“Akkre, you said we were going to another world right?” I ask.
“Yeah, we are.” Akkre says nonchalantly.
“Then why the hell are we at the front door! You’re like all magical and stuff, I thought you would open like a portal or something.” I yell.
“If you want I could just open a portal, but it would take a few days for me to do. Interdimensional travel is not something I’m particularly good at. ‘Sides magic ain’t something I’m good with.” Akkre says in response to my outburst.
But he can make a portal after all…
“Now then, Door, open a gateway to Spirit World, the northern continent of Artikkuus, Sesna, Capital of the Great Demon Empire.” Akkre says addressing his front door.
“Affirmative. Now connecting to Sesna gateway. Please standby, this process may take a few minutes.” The Door says in a monotone voice.
“Wha— the Door, it talked!” I say as I jump back in surprise.
“This place is full of surprises, isn’t it?” Akkre says with a slight smirk. Clearly amused by my reaction.
“It’s just an automated message, no need to be so surprised. You’re gonna have to get used to it, cause you’ll be seeing this thing quite a lot… and she isn’t listening.” Akkre says.
“Hey! Hey! What was that! Come on, tell meee!” I say excitedly jumping up and down.
“Just tell me alrea— ouch!” I say as Akkre throws a book at me.
What the hell, just where did that come from? He pulled that thing out of thin air.
“Hope that got your head in working order, Millie. Anyways, the place we are going is Sesna. The second largest city in all of Spirit World and the Capital of the Great Demon Empire. It also happens to be where I was born.” Akkre says.
“Wait, hold on, can I have some clarification on just what you are? Are you a Demon or are you a God?” I ask.
“Yes.” Akkre says in an instant.
“… so what are you?” I ask again.
“Yes.” Akkre says again.
This is starting to wear my patience thin.
“Just answer the bloody question!” I yell.
With an exasperated sigh, Akkre says, “I am literally a Demon-God. Half Demon and half God, fifty per cent Spirit and fifty per cent Celestial. It ain’t hard ta’ understand.”
“While we are on the topic of my heritage, the city of Sesna was named after my mother. She was the founder of the Great Demon Empire, Empress Sesna Kojuuin. As per tradition, each member of the Imperial family has a city named after them. In case you were wondering my city is a large mountain city, but that’s not important right now. The Empire is the largest nation on the northern continent, of Artikkuus. Artikkuus is home to four or five different nations… it’s a pain to explain it so I’m not going to unless a time comes up when I have too. Hmm… let’s see to put the size of everythin’ into perspective, the size of Sesna is about as big as all of western Europe.” Akkre said.
He just said something completely outrageous. As big as all of western Europe, for one city. I think I’m starting to understand why this shrine is as large as it is. Wait, Tsuyu mentioned earlier that this place was incredibly small. So she was using Spirit World sizes as a comparison.
“Regardless we’re only goin’ to get you some equipment, so you won’t be able to see much of the Empire. But don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to see the Empire as well as much more of Spirit World. But only you, we won’t be around for that one.” Akkre says.
“Hey, just what do you mean by tha—” I try to ask before getting cut off by the door, “Connection complete. Thank you for waiting.”
“Looks like I made it in time. Hey, Akkre, wait up a moment.” Calling from behind Tsuki walks up to us, carrying a small box in her hands. “Can you bring this to Mila?” she says while handing the box over to Akkre.
“Sure if I see her. What’s in the package?” Akkre asks.
“It’s just the usual. I’ve put a magic seal on the package so she is the only one who can open it.” Tsuki responds.
“Oh, the blood packs. You can come with us if you want to ya know.” Akkre says.
“I would honestly love to go with you but I got a call just now from my sister. She said that Alice just passed out drunk at a bar. She wants me to come to pick her up and drag her home.” Tsuki says.
“Again… just who does that girl take after?” Akkre says, crossing his arms.
“Yes, I wonder who… certainly not her father who constantly takes her out to go bar hopping.” Tsuki says while giving Akkre a cold stare.
With his head turned away, trying not to meet Tsuki in the eyes, Akkre stays silent. Eventually in a cold sweat Akkre grabs my hand and makes for the door and says, “nope not my fault!” clearly trying to make sure his wife doesn’t have time to respond to his antics.
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As I’m forced through the doorway my vision turns white. As I regain my sight, my eyes are met with tons of people walking around and buildings that reach into the sky. There are all sorts of people around here, but I don’t think there are any other humans. Many of these people have rather distinct features; some have tails, others have horns, and some have hoofs. In the far distance, walls surround the city, reaching so far up into the sky that an end can’t be seen.
“Try not to stare too much, it’s a bit rude. Now come along. It would be quite problematic if you got lost here.” Akkre grabs my hand once more and drags me along with him as he leads us through the city. I didn’t notice before but Akkre is wearing a cloak hiding his many tails.
“Hey, Akkr—”
“Shush. Don’t call me by name while we are in Spirit World.” Akkre says, cutting me off. “These days only a handful of people know I even exist. To the Spirits of today, I am nothing more than an old legend. I’m nothin’ more than an ol’ tall tale. I’ve been givin’ support to the Empire from the shadows for ages and when the time comes I will show myself on centre stage once more like I did all those years ago… but now is not that time. Anyways just make sure not to call me by name.” He explains.
“So then what should I call you?” I ask.
“Hmm… how about agent 770, Vond… sorry, bad joke. Just call me Erkka, it’s my name backwards. Also, try n’ pick up the pace, I don’t want to pull your arm off. Although you’re probably stronger than me in terms of physical strength right now. We need to hurry, it’ll be a pain if my younger sister finds out that I’m in Spirit World.”
“Are you on poor terms with your sister or something?”
“It’s not that, it would just be a slight annoyance to me. But it would cause massive problems for everyone in the Empire. My sister has a really good nose and knows I have a hard time refusing her request. If she knows I’m around, she will drop everything to come to find me.”
“But that doesn’t sound like too much of a problem, I mean sure it might cause some trouble for the people around her at the time but, I don’t see how it can affect the entire nation.”
“Think about it for a moment Millie. Remember who my mother is. Now, what position do you think that puts my sister in?”
“Your mother? If I remember correctly she is the Empress, so that means… oh, that makes her the princess.”
“Close. My mother has been dead for a long time. My sister is the current Empress. I know far too well what happens when a ruler is missing, it’s not fun for any of the advisers or administration workers. So let’s hurry it up.” Akkre says while pulling me along once more.
Without much time to react, I find myself sprinting just to keep from falling while I get pulled along behind Akkre.
The crowded streets disappear from sight as we walk through the back alleys until we come up to a sturdy looking steel door. Without much warning, Akkre shoves a cloak similar to his at me.
“Now that we’re here, put this on. And make sure you have the hood over ya head covering your face.” He says.
*Knock* *Knock* Akkre hits the door a few times while he puts on his hood, hiding his face. A few seconds after knocking a snow white eye peers through the sliding peephole and we hear a gruff voice.
“Who’s there?”
“Tell the Creator that the Tyrant of the Heavens is here to see her.” Akkre says.
“One moment.” Closing the peephole I can hear his faint footsteps as the man behind the door walks away.
“I’m fairly certain this Creator person is the one we’re going to get equipment from but what’s with the Tyrant and cloak stuff.”
“A 10 out of 10 assumption, that is who we are gettin’ your equipment from. The Tyrant thing is a codename of sorts, it’s better when people don’t know you directly in the underground. So we use an alias, although in my case it’s an alias for an alias. Same reason for hiding your face. It’s best to remain anonymous.” Akkre explains.
If by underground he means things like criminal activities then I can understand why, but I don’t think royalty should be taking part and endorsing such things. Within a few minutes, I hear a strange sound coming from behind the door.
“Come in, the Creator will see you in room 404. Thanks for your patience.” The doorkeeper says.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Not a problem at all my good sir. Now come along, we shouldn’t keep her waiting.” Akkre says as we enter the building.
Having crossed the threshold, the doorkeeper closes the door and locks it behind us.
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I follow Akkre closely as I scan the building. We have been walking quite a while now but I have yet to see any room labelled 404, even though we have long passed the 400’s. Eventually, we reach a dead end.
“Are you sure you know where we have to go? I saw a 403 and a 405 but no 404. That room is just nowhere to be found.” I say.
“Well, it is room 404 after all, not that you would understand. And I do know where to go, I designed this place after all.” Akkre says while he moves a painting hanging on the wall next to us and reveals something hidden behind it. “You need a password to open up room 404. This hidden panel is where you gotta’ input it.”
After spending a few seconds pressing some buttons, the dead end wall in front of us splits in half to reveal a door. As we walk through and shut the door behind us I can hear the sound of the walls moving back into place, once again hiding the room. The room itself is bright and well lit with two couches and a table in between them. On the table is a simple white mask, and on the far couch lays a woman with deep black hair like Akkre that practically shimmers in the light. She is stretched out on the couch wearing loose robes that resemble the clothing of some countries in Asia… but they’re way too loose. She looks like a complete mess, her hair is completely dishevelled and the way she is wearing her clothes makes it seems like she is half naked.
“You said we were going to get some equipment from someone called the Creator, right? Don’t tell me that she is the Creator.” I hesitantly ask.
“… Unfortunately, you are correct, Millie.” Akkre says after a short pause, clearly distraught over the scene in front of us.
“Ahh!” The woman screams, quickly tidying herself up. “I thought you were here alone Akkre. I didn’t think someone would be with you so I didn’t bother to clean myself up. How embarrassing. Hold on, give me a moment.” She says while taking some time to further clean up her appearance, straightening her hair and moving her clothes around to be less revealing.
“Alright, I’m ready. So what brings you two to see little ol’ me?”
“I think your too old to be saying stuff like that Amne… not to mention your chest is also way too big for you to pass off as a child. Millie, take off your hood and introduce yourself.” Akkre says.
After that first impression I’m a bit reluctant, but if she is going to give me equipment I should probably try to be polite.
“… Millie. Millie Von Augustine.”
“Hmm… have I met you before. You seem kinda’ familiar? No, perhaps I’m mistaken. Her name started with an ‘E’. Anyways my name is Amne, I’m Akkre’s cousin. I apologise for my appearance before. That fool at the door didn’t tell me that there was more than one person. I’ll ask again, what brings you two here to see me?” Amne asks.
“You know why I’m here, it was written in the letter I sent you the other day. I gave you the details for the weapon in that letter. I assume you already got it made.” Akkre says.
“Oh that. I got so excited that my blood started boiling when I saw how crazy that design was. But are you sure she can handle it? The thing is rather large, and that doesn’t even account for any armour.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m certain she can handle it.” Akkre says while pushing me up to the table.
“If you say so.” Amne says as she reaches out behind her and places a case larger than me on the table and opens it to reveal a rather unique weapon.
At first glance, it seems like a shield but a shaft that serves as a grasping point extends out from two sides of the shield. One half is elongated with a sharp point on the end, which makes me think this is a lance of some sort. The other half is shorter but the edges are sharpened to resembles a sword. Just what the hell is this thing, it’s trying to be too many things at once.
“So how do you like it?” Amne asks.
“Came out better than I thought it would. Good job, Amne. Let’s get it bound to Millie then.” Akkre says.
Bound? What is he talking about?
“Watch closely, Millie.” Akkre says while drawing attention to his hand.
I can feel energy gathering around him as a scythe appears from out of nowhere and into his grasp.
“Whoa! What did you do!? That was cool!” I shout.
“Because this weapon is bound to my soul, I can materialise and dematerialise it at will. It effectively means I am carrying a concealed weapon with me at all times. Here, try and hold my scythe.” He says.
He places it down, resting against the table but as I try and lift it the thing won’t budge. I thought Akkre said he wasn’t very strong, but he was moving the scythe around with no problem.
“Hard to lift, ain’t it? That’s cause it’s bound to me. Another benefit of having a weapon bound to your soul makes it so you are the only one capable of picking it up. Let’s get started, come over here and sit down, then close your eyes.” Akkre says.
Following his instructions, I move over to the couch and sit.
“Oh, this is quite comfortable. So now wha—”
----------------------------------------
“…There, we finally finished. Hey, Millie wake up we’re done.” Akkre says.
In a daze I begin to open my eyes and slowly get up, only to feel sluggish and tired.
“Huh? What? Just what happened while I was out. I’m suddenly feeling a bit light-headed.” I say while looking around the room.
“It has been a few hours since you sat down. I only took your soul out and did some work with it, no big deal.” Akkre says while reading a book on the couch.
“What!” In a panic, I pat myself down to make sure I really am alright. Doesn’t seem like there are any problems outside of feeling a bit out of it.
“Don’t worry, you. Amne and I are pros, outside of feeling a bit off for a couple hours your fine. Regardless, the procedure to bind the weapon to your soul has been completed. See, the shield or sword or lance… the thing isn’t here anymore. Try to picture the thing materialising in your hand and focus your energy there.” Akkre explains.
I don’t know how he pulled out my soul but he could at least give some explanation or warning… actually, I think I’m better off not knowing. For now, I’ll just go along with what he says though. Remembering the form of the weapon, I picture its strange shape in my mind. I try and direct my energy towards my right hand and after a minute or so I manage to successfully materialise the weapon in my hand.
“Ha! I did it! Look, guys!” I say ecstatically.
“I’m actually surprised you got it on your first try, even if you were a bit slow. With some practice, you should be able to do it nearly instantly like me. But that’s good enough for now. So we haven’t actually thought of a name for the uh… the thing your holding, since it’s yours now you can deal with that.” Akkre says.
A name, huh. Let’s see… so it’s a sword, a lance, and a shield, all in one.
“How about Schanzild,” I say.
“That’s German, right? Seems to me like ya took the first three letters for sword, the middle three for lance, and the last three for shield, and just put them all together. Does that sound ‘bout right?” Akkre asks.
“Spot on, Akkre. Will that name suffice?” I respond.
“You chose it, thus its name from now on shall be Schanzild. Thanks for your help Amne, I’ll have someone swing by your workshop later with some payment.” Akkre says as he puts his book down and turns to Amne.
“Don’t worry about it, I had fun after all. Its been a while since I got to make something so interesting for once. You guys heading out now. You can use my portable gateway if you want if you’re going back to the shrine.” Amne says.
“That’s probably the best choice. Kagra has probably already picked up my scent so it would be risky to walk all the way back to the city gateway.”
“That’s true. If she got her hands on you, it would be a while until you could leave. Give me a moment and I’ll set this baby up… alright ready to go over here. Just step through and you’ll be at the shrine gateway.” Amne says.
“Oh, I almost forgot about this. Here take this package and give it to Mila. Tsuki wanted me to give this to her if I saw her, but I don’t think I should stick around much longer.” Akkre says while handing off his package to Amne.
“Sure thing, although I’m not sure when I’ll see her. But you know, considering the position that those two are in they get along pretty damn well. Anyways I shouldn’t keep you lot here much longer so go on now, see ya.”
With her parting words Amne shoves us all through the gateway she set up and in a flash, the familiar sight of Akkre’s shrine stands before my eyes.
“It feels like she rushed us out.” I say.
“You wouldn’t know, but my younger sister Kagra was actually nearby. It would have been somewhat troublesome if I had stuck around much longer. Now how ‘bout we get started on that training of yours… is what I would like to say. But it’s late and I bet you’re pretty tired after experiencing interdimensional travel and having a weapon bound to your soul. So I will start your trainin’ tomorrow. That said I won’t be the one to train you, I mean it will be me just not me. I’m too lazy to do it myself.” Akkre says.
“You lost me. What the hell you are talking about?” I ask. “So are you not going to train me or are you?”
“Sorry, I worded that poorly. What I mean is since I am too lazy to do it, I am going to send you to a slightly less lazy version of me that will train you. So let me ask you a question, do you want to go to school?” Akkre asks.
“I’ve never been to one before so I’m a little interested but I don’t see how that relates to the matter at hand.” I say.
“Good, because I am going to send you to the past. To a time when I used to be a teacher at the Royal Academy in Spirit World, it is located in the centre of Artikkuus on the border between all the nations on the continent. The entire school is one big city-state and is the second largest city in all of Spirit World. I’m going to have you transfer into my homeroom class. While you are there you will learn the basics of magecraft and how to fight, and in addition to that, you will learn arithmetic, science, and various other things. Also when you’re there use the alias Eillim. We will send you off in the morning, so get a good nights rest. So… see ya.” Akkre says.
While I stand here completely flabbergasted at this strange turn of events, Akkre runs off before I can get even open my mouth.
“This guy is such a pain… wait where do I even go to sleep?”
Before long I notice a small sheet of parchment with something written on it.
“Guess I can take a look at it. It reads ‘Hey Millie, you are probably wondering where it is your going to sleep and how to get there. Flip this note over and there are some directions to your room from the gateway.’ How did he know?”
As I flip the paper over I see a crudely drawn map and another message at the bottom. Let’s see, ‘I knew because you’re easy to read.’ This guy is really a pain in the arse. Whatever, I’m too tired to deal with this right now. I’ll just follow the directions and sleep.
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“*Snore* Gawfpt! Ow, what the hell!” Being kicked out of my peaceful sleep in the most literal way, I end up face down on the floor.
“Get up, it’s time to go. And a young lady such as yourself shouldn’t snore like that.” Akkre says with that annoying smug face of his.
“I didn’t even realise I was snoring.” I respond, picking my self up.
“It was really loud too. Now get movin’ or do I need to drag your bum down the hall?” Akkre threatens.
“I’m moving, I’m moving!”
Because I’m certain he would actually do it, I quickly get up and follow Akkre. Before long we reach the gateway already active with Chronos and Raziel standing nearby.
“So the kiddo is finally up, I see. Raziel already made the transfer preparations. I modified the gateway to send you to the past, near the south gate of Royal Academy. The Akkre of the past is waiting there for you, but he isn’t aware that you will be coming from the future. Also, make sure you never let others find out that you’re not from that time period. You name will be Eillim… uhh, let’s go with that ship you were on, Concordia I believe. You will be Eillim Concordia from now on. The setting we are going with is that you were a sheltered rich girl from Celestia who is ignorant of the world and that Raziel has been taking care of you. With this explanation, it should be able to be used as an excuse as to why you don’t know anything about Spirit World. Oh and this is important, back then it wasn’t called Spirit World. That’s a name that humans gave it and after a while, it just stuck around. The actual name is Spiriumtria. Also, If anyone asks you what kind of being you just tell them you’re a Celestial, appearance wise the common folk of Celestia have little difference from humans. This is all I have to say, so good luck out there. Anything you two need to say?” Chronos asks.
“Chronos mentioned this but really, you shouldn’t let anyone know who you really are and that you’re from the future.” Raziel says.
“I don’t have much to say outside of reiterating the importance of not lettin’ anyone find out you’re from the future. Got any questions so far?” Akkre asks.
“Yeah… so why do I need to use a fake name and why is it so important?”
“The answer should be obvious. Because it’s cool! You get the chance to use a codename for cryin’ out loud. You don’t have a say in the matter… I’ll be ripping that tongue out if you don’t use it.” Akkre says, staring me straight in the eyes. “Anyways, you’ll be away for several years. Any questions? Not! I’m not letting you ask any. So… bye, have a great time.” Akkre says.
“Hey wait! What do you mean by years!? Answ—”
Before I can finish Akkre shoves me through the gateway and closes it behind me as I fall on the ground.
“I swear, he is such a pain.”
As I stand up and get a good scan of the environment, the first thing I notice is the massive walls in front of me and the ridiculously freezing temperatures around here. Before long I sense a presence behind me. Swiftly I turn around to see a familiar face.
“You’re the new transfer student Eillim, right? Names Akkre Kojuuin, I’ll be your homeroom teacher. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Royal Academy, the most prestigious school between Spiriumtria and Celestia.”