《Bloodstained Reminiscence》 B1 - Prologue ¡°The pungent smell of blood and smoke is the staple of any war; a testament to war¡¯s brutality, and the herald of the fall of entire civilizations. The war thatheushered in however, precipitated destruction like no other wars before it, and most likely no other wars would after it. That continent-altering conflict serves as the greatest testimony to humanity¡¯s ignorance and greed, and perhaps is the ultimate reason why the deities descended and brought punishment down upon our entire race.¡±-Historian Yarnell,Records of the Fallen Empire Against the backdrop of desolation surrounding him, a lone man brushed silently past his surroundings, his disheveled grey hair hanging loosely around the nape of his neck. A grating sound reminiscent of chalk being roughly utilized on a chalkboard was the only sound permeating the ominous atmosphere, as his iron greaves parted the sea of corpses comprising of Verdia¡¯s most elite soldiers in front of him. Behind him were the remains of what appeared to be a once prosperous city, now laid completely to waste by the ravages of war, with corpses of civilian men, women and children littering its cobblestone streets. Click. Clack. The sound of his heavy steps upon the ground stained with the blood of his brothers-in-arms was haunting, carrying a sense of resignation within them. The man seemed defeated; his jet-black eyes were unfocused, causing one to feel as if he had lost all sense of purpose in life. His greatsword appeared to be exceptionally heavy based on the way the man was slowly dragging it on the ground behind him with both hands, although just two years ago, he could easily wield his preferred weapon of choice with a single arm. A look of pain could be seen briefly flashing across the man¡¯s face, each time he walked past the body of a fallen comrade. His eyes lingered on each corpse; men of different builds and complexions, bearing almost no resemblance to each other barring two traits: the terrible maiming of their bodies, with most cadavers missing entire chunks of flesh leaving their inner cavities hollow, and the silver-white badge depicting a gigantic serpent with three swords piercing into its head, from the right, left, and upper sides respectively, displayed proudly on the upper left reaches of their now torn breastplates even in death¡¯s cold embrace. With both arms, the man tossed his greatsword in one giant swing, screaming gutturally as his weapon slashed through the air with tremendous force, travelling in a beautiful arc towards the figure standing in front of him, who was only separated by a few meters of distance. When the greatsword was about to collide, the figure slowly raised its arm, and chanted a few esoteric sounding syllables. Suddenly, she pointed to the tip of the greatsword, and a grey runic mark was projected out of her forefinger. Instead of hitting the figure, the greatsword¡¯s path was completely blocked by the mysterious rune. With a dull thud, the greatsword bounced back off the mystical barrier and landed harmlessly at the figure¡¯s feet as the runic mark slowly faded from sight, its energy completely used up. The figure¡¯s raven-black hair danced in the violent winds as it inspected the ravaged man who had tossed the weapon at it, slightly inclining its head downwards with a hint of sorrow in its wistful violet pupils. Upon closer inspection, the silhouette was revealed to be a woman clad in steel battle-garments, the multiple dents on her chainmail armor along with the world-weary look affixed onto her countenance attesting that she was no stranger to war and the destruction that it brought. Her expression was cold, but despite the exhausted look on her face and her stoic demeanor, it still could not hide that she was much prettier than the average woman; her figure was lithe, features graceful, and face charming. However, years of war had hardened out many of the more delicate attributes of her female countenance. Her jawline was sharp, her eyes were frosty, and her hair was dry. A legion of grim-visaged soldiers clad entirely in black were standing behind her, off in the distance, reminiscent of a flock of ravens blotting out the sun in the horizon. She silently stared at the man in front of her. The man held her gaze, an expression of hatred tinged with regret reflecting from his jet-black eyes. For a moment, the battlefield was silent, bar the ghostly sound of the violent winds as they swept past them. ¡°General Lurenhart. Stop struggling, because any further resistance is futile. Uria¡¯s gates have already fallen, and its civilians are currently under military detainment. Your king has been executed by our Grand Marshal, and you¡¯ve personally seen for yourself what has become of Verdia¡¯s Baneserpent Corps. Xavier appreciates the talent and leadership that you¡¯ve displayed in this war, and extends his invitation to you in the hopes that you would join him as one ofhisgenerals,¡± the woman said, breaking the tacit silence.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Upon hearing these words of ¡°appreciation¡±, the man laughed, cocking his head back and roaring manically, tears slowly making their way down his eyes to his prideful chin. ¡°Katia. I¡¯ve sacrificed so much to help him, and this is how he repays my service? With the cold-blooded, methodical execution of my people, and the ravaging of my homeland? Why? WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DRAW HIS IRE? WHY HAVE YOU LED NUVIAN ELITES TO SLAUGHTER THESE INNOCENTS?¡± The woman addressed as Katia didn¡¯t reply. She silently bent down one knee on the rough ground, picking up one of a few ash-colored flowers that remained on the battlefield. The one in her hand was stained with the blood of a fallen soldier, and combined with her bloodstained armor, served only to highlight an aura of bloodlust surrounding her. ¡°You made the wrong choice. You hesitated when, three years ago, he asked you to swear fealty to him,¡± Katia slowly replied, twirling the blood-stained flower in her hand with a solemn expression, ¡°You tried to fight back against the mighty, indomitable river known as fate ¨C and perhaps, one could say that you¡¯re currently paying retribution for your foolishness.¡± The man¡¯s eyes widened, utter disbelief displayed by the contorted expression on his face. ¡°His ambition¡­ wasn¡¯t just limited tothat? Don¡¯t tell me that he plans to embroil theSevenGrand Nation-States into another great war¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ve realized it a bit too late,¡± Katia sighed, clenching the flower in her hand tightly, ignoring the brambles digging tightly and drawing blood from her ungloved left hand. ¡°Destiny¡­ before I met him, I never would have believed in such a superstitious concept, an eldritch claim. Unfortunately, he was right. Preordinance does exist, and is closer to us than we could ever hope to think about or even imagine. No matter what we do, we can change only the ¡®path¡¯ that we take down this river and are helpless to alter its final destination. After all, who has the power to defy the Gods?¡± ¡°The legacy of the falling star¡­ he¡¯s willing to turn this continent into a sea of corpses just to test out if such a preposterous thing is true? Nobody knows if the higher realms even exist!¡± The general muttered, his thoughts disconnected. ¡°If the legacy is true, then he¡¯ll be called a hero - the savior of humanity, for his sacrifices will be perceived as having had a noble purpose. If it isn¡¯t, he¡¯ll go down in history as one of the worst criminals of humankind¡­ but that¡¯s a risk that he¡¯s willing to take, and one that I am willing to bear as well.¡± Upon finishing these words, Katia said no more, tearing the flower away from her bloody fingers and flinging it onto the ground. She was waiting to see whether or not the man in front of her would bend the knee. If he would, then General Lurenhart would make her liege¡¯s plans go much more smoothly. If he wasn¡¯t willing to swear fealty¡­ then she had no choice but to eliminate the man renown as the Monolithic General, because he would be a formidable enemy. Although she wished that the valiant general could live regardless of his choice, she could not disobey her liege¡¯s orders. It was much too late for her to deviate from the path that she had chosen to tread. It didn¡¯t take long for her to receive her answer. Bringing his neck up to Katia¡¯s hand, his steely countenance already told her what his answer was. Kill me,the steely look in his eyes said,for I refuse to serve a man who treats those without power like livestock, who is willing to forget all scruples of his morality in order to push his atrocious goals forward. No self-respecting sworn knight of any legion would be willing to bow their head to such a devil. Despite the reasons that you may have, I disdain your decision to grant him your loyalty. ¡°Very well,¡± Katia muttered, bringing her index finger up to the center of the general¡¯s head, magical energies gathering on the tip of her finger in the form of a fiery circular rune that bore resemblance to the shape of a hawk. ¡°Enjoy your one-way trip to the netherworld, old friend.¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? Men, move out. We¡¯re heading to the Haoquin Empire, to meet another one of my old acquaintances, Yan Shin! Hopefully this time, we¡¯ll come back with an ally instead of a deceased body,¡± Katia ordered to the soldiers standing neatly lined up behind her, as she finished up coalescing the elemental energies gathering on her fingertips before unleashing her runic magic point-blank at the defeated, yet proud general. The last thing that General Lurenhart saw before his consciousness slipped off into eternal slumber was the poignant frown on Katia¡¯s face¡­ although he thought his eyes were deceiving him as they are wont to do during moments of life-and-death, but it seemed to him as if an eternity of sorrow and remorse were reflected in her pale countenance. However, unbeknownst to both him and Katia, a pale blue light, dimly emanating from the necklace hidden beneath his armor, deftly floated upwards to the sky and disappeared into the horizon, both the light¡¯s purpose and final destination unknown. B1C1 - Gale Windsoar (1) ¡°And so, the legends foretold, and so the legends prove true¡­ that the day when the stars fell from the velvet night sky would be the second reckoning, a calamitous trial for the entirety of all races on the Celtioca Continent, presided by those beings far, far up above us¡­ who look down scornfully upon this lesser plane.¡± 500 years after the Second Great War of the Seven Grand Nation-States, sinister undercurrents appeared to be brewing in Lannidor, the imperial capital of the Flauian Nation-State. Located in the expansive continent of Celtioca, the Flauian Nation-State boasted ten-thousand years of history, as far back as the nation¡¯s dated written records note, and was one of the three surviving reigning powers of the Era of Calamity. Known for leading the continent¡¯s metalsmithing industries and boasting the reputation as being the progenitor of Warlock Magicks, many aspiring blacksmiths as well as magicians looking to pursue the sorceries of animal mimicry flocked to the Flauian Nation-State each day, in the hopes of becoming apprenticed to a master forger or grand warlock, respectively. The deluge of human traffic flowing in and out of Lannidor¡¯s heavily guarded, robust city gate was proof of the nation¡¯s strength and prosperity, fully demonstrating the economic and military might of the second strongest Nation-State. Lannidor was also home to one of the four most prestigious combat institutions located on the Celtioca continent ¨C the Saint Gaon University, specializing in all things related to the Warlock profession, as well as holding the occasional class taught by a guest professor, ranging from expert blacksmiths, royal guard captains, as well as court magicians. Currently, within one of the many rooms located inside the university complex, a young man was sprawled out on top of the desk in front of him, his upper torso, arms, and head resting languidly on the viridian wooden surface. His short silver hair was parted to the left side, and his amber eyes were drooping, demonstrating the extent of his lethargy. Stacks upon stacks of papers were spread out messily all around him, and a collection of mysterious tomes was pushed off to the edge of the desk, seemingly ready to fall off at any given moment. Another piece of wood, with the name Gale Windsoar carved delicately into it could be seen pushed off to the other extreme end of the desk, shedding light upon the man¡¯s identity. Rays of light were shining onto Gale¡¯s inclined back from the windows behind him, and the pleasant chirping of morning birdsongs could be heard outside the room; it almost resembled a scene from a painting. However, the sudden slamming of the classroom door broke the serenity of the scene. Gale was startled awake by the loud *BANG* the door made, as it slammed into the wall behind it. Picking up his face from the table, his amber eyes stared fixatedly at the figure who had so rudely interrupted his afternoon nap. With her ample chest, body¡¯s curvature, and pretty jade-like face, the twin-tailed beauty standing in front of Gale was someone that most people would find extraordinarily beautiful. However, seeing the pissed off expression that was currently plastered on her face, Gale felt nothing but a foreboding dread when staring at her, despite the fact that he was an entire two and a half heads taller than the she-demon in front of him. Despite the overwhelming feeling of fear enveloping him, Gale still couldn¡¯t help but admire her beauty, although he could only sigh in helplessness about one of her particular traits. She¡¯s a bit too short for my tastes, Gale daydreamed to himself, but I¡¯m sure that she¡¯ll have a ton of lolicons attracted to her. How is her body so developed despite the fact that she¡¯s so short? If we go by the United State¡¯s metric system, she probably has a E cup, but she¡¯s only 5¡¯ in height. 22 years old¡­ I don¡¯t think she¡¯s going to grow any more than this. Forget it, I should stop with my lust-driven thoughts. I already have someone who¡¯s important to me. Oblivious to Gale¡¯s perverted thoughts, the woman standing slowly trotted up to his desk, right in front of him, before violently grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. Lifting his head up to meet her own, she growled, ¡°It¡¯s been an entire year, Gale. If you fail the teacher¡¯s qualifier exam one last time, then I¡¯ll see your sorry ass out of this institution. Only the best of the best get to teach here, meaning that our instructors need to excel in both theory AND combat. Fail one more time, and I¡¯m not even sure if I¡¯ll be able to help you hold on to your lowly position as the admissions officer anymore.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Understood, Headmaster Joanna,¡± Gale slowly replied, averting his gaze. ¡°I¡¯m grateful for what you¡¯ve done to cover for me up until now.¡± Hearing this, the Headmaster sighed, an expression of frustration evidently displayed on her delicate face. ¡°It¡¯s not that I want to kick you from your post as the Head Instructor of Warlock Sorceries, but you must understand that the institution¡¯s founders envisioned a university in which the most elite professors and students gathered, proficient in both tactical application and theoretical application of their subject matters. Your knowledge on Warlock Sorceries is profound, and your thesis about all the methods warlocks can use to easily counter the elemental nodes within Arcanists is definitely an important contribution to the archives of our school library, but as to your actual combat abilities¡­ I¡¯m sure nothing more can be said, right?¡± Gale winced. It was true that he was a pioneer in the field of Warlock Sorceries, theorizing an entire six Gold-rank new spells to add to a warlock¡¯s arsenal of magicks, but in terms of his actual combat strength¡­ any freshman recruit to the academy could probably wipe the floor with him without breaking a sweat. Hearing the Headmaster mention his sore spot, it was obvious that he would grow unhappy, especially because his job was at stake. Noticing the change in Gale¡¯s facial expression, the Headmaster sighed, reaching into the back pocket of her tight-fitting blue and gold uniform and bringing out a vial of a vicious black substance. Upon noticing the object, Gale¡¯s eyes turned as round as saucers, greatly surprised by the item that the Headmaster had brought out. It was an entire vial of Body-Refining Liquid! Widely known as the most precious elixir available to those who walked down the path of a warlock, just a single drop of the liquid swishing in the vial could be sold to a Warlock Practitioner for around five gold coins, not to mention the amount contained inside the vial, which Gale estimated to hold around sixty drops of Body-Refining Liquid. Even though most people who trod on the path of magicks were relatively rich, purchasing this vial would still definitely force them to tighten their belt for a few months and cut down their other, inessential expenditures. Three hundred gold coins! Just thinking of this astronomical sum had Gale gasping for air. Despite being reduced to a lowly admissions officer, his monthly salary of thirty five silvers could still be considered a lot better than what the average civilian in the Flauian Nation-State could hope to make in an entire year! Yet, the Headmaster had taken out something worth almost a hundred times what Gale would make in an entire year, and seemed as if she was about to give it to him. How could he not be moved by such a generous act? ¡°Seeing from the look on your face, I assume that you already know what this liquid is,¡± Headmaster Joanna said, the corner of her mouth lightly upturned in a small smile. ¡°Just think of this as a gamble that I¡¯m taking on you with pretty bad odds, but I do hope that you¡¯ll succeed, and that my investment will be repaid in the near future through the new theories and spells that you¡¯ll develop and add to the university¡¯s collection.¡± With those parting words, the Headmaster placed the vial on Gale¡¯s desk, before swiftly leaving as fast as she had arrived. Watching her graceful parting figure and appreciating the curves of her body as she swayed, Gale remained mesmerized for a moment after Joanna¡¯s departure. Shaking his head, Gale cleared his mind of any unnecessary, lingering thoughts before focusing his attention on the vial. Unscrewing the cork, Gale chugged the entire thing, before tossing the vial into the waste receptacle next to his desk, and sitting down in a meditative stance. He could feel a foreign energy permeating throughout his body, granting him a feeling of power like he¡¯d never experienced before. It made him feel as if he could level a mountain with his bare hands and crush a legion of royal soldiers under his feet, although Gale knew that if he actually tried to attempt those deeds with his current level of puny strength, he would end up crippled or even killed before he knew what happened The Body-Refining Liquid passed through the leylines of Gale¡¯s body, guided by his meditative stance, thoroughly nourishing and enhancing the fibers of his muscles, greatly improving their strength, flexibility, and durability. After three hours, Gale opened his eyes, a satisfied look on his face. ¡°With this, I should probably have as much strength as a tier eight Apprentice Warlock. I most likely can pass the monthly teacher¡¯s exam now, albeit barely.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s time to see if there¡¯s been any reactions from the tome,¡± Gale mused to himself, opening a drawer underneath his desk, revealing a wrinkled collection of pamphlets loosely bound together by a satin string stained a dark red hue, reminiscent of the color of dried blood. A wistful, pained expression briefly flashed across Gale¡¯s handsome face, before it was replaced by a much more stoic, determined expression. ¡°Your mistakes¡­ I guess I¡¯m obligated to fix them, and to make sure that no calamity of that scale ever happens again. It appears as if correcting your past wrongs is the only clue that I have about how I can return to Earth¡­ Janet, please¡­ wait for me to come back and return to your embrace.¡± B1C2 - Gale Windsoar (2) Two years ago, Feng Liu had been mysteriously transported over to this new world in the year AC 498, after having had a rather ugly falling out with his girlfriend of four years the night that he was scheduled to return to the People''s Republic of China from his international studies in the United States. Ordering one too many drinks to drown his sorrows away at a local bar, Feng Liu, he had inexplicably found himself on the Celtioca Continent in the juvenile body of a minor noble, Gale Windsoar of the Windsoar Familia, after recovering from the hangover. When Feng Liu caught the glance of a youth that had light silver hair, languid amber eyes, a muscled body composition and pale complexion in the reflective surface in his resting quarters, it didn''t take long for him to realize that he was indeed no longer on Earth. Unfortunately, Feng Liu had to figure out the status of the strange new world that he had been dropped in by himself, as he realized that he ended up possessing only Gale''s body, but not his memories. It was fortunate that by this time, the old Gale had already been a tenured professor at the Saint Gaon University, starting his third term. Through the rich resources of the institution''s library and his own personal inquiries, Feng Liu had come to grasps with the general information of this new world within two months, and now possessed the standard level of knowledge that a native of this world would have. This was a world of might and magic, swords and sorcery, dwarves and giants ¨C a world that held the common traits of high fantasy, which made Feng Liu apprehensive as this meant that he could be unreasonably killed at any given moment since this world obviously had different social and cultural roots than those of Earth. The only thing that Feng Liu wanted to do after realizing this was to find a way back to his home planet, and apologize to his girlfriend for how he had lost control of his anger and lashed out at her. While any other hotblooded youth might''ve rejoiced at the opportunity to carve out his own legend in a world of martial arts and magic like they have read about in novels, Feng Liu remained uninterested. He personally thought that these desires were childish, and were only served as a method for people to escape reality. He had a successful future laid out for him as the future heir of a Fortune Global 500 Company, and didn''t want to jeopardize that through his absence; he didn''t want to stay in this strange new plane of existence any longer than he had to. Above all, he was afraid of getting hurt and suffering pursuing this particular path of power. Feng Liu believed that the strongest form of might was related to how economically sound one was and how many assets they controlled, instead of one''s physical or arcane prowess. This outlook on life was exactly the reason why Feng Liu had trouble in the monthly teacher''s evaluation, though, as he wouldn''t train his physical body or temper his mind''s mana-storing leylines. He found the process too arduous, and since the only two ways to become stronger were through cultivation or drinking precious medicinal elixirs, his strength stagnated. After all, medicinal elixirs were much too expensive for him to afford, and he didn''t have the patience or perseverance to train, due to having been brought up in a life of luxury on Earth free from most physical and mental exertions. Perhaps studying economics and finance at a prestigious institution could be considered a form of "mental exertion", but that was fundamentally different from practicing magicks, since trying to recite spell structures or tempering his mind''s leylines caused Gale to feel as if his head was splitting apart. In short, trying to dip into magic was on a whole new level compared to studying hard mathematics courses. Gale knew that without the help of medicinal elixirs, he wasn''t going to advance in physical or magical prowess anytime soon. The reason why Headmaster Joanna had given Feng Liu such precious medicine was because the old Gale had, during his two terms at the Saint Gaon University, created six Gold-ranked, unique spells for Warlocks that were exclusively given to the University to add to their library. Spells in the Celtioca continent were ranked according to precious metals, going from Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Orichalcum, Adamantium, Dragonsteel, and Godmetal in order of ascending value and power. Most Universities only had a handful of Gold-ranked spells, so handing over six new spells of the Gold-rank was undoubtedly a major contribution to the University, and was the main reason why the Headmaster had done so much to help Feng Liu retain a position at the University during the last two years. The old Gale was also a combat genius, but of course, when Feng Liu possessed Gale''s body, he was unable to keep up the good record that the old Gale had maintained during the monthly Teacher''s Evaluation since he had no hands-on knowledge about fighting techniques. The only thing that Feng Liu retained from the old Gale was his sturdy body.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The other instructors at the University saw Gale''s fall from prodigy to trash as nothing else but a gem losing its luster. Although their disdainful gazes made Feng Liu uncomfortable, he gradually got used to them. Feng Liu made sure to focus studying on the theoretical parts of magic, so he wouldn''t be at risk of getting kicked out of the University and be completely on his own in this foreign world. Unfortunately, Feng Liu''s theories and knowledge on magic were far below Gale''s level, and within two years, he hadn''t even begun to grasp how to create his own Gold-ranked unique spell. Although Feng Liu did not retain any of Gale''s old memories, his brain still somehow managed to recognize and understand Flauiaos the official language of the Flauian Nation-State. Feng Liu theorized that this had to do with his new body subconsciously recognizing the characters and words due to the development of Gale''s left hemispheric cortex. After all, while Feng Liu''s soul claimed Gale''s body, the brain contained inside the body was naturally Gale''s, not Feng Liu''s. As to why Gale''s brain seemingly only managed to retain language functionality and not his old memories still remained a mystery to Feng Liu, however. How did Feng Liu end up in possession of Gale''s body? From what Feng Liu could see and feel, Gale''s body was perfectly healthy when he had come to possess it, ruling out the possibility of suffering serious internal injuries or being poisoned. This meant that Gale most likely was still alive when Feng Liu had come to possess this vessel, leaving him all the more confused. Did both of their souls somehow get swapped? Was Gale''s soul currently residing inside his body on Earth? How was Janet doing after a year of not hearing from him? These questions plagued Feng Liu''s mind, eating away at him incessantly every day. Despite Feng Liu''s thoughts, when all was said and done, he currently had no other choice but to live out his life as "Gale Windsoar", embrace his new namesake for the time being, and look for clues on how to get back to Earth. The only lead that Gale had received so far ever since his transmigration was the appearance of a strange, eldritch tome clad in bloodied, ancient leather that he found next to him when he woke up in this bizarre new world. The appearance of the tome was peculiar, not to mention the fact that when Gale had opened the tome out of curiosity, he recognized the characters contained within the scriptures ¨C the contents of the book were in English! How did this language of Planet Earth even show up in this world? The contents of the tome, or at least the parts that Gale were able to see when he had first decided to read it, made him even more confused. Apparently, according to the first part of the scripture, there was a hidden story to the Era of Calamity that the Celtioca Continent had faced 500 years ago. Gale was somewhat familiar with the story given that it was a major event located in almost history textbook that he had found within the University''s library, but other than a general overview about the events that had occurred at that time, he was unable to locate any more detailed descriptions about that particular Era, almost as if someone had purposely blotted it out of the annuls of history. So it was no surprise that Gale was a bit skeptical about the claim presented by the tome, but the story that he had read in the tome''s first chapter about the truth of the Celtioca Continent''s near destruction greatly scared him, so much so that he could feel his heart threating to leap out of his chest. Most importantly, the author of the tome was someone who had stumbled into this world just like him, and also originated from Earth. Within the two years that Gale had spent in this unfamiliar new world, this was the only clue that he had found regarding how he could return to Earth. It went without saying that he couldn''t let any others know anything regarding the contents of the book, because the Holy Knight Order would consider the words inside the tome was the highest order of blasphemy against the Pantheon of the Righteous Gods. If he was to be found in possession of such scripture, the Order would spare no costs at eliminating him and destroying the tome. However, the other parts of the tome remained locked, and no matter how hard he pried, Gale was unable to open them. It seemed as if the other chapters of the tome would remain locked forever, so it caught Gale by surprise when now, as he took the tome out of the drawer for the first time this year, the final chapter of the tome unlocked with a resounding, loud click.