The strong wind made my whole body shiver. I was glad that I had my coat to protect me from the cold, even if it wasn’t quite enough. The small pathway that led into the forest was dark, but I never had any problems finding my way without the light. My eyes adapted to the darkness very quickly, so I didn’t need to bring a lantern when visiting Kiyara in the evening. The way to her shack was very familiar to me, after all.
Until just a few months ago, I visited her once or twice every week. Despite her introverted nature, she became very talkative when talking about magic. She told me everything she knew about mana and spells, the connection between magic and skills, and even let me help her with her research. I had spent much time with her and knew her better than anybody else.
Because I knew her so well, I wasn’t surprised that she didn’t reply to the party invitation. She was very forgetful and tended to procrastinate a lot. My hands started to hurt from the cold, so I hurried up and walked a bit faster. The air was filled with the sound of fallen branches cracking beneath my feet.
The street has long ended and was replaced by a narrow trail. The soil beneath me was moist, and I could feel the water penetrate my shoes and socks. After a twenty minute walk that felt like an eternity, I arrived at Kiyara’s shack. I could see light through her windows, so I took a look inside. I couldn’t see her, so I approached the door and knocked.
No answer. I knocked again, louder this time. Again, no answer. Maybe she fell asleep over her research. I knew how deep her sleep was, so I didn’t even bother trying to wake her up. I really looked forward to seeing her, but it couldn’t be helped. Just as I turned around and was about to leave, she called after me.
“Kuro! Wait for me, I’m getting dressed! I just need a few minutes!”
The sudden and unexpected voice from behind startled me and I jumped and turned around. I could see her head peeking out of the window.
“Hurry up! I’m freezing out here!”
She threw me a thumbs-up and disappeared from the window. I returned to her door and sat down on the stairs in front of it. That was a mistake and I should have known it. They were cold and wet. As cold and wet as my pants and my butt after I sat down. A great day. The sound of cracking branches caught my attention, and I tried to search for the source with my eyes. Then I saw them. The two yellow gems that were looking at me. I had never seen such yellow eyes. They seemed to gaze directly into my soul.
I averted my gaze and turned around when I heard Kiyara open the door. She was very tall for a woman, standing at almost 180 centimeters. Her long, blonde hair was falling over her shoulders and contrasted perfectly to her light blue dress. A stylish purse, fancy shoes and her witch hat completed her outfit. I looked back to the spot where I’d seen the eyes, but they were gone.
“Do I look presentable for a party?” Kiyara asked me with a shy expression on her face, like she was really concerned about her looks. She’d always been a self-conscious one.
“You… You look amazing Kiyara!”
That was all I was able to get out. Her outfit and make-up were perfect. I never noticed how attractive she was, because she never really bothered to apply make-up or cared about her looks in any other way. If I was into older women, I think I might have fallen for her.
She chuckled a bit when she heard the nervousness in my voice.
“Let’s get going, I’ve made the others wait long enough. I really need more experience regarding fashion. It took me almost an hour to put these shoes on!”
I got up from the stairs and helped her down like a gentleman, which got rewarded with a shy smile.
“Yeah, let’s go. I don’t want them to have all the fun without us. Maybe Shizuka’s mom can give you some advice for the next time.”
We started to make our way to my house. I wanted to get home and see my elder sister as soon as possible. I tried to walk where the forest floor wasn’t as moist, to protect my feet from getting any wetter, and Kiyara’s shoes from getting dirty. When I looked back though, I saw that she didn’t have any problems with the wet ground beneath her feet. Steam rose up from where her feet touched the wet soil. That was a smart way to use magic. I was honestly impressed. From what she told me, manipulating your surroundings in such a subtle way was very hard and needed a lot of practice. It seemed that she used her magic in multiple ways at the same time. Her dress wasn’t swaying in the wind and the cold didn’t seem to faze her at all. Her shoes neither got dirty nor wet.
She was amazing. To use multiple spells at the same time without any problems was an impressive feat showing her masterful control over the elements. What she displayed with such ease was a level of magic control that needed many years of training. I was a little jealous, because I couldn’t use any magic at all. I knew everything about it in theory, but couldn’t use it myself. The reason for that was, that my mana core hasn’t activated yet. Once a living being’s mana core activates, its body starts gathering mana from its surroundings. The presence of mana in a body is what activates the first skill, “Status”. After the “Status” skill has been unlocked, the mana can be converted into other forms of energy, known as magic.
I had no explanation for my mana core not activating. It was really frustrating to see all of the teenagers in the village get their skills one after another and being the only one left out. Even my little sister’s mana core had activated already. I could ask Kiyara for help. We were alone, no one would laugh at me. I could tell her how I felt, what it was doing to me.
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No, I couldn’t. She’d think I was childish. That’s something I needed to figure out myself. We were walking in silence for almost fifteen minutes. I didn’t know how to break the silence between us and was very glad when she did.
“Kuro, tell me, how do you really feel about your sister’s return?”
Her question came out of the blue, and I didn’t have an answer for it. I was happy to see her again, of course. But I also felt resentment towards her for being away for so long. Especially when her family needed her the most. My mother and I were taking care of my sick sister all by ourselves. If Layla had been there, everything would have been so much easier.
“I don’t know. On one hand I’m very happy to see her again, hear her stories and share my own with her. On the other hand, it’s just a matter of time until we’re separated again. I’ll leave for the capital, and if she leaves the village as well, our mom will have to take care of Anna all by herself.”
She looked at me, and it seemed she was thinking about her next words carefully.
“Don’t you think she’s prepared for that? It was obvious that you wouldn’t stay at home forever. You’ll be an adult soon, it’s time you start living your own life. I’m sure your mother is thankful to you for staying with her for so long, but it’ll be time to start your own family eventually.”
She was right. From the age of 16, someone was considered an adult. In about ten months, I’d turn 16. Even if I didn’t plan on becoming an adventurer, I wouldn’t live with my mother for much longer. I’d move out and start a family. My mother was a very intelligent woman, so I didn’t think she wasn’t prepared for that.
“Yeah, you’re right. There’s no way she’s not prepared. But it will still be hard for her to handle it all by herself. I wish I could do anything to lift that burden from her. I promised to find a cure for my sister, but I’m not delusional thinking that this is just a matter of weeks or months. It hurts me knowing that I’ll leave her behind all on her own.”
Kiyara let out a soft chuckle.
“What’s so funny?”
She took her time before answering me.
“Your mom… is a very strong woman. In more than just one way. She won’t have any problems, trust me.”
I thought about her answer and decided that it didn’t make any sense to me. Even though my mind was focused on the conversation, I realized that something was amiss. We should have reached the exit, or at least spotted the light of the mana stones through the gaps between the trees by now. The forest was dark and silent around us, only the sounds of swaying leaves in the wind and cracking branches beneath our feet were audible. I looked over to Kiyara, but it didn’t seem like she noticed anything. Or maybe she had, and just didn’t want me to worry.
“Kiyara…”
“I know. We’re walking in circles. Someone, or something, created this illusion to trap us.”
A cold sweat ran down my back. Someone or something wanted to trap us? Why? What could they want from us? This doesn’t make any sense.
“So, what should we do now?”
I tried my best to hide the fear that I felt, but I was pretty sure it was noticeable in my voice.
“We’ll keep walking like we didn’t notice anything. They will show themselves. And if they don’t, we’ll just find the exit eventually. “
I trusted her judgment of the situation, but couldn’t shake the fear inside of me.
I looked around the trees nervously, trying to spot any threat that might be waiting for us to let our guard down. We walked for another 20 minutes, when Kiyara grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking further. That was when I noticed them as well. Three people, hidden in the shadows of the trees. When they realized we had noticed them, the one in the middle stepped out of the shadows.
They were not very tall, probably around 160 centimeters, and were clad in a dark robe which covered their body completely, with a hood that hid most of their face. The robe’s color was hard to discern in the darkness, it could have been anything from a dark brown to a dark gray to black. The neckpiece of the robe was decorated with silver and gold ornaments, and a golden symbol which seemed to represent a setting sun was embroidered on their chest. I looked at the part of their face that wasn’t covered by the hood, but couldn’t see anything due to the darkness.
“I’m impressed. I didn’t think you’d notice us, witch.”
That voice definitely belonged to a girl or young woman, which fit perfectly to her small and slender body. It was soft and melodic, yet firm and serious. I glanced at Kiyara, trying to figure out what she was thinking. She wore a stern and cold expression on her face. It filled me with hope to see that she remained calm and collected in this situation.
“I’d notice your partner’s smell anywhere. He stinks of death.”
Her voice was steady, it didn’t even shake a single time. So, this isn’t just a facade that she built up, she really is calm. I tried to suppress the panic that rose to the surface of my mind. I trusted Kiyara with my life, if she remained calm in this situation, there was no reason for me to panic or be scared. The two people who remained in the shadows now came out and positioned themselves to either side of the girl. Both of them were taller than the girl, so it kind of looked like they were her guards. I took a closer look at them, and realized that only one of them could be classified as a person. From the little I could see of him, I’d say he was a man. He was tall, and his body completely filled out his robe, which was identical to that of the girl. At a further glance, I noticed that although he filled out his robe completely, he wasn’t fat, but incredibly muscular. The other one… was a puppet.
It kind of looked like a scarecrow. It was tall, with thin limbs that looked like sticks. Its movements were stiff and unnatural, and its face looked fake. If I’d just see the face in the dark, maybe I’d confuse it for a man. But in combination with the body, it was terribly obvious that this was the tool of a mage. This one didn’t wear any clothes, and I could see the magic circles and runes that brought this thing to life. Kiyara taught me a lot about circles and runes, so it wasn’t a problem for me to find out what purpose they each served. The circles etched onto the surface of the puppet were needed to transfer mana to the puppet, to make the puppet move, and to use the puppet as a medium to cast spells. The runes seemed to be of protective nature. This was just a cheap puppet, nothing special.
I felt a shiver run down my spine, and noticed the gaze of the girl on me. I looked into her bright, yellow, gem-like eyes, the same ones I had seen earlier. I tried to look away, but it was impossible. It felt like her gaze burned a passage directly into my soul.
“Kiyara, the witch of greenwood forest… and Kuro… only son of the Moonshade family… I’ve waited for you. Especially for you.”
She pointed her finger at my face.
“My name… is Despair… but you may also call me Soul eater. This is my partner, Agony. We’re here to retrieve what’s ours. Cooperate, and we might consider letting you live. Kuro, I want you to return what you stole from us. Give me the Word.”