The blackened interior of the outhouse building suddenly started to change when a small purple ball of energy appeared as time went by it slowly grew. At first, I thought it to be something dangerous and life-threatening, I half expected something bad to happen. So when I looked to the others that surrounded me, it surprised me that they didn't seem at all bothered at the sight before them.
“I see that you have a lot of questions on your mind.” I looked at Yasue upon hearing her comment that I presumed had been directed towards me. I could see her glancing at me from the corner of her eye, she clearly expected me to drop a load of questions upon her. But, before I could even say anything, the ball of energy before us started to increase in size without warning. Followed by a sound that I could only describe as, a person in agony wailing and screaming but, to the point, of being nearly distorted beyond recognition.
Without hesitation, the two soldiers that stood guard at this outhouse building suddenly turned facing towards the purple orb that continued to grow in size. Seeing how they both moved and reacted to the situation made me wonder if they had done it before, their swift movements and composure suggested that this wasn't a first time occurrence for them.
The energy orb inside the outhouse quickly grew to the height of an average person, and the distorted sounds coming from it grew silent. After a few seconds, the two guards lowered their weapons. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Yasue reach for something in her hip pouch she pulled a small thin piece of paper that looked to have something scribbled on it. Yasue threw the small piece of paper towards the large energy cluster, which stopped just before reaching it, hovering in the air.
Suddenly, I could see small sparks coming from the piece of paper that Yasue had just thrown, seconds went by and the said sparks continued to grow in size and intensity. Which eventually merged into one large electrical spark that directed itself towards that source of energy. A few seconds went by after the spark made contact, and in turn, the large orb of energy seemed to slowly lose the intensity that it once had with the paper quickly burning in thin air.
“What was that?” I spoke out not expecting to get a response but, Yasue caught what I had just said as she turned to face me immediately after I made my comment.
“Not surprising that you didn't recognize what just happened, it's something that us priestesses' and priests' use…” she reached for her pouch, pulling out another one of those pieces of paper. But, this time, I could see it more clearly as Yasue showed. “…this is what we call a talisman, a technique used to store a small amount of magic”.
Looking at the talisman that Yasue held in her hand, I could see the markings that were inscribed upon the piece of paper. I couldn't read it but, looking at it more it started to feel familiar to something that I have seen before, yet I couldn't figure it out. The most mind-blowing thing though was when Yasue told me that the talisman can store magic. When I was reborn into this world not long after, I wondered whether magic existed in this world. But, because I had never heard or seen anyone use anything that I would deem remotely magical for all these years, I just figured such things didn't apply to this world. So when Yasue mentioned that there's, in fact, magic that exists in this world, sort of surprised me to say the least.
Yasue suddenly took my hand, placing the talisman in the palm of my hand. Confused, I looked back at Yasue, who clearly could see the confusion on my face.
“I wouldn't worry about such things right now…” Yasue looked towards the large sphere of energy, “…right now, we have more pressing matters to attend to.” She started walking closer to the outhouse entrance before stopping and looking back at me. “Are you coming?” she bluntly asked.
I looked back at Talaena who had been quiet this entire time, the expression on her face suggested that she had witnessed this all before as she didn't seem at all concerned. Realizing that I had been staring at her, she turned to face me, a soft smile appeared on her face. Walking up to me, Talaena knelt down before placing her hands on my shoulders.
“What's wrong, Lady Edona?” I could hear a hint of worry in her voice.
With so many questions running through my head, I didn't know where to begin. Both being questions from the very beginning since being reborn and ones from today. My thoughts soon returned to the sounds that I heard from that sphere of energy when it first appeared. At first, I thought everyone else could hear it but, when I realized that I was the only one to react the way I did, it became pretty clear that only I heard the sound coming from that outhouse. And knowing that sent an uncomfortable chill down my spine.
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Looking at Talaena I opened my mouth, so I could ask her something but, for some reason, I couldn't form the words or sentence in my mouth only stutters escaped my lips. Talaena just stayed knelt in front of me as she patiently waited for me to say what I wanted to say from the beginning.
“I-It's nothing, sorry to worry you!”. For some reason, those were the words that left my mouth. Maybe I said those words because I saw the look on Talaena's face and just didn't want to worry her even more. Or it could be that I just simply couldn't find the words to explain how I have been feeling. Regardless, I couldn't deny that I felt annoyed with myself not being able to just say what I wanted to say in the first place.
“Don't worry, Lady Edona, when you're ready we'll all be there for you when the time comes”. I could see that Talaena had some conflicting feelings about leaving this unsettled, but, she also seemed to realize that now wasn't the time for such things.
“If you're finished, then we should really get going…” Yasue sounded slightly impatient, when I turned to look at Yasue I could see her leaning against the foundation wall of the outhouse. Realizing that I'm looking at her, she continued her with her comment “…after all, they don't like having their time-wasting on such trivial things so to speak”.
They? What is Yasue talking about? Hearing what she just said added to the list of many mysteries to me that would need answers. But, from how she put it, the mystery will soon be solved as soon as we pass through that sphere of energy. Before I could even say anything, Yasue walked towards the sphere in the outhouse, without hesitation, and just like that she vanished as she stepped into it. For a split second, I didn't know how to react to what I had just seen.
Looking at the two guards, neither looked at all surprised by what had just happened. I felt a hand touch my shoulder, looking back to see Talaena had just placed her hand there.
“You should go through the portal, Lady Edona, before it closes”. Portal? I guess that explains what it's called, but how does it work? I would ask Talaena but, from what she just told me, we didn't have time for that. Instead, I nodded in response to what she said before walking towards the portal.
Walking slowly, I could feel the strong pull that had been coming from this portal the entire time. It wasn't strong enough to knock you off your feet but, the slight sensation of something pulling on you could be felt just enough to make you realize it. As I got closer to the portal, I could feel a tingling sensation running across what little bare skin that I had exposed under these clothes. I felt uncomfortable, like someone or something that's invisible has been touching me all over my body.
I kept walking towards the portal until I became within arm's reach, stopping before the portal I reached to it till the tips of my fingers went into the portal itself. At first, I didn't know what to expect, so it was a surprise that all I could feel is a cold breeze blowing between the tips of my fingers. My mind has been racing with so many thoughts in the last few hours, it felt like it would explode at any moment. This portal just became another one of the many things that I've witnessed today that left me questioning everything I knew.
I suddenly could feel the portals' energy swirling around my hand, slowly building up speed along with that same sound I heard earlier when this portal first appeared.
“Lady Edona, the portal is about to close!” Talaena out behind me. Upon hearing that, I started to think about whether I should go through the portal or not. With each passing second that I thought through all this, the portal became faster as it started to swirl out of control and those creepy, uncomfortable sounds were now completely audible to me once again.
I started to panic, not knowing what to do, I quickly glanced back at Talaena then back at the portal itself. I didn't get a good look at Talaena's face, so I couldn't figure out what she could be thinking from just seeing her expression. Not only that, but I could feel my breathing getting quicker and heavier as I battled with my on thoughts on what to do next. A part of me thought about how stupid it would be to go into this portal not knowing what it does. On the other hand, I didn't want to disappoint everyone, especially Elinos and Niona seeing that they both generally looked happy knowing that I could do this Inauguration Ceremony.
With so much going through my mind, I just reacted without realizing what I was doing. And before I knew it, I started moving closer to the portal as I felt a weird sensation and that cold breeze slowly go up my arm. Walking slowly into this portal, my whole arm was now on the other side of this portal. Before I took another step, I stopped for a moment, having one last thought on what I should do next.
Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes tightly shut, I took another step, feeling the portal trail across my face and that cold breeze cutting into the skin on my face.