*RUN!*
“I am running.”
*Faster you dolt!*
Erta screamed inside my head. It probably is the most accurate description of what I felt. As if every time she spoke, my ears were assaulted with extremely laud noise. An odd feeling at that when the noise is coming from within your head.
*Thou who dwells within the northern wind, make that one faster!*
A cold breeze suddenly brushed my naked body while at the same time strange lightness overcame me. Even though I was already dashing at my full capacity, a new burst of speed made me sprung forward as if an invisible hand suddenly flipped my legs onto a higher gear. And not a moment too soon. I didn’t look back but from the sound of it, something enormously large and heavy crushed the place I passed just a second ago.
I’m not really sure what was following us, Erta sent me running before I could get a good look at that thing. In short, it was big, heavy, toothy and most likely very hungry. Although, why bother with me? Compared to it my own body seemed tiny, with not much meat attached to my bones.
*It’s going for your mana you twit! Turn left, NOW!*
I obliged, changing direction.
“Erta, whatever you did before, It’s wearing off. I can’t see where we’re going”
I said, trying to run in as straight line as possible through the deepening darkness. There was a clear path ahead so in theory she should be able to redo her magic before we’ll hit anything.
*Thou who strengthens the mountains, shield us!*
That did not sound like the chant she used earlier. It was more desperate and rushed while the flood of her feelings almost made me stop. And then, with a thunderous boom, it happened. My body was ejected with an enormous force towards the wall. But the wall did not stop me. I’ve hit it like a ragdoll and kept on going.
I think water finally stopped me. I’m not sure. I blacked out soon after.
I must confess, it feels weird waking up while standing. Standing on nothing. It probably is a moment when I should scratch my head and ponder why nothingness feels so solid beneath my feet. But I don’t. I just can’t seem to care. The same way I just don’t care about the dragon gasping puffs of smoke and steam at my back. Erta is probably trying to achieve something with that, angry look? Summoning did not made me any better at reading people or dragons.
*Didn’t work did it?*
“Nope. Not really.” I shrug my arms.
“You have a really beautiful eyes though. I have never seen such pure blue color. Reminds me of the glacier ice from my world.”
She didn’t respond to that. All I got was a surge of some odd feelings my mind did not understand. For an ancient, fear inducing beast my reaction must been a real disappointment.
“I am sorry, I’m not really that great in showing emotions to others. If you wish, I can cringe for you but that’s the best you’ll get from me.”
*Indeed, you seem to be broken in that regard.*
She sharply exhaled a tiny cloud of smoke from her nostrils. A dragon sigh? Suddenly her body became so bright I had to cover my eyes from the blinding light. When I finally could lower my arms, Instead of a scaled beast, a young woman stood in front of me. She had the same, beautiful blue eyes the dragon had while her skin was as pearly white as her scales were. Part of her face was covered by thick, unruly, black curls.
*Come traveler, we have much to discuss.*
She turned around and started walking. I watched her hips sway as she walked. The close fitting white dress and black bolero she wore left little to imagination.
*Please kind traveler, abstain from staring. I have not used this form in a long while and you are making me uncomfortable.*
Said the dragon lady in a high cut dress… I am not an expert but logic dictates that if you don’t want people to stare then you put on something more decent.
*Said the one who for the last ten years wore the same shapeless suit to work every day…*
Well, she had a point. My wardrobe did not exactly say “high fashion”. With a sense of regret, I took my eyes away and followed her. By the way Erta, I didn’t say that. I *thought* of it.
* Whoopsie…* There was not even an ounce of regret in her words.
Matching her pace, I let my hands rest inside the front pocket of my old hoodie. Strangely enough, I had my hoodie back on, alongside the cargo pants I wore on that faithful day. It didn’t match with my memory, the last thing I remembered was running naked through a cave and getting kicked in the gut by who-knows-what, then being sent flying through the wall.
“Did we die?”
It was a valid question I think. The place we were traversing had no sky nor ground and the ambient light came from nowhere in particular.
*No, traveler. My shield and your unusual heart kept us alive long enough for the magic placed within your body to step in and slowly heal you. Also, although alive, your conciseness was scattered for the best part of three human time units called weeks.”*
Out cold for three weeks. This is not good. Over the years numerous doctors told me to eat a minimum of three meals a day and drink at least four glasses of water every day. For someone who cannot feel thirst or hunger, forgetting to eat or drink can be lethal.
*True, you require food and water however due to the changes done to your body, it can be sustained by utilizing mana. Food, water and even air. All those needs of your body are currently derived from your mana pool traveler. It appears the witch have put a remarkable effort in ensuring your survival. That is the only explanation I can find for all the enchants put upon your body.*
“A witch. Are you referring to the one you battled?”
*That is correct traveler. She has proven herself a worthy opponent however she fled before I could deal her a decisive blow.*
Magic, mana, witches, dragons, beastmen and even monsters. I wonder, if it happens to all those power hungry teenagers in every damn story on the internet, maybe I should try it too? Why not.
At the top of my lungs I screamed.
“Status!”
And nothing happened.
*Kind traveler, might I enquire what was that?*
Erta stopped and gave me a dubious look. I just shrug my arms.
“A special action that makes other people observing you, think you are retarded.”
*Yes. I admit it was quite effective, kind traveler.*
She continued her march off to some unknown destination.
“Where are we anyway?”
I asked again as we walked through an empty darkness. Not that I really cared for an answer. It just seemed more polite than walking in complete silence.
*Nowhere, everywhere and every when. Does that make any sense to you traveler?*
“Not at all but please continue.” I was a senior complaints manager not a magic or summoning expert.
*A parasite dimension. That is the best approximation I can make for you traveler. We are within you. Inside your space. Or at least the space that is connected to your body. I have not found any portals or paths leading towards the outside world so we may assume you are the only one who can enter and exit this place.*
So, parasite dimension or whatnot, This would mean she…
*That is correct. I cannot leave this place.*
I looked around, there was nothing here. To be a prisoner of this place, it seemed like the sole definition of hell.
*Please, grieve not traveler. I am but a soul living off your generous mana. My mortal body already perished. If anyone, I am to be blamed. My very own actions have brought this upon me.*
She suddenly stopped and deeply bowed before me.
*Kind traveler, you have shared the warmth of your company with me in my final moments yet I have brought this taboo upon you. I beg your forgiveness.*
“You do realize I have no idea what you are talking about?”
And statistically speaking all the hate I got from people in my previous world whose complaints I’ve rejected might had a higher influence on my karma if such a thing even exist. It surely is no fun getting death threats. Every day. Every year. I got promoted quite fast since no one else wanted the job and I just didn’t care. If I remember correctly, there was even one person threatening to curse the whole company… Mail like that went into the terrorist threat mailbox category.
Erta was still bend before me, waiting.
“You’ve been saying something about a taboo?”
*Yes, the taboo. One shall not bound souls together for only one can live within a mortal body. If we remain bound, our souls would meld into one and both of us will cease to exist. *
“That… does not sound good.”
And given my current unusual circumstances, it might actually happen.
“Do you know when will that happen?”
*It is already happening as we speak, traveler. Although, your soul coming from a different world, world without mana, has a much greater resistance to this process. Perhaps in a thousand years we shall become one.*
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
A thousand years. Okay, this can go straight into the I don’t care category.
“You can drop the dramatic act. I don’t really care what’s going to happen tomorrow and here we’re looking at hundreds of years but If it makes you feel any better, I harbor no ill feelings against you.”
I don’t feel anything towards anyone but that’s just a minor glitch of my personality.
Erta raised her head and looked deep into my eyes, searching for something. Whether she found what she looked for or not remained a mystery.
*If that is what you feel traveler, let it be so.*
She turned on her heel and continued walking, off to some invisible destination. Without anything better to do, I followed.
“Galen. Galen Vesa.”
She gave me a curious look as we walked.
“That is my name.”
*Is that so?*
She stopped for a moment, giving me a throughout look over.
*Very well then, Galen of house of Vesa. I shall remember that.*
She said while a bluish will-o'-the-wisp appeared atop her head, burning between her horns. Did I just do something very, very stupid? If so, Erta refused to answer though I could swear I saw a smirk on her lips.
*Galen, as I said before, there are some facts you should make yourself familiar with. I believe this knowledge will greatly influence our future.*
This time around she broke the silence.
*You have been brought here by an ancient spell. Whether it was intended or not I cannot tell. Given what I can gather from your memories, those who summoned you did not expect your arrival. Most likely they were hoping for something much different and cast the ancient spell without realizing what it actually did…*
“We may skip that part. I was there, now I’m here. Stuck I presume?”
*I am afraid it is so.*
Well, look at that. Maybe the job was jinxed after all? Before me, nine people took this position and each quit or disappeared after a week or so.
*What happened before the witch took you into her custody, I know not. That part is not present within your memories.*
*Given the unusual nature of your body, the witch might have acquired it for use as a subject in one of her numerous experiments. As such, your body was a subject to many drastic changes, the extent of which I have yet to fully grasp. There are numerous spells, charms and enhancements put upon your body. Some of which can rival my own magic however most of their purpose eludes me.*
“Okay. So I am a freak now. Dully noted. Any super powers I should be aware of or am still the good old boring me?”
*That remains to be seen although, given our recent encounter I believe none of the enchantments placed upon you, have anything to do with your combat ability. *
Actually that is quite good to hear. Weak body, meaning no fights to the death with evil demon lords. I’m really not into the hero fetish some people develop around the second year of middle school.
“You have mentioned earlier that you had something to do with our current predicament?”
*Yes.* I could feel an immense sadness seeping towards me from her soul.
*Somehow, the witch has obtained a draggling heart and implanted it within you. The beating of that heart was what brought me towards you. A grave mistake I must admit.*
“A draggling heart?”
*Yes. An impure heart of a half-dragon. In your case, the heart belonged to a half-elf and half-dragon. Something I have learned when it was too late. *
“That is why you attacked the witch? Because of a heart? Are those dragglings or whatever they’re named some kind of a taboo? You went through all of this just to destroy it?”
* It is true that I raged and attacked the scarlet witch but I did not came to destroy it. I came to rescue her as any mother would come to aid her child.*
“So the heart…”
*No! thankfully not. The heart your chest harbors does not belongs to my daughter. Rather I think, one of my ancestors might have stayed a night too long in one of the elven forests. My sin was simpler. A human knight with a pretty face and sweet words chained me with a curse called love.*
*As a result, I gave him a daughter, he gave me the best years in my life.*
After saying that Erta went silent for a while. Whether she was crying or just not in the mood to continue our conversation, I don’t know. She walked a step ahead of me and I could not see her face. Nor did I wish to bother her.
*We have arrived.*
She stopped and spoke after a while that could have been the whole eternity. And then I saw it.
It was big. Big and imposing. It gave an odd fuzzy feeling that dominated everything else. A Jupiter sized ball of blueish light, swirling and dancing and spinning. Circling it, like a moon around a planet was another, much smaller, an earth sized orange orb. Occasionally, puffs of white smoke would raise from the bluish orb and circle around the orange one before being sucked into it.
Beneath all that, space shook and rippled like water.
“As fascinating as it is, what am I looking at?”
*Mana. About a tenth of what was available since we were bound together. Your body and all the charms put on it, continuously consume a portion of your mana. Normally your recovery rate should be able to handle that but in our current situation, the mana demand is much higher. Also, since you were born without the ability to handle mana, your body is not very effective at it. Less than a fifth of what is consumed is being used. If I may be blunt, as it is now, you're nothing but a leaky squirt gun with a water tank the size of a whole planet.*
I looked again at the spectacle happening right before me. Every once in a while, a several miles long lightning bolt would come crashing down from the enormous marble. Should I feel tiny and insignificant compared to that? Suddenly the whole place shuddered violently while a sound of tearing iron filed the air. I steadied myself. I could see the orb has shrunk considerably.
“There is something you’re not telling me is there?”
*Unfortunately. Right now as we speak, your body is resting tangled into some seaweed at the bottom of the lake were we landed. Hence, a lot of magic is at work to keep us alive although I’m afraid that will not last much longer.*
Three weeks under water, without air and food and… why do I even care? There is no logic in this world. Now I’m sure the position was jinxed. Nothing else could explain what happened to me. Or maybe I was dead after all and this was some sort of illogical purgatory? I gave up and decided to do what I did for the last lousy ten years in my sad life. Just do what others told me.
“Any ideas? Priorities?” I asked.
*We must get you out of the water, that alone should considerably reduce the strain of keeping us alive. To do so we must awake you and this is our second and most troubling obstacle. It appears you are unable to wake up on your own. I on the other hand am unable to leave this place, much else control your body. *
So why not just “magic” us out of there to a safe place? Something told me that if she could use magic, she would do so already.
*A valid observation. Currently all the mana I could use is being put towards keeping us alive. I started gathering some the moment I’ve discovered our predicament, however I have not taken into account the fact the more starved is your body, the more mana it will require. In other words, we will drown before I can gather a sufficient amount of it to cast a spell.*
With a concerned look, she faced me.
*Currently I have enough to try and jolt you awake. Please make use of this chance wisely, there won’t be another one.*
I stood and watched as she rammed her hand into my chest. It sank deeply, way beyond her wrist but I felt no pain. She pulled me even closer. So close I could feel her hot breath on my face.
*Wake up traveler.* She spoke and my eyes opened.
It felt, disorienting. Standing in one place then suddenly finding myself in quite another. How surreal this felt. I was floating in crystal clear water entangled in what appeared to be a green, kelp like carpet that stretched way beyond my field of vision.
I looked up, I was easily forty or more feet below the surface but the sun still shone so brightly I barely noticed the difference. A silver shoal of tiny fishes came and dance in swirls around me until a larger one chased them away. That remained me, I was not here for sightseeing.
Erta? I thought after fiddling around for more than several minutes, much without any result. There was so much of this green stuff warped around me I couldn’t even see my own chest.
Can you hear me? I tried again but no answer came.
Well If there is no other way… Hoping none of this stuff was poisonous, I grabbed the first bunch of steams and begun chewing my way to freedom.
By the evening, grateful that whatever kept me alive did not run out of juice, I kicked off the bottom and resurfaced.