Declarations — Maribelle

Back when the evil adventurers cut off Mom’s finger, I decided that I would never be afraid again. Since I was afraid, I didn’t fight them. I just let them do what they wanted to her.

When they kidnapped me, I kept my vow. I steeled my heart and fought fearlessly. It worked, and I even became so powerful. I was sure that ridding myself of fear was the way.

Now, I realize how stupid I had been. Maybe I don’t have to be afraid of scum like those adventurers, but this is different.

Just looking at that monster makes my heart pound faster than it ever has. It will kill me if I even get close to it. It’s releasing a similar pressure to when Ferris uses his magic, but instead of an aura of warmth, the monster’s aura is one of pure destruction. Even solid stone cracks within its presence, as surely as my bones would if I were to approach it.

Fear is unavoidable. Even so, it won’t control me.

“What should I do?” I ask.

“Stay back and watch,” he says.

Confidence. It sets me at ease. Despite the overwhelming force of nature that stands before us, in all its feathery yellow glory, Ferry isn’t afraid. He doesn’t have to be.

I step back with measured strides, creating distance without turning away from the monster.

Ferry and the destructozonicus stare each other down. The monster looks at brother’s flame blade apprehensively. It’s smart.

Brother lowers his stance, ready to move at a moment’s notice. The monster does the same.

The tension in the air is suffocating. I can feel it, an unspoken conversation of wills between two warriors, the voices of their auras.

‘I will not allow you to harm me or my sister.’

Ferry’s aura sweeps over me. I feel safe, but only until the monster roars.

‘Weakling. I will reduce you both to blood and dust.’

Pain. My whole body hurts as if it has been kicked a thousand times. I fall down onto the ground as my legs give out beneath me. I activate my magic like I did when fighting the gorebite, strengthening my flesh. The pain lessens, but doesn’t go away.

I’m not sure I can even handle being in the presence of this battle. Still, Ferry told me to watch.

I watch.

The monster moves first, pushing back through the ground with its hind legs, sending pulverized stone backwards and propelling its huge body forwards at a terrifying speed.

Around its front paw, the air crackles as the destructive aura is concentrated there. It stomps down at my brother with the force of a falling meteor.

He dodges in a way I couldn’t have imagined. Flames come out of his hip, spinning his whole body around in a sideways flip as the monster’s destruction-imbued paw swipes past him with inches to spare.

The monster’s paw slams into the earth, shattering the ground like glass. Radius is right behind it, stabbing through the paw and pinning it to the ground.

Heat blasts into the earth from the end of the spear, causing the ground to swell. The pressure erupts beneath the monster’s belly. A column of molten lava slams into its soft stomach. Radius’s shaft rips through the flesh of the pinned paw as the force of the eruption sends the enormous beast flying.

Even as the monster’s momentum brings it farther away from the ground, its long tail whips faster than I can see, lashing out towards Ferry with the sword of bone at its end.

Ferry blocks the strike with Radius, but the force of the impact is enough to send him flying.

He hits the ground and tumbles, rolling back to his feet just as the monster begins to fall down. He points Radius at the falling monster. There is a flash of blinding light as a beam of white fire blasts out of the tip of the spear. The monster nimbly twists its body out of the way as it falls, making the beam narrowly miss, piercing the clouds instead of its feathered flesh.

Brother clicks his tongue in annoyance and the monster lands lightly on its feet. It pounces.

This time, though, it’s coming towards me! Its hideous face is twisted with vengeful rage, but there is still a cold intelligence within its eyes.

It knows that killing me will break Ferris’s spirit.

Time seems to slow down as the huge monster hurtles towards me. Its tail lashes out, coming for my throat.

Brother’s will screams with power. His aura crystalizes, becoming something more.

A manifestation.

He stabs Radius into the ground at a forward angle, then swings it up.

‘Volcanic Blade.’

My vision goes white as a wall of vaporized earth erupts between me and the destructozonicus, cutting off the end of its tail.

The sword of bone, still attached to a couple meters of feathery tail, flops motionlessly onto the ground in front of me.

The wall of white continues to rise into the air, becoming a red mist of lava, then an ominous grey cloud which spreads out above us. There is now a deep furrow in the earth between me and the monster, a line it was not allowed to cross.

Through the ash, I see the silhouette of the destructozonicus on the other side, its wounded tail between its legs.

Silently, it turns and flees, disappearing between the trees. It finally realized that it can’t win.

It seems even monsters feel fear.

“It’s unfortunate that I had to use that manifestation so close to Lika village. Volcanic ash isn’t good for the lungs.”

I look up. The grey cloud is spreading across the sky.

“When the ash falls, it covers an annoyingly large area. At least the wind is blowing away from Lika. Hopefully they won’t be hit by the fallout,” he clarifies.

He seems disappointed, but I can only think one thing.

“That was amazing!”

He smiles at me, clearly suppressing a chuckle.

“So, when are you gonna teach me how to do that?”

“Basics first, Maribelle.”

My tongue sticks out at him and I blow a fart noise. He scoffs for a moment, then decides to blow a fart noise back in retaliation.

Smiling at the exchange, I walk over to the severed destructozonicus tail. The sword of bone at the end is big, even bigger than Damien’s sword had been. I bend down to pick it up.

“Maybe don’t touch tha—”

His warning comes too late, as I’ve already grabbed it.

“Ouch!”

I pull my hand back, recoiling in pain. Looking at my hand, it’s slightly bruised where it contacted the bone. Just touching the severed monster part is enough to damage me.

“Wow,” I groan.

“Yeah, it’s pretty valuable actually. Destructozonicus are rare monsters and their tails make good focuses for entropomancy. We should take it to Salsvale and sell it.”

“Entropomancy?”

“The magic of destruction,” he explains.

Sounds awesome.

“I’m keeping it,” I declare.

He raises his eyebrows at me.

“You can’t even pick it up,” he claims.

Oh, he is so wrong about that.

I grab the bone blade again, this time strengthening my hand with magic. It still stings to touch it, but I ignore the pain. Proving my point is obviously more important.

I swing it around. The floppy, feathery length of tail attached to it whips out. It hits Ferris in the face with a meaty squelch.

So satisfying.

He wipes the destructozonicus blood out of his eyes and sighs in defeat.

“Alright, you can have it, but let’s clean it up a bit first. We don’t need the tail section, just the spike of bone at the end.”

“You just want to get rid of the fleshy part so I don’t hit you with it again.”

“Yup. Give it here.”

I hand the tail to him for the so-called cleaning.

“You know I can hit you with the sharp end too, right?”

He squints at me.

“Do you want me to let you keep this thing or not?”

I shrug. He’s going to let me keep it either way.

He opens his backpack, pulling out two daggers.

“Never had time to test the enchantments on these. This seems like a good opportunity. Let’s see what they do.”

He stabs one of the daggers into the monster tail. When he pulls it out, noxious green smoke bubbles out of the wound.

“Yikes. Looks dangerous. Gotta be careful with this one.”

He takes the other dagger and cuts into the tail, a bit closer to the spike at the end. The dagger passes through the tail without resistance, easily cutting through it.

“This one just has a sharpness enchantment.”

“What are those daggers?” I ask.

“I was going to give them to you, actually. Do you want them?”

The enchantments seem nice, but I already have a better weapon. I can’t hide my lack of enthusiasm.

“Nah, they’re too small. I’ll stick with the destructozonicus tail for now.”

He frowns for some reason.

“It’s bigger than you are.”

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“Yeah! That’s the best part!”

Sighing, he uses the second dagger to separate the sword of bone from the length of tail, then uses his flames to burn away the excess flesh at the base of it. The result is a bone sword, a little over a meter and a half long, with a charred black section which functions as a handle. The bone itself has a noticeable grayish tint, the off-white color betraying its monstrous origin.

“Have fun,” he says, tossing me my new weapon.

I catch it, remembering to strengthen my hand with magic as I touch it.

It constantly stings me, but I’ll get used to it. Protecting myself from its aura of destruction is probably good training.

“Shall we get going? We should leave before the ash falls.”

“Sure!”

Just like that, we’re running again.

I immediately realize that it’s difficult to use my magic to both increase my speed and protect myself from the destructive forces of my new sword. Ferris is running at the same speed as earlier, but I’m falling behind. Unsurprisingly, he isn’t slowing down for me.

If I focus harder on running faster, I can keep up with him, but holding the sword really starts to hurt. It’s a bit frustrating, but I seem to only have so much power.

“Having trouble?” He teases.

So annoying.

Is he trying to teach me a lesson? Maybe he wants to show me the issues with using a weapon that damages me when I hold it. Does he want me to use those little daggers instead? No way. This destructozonicus tail sword is awesome, and is clearly better than whatever random type of monster claw Ferry’s spear has. I’m not giving it up.

The solution is simple. I just need to draw out more power.

I dig deep inside myself, and rip out as much power as I can. My determination surges and I feel my spirit roar. I strengthen my hand to decrease the pain, and simultaneously increase my running speed as much as possible.

I soon catch up to Ferris, but it’s exhausting. I don’t think I can draw out this level of power for very long, certainly not for a whole day of running.

Ferris flashes me a knowing smile and continues running. He’s totally trying to make me learn something from this. Doesn’t he realize he could just tell me? He probably thinks he’s being cool. He needs his misconceptions corrected immediately.

“You’re not as cool as you think you are.”

He mimes being shot through the heart with an arrow.

“When did you get so mean?” He pouts.

“Not mean, just honest.”

“Those can be the same thing, you know.”

“I kno—Ouch!”

The conversation makes me lose my focus and my magic cuts out completely. A sharp pain shoots through my hand and I drop my sword. At the same time, I am moving over the ground many times faster than I can run. I tumble into the dirt, reactivating my magic just in time to prevent my body from being severely bruised by the fall.

I lie on my back, groaning.

“You okay?”

Wow. He actually stopped for me this time.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

I stand up, walk back to my sword, and pick it up, once again feeling it sting my hand, even as I defend from its aura.

Okay, I’ll admit it’s bothersome that holding my own sword hurts me. I’ll need to find a way to make it stop doing that.

“Ferry, how come the destructozonicus isn’t hurt by its own magic?”

“It has control of it. Same reason I’m not hurt by my flames.”

“How do I control the power in this sword, then?”

“You would need the right of entropomancy.”

“Yeah, so how do I get that?”

He frowns at me.

“When I fought the destructozonicus, did you feel anything from us at the beginning of the battle?”

“Feel anything? Both you and the monster said things, but you didn’t use words. It was weird.”

“Good. They’re called spirit declarations. Do you remember what we said?”

This doesn’t seem even remotely related to my question, but whatever.

“You said you would protect us, and the monster said it would kill us.”

“Yes. When you make a spirit declaration, you are announcing something to the universe. If you achieve what you declared, your magic becomes stronger. The harder the declaration is to achieve, the larger your gain in power will be. However, if you fail, you’ll be weakened significantly. Spirit declarations are the main thing I use to strengthen my magic. Whenever I fight a monster while training, I make a declaration announcing my victory.”

Okay. He has my attention now.

“How do you make these spirit declarations?”

“You’ve already done it. Twice, I think.”

“What?!”

“I suspect you made a spirit declaration when you told Damien that you would cut off his fingers. You definitely did it when you shouted in the woods, announcing that you would beat up monsters to train.”

Now that I think about it, I did feel something weird when I said those things.

“So if I hadn’t been able to do what I said those two times, I would have become weaker?”

“Since you’re just newly awakened, you probably would have lost your magic forever.”

Wow. Training this way is so risky! Has he been constantly gambling for power like this? Mom said that gambling is bad and addictive. Is Ferry an addict?

“Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that if you want to be able to use magic for anything beyond just strengthening your body, you need something called a right. I have the right of pyromancy, for example.”

“What does this have to do with declarations?”

“The declarations you make affect the color of your spirit, so to speak. That determines which rights you can have. If you want a certain right, you can get it by making enough declarations that are consistent with it.”

Ugh. This is getting complicated.

“So, if I want entropomancy, what kind of declarations do I need to make?”

“The destructozonicus had the right of entropomancy. What kind of declaration did it make?”

My stomach drops. It had said that it would reduce us to blood and dust. Not just kill us, but utterly destroy us. Is that the kind of thing I need to do if I want that power?

“Think about it carefully, Maribelle. This isn’t the kind of decision to make lightly.”

Yeah, I was rushing into things. There are probably tons of options, and I was just about to choose my path on a whim.

“Though, if you do decide you want entropomancy, you’re already well on your way. Both of your declarations so far have been rather violent.”

And now I feel like a terrible person too. Wonderful.

“So, are spirit declarations the only way to become more powerful?” I ask.

“No. You can also slowly get stronger just by training hard and practicing your magic a lot. Also, if you’re rich enough, you can pay for power. There are powerful enchanters who specialize in modifying people’s spirits, granting them rights and stuff.”

“So you really are just a gambling addict.”

He laughs.

“You may be right about that. In my defense, pretty much all strong monsters do the same thing.”

“Monsters do it? That’s your defense?”

“Anyway, are you able to run? I can carry the destructozonicus tail for you, if you want.”

“No. I’ll be okay. Just slow down a little bit for me.”

He sighs, but agrees.

Soon, we’re running once again, at a speed I can maintain while also protecting myself from my sword.

We get into a rhythm, and we run for a long time. Fortunately, we aren’t attacked by any more monsters. The mountainous terrain slowly begins to flatten, small glimpses of distant grasslands peeking between the foothills, even though the cloud of ash from Ferry’s manifestation still looms large in the sky behind us.

Eventually, enough of the grasslands become visible that I can see the scar that mars them. There is a deep canyon, cut into the earth, with red vines lining the walls. There is something frightening about it, an alien feature that seems out of place. It looks like an open wound in the smooth flesh of the grassy fields.

Ferry catches me staring at it.

“The bottomless rift,” he says.

“Is it really bottomless?”

“I don’t know, but it might have been where that destructozonicus was born. They like to nest in it for some reason. We’ll give it a wide berth.”

We continue on our way until we make it out of the mountains. It’s been a long and strenuous day of travel, so I let out a sigh of relief when Ferris finally decides to make camp for the night. The palm of my right hand is covered in dark purple bruises from carrying my sword all day. I don’t tell Ferris.

I’m starting to feel something inside the blade, something fierce. Annoyingly, every time I try to take hold of it, it feels like sand is slipping between my fingers. I’ll get it eventually. I’m certain.

“You’ve been quiet all afternoon. Is something wrong?” Ferry asks me.

I bite into a piece of dried meat, staring into the flickering flames of our campfire.

“No. It’s nothing.”

He frowns.

“Let’s get some sleep. We have another long day of running tomorrow.”

He stands up and walks towards the tent, the campfire dying down as he turns away from it.

“Are you afraid of anything?” I ask.

His expression surprises me. Have I hit a nerve?

“It’s time for bed,” he says.

I smile at the dying flames.

“That bad, huh.”

He crawls into the tent. I follow only when the embers have turned cold.

Sleep finds me well.

I am being pulled down into a dark abyss, leathery red vines wrapping around me, preventing my escape. Deeper and deeper I go, pulled through a narrow passageway whose walls I cannot see. The darkness becomes as thick as water. I feel like I’m suffocating. Then, the tunnel opens up and I am weightless.

I know it’s a dream, but I cannot wake up.

“Greetings, child.”

The voice comes from everywhere and nowhere. I land gently on my feet. The ground is covered in soft red moss, the darkness having already given way to a violet haze. Pinpricks of red light can be seen in every direction, distant and stationary, like scarlet stars.

I feel something behind me, and turn on my heel. There is a figure, a female silhouette, draped in thin grey robes that billow with a wind that isn’t there. There are four eyes with rectangular pupils set in faintly glowing purple irises. Looking at the eyes is like looking at the sun, with spots forming in my vision that partially obscure the features of the face. The being has inky black hair so dark that the individual strands cannot be distinguished. The face seems angular and regal, with spiraling streaks of red and grey skin, the pattern constantly changing ever so slowly. She smiles.

“Who are you?” I ask.

“You may call me Bezvillia.”

“Maribelle.”

Bezvillia nods. She takes a step closer. I take a step back.

“Be not afraid. I will not harm you.”

“Then will you let me wake up?”

“I will, but I ask that you first allow us some conversation.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to help you, Maribelle.”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

Bezvillia frowns. A chill goes down my spine.

“You seek power, and you ride high in the currents of fate. The end of your path is unwritten. You are a rare thing, one who could become eternal.”

“Sorry. I literally understand nothing you just said.”

“An apology is unnecessary. I come offering a gift. I cannot make you accept it.”

This is so freaking sketchy. Can’t say I’m not curious, though.

“A gift?”

“I will place a fragment of my spirit within you. At first it will merely be a seed, but over time it will grow into a mighty source of magic. You could reach the pinnacle of power.”

“I don’t want it.”

“It will not be harmful to you in any way, nor will it give me leverage over you beyond the threat of removing what I have granted.”

“I said no.”

A look of disappointment flashes across her face, followed by unrestrained curiosity.

“May I ask why?”

“Even if you aren’t trying to trick me, it feels wrong. I want my power to come from me.”

“An appealing yet foolish ideal. Would you refuse to wield a weapon you did not forge?”

“No, that’s different.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know that much about magic yet, but I do know that it’s not just a tool. It’s a part of who you are.”

“Perhaps. At the very least, it seems unlikely that you will change your mind.”

The being sighs.

“Farewell, Maribelle.”

She turns around and the dream begins to fade.

“Wait!”

She turns back, the dream immediately returning to a vividly realistic intensity.

“What was in it for you? Just curious.”

The being lets out a quiet laugh, the sound echoing eerily.

“I was once banished from your realm and I seek to return. If you had accepted, I would have asked you to assist me in that endeavor.”

“You’re not very good at making friends,” I point out.

“A curious response,” she says, tilting her head.

“I would have trusted you, like, a million times more if you had just led with your problem.”

She raises an unnervingly long finger up to her lips, humming thoughtfully.

“Perhaps my time in isolation has made my social skills deteriorate.”

I snort.

“I still don’t want your gift, but I’ll help you, if you want, as long as you’re not going to destroy the world or something once you get back here.”

“Why?” Bezvillia asks, clearly astonished by my offer.

I shrug.

“You seem interesting. You’re a bit scary, though. Are you really sure you’re not planning on causing an apocalypse?”

“No, not myself.”

Hold on.

“Um, excuse me? You really need to clarify that.”

“The river of fate flows towards an inevitable destination. A great war. There will be much suffering.”

“Mmm…. kay. Are you going to start this war?”

“It is inevitable.”

“Are you going to, like, participate?”

“I intend to, if I’m able to return.”

“Are you on the good side?”

She pauses. Most suspicious pause ever.

“Yes, I am,” she claims.

“Right. Mmm-hmm, I don’t believe you at all. Who are the factions and what do they want?”

“A great treasure will be revealed. Many will seek to claim it.”

“You want this treasure too?”

Her glowing eyes narrow, her face contorting into a scowl.

“Yes, but only to destroy it,” she replies.

“What’s the treasure?”

“I will not tell you, lest you be tempted.”

“I’m not that greedy. I refused your offer, didn’t I?”

“Indeed. Even so, it will take more than that to earn such deep trust.”

I smile, crossing my arms.

“Alright. I believe you. I’ll help you, not just to come back, but also to destroy this treasure thing, whatever it is.”

“Truly?”

“Well, I might change my mind if you turn out to be evil,” I add, jabbing my finger at her.

“Very well. You have my gratitude, Maribelle. I am lucky to have found you.”

“Actually, I have one more question. Why me?”

She tilts her head.

“I already told you. You have great potential, enough that you might make a difference in the coming events. Also, my influence in this realm is limited to the area surrounding the bottomless rift, so I didn’t have many options.”

“Hmm. Does that mean we won’t be able to communicate after I leave this place?”

“Yes, the rift is a small hole that I bored into the fabric of this world, over millennia. It was an attempt to return, but one that I now realize is futile. At the very least, the effort gained me a meager locus of power.”

“How old are you?” I ask.

“Yes,” she replies with a smug grin.

“Are you a god?”

“A god? Perhaps once. Nobody worships me in this age.”

“Wow.”

She releases a hollow laugh.

“My power is nothing to be impressed by. There are many who are greater.”

“Could I be?” I ask.

“Hmm?”

“Is it possible for me to become as powerful as you, even though I didn’t accept your gift?”

“I do not know. That is something you must discover for yourself.”

I smile, something churning within my stomach. Excitement.

“Now, may I tell you how you can help me?” Bezvillia asks.

“Go ahead.”

“There is an artifact called the Grey Talisman, one piece of a set of twelve. I do not know where it is located, but it acts as an anchor point for the banishment spell that keeps me out of this realm. If you break the Grey Talisman, I will be able to return through the bottomless rift.”

“Sounds simple enough. Find the talisman and destroy it, then find this mysterious treasure thing and destroy that too. You have a thing for destroying stuff, huh.”

“You understand, it seems. I apologize for being unable to give you more information than this. If you ever wish to speak again, you need only sleep near the bottomless rift, and I will visit you in your dreams once more.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you Bezvillia,” I say, offering my hand for a shake.

She reaches out hesitantly, extending her long slender fingers, grabbing my hand gently. I feel an electric tingle where we touch, a strange connection to power beyond my comprehension.

I wake up, gasping for breath and covered in sweat.

Ferry is snoring loudly beside me. I shake his shoulder.

“Ferry, I made friends with a god.”

“Mmm,” he says.

“I’m serious!”

“Mmm.”

He rolls over and continues snoring. What a jerk.

I lie back down, pouting at the back of his head.

As I slowly fall back asleep, I fantasize about being stronger than him, powerful enough to kill my enemies with a snap of my fingers. Maybe then, he would take me seriously.