I can’t keep doing this to myself. Asher flipped through her notebook, she was reading notes written by her. I feel numb. One of them read “Mother held me tight before the celebration and ended and told me how much she loved me. I loved mother so much, I hope I’ll never forget her touch.” Asher deadpanned as she browsed through her notebook.
Only God knows how much she has done this. Only God knows how many precious memories she had lost. Why can’t I remember these moments? It would’ve been better to die. She sat at the corner of her hut, looking at the Devil of Security’s figure. Maybe if I hadn’t had a contract with you, I could cherish the moments I spent with my family. Asher thought with a cold gaze. Her body felt limp, she wasn’t sad. Perhaps, what it is that she’s feeling right now is worse than sadness.
----------------------------------------
“What name should we give our daughter?”
“I’m not really sure, hon.”
“A… s… cher…”
“She’s saying something! A-what?”
“Archer? Ascher? Asher?”
“Asher! That sounds wonderful.”
“Looks like our daughter named herself!”
The baby in the hands of the couple stared at them with curiosity and innocence. She tried to remember the faces of the ones holding her. The smiles on their faces brought radiance to the baby's vision. In her infant mind, she saw two glowing lights.
Even among the Witches, Asher was considered to be special. To have the ability to utter words as a newborn seemed like she was primed for success. But others would argue that she was too special for her own good.
At the tender age of one, Asher saw her father sitting on a couch and reading a book. Curious as to what it was, she walked to her father, slightly startling him.
“You scared me, there, little one,” Arin - her father claimed. He closed the book and put it on a table. Then, he got a hold of Asher and put her on his lap. “What made you come here, Asher?” She pointed at the book on the table. “You’re curious about books?”
“Yes, father,” Asher replied. Being petite, she tried to reach for the book but couldn’t get it. Arin giggled a little bit and put Asher beside him, removing her from his lap. “That book is pretty advanced even for your mind. You’ll get to read that eventually but I’ll go get something more your speed.” He pulled out a book from one of the bookshelves. It had a thick gray cover. He gave it to Asher and she tried to read the title.
“The Short Life of a Witch.”
“That’s right, it’s a book all about our kind, the Witches.” Arin sat down beside her daughter. Asher turned her attention again to the book on the table and read its title.
“Book of the Nether Gods.”
“Correct again, you’re very good at reading already. However, I suggest you don’t touch that book on the table until you’re old enough. And honestly, after reading it, there’s a possibility I may not even let you have it,” Arin claimed. Asher looked at his father and blinked twice.
“Why?”
“The contents of that book isn’t something for the regular folks to see. When it was given to me, I didn’t know what it was all about. Being interested in books, I took it on a whim. However, the creature that gave it to me never appeared to me again. I was even smiling and looked very relieved when I accepted the book.” Arin put his right hand on Asher’s left shoulder. “I know you don’t understand a lot of what I’m saying now but in the future, you’ll know, eventually.” Asher nodded and opened the book in her hand.
“What about this one? What is it all about?”
“It describes the anatomy, slight history, and also the life expectancy of a Witch’s life. To give you an idea, Witches will not exceed 5 feet. It’s the maximum height that our kind gets to have. There are some exceptions to the rule but more often than not, they are not pure Witches,” Arin explained. “Moreover, there’s a fundamental system that the Witches follow. Devil contracts. You have to understand that they are not bad people just like Witches are not bad people. If the Meoons have a Guardian, we have the Devils. It’s a matter of keeping the system balanced. More importantly, Devil contracts could determine the already short lifespan of a Witch.”
Asher’s eyes looked bewildered with all this information. However, she seemed to be absorbing them at a rapid rate. The rest of the day had her father guiding him to read “The Short Life of a Witch.”
By the age of three, she was capable of reading full-length books without any assistance. She has already finished “The Short Life of a Witch,” “The History of Meoons and Witches,” “The Anatomy of Meoons,” and “The Art of Knowledge.”
One night, Asher and her family were sitting around a table during dinner. Her mother and father briefly nodded at each other before turning to Asher. The child was quite nonchalant to this gesture but she met her mother’s eyes.
“Asher, have you decided on which Devil you want to have a contract with?” Sheryl - her mother, asked.
“Am I not too young for that decision, mother? I believe that I need some time to process all these books about them. I want to make a decision based on what makes sense the most for me.” Asher continued to eat her food. She still listened intently on what her mother had to say.
“We’re sorry, sweetie, we may just be paranoid for your safety. But as you said, you are a tad bit too young so you can choose whenever you’d like! When you’ve learned more about it, come to me and your father. We’ll make sure you have a decision you won’t regret,” her mother sweetly replied. “If you have a hard time picking, just think of what you want to do with your life.”
Asher nodded and finished her plate. She stood up from the table and got a book entitled “Meet the Devils: Summoning Rituals and Contracts.” It introduced the readers to the general background of the Devils. Each devil had roughly 150 pages worth of content. It also contained a section all about the decision-making process of Witches who chose a particular Devil for their contracts; as well as the consequences of the contract for each Devil. Arin signaled Sheryl to go outside to not distract Asher’s reading session.
“The Devil of Life, residing in Azurehaven Summits. You must give up 20 years of life and live up to what remains. It is a one-time contract that allows you to summon the souls of the dead. However, those very souls are incapable of speaking and will not come back to life. They are only useful in combat and self-defense.” Who would take this contract? Asher thought to herself. It seems so impractical. She flipped through the pages to get to the important notes about the Devil of Life. “Necromancers - those who have a contract with the Devil of Life are usually subjected to failure. During the long history of this world, many Necromancers are those who wish to change reality itself, causing them their own demise.”
She moved over to the section about the Devil of Gravity. “The Devil of Gravity, residing in Crimsonglade Caverns. You must give up 15 years of your life to possess its ability. However, every time you use it, you must give up one of the five senses temporarily. Pullers - those who have a contract with the Devil of Gravity are extremely good assassins. They are also adept combatants who have learned to fight without the presence of one of their senses or more. It takes a full day for them to restore that lost sense.” Another combat-driven motive. Are Witches just bloodthirsty mercenaries? Asher thought again. Like with the Devil of Life, she looked at the important notes about Pullers. “Despite only giving up 15 years of their life, most Pullers do not live very long. Being assassins, they engage in violence for most of their lives. However, those who live very long are the most dangerous creatures one could ever come across.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The second to the last Devil was the Devil of Time. “The Devil of Time. Unlike the other three Devils, there is no immediate payment for the Devil of Time, residing in Silvermyst Dominion. However, every time you peer into 5 seconds in the future, you lose a year of your life. This makes Miraizards - those who have a contract with the Devil of Time be very conservative about their use. However, just like the Necromancers and Pullers, Miraizards also commonly use their powers for combat. They are relatively well-trained in handling weapons such as bows, katanas, or spears.” Asher rolled her eyes and decided to put away the book. I’ll read about the last one when I’ve taken a break. Maybe this devil contract thing is not for me, anyways.
Asher went to her parents who were outside the Witch hut. They were seated on chairs facing East. It was already night time but the moon shone brightly enough for her parents to be visible. Both of them wore a dark gray shirt and dark blue shorts. Without the moonlight, they may not have been spotted so easily. Asher felt a bit cold because of the high altitude. Regardless, she walked up to her parents.
“Uhm, mother?” Asher approached them. The three-year-old looked like she was disappointed in something.
“Yes, Asher?” her mother replied.
“Can I ask about you and dad?”
“Of course,” Arin replied. “We’ll gladly answer whatever our little daughter asks of us.”
“Who did you have a contract with and why?”
Her parents looked at each other and seemed shocked at their daughter’s question. Her father stood up and went down on one knee to level with Asher’s height. He held his daughter's shoulder and smiled.
“Me and your mother are what you call Regulars. We don’t have any contract with any Devil,” her father said.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” she asked. Arin couldn’t think of an answer but Sheryl stepped in.
“We didn’t want you to think that we’re not strong enough to protect you, sweetie. We didn’t bring it up because we wanted you to feel secure with us,” Sheryl said.
“I’m not mad, I’m honestly glad. When I read the description of how Witches used their contracts, it’s all about battles. I only want to study about the world. It feels like a huge responsibility to have a contract,” Asher explained. She looked at her mother, then at her father and said, “If you’re regulars, then, can I be a regular as well?” Her parents looked at each other before her father turned around.
“We’re afraid that we can’t ever protect you from certain bad creatures so we hoped that you would be able to protect yourself,” her father said. He sighed then continued, “Our kind don’t live very long as I told you when you were on. And your mother and I's time is almost up. We’re only regulars because we weren’t fortunate enough to know about Devil contracts when we were children.”
“But dad, I see you using the staff in our hut to practice. I look at you training during the night and I always go, “my dad is so cool!” Is that not enough to protect me?” she tilted her head.
Sheryl then interrupted Arin before he could reply, “If you wanna stay a regular, sweetie, we’ll let you. I’ll gladly let you live a normal life if that is what you seek. There’s no point in forcing any responsibility upon you.”
Her father nodded, “Maybe, we were just being paranoid. You’re still a child after all,” her father stood back up. “Come inside, let’s read some more books.”
Sheryl was cleaning around the house while Asher and Arin were on the couch reading a book. They heard the sound of shattering glass; a burglar busted through the windows of their hut. Asher’s father reacted quickly and grabbed his staff. The burglar wore a thick brown hood and with a bloody-red heart symbol around the chest area. Even though it was empty-handed, the eerie aura caused Sheryl to grab Asher and hug her tightly.
Arin attacked first and swung his staff. The burglar easily dodged and punched him. He fell to one knee and looked up. The burglar quickly had his face beside Arin’s ear. It breathed heavily and whispered, “I only want one thing and one thing only. The book of the Nether Gods. You have it, don’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Arin quickly swept both of the burglar’s feet. But it immediately rolled backwards and got up to its feet. He stood up and tried to kick it in the stomach but it dodged again. “Sheryl! Asher! Run out of this house-” The burglar gut punched him, he dropped his staff.
“You’re gonna give me that book or I’m gonna slaughter your family,” the burglar threatened him before pulling out a switchblade. Asher and Sheryl stood frozen as the burglar covered the only exit they have, the front door. Sheryl shook more and more, not realizing that her grip on Asher was almost non-existent. The child had her eyes set on the burglar with indescribable intent.
“Even if you kill me, you’ll never find that book,” Asher’s father said, gazing at the burglar’s eyes under the hood. “It doesn’t exist anymore. I burned it.”
“You what?! That book was written by essentially our Gods! And you burned it?”
Arin smiled while holding his stomach. He moved his hands to his side and proudly shouted, “Why should I care? That book contained information that shouldn’t be possessed by anyone! It deserves to burn in the Netherworld where it belongs!-” He coughed blood. The burglar stabbed him in the gut. The former saw yet again the eyes of the one under the hood and smiled. To his surprise, it wasn’t only the eyes of frustration but also the eyes of fear. It pushed him and fell to the ground. “You… lose…”
“Damn it! Solthor will not like hearing this,” the burglar murmured. It turned to the window it used to break in. He disregarded the spouse and child of the man it killed.
“AAAAAHHHHH!” a scream shook the burglar. Before it could turn around, it was already on the ground. It felt its back being stabbed a thousand times. It couldn’t utter a single syllable because it found itself dead in mere seconds.
On the opposite end, a little three-year-old girl held a knife, driving it to every part of the burglar’s back. The child who witnessed the progenitor of her life be taken away from her. She was confused, angry, and filled with sadness. Tears continued to flow as he continuously stabbed the burglar. “You killed my father! You killed my father! Why did you kill my father?!”
Sheryl cried over her husband’s corpse, unable to process everything. Asher continued stabbing until her hands felt numb. After she was done, the child's eyes looked in horrific shock at the sight of a dead creature with its blood all over the floor. She turned to look at her parents yet she couldn't say or do anything.
Two years passed with not a single word from Asher. Sheryl consistently talked to her daughter despite her condition. Luckily, she still ate food, still she was mostly sleeping. She had stopped reading ever since her father’s death. This incident led to Sheryl and Asher making sure to venture to different regions in order to avoid the incident.
After a few months worth of exploring, they decided to reside at Etherclipse Bay, the opposite end from where they used to live, Azurehaven Summits. A region where the ocean is close by with a number of Meoon villages, there was diversity in the region quite unique to it. The trees near the ocean had leaves that looked yellow while the ones on land were the perfect shade of green. By Sheryl’s assessment, it seemed to be the most peaceful region they have visited yet.
To have witnessed such an incident at such a young age, Sheryl couldn’t help but feel sorry for her daughter. But she had to be strong. As the remaining parent, she didn’t want to show her daughter any signs of weakness. She would always show-off in front of her daughter when she’s doing some heavy-lifting around the house. And she would always cry whenever she ensured that her daughter was asleep.
One night, just as Asher was about to sleep, Sheryl sat down on the side of the bed. “Hey, sweetie, I know it’s been really tough for you. I just want to let you know that mother is always here for you, remember that. If you don’t feel like talking, I could show you something you could do to make you feel better. Do you wanna see?”
Asher curiously turned her head to Sheryl before sitting up. Sheryl smiled at her and Asher tried to but failed. There was more than enough sorrow in her eyes to understand that she’s not in the best place. Sheryl brought out a notebook and a pen. “I know you love reading very much and that you like to think of different things. You’re incredible, really incredible. You’re the best daughter I could ever have asked for, in fact, you’re better than the best! If you don’t feel like talking but you wanna say something, you can write here. And remember, you don’t have to show it to me if that doesn’t make you comfortable.” Sheryl moved to kiss Asher’s forehead before giving the notebook and pen. “Now, enjoy! I’ll reassure you again. Everything will be fine because you have me and I have you. Good night.”
The next day, Asher looked at the notebook and thought, What should I write if I don’t know how to write? At this point in time, she didn’t know how to write words, let alone letters. She then glanced at a book and opened it. It’s been a long time, huh? I barely remember the contents of this book. She was holding the “Meet the Devils: Summoning Rituals and Contracts” book. She skimmed through the whole book and she seemed familiar with every concept but one Devil seemed novel to her. The last Devil. The Devil of Security. The book read “The Devil of Security, residing in Etherclipse Bay. Compared to the other three, it might be less demanding in terms of your life span as a price. It only takes away 10 years but in return, you can only activate warden powers using memories. Wardens - those who have a contract with the Devil of Security manifest their powers through using memories and they can’t ever regain the feeling or emotion from that moment. The imprisonment is only as strong as the attachment to a memory or a set of memories. During the history of Isoraeon, most Wardens tend to consume a lot of information in order to avoid using their most precious memories. Should they write the events they tend to forget, they may be able to reread them but they will never feel anything towards it. They are cursed to be numb.” Maybe that’s what I’m feeling right now. Numb. Asher grabbed the pen and wrote on the notebook: “I feel numb.”