CODENAME: ELDRITCH

CHAPTER 1 - SEE . . .

‘Hello there . . . Human. Why don't you sit down for a bit and relax? Yes, you're nice and comfortable there on the other side of the screen, right? Good~! For I want to, no, apparently I have to tell you a little story. You see, it all began quite some time ago; years probably . . . what are you saying; it wasn’t even a full year? Well, it was at least a few months ago, so shut up and listen!’

Whatever they had told her it was wrong! She had seen it with her own eyes. Well, not really with her own eyes but on the newscast and she had heard about it from the gossip in the University. But such small details weren’t important to Valerie Sherman, at least not right now. What indeed was of importance was that they had lied to her; to HER gods damn it! She was the best of her class and even held the record for the most quickly advancing student ever! She was already at least a rank three in outer-control and a two in lay- and inner-control. Most of the students her age were merely rank one and a few rank two but she was better! So why had Professor Kleijn not told her about Miranda’s potent blood magic? Was she so dumb!?

All of a sudden Valerie looked up in anger. “I am not dumb! By the way, you do know that it is quite idiotic to refer to yourself in the third person, me?”

‘Um, you kind of got a point there, me . . . Oh, shit, like this the people will think we are crazy!’

“I, me. It is I.”

‘Huh?’

“There are no we, only I! Stop thinking of myself as more than one person!”

‘How should you know how many I am!’

“Maybe, because we are the same fucking person idiot!!!”

‘Oh, right . . . anyway back to the story, human!’

Unsure of what to think sh- I gritted my teeth in anger. Why would they have allowed for that stupid punk to even join the training? They had obviously known about her newfound power, a power that was even forbidden by law, and yet they didn’t stop her. All of a sudden it dawned on me; there was a very good reason for what they had done. They didn’t test me; they probably didn’t even care about me at all! No, instead they had tested that bitch Miranda! They had used me to test their new investment, Arcana Industries' new favourite. Their new fucking pet!

“No! No, no, no! I can't let this stand! He should have informed me about his suspicions, but noooo instead he let me train against her! All of it just so she could beat my ass and make a blunder in showing off with her stupid blood magic! Damn it. This so fucking annoying, she is a Rank one; she shouldn't have been so strong! They should focus on me! I am far better than all of them! Argh!”

Trying to find an outlet for my frustration I pulled my fist back and slammed it into the nearby wall of my bedroom. Much to my dismay, it happened exactly what one would expect in such a situation. The wall didn't give in but my hand sure did. The pain shocked me more than anything else; I wasn’t exactly the sturdiest of women you know! Instead of sucking it up like a grown-up, I fell to the ground clutching my bloodied knuckles to my chest and started sobbing. None of this should have happened, at least not like this. Just why did I feel so weak and useless? Still reeling from the pain, big, round tears fell from my eyes. It just wasn't fair, I was the bright star; I was the protégé wasn’t I? Wallowing in my self-pity, I didn't even register when someone knocked on her door.

“Miss, is everything alright in there? I heard screaming and I think some fool trying to punch hard stuff, like a wall for example?”

“Go away, Tanya! I don't need you right now! I'm perfectly fine.”

No one was allowed to see me like this I looked like a sobbing mess for fuck's sake. And after all, I didn’t want to see other people anyway, not even Tanya! Despite being told not to come in my maid, or rather my personal bodyguard as her official job title was, had a very different definition of what she could and couldn't do and simply barged into the room. Seeing the terrifying ex-soldier approach I quickly crawled, more out of instinctive fear than any reasonable conclusion, towards my bed. The bed was nice, the bed was safety! No one would see me cry! Just in time before she could reach me I disappeared beneath the bedsheets.

“Valerie, come on! What the fuck is wrong with you today? You didn’t even eat dinner with your family.”

Fortunately, she didn’t try to pull away my bedsheets; I was more than certain I couldn’t hold on against her, the woman had muscles of steel gods damn it! Instead, she just sighed and sat down next to me, and with one hand gently rubbed my back. But I would have none of that! She was just trying to coax me out of my cocoon and make me open up too her. No, this was something I had to deal with myself.

“Tanya, can you please just leave me be? I’ll tell you tomorrow about it okay? I just have to think a little, okay?” Hopefully, she would leave already; I had stuff to do, like punching more stuff maybe or burying that stupid bitch Miranda up to her neck in fucking scorpions!

“Hmm, okay Valerie, I’ll give you some space, but remember to take your medication, okay? You’re acting more hostile than usual and I’m pretty sure you've noticed that too, right?”

“Hmph, fine. By the way, can you tell my mother that I’ll be studying later, so she doesn’t have to make a fuss?”

“I can do that sweetie, sleep well.” I could perfectly imagine her gentle smile.

She bowed down and hugged me one last time, well I say hug but it was more like she wrapped herself around me and almost squeezed the air out of my lungs. Before she left she pulled the sheets off my head and gave me a soft lingering kiss on my now exposed lips, just like she always did. Honestly, it was a little odd just how protective and affectionate Tanya was; she had been with us since I was fourteen and never really left my side. And even if she was ten years older than me, she was very kind and beautiful so I started to think of her as an elder sister. I wasn’t that sure about the kisses though, she never kissed me when my parents or my current boyfriend were around, only when we were alone. I felt like I should be more worried about that fact, but her lips felt nice so I didn’t really mind.

I waited for a while longer after the door had closed just to make sure that Tanya really had gone away. After I no longer heard any footsteps close by, I got out of my bed and quietly snuck towards my window. On the way, I grabbed my bag and a hooded wool sweater, before I finally opened the large window and looked outside. I was greeted by a three-story drop, roughly seven to eight meters from the window still. This was a fall that would surely end up with at least a few cracked bones, if not outright broken legs. But seeing as I was no ordinary person I simply shrugged and jumped out. In a split second, I had already fallen halfway but just before my body impacted the hard concrete I stretched both hands to the side and pushed against the air. Using what control I had, I managed to reduce the debilitating fall to a mere pained grunt when my boots made contact with the ground. And just as quick as I had made my escape I sprinted off towards the nearest tram station.

It was around eight o’clock in the evening when I finally made my way to the university grounds. And by all the gods I already was exhausted, to say me getting here had been eventful would be a gross understatement. The ride on the tram had been fine for the first half with nothing out of the ordinary happening, the second half though, yeah not so much! First I had somehow managed to accidentally kick a tiny dog creature and its owner, an old ugly woman, had boldly claimed that I had been aiming for it. Which I obviously had not! I just found it looked disgusting and didn’t want it peeing on my designer shoes! Those things were expansive damn it! So in order to solve the problem between us, the elder woman kindly left the wagon at the next stop. Well, I didn’t know if it was her station, but then again it wasn’t like I left her any other choice . . . I’m pretty sure she would have to get her back checked, hard concrete is so unfavourable on old bones after all. Not sure if the doggy survived my wind blast though . . .

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Anyway, that wasn’t even all of it! After solving the issue of being endangered by smelly dog pee, I just had to stumble right into another pit trap! Seeing as I didn’t want to stay in the same place that disgusting creature had been I made my way to another wagon. And there I had immediately spotted an incredibly hot guy. A clean-shaven elegant face that was just unnaturally handsome, paired with perfect hair and a smile made to charm any woman. In short, he was my ideal type, so I did the same thing I always did, I plopped down in the seat next to him and started flirting like no other. I had just wrapped myself around one of his strong arms and we had taken a selfie together when I did a double-take.

I took another look at the selfie then at the ‘guy's’ ears, teeth, and chest. Not sure about my own observation skill I put a hand on ‘his’ chest and groped. It was squishy. I had somehow failed to notice that I had been flirting with an Elf. And to make it even better, she was very obviously a female Elf! Now I certainly wasn't racist, but the slurs, ‘Knife Ear’ or ‘Cannibal’ were very justified. Elves were plain terrifying, dozens of razor-sharp teeth and females that could bench press a grown man. And don't even get me started on male Elves, the term Futa or Trap comes to mind when seeing their overly cute exterior, they even had breasts for fuck's sake! No, that was nothing I wanted to deal with, my father would beat me bloody if I brought on of the sub-races home. I wasn't even interested in them in the first place. Not. At. All! Understood!? After attempting to get out of the situation with my dignity intact, and trying to avoid the glares of what could only be the girl's inhumanly beautiful and cute boyfriend, I finally made it to my destination and was almost ready to just go back home again.

‘Such a shame . . . If only I had accepted her invitation, maybe all would be different now . . . Not that I hate what I am now of course! I would never insult the great One like that!’

Yet instead of choosing what would be the sensible thing to do, I carried on. With tired and slow steps I dragged myself up the stairs leading to the university's library. While most of today's lessons were mostly digital events and books were mostly antiquities, the Amsterdam library prided itself with having every book stored in their archives at least two times bound on paper. Poor books, didn't the people know that words wanted to be free? But this was not the case for all books, there was a selected few that would never feel the freeing wings of the internet. Those tomes, for the better lack of a word, were magical artifacts either too precious or dangerous for the general public. And exactly those I was after today. As I was an exemplary student and the daughter of the owner of AF-Industries, I had of course received my own library key that was as a request by me basically an untraceable master key. I smiled while I pushed the doors open; no one would ever again overpower me! I took one step inside and instantly my mind went blank.

. . .

Child. Young One.

See. Learn.

Hear. Know.

Speak. Understand.

Feel. Change.

Love. Become.

Devour. Embrace.

. . .

In a start, my eyes shot open and I screamed. My head... it hurt so much! It couldn't be; a headache shouldn't be so painful. It was as if my brain was being pulled apart! In a frantic attempt to stop the pain I clawed at my head, I felt several strands of my hair pull and rip and the pain only got worse. Before I could worsen my already questionable situation I felt two strong hands wrap around my arms and with a push pulled them to my side. The same hands wrapped around me in a tight hug and began to rock me back and forth, slowly but surely in this bittersweet embrace the pain subsided. My mind cleared and for the first time I looked around, I was back in my room. I blinked in confusion, no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t remember ever coming home. No, I could even remember anything since I had entered the library! I panicked and focused on the person holding me. It was as was almost naturally so Tanya. By now she was stroking my hair and my hyperventilated breathing turned into quiet whimpers.

“Shhh, shhh, everything is all right my sweet. I’m here for you, no need to be scared.”

Her petting slowed down as her other hand gently cupped my cheek, relishing in the warm embrace I nuzzled into her palm. Tanya had always known best how to comfort me and calm me down. She leaned down until her forehead touched mine and once again kissed me on the mouth, but it wasn’t one of the soft kisses she normally gave me. No, it was forceful, hungry even, her tongue pushed inside of me and wrestled with my own. I was too confused to even properly realize what was happening and before I could even comprehend the situation she released me. A small drooping cord of saliva between our lips was all that remained of our kiss. I blinked once, twice, and shook my head now properly back in reality.

“Wha-What happened to me? How did I get here? Wasn’t I . . .” I scratched my head. Had I been away?

“Hm? What do you mean sweetie, weren’t you here the entire evening? You were even so forceful when you gave me my good night kiss. And here I had thought you would never properly respond!” She laid a finger on her lips almost coquettish and when I looked into her eyes they were smoldering. What had I done?

“Was . . . I? Sorry, but for some reason I have a hard time remembering . . .” I was certain I went to the university to read up on something, but by the gods, I had a hard time remembering what.

“That’s okay, even if you don’t I do very well!” She crawled closer again intend on embracing me again, but something told me that this wasn’t the time for it. I was certain I had more important things to do.

“No!” I pushed her away. “Stop, where are my parents?”

“Huh? Have you forgotten? They are overseeing the preparations for the fundraiser this weekend, we’re all alone~. It is currently Friday; you know at least that, right?”

“Yeah . . . sure. Say have you seen my Grimoire around here somewhere?”

“It should be on your desk, I think? Why?”

I got up and around the bed, somehow I didn’t want to be too close to Tanya right now, she was acting too weird. Instead, I went straight to my desk and looked it over. There it laid a stack of Wishwood-paper thick as my fist bound in the leather of a salamander. It had been a gift to my eights birthday, the day that I had shown an affinity for magic. And since then I had filled it with more and more texts and pictures and drawings. Rune-Spells and magical circles mixed with manuals on transmutation and drawings of monsters and beasts. These words were never going to see the freedom of the internet, for they were incredibly personal. After the maid before Tanya had snooped in it, I had it spellbound to myself; no one else could open it, well as long as they were weaker than my spell. And now I stood before it almost fearful to open it myself. Something inside of the book was calling out to me, begged me to open it. But shouldn't I already know what was inside, after all, I was the one that had written it!?

And yet the feeling persisted, I had to open the book. I knew not what I would find inside, but I knew it would give me everything I wanted, and even more if I asked for it. I reached for it and as my fingers touched the cover my magic took over, with a gust of wind I held it before me. Quicker than my fingers would ever manage I flipped through the pages. I was confused, why had I so dearly wanted to read the book, nothing in here was new to me, as I reached the last entry I huffed in frustration. Nothing, there was nothing in here, because why would there? I should have been able to recall if I had written a new entry and as I was the only one able to write into it, there was no way anything new could just pop up. Not sure about what to do I scrolled through the empty pages until I reached the end of my Grimoire and there my eyes grew wide.

On the very last of pages was an entry I couldn’t remember. When I looked at it for the first time it was impossible to read, but at a second glance, it was pretty obvious it was on its head! Sadly turned around the right way the entry didn’t make much more sense. Even though it was clearly written in my hand it was just senseless gibberish. It talked about a tyrant king of old reclaiming what was lost, a world being torn asunder by forces beyond their comprehension, a mighty hero succumbing to the darkness within the deep, a maiden raped and tortured until her last dying wish shattered the skies. Underneath it was the drawing of an octopus eye surrounded by a bunch of squiggly tentacles. It was only when I looked at the second page featuring a detailed and completely incomprehensible magic-circle that I could finally See. . .

“Tanya you need to drive me somewhere . . . understood?”

“Sure, but where exactly do you need to go? You do remember that you still have classes today?”

“No, this is urgent. We need to go now!” I was already on my way to the door when Tanya stopped me again.

“How about you put on some clothing before leaving the house? Would that make sense?”

“Hm . . . fine.”

Fifteen minutes later we were out of the house and I was still clutching my Grimoire in one hand and a messenger bag in the other. I needed to do it now or I would never do it that much I was certain of. My gaze was fixed on the street in front of us when Tanya finally asked me where to go.

“Arcana Future Industry Blacksite. Now!”