I wondered for a moment whether she had decided to play with me after her taunt, but then the long silence proved the impossibility of this option. I tried to open my eyes, but somehow my eyelids refused to move and seemed so sluggish. I tried moving my arms as well, but they seemed numb and frozen stiff. They wouldn't budge at all either. What was going on? Had I already died and missed the pain? Was my body in the rigour-mortis state that all life experiences after death?
"Hello little girl. How did you end up becoming my host?...Well you are magically compatible after all, though not the best, I guess you will do. I don't want to keep sleeping another million years only to find a slightly better host." The voice suddenly came out startling me. It seemed to come out from inside my body. Not from my throat or mouth, but from within my body. No, their seemed to be two voices, one slightly delayed compared to the other. The words seemed to come out with a strange echo, each voice seemingly resonating with the other. *1
The voice itself was soothing to hear, like a lullaby, and it seemed to further numb the top of my head, and warm up the insides of my ears. My brain started to feel like mush, as a small current of lightning seemed to flow through my body. I could feel my face glowing and skin beginning to burn up, as the voice seemed to stimulate me, and a sensation of ants walking all over enveloped me. My body started feeling ticklish, as an urge to laugh overcame me, and though I was still immobile, the feeling began to build up and swell, mysteriously morphing into happiness and bliss. A sensual beat seemed to throb in my ears and I began to feel a blush- wait, now was not the time for analysing the voice. Got to stay focused and figure out what's happening. Gotta stay focused. As my mind cleared, the urge to laugh and other feelings seemed to recede, though the paralysis did not seem to disappear. *2
"Hmmm...not bad I guess, you must have pretty strong will-power to escape my charm magic. Although I'm currently quite weakened, to escape such a high tier version of the magic is still pretty hard. And from your late response and blank mind, I'm guessing this is your first time facing this kind of magic? Then again, illusion is more my area of expertise, rather than charm, even though they quite often come hand in hand. Well, enough of the side chat, I guess you pass.”
What was going on?! The voice had changed back into a childlike voice, so the charm magic they mentioned must have changed their voice. However, I still had over thirty other important things I wanted to ask this mysterious voice. Who was she or he? Where did they come from? Why am I in this frozen state? Am I even alive? However, my mouth seemed so sluggish. It felt like I literally had loose lips.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Young child, you seem smart enough, and I don't have much time right now, so I won't be answering all of your questions. If you ever have any problems, just think it to me, and I will hear it."
Two lights suddenly glowed in the darkness. A body gradually illuminated behind these lights, revealing a two-tailed fox glowing with warm orange and maroon coloured flames. The eyes were hard to stare at, and sparkling brightly, shining like two miniature stars. It opened its snout, revealing an elongated jaw line and a pair of sharp canines.
"Well, don't thank me too early. I'm just returning a favour to someone." The two tailed fox suddenly moved upright, arching its tails to the left to wrap around its body. Realising the implications of his movement, I quickly turn around and realise I can move again. I look down, but notice that I can't see myself...every direction is just a complete obsidian black wall of emptiness.
"As dictated by the first man of space, I herby accept the current host. From this moment onwards, I, Nine Tailed Deity Fox, Immortal of Illusions, Traveller of Time, will perform my guardian duties to nurture her and her future generations to the best of my abilities. I pledge to guard her and all her future offspring that I deem fit. Do you accept this companion pact?"
"Uah?!" I accidentally let out a half strangled and befuddled voice at the strange direction the solemn speech headed in. Wait, I can talk again?
"The host has accepted. Thus, from this moment onwards, this pact has been formed. Let no time or space tear us apart unto death." That counted as acceptance?! A bright yellow glow enveloped the two tailed fox as he suddenly vanished into a flash of flames, returning the world to absolute darkness.
"I will be saving you this once, but don't count on me every time. I will be going on a journey now to find my other selves and tails in the different timelines and spaces, so I won't be back anytime soon. However if you use any fire, spatial, light or illusory magic, it will probably be subconsciously strengthened by my presence. Also, I'll imprint a special magic of mine right now that summons a bear to ride, though I recommend you don't use it in combat or dangerous situations as any damage done to it will be converted to mental damage done to you. A simple punch at it may knock you out, while a stab at it might turn you into a vegetable for life. Anyway, look after yourself kiddo."
Suddenly I felt my eyelids open again. The whooshing sound of the arrow told me it was still on its original flight path. I peaked through the cracks of my hand, staring at it, hoping that what I had seen wasn't just a dream. I was still feeling slightly confused from the rapid development, but if what the fox said was all true, I could have been experiencing spatial magic before. SPATIAL MAGIC! That was an ultra rare and high tier version of light magic where even the most gifted had only reached the elementary usage of it before passing away. And if it was all a dream, any action done now would be futile.
"AHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the sudden pain. The pain!
I felt a scorching sensation on the back of my right hand, as a small red bear imprint appeared on it, before sinking into my skin and disappearing again. I suddenly felt really tired as I noticed a black plate sized whirlpool form in front of my hands swirling in a circular direction while simultaneously another identical whirlpool formed to the left of the lady's head. A glowing arrow launched out of the whirlpool piercing her head, and as she collapsed, her face filled with resentment, shock and unwillingness. My arms drooped, and I flopped backwards, laying my head on a root. 3*