When Alza opened her eyes, she was greeted by clammy cold sweat clinging to her skin. She breathed heavily at first, only slowing down after a few seconds. After blinking a few times until her vision cleared, she looked at her surroundings.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she registered that she was still on her bed. She turned her gaze toward Faye, resting beside her, still asleep. The sight of the wildborn girl eased the lingering unease within Alza's heart.

It had been a long time since she had dreamt about her past. It used to happen in the very early days when she chose to wear a mortal guise, but eventually, such dreams vanished into obscurity. Now, it seemed those dreams had returned with a vengeance.

Alza slowly got out of the bed, making sure not to disturb Faye. She walked to a nearby standing mirror and examined her reflection. Her eyes were still blue, and the rest of her body seemed to have remained the same. There were no abnormalities that she could see.

She then pressed her hand against the mirror and leaned in closer, so that her head was nearly touching the glass. A deep exhale from her mouth caused a bit of fog to appear on the mirror. Alza then leant back, and wiped the fog off of the mirror with her hands. After breathing out a sigh, Alza turned back to the bed and walked to the bedside near Faye.

The wildborn girl seemed to be so at peace while sleeping. Faye had an air of innocent tranquility that Alza herself wished she still had. If only she could sleep as if there was nothing else in the world, once again.

With a gentle caress, Alza began to tickle Faye’s ears, it had always been the wildborn girl’s weak spot. And just as planned, a few ear twitches later and Faye was wide awake, trying to stifle a laugh.

"A-Alza, that tickles." Faye muttered with a light-hearted giggle.

Alza ceased her ministrations and offered her hand to the wildborn girl instead. "Come on, sweetie, we should go and get breakfast."

***

Breakfast wasn’t quite the same for Alza today. She stared blankly at her plate, her appetite gone. She picked up her fork and twirled a piece of bacon around, but didn't take a bite. Myriam sat across from her, watching her with concern. The wildborn maid could see the distress in Alza's eyes, but chose to say nothing for now.

Faye, sitting next to Alza, reached over and took a bite of her own bacon. "Alza, come on, the food is good," she said with a mouthful of food.

Alza couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh despite her melancholy. "Sweetie, you need to slow down and chew your food."

Myriam nodded in agreement and placed a hand on the wildborn girl’s back. "Lady Faye, please listen to Mistress Alza, it is not good if you eat too fast."

"Mmhm." Faye mumbled, only now stopping to chew her food properly.

"Remember, Faye, if you’re still hungry later, you can always ask Myriam to make some more food." Alza said.

After an audible gulp, Faye responded with a radiant smile. "Okay!" Though it did not take long for the wildborn girl to continue eating again.

Though seeing Faye like this warmed Alza’s heart, a sense of dread had slowly been building up in her mind, ever since she clashed with Anzu. She would need some contingencies should the worst come to pass.

"Myriam, could you come speak with me outside of the kitchen for a moment?" Alza asked, shooting a knowing glance at the wildborn maid.

"Of course, mistress, where would you like to speak with me?"

"The next room is fine." Alza said. She then turned her attention to Faye. "Sweetie, I’m going to have a talk with Myriam for a few minutes, you make sure to chew your food, alright?"

Faye swallowed the food in her mouth as fast as possible and nodded furiously. "O-okay!"

After letting out an audible sigh, Alza led Myriam to the living room just next to the kitchen. The room itself was cozy, warmed by the soft glow of sunlight that filtered through the curtains. Alza, however, appeared tense and weary as she leaned back against the wall, her eyes fixed on Myriam.

"Sorry if this is sudden, but I have something very important I need to ask of you."

"What is it, mistress?"

"First of all, you can use magic, yes?"

"I am decently proficient with magic, mistress. If I were still an adventurer, I would be in the B-rank, or at least, that was what Guildmaster Elysia told me."

"That’s good enough. I need you to listen to my next instructions very closely." Alza then took a deep breath. "There will be a demonic incursion a few days from now, I want you to leave Menon as soon as possible and take Faye with you. Go to the nearest city and stay there until the incursion is over."

Myriam gave an affirmative nod. "The nearest city is Whitecoast, will that be alright, mistress?"

"That is fine, any safe place will do. Even a small village if you can manage to find one that’s far enough away from Menon."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Understood, mistress. Is there anything else you want me to know?"

Alza paused, her gaze turning contemplative as she mulled over what she wanted to ask. But after a few moments of silence, she leaned in closer with enthusiasm in her voice."Actually, what kind of magic do you use anyway?"

"I am decently proficient with wind magic, not enough to fight the greatest monsters, but I can keep Lady Faye safe, if that is what you are concerned about."

"I see, I’ll leave Faye in your hands then, Myriam."

"You can count on me, mistress."

***

As Alza left her house and walked towards Menon’s adventurer’s guild. She felt herself being more keenly aware of her surroundings than usual. She seemed to notice more about the people around her. Humans, elves, and wildborn mingling together in the city. She saw a human shopkeeper sell ice cream to a wildborn family, an elf couple enjoying themselves at a park, while a group of wildborn kids played around nearby.

She wanted to remind herself of why she needed to keep herself in check. That dream Alza had last night still rang heavily in her mind. It was just so vivid, as if she had experienced it only yesterday. Alza feared what would happen if she were to return to how she was before, when she held only contempt for the other mortal races.

Nonetheless, she soon arrived in the adventurer’s guild. Alza stepped inside, and to her surprise. An elf man seemed to have been waiting for her.

"Can I help you?" Alza asked.

The elf man gave a respectful bow. "My name is Ardenn, and the Guildmaster has told me to inform you to meet her in her office."

"Duly noted." Alza replied.

She couldn’t help but stifle a chuckle at the news. Alza would have gone to the guildmaster’s office no matter what. But still, she thought that it was nice of Elysia to make things formal.

Eventually, after climbing some stairs. Alza entered the guildmaster’s office, and was surprised to find that not only Elysia was there, but Shion and Nia were there too as well. Yet, when she saw the two adventurers, there was a faint tingle that whispered to her mind, something felt ever so slightly off.

"Shion, Nia…did either of you fight any demons recently?" Alza asked.

Shion and Nia looked at each other for a moment and shrugged. "Not really, the last quest we did was fighting off a chimera about a month ago." Shion said.

"And both of you are sure of this?" Alza pressed.

Nia arched an eyebrow. "Yes…we are?"

"Alright Alza, settle down and take a seat. We have much to talk about." Elysia said.

Alza sat on a chair next to Shion and Nia. The atmosphere seemed tense as the three seemed to know what was to come.

"So, did you tell them about the demonic incursion?" Alza asked.

Elysia nodded. "I did, yes. That’s why they are here."

"The guildmaster informed us a long time ago, but since the incursion is going to happen very soon, she brought us here." Nia said.

Shion crossed his arms. "Still, it’s wild to imagine that we’re going to have to face a large-scale demonic incursion. The last ones I knew off were from the days of my grandparents."

"Times change, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we have to deal with more incursions in the future." Elysia said.

"I concur." Alza agreed. "So, Elysia, did you have any visions in regard to the incursion as of late? I know it might be a bit last minute but- "

"I did receive a vision." Elysia confirmed with a solemn nod. "Menon will survive, but that is all I will say."

"How about…its people?" Alza pressed.

"Most of the people will be fine, as I said, Menon will survive."

Nia raised her hand. "But what about us and all the other adventurers?"

"I can’t answer that question, but rest assured, if you are careful, you and Shion will survive." Elysia replied.

"And what about you yourself, Elysia?" Alza asked.

"I…did not see any futures concerning myself."

Though Shion and Nia seemed confused at the implication as to what could have possibly happened, Alza knew better. Oracles were always cursed to never be able to see their own fate, or so the legends say. But this was a common misconception. In truth, oracles could divine their own fates, though most chose to not do so. It was because when an oracle could no longer see their own future: it’s almost always a sign that the oracle was going to die.

"Elysia, you can’t be serious."

"I’m afraid it is exactly what you think, Alza, and there’s nothing we can do to change it."

Shion scratched his head. "Hold on, what are you two talking about?"

Alza clenched her hands into fists. "Elysia…is likely going to die."

Immediately, Shion and Nia let out audible gasps as their eyes widened. Neither of them seemed to want to believe what they had just heard.

"Guildmaster…is what Alza said true? Are you going to die?" Nia asked.

"I may die during this incursion. Dozens of oracles have walked the world before me, and I know that almost all of them died shortly after they could no longer divine their own futures."

"But Guildmaster, surely your death isn’t completely certain, right?" Shion asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

Elysia chuckled. "The fates haven’t lied to me so far, it seems my death is signed and sealed."

"How can you still laugh about this, Guildmaster? This is a serious matter." Nia asked.

Alza breathed out a sigh. "That’s just how Elysia is, she’s…a unique person."

"I just don’t see why I should be afraid of the inevitable. If I die, so be it, and if I don’t, then so be it as well." Elysia said.

"Guildmaster Elysia, if you are going to die, then who will replace you?"

"That’s actually part of why I called you all here."

"What do you mean, Guildmaster?" Nia asked.

Elysia then pointed a finger towards the wildborn mage. "Nia, you will succeed me as guildmaster of the Menon Adventurer’s Guild after I die."

Nia pointed towards herself. "M-me? But I couldn’t- "

"My decision is final." Elysia interrupted. "I’ll finalize the paperwork soon, but after I die, you will become the next Guildmaster."

"Hold on, why not make Alza the new Guildmaster? She’s much stronger than Nia." Shion said.

"Alza is the strongest adventurer we have, yes. However, she cannot be chained by a Guildmaster’s responsibilities. Besides, Nia has been in the guild for over a decade, she has much more experience than Alza has in terms of how things in the guild work." Elysia explained.

Nia seemed to want to protest. "But I- I can’t."

Alza patted Nia on the back. "If Elysia has made up her mind, then that’s that. I’d suggest you start preparing for your future responsibilities."

"Guildmaster…is this goodbye, forever?" Nia asked.

Elysia smiled. "Possibly, though, if we make it out of this, maybe Alza could just revive me."

"Oh, right, I almost forgot we had a necromancer on our side." Shion said with a nervous laugh.

Alza’s shoulders tensed. "Right…you may want to know that- "

"Alza, it’s fine." Elysia interrupted.