turn me into a slave, but one that serves your purposes,” she said simply.

Amber nodded and thought for a while. The wind rustled both of their hairs, and the sun continued to set as the cold of dusk began to come, but even then she didn’t rush it. And finally, as the sun was about to hide into the horizon, she knew what she wanted.

“Frei, what is your name?”

She paused. “I’m Frei Lasren.”

Amber closed her eyes and moved her Essence into her body, a minimal amount of it towards her heart. At least, that’s how she assumed Sid’fril did things.

“Frei Lasren, I will help you with your plight to leave the Arcane Council and to travel to the land of stars to the best of my abilities, and in exchange I wish to borrow upon your strength when requested. Not only that, but information about primordials you meet through me should only be discussed with me. Information about my strength, important friends, or allies, should only be discussed with me. I can also grant approval to discuss this information as needed, and I will note that I won’t ask you to act on things you do not wish to act on. In short: don’t act against my interests and also don’t harm those close to me. If those terms are acceptable to you, then you can swear it upon your life that you won’t be breaking them.”

She grinned. “I swear that I’ll fulfill those terms until my last breath.”

For a moment, nothing happened and then⁠— her core completely drained of Essence and Amber nearly fainted for a moment before she had numerous words pop into her mind. Along with it, the sun completely set as nightfall came.

You’ve made an incomplete Essence Contract with Frei Lasren.

She learned Essence Contract as a skill as well.

But Incomplete…? What does that mean⁠? Amber blinked—

But before she could worry about things, her core leveled up, shattering and expanding in size.

[All your attributes have increased by 25.]

This time, she wasn’t given a new Essence skill, but rather the System did something. It offered her a title, one that made her eyes go wide in shock and momentarily forget her worries.

[You have been offered a title: Abyssal Lord…]