“So… do you know my mother?” As I walked through this dark and damp cave, I asked Sapphire curiously, who walked beside me, in human form.

“Sorry kid, it’s already a thousand years, I already forgot what happen a century ago.” She said in a melancholic tone, but this raised my attention on her nature.

“But wait… aren’t you a divine? last I remembered, Lady Chloé taught me that divines can basically remember everything since their birth!”

“You aren't wrong that Divines and those whose are descendants of them, are able to remember everything since their birth. But I am not one of them, my kind is called the Betitari, the Timeless Wanderer. We may have the powers and the longevity of a divine, we gained that because our Lord Lux only altered our blood to that of divine’s blood, only the blood. Lady Chloé have taught you where memories are stored right?” She asked.

“Yes, the soul!” I answered.

“Right! And we the Betitaris still have that mortal soul, making our memory span as long as any other mortal being here in the world!” She stated.

We continued the long walk where along the way Sapphire was called back telepathically by Amadela, of course it’s to inform on our findings and my whereabouts, Martyn must be scared shitless, but nonetheless I was taught by a spy, he wanted me to be a spy, so why not? Heard a couple of guys saying about the land that Martyn and the others talked about and they even mention Cultist Riders! It’s an opportunity worth to follow if I have to say!

As I was walking through this dark cave with a torch I held with my left hand, shining a light for me to see this long and boring cave.

I thought at first it won’t be that long of a walk, but it’s been what? Five minutes and I am nowhere near in some kind of room, but then I struck gold, a light in front of me, I then walk much faster than before to get near that light, what greeted me at the other side of that light though, was something I didn’t expect nor imagine from this world.

“Hello… is someone there?” A faint and dying sound of a male, sacked over the head, cuffed hands, and locked in a cell, he wailed as he heard my footsteps, calling for help.

I kept quiet on my part, suspicious of what to come, though he may seem like a prisoner of this place, I didn’t take the any chances.

“I am hearing footsteps and it’s not their footsteps… it’s quite soft, like it belonged to a girl… please answer me! Please… I don’t want to die…” He continued his wailing.

I then step more quietly, but it didn’t budge.

“Why are you doing this? Are you mocking me? Are you really mocking a dying being here?!? I CAN FEEL THAT RABBIT STEPS FOR THE LOVE OF LUX!!!” he yelled at me in anguish.

At that point now, it seems like he is genuinely in pain, I decided right there I want to help him, but I was still suspicious of him, so I kept my mouth shut.

I went in closer to his cell where I could see him clearly, he was… really entrancing, half man in the upper side and half snake in the lower side not only that, he also has a twin tail it’s…. like seeing a real-life medusa with twin tails, his scales are red, body is bruised up, he… really is in a weak state.

Observing the cell, I noticed it was locked with a medium sized padlock, I then searched around the room for a key. I noticed that there were a couple of drawers and chest in the area, I opened every each and one of them, but didn’t really find anything that resembles a key.

“Wait… Are you perhaps looking for the keys? Then… If you are, it might be over that table there!” He said in surprised and pointed out the table near a couple of barrels with his tail even though from the looks of it he was most likely, no… he was definitely exhausted.

Coming near the table beside the couple of barrels that he pointed out to me, I saw the key he mentioned, I grabbed it and hastily went back over to the cell, it worked of course, and it open the cell door. I went towards him, more specifically to his chained up hands, luckily for me and quite strangely even, the chains were locked with the same medium sized padlock, I grabbed back the key from the cell and opened it.

Crank…

“Shit…” I cursed as I realized that the key has broken and there’s no way to open the padlock. “Huh… It’s never that easy, huh..?”

He was silent when I let out my voice and he probably gave up when he heard that key cracked inside the padlock, but well luckily for him I am not going to give up halfway through.

I then went out of the cell and looked at my surrounding again, I know that this is some sort of shed, the cell is probably a new addition to the room considering the nails inside the cell’s floor and some of the still hanging wood wall desk, yeah… there must be some sort of tools here I can use.

Wandering around the room, I checked every crevice, every spot, and every drawer I could find. Thankfully luck was still at my side when I found a drawer full of tools and equipment, I observed each and of the tools to find the suited tool.

No, no, hmm… could work but…

Though a carpenter saw wasn’t quite the right tool per say, it was the only thing that might work, so I grabbed it and quickly walked back to the cell, I then grabbed the chain that was cuffing his arm, it was long enough to not let his arm get caught on the saw, but it was still close enough for this being me mistaken taking his personal space.

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“Wait… I thought…” He said as if he realized something remarkable when I was about to cut the chain. “Here… let me help with that!” He then touched the saw’s plate. “This… should…. help…. you…. a… little…” He said with the most exhausted tone I’ve ever heard.

I didn’t know at first what he did to the saw, but when I started to hack off the chain, it somehow went smoothly, I knew this must be his magic! item reinforcement… maybe? Well I didn’t waste it to guess what magic it was, but one thing for sure it was working even if it was a little bit slow.

“Thank… you… stranger, if... I may, what is your name?” As his fatigue subsided quite quickly, he thanked me and asked for my named.

“El… eanna… Eleanna Florens!” I was quite hesitant at first, but… fuck it, I am already this far, and no one is jumping on me.

“Eleanna… is it perhaps a combination of two names?” He said as I was surprised of how observant he was.

“Yeah! It’s a matchup of Elizabeth and Anna.” I said quite gleefully.

“Huh… well, it’s quite a beautiful name… tell me Eleanna why are you here?” He asked.

As I was still sawing the chain that binds his arms, I told him who I was, from the Second Hero shtick, which intriguingly he never heard about, but then again, he did said he was locked here for more than decade.

I then told him about Martyn on how he is co-ruling Albion with the current king and how they probably will find us in a short amount of time, I didn’t know when or even how but suddenly it turned to me on talking about Martyn… haha… I mean that guy, is… everything really, he’s always there, even if it was in my stupid moments…

“This Martyn… someone close?” He asked.

“Very… close…” I muttered.

“Ohh… as lovers then?” He pressed on.

“Yeah… I guess…” I said.

“I guess? No that can’t do! You should define what you have with him, because… because…” His out of nowhere energy then suddenly plummeted down as he was struggling for a reason to give to me.

“Be…cause?” I curiously asked.

“Because… you’ll regret it, I… once have someone close like yours, but… I never got the chance to say that.” After answering, he went to a mini depressed state.

“I am… sorry…” I knew right away what ‘that’ was, but… I am fine with what we have right now, me and him doesn’t have to say it.

Creak…

What was that?

While still sawing the chain 3/4 of the way, I heard a door creaking open followed up with a couple of people chattering between themselves while going down the stairs from the fact that it’s chattering gets even more and more louder.

“Damn… it’s them, wait no... it’s… all of them!” he quietly informed me.

Kring…

As the chain was sawed way through by me, the clash to the floor produce a big sound where it waved to the cell, room, and the stairs. I realized that they heard that clang sound when they muted themselves.

We were in a panic mode, he still can’t moved that well let alone lifting his own body, me carrying him was out of the question, if he can’t even lift himself, I sure as hell can’t lift a goddamn human snake, while still panicking on what to do, it clicked to me.

His magic!

I suggested to him that he camouflage us in the cell, but there was a problem, he doesn’t have enough energy to muster up another spell.

“I just got my energy back and if I want to cast something, I need someone’s energy to that!” And right there it clicked to me again.

“Well… let’s perform a contract!” I said in a hurry.

“That could wo- wait… are you sure? You know the catch right!!” He warned me.

“I know, I know, but we’re about to get caught so…” I said.

He knowing what is at stake then nodded to me with full agreement, but I remembered something for this ritual to work, we need a witness!

“No, we don’t! just follow my lead!” I was surprised at his statement, but I didn’t have the time to be in awe.

As I was following his lead, I could hear them upstairs coming down closer and closer, I then prick my finger and his, we lick it and continued to the chant. Their footstep became much more louder as we were still halfway through the chant, it became much more louder and louder, and… we finished the chant.

Brak!!!

The door was slammed open and the room were quickly filled with them, my hand then was touch by him where he gave a "be quiet" gesture, they then entered the cell where, in a surprising turn, they didn’t know where we were.

“Stay… still…” He said with no voice but only from his mouth's movement.

“DAMN IT!” An angry old man in front of me yelled. “he’s gone, shit… he must have escaped through the cave!!”

“And that is why I told you to hurry up and walled it right Mayor Pierre?” A young man’s voice came out from the door that was recently slammed, where all of the man gave way for him towards the cell.

“Raoul… tch… I hate it when you’re right!” the old man said.

Raoul… the man was a noble for sure, from how nicely mannered he walked and talked, his much nicer and even expensive clothes than other men here was a dead giveaway, but… why is there a nobleman in the cultist rider ranks? Didn’t Lady Chloé say their mostly brutes and renegades?

“Hmm… I see that His gift to you is a waste!” He said cryptically. “You know… their still here!”

Raoul from out of nowhere grabbed my neck and lifted me up high, his strength… was brutal, As I was clawing his arm from my neck, he looked at me in a disappointed manner.

“Huh… Just a pest…” he then thrown me off back to the wall where it crashed with my back.

“Ugh…” I coughed after that clash with the wall, I looked at him where rage filled my mind.

As my mind filled with rage, a knife suddenly appears in my hand where I instinctively grabbed on to it and lunge myself to him, I swing the knife towards his neck where it was then deflected by his sword, I recoiled back from that deflection.

“ELEANNA CALM DOWN!! Think!” The snake man's voice suddenly came, but it was in my head.

That wakeup call suddenly made me realized at the situation, at the stakes, and my own powers. I took a breather where I know now what to do, especially what I want to do when I got my first-hand with this power.

The knife in my hand disappeared where I then focused in what Lady Chloé once told me, I can virtually do anything in the surrounding environment, if it’s a dead object, I then rose my hand and aimed my palm at them, I thought of the chemical components and formula, I thought of the speed and it’s density, and… it blasted from my hands, a high speed water canon throwing them back to the rocky floored caves.

As I was in awe with my hands and what I did, I went back again to focus on the task at hand, I then froze that left over water in the rocky cave floor, ensuring that they will have a hard time trying to walk, heck they might even have a hard time trying to stand. While they were getting up and falling down in the most cartoonish way, I heard a rumbling sound coming behind the rider cultist.

Tooooooootttt……

Wait… that horn… MARTYN!!

I went off the cell to look at that 20 plus man are charging from the back and Martyn as well as Arthur was leading the charge, the cultist nobleman, Raoul, went to fighting mode but realized that it was a futile attempt, I smiled at him, but I didn’t predicted what he was about to do.

He then suddenly appeared in front of me with his sword was ready to swing from upwards, but suddenly. She came back! Sapphire, right beside me caught the sword with her own hand and thrown it away, then the Princess too appeared where she pointed a spear with a star shape head design right at his neck.

“Princess- nay, her holiness! High-Priestess of Albion and the Magus of the West… a pleasure to meet you!” He said in a sarcastic tone.

“Shut up scum…” Princess Amadela wasn’t taking any shit from him.

After that kerfuffle, the cultist surrendered themselves as well as Raoul, Martyn, Arthur, and Amadela were questioning the cultist, I on the other hand went back to the cell and helped him get back at his feet, or tail actually.

“Thank you… and that water blast… quite impressive!” He praised me. “Ohh yeah! My names’ Jumque! And again… thanks for saving me…”

“You’re welcome and… thanks for lending your powers!” I grateful said to him.

After that talk with him, Martyn then came to me and said he wants to borrow me for a minute, we then took a somewhat secluded place where I knew what he’s going to do to me.

I already prepared my head for his scolding and… he suddenly hugged me… my face just blushed up and my mind ran everywhere while he was still holding me, I… I…

He then let go of course, where I asked what’s going on, though it’s tone of delivery is filled to the brim with embarrassment.

“While going through the cave, I talked to Arthur about things… about us! about what we are…” He took a breather, holding both of my hands and looking at me with full intent on letting out something to me. “I… I… I love you Eleanna!!!!”