《The Bardic Path》 Prologue: In which Souls are Tainted (Part 1) ...After the reaping of countless lives, the tainted soul arrives. Hiding with the warden''s mask, awaiting the end of his dauntless task... -Averse of the Prophecy of Myst, From theWorldof Ithral ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I still remember the day my journey started. Would I say that the tale is ¡°Out of this world?¡± Maybe. After all, it isn¡¯t far from the truth. Alas, it will take a long while to tell you the details. A word of warning before I begin, though. This tale is in no way false, nor is it for the weak of heart and soul. Heed these warnings well, young ones. Never forget, this is the tale of a petty mortal becoming the most powerful divinity in existence. ¡­ It all started on Earth, a low level world in the vast multiverse, but it was the one I called home. My name was Samuel Haze. I was 15 years old at the time with brown, messy hair and brown eyes. I was walking home from the library after school. Out of nowhere, I heard someone shout --- "Sam, are you gonna come to A''ca Pella next week?" It was my best friend, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl named Cory. Cory had been my neighbor since kindergarten. At first, we were somewhat distant. We became closer over the years, though. I secretly had a crush on Cory, who I assumed was completely oblivious.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "Yeah, Cory, I said I would." "Well, you said that last week, but still managed to miss rehearsal today..." Cory knew me better than anybody, even myself, or so she claimed. I miss her, even after all these years. There are some wounds which even time itself cannot mend. ¡°I was tired this morning, alright? I was stupid and stayed up reading last night.¡± ¡°Well, stop reading, then! I don¡¯t get how you like to read anyways.¡± Cory never liked reading books. Whenever I tried to help her find a book she would enjoy, she would punch me in the arm and say ¡°These books are all so geeky!¡± I never understood that sentiment, considering she was in both Drama Club and A¡¯ca Pella Choir, designating her as one of the schools ¡°geekiest geeks.¡± In hindsight, maybe I should''ve listened to her. ¡°Whatever Cory, I gotta hurry home. I¡¯m dying of hunger and I¡¯m about the piss my pants. So, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯m gonna haul ass. After all, I don¡¯t want to kill any bushes.¡± ¡°Fine. I have to go to dance practice. Don¡¯t get hit by a car or anything!¡± I forgot to mention that Cory also liked to dance. Add 1 to the geek-o-meter, please. ¡­ I was 10 minutes away from home, walking and reading on the sidewalk, when ¡°it¡± hit me. At first I was confused, I wasn¡¯t physically harmed. Then all hell broke loose. Pain. Unimaginable pain wracked my body and soul. I tried to scream for help, but no sound would come out. I crumpled into a ball on the ground, hoping for it to pass, when the strangest thing occurred. I could see what my body was doing, but I couldn¡¯t control it. Then I heard my voice. ¡°Ah, I have escaped. Alas, this vessel is inadequate for taking over theIk''tor realm, but it has potential. Odd, I thought I would gain more power after consuming the host¡¯s soul¡­No matter, all will be revealed in due time. It¡¯s time to take over this mortal world.¡± Prologue: In Which Souls are Tainted (Part 2) As the years passed, I witnessed my body commit countless atrocities. I had become one of the most wanted men on the planet, being the biggest figure in the entire criminal world and the man responsible for nearly causing World War III. However, all those events led up to that day. The day I died. The day I had nearly killed my loved ones. It was on that day that fate played its hand, and brought retribution unto the one that possessed my body. That day, was my birthday. And I received the greatest gift imaginable. ¡­ We were in a dark warehouse. ¡°We,¡± as in my body and the bound figures of my parents and my childhood crush, Cory. They were in tears, sobbing, asking why I had done what I did. All except for Cory, of course. She just glared at me. ''I so hope you¡¯re seeing this, mortal¡­''At first, I was shocked. I thought I was hearing things. Then I realized that it was the being in my body. I could hear his thoughts. The immortal knew I was still alive. ¡°I fail to understand how your soul is still intact, but don¡¯t worry. After this, I shall take great pleasure in the shattering of your soul¡­and your last shards of sanity.¡± It was then that I realized what he was going to do. At first, I thought he kidnapped my loved ones to cause them to suffer. Oh how na?ve I was. He wanted to slaughter them, then watch as my sanity wasted away. Then he would begin the finale¡­by crushing the last dregs of my soul. Cory chose to speak just at that moment, though. ¡°Why, Sam? Why did you do it? Don¡¯t you remember the promise you made me that day? The day you disappeared? What happened between our last conversation and now?¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The wretched creature that controlled my body saw this as the perfect opportunity to break me. He took a Glock from his holster, cocked it, and put it to Cory¡¯s head. He knew that I wanted to explain what happened. So, he remained silent. It was then that I heard a whisper. So faint it was, that not even the bastard in my body heard it. Yet, I did. I knew it was my only hope for salvation. So, naturally, I focused. I let my entire being focus on that one sound, to the point that everything else faded around me. After what felt like an eternity, the sound grew in volume. It was a song. A song so fine that it seemed ethereal. Primordial. Omnipotent. I latched onto that feeling and sang. Not with my mouth, but with my very soul. And then --- ¡°AAAAHHHHH!¡± My body let out an earth-shattering cry as the immortal''s soul was removed from existence. My body crumpled to the floor, along with the Glock pointed at Cory¡¯s head. A minute passed, and I finally regained control of my body after 15 long years. I got up slowly and untied Cory. I whisper to her something which I had been wanting to tell her for a very long time. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Cory. You may not believe me, but I didn¡¯t do those things. There are many worlds unlike our own. I was possessed the day I disappeared. I know you may not believe me, but I don¡¯t care. When I finish, I want you to take my parents and leave. I¡¯m going somewhere, Cory. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll return. Y¡¯know, if immortals are real, I wonder if life after death is, too?¡± I finish untying her after that. She is too stunned to speak. I preferred it that way. I got up and picked up the Glock. I place it to my skull, and say one last thing to the people who cared about me most. ¡°I love you, Cory. And I always will. Take care of my parents, alright?¡± All that remained after that was the sound of a bullet, piercing through my worthless skull. At least, that¡¯s what I like to believe. If dead men tell no tales, then I bet they can¡¯t hear anything, either... Prologue: In Which Souls are Tainted (Part 3) The next thing I knew, I was seated in a chair within a magnificent courtroom, with gilded banisters and platinum chairs. There were 13 thrones within the room arranged in a semi-circle. The one in the middle was raised higher than the other 12, which instead resided on the same level of elevation. Before I even had a chance to ask any questions, I heard a grandiose voice call out- ¡°Let the trial of the mortal, Samuel Haze, commence!¡± A light flashed, then 13 masked beings appeared on the thrones. Yes, beings. The term ¡°people¡± seemed like an insult for entities of their majesty and presence. The man who sat on the 13th throne had a mask platinum in color, while the other 12 wore masks made of gold. The 12 golden-masked figures were split into two groups of six that sat on either side of the figure wearing the platinum mask. The man in the middle spoke first. ¡°Before we begin judging this poor soul, I would personally like to offer an apology on behalf of the immortal realms. It was due to our negligence that an immortal from the Bloodshadow realm escaped and possessed your body. It is because of this that your soul has been tainted. Due to your soul being in such close proximity with an immortal overflowing with karmic sin, you, over time, gathered karmic sin as well. However, since you, as a mortal, had no ability to prevent this, we will offer you a choice.¡± I was too stunned by everything that had happened that I didn¡¯t know what to say. In the end, I all I could do was focus on the last thing he said and ask about the choices I had. ¡°What do you mean? What choices?¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Now, I can¡¯t say I asked these questions because I was mature. No, anything but that. I was just too shocked that barely anything he said registered in my mind. ¡°What I mean is this¡­There is only one way to rid yourself of karmic sin, and that is to suffer through horrifying torment for an undeterminable amount of time. Normally, you would be subject to this punishment without a trial. However, due to your special circumstances, exceptions were made. To be honest, choice one is to suffer this torment and cleanse your soul. Your other choice is too be reincarnated with your soul uncleansed. While you will still be covered by karmic sin, you won¡¯t have to suffer. And if I may, there is a chance that you soul will shatter during the cleansing process." Those last two facts made the choiceme. After a moment had passed, I voiced my decision. "I¡¯ll choose optiontwo.¡± ¡°Are you sure? The world you will reincarnate into will contain immortals that will undoubtedly kill you if they sense the thick layer of karmic sin around your soul.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure. I never was a glutton for pain. Plus, why suffer endless torment when, realistically speaking, there is a small chance of me meeting an immortal at birth?" ¡°Hahaha! Well said, mortal! I wish you luck! If you become strong enough, maybe we will meet someday. Farewell, Samuel Haze!¡± All of a sudden, the floor underneath me disappeared, leaving me to fall into the endless void¡­ ¡­ In the courtroom. The being sitting directly to the right of the platinum masked man continued to stare straight ahead. However, the voice of a middle aged woman rings out- ¡°Head Judge, how was he, a mortal, able to kill an immortal from the Ik''torrealm? It defies all logic¡­¡± ¡°Second judge, there are some things that occur in the multiverse that no one can make sense of. I would argue that Samuel Haze¡¯s existence is one of those things¡­After all, how often does the multiverse take pity on a mortal soul?¡± Verse 1 After the trial, I lost all sense of time. I was adrift in a desolate plane, one devoid of existence. Eventually, I ¡°saw¡± something¡­Maybe ¡°saw¡± is the wrong term. After all, how does one ¡°see¡± nothingness? Let¡¯s start again, shall we? I sensed something. Oddly enough, what I sensed wasn¡¯t a taste, a feeling, a sight; nor was it a physical or incorporeal entity. No, this was something more - profound - to say the least...It was a song. It wasn¡¯t the same song I sang to regain control of my body. The two melodies couldn¡¯t be compared. This song, while beautiful, wasn¡¯t like the first. It was, instead, a song of life and death. It wouldn¡¯t be until much later in my life that I realized that this was a song of reincarnation. ¡­ My rebirth occurred within a little village tucked away inside a forest. When I opened my eyes for the first time, I found myself gazing at a beautiful young woman with golden blonde hair, blue eyes, and¡­pointed ears? Turning my head, I see a man with long, silver hair and grey, stormy eyes. After focusing a little, I see that he, too, has pointed ears. ¡­ ¡°Sarya, why isn¡¯t the child crying? Could he be sick?! Maybe I should get the village elder to check on him!¡± The man kept spouting words like a machine. It wasn¡¯t until the woman lying in bed spoke that he quieted down. ¡°Calm down, Toross. Our child is fine. I used my nature magic to check him for any illnesses the moment he came out, so don¡¯t fret.¡± ¡°But Sarya, you know that using magic after birth will only weaken you further!¡± ¡°Toross, checking for illnesses isn¡¯t taxing. Much less so when it¡¯s on a newborn who shares our blood.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°That may be, but--¡± ¡­ My eyes opened wide in shock when I heard my¡­parents speaking. They weren¡¯t speaking in English, so the fact that I could understand them frightened me. Could it perhaps be a trait passed down by my bloodline, or was it understood through my soul? ¡­ The passing days slowly but surely turned to years. Over this period of time, I learned the language and more about my situation. ... I was reborn into a world of might and magic, called Ithral. The forest that the village rested within was named the Silvermyst Forest, after the roiling silver mist that permeated the forest all-year round. However, the inhabitants of my village have another name for it, which is Rilas Iktar, or Nature¡¯s Verse. The village, which was named Silvermyst after the forest, is inhabited by a unique race of elves, of which I now belong to. Generally, elves in this world have high magical talent. However, my race is one which has immense physical prowess instead. Since this is the case, many Havoc Elves, which my race has come to be called, are hired as mercenaries during wars. Our race got its name from the havoc that our people rain down upon the enemy. However, it isn¡¯t impossible for elves of my race to use magic. It just happens to be incredibly rare. My mother is actually able to use nature magic, which is apparently quite special. There are many types of magical abilities, some common and some unique. While there are only 7 main mana types, being Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, Air, Metal, and Lightning, there are also elements of the higher planes. These consist of Space, Time, Light, Darkness, Order, Chaos, Creation, Destruction, and Nature. Strangely enough, nature is an anomaly that the residents of this world don¡¯t quite understand. All the elements of the higher planes have an opposite, with the exception of Nature. Technically, Nature magic is split into two sub-categories. Life and Death. It really doesn¡¯t make any sense no matter how you look at it. While life in the village is pretty peaceful, there are many dangerous professions out there which involve fighting. Magical and melee combat are the two most common forms of fighting. There are other fighting professions, though. Supposedly, beings born into this world should be able to feel mana from the moment they exit the womb, even if they have no talent for magic. However, I can¡¯t feel anything that seems like mana. All I¡¯ve ever felt is the lingering music of a song, one different to both other songs I¡¯d heard previously. Verse 2 Years passed as I lived in the village. My new life was one of peace. None of the killing and murder that I witnessed over and over again back on Earth. If only that peace could have lasted forever... ... Currently, I¡¯m seven years old and an older brother. 4 years after I was born, my parents had my baby sister, who we named Rila, or Nature. Apparently my name, Corrik, means Song. Supposedly, my parents swore they heard heavenly music when I was born, which wouldn¡¯t shock me, in all honesty. After all, for the past 7 years of my life, all I¡¯ve heard is music. I still can¡¯t feel any mana, which irks me to no end. Back onto the topics of names, though. Shockingly, I don¡¯t have a last name. None of the village folk do. Last names are reserved for nobles and royalty. Instead, I take my place of birth and place it at the end of my name. So, I would either be Corrik of Silvermyst, or Corrik of Rilas Iktar. I prefer the former. After all, it can be interpreted as ¡°Song of the Silvermyst.¡± In fact, that¡¯s what I want my adventurer title to be, if and when I become one, of course.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Speaking of adventuring, they have an entire guild of adventurers! It¡¯s situated throughout the known world, with adventurers questing throughout the lands. Some of them pass through the village for supplies, in fact. Sometimes, the village will even send out a request for adventurers to help drive off monsters. While the Havoc Elves of my village are strong, we aren¡¯t well-trained enough to fight against the more dangerous beasts in the forest. That¡¯s where the adventurers come in. They are well-trained. I¡¯ve seen a group of them fight against monsters, once. Thinking back to it, ¡°fight¡± isn¡¯t the right word. After all, they were toying with the damn thing. It couldn¡¯t even struggle. It was almost like a game of ping-pong back on Earth. They were just smacking it back and forth between each other. It was sadistic, to say the least. However, the beasts are the last target of my pity. I know that if they ever got the chance, the village would be overrun in seconds. And now that I¡¯m a big brother, I can¡¯t let that happen. I already failed my loved ones in a previous life, and I won¡¯t ever make the same mistake again. That, I promise. ... My only regret, young ones, is that I couldn''t keep that promise. At least, not completely. Remember, it is only in the dark that the light can shine brightest.