Liv walked away from the shadowed mountains behind her, not looking back at the night she had just escaped from. The mountains loomed behind her, and she hastened her pace, almost feeling them behind her. They were still esconced in darkness, caused by the altar she had activated. Liv continued forward, now determined to uncover more altars so that she could find the underlying secret behind all of them. The path narrowed, and stopped. Liv, thinking about other things, stood there, confused. Why had the road ended so suddenly? Liv looked up, seeing a wall of stone in front of her blocking in the path. Immediately, she went on guard, looking into the stone to check for traces of magic. 

  Sure enough, the wall was powered and held up with energy, no spirits lingering inside to keep it stable. Liv looked around, seeing nobody. Carefully, she whispered to the wind, asking to share senses for a time. Liv suddenly knew everything going on in a small radius around her, but nothing was going on. She walked around, still finding nothing. Liv finally decided she was being too careful and climbed the wall. She peeked her head over the top, instantly ducking back down when met with crossbow bolts. So that's where they are. So the careful checks she had done before were just symptoms of paranoia.

  Liv grumbled, feeling annoyed. She had to deal with them now. Liv created a quick bolt of water, chucking it over the barrier. Rewarded with a pained cry, Liv smiled, throwing again. If they were going to hide behind a wall, she would too.

  Soon, her enemies clambered up the wall themselves, seeing a single girl smiling at them. They looked at each other and laughed up until their heads fell off, the wind blades flying into the sky. Liv climbed the wall once more, this time not shot at. "Can I go through?," She asked, jumping down the other side and walking between the headless corpses.

  "S-Sure," A scared man replied, and nodding to him, she continued. The entire group wore ragged clothing but hefted shining, spotless weapons. They were probably originally brigands but now servants of a noble. The clothing told their victims that they were being assaulted by robbers, while the group was actually hired by a noble, so that the noble had an anonymous force they could deploy.

  Liv strode off, continuing down the road. Soon, she reached a forest, the surrounding area growing more and more dense with trees as Liv kept walking. The path cut through a few clearings, and Liv expected danger somewhere on the path, but it never came. The most dangerous encounter she had was a group of monkeys tossing nuts at her, which were caught and swiftly thrown back. The monkeys soon fled under the return fire, leaving Liv in peace to continue.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Liv soon found a small town, walking directly past the sign that said 'Welcome to the town of Farmsville'. This was one of the most generic names Liv had ever heard, and the town did not disappoint. Everything in the town was a clone of something else. Nothing original could be seen or heard anywhere. Liv found a tavern-which was mirrored on the other side of the road-and entered, paying the price, walking up the set of stairs directly in the center of the back wall, cutting the bar in half. She strode down a symmetrical hallway and entered her room, going directly to the bed and jumping on it.

  Liv put her meager bag(containing a few stolen clothes and some, also stolen, money) down next to her bed, trying to sleep so she could wake up and get the hell out of this town. As she tried to sleep, however, Liv felt things start to change. She couldn't see this, but some people had snuck into the center of town, drawing out a pentagram and concocting a ritual to summon one of the high demons, Mutatiara, who directly opposed change. She, as she had done every night, attempted to suck all the change out of the village.

  It worked everywhere except in a single room. There, the spirits themselves resisted her. Narrowing her eyes, Mutatiara tried again, but it still didn't work. By now, Liv was awake. The spirits around had warned her, and Liv got up, looking out the window.

  Two blazing red eyes stared back at her as Liv reflexively threw a wind blade through the window. The demon dodged to the side, a deep gash appearing on her side. It rapidly closed, the creature paying no attention to it. "What is your name?," Mutatiara asked.

  Liv, surprised, decided to answer. "I am Liv."

  Mutatiara nodded, abruptly replying. "I am Mutatiara, the bringer of stagnation and the ninety-eighth daughter of hell. You may live, for now. Later, when you've poured enough change into the world, I will be able to eat it and become one of the top fifty."

  Liv was slightly shocked. The demon wasn't even hiding it. They just wanted to use her for more power. It was fine with her, however. "If you ever try to fight me... I'll give you a new smile."

  Mutatiara smiled slightly. "You can try."

  The demon disappeared in a burst of hellfire and Liv caught herself. She had just threatened a being so much stronger than her that even a look could annihilate her. Shuddering, she got up, walking back to her room. Liv gave the spirits watching a mental pat in return for the warning and they responded with joy as Liv fell straight into sleep.

  The next morning, the barkeeper was serving something new. Pleasantly surprised, Liv ordered it. This meal tasted amazing and Liv left a tip, glad to see the people finally experimenting. As she walked through the streets, she heard of a 'council meeting' to decide the name of the town. Smiling, Liv walked away. It was nice to see that change was back.