MEMORY FRAGMENT
Tamin Capital, Age of Humans
A harpsisword? Giaccia looked at the blue rectangle.
That was something new. Not a weapon she particularly appreciated. Artistic weapons required more than perfect mastery in two skills. In most cases she had seen, their owners didn’t have them, resulting in a quick death for the person or the item.
LYRA ELAZNI has linked the realm to hers.
Giaccia took a few minutes to get acquainted with her new home. It obviously had a female touch—elegant but simple. It had no wasted space, but just enough comfort to make the strictness cozy. There were no obvious flaws one could tell, confirming that the creator was skilled, apart from having an eye for detail.
The scene outside was remarkable as well. For one thing, there was a lot more water than Giaccia was used to. That was one of the things she still missed. Nearly all of her owners were rather unimaginative, constructing their realms to be fortresses of stone or wood, but in all cases, they avoided any large bodies of water. Ironic that it would be a human to provide what so many others hadn’t.
Taking advantage of the linked realms, Giaccia left her item’s representation, venturing to the owner’s skill walls. In the past, this was the point she would be stopped by a few overenthusiastic echoes who made it clear she wasn’t free to roam the realm as she chose. To her surprise, there wasn’t a single echo to be seen. What there was, though, were a lot of creatures.
A few gave her a momentary glance, though more interested in her item’s structure than the nymph herself. That was good, although part of Giaccia would have wished to get some recognition.
The skill walls turned out to be in a marble building of gorgon-like architecture. Back in her time, Giaccia would have called it barbaric, but at this point, she had seen far worse. All twelve walls were covered with frames, indicating that the owner was quite proficient.
Full skills, Giaccia thought.
That said, the spellcrafting presence was severely limited, very much like her own.
“Liking what you see?” a voice asked behind her.
Giaccia, of course, had sensed the owner entering the realm. Yet, she hadn’t expected to be addressed in her own language, be it with an extremely thick accent.
“You’re an empath.” Giaccia briefly glanced over her shoulder before moving to examine another skill wall. This one was music and had by far the most frames on it.
“And you’re clearly a veteran. “The human walked up next to her.
Back in the day, Giaccia would have attacked if only to test the human’s strength. The rules of the Moons forbade it. As an item, she couldn’t invade a personal realm, not to mention that she was linked to it, making her subservient.
“You’re the first guardian to enter my domain uninvited,” the human said.
“I’ll get back to my shell.” Giaccia started turning around, but was instantly stopped.
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing, just unusual.”
“As you said, I’m a veteran. I’ve seen a lot.” She offered a semi-smile. “I expect you’ve come to challenge me to an upgrade?”
“You really have seen a lot.”
Anyone with half a mind would have figured it out, Giaccia thought. There was no other reason for an awakened to enter their realm so soon after the creation of a new weapon. These were the rare breed of people who wanted to maximize their potential from the get-go. Of course, this one was going to be disappointed, just like all the ones who had tried before.
“You’re not even trying to hide your pain, the human continued. “There’s layers of it, one atop the other. That’s something you have built up for a long time.”
“How much do you know about item guardians?” Giaccia asked.
“Not much,” the other admitted.
“Then I can’t tell you.”
Lyra Elazni laughed. It was a normal, cheerful laugh without pretense or spite. Thanks to her own music skills, Giaccia could see the blobs of genuine happiness within the human.
“There’s no point in hiding then,” Giaccia said. “You’ll try to do something about it, then fail and never talk to me again.”
“Sounds like you’re talking from experience?”
Giaccia didn’t reply.
“Alright then.”
The walls of the structure moved apart from one another, splitting the entire building. Rays of sunlight shone through, covering the ground as it stretched beneath Giaccia’s feet. A thick layer of stone suddenly appeared, also stretching outwards.
“I’m not one to disappoint,” the human said, as a vast battle arena formed. “If I defeat you, I’ll expect something in return.”
A golden flutterblade flew down from above, landing on the woman’s shoulder. That was the annoying thing about empaths—they relied on others with greater strength to win their battles. A bit like magic, some might say.
“And if I win?” the nymphs asked. “Do I get to be free?”
“Only a Moon can grant you that. Still, you’ll have the satisfaction knowing you proved me wrong.”
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
COMBAT INITIATED
Giaccia dashed forward. There was no point in delaying this—the faster this could be settled, the faster she would be left alone.
Water emerged in the nymph’s palm, quickly forming a rapier. Dozens of attack markers had already appeared, depicting possible attack points with follow-ups. Giaccia was moments away from victory, and yet her opponent didn’t budge a muscle.
It was obvious that the flutterblade would intervene, but Giaccia had already taken that into account. The moment it budged, she’d form another rapier with her left hand and deflect its attacks, while continuing to the main target.
The human suddenly summoned a weapon. The action was just as fast as Giaccia’s, only instead of a sword, a lyre appeared in her hands. With merciless precision, Lyra played a chord.
Dozens of music threads shot out towards Giaccia. Knowing the effect they’d have, the nymph slashed at them. Yet, instead of snapping, the threads linked to the weapon, sending an intense wave of emotions. Pain and bitterness, bottled up for years, poured out all at once, causing her to freeze. Horrors she never wished she’d relive went through her mind, creating images so real that it was like she had been transported into the past.
FATAL STRIKE
Dealt damage is increased by 500%
FATAL STRIKE
Dealt damage is increased by 500%
Red rectangles stacked up, but the nymph barely focused, still prisoner to her own pain. Then everything vanished, replaced by a bright green.
IMPROVEMENT
You have been defeated.
The HARPSISWORD level has increased!
Your level has increased to 101!
Giaccia felt a calm warmness pass through her body, sweeping away most of the pain. For a single moment, she felt peace, calm, joy—emotions she hadn’t felt since she was a child.
The sensation quickly faded away, barely lingering behind as she was thrown back into Lyra’s realm. Everything seemed the same, everything except Giaccia.
“So,” the woman began with a smile on her face. “What do we do now?”
The lyra remained in her hand, indicating she was ready for another round, should the nymph guardian choose. Given how one-sided the fight was, there wouldn’t be much of a point. A single level, even so high up, wouldn’t make a difference.
“I’ve never seen music be used like that.” Giaccia dissolved her rapier.
“You’re lying.” The other laughed. “I’m just very, very good at it. It also helped that you were effectively fighting against yourself. When I said you had layers of pain, it wasn’t to spite you. I just pulled a few off and look what happened.”
Layers of pain, Giaccia thought. Even now, the pleasant sensation of moments ago had all but faded. If she felt better, it was by a purely academic definition.
The ground rumbled. The layer of rock dissolved, followed by the skill walls moving back together again. They didn’t seem to be in a hurry, as if the domain ruler wanted to enjoy the realm’s sunshine a bit more.
“Since I won, I expect something from you.” Lyra made her way to the guardian. “Unless you wish for us to go through this again.”
“Just say it.” There was no point in even trying.
“I want you to let me peel the pain away,” the woman said, to Giaccia’s surprise. “It won’t be fast and it won’t be pleasant, but I can do it.”
“You’re so confident in your skills?”
“Definitely.”
The harpsisword guardian thought for a few moments.
“Why? My efficiency won’t increase. It might even fall if I become calmer. Why go through it?”
“Because I’m selfish. My skills let me constantly see the pain of others and I don’t want to, especially in my own domain. Once I invite someone here, I make sure to remove it, no matter what.” She petted the flutterblade on her shoulder. “Especially when dealing with things I like.”
From that point on, the long process of healing began. At times, the experience was so painful that one could barely call it healing, but since Giaccia had given her word, she gritted her teeth through it. Finally, after decades of real time effort, there came a day when she felt free. Thanks to Lyra Elazni’s effort, the past reluctantly released Giaccia from its clutches, allowing her to take a new step in her existence. A new being was born, one living in the present, thankful and loyal to her new owner. Sadly, time in the real world remained just as harsh and, like a blink of the eye, Lyra had passed away. It had been a grand event, suitable for the Tamin Empire’s second empress.
The harpsisword was passed on to her heirs, who were also skilled in music, though nowhere nearly as much as Lyra. Still, Giaccia assisted them as if they were her original owner. Some were kinder than others, some were even confident enough to challenge her, yet their efforts proved fruitless, until the day a determined girl managed to repeat the impossible.
IMPROVEMENT
You have been defeated.
The HARPSISWORD level has increased!
Your level has increased to 102!
It had been a close call, not to mention that her owner was using several artifacts to boost her abilities, yet there was no denying the result. A win was a win.
“Not bad,” the nymph guardian said. “Of course, my first owner defeated me with nothing but music.”
“Yeah, right.” Viara Elazni lay breathing heavily on the ground. Technically the victor, she felt as if a herd of hedgerels had run over her. “And she probably did it without breaking a sweat.”
The guardian just smiled. There was no point in souring the girl’s victory. Summoning a large harp, the nymph played a melody to soothe the pain. Since this was an awakened realm, such an approach was better than magic.
“You must teach me how to do that,” Viara said.
“Healing music? You need magic for it to work out there.”
“If it makes people feel better, just music is enough.” The girl remained still for several more seconds, then stood up. The euphoria from her victory had made her restless, even more since the nymph’s music had started. “Now that I won, do I get to know your name?”
“Which one? I have many names.”
“Your first name.”
“Maybe some other time.” It had been centuries since the nymph used her name and not once had she regretted it. The question would come up each time she’d acquire a new owner, but the answer was always the same.
Maybe I should just invent something, the nymph thought. If nothing else, it was going to reduce the conversations on the matter.
“I have to call you something.” Viara pouted. “Harpsisword is too long and weird.”
“I’m sure that someone with your mind trait will think of something, eventually. A trivial task for the future head of House Elazni.”
“Pfft!” The girl snorted. “Yeah, right. With your attitude, I’m not sure. Everyone in the family is a lot weaker. Even grandad.”
“He was rather strong once, and a lot better at using music skills than you.”
“I’ll be stronger,” the girl said, brimming with determination. “I’ll become stronger than them all.”
“You might.” The nymph stopped playing. “And I’ll be here to help you.”