Azura had to admit he had expected this trip to be a lot more interesting. There were some tense moments at the beginning, but most of it was just moving along at a decent pace. It had been a few weeks, and nothing particularly interesting had happened since the dragon golem. Not that he was really complaining. That was the whole reason he had hired a guide afterall. Shrill, it felt weird to be so close to his goal already. Or at least that was the reasoning he gave for being unable to sleep. He wasn’t sure what the actual reason was. Even as he layed in his rock bed trying to sleep he couldn’t help but ponder.
Perhaps his excuse was correct, and it was merely subconscious apprehension. After all he had no idea what bathing in the pool of rebirth would really be like. Everyone who went through the pool experienced something different, and he was unable to find any sort of pattern or commonality. He never had been a fan of going in blind, but sadly he was lacking in other options. Whatever it showed him, he figured it would be better to be well rested than not. Unfortunately knowing he needed to, and being able to were not quite the same thing.
He could probably use magic to put himself to sleep, but then there would be no guarantee he’d wake up if anything happened. It seemed he would have to bite that bullet regardless of the risk. He added a bunch of extra security spells though, just in case. It didn’t take long for his spell to take effect. His vision went black as he succumbed to the world of dreams.
***
Azura’s eyes opened to a world on fire. A wasteland stretched out around him Broken buildings, and flames were all that remained of a once beautiful city. Corpses littered the dirt roads, and the floor was coated in blood. Every step he took came with the squelch of blood and flesh beneath his feet. Even so, he didn’t slow down. He had seen far worse.(had he?) No matter how much he walked, nothing changed. Different architecture, more or less dense populations, armed and unarmed, but none of it mattered. Everything was destroyed and drenched in blood all the same.
He was always too late, no that wasn’t right. How many had he saved? Thousands? Millions?(Had he saved anyone?) It didn’t matter though. Each failure affected him more than a hundred successes. How could they not, these were worlds at stake.(Worlds?) He was tired, tired of seeing this horror, tired of fighting it, and tired of being the monster that defeats the worst monster.(Was that right?) Even so until the moment his successor was ready he’d continue. That was his fate after all. The seed of creation had chosen him, and he had agreed to his fate even if it would lead him to calamity after calamity, and horrors beyond his wildest imagination.(This wasn’t him… Was it?)
The scene changed. A world where everything was safe. Gleaming white roads, and intact buildings. People walking around without a care, haggling over fruit and other such wares. The cost of said peace was in front of him with his hand through her chest. His hand held her heart behind her back, despite this she had a serene expression on her face.(Why couldn’t he recognize her?) “Guess you win huh? I’m glad.” The words were said with a beautiful smile, but he couldn’t even process the women's appearance as his revulsion took over. He saved the world.(He had killed that woman?)
“How did someone like you become a seed of Ragnarok? Well, not like it matters now.”(Then why did it hurt so much?) His? Arm was pulled out from the womens chest, and the heart was placed in some kind of container. “Don’t worry, no one else in this world will have to suffer the fate you did. I can at least promise you that.” He turned around quickly and began walking away. Not giving the woman a chance to respond. He heard a thump that he assumed came from the woman falling to the ground. No matter how hard he tried though his body just wouldn’t turn around.
The world shifted again, this time to a familiar place. The Library of Eternity. Different this time though, well rather than different it was just that he was inside it this time. The name proved appropriate as an endless array of shelves filled to the brim with books spread out in every direction and into eternity. Normally he would be awed by such a sight, but oddly he felt nothing but apathy. Perhaps regret?(What did he regret?)
“That was the 4th time the Seed has been someone close to me. The world ender is learning. You are going to have an even harder time of it than I did.”(Who was he talking to, he didn’t see anyone else.) “Ahh so you haven’t realized yet is it. I suppose that’s understandable. In that case I suggest you wake up.”
***
Azura’s eyes flew open as he gasped for air. Despite his best efforts the memory of his dream slipped through his fingers like sand. He took several deep breaths to try and calm his breathing. By the time his breathing evened out the dream was already gone, all that remained in his memory were 2 images. 1 where he was all that remained in a world of blood and fire, and the other of a peaceful world where he had brutally murdered somebody.
He checked the time, anything to distract him from the images he had retained from whatever nightmare that must have been. They weren’t set to depart for another few hours. Logically speaking he should go back to sleep, but that was probably beyond him right now. He may not remember the dream, but his subconscious surely did, and that was more than enough to leave his body shaking.
He took a deep breath. Sleep was beyond him, but meditation would probably prove to be a useful substitute, He couldn’t afford to be this shaken in the wilds after all. He sat on the floor, a magic circle appearing on the floor where he sat. The circle was designed to allow him a closer connection to the spirit world, and would help with mana regeneration and circulating his energy properly. He was topped up after the rest, so it was mostly for the ladder thing. Hopefully that would help him calm down.
Time passed quickly while he was meditating, and as usual it had succeeded in helping him find his center. He was calm and ready to go by the time he felt his guide enter one of his security wards. “Hey, you ready to go?” Jackson knocked lightly on the makeshift door. Much like everything else in his temporary base, it was just a door shaped slab of rock.
“Yeah, I’m good to go. We should reach World's End today right?” He would be glad to have this little adventure behind him, and he was more excited to see his friends again than he would willingly admit. That, and taking an actual bath. Cleaning magic was good for the basics, but it didn’t really make you feel clean like an actual rinse could.
“Technically we’re already at World's End, we just haven’t reached the pools yet. That’s one of the reasons why we’ve encountered so few monsters. Most of them tend to stay well away from the pools. Of course the ones that are near are usually unbelievably powerful, so hopefully we’ll continue not to run into them.” The way things were going he had a feeling it was the trip back they were really needing to worry about. He was close enough to his goal that even a powerful monster probably wouldn’t actually stop him from reaching the pools, so he figured his luck was waiting for the return trip to really make him regret his life decisions.
“Well that’s good at least. This way I can risk my life in peace.” He would be lying if he said he wasn’t concerned about the pool. It was true that he had taken as many precautions as possible to ensure his survival, but without really knowing how the pool did what it did the best he could do was make some educated guesses. Of course there was also the seal issue he was concerned about. Whatever those instincts came from they were undoubtedly supposed to be a part of him, and he had a sinking feeling that he’d have to come to terms with that part of himself if he wanted the pool to grant him its boon.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Jackson laughed. “Whatever peace comes with the pools anyway.” That was probably fair. He doubted that turning into a husk would be quick and painless. Well even getting the blessing probably wouldn’t be a simple process. Nothing involving the spirit world was. That was probably why spirit magic was so underused compared to other kinds.
“Not much I imagine, but I’ll take what I can get.” Despite the banter it didn’t take long for them both to get ready and leave their temporary shelter which he promptly dismantled. Once that was done they were once again on their way. The landscape was barren and lifeless. They had long left the valley, and were now in an area made almost entirely of black rock. A large expanse with several rock formations that were just as black as the earth beneath their feet. He supposed that World’s end was probably named as such due to the evil energy the rocks gave out. Definitely gave an end of the world kind of vibe. For some reason it felt very wrong to be here. Like he specifically should not be in this place. Yet he couldn’t place why.
“Why’s a guy like you heading to the pool anyway? You’re plenty strong, especially if you are as young as you look, though I personally find that a tough sell.” He tried not to let everyone assuming he was older due to his strength go to his head. He knew realistically it wasn’t the strength that did it, but rather the nature of his magic being different from what most people use.
“We all have our demons, let’s just say I’m trying to deal with one of mine.” He had miscalculated. He had assumed that contracting with a different spirit and declaring his intention to leave behind the Silver name would allow him to escape, and he had planned to adopt his sister essentially to keep her safe from their father, he unfortunately hadn’t predicted his father offering her up to any noble that could get to her. His father was beyond powerful, but he was only one man. Hundreds, maybe thousands of nobles though? Not even including the vassals they would send out. He was far less confident protecting her from those kinds of numbers.
“Vague as ever huh, well whatever I guess. As long as I get paid I don’t much care what you do.” He had a feeling he was going to be spending a lot more than he expected to on this trip. He had put the offer to buy monster parts on the request so he could buy a few offhand things he may want, but Jackson had taken to it with surprising vigor. Taking several valuable parts off monsters, and even digging around in the dead ones for some of their cores. He wouldn’t complain though with access to materials like these making his money back should be easy if perhaps a little time consuming.
“Well I’ll make sure to make this whole adventure worth your while then.” He never understood why stories have so many people betraying or not paying each other. It just wasn’t realistic. If anyone you betrayed escaped you would lose all credibility to do business, and even if you killed all of them it wouldn’t take many of those before people started to realize working with you was a death sentence. He supposed it was just artistic license. A way to show how cutthroat and untrustworthy mercenaries are. Not that he found that particularly accurate either. They often lacked morals sure, but once they’d been paid for a job, they’d do the job, usually even if offered more money not to.
“Honestly just for the money you’ve given me for the monster bits I’ve already sold you would have been well worth it. The pay for the job is just a bonus.” That was fine with him too, it would have cost him more to buy the parts from almost anywhere else, and it was unlikely Jackson would have been able to sell most of them at even a fraction of their value, so that bit was mutually beneficial. Plus it left Jackson with good feelings about working with him, and that meant the man would be more likely to agree to another job should he ever need it.
“You should probably save words like that for after we’re back in Lake Spire safe and sound.” He knew better than anyone that things could go sideways at any moment, it was best not to get ahead of yourself in times like these. He was about to say something else when an odd glow in the distance caught his attention. It was the exact opposite of the rest of World’s End, rather than make him feel like he shouldn’t be there he felt drawn to it. Not just mentally either, he found his body moving towards it on its own, even when he tried to stop.
“I don’t know, I’d say making it the destination at least earns me some boasting. I’ll give you the full boast once we’re back.” He barely even registered the words of his companion. The space between him and the pool seemed to go on for eternity yet close in an instant. His emotions burst forth as the carefully constructed wall around his soul collapsed the second his foot hit the water. The water glimmered with gold light, the rock that the water had touched was a brilliant white instead of the deep black of everything else in this place. Before he even realized he had reached the pool he found himself fully submerged in its water. Then all he saw was the brilliant golden light.
***
Azura didn’t think he had ever woken up in a worse position. Well being chained up on a wall with all of his limbs shackled, in a pitch black room was probably about as bad as it could possibly get. “Did you really think I wouldn’t catch you?” He sighed, yeah that would definitely make it worse. He used some mana to adjust his eyesight to the dark, and was unsurprised to see the face matching the voice.
“Well father, you’ll have to be a bit more specific. I’m afraid I don’t know what I’ve done this time.” He restrained a wince. He must be more tired than he felt, that is not normally how he’d handle his father. He’d be a bit more cautious going forward.
“Ah I see, you expect me to believe your sister got selected as the court medic for the palace by her own merit do you?” He smiled so that had worked out had it? The princess was using his sister as a shield, but in doing so was acting as a shield for her. To be frank, that was just about the ideal outcome.
“She’s a talented healer, honestly I’m a little jealous, healing magic seems quite nice.” He had considered trying to learn some healing magic, but it was a very complex brand of magic, not exactly the kind you could just pick up on a whim. It would take most people years of study for even basic healing spells. He might be able to cut into that some with his copies, but still he deemed it too time consuming for its value.
“Of course she’s talented, she’s a Silver, but she’s also 12. While I have no doubt she can do the job, I also have no doubt there are many people more qualified. Now I would have let your interference slide since at least, being able to do so means you have made inroads with the princess, but then you made the mistake of robbing me of my heir and staining the name of Silver in the process.” He smiled, no matter what happened now he wouldn’t regret that decision. He was free, He no longer bore the burden of his name, and there was nothing his father could do about it. Even if the man somehow managed to force Azura to take the name again the same of the Silver would only become worse. His father was going to be the end of the Silver line, but he and his sister were free to become something new.
“I don’t know what you mean. Everything I did was perfectly legal, and I even said my reasoning for surrendering my noble status was that I couldn’t handle the pressure of managing the Silver lands, even though we both know that’s not it. So there was nothing in any of the forms I filled out that should act to stain your name.” Of course he knew better than that. Even if the stuff he wrote put the blame solely on his own shoulders that’s not how the people reading it would take it differently. It would range to his father training him poorly all the way to abuse, such was the way of nobles.
“You’re short sighted as always. If you wanted to be a failure or run the house into the ground you could have at least waited till I died.” He laughed. He couldn’t help it really, it was all so terribly funny. His father really would rather be assassinated by his own son then have to live with this supposed ‘shame’.
“Well if you want to unchain me I can correct that.” Of course he couldn’t back that up. His chances of beating his father were 0, honestly it was up to debate whether he even had a chance to scratch the man.
His father’s laugh chilled him to the core. “Perhaps you’ll get that chance, but first.” His body suddenly filled with pain. He grit his teeth to prevent himself from screaming. He looked down to see an unfamiliar knife in his stomach. Or more accurately a little to the right of his stomach. His father wouldn’t damage any vital organs without a healer present. That wouldn’t stop the man from inflicting a lot of very real pain though. “I think you need some re-education.