ã€ŠThe deal was beginning (Rewrite)ã€‹


 Chapter 1: Hide

    We should have fled.

    I looked through the window of our manor and what greeted me was a large boulder covered in flames traveling through the sky. Very quickly another followed right behind it, then a few more. It wasn''t long before the first reached the ground somewhere in the city and while I couldn''t see where it landed, the sound that followed was impossible to ignore.

    Yet I haven''t even flinched. It''s been already a few weeks our capital is under the siege.

    Even now my mother was helping with the defense on the walls. As one of the most powerful mages in the history of Raldus, she alone could be considered a one-woman army. Father and most of our troops have died two months ago and only she with few uncles managed to escape. After the defeat at Reino, the forces of our household have greatly diminished, but it was still a force to be reckoned. It''s one of the reasons why our capital Luara is still standing.

    Yet even I knew that it''s only a matter of time before it falls.

    Where is that promised help? Even if Union soldierswere delayed on the way, it''s nearly a week now! Could it be that they decided to abandon us? But if the kingdom of Raldus falls, as our allies, they will be next on the list...

    I looked at the servants next to me and could see only fear in their eyes. Only my brother looked unaffected, but a single glance at his hands told me that it was only an act.

    He wanted to help my mother with the fight, but in the end, was persuaded to keep me safe instead. At times like these, even people at your side can''t be fully trusted, as there is very little one wouldn''t do in order to survive.

    I shouldn''t have delayed this long... my mother was right, even if I wanted to help her, I was only a burden when it comes to a fight. Back then the portals were still working, but now it was impossible to leave even if I wanted.

    "Oh, no..." brother''s voice suddenly brought me back to reality, but when I followed his gaze outside, saw nothing that should cause this reaction.

    If anything, the attacks on the city have actually stopped... Stopped?! I looked at the empty sky and found it unusual without a bolder or two. All this time, they never stopped bombarding the city and to do that now... Oh, no. Don''t tell me that the wall was breached?!

    Please, let it be just a strategy of the enemy...

    "Young miss, Master Bolton..." suddenly a single warrior rushed inside the manor.

    His name was Clark and hewas there to help us keep in touch with mother at the ramparts. After taking a few breaths he continued.

    "We have to..."

    But was interrupted by my brother,"What the hell happened?!"

    I already knew the answer even before he managed to answer. His face said it all.

    "Th... the wall has fallen,"Clark started to speak. "They used some unknown spell or a weapon and most of the earth mages were killed in the blast. The enemy... is swarming the streets as we speak."

    It wasn''t long before the last word left his lips when I heard some sounds in the distance. And it was getting only louder with each passing second.

    "Dammit!" cursed brother, servants started to quiver when realized what comes next.

    "M¡­ mother," I whispered with the tears on my cheeks and fell on my knees.

    "We have to escape," the soldier continued, "the city is lost and if we..."

    "Where?!" shouted brother, "Luara is surrounded and the portals are still broken from the last time I tried to send off Celina."

    "We have to at least try," Clark insisted, "if we stay there only death awaits..."

    But he was unable to finish when loud bangs from outside interrupted his speech. Brother quickly pressed a stone tile near the window and activated an enchantment allowing us to hear what''s happening outside.

    "Hey, Jack, are you sure he entered through there? We can barely leave a dent on this thing. There is no way a simple soldier would have a key."

    I rose on my feet and when looked through the window, saw a group of people near the gates at the outer walls of our estate. Clark silently cursed when heard them, from their words it was obvious that it was him they have followed to our place.

    "Maybe we can climb it over the wall?" another man asked from their group.

    "Wait!" another voice quickly followed, "Let me check. If they bothered to enchant the gates, it is very likely there are some surprises on the walls as well."

    A bright glow that soon was visible even from there left little doubt for his identity.

    "Dammit! The gates won¡¯t hold long against a mage." cursed brother. "and if that thing in his hands is a tool to use detect most of our traps will be almost useless."

    He then sighed and looked at me.

    "There is no escape for us now. Go, find a place to hide. We will try to kill as many as possible. With any luck, the traps will be still enough to deal with this group. We will think of our next step when the time comes. If not..." brother paused for a moment, "they shouldn''t search for you very thoroughly. The war is practically over and they can''t just kill everyone in the city. People whose knowledge islimited onlyat killing in the most efficient way will be never enough to control a city. Eventually, the soldiers should be replaced by the guards to keep the order. This is when you should try your luck. Trust no one..."

    "Brother, no! I can help you fight. My magic isn''t completely useless. If you die as well, there will be nothing left for me to live for!" I yelled in panic.

    "One spell before you faint is hardly enough. What do you think will happen if they capture you? If they turn you into a slave...for any woman, it''s a fate worse than death. I can¡¯t let the name of our House to be tarnished like this. Go and hide. One day you might be able to avenge us, but for now, you have to live. Don¡¯t let the House of Darkmoon fall just like this." brother then kissed me on the forehead and turned around, he checked his gear and started to give orders to Clark and the servants.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    With tears flowing like a river I turned around and ran but quickly found myself lost of what to do. Where do I even hide? They will probably search for wealth so the vault is no go. And with their mage able to use detect, there is no place they wouldn''t find me at... Wait. The study room! Its enchantments are made to prevent any attempts at spying on the meetings so it should be possible for me to avoid the detection if I hide inside.

    With my course of action decided I quickly ran to the study room and after entering the room, started to look for a place to hide. But this was when I heard a loud explosion just outside the manor.

    They are already there?!

    When have they dealt with the gates at the wall? Was I so deep in thought that haven¡¯t even noticed? No! There is no time for this! I quickly closed the door behind me and continued my search for the best place to hide.

    This might be just a study room, but the enemy still might come to search for spell books or some documents. I can¡¯t hide inside something as obvious as wardrobe either. Damn it. How I wish we had a secret room behind a bookcase like Alice at her manor...

    After looking around a bit my gaze stopped at the fireplace. It was quite spacious inside... no other choice I guess. The room doesn¡¯t exactly have many places that a few kicks or pushes won¡¯t reveal me. Heading to fireplace I looked at my dress and frowned. This won¡¯t do, the skirts will get me exposed.

    I quickly started tearing the bottom of my dress and stopped only when the skirt part was barely covering my underwear. But this still left me with another problem. What I am to do with the ripped cloth?

    I couldn¡¯t just burn it as the smell would expose me just as easily. And if I drop it somewhere easy to find, it will be like screaming ''search for a girl.¡¯ My gaze then turned to the pillows on the couch. I quickly ran to them, grabbed the letter cuter from the table and made a cut on the pillows, I then stuffed the ripped cloth evenly inside.

    There, now to hide and hope for the best.

    I ran to the fireplace and carefully stepped inside, then hugged the inner wall as best as I could, so I am not visible from outside, and with that done all that was left was to calm down my breathing.

    But it was easier said than done. In my current state of mind, meditation, that was usually the best way to achieve that, wasn¡¯t working at all. Only after some time I somehow managed to calm down and started to listen for the noises, sadly without any success.

    The enhancements of the room were working as intended, and the moment I closed the door, all sounds from outside were cut off. Only after what felt like eternity doors to the room suddenly opened.

    "Search to the left, if find anything with that symbol place on the table. There should be something I can use to weaken the enchantments..." Said one of the visitors.

    It took all my willpower to stop myself from crying when I realized that their arrival meant my brother was no longer alive. ''To weaken the enchantments?'' They can''t mean enchantments of this room, right? They shouldn''t know anyone is hiding there...

    "Jack, we have to hurry, others are getting more achievements as we speak. With most of the generals killed, only nobles will get us something now. There is no guarantee we will find anything in that vault, anything of worth should have been used in the war. Why don''t we just make a quick sweep and hurry to the others? Head of a noble is worth way more than a few coins we will get there... and if we wait too long, we can forget about getting our hands on any women of noble birth. Those are worth a fortune..."

    "Yes, and if we rush again we can lose another third of a squad," the man replied in an angry tone, "All just because you couldn''t wait for a bit longer. A handful of people, without a single mage and we lost six knights! Six! Half of them were not even warriors. Tell me cousin, how I am supposed to explain this to my father? And for what? A single head of a young noble we know nothing about? A few peasants?"

    ''A third of our squad? Six dead knights? That means that my brother fought nearly twenty of them... and still managed to kill so many despite being outnumbered one to five. And those were knights, not some barely trained mercenaries... and that''s even with a mage on their side!

    Our father would have been so proud... brother should have been the one born with the gift of magic instead of me. As long as I remember he always worked hard, and yet all I ever did was laze around, definitely not a behavior of an heir.

    If only I spent more time in training, perhaps I could have helped them. My mother always told me that the way my magic works is a bit strange. Maybe if I worked harder I could have learned that legendary spell of teleportation. My parents might have taken their duty as nobles very seriously and never planned to abandon the kingdom in its darkest hour... but at the very least I should have been able to save my brother.

    No! I should stop getting myself so agitated! I will only expose myself like this. I need to survive, only then can I can get revenge. Maybe with the help of my sister we can somehow get Aizerus Alliance involved. Now that the Kingdom of Zolmor is exhausted from the war it would be a perfect opportunity for the third party to strike...

    "Manor is clear." yet another knight entered the room, "We found no one else but just in case I sent Ren and Zed to double check... though I highly doubt there is anyone who could escape your eye, Jack. By the way, what was that spell you used on that young lording? I¡¯ve never seen anything like that."

    "Don¡¯t overestimate the magic. Everything has a weakness and detection magic is no exception. As for the spell I used... let''s just say I have yet another soul to use for my experiments. The guy has killed six our people so it''s the least I could do..."

    The moment I heard that he took away the soul of my brother, I was so agitated that haven''t even noticed when loudly breathed in.

    "Did you hear that?" asked one of the knights.

    "I think it came from there." said the mage and I heard his steps getting closer.

    ''I¡¯m sorry, brother. In the end, I have failed you yet again. There is no escape for me now... but the least I can do is drag all of you with me!''

    I started to gather mana preparing for the only spell I¡¯ve ever managed to cast and slowly stepped from the fireplace.

    "Elements of Fire answer my call..." I chanted while directing every ounce of mana in my body and pointed my hand at the group.

    I rarely practiced this spell. Because even if I did it right, I usually got exhausted to the point of fainting with a single cast. And since I never managed to cast weaker spells from the same school, it could be said that my magic study made almost no progress.

    "Whoa, jackpot" shouted one of the knights while looking at me.

    "Idiots! Stop the incantation!" shouted the mage.

    "Wind Barrier!" a diadem on his head slightly glowed and a miniature cyclone ofwind started to form around his body.

    "Burn the enemy before me..." I continued the chant, but when one of the knights almost reached me, I panicked and rushed the incantation, skipping some of the chant.

    "Inferno!"

    The failed spell still managed to kill one of the knights. Just in a blink of an eye, his body was covered in flames and was incinerated into ash, even his armor was not spared and only a molten puddle of metal was left on the floor.

    The backslash, from the spell cast wrong, sent a part of the spell back to me and the pain, thousands of times worse than anything I have ever experienced, assaulted me through the hand, lungs, and then the rest of my body.

    I wanted to scream, but no sound left my mouth. Strength quickly left my body and I fell on the ground like a puppet with its strings cut short. I could see the glowing cracks on the skin of my arm, but despite how it looked, it was soon the only part of my body that wasn''t ravaged by the pain.

    I couldn¡¯t even thrash, nor scream. Only the ever-increasing pain, that was eating at my sanity, let me know that this was still my body.

    "You bitch!" shouted the knight that survived. When his companion died, he wasn''t very far and most of his face was burned from the heat.

    "Wait! Don''t kill her!" shouted the mage and then took an orb from his cloak.

    "Dammit," he cursed quickly after, "That backlash destroyed her insides beyond healing. Even if we had a healing magic expert here and now, at best he could only prolong her life. What''s up with our luck?! First those idiots with stupid traps, now probably the only mage that wasn''t killed yet just had to fry herself right in front of us..."

    The mage kicked a chair to the side and left my field of vision.

    "Hey Cousin, how much time she has?" the man with a scar asked while looking at me with barely suppressed rage.

    "A few hours."

    "A few hours you say..." the knight with scar then walked to the door and after opening them wide with a kick roared from the top of his lungs. "EVERYONE, GET YOUR ASS THERE!"

    In a few moments more knights rushed in and cousin of the mage spoke through gritted teeth.

    "This bitch here has killed Valter and as you can see there was nothing left even to bury him... She has only a few hours left to live and our job is to make sure it''s as memorable as possible."

 Chapter 2: Have I died?

    I might have heard his every word, but my mind was still clouded by the pain and only when he stripped all my clothes completely I realized what''s happening.

    Yet I couldn''t move my body even a bit.

    The knight with scar then grabbed me by the hair and dragged to the table. With a single movement of his hand, he threw everything from the surface and then dropped me on the top.

    "Wait, cousin." just when the knight started to remove his armor the mage interrupted him.

    "Don''t try to stop me, Jack, she has ruined my face. I want to..."

    "Don''t misunderstand," the mage picked something from the floor, slowly raised and started to walk in our direction, "You will have your chance... but as your superior the first turn is mine."

    "But..." the knight grimaced and then stepped to the side, "I understand."

    "As someone already with a fiance, I usually don''t participate in such custom, but you see..." the mage shifted his gaze to the object in his hands and then looked right into my eyes, "I just realized that this is a residence of Amelia Darkmoon gol Tanus... The Witch of White Flames."

    The object mage picked earlier was a simple stamp used to seal the letters... yet it had an insignia of our House.

    With his words, the knights in the room gasped in shock. Witch of White Flames was a name given to my mother by the enemy... and from the start of war til now, the number ofenemies she has killedpersonallyis estimated to be in thousands.

    "It''s a disaster that your life is now beyond saving... a slave with your background would set us for life. But..." the mage removed his cloak and tossed to the side, "but it would be even worse if I missed a chance to get a taste of her daughter."

    What followed next was a nightmare.

    From the moment my spell has failed, the pain has never stopped to torment me, but each thrust of the mage, made me realize that it could get even worse.

    ''This can''t be happening!''

    I wanted to resist, scream... yet my body was completely powerless. All I could do was scream in my mind from the pain and humiliation... because my body could not. Eventually, I have managed to close my eyes, hoping for the pain to mask what''s happening, but it was of little help.

    I could tell when the mage has finally stopped, but almost immediately someone else took his place.

    I don''t know how long it lasted, nor how many took their turn, but it sure felt like an eternity. Only when I suddenly heard a loud sound of thunder, my mind finally sunk into a sweet embrace of darkness.

    *

    "Hello, little girl." a strange voice reached me from the void and little by little I ''woke up''.

    The first thing I noticed was an absence of pain. Not just pain, at the moment I couldn''t feel a single thing. With the torture I have been through, not being able to feel anything was like a blessing to me. I had no time to dwell on the sensation very long though, because my attention was suddenly drawn to the sight right in front of me... and I couldn''t help but stare with wide eyes.

    It was as if I looked at a painting.

    There were now four knights in the room, and all of them... ''frozen in time''. Three of these knights were floating in the air, as if tossed by some invisible force. Many wood fragments in the air only strengthened that image. The last knight at the door was much further from the rest and still on his feet, but judging from his expression, not even aware of what was happening right in front of him.

    I couldn''t see the mage, nor his cousin, actually even one more knight was now missing from back then. Butthat was just a fleeting thought, the next moment my gaze was glued to the last person in the room... me. Naked. Also ''frozen in time'', floating in the air. The table below now in pieces, splinters of wood scattered in every direction like a cloud.A heart of blast that sent knights flying.

    How can I be in two places at the same time?

    Also... if the time was stopped why was there a bolt of lightning that occasionally jumped from place to place,as if some strange creature exploring its surroundings. It probably got here through that hole in the wall... or rather, it created the hole. A few scattered stones ''frozen in the flight'' could be still seen near the entry...

    No. Perhaps the time wasn''t stopped... or at least not completely.

    I focused a bit more and noticed that ever so slowly the knights, splinters of the shattered table, ruble of stone from the hole... everything was actually moving.It was almost impossible to detect at the first glance, but the movement was there.

    Forquite some time, I was in a trance, trying to grasp what all of this means, but eventually, my gaze shifted back to ''me'' in ''the painting''.

    It was my real body, there was no denying it. And it was even at the place where I should have been. Then what I am?

    I raised my arm... andsaw that just like the rest of my body, it was transparent. Everything in the room could be seen right through.

    "Have I died?" I asked while looking at the floor through my hand.

    "Not yet." a deep voice suddenly scarred me and I quickly turned around, but save for the ''frozen'' knights there was no one else in the room.

    This voice. I have heardit somewhere, wasn''t it what ''awoke'' me just now? The voice was loud, deep, and very strange... as if some beast never meant human speech suddenly decided to give it a try. But despite how alien it sounded, I could tell that the one speaking was without a doubt - a man.

    "My my, what a shy little girl,"after some time the voice rang again. Now that I paid more attention, I could tell that it came from... everywhere, "others usually scream by now, or at least ask who I am."

    "Are you Death?" I asked when finally recovered and then wasn''t even sure if this should have been a question.

    Stopping the time to meet a soul... This must be what usually happens when people die. I never thought about it, but at the scale of an entire world, countless people must be dying at the same time. To meet each of them in person... is probably impossible, not without stopping the time. The more I thought about it the more I was sure that my guess was correct.

    "Ha ha ha ha... that''s a third time in a row... People these days... absolutely no imagination," the voice burst into laughter,"Maybe next time I should take an appearance of a black specter with a scythe? No, better not. If I am called farmer next... will die from embarrassment!"

    Hmm? Was I mistaken?

    "A God?" I asked again.

    "No!" this time he replied immediately and I even noticed irritation in his voice, "You might call me Demigod... but please don''t mistake it for a God, too many use the word lightly. I might be able to use my knowledge of his laws to snap a moon or a planet out of existence, but in the end, my very existence is based on the same laws. Now God, is an omniscient consciousness of the Universe itself, an existence capable of creating and changing the laws of the world at will... andis not even bound by them in the slightest.Whensomeone even weaker than me dares to claim tobe his equal... I find it very offending. Punny creatures, gain a bit of power and start a religion of themselves, yet all of them run at the first sight of trouble. A pity... their souls are soooo delicious."at the end of his speech I could even hear a longing in the voice.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    I was frightened by what I heard, what could this... Demigod... want from me? Suddenly his answer to my earlier question if I am dead, surfaced in my mind - ''Not yet''.

    "You want to eat me?!" I asked in horror.

    "Oh, my... now that''s a very naughty question, little girl... and you don''t even blush," the voicechuckled, "No. I have no plans to eat your soul, I doubt it''s even tasty... Besides, I would need at least a thousand only to fit the gap between my teeth."

    "I see," I said in a sad voice.

    I, of course, was very glad he had no plans for my soul, but just now, my own question reminded me about the fate of my brother, his soul still in the hands of that wretched mage.

    "If it''s something even a mage can easily get, it must be below you to even bother..."

    "Ha ha ha ha ha ha," Demigod immediately burst into a laughter, "A mortal can get a soul? Ha ha ha Ha ha... I can''t... Ha ha ha... you are killing me... ha ha ha..."

    Only after a while he finally stopped.

    "Let''s see..."

    Pain assaulted me for a brief moment and then vanished just as quickly.

    "Yup... just I thought," his voice rang again, "Your brother''s soul is safe and sound and is already on its way to be reincarnated... though with a bit of handicap. Save for me and a few annoying... ''friends'', no one can do a shit to a soul. It was one hard nut to crack even for myself. How long was I unable to properly punish those self-proclaimed gods when they pissed me.Destroy a planet, toss them into a star - nothing! Alive and kicking, scared a bit but still kicking. Could only watch in rage as they packed their things and just left... Only when I finally learned how to devour them all has changed. Ahhhh... now those were the days... have I mentioned that they are very tasty?"

    Despite a bit disturbing part in his speech, a huge relief filled my entire being when I heard that my brother''s soul is safe, but there was still something that caused me to worry, "What do you mean by ''with a bit of handicap''?"

    "Hmm? Ah, it''s actually nothing serious. It''s just that this round his reincarnation is limited only to this planet. What that mage took was a lingering energy inside the body and for a spirit, it''s quite useful if want to try another world, but by no means, it''s a soul."

    "Planet?" I asked again. This was the second time I heard him mention the word but I had no idea what it meant.

    "Oh, right. Forgot that astronomy in this world is stuck at the stone age. Aren''t you even curious what is a star?"

    "Star is just a large rock very far in the sky," I replied, a bit proud that this was something even I knew.

    A few years ago I saw one with my own eyes when parents brought me to an exhibition held by the Academy.

    "At the altitude they are positioned, mana is so thick that even holding a boulder of that size in the air is not an issue..." I continued by quoting what I heard at the said exhibition but then stopped when Demigod started to laugh.

    "Okay.That''s enough. Why don''t we take a little tour to broaden your horizons?" and before I could even answer with the sound of a snap made by the fingers my soul started to fly up.

    I passed through the roof as if it was just an illusion and continued further. Soon the entire capital turned into a little speck in the distance and then even completely hidden by the clouds.

    "Now listen well, little girl, the world you call Sands is a planet..." Almost in no time the world in front of me turned into a large sphere... and while I was very scared by what just happened, I found its appearance very beautiful.

    "Sands, hehe... how interesting, we name other planets with such interesting names, but the one we live on is always earth, dirt, sands or a mountain. Guess that''s what you get when name the world you live on with what you stand on. Anyway, you now must be thinking howcome people don''t fall at the bottom? Right? Just imagine that the real bottom is at the center."

    After Demigod said that I started getting closer to one of the moons.

    "Behold a moon. Basically, just a smaller planet flying aroundSands as it has nothing better to do."just in a blink of an aye I was then in front of another, "Just like the other..."

    "And this, my little girl..."

    I started to move again... and ended up very close to a giant blue sphere with flames of the same color dancing on the surface.

    "...is a sun. Actually, it''s just a star, like any other you see in the sky. It''s just that this one is closer..."

    With his words, every single star in the sky started to change. They grew longer... and longer. As if someone was stretching them into rays of light.Just when I started to think that it''s impossible for them to stretch even more, with a sound of a snap, I found myself in front of another large sphere made of flames. But this time red.

    "And just so you don''t call me a liar... anotherstar in the flesh.Impressive for something that is ''just a rock'', isn''t?"

    The stars then started to change again and after one more sound of a snap, I was once again in front of The Sun.

    "Also, contrary to what your people believe, little girl, it''syour planet that flies around the sun, not the other way around. When a single lap is finished, it symbolizes the end of one year... You probably still have no idea just how big the stars are. Remember the size of your planet? If we put an exact copy next to your sun...it would take nearly four hundred of them placed one on top of another, just to reach the same height... By the way, the stars are also very hot, but I guess it''s quite obvious considering they are frigging balls of fire. Blue stars are actually leading in this regard. For example, the temperature of your sun''s surfaceis fourteen times higher than a melting point of mithril. Impressive isn''t? And that''sjust the coldest part... at the center, it''s at least six hundred times more than that."

    With these words, I was suddenly remindedthat he claimed to toss ''self-proclaimed'' gods into a star... and nothing happened to them. I could see why they dared to claim themselves as gods.

    "Any questions?"

    "No" was all I managed to say.

    Everything I knew was turned upside down... and I was overwhelmed by what I saw, power demonstrated. It was to the point that I completely forgot what happened to me. Which I guess was a nice change.

    "Well, back to the cruel world then, little girl, we have business to discuss." and with another sound ofa snap, I was back in the study room.

    The sight was a bit different from before we left, but then again the time wasn''t frozen solid, just slowed beyond reason. Two of the knights in the air were now in the process of colliding with the wall, while another was sliding on the floor. The knight not affected by the blast at the door finally had an expression of fright on his face. But his body was practically in the same position as before.

    "Business?" I asked now slightly excited.

    I don''t know what this Demigod could want from me, but with the word he justused, there was a chance I might get my revenge in return. Even my soul wouldn''t be a price too high. Ah, I completely forgot... he already said that it doesn''t interest him, but I just couldn''t imagine what else he could want from me at this point.

    "What do you want?" and I decided to just ask.

    "Why of course it''s your body, my dear little girl," with a playful tone, Demigod replied.

    And I was lost for words how to reply.

    "Oh don''t look at me like that, I''m not a pervert... I think... probably... fine, maybe just a little."

    As if I could even look at him... all this time I could only hear his voice.

    "A... anyway, we are getting off topic here... Not that it really matters, but still. In this dimension, we have at least two days worth of time before your body dies so..."

    "Dimension?" I asked when heard yet another word I had no idea for its meaning.

    "Well yes, of course, you don''t expect me to stop time forthe entire universe just with a snap of my fingers,do you? I''m just a poor little Demigod."

    Said a guy whoeats self-proclaimed gods and can snap a planet out of existence.

    "Then what is this?" I gestured at thestill ''frozen'' room... and immediately got angry when noticedthe man among the knights colliding with the wall... practically without any clothes. There was no need to guess what he did to me before the time was stopped.

    "This, little girl, is another dimension, or another realm if you may. I call it Dimension X, or just X for short. Why? Because it sounds cool and why not! There, time flows differently from outside and at the same time is still connected to the world. It''s why we can still see everything that''s happening. But most importantly, I can still use many of my tricks even from there. This dimension is actually one of my latest discoveries. Just twelve thousand years ago I couldn''t do shit like that. Now all deals are done there. Lots of time tochitchat, can even toss a lesson or two to educate some ignorant lass, pretty much everything can be done... even peeping at someone bathing without being caught... Mmm... pretend you didn''t hear that one."

    It seems that this Demigod was... really a pervert.

    "What is that business you were talking about?" I asked again, with hope reignited.

    No matter how you look at it,I should get something out of this and from a being that could rival a god... ha, silly me. I might know almost nothing about him, but with what he said earlier, I could guess his character just a bit.

    This Demigod must have his own ideals about a God, and anyonetrying to call himself as one does nothing but insult that image. Especially, when In the face of Demigod, even those self-proclaimed gods count as nothing more than a snack.

    I had high hopes for this deal.

    The only part that worried me was that bit about the body. I hoped it wasn''t the case, but... even if do have to offer my body in that way... it can''t be worse than what I already experienced...

    Probably.

 Chapter 3: The Deal

    "The Deal is simple, little girl,"answered Demigod, "I will get your body to possess and in turn, will grant a wish within reason... oh, and happy reincarnation with retained memories... a few powers as a bonus, a thick plot armor maybe... Yes, yes... we don''t want a slip on the ice orsome random meteor to end the adventure premature..."

    I was glad that it wasn''t what I thought. I mean, this Demigod was a pervert... so my fears for why he wanted my body were not completely baseless. Anyway, there was still something that nagged me.

    "But why would you even need my body?" I asked a bit curious, "With your power, it should be easy to create a body to your liking. I am... you are aware that I am a girl, right?" when I said the last part I wanted to hit myself. This deal was my only chance...

    "Man, woman,even gender that can''t be called either... it makes no difference. All I have to do is let my alter ego to take over. For a mortal with memories of his past lives it might be more difficult... but even then, you like opposite gender because your body is made so, not because you think that you should.How many boys and girls throw a tantrum that they will never marry and yet the tune is completelychanged with the age... As for why I go through all this trouble...what do you think I have too much on my hands?"

    "Power?" I tried to guess.

    "Ha ha ha ha ha," and he burst into a laughter, "No.There is no such thing as too much power... What I have too much on my hands is... time. When you do the same thing once or twice it''s fun, hundred or thousand - still bearable. But what if almost everything you ever experienced or did is at least billions of times?"

    And there it hit me... eating the same dish billions of times, looking at similar scenery billions of times, hearing the same joke billions of times...

    "Yes, little girl, you will get very bored. So bored thateven going crazy is not impossible. Luckily I found a solution before that happened...he he. You see, what could help with routine is a good story, a tale... a space pirate that managed to escaped from the most guarded prison in the galaxy, making her even more notorious than her father... a simpletoymaker that suddenly gaineda power to grant life to his creations and becamea legendary spywho saved his kingdom from a terrible plot... a young girlwhose family members were killed one after another, but then was saved by a mysterious spirit of lightning..."

    With his last words, I looked at the bolt of lightning in the room.Was he talking about me?

    "But just watching is boring, it''s so much more fun when you can play the role personally. To make it even more interesting... ok, maybe it''s more to prevent me from accidentally snapping all my enemies on the first day. Anyway, some rules had to be made." After a little pause, he continued.

    "When I got here little girl, I followed my rule to take over a body that is dying. It had to be someone close to a location I selected beforehand,before I even knew anything about this world. Now the second rule is to grant your wish little girl... but only if it doesn''t go against the third rule, and that one is a secret. Only if the deal is set, this little Demigod will become a little girl and will do everything in her power to fulfill the wish with her two hands.

    Somehow it wasn''t what I expected.

    This means that he... she, should deal be made, will fulfill my wish personally... as if it was her goal. This was probably yet again to make the story more interesting. But the catch is a secret third rule that can prevent the deal from happening should mywish go against it. I should be careful.

    He said that I will be reincarnated...

    Maybe I will return to this world and will still have my chance toavenge my family... but what if I don''t? I guess I already know what my wish will be. Maybe it will take some time for Demigod to fulfill it without using his powers, but...

    No, wait a moment!

    If he really becomes me... the least of my worries should be my family unavenged. For all I know, this wish might have been a trap from the start.

    Still... I should at least try to confirm that to be sure. I can''t risk having means in my hands and then just wasting it.

    "Should you become me... what will happen to those who hurt my family?"

    "Ha ha ha ha," the voice burst into a laughter, "That head isn''t completely empty... Hmm, no, actually it is... but that''s only a given now that you are only a soul. Anyway, to answer your question little girl, I will do what you would have done should you still be alive and have a bit of power."

    Yes, just like I thought.

    I suspect that this wish was never meant for me. It is probably only to create themost unusual goal for the story. All my dreams he willfulfill without even being asked by simply playing the role. If I asked for something like protecting my sister or getting revenge for my family, I might have triggered the third rule.

    "My wish," I then spoke with a smile, "is for Celina Darkmoon to become an Empress, have a lovinghusbandand give a birth to many of his children."

    The wish might havesounded very simple, something I would often think when was a child, but... to become an empress one needs an empire... and what could fit the role better than the lands of your enemy.

    "He he he he," the voice burst into a laughter once more, but little by little it started to change and at the end sounded very similar to mine, "You got me, little girl. A bit dull as the dreams go, but requirements are met and the role is accepted." and for the first time, I could even hear the voice coming now from behind instead of everywhere.

    I quickly turned around and saw yet another me. Naked. Not that I could claim to look any different... butas I was only a soul and at the moment completely transparent, it didn''t felt like that.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Kyaa! Pervert!..." Demigod, who looked just like me screamed while covering her body, "He he he, just kidding... I will now ask you a few questions and will then send you away. And don''t worry, will give you a bunch of cheats at the end as promised. Can''t allow my backup entertainment to die easily now can I."

    "You plan to peep on me?!"

    "What do you take me for?!... I mean... of course, I will! But... it''s just a little. Hmm, make sure your body is in good health when it''s time for fun, I don''t want to see a mass of fat crushing some poor guy or girl. Oh, I know, I will just use one of your cheat slots so you can''t get fat no matter how much you eat... he he. Anyway, back to business... you want to be born as a boy or girl?"

    When I heard her question, with what I have been through I almost choose to be born as a boy.

    "A... girl."

    "Don''t have good memories with men, huh?" asked Demigod with a pity in her voice, "Well, don''t worry, little girl, this time no one will have an easy time to force you... unless it''s someone atself-proclaimed god level. In which case you will just give me a call, I will get a snack and you a stalker out of your back,he he he. A win-win situation no matter how you look at it."

    "Give a call?" I asked confused.

    "Yes, yes. A spellto communicate with me from any spot in the universe. Hmm, let''s name it ''The Call''. Why? The old name got boring and why not! Please use it to warn me when about to enter the realms of adulthood... you know, just so I can wrap things up on my side before the show,he he. But we are getting off topic... Do you want to retain your old memories?"

    Uhh, will I really have no privacy in my next life?Though have to admit that I am a bit glad that someone will watch over me...if only it was with more pure intentions!

    "There are really some things that I would like to forget..." I said while looking at my naked body in the ''painting'', it was still in the air, but was now nearly the floor.

    But thenthe face of my mother,father, and brother surfaced in my mind.

    "... But thereare even more that I would like to remember!"

    "Very good... Your world is one of a few that has magic. Would you like to get into one without? Will tell you a secret, the technology is usually much more impressive in one without."

    "With magic," I said almost immediately. I have no idea what thattechnogogyis, but I want to become a real mage this time, one that doesn''t faint with a single cast.

    "He he he, this will be interesting... anyway time for farewells, if you step into this sphere..." and with her words, a sphere of light suddenly popped up out of nowhere.

    "Wait! What about those cheats you mentioned?!" I quickly asked.

    "Uhh, Iwill get there, little girl. What was I saying, ah yes... Once you enter that spell, it will send you to a baby of a girl in the world with magic. Oh, and don''t worry, thisspell is aone-time thing only, the next reincarnation will be completely random. Nowas for the cheats... I will alter your very soul, so each time you reincarnate,it will transform the body automatically. And yes, little girl, that means that from this day forth you will always have those powers... just like the memories from this and all lives that will follow. As for what those cheats are... I will leave it up to you to discoverhe he..."

    I got overwhelmed by what I heard. Doesn''t that sound familiar? Wouldn''t Ieventually end up just like her - bored beyond belief? Well, there is no point to worry about it, I''m sure I will have no problems for at least a thousandyears. After that? Will deal with it when the time comes. But more importantly...

    "Wait! Can''t you at least give a hint?"

    "You are so persistent, little girl. Fine. As I have mentioned earlier you no longer need to worry about food. Can eat a dragon a day and still will have a figure that makes others drool. Oh, this will also make you immune to any poison, but... it''s so insignificant when compared to the first effect... Anyway, the next is... no, I really should leave to discoverer on your own. It''s not fun with too many spoilers."

    The sphere of light started to movecloser and engulfed my entire body.

    "Once I send you out of X, altering of yoursoul will start shortly. Sorry, but I can''t do anything about the pain that will follow, after all, altering a soul shouldn''t be possible in the first place."

    She then raised a hand and with a snap of herfingers, I once again appeared right in front of our planet. This time there wasa slight movement of the clouds. I was now probably outside X so time was no longer stopped.

    A terrible pain soon assaulted my very being and Icould no longer think straight, and shortly I started screaming from the pain once more. I don''t know how long it lasted, but when the pain has finally stopped, the first thing I noticed was a calming voice in my head.

    "It is over, little girl..."

    Demigod?

    "What happened to your voice?"I asked while reached for her inside my mind, "Is this telepathy?"

    There was now no longer that majestic feel to her voice and... it sounded now completely just like mine.

    "A bit similar but no. This is ''The Call'' I have mentioned," replied her voice in my head, "As for my voice... I am now officially Celina Darkmoon."

    As she was talking, strange symbols danced on the surface of the spell I was inside, but after a moment they stopped and the sphere of light started to move closer to the surface of a planet.

    "Oh my..." Celina then exclaimed in an excited voice, "It seems that we will meet sooner than I thought."

    "Why? What happened?" I asked confused.

    "Because now... I am your mother."

    "What?!" I almost shouted.

    Today was thefirst time a man has ever touched me and... even if that was enough to get me pregnant... can a soul even fit into a child the size of a dust?

    "Well, it''s a bit my fault," Celina spoke again, "You see,little girl, the mage that raped you... mmm, me? us? Anyway, I am pregnant now. When I healed the body, the growth of a child was accelerated by afew months. Because the baby is a girl and I''m kind of a beacon of magic, the sphere now directs you to me."

    "Was that... really just a coincidence?" I asked with a bit of suspicion and when the sphere pierced through the clouds looked at the city down below.

    "I admit that I might have pushed a few buttons here and there to increase the odds, but..." Celina replied, "I am really innocent."

    "And by how much those odds were increased?" I asked again, now finding the whole situation a bit amusing.

    "Seven percent... the moment you have selected the world with magic there was... a seven percent chance that someone else could have been chosen as your mother instead of me. But you can''t blame me for this! After all... having a daughter that is technically her own mother is so funny!"

    "But if you are really against it..." she then said in a sad voice.

    "No," I replied immediately.

    There was no need to even think if this was what I really wanted. I had my answer the moment I heard her say that she is my mother. All this time Ifelt this strange closure between us and the moment I was sent outside with the sphere I felt a stab in my heart.

    When the sphere got even closer to the city, I could finally see her... In the middle of ruins of what was once our manor, surrounded by flames and raging winds. Asole figure of my mother stood with a black robe dancing in the wind, lightning crawling over her body occasionally striking at her surroundings.

    Her blue, almost glowing eyes, were looking right at me and only her dark hair was completely shrouded by the night. A silver diadem, that now decorated her head, spelled a tragic fate of a certain mage.

    She was silent for a long time. Standing here looking epic, posing for her unborn child. I couldn''t help from feeling warmth filling me.

    When I finallyreached her, her armsspread wide to embrace me.

    "I will be in your care...Mother," I said as entered her body, never before so sure in my decision.

 Chapter 4: A visit to the Palace

    At the outskirts of Luara, the capital ofRaldus Kingdom

    "Would you look at that..." Dorian approached me without even trying to hide the joy in his voice and looked at the massive hole in the distant city walls, "In the name of everyone there I have to thank you, Francis, without your help, we would have a hard time getting inside..."

    Other generals, Casandra and Lucius, burst into laughter when heard him and I gritted my teeth in rage.

    "Why that gloomy look?" joined Casandra, "Haven''t you killed the famous Witch of White Flames? Your contributions this time will be very high... So what if you lost two-thirds of your men. It''s not like we will jump at the chance to deal with you while you are still weak... after all, we are all on the same side."

    A dangerous glint flashed in her eyes and I had no doubt that this is exactly what she will do. She was unable to act against me directly, especially with my contributions to the crown, but my losses were too heavy for her to not make a move.

    I had to think of a way how to increase my troops as soon as possible, and I couldn''t afford to lose a single soldier from those that survived. Which is exactly why I passed on storming the capital... allies werenow much more dangerous than the enemy, and with the chaos inside the city, it was a perfect place for various ''accidents'' to happen.

    A flash of strange lightning suddenly entered my sight.

    "Hey, you saw that?" Dorian asked with a shocked expression and just as he finished his sentence a loud thunder reached our ears.

    The reason for his strong reaction was because the lightning launched up into the air... from within the city. It formed into a bolt and for a moment levitated high above the city, then it launched back, this time like real lightning was supposed to act.

    "That was within the palace!" Casandra exclaimed with worry in her voiceand another sound of thunder reached our ears.

    A smile rose on my face. That lightning was anything but normal... perhaps I am not the only one who will suffer heavy losses this time.

    *

    Within the Palace

    "Sir," Randolph saluted in front of me, "reporting on our progress."

    "Speak,"I said while sitting in the throne of their now dead king and then frowned when heard the tone in my own voice.

    The man in front of me had nothing to do with it. On the contrary, he wasa promising young lad and was actually almost like a son to me. Good head on the shoulders, a spellblade, and most importantly... knew how to follow the orders. It''s just that despite all our efforts there wasn''t a single head we could present to our Lady.

    "We found her!" he replied with a wide grin, and there was no need to even ask who he meant.

    "Have you managed to capture her?" I asked barely able to containmy excitement.

    "No," his voice dropped, "the moment we knocked her out an enchantment on her body has activated and she died on the spot, but..." he then gestured at the man behind him and I noticed a box in his hands, "... her head is in perfect condition and no one will be able to deny it''s her."

    This was very good news. It would be even better if we captured her alive, but one has to be realistic. Earlier, Loraniel lost prince right from under his nose, but now that we got the queen, my contributions to the House should be quite high.

    If I managed to get prince that escaped earlier as well... not only my promotion would be guaranteed, but at the same time, I would deliver a loud slap to that old bastard''s face.

    "Where is Edgar?" I then asked when noticed that there were quite a few men missing from his group.

    It was inevitable to lose a few here and there, butEdgar was a third circle mage...

    "Dead," answered Randolphand when noticed my darkened gaze quickly added, "she had a few experienced beasts on her side andher magic wasn''t that weak either..."

    Beasts? Ah... demihumans!Filthy creatures masquerading as men. To think they allow these abominations to walk among them as their equals... Now that the war waspractically over, we will change that.

    Still... if we don''t want to become a laughing stock for the others will need to slightly alter the story why we lost our strongest mage.

    A loud bang suddenly interrupted my inner thoughts and when I looked at the source, a large cloud of dust was spreading in the center of a hall.

    One pillar supporting the roof was smashed on the floor while another crumbled the moment we looked in that direction. My sight trailed upwards and I saw a large hole in the ceiling, wide cracks spreading far at the edges and occasionally, here and there, some pieces of a stone dropped to the floor.

    "Did some idiot at the catapult decided to bury us?" someone voiced my very thoughts.

    But that lasted only for a moment.

    All hair on my body suddenly raised on their end and I felt the presence of my old acquaintance. Could almost hear his voice whisper in my mind, promising that this time therewill be no escape...

    A premonition of death.

    It has saved my life countless times... but never before has it reacted so strongly.

    Before I could even order my men to ready their weapons, there was a bright flash accompanied by a thundering bang and for a moment I lost my sight and the ability to hear. When the sight has eventually recovered, there was still a loud buzz in my ears, but my gaze was immediately glued to the floor...

    Dead.

    Two squads of knights, personally trained by Izaak of Crimson Blade, two mages and even supposedly immortalspellblade... all dead. Their charredbodies were scattered on the floor, the smell of burned flesh in the air.

    "W... who?!" I stuttered while reaching for my weapon only to realize that it was already in my hands. My eyes focused on the cloud of dust and I was dreading to see what''s inside, yet dared not to even blink.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Blue sparks flashed briefly from inside the cloud... then again, and again. With the sound of footsteps, ahuman figure slowly walked from within, lightning dancing over the body.

    It was ayoung woman and dark robes on her body strongly emphasized her figure.

    When she was less than twenty steps away, she stopped and drew a vial from the pouch on her hip, drank its contents and an empty bottle shattered on the ground.

    Mana Potion?

    "Hello, my dear enemy,"her voice then echoed through the hall, "Would you be so kind and tell how many from royal familyare still alive? Oh, and while you are at it, I wouldn''t mind if you also tell how many of youare in the palace."

    "Who are you?!" I yelled while trying to win some time. She might have killed everyone in the hall, but that was only a tiny fraction of our forces within the palace.

    As for her identity, I was certain that she was a mage, and... a very powerful one. I have never heard of any mage capable of creating a lightning... and she did that without incantation. Attacking her alone would be a suicide. Was she an elf? I couldn''t see her ears, and the color of her hair was pitch black, but... it was the only thingthat could explain her power despite such young look.

    "Ah yes, where are my manners..." she curtsied in an exaggerated manner, "I am Celina Darkmoon, daughter ofAmelia Darkmoon gol Tanus,an heir of Darkmoon House... or what''s left from it.Maybe some of the titles now lost their meaning... but you can''t deny that I am at least a very beautiful mage, hehe."

    Celina? She is a daughter of White Flames?

    "Now that the formalities are out of the way..." the lightning on her body started to intensify and suddenly she vanished from her previous spot only to appear right in front of me.

    I tried to dodge while reading the sword to attack, but the moment her hand touched my head, every muscle in my body was strained at full power, not allowing me to perform even the slightest movement.I was paralyzed, and even though the sword was still in my hand, I was completely powerless.

    A wind blew behind her and I realized that this wasn''t even a teleportation, but...a very high speed movement!

    "...would you be so kind and answer my previous question?" a reflection of lightning flashed in her eyes and I felt as if she was looking right into my soul, "I am a bit in a hurry."

    "Go to Hell!" I roared when found that talking was the only thing my body could do.

    Why no one is there yet?! Even deaf should have heard that thunder.

    "Wrong choice," with her words, the lightning on her body reached the arm resting on my head and with an unimaginable pain that assaulted my every being I started to scream, "... could have saved yourself from all of this. Do you know that your memories, and the very process of thought,is achieved with very weak lightning within the body?"

    I couldn''t answer her, nor had the ability to even think straight. My mind was in turmoil and with each wave of pain, random memories started to flash in my head.

    "With the lightning as my ally, I can read you like an open book..." almost as if through the fog I vaguely heard her voice, "though as this is supposedly my first time doing this there is a chance that you will die before I even learned anything useful. Please be a gentleman and try to survive as long as you can."

    Memories in my mind spun faster and faster until reached the events of today. The pain then stopped just as suddenly as it started and I dropped on the ground without any strength in the body.

    "Oh my, it seems that only prince is left, I better hurry..."

    She picked a metal orb from her pouch and despite my grim situation I almost laughed when recognized magic tool in her hands. With countless protective enchantments spread over the palace, detect tools were useless there, why else would it take us so long to search for survivors...

    But just as my thoughts reached there, she pointed her finger at the orb and a slightly weaker lightning hit the surface creating a connectionbetween her finger and the orb. Glowing marks started to form and I realized she was making modifications to the enchantments.

    Impossible!

    Even a group of skilled enchanters needs at least a few days of careful preparations... No... Without any arrays it should be impossible to do that in the first place.

    "Hey, we heard..."a single soldier suddenly rushed inside the hall and then froze in place, "wh... what happened here?!" four more quickly followed behind him and also stopped at the entrance, their eyes wandering over the charred corpses within the hall.

    I sighed in relief when saw them, but my joy was short lived when all of them suddenly chargedat the mage.

    "Idiots!"I tried to shout, but only a barely audible voice left my mouth. "Send someone for reinforcements!"

    What they were hoping to accomplish with so few of them?!

    Apart of lightning on the mage suddenly spun into an action and with another deafening sound of thunder, all five of them dropped dead. Their charred bodies not any different from the others.

    All this time the mage continued working with the enchantment and didn''t even bother to turn around. As if all that just happened was not related to her in the slightest.

    Little by little the strength in my body has returned, but I bid my time pretending to be still incapacitated, waiting for a chance. There was no doubt that the sound of her attacks will soon draw even more people, all I need is a single moment of distraction.

    Eventually, she stopped with her work, smiled and lifted the orb above her head. Lightning on her body started to gather at the orb, making it glow while at the same time creating ahumming sound.

    After a few breaths worth of time, the orb exploded and released a sphere of light expanding at a fast pace in every direction, reaching thehorizon in a blink.

    "Found you..." the mage exclaimed in a cheerful tone, "Eh? They are almost outside? Not bad, seems that my help might be not even needed. Still, better to make sure. Can''t allow a candidatefor my husband to die so easily."

    She then turned away to leave, but stopped and looked at me... and I just knew that it was the end of me.

    "You were so silent that I almost forgot about you." She pointed her finger with a lightning dancing at the tip, "Sorry, but can''t spare you... loose ends and all that."

    I tried to attack her from my current position, but an unimaginable force hit my body and my vision was engulfed in the darkness. Her smile and almost glowing blue eyes slowly faded in the void.

    *

    "But mom, why have you even bothered with that enchantment?" I asked her as she ran through the corridors.

    Her speed was incredible and I could no longer tell where was the bottom or upside as half of the time she ran on the walls. We passed many soldiers, but by the time they even noticed us, we were already far behind them.

    "Couldn''t you just tell where that prince was with your powers?" I continued.

    At that time when I entered her body, I was supposed to fall asleep until I am born... but mother said that it''s too boring and made it so I stay awake and allowed me to observe her ''adventure'' through her eyes and ears. I have to say that when she turned into lightning to fly above the city... was an incredible experience. I hope that when I am born will be able to do so as well.

    "Like I said, unless some self-proclaimed god decided to become my meal, I have no plans to use my powers as a demigod," she replied and a few soldiers were sent flying as she accidentally bumped intothem on the way making me laugh.

    "It''s just like when you play a round of Lond, even if the rules say that you are allowed only one move, no one can stop you from actually placing your piece two or four steps further, or even use your hand to sweep all of them from the board... But can that still be called a game? To play my role as perfectly as possible my only power is a contract with the spirit of lightning... by the way, it''s a new form of life I created just for this occasion."

    "But in that case, aren''t you cheating?"I objected, "I never knew how to make enchantments!"

    "My silly little daughter, you might have paid no attention when the scholars were trying to teach you, but all you ever heard or saw is stored deep within my mind. If I can use lightning to read the minds of others, is it that hard to rouse my own? If you were not avoiding the scholarsyour parents hired like a plague, the things that I could do now would be even more impressive."

    Just as she mentioned that I was deeply embarrassed. I really was a spoiled child.

    Soon we reached dungeons of the palace and with abang and flying splinters of wood, entered inside.

    "Not bad," mother said while observing the surroundings, "not many would guess that the entrance to a secret tunnel is inside the holding cell meant for prisoners."

    She then placed her hand on a wall and with a push one of the stones sank deeper into the wall. But even with that nothing has happened.

    "Hmm, can''t open without a key... well, I planned to leave with a bang anyway."

    Our body started to glow and soon turned into lightning, just like at that time when she soared into the sky.The wall in front of us shattered into fragments and we entered the tunnel behind it. Just in a blink, we traveled a long distance but by bouncing over the walls we created a massive destruction and the tunnel behind us started to collapse.

    Mother soon turned back into human form and continued to run forward at the speed that should be impossible for any living being. Only when the collapse of a tunnelstopped to pursue us, she finally slowed down. Even if the enemy found the entrance, it would be easier now to dig a completely new one than to excavate this.

    Not long after, we reached the end of atunnel and saw a group of cloaked people. From the looks of it they were resting earlier, but now all of them were on their feet and looked in our direction with weapons ready.

 Chapter 5: Meeting new friends

    "Halt!" one of the cloaked figures stepped forward and as he did so I noticedthat a water whip floating in the air was connected to a hilt in his hand.

    Spellblade.

    All on their own, they are unable to cast even thesimplest spell and once were even labeled ''crippled mages''... but that''s long in the past. Today, spellblades are known as the most formidable warriors in the world.

    The origin oftheir name is actuallythis water whip they can create from any source of water.

    Because of their body condition, even with the gift of magic, a special tool is necessary to do that, but the ''blade'' part really couldn''t be more fitting. When my father was still alive I once saw him at the training yard cleave a fully armored dummy in half... with a single strike.

    Judging from the length ofhis whip, the spellblade in front of us was only slightly weaker than my father... mmm, grandfather. I still can''t get used how turning into a child of my own body has changed even the way I have to address my parents. It''s so confusing!

    "My my, such a warm welcome..." mother giggled as shestopped ten or so steps away from the group.

    "Who are you?" the spellbladeasked with caution,"How do you know about this passage?"

    But beforeshe could even answer another cloaked figure stepped from the group, "Celina?"

    "One and only." mother repliedwith achuckle, and it was probably to make fun of me, after all, not so long ago the name was mine.

    She quickly glanced at the others and when her gaze returned back to the man who called her by the name she introducedherself with a slight curtesy.

    "Celina Darkmoon, the second daughter of Duchess Amelia and DukeErson Darkmoongol Tanus,the heir of Darkmoon House."

    "It''s her?" the spellbladeasked with a surprise in the voice.

    "Yes," the other man replied while stepping even closer and then removed a hood from his head, "I''m glad you made it out alive."

    Human, long golden hair,blue eyes... even with dirt on theface, I recognized the prince immediately.

    "Mmmm ... not bad," mother''s voice suddenly sounded in my mind and her gaze started to wander all over his body, "a bit of muscle here and there would be nice but overall a fine specimen."

    "Mother!" I complained through our bond and she returned her gaze to his eyes.

    "I don''t know if you remember..."the prince continued, "but we have met at the Palace during my seventh birthday. I''m Prince Alistair Goldmor es Raldus the first son of King Bael Goldmorthe Third..."

    The others inthe group slightly relaxed, but thespellbladeremained vigilant even now.Judging from his yellow, slightly glowing in the dark, eyes, he wasn''t a human.

    "This is Captain of Royal Guards, Leo Kaiserad Norus," continued the prince and with hiswords the spellblade removed his hood.

    He was old. His beard and all hair on the head were white as snow... even his ears at the top of his head... He really wasn''t a human, most likely kashir- arace with the bloodline of a cat.

    "... and this is my cousin, Lady Gabrielle Goldmor es Marland..." continued the prince and with his words,another member from their group reveal the face.

    Just like Prince, Gabriellehad bright golden hair, but her eyes were different. For one, they were bright green in color... but what really caught my attention was that her pupils reminded those of a cat... or kashir. I quickly looked at her ears but they were just like those of a human.

    Only one of her parents must have been a human.

    "And the rest are members of the royal guard," continued Alistair, "Ace..."

    With his words, another man from their group removed a hood and nodded his head.

    A completely human-like face, dark hair... and triangular in shape ears at the top of his head. For a moment I thought that he was kashir,just like that spellblade. Even his eyes at a certain angle were glowing in the dark and were yellow in color... but I then noticed that the pupils of his eyes lacked a vertical split.

    Lycan.

    They might look very similar when youlook only at their head, but it was an entirely different race, one with the bloodline of a wolf.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    "Lars," the prince looked at yet another member of their group.

    This time it was a human, brown eyes andbrown hair.

    "and... Jade." the last member of the group was yet another lycan, but this time a woman.

    If we don''t count Alistair and Gabrielle, who wereclearly members of the royal family, then Lars was the only human among the guards. Then again, our Raldus Kingdom has never discriminated by the race and even among aristocrats humans numbered only sixty percents at best.

    "You probably already heard about my father..."in the meantime prince made a pausein his speech, "I can only hope that mymother hasn''t met the same fate..."

    "I am sureshe is alright, cousin," Gabriellestepped closer to the prince. "we have managed to escape at that time so sheshould be able to do so as well."

    "I am afraid I have bad news," mother joined the conversation, "On the way there I learned that she is dead. My condolences..."

    "I... I should haveknown," Alistair grimaced in pain.

    "... but stay strong," mother continued, "the ones who did it are already dead and it''s our duty to make sure that the rest pay the price as well. It might be hard, and it might take time but that day willcome."

    With each ofher word, lightningon her body started todance with ferocity, quite often striking at the walls nearby, fracturing some of the rocks in the process or even completely shattering them.

    "Yes, you are right," prince raised his head with determination, he then looked to the wall where lightning just hit and turned his head back to mother, "This is something I wanted to ask for a while, but... what is this... lightning? I don''t remember reading any reports about you catching a curse like that. Is this some kind of enchantment?"

    "Aww... such a cute lad,"mother''s voice sounded once again in my mind, "hasn''t even realized that just admitted spying on us."

    "This isLittle Thunder," she replied aloud, "a spirit of lightning that has saved my life. In the darkest hour of my need, it answered my cry for help and offered a deal. I am now its vessel, a home where it can grow stronger... but in return, the power over lightningis my to command."

    And with her words, a part of lightning dancing on her body reached her hand and really started to look like a living being, a little snake made from lightning. For a while, its head looked straight at the prince, then it probablygot bored and after a quick look at the others returned back to its previous lightning form arcing all over mother''s body.

    "I never heard or seen anything like this," the prince exclaimed in an astonished tone, "Is it dangerous? It will not attack us on its own... or while you sleep?"

    "Our emotions are connected now, so I wouldn''t advice scaring me even as a prank, but no, if there is no ill intent directed towards it or my body, it will not attack on its own."

    "Your majesty," thespellbladewho was silent all this time eventually decided to speak, "If what she said about your mother is true then we have to leave. That earlier explosion most likely means that they already found the entrance, if we don''t rush now it will be soon impossible toescape."

    "Ah, about that..." mother started to play with a dirt on the ground withher toe, "It was me... I kind of blew up a part of the tunnelon the way there."

    "That changes very little, just from the sound they can..."Leo then halted in his speech and looked at mother, "wait... what did you just said?"

    "ThatI blew up the tunnel?" mother replied, but the eyes ofspellblade just continued to stare at her so she quickly added a few more words with some exaggerated gestures in the mix.

    "Boom, and the tunnel was gone... and then... I ran veryvery fast so the same couldn''t be said about me... speaking of which, I really wouldn''t mind a moment of rest,using lightning on your own muscles isn''t very good forthe body. I now feel even worse than that time when brother persuaded to join his training for a week... "

    As soon as she has finished quite a few from the group chuckled here and there, even prince was among them.

    "You are different from what Iremember," Alistair eventually said, "I think it suits you... but he is right, we should move. They might allow for some people to escape to spread the news..."

    "Why would they do that?" mother asked playing confused.

    "Our defeat there will more than likely force the remaining Houses to surrender..." before the prince even had the chance to open his mouth his cousin replied in his stead, "So it''s in their best interest that the others learn about what happened there as soon as possible... but that doesn''t mean that they will turn a blind eye to us."

    "Then it''s settled,"the spellblade turned around and started to walk away, "Make your preparations while I scout the situation outside. Hopefully, the mounts are still in the vicinity. Jade, you with me."

    "Wait." mother then suddenly stopped him and walked closer, "You plan to use detect for scouting, right?"

    The spellblade nodded.

    "What is the range of your device?"

    "Two bo," he answered and pulled out an orb from withinhis cloak.

    Bo was a length unit that is mostly used by the nobles and its origin is actually a game with the same name popular at the Academy. I never had a chance to play or even watchthis game personally but I know that it''s sort like a duel. Mages proficient at wind magic compete with one another... and because of the spells used, there is practically no risk of seriously harming theother party.

    Somehow thanks to this activity a distance the sound can travel in a second is now also called bo... which by the way is over a thousand feet.

    "Let me take a look."

    And before Leo could even answer mother snatchedthe orb from his hands. The spellblade stared at his now empty hand for a whileand his mouth was wide open.

    Just as before mother pointed her finger at the orb and lightning started to engrave weird markings on the surface.

    "And... done," she then tossed the orb back to spellblade. "It should reach up to nine now."

    "What?!" almost everyone shouted in unison.

    "... but be careful to not overcharge with mana," mother continued while ignoring their reaction, "It should be safe, but it''s better to be safe than sorry..."

    Yes, it''s just that your orb will probably explode if you do that. I added in my mind when was reminded what happened with the one she used before.

    "Ha ha ha ha ha" Leo started to laugh, then stopped and faced us again, "Can it really reach up to nine bo?"

    "Yes, though it will now use twice as much mana." mother answered with a smile, "Can see it for yourself once start with your ''scouting''."

    And Leo, with Jade right behind him, quickly rushed to do just that.

    "How you did that?" Gabrielleasked after Leo has left, "I never even heard those enchantments reaching more than three bo."

    "Magic," mother chuckled.

 Chapter 6: Its where my soul lies

    With a loud creak, the blocks of stone started to shift and the tunnel we left just a moment ago was hidden from the sight, as if the wall now in front of us was always part of the basement.

    The cellar we ended up at was half the size of the study room at my manor.Lars and Ace were arranging backpacks at the corner and prince Alistair together with his cousin were checking the fake wall, probably searching for any flaws left by the mechanism. Even with a large part of the tunnel now collapsed, it was still in our best interests the exact place we left at remains a secret.

    "This way," the spellblade gestured for a narrow opening in the ceiling, and then, withthe grace of a cat, nimbly climbed over the ladder. Not a movement one would expect from someone his age.

    Shortly we followed his lead, well, mother did, I just observed everything through her eyes. Once on the other side, an empty house on the verge of collapse greeted us. Thick layers of dust, spiderwebs almost on every corner, stale air, and moss on the walls... it really looked like some long abandoned farmhouse and I had to admit that the cover for the secret entrance was quite convincing.

    By now Leo was waiting at the doorleading outside the house...although it wasup for debate if the door was even an appropriate term now.Nearly half of the frame was missing, rotten by the pass of time, rusty hinges somehow holding what was left.

    "I apologize ifthis will sound rude, but..." Leo still at the ''door'' faced in our direction, "is it possible to do something about your spirit of lightning? So far I have found no enemies close enough for it to be a problem, but it mightchange at any moment... it would be quite a challenge for us to stay undetected with a human torch in the midst."

    The lightning dancing over mothersbody was slightly dimmer than a torch but itwas really quite a severe handicap if our group wanted to stay undetected... especially so in the dark.

    "I am sorry," mother replied as she looked at her right hand, lightning arcing over the sleevegot slightly dimmer, but was still quite bright, "this seems to be the most inert stateit can reach at the moment."

    "Well, this certainly complicates the matters,"Leo winced at her words, "let''shope the luck will stay on our side... at least until we reach Arcae."

    "What a gentleman," mother giggled through our bond as she followed after him, "Our ''friends'' might change the tune later, but for now, I give two points for theattitude. You have no idea just how oftenpeople tell you to get lost in a situation way less dangerous than ours. Friendship,love... when survival is at the stake all previous morals quite often take a nap."

    "Direwolves?" she then asked aloud with a surprise in the tone... although the one genuinely surprised was probably only me.

    A pack of giant wolves waited just outside the building and it was quite a sight. Probably the mounts that were mentioned earlier. Even on all four, the beasts were as tall as the spellblade and their sharp teeth left no doubt abouttheir nature of a predator.

    "Yes,"Leo replied and when reached one of the beasts put a saddle he carried all this time on its back and started fastening the belts, "It would make absolutely no sensefor a welk orlagraito roam near an abandoned farm, it would only jeopardize the cover. Now a pack of direwolves roaming the forest is nothing out of ordinary. They might be slightly slower when compared to a trained battlewelk on the road, but it''s direwolves that have no equals in the forest."

    The spellblade then sighed when his gaze landed back on us, "And the cover of a forest is now more crucial than ever... Anyway, in battle, theyare worth their weight in gold.How many mounts can dodge a spell or the thrust of a spear in the heat of battle? And do that without even hindering the actions of their allies... the mentality of one with the pack should be never underestimated..."

    He then playfully hit the beast with a finger on the snout, "Especially when dodging the attacks is hardly the only thing they do in battle."

    I was slightly surprised by the lack of reaction from the said beast. Even if direwolves were tamed, Leo was kashir, the blood of a cat coursing through his veins... and yet it was a female lycan not far from our current location that actually had some difficulties with the beasts. The moment sheplaced asaddle on her target, the wolf started to growl and even bareditsfangs,clearly unhappy with the foreign object on its back. Although when Jade growled in return the giant wolf went silent just as quickly.

    "That sounds handy," mother admitted while looking at the beasts, "but why I never saw them in my father''s army?"

    "For one, it''s very hard to tame them," the spellblade replied as his gaze lingered on the lycan, "and their number was never high, to begin with. But the main reason is probably food. Just grass on the road is enoughfor most of the mounts, butdirewolves... direwolves need meat... a lot of meat. It might be possible to feed a few or let them hunt on the way. But doing that for an entire cavalry? Definitely impossible."

    "I guess you are right," mother muttered, "By the way,how did you even gather them so quickly? I barely had any time to finishmy meal. I know that we are short on time, but... oh, wait... it''s me, isn''t? I really shouldn''t have altered that detect enchantment before getting some rest. That scholarwas right! No good deed goes unpunished..."

    The spellblade chuckled at her words.

    "The enchantment was indeed very helpful, for which I am very grateful, but I am afraid it would offer little help in this particular task. I am not that young and even Jade would be in dire stairs if had tochase them through the forest."

    He then pulled a horn from within the cloak and slightly blew. The pack of wolves looked at him allas one, yet not even the slightest sound could be heard.

    "Only direwolves and few particular beasts are able to hear the sound..."

    "Captain!"Jade growled while looking clearly annoyed at the spellblade, "At least warn when use the damn thing. You know well the sound gives me a headache..."

    "And lycans," Leo grinned, "Well, there might be more... it is said that back in the day the ancestors of my race could hearthe sound as well. Anyway since only humans are allowed to join the armies of our enemy, it''s quitesafe for us to use."

    The female lycan growled in response and then muttered a few curses under her nose.

    "Oh, come on, people," a voice reached from within the building, "How about you stop playing around and help us with these damn bags."

    Probably Lars.

    Definitely not the voice of Prince... and Ace, the male lycan from our group, so far hasn''t uttered a single word, I even started to suspect he was a mute. Apparently, the groupwas struggling to get all the bags outside, the opening to the basement was simply too narrow.

    "Why none of them use spatial storage tools?" I then asked mother through our bond.

    I havepersonally witnessed merchants a few times place all their wares into a tiny box... way more than it should be physically possible to fit into a box of that size...

    "That''s a very good question,"mother replied, "although, Iam not supposed to know the answer as Celina... which I guess means it''s time to play the role of an ignorant... again."

    And with those words, she asked my question aloud.

    "I prefer to live," Lars replied when finally managed to push one of the bags outside the basement and from the way the human looked at the bag in question, it was obvious, he wouldn''t mind an alternative.

    "You must have been asleep when the scholars have taught you the history of Targail incident," Gabriele stepped from the bush, I haven''t even noticed when she got there.

    "Targail incident?" Mother tilted her head to the side, "Can''t say I heard about it."This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Almost all in the group lookedat us with a weird gaze.

    "Surely you jest," Gabriellespoke with the shock clearly visible on the face, "With the number of times it should have been mentioned you would have to skip every single lesson for it to happen..."

    "Well, not exactly every single one, but I did skip a few here and there..." mother replied playing embarrassed.

    The gaze directed at us only intensified.

    "Oh, please, as if none among you did that when you couldget away with it!"

    Now even direwolves looked at us with weird gaze...although that was probably only my imagination... most likely they just copied the others... or were just curious about the lightning dancing over the body.

    "Damn," Lars eventually muttered, "I knew I should have tried harder. If even an heir to the House can skip all that boring stuff..."

    "I can''t believe it," Gabrielle exclaimed with a shock evident in the voice, "How could you do that?!"

    "Iwas very good at hiding," mother helpfully replied forcing the later to open her mouth even wider, "Anyway, what''s wrong with spatial storage tools? I might be missing something, but they would be a tremendous help in our current predicament, no? As impressive direwolves might be, I don''t think that all those bags will not affect their speed."

    "To put it simply, they are dangerous," the prince who just stepped from within the building replied as if he was there all the time. His gaze then slowly shifted to his left hand, a metal piece withglowing engravings on the inner side of the glove wasclearly some sort of enchantment.

    "When spatial storage tools were invented many started to use them almost on a daily basis, and even tools in the shape of rings or amulets were quite common at the time. But all has changed whenit was revealed that a simple ''distort'' spell is all it takes to disrupt the enchantment..."

    "The statement is a bit misleading, cousin," Gabriele joined, "The spell was simply not known before the incident. Well, the elves probably did,but they always guarded their secrets like there is no tomorrow, kind of explains why they never even bothered with spatial storage enchantments despite their superiority in the field. If I have to guess probably had an incident of their own, but found no need to warn the others. Anyway, while distortspell todayis mostly usedto counter other spells, itsdebut wasquite different in nature. You see, when spatial storage enchantment is affected by the spell, the very space and everything stored inside is released all at once with a devastating force."

    Gabrielle then looked into a distance, the walls of capitalalmost invisible from our current location.

    "As heir, you should have attended quite a few balls, and probably remember just how many people usually gather for the occasion. And as my cousin just mentioned spatial storage tools were very popular at the time. Almost every noble attending the ball during Targailincident hadone or two in their possession and when a certainmage demonstrated his ''new'' spell, the entire manor was reduced to a ruble.A large part of the city was also affected by the blast, countless people dead, priceless gems and jewels piercing their bodies and walls alike. Those attending the ball on another hand were completely shredded to pieces. There were no survivors, only with the help of death seers, it was even revealed what truly happened back then."

    Mother chuckledin my mind, "You guys are lucky there are no Alrium crystals in this world. Brittle, plain looking, almost no value in crafting anything useful really, but...has a devastatingside effect when affected by the collapse of pocket dimension. Had to end one of my ''adventures'' a bit premature when found myself at wrong time and place."

    "What does it do?" I asked now genuinely curious.

    "Let''s just say that you wouldn''t want to be in the same country when it happens... hmm, no, actually even staying on the same Continent might be a terrible idea. All depends on the size used as a catalyst."

    Despite our secret conversation, her words aloud were quite different, "But why then merchants even use them if it''s so dangerous?"

    With what she just toldme, the question sounded almost like a joke to me. No doubt her knowledge on the subject surpassed everyone gathered there by a large margin... it''s just that she was onceagain not supposed to know any of that as Celina.

    "No bandit mages?" Lars replied while removing a saddle from one of the bags.

    But just when he was about to put it on a direwolf, the beast in question snapped the jaws in a threatening manner forcing him to jump away. The lycan female nearby grinned wide at the reaction.

    "Well, as long as there is profit to be made their kind always liked to take high risks, but yes basically what Lars just said," Prince Alistair replied before his cousin could do that, "The probability of meeting a group ofbandits for someone in their trade is much more likely than meeting a mage with a twisted sense of humor. And..." his gaze shifted to one of the wolves,"with a proper mount, it''s quite easy to escape from the former if all your wares can fit inside the ring. Besides, only magescan use ''distort'' spell,andthat in turn means nobles of very high standing. Why would one even risk the problems with authorities when the cause of death is so obvious?"

    *

    One after another the trees moved at bothsides at maddening speed and I felt dizzy just from the sight.Maybe the forest has somehow affected my perception, but I started to suspect that even on the road direwolves would have no equals when it comes to the speed.

    As the heir of Darkmoon House, I was no stranger when it comes to riding. It was actually one of a fewtypes of exercise I enjoyed, for once my tutors had no need to search me all over the manor like it was usually the case for the scholars.

    But this... this was a completely novel experience.

    A blur at the corner of my vision drew my attentionto the side anda massive wolf entered my sight. For a moment, the beast ran next to us and despite Jade and Gabrielle, both sitting onits back, smoothly navigated among the trees as if it was sprinting in a straight line.

    Makes one wonder just how fast could it go on its own.

    More shadows darted among the trees, each beast with the rider keeping the pace seemingly without effort but then astrand of golden hair suddenly obscured my view and I started to wonder just why of all people mother had to ride withthe prince. With onlyfive mounts, it was only natural that some had to carry more than one passenger, but still...even Jade kept her hair at least twice as short.

    The one to blame for our predicament wassurprisingly Gabrielle.

    When it was a time to select the mounts she ''accidentally''blocked our path, leaving only one option viable... well, unless mother didn''t mind putting the prince in an awkward situation by deliberately seeking an alternative.All parties involved seemed happy with the outcome though.. well, save for one unborn child perhaps... and the wolf. All direwolves were actually warry of my mother. Tamed or not butlightning wasalways the force of nature that induced a primal fear into every living being. Luckily the inert state of Little Thunder was completely harmless and the wolf eventually let us climb on its back.

    Our group has traveled for quite some time now, only occasionally slowing down to let our mounts some rests, but the main aim was still to put as much distance from the capital as possible.

    As for our ultimate destination... it was toleave the kingdom of Raldus and seek the shelter withAizerus Alliance.

    Even with direwolves that was a vast distance to cover, although if luck was on our side it might be unnecessary. Redwater''s Edge was one of the cities close to the borderwithAizerus Alliance and the portal leadingto it at the city of Arcae made it our next target. There were more cities with the portals connected to the cities not that far from the border,but the possible help at Redwater''s Edge deemed this as a very lucrative option. As long asbothportals on either side arestill operational our escape was set in stonethe moment we reach the city of Arcae.After all, Redwater''s Edgeat that point would be just a step away and the Kingdom of Zolmor would take a huge risk by sending its armies this close to the border...

    *

    Eventually, our group has stopped near the cave for the night. Leo and Ace quickly departed to hunt and the rest were left with the task ofsetting up the camp. Neither Alistair nor Gabrielle was good at it though and the less is said about my mother''s performance the better. Luckily there was still Jade and Lars who stayed behind, otherwise, this might have taken a month. Although even they were only halfway done by the time Leo and Ace were back with the corpse of a bear.

    I am not exactly an expert on how the hunt normally should go, but... wasn''t this a bit too fast? I guess that detect enchantment really makes a difference.

    Despite the size of our group, only a small part of the bear was roasted for the dinner. Some of the meat was stored for later, but almost two-thirds was wolfed down right on the spot by our mounts. Even when all I did was look through the eyes of mymother, who was actually a god-like entity in disguise, the sight of our mounts fighting over the last scraps of meat, a pile of bare bones in the background, it was all quite intimidating. I think I just found one more reason why they are rarely used as the mounts.

    *

    It was hardly morning when Leo raised everyone back on their feet to resume the journey, myriads of stars still in the sky. Only the moonlight made it even possible to see where you put your leg, but it was no longer Tamro that illuminated the path.

    "What happened?" Leo got closer when saw mothers gaze directed into the sky, "Is someone in the air?"

    One hand was already within the cloak pulling out the orb.

    "Mmm?No, I don''t think so," mother replied, "Was just lost in my thoughts. Beautiful isn''t?"

    The spellblade said nothing and just followed our gaze at the moon.

    At this time of year, Kalos was still dark blue in color, but it shouldn''t be that long before itchanges into a shade of green. Later Mother told me that it''s because our world enters a cloud of gasand it changes the way the light is reflected.

    "You might say it''swhere my soul lies..." mother continued.

    "Your soul?" the prince joined the conversation and looked at the moon as well, "Ah... you mean the name ofyour Household? Darkmoon... hmm, yes, Kalos is definitely darker among the two... it''s so obvious now that I think about it."

    While Kalos was indeed the moon our household''s name has originated from... for some reason I had a feeling that mother''s meaning was quite direct in this case.

    "Your soul is on the moon?!"

    "Inside the moon," mother replied through the bond and her eyes now looked at her arm, "Atiny body like this is simply not enough tocontain my full essence... but if there is anything I hate more than being called agod then it''s being called a devil. For some reason, people tend to do exactly that if learn that I hide within the deeps of their world. Now a moon is a completelly different story, at worst I would be calleda spirit."