(Feydon’s point of view)
“Fey…”
“Fey…”
Something soft brushed against my face.
An involuntary twitch told me I was still alive, but also sent a jolt of pain down my spine.
“You actually lived.”
Ignoring X, I opened my eyes. I was cradled between a tree trunk and a large white wolf. The beast rested its head next to my cheek, rubbing against me each time it moved.
The soft fur felt nice on my skin, but the whiskers scraped like bristles.
“If you’re all recovered then tell this girl to move. We should get moving before—.”
I’m not recovered. Even if I was, I wouldn’t listen to you.
“…”
X may not have responded verbally, but I felt something in his silence. There was a sense of regret, maybe even remorse.
I was curious about several things I saw in X’s memory, but there was one thing in particular I just couldn’t get over. X took away my magic for his own selfish reasons.
Given everything I learned from the memory, I wonder if the power he claimed was his, actually belonged to him, or if I’d have developed it on my own without his interference.
By spirit energy he must’ve meant mana, but—
“No, it’s spirit energy. Mana is a lie told by your heroes so that you wouldn’t question the origins of the power you call magic. It was never intended for your kind.”
Why should I trust a word you say? You’ve ruined my life, kept secret things you knew I wanted to know, and forced me to expose my abilities so that I’d be forced to leave Sky Haven. You’re a parasite!
“Everything I’ve done has been for our survival!”
I shook my head. No, for your survival. If I could cut you out of me, I’d do it right now.
“…”
The wolf's ears twitched, then her blue eyes flicked open. She raised her head, growling towards an approaching stranger.
It took some work, but I pulled myself up enough to peer over the giant wolf’s shoulder. Standing roughly thirty feet from us, was a spirit reaper. He held two dead hares and a jug so full of water that some sloshed out each time it swayed.
He dropped the supplies, then vanished as if he was never there.
The wolf sniffed the air, then went to examine the supplies. After checking around the area, she returned to me and nuzzled her nose against my chest.
“Thanks for watching over me.”
I wondered if the wolf had anything to do with the fox imprisoned in my necklace. I figured that was unlikely when I checked and found all three gems still intact.
The wolf ate one of the hares and brought me the other. She sat in front of me, facing away as if she was keeping guard.
Surely she doesn’t expect me to eat this…
The creature hadn’t even been skinned and I had no way of making a fire since my body ached too much to move.
“Ignite… it’ll work.” X mentally whispered.
Rolling my eyes I decided to give it a try. “Ignite.”
Almost instantly, a warm fire enveloped my left hand. It was warm, but the flame didn’t burn me, only danced between my fingers.
“So I have fire affinity…”
Magic could solve the problem of a heat source, but I still had to skin the beast. I dispelled the fire and used mana to cut open the hare’s belly. After pulling out the bones and turning it inside out, I found a stick and started a fire.
When the hare was done, I took it off the stick and ate.
----------------------------------------
After a few hours, I realized I was being petty. My refusal to move wasn’t because I couldn’t, but because X wanted me to.
All this time, he’d been in control, manipulating me as he pleased, convincing me he just wanted to help. Now that I knew the truth—that he was using me—I wasn’t going to just do as he asked. In this case, it really was the best course of action. I needed to know where I was, especially if spirit reapers were roaming about.
“Thank you.”
“Shut up or I’ll sit back down.”
“As you wish.”
It was nice being the one in control for a change. It was also nice knowing he couldn’t just take control of my body.
The wolf had been curled up a few feet away, but when I stood, she sprang to her paws.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Are you coming with me?” I asked, still wondering why she’d stayed nearby.
As if she understood, she nodded and walked by my side.
Her size hadn’t fully sunk in until we were walking side by side. Her shoulders were level with my head and each of her limbs was almost as thick as my body.
With her girth, she must’ve still been hungry, but she’d refused to hint in order to watch over me. A normal beast would’ve eaten me by now, but not this creature.
It only took a short walk before I got an answer to the most important question. Though admittedly not a definitive one.
We were on some kind of plateau. Below us, in a wide valley, there was a huge compound. Mostly it was hidden by the forest, but in four places, we could see a metal roof peeking through the leaves.
It looked old and given the surroundings, I figured it was either abandoned or inhabited by beastmen.
I was hoping for the first option.
Since ignite worked, I decided to try “mudslide.”
The ground beneath us collapsed and crumbled, sending the wolf and I plummeting almost straight down. It wasn’t exactly what I intended, but it did the job.
The white wolf, probably annoyed by the clumsy descent, snarled and pushed me with her nose.
It probably wasn’t the best way, definitely wasn’t clean, but I didn’t know many earth movement spells and I wasn’t comfortable enough with the element to directly manipulate terrain. Honestly, I didn’t expect it would work at all.
“Sorry, I haven’t had much practice.” I explained. I wasn’t even sure of my affinity, but since absorbing excess mana—
“Spirit energy”
—Spirit energy wasn't an issue for me, I didn’t worry about mana overload.
At the base of the plateau, there was a line of rusted poles. They hadn’t been activated in years by the look of things, but a fingerprint scanner, connected to one of the posts, told me they were likely part of an energy fence.
Beyond the fence was an overgrown yard. Some metal panels, half buried and bent badly out of shape, made me think there had once been planters and landscaping. However, if this were the case, vines and wild grass dominating the area had long since erased other traces.
The main building seemed about as rundown as the metal tent I came across in the castle game. Because it was built up on a platform, the grass didn’t enter the building, but vines had nearly covered the stairs and had twisted the door off its hinges.
“I think it’s safe to say it’s abandoned, what do you think?” I asked the wolf.
She stepped forward and sniffed the air before turning to me with a nod.
“I wasn’t actually expecting an answer,” I laughed. “Do you really understand me?”
She nodded again.
I reached up to rub behind her ears. “You must be special…” she smiled, “or a figment of my imagination.”
The look in her eyes told me she didn’t like that comment. With a twist of her neck, she pushed my hand away, then caught it in her jaws, exerting just enough pressure to draw blood.
“Ow!” I howled. “Okay, okay, you’re real!”
She let go, then strutted off toward the building, satisfied and proud.
I couldn’t help but shake my head as I trotted after her.
----------------------------------------
(Audrey’s POV)
I didn’t see it happen, but I was sure my companions had all been swept away by the ghosts.
The only effective way to attack the creatures was with fire, but a small flame would simply be devoured in the fog.
As I ran, I desperately searched for anything that would burn. “Ignite… Ignite… Ignite.” I chanted the spell over and over.
At my command, flames sprang up in patches of dry grass, along a fallen and hollowed out tree trunk and beneath a dry bush.
These flames alone would do little, but I didn’t have the heart to summon a larger blaze.
As a spirit of the forest, I was supposed to protect and defend nature, not destroy it.
Emilia didn’t have the same restraint. She caught up to me using a wind spell, then she used a chantless cast to set fire to everything along the side of the path.
As we ran, she summoned winds to blow the fires into the path behind us and provide oxygen for the flames to grow.
I knew her actions were to save us, but I heard the plants cry and scream as spellfire consumed them. I felt the forest's pain like it was my own skin being scorched and I couldn’t help thinking of the beasts who would have no home to return to.
I knew full well how important it was that I didn’t allow myself to be captured, but I just couldn’t see my life as more valuable than the hundreds of other lives that would be affected if this went on.
My whole life, death followed me like a curse. Even after the mantis sealed my abilities, wherever I went, misfortune befell those around me.
The fire was working. The mist ghosts were falling behind, unable to cross over the growing sea of flames. We could have escaped, but the fires burned away more than just the forest.
My hesitation, my fear of being discovered and captured, my cowardice all melted in the heat! I was done running. I’d been hiding long enough, and I wasn’t going to let anyone else suffer for me any longer.
Breaking the seal was simple. The key was always with me just waiting for the moment I was ready to accept my powers and face my destiny.
Plucking the metal pink lotus from my hair, I touched the base of the flower to the rune on my neck, both burned away on contact.
Without the limiter there was nothing to stop me drawing in spirit energy from the atmosphere. My body was wrecked with pain as two small horns pushed through my forehead and a pair of wings sprouted from my back.
For a moment, I could see into the spirit realm and knew the spirits could see me as well. That didn’t matter. They couldn’t cross over like I could and with the power I’d just gained only the strongest of them could hurt me.
Back in the physical realm, I took in my surroundings. With a breath, I extinguished the fires ravaging the forest. A wave of my arm brought rain and fresh life.
No longer obstructed by fire, the mist ghosts crept towards us. Before I could only see a general outline of their energy, which filled the mist they traveled in, obscuring them completely, even from my sight. Now I could see beyond that. I saw how the energy moved, how it circulated within the mist, drawing toward one central point before swelling back out.
“Ignite” I cast the spell on all three of them at once.
Their screams filled the air as the mists evaporated, leaving them completely exposed.
In a show of mercy I summoned vines to hold them in place while a multitude of wind blades diced the beasts into small cubes.
That wasn’t the end, though. He was still out there.
I fluttered my wings and looked at Emilia. “I’m going to—”
The next moment my face was on the ground. Her voice calling my name was like an ethereal whisper in the distance.
Was it too much? I wasn’t ready…
I tried to get up but my body wouldn’t respond. I could feel the weight of the world pressing down on me, crushing me.
My vision blurred and I felt myself drifting away.