The outline looked to be made of both copper and silver and its insides were empty. It shifted and moved around in space, taking the form of a woman, a goblin, a child, an orc, and a man.
As this wired outline shifted, the sound of metal created words. “Your wish is to become king. Your gods’ favours: 150. The challenges: you currently cannot overcome the vampire, Derick. The cost of such a wish, 125 points. The result of this wish is your ascension into beinghood. You shall become a Valravn. And as the god of resentment, I grant you this wish.”
I stood there, in this white space, in admiration and awe of the god. His constant transformation dazzled and captivated my eyes. But as my body heated up and became something greater, my mind and heart twitched. “No! I don’t want this. revive Rose, cancel this wish!” I yelled.
The wire took the form of a child. “What you say is not what I feel.” The wire shifted, twisted, and formed into a straight line. The line shot into my heart and came out the other side. A steady stream of blood poured out my chest. It formed a pool in the air, seemingly in a transparent bowl.
A cold wire wrapped around my wrist and pulled me back.
There were two bowls of blood, one twice the size of the other.
The wire came back into view and took the shape of a child again. It came to stand behind the largest of the two bowls.
“Memories are what makes one—someone; emotions are what makes one—something. Blood does not lie.”
The child became a raven and fell into the bowl. The blood overflowed and created a blood floor. The blood continued to pour out until it wet my feet. The blood began to dry and turned brown, brown like Julian’s room. I was sitting in the corner. My bed to my right, the door in front of me, and my books lying around me.
The doorknob turned and a man with crimson eyes entered. “Derick,” I said.
He tried to speak, but no words came out of his mouth. The floorboards shifted. They took the shape of swords, spears, and bolts. They skewered him, and he disappeared. But the world did not.
Had I lost Rose?
I wiped my eyes, but there were no tears.
#
Jars and vials overlooked me. I tried to get up, but only my head could move.
Metal cling-clanged. I was cuffed on the same table. My heart raced. I looked around, and there, next to me I found Master leaning on an ebony chair, his red eyes open, his lens hanging on a golden chain, and his chest flat, no longer moving.
I didn’t think I could escape, but I still tugged. To my surprise, the chains broke.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Free, I ripped off my cuffs and stepped away, my strength had been sapped. On a nearby table, my red sword and the sceptre lied. I took both and headed out of the hut. But outside, I found a large man crouched on the ground. He snivelled.
“Who are you?” I asked.
The man continued to weep. I stepped in front of him. Blood dripped out his hands. Was this someone Master had taken control of? Did the spell get dispelled once he died? Perhaps that’s what happened to Georgiev?
“Are you okay?” I asked and placed my hand on his shoulder.
A blood spear plunged into my chest. “How unfortunate.” The man giggled and looked into my eyes.
The blood spear disappeared. I stepped back and looked down. I had a hole in my chest, it bled but as soon as I thought of the wound it closed back up and my mana was barely consumed.
The man’s mouth hung wide open. “How the hell?”
Quickly, I plunged my fingers into the man’s chest and pulled them out. They had turned into claws, and without intending to, I had taken out his heart.
I suppose I was still a bit raven.
I needed to be crowned King.
To achieve my dream.
To get rid of this wish.
Which impairs my sight.
Which impairs my mind.
To revive the urge to revive Rose.
To think only of Rose.
But why revive what has been lost.
Perhaps they too might have lost the urge to live.
To run.
Or to love…
#
Insignificant Being
Valravn
Gods Favour: 0/50
Mana: 500/500
Magic: S
Corporal: S-
Skills:
* Mental Dam (proficiency 100%)
* Active Weapon Enchantment (proficiency 100%)
* Mana Medic
* Mana efficiency II
* Bird-Humanoid transformation
Titles:
* Emperor of Flora
* True King of Rosalia
* True King of Liliana
* X (Conditional)
#
Outside the hut the ebony trees were still just as tall and black, but their branches and leaves swung too much, it almost looked like they were about to fall.
The earth shook–it came from the right. Although far, I caught a glimpse of a felled tree; next to it, blurred figures stood.
Ringing traversed through the air. It was the bells of hunters.
- But what were they doing felling trees during summertime? It goes against the Emerald Lady’s code.
The kingdom may be cursed.
- But what were they doing felling trees during summertime? It should be too hot for such a thing.
There could still be nests in the branches above.
The leaves above continued to sway, and sunlight reached the forest floor. I spotted emerald grass. Emerald grass in the ebony forest? It should only ever protect the forest, never cross into it.
How reckless were these hunters? How reckless was the kingdom? This wasn’t the season when they were allowed to fell the trees. They couldn’t have forgotten their promise to the Emerald Lady.
I ran towards hunters and lumberjacks.
“Stop it! Stop it!” I yelled. They didn’t hear me–I was too far.
I continued to run, but they seemed to be moving away from me. The ground began to move under me. I no longer felt my legs move. I looked down, my feet weren’t on the ground.
My heart stopped. I could barely hold myself from looking back, afraid to find a black void. Afraid this may be a dream. But when the sound of wings and feathers resounded in the air, I couldn’t hold myself back. “I have wings! I have wings!” I yelled and laughed.
“I’m free!” I transferred all my strength to my wings. My eyes set on the hunters and lumberjacks, everything else blurred into the background. Finally, the figures began to move towards me. My body morphed until I assumed a streamlined form. I relaxed my feathers, took a few strong flaps to gain altitude, and readied my claws and talon.
When just above the humans, I closed my wings and bolted down.