《The Skyward Saint-Sage (OLD VERSION)》


 Prologue (1)

    It was down a long dark corridor, past a moss covered stone vault door, where four figures could be made out in a dimly lit room. They each stood on one of the four sides of an elaborately carved casket that rested in the center of the circular room. Though engraved with several symmetrical flowing patterns of lines, the casket¡¯s most impressive feature was its top: a semi-transparent glowing crystallized lid that encased the entire stone top of the casket. The crystal of the lid gave off a peculiar color of light¡­ a somewhat dark grey much like a distant storm cloud.


    The room was covered with engravings, just as the casket was, but instead of patterns on the wall, there were runes written in an ancient language known to but a few. The engravings occasionally pulsed the same light of the casket, almost at the pace of a calm heart.


    As for the four figures, well, they were each quite different from one another. All four of them gave off light, each a different color.


    One was an old man who resembled a hermit, and gave off a faint amber glow. Though he was hunched over and appeared physically weak, an inexplicable power could be felt emanating from the space around him.


    But this was to be expected. The four of them were Gods, after all.


    The old man and the other three were known as the Four Winds. They had ruled over the various Air and Wind spirits in their domain for centuries, granting mana and abilities to their respective believers throughout the quartet¡¯s existence. Although the blessings given to their believers were primarily a gift of gratitude for their believers¡¯ patronage, they also served as an investment for any god.


    There is only one way for a god to gain power: the faith of their believers must increase. As a result, many gods would scramble to collect as many followers as possible, in an attempt to outnumber their rivals. However, the faith of one being could outweigh millions provided the person¡¯s willpower was strong enough.


    Willpower was also directly connected to the strength of mana and faith in individuals. In a way, the more confident one was in his or her abilities, then the stronger his or her potential... although overconfidence has led to the deaths of many talented heroes.


    On the other hand, granting powerful blessings to those that were not worthy could backfire. The candidate would likely die from not being able to withstand the power bestowed by the blessing. Worst case scenario, the blessing could manifest itself completely opposite of its intentions: a curse. A curse changes a human into a monster; something unable to maintain former shape nor control its power. Thus, many of the this world¡¯s diabolical monsters have been created by the gods in this way.


    As a result, the gods must both act with humility and caution. They do this through bestowing weak blessings on potential candidates and hoping that the disciple¡¯s faith and willpower will blossom. As the disciple¡¯s faith grows, so the does the god¡¯s power, which enables the continuation of more powerful blessings. Confidence, however, is still difficult to manage as it is out of the gods¡¯ hands to shape.


    But the person in the casket before them was the exception.


    These were the thoughts that ran through the old god¡¯s head, as he furrowed his brow, adding to the many wrinkles already present on his ancient forehead.


    There could be no argument against it; The Four Winds¡¯ powers were diminishing. The primary sect worshipping them was in the Windhaven Nation. It had been trampled upon by various other nations for centuries. The blessings granted have been proven almost entirely ineffective against its surrounding nations, thus the country¡¯s power had not developed in the past few centuries. The Windhaven Nation¡¯s greatest enemy over the years has been, and still is, the Obelisk Kingdom.


    As the Windhaven Nation¡¯s faith decreased, so too did the ability of the Four Winds to grant powerful blessings. It was a downwards spiral towards utter feebleness of both gods and humans. The Four Winds absolutely could not let this continue. If nothing was done, the gods would begin to fade from existence. Though their power was weak, The Four Winds were needed for the continuing function of world of Terrarth¡­ even if the other gods might not agree. This was why the four stood in front of a stone casket which held one half of their trump card. They were preparing to summon the other half, but...


    ¡°Still, perhaps this is too early? Maybe we should...¡±


    The trace of a faint whisper came from the man with short spiked hair standing across from the old man. He gazed intensely at the casket in front of him while muttering to himself quietly. Wearing a rather slim-fit gentleman¡¯s suit and a monocle with no chain, he had his hand to his chin while engrossed in thought. The monocle was quite strange: it had no physical support, but instead appeared to bob up and down suspended in the air.


    ¡°We cannot afford to harbor any doubts now,¡± a sultry female voice interrupted, ¡°And I see you still have not broken that habit of talking to yourself, Gakusho, hmm?¡±


    The spikes on the man¡¯s head seemed to shiver with electricity as the woman jolted his thoughts. Even his floating monocle was bobbing out of control. Steadily re-adjusting his monocle, he turned and subserviently replied, ¡°Mm¡­ right, if you say so...¡± The East Wind had always been a jumpy person, thus he was often teased.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He could barely meet the eyes of the lady on his right. Though her voice might have been that of a seductress, she was much different in appearance. Her hair was tied back in a high ponytail and it accentuated her sharp jaw line. She wore a rather tight battle-dress covered in dragon scales that both radiated and reflected the sky blue light surrounding her. Her voice belayed her battle-hardened appearance.


    ¡°Ohmy, you must speak up when addressing your fellow comrades, Gakusho.¡± Condescension was evident in the tone of her voice. Senshi, the Frigid North Wind always enjoyed teasing her fellow comrades, especially Gakusho, the East Wind.


    However, she was not the only one who enjoyed teasing others, as a bright young voice started giggling.


    ¡°Hee hee hee! So you two are still only flirting after all these centuries! Make a move already, Gakusho! Or get a damn room already, sheesh.¡±


    The South Wind, Ko, stood with her hands on her hips and turned her nose up at Senshi. She was quite short and always had to turn her head up in order meet the eyes of the other Four Winds. Her body was much like that of a 12-year-old. She wore a plain dress that reached down to her knees. The South Wind was not too big on clothing; in fact, she usually was naked. Many statues down on Terrarth depicted her this way as well.


    ¡°Wha-wha-what are you talking about!?!¡± stammered Gakusho, his monocle bobbing rapidly like a jackhammer.


    ¡°Quit your stammering, Gakusho¡± snapped the armored queen. Then she turned to the child. ¡°Yes and it seems you haven¡¯t changed much either over the years, Ko... seeing as you¡¯re still lacking in quite a departments, namely physical ones, hmmm?¡± as Senshi emphasized her metal encased assets.


    ¡°Take it back, you saggy bitch!¡± steamed Ko. The dust of the tomb began to gather around her in cyclones.


    ¡°Saggy! This!?¡± Senshi leered across the casket, her hands suggestively sliding down the curves of her armor ¡°This little shortie¡¯s got some spunk after what happened to her last time?¡± Senshi stared down at Ko as an intensified cool mist began to surround her.


    With a malicious glare, Ko growled ¡°Bring it, bitch!¡±


    Just as Ko began to raise her hand, the old man stepped in:


    ¡°Enough! Enough! Remember why we¡¯re here you fools. The Saint-Sage! Not your Tempest-like antics. And by the way, Gakusho, I could hear your muttering quite clearly.¡±


    Gakusho¡¯s eyes immediately went downcast. ¡°My apologies, Seifu¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s all right Gakusho, I understand your concerns. But our power is waning every day. I¡¯m not even sure we could do this at another time. Furthermore, we have to move now because the princess is already on her way towards the Saint-Sage¡¯s tomb as we speak! So cease these idiotic hostilities and gather your mana, for this is no easy task even without considering our lack of time.¡±


    The rest of the Winds shied their heads away from the West Wind¡¯s glare. Even Ko ceased her muttering on about Senshi¡¯s flabbiness. Finally, silence filled the air of the catacombs.


    Aware of both the situation and the rarity of all four of them gathered together, Seifu, The Calm Wind, spoke:


    ¡°Let us begin.¡±


    <hr>


    A girl was kneeling in the middle of a field within tall grasses that stretched for miles. She wore torn pale white robes tied with a pale green sash around her shoulder and waist. She was hiding in the grasses with one ear towards the sky, attempting to locate how far away her pursuers were.


    The girl held her breath and focused on the sounds around her. She needed treat the screams of her comrades as just distractions. She needed to put aside the images of spurting blood and torn organs. She needed to hear through the wind to determine how close her pursuers were.


    If they found her¡­ she shuddered and tossed the dangerous notion aside.


    Hesitating when her soldiers had ordered her to flee had been a costly mistake. Because she had at first hesitated, she not only saw the gruesome deaths of her companions, but also lost her sandals in her frantic rush. Her feet had now become all too familiar with the rugged ground covered by the high grasses of the Oskerdian Plains. The scratches and bruises on her delicate feet hurt at first, but the fear of death proved to be a powerful motivator. Her feet were smeared with blood oozing from a deep cut on her left foot.


    The writhes of agony sounded fainter as she strove to put distance between her and her pursuers. The girl took advantage of the opportunity; she quickly tore a bunch grass from the ground and bound it together in a crude knot around her injured feet as makeshift footwear.


    She admonished herself as she began to run again... It had been a dangerous plan, after all. She knew this, of course; the whole unit that went with her knew as well. They knew the risks of crossing into the Obelisk Kingdom without permission.


    But they did it anyway. They had to. The chance that there was an artifact of some kind to help her people was too great to be ignored. For the sake of her people, she had to go.


    ¡°Perhaps I should have gone alone,¡± thought the priestess to herself.


    More than two-thirds of their elite forces had been butchered after the initial surprise ambush. The rest were most likely severely injured or dead at this point.


    Originally, the plan was to sneak through the Oskerdian Plains to avoid any Obelisk Kingdom patrols. However, an entire Obelisk crossbow unit was waiting for just that.


    The priestess was too fatigued to question how the Obelisk Kingdom was able to ambush them. They must have been watching her unit¡¯s movements from the beginning.


    As she ran, she thought about the soldiers that had been with her. Some were quite young, still teenagers. Others were quite past their prime.


    But they were all the same at the ambush, their faces wearing blood, fear, and despair. The girl almost wanted to curse her god for this incident. For it was the South Wind had whispered in her ear the location of the hidden tomb during her daily prayers back at the Windhaven Temple. There resided the the body of the Saint-Sage, the highest calibre mage who had once possessed the unique Saint blessing from each of the Four Winds.


    She had been in love with the commander of the unit, but now he was almost certainly dead¡­ She wished she had gone alone.


    But the priestess did not have time to waste despairing over lost comrades. She had a greater goal. She clenched her fists and pressed onwards.


    The Tomb of The Saint-Sage must be near. It had to be.

 Prologue (2)

    Seifu was sweating. He knew reincarnations were quite difficult to perform, but he had not expected such resistance from the Otherworld. He glanced at his companions to check on them and was shocked by what he saw.


    Senshi, the noble lady warrior, was shaking from exerting all of her will to contain the spell, while Ko¡¯s eyes were closed as she reinforced Senshi¡¯s blue aura surrounding the casket with her own. Seifu had never seen the two like this. It was probably the quietest they had been in a long time. He wondered how Gakusho was handling the situation as he looked across to the opposite side.


    Sweating profusely, shaking, muttering incoherently, Gakusho was, unfortunately, even worse than his normal self.


    ¡°This is not a good sign.¡± thought Seifu, ¡®If we fail this summoning, the Windhaven Nation is doomed¡­ which means we will lose our status as gods¡­¡±


    Just when Seifu thought it couldn¡¯t get any worse...


    ¡°LLOOOOKS LIKE YOU COuuLD UssEE sOOMMEE HELLppp BREEEEEzies!¡±


    All of the Four Winds went into full alert, despite the ritual continuing. They knew this psychotic voice. They were quite familiar with their banished Deity Lord: Tempest, God of Weather and Disasters.


    ¡°I¡¯LLL GiiiVEE YoU SoMME GUuuuuSTTooo HEhehehEHEHEHhe! THISSSss oNE¡¯S sOUL iS Way AbOVE yOUR AbiLitIES!¡±


    Barely recovered from the shock and still casting the ritual spell, only Seifu, the Calming Wind, managed to speak, ¡°W-w-we appreciate the help Lord Tempest but-¡±


    ¡°bAAAAH I bET YoU dO, Seifu, you WEAkLinG. AnD I¡¯M sURE yOU¡¯RE yOU¡¯re woNDerINg hOW I eSCAped¡­ I MAde A DEal!!! MWHAHAHAHAHAhahahahhaha!¡±


    ¡°Who in their right minds would be crazy enough to release Lord Tempest?¡± thought Seifu.


    ¡°COme On OUt! FiLL YoUR EnD oF thE BarGAIn, LORD MAHUYAN!¡±


    The Four Winds almost stopped their incantations from the shock. Luckily, magic circles began to fill the room and enhanced the Four Winds auras.


    A strange voice filled the room. It was a very passive and deep metallic voice. ¡°Understanding. You Four Winds are obviously confused. I have freed Deity Lord Tempest from his bonds... with restrictions of course."


    Though the load of the summoning spell had been considerably lightened, Seifu still struggled as he spoke for the group, ¡°And what restrictions might those be exactly?¡±


    ¡°Irrelevant. You minor Gods should focus on the reincarnation at hand. You need only know that the one chosen shall be receiving the Emperor blessings from both Tempest and I.¡±


    The Four Winds nearly doubled over. The [Saint] blessing from minor gods was already an extremely rare and powerful blessing. The blessing of [Saint] could only be granted in two ways: One could either receive it directly or climb up the ladder of blessings by defeating all of those who had the blessing that was a step below the [Emperor] blessing. The Deity Lords¡¯ motives were obvious; they wanted the Saint-Sage for themselves. However, Seifu was still in disbelief. How could one man be strong enough for all these blessings?


    ¡°My Lords, do you really think this Reincarnate can withstand your blessings?¡±


    ¡°Unexpected. I thought you were already aware of this Reincarnate''s abilities. Even Deity Lord Tempest in his banishment could see the potential of the one you are calling forth from the Otherworld.¡±


    The Four Winds eyes were gaping by this point.


    ¡°Condescension. I would not have come here unless the benefits for me were substantial. This is an opportunity that cannot be missed. Consequently, you cannot afford to fail. Continue your ritual. Our motives merely align in this case."


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°Impatience. Compliance is mandatory to guarantee a pathway to potential success for all parties involved. And this opportunity has a limited timeframe.¡±


    Seifu made one final fearful plea, ¡°But is the Windhaven Nation not outside of your domain?¡±


    ¡°Refusal. Magic is my domain, West Wind. The decision is thus mine to make. Begin casting your blessings. It is time to finish this."


    Magic circles aligned with the casket, following its shape, outlining it at multiple angles until it was sealed in a globe of bright red magic circles. The chamber began to shake; dust and debris began falling from the ceiling which began spinning until the form of a cyclone surrounded the casket. Magic circles began surfacing on the inside edges of the tornado.


    Within this magical chaos, the Four Winds cast their blessings¡­ and then dissipated into their own Auras.


    ¡°A SHaME i cAN¡¯T sTAy AnD SeE wHAT wE hAVe, Hee hEE HeE! aH wELL. TiME tO gO!¡±


    The cyclone calmed immediately and the debris that was thrown about the room finally settled. The kaleidoscopic magic circles enveloping the room only increased in size and number. Within the red circles, bright blue runes began to glow, lighting the entire room up.


    ¡°Intrigued. I will grant him these abilities. What will be his full potential... I wonder...¡±


    The magic circles increased still, as the reverberant voice of Deity Lord Mahuyan finally faded to silence. Terrarth would soon welcome a new, powerful identity into its world.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    He awoke to find himself surrounded by utter darkness. He felt nothing. He saw nothing.


    He could not even feel the weight of his mind amid the abyss. Whether this was heaven or hell, he could not say. What he did know was that this was the end.


    This was it. No more body, no more pain, and no more sorrows. Lost in the blank void of the afterlife, he finally felt as if his soul was at ease for the first time. He was dead and by now long forgotten. Nothing more could be expected from his soul.


    Or so he thought.


    A metallic monotone voice rang out amidst the nothingness.


    {Searching for Reincarnation Data}


    ...


    The voice startled him. He had not expected his solitude of darkness to be interrupted. Anger began to fill his soul. How dare someone interfere his long-awaited rest.


    {Reincarnation Data Located}


    ...


    Reincarnation. Absurd. He had not chosen death just to be sent into yet another body. Death was supposed to be the ultimatum of life, not the beginning of another pointless cycle.


    ...


    {Initializing Data Retrieval}


    ¡­


    Despite his lack of a body, he could feel his soul ignite with the flames of fury. He had chosen Death. He was not about to be sent back to a world he hated.


    ¡­


    {Data Retrieval Completed}


    ¡­


    {Extracting Reincarnation Data}


    ¡­


    {Error: Partial Data Corruption}


    ¡­


    {Reattempt Data Extraction?}


    ¡­


    The voice asked a question while his soul boiled with rage. At first he assumed the question was rhetorical, but the silence following the question led him to believe that it was waiting for someone to answer. It was peculiar but only momentarily distracted him from his anger.


    ¡­


    {Warning: Unknown Effects can be caused by Partial Reincarnations}


    ¡­


    {Confirmation: Reattempt Data Extraction?}


    ¡­


    The voice still seemed to desire a confirmation of sorts. His anger quelled as he resigned himself to his fate. He sighed and hoped the voice would just do what it needed to do and leave him alone¡­


    ...


    {Confirmation Accepted}


    ¡­


    {Transferring Uncorrupted Reincarnation Data}


    ¡­


    There was no relief as the annoying metallic voice continued to disturb him. He had already accepted that his destiny was out of his hands now.


    ¡­


    {Uncorrupted Reincarnation Data Successfully Transferred}


    ¡­


    {Reattempt: Analyzing Corrupted Reincarnation Data}


    ¡­


    {Analyzing}


    ¡­


    {Analyzing}


    ¡­


    The monotone voice was becoming increasingly annoying. If only it had a more human voice.


    ¡­


    {Processing request}


    ¡­


    Request? What request had he made? The voice¡¯s most recent announcement confused him.


    ...


    {Confirmation: Is this voice acceptable?}


    ¡­


    The voice had completely changed. It was now more along the lines of a professional female secretary¡¯s voice. The man was stunned at the change.


    ¡­


    {Confirmation: This voice was selected based on your preferences. Is this voice acceptable?}


    ¡­


    It had picked this voice based on preferences he didn''t even realize he had. Perhaps there was more to this voice than he had thought...


    ...


    {Analyzing}


    ¡­


    {Analyzing}


    ¡­


    {Analyzing}


    ¡­


    ¡°Analyzing¡± seemed to be this voice¡¯s favorite word. Now that it had a better voice, he thought the voice should have a name¡­ But what would suit this voice¡­ Perhaps... Analise¡­yes, that would be perfect. He chuckled at his embarrassing pun.


    ...


    {Renaming Accepted}


    ...


    The voice accepted her name. Interesting. The man wondered if there were other things he could change about the voice. Perhaps he could even give her a more physical presence in the dark abyss he was located.


    ¡­


    {Problem Detected: Abnormal Amount of Reincarnation Data}


    ¡­


    All that analyzing was for this result? His opinion of the voice went down. What was even the purpose of this voice?


    ¡­


    {Proud: Primary Objective: Analyze}


    ¡­


    Another brief answer from the voice. For some reason, it was now announcing its emotions at the beginning of its statements. It must have been trying to emulate a human, but it was doing a poor job of it. The voice cut through the man¡¯s thoughts once again.


    ...


    {Depressed: Objective Failed}


    ¡­


    The voice sounded utterly disappointed with herself. He almost considered comforting the voice because it sounded so down. He still had yet to understand what this whole process was about other than the hints about reincarnation.


    ¡­


    {Clarification: This is the Official Reincarnation Process between dimensions}


    ¡­


    The voice had had already mentioned reincarnation several times, but now his fears had been undoubtedly confirmed. His frustration began to mount yet again as he realized there was absolutely nothing he could do to prevent the reincarnation.


    ¡­


    {Announcement: Time Limit for Data Analysis has been reached}


    ¡­


    {Warning: Preparing Soul Transfer}


    ¡­


    He suddenly felt his consciousness began to fade. Though he had no eyes to close, he could feel his nonexistent body quickly slipping into a comatose state. He fought to stay awake but all too soon, his soul slipped away into a deep sleep...


    ¡­


    {Announcement: Soul Transfer Successful!}


    ...


    {Announcement: Tertiary Objective Complete: Modified Primary Objective}


    ...


    {Ecstatic:I look forward to working together, Master Saint-Sage!}

 Tomb of the Saint Sage (1)

    The wind ran cool on Priestess Lira¡¯s cheeks as she fled through the tall grass of the Oskerdian Plains. She quickly ran through the taller patches of grass with her head low to avoid detection. Luckily, the wind stirred the grass, making her imprints harder to trace. It was no doubt the influence of the South Wind¡¯s blessing.


    Still, Lira and her bodyguards had been circling the area for hours to find the hidden entrance to the tomb tucked away in the plains. They had thought the tall grass would hide them.


    They should have thought of what could be hiding in it instead.


    The Obelisk Kingdom had placed two detachments of crossbowman along with some short spearmen in the plains. The ambush proved fatal. Only Lira and her most trusted guard got away, but that was when the real threat of the trap was revealed: a fully geared Obsidian Knight. The villain cleaved straight for her, but her guard¡­ no, friend defended her.


    Lira remembered looking back towards her friend. The coarse black armor of the Obsidian Knight had already been stained with her precious friend¡¯s blood. She fled. She was too weak to do anything.


    ¡°What if the tomb isn¡¯t¡­¡±


    She shook her head to free herself of the guilt and reminded herself of her precious friend¡¯s words:


    ¡°You must find the tomb. Find the weapon. You¡­ you must prove the value of our lives! Go!¡±


    Lira tripped and fell. She quickly cursed herself for getting lost in her thoughts. But then she noticed a small gap in the grass. Curious, she turned to see what her foot hit. She found an engraved cobblestone, one typically used in the temples that worshipped the Four Winds.


    ¡°I must be close!¡±


    Frantically, Lira scrambled to search the surrounding area for the entrance. Hidden in the grass a little distance off, she found it. A small hole, that could fit at most 1 lightly-armored person at a time. It was unlikely the Obsidian Knight with full plate armor could fit through¡­ but the rest of the troops likely could. Lira entered quickly, praying to the Four Winds for time.


    Lira had little visibility upon entering the cramped tunnel. She did not want to use her already low mana supply to create light. She had already exhausted her reserve crystal in her amulet trying to save her companions. Her hands guided her along walls of a rocky moss-covered path. Then it began to widen and widen until she found herself lost in the darkness with no light from the outside to guide her. There she was forced to cast a spell for light.


    [Ko the South Wind, please grant me thine light!]


    Suddenly her surroundings were revealed by the small floating pale green orb of light that rested just above her right shoulder. Encased in the earth was a plain tomb, with only two crude stone pillars visible supporting the entryway. The rest were either crumbled remnants or encased in the rocky soil. The priestess rubbed her eyes for a moment. Above ground, the odor of her deceased companions rode the warm air. But down here¡­ the air was unnaturally still. Lira couldn¡¯t quite understand why, but she actually felt less safe down here.


    ¡°I must press on.¡±


    Lira shook her head from petty distractions and continued forward. Through the temple opening, she came upon what appeared to be a small room. But as she stepped into the center, the room lit up revealing glowing streams of dull green, sky blue, amber, and light purple streaked in random patterns around the room. Lira stood amazed, simply gazing at the magical phenomenon. There were many lights, but Lira quickly recognized them as characters of the Skyborn language. Though she could not read them, the symbols proved that she was on the right track. She cancelled her [Light] spell to conserve mana and relied on the glowing symbols in the room.


    She approached a stone vault door on the other side of the room. With what little remaining strength she had, Lira pushed against the stone door and just barely opened it a crack. She slipped through and the stone door swung closed swiftly behind her, leaving her in utter darkness.


    She had regained only a meager amount of her mana after relying on the glowing carvings in the tomb, but it was enough to cast [Light] once again.


    [Ko the South Wind, please grant me thine light!]


    As the pale green glow revealed the room, Lira¡¯s eyes immediately rested upon the stone casket. Though surface of the casket looked to be transparent, the crystalline top glowed a dark grey light that made it impossible to see through.


    If there was anything left behind, it had to be in this room here. Her research indicated that the Skyborn buried their treasures with their dead. However, there was nothing in the room but the casket... The priestess sighed. She prayed for the Four Winds¡¯ forgiveness, for she was about to turn from priestess to tomb robber.


    ¡°SHE¡¯S GOT TO BE HERE SOMEWHERE!! KEEP LOOKING, YOU PISSANTS!¡±


    The priestess flinched, but calmed herself. The loud voice caused her to panic for a moment, but she kept her cool realizing the tomb could carry voices far off in the distance. Although there was still some distance between them, there was no doubt that they had found and entered the cave entrance. The interruption of her prayer reminded her of her carelessness. Her prayers would have to wait. Gritting her teeth and steadying her resolve, she placed her hands on the glowing crystallized lid of the casket....


    And pushed the lid off clear onto the floor.


    ¡°AAAIiiiiieEEE-!¡±


    Lira tumbled screaming into the casket, but her voice was quickly muffled. She had landed on something soft. She was mortified.


    ¡°I¡¯m a tomb robber and a corpse defiler now¡­¡± she thought to herself, ¡°Worse! I¡¯ve given my position away. Oh Gods! I must hurry!¡±


    She lifted her head and could not believe what she was seeing. She wasn¡¯t even sure if she was thinking straight. Below her rested a man. Not a rotting corpse, not a preserved mummy, but the fully intact body of a young man.


    And he was looking right at her.


    ¡°Wh-wh-wh-what!¡± stammered the priestess.


    The young man began to blink and rub his eyes. Then he winced and squinted his eyes at her several times. He continued to stare at her, blinking several more times. The priestess was shaking uncontrollably from the shock. Her mind couldn''t process what was going on.


    ¡°Why is there someone in the Saint Sage¡¯s casket? Is this¡­ the Saint Sage? Im-impossible¡­!¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The young man winced yet again and appeared to be quite annoyed. He then gave what could only be interpreted as a death-glare at the priestess and asked her:


    ¡°Exactly how long are you going to keep your hand there?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Lira briefly broke eye contact to look at her hand placed flat on the man¡¯s crotch.


    Realization was delayed for the already overwhelmed Priestess. When it suddenly dawned on her, Lira¡¯s head turned bright red. She clumsily leapt off the man and prostrated herself with her head bowed to the stone casket.


    The man gave a sigh of relief as he stood up. He turned to her with a raised brow as she panicked. He looked sternly at her, and then his eyes softened. But only slightly.


    The Priestess, who had yet to lift up her head, could not stop trembling, ¡°Forgive me, my Lord. I did not mean to trespass on this holy ground.¡± He tilted his head sideways at her reply. With her face was still flushed after jumping from the casket, she hastily responded, ¡°My sincerest apologies! Master Skyward Saint-Sage, Guardian of the Soaring Sanctuary.¡±


    <hr>


    The Saint-Sage gazed blankly at the girl bowing in front of him. He was unsure of what the exact situation was.


    ¡°She believes I am someone called the Saint-Sage? Who is that? And how did she come to this conclusion?¡± he thought to himself.


    {Informative: She discovered you in the Saint-Sage¡¯s tomb. Naturally, she believes you are the Saint-Sage, which you are.}


    ¡°This voice¡­ is familiar¡­ when I was in that dark space¡­ Analise?¡±


    {Proud: I am here to serve, Saint-Sage!}


    The Saint-Sage felt just slightly more secure having someone familiar with him. Or within him rather. It seemed Analise had no physical presence as the Saint-Sage realized she was speaking in his head.


    But he was still confused as to what the situation was.


    ¡°What is up with this girl? Why is she bowing? Why am I in this strange bed?¡± asked the Saint-Sage silently to Analise.


    {Clarification: First, that ¡°bed¡± is a casket.. Second, your rank is higher than hers in accordance to your blessings, thus why she calls you master. Finally, You have reincarnated into the body of the Saint-Sage, a legendary hero of the Skyborn in times of old.}


    The Saint-Sage paused and looked at his hands. He then examined his clothing. He was wearing a gray sarashi which was bound around him from his upper torso to his lower torso. He had loose-fitting trousers on as well as a long white robe with short but wide sleeves.


    He then wondered what he looked like before his reincarnation.


    Almost if on queue, Analise asked the Saint-Sage:


    {Query: Would you like me to search your reincarnation data? Although recovery was only partial, there may be some data pertaining to your previous physical appearance.}


    A mental nod was all that was required for Analise to begin searching.


    The Saint-Sage wondered for about two seconds how long the search would take before Analise quickly replied.


    {Search Completed. Result: 99.9% of data related to prior physical appearance was corrupted.}


    The Saint-Sage sighed. If he could not even recall his previous appearance, then just what would he be able to recall from his past? The Saint-Sage was about to grumble when Analise interrupted his thoughts.


    {Optimistic: I did find something that should be useful, however!}


    He mentally nodded again for her to continue.


    {Informative: Your previous body¡¯s hair color was black.}


    That really did not tell the Saint-Sage much, so he dismissed the information. However, he did become more curious of his current body¡¯s appearance


    ¡°And what of this body? What hair color do I have now?¡±


    {Informative: I am unable to answer that.}


    ¡°Huh? That should be easy, right?¡±


    {Explanation: As your [Reincarnation Assistant], I can only analyze and assist with mental functions and information that is already in my database or I have seen through your eyes. The previous Saint-Sage¡¯s hair was white, but due to the reincarnation process, this might have changed.}


    ¡°I better not be in the body of an old man! Well, I¡¯ll just yank a strand out then-¡±


    {Suggestion: Perhaps you could just ask the priestess?}


    ¡°Oh. I guess that makes more sense¡± said the Saint Sage as thehe patted his head, quickly discovering, to his great relief, that he had a full head of hair.


    The Saint-Sage turned to look at the girl. She was visibly shaking with her eyes making fleeting glances between the ground and him. He couldn¡¯t tell why she was shaking. Perhaps she was cold¡­?


    The Saint-Sage shifted his full attention to her and said plainly, ¡°Hey. You.¡±


    ¡°YES!¡±


    The Saint-Sage stepped back startled by her quick and rather loud response. He almost tripped on the casket behind him. He thought for a second that he had heard Analise laughing in his head, but decided to focus on the matter at hand.


    ¡°I have a question for you.¡±


    ¡°YES!¡±


    Again, the girl replied loudly. This time it was more annoying than shocking. The Saint-Sage gritted his teeth and said as gently as his temper would allow for her to shut up. Her eyes went wide and teary and her face flushed. She bowed her head and profusely apologized. It seems she realized her mistake. After waiting a bit for her to calm down, The Saint Sage asked his question:


    ¡°What color is my hair?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s white, Saint-Sage.¡±


    Despair filled his heart. White hair? The Saint-Sage cursed his fate. He was reincarnated into the body of an old man. He gripped his face in agony.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong!?! Master Saint Sage?!?¡± asked the girl worriedly


    {Critical Alert: Sound outside the burial chamber was heard. Most likely multiple hostiles en route. Estimated numbers: 12-15. Objective: Protect Priestess at all costs and reach the Windhaven Nation¡¯s capital.}


    Now, the Saint-Sage cursed his fate once more. At least his old body would soon rest once more.


    {Urgent: Please activate ability [True Mana Vision].}


    ¡°Master Saint-Sage! The Obelisk Kingdom soldiers!¡±


    The girl had also heard the soldiers¡¯ footsteps it seemed.


    {Impatient: Activating [True Mana Vision] will enable you to fight.}


    ¡°What will saying [True Mana Vision] do for...me....¡± wondered the Saint-Sage to himself.


    No sooner had he said the phrase that his eyes suddenly began to filled with various-sized red magic circles. They filled his eyes so abundantly with light that a faint red glow could be seen emanating from his eyes. The circles themselves were filled with small runes that spun in different directions within them.


    His eyes themselves, however, were not the problem. The problem was what they were seeing. A collage of colors was bombarding the Saint-Sage''s eyes. Multicolored glowing entities floated around his vision, twisting and turning all around.


    ¡°This is overstimulating. So many colors are glowing around me, it¡¯s hard to focus. How are these colors supposed to help me, Analise? I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    {Informative: the various colors you are seeing are the different energies of the Four Winds¡¯ Auras. You can call upon the Auras to help you defend yourself, but you need to concentrate. With [True Mana Vision], you can also detect the Auras of other users outside of your faith, such as the soldiers. Normally, you can only detect Auras from a God that has granted you its most basic blessing, the[Essence].Right now, it may be overstimulating for you, but after your eyes have adjusted themselves, you will be able to learn how to use these Auras more easily.}


    ¡°Well, my eyes seen to be slowly getting accustomed to the swirling lights around me. They¡¯re not as bright as before at least. But they''re still making me-¡±


    ¡°THIS MUST BE WHERE SHE¡¯S HOLED UP! GET THAT DOOR OPEN, MEN! I WANT THE FIRST TASTE OF THAT GIRL!¡±


    The Saint-Sage''s thoughts were interrupted by a gruff man outside the room. The men outside had finally reached the stone vault door. Their intentions were obviously malicious. The girl sat sobbing in one of the corners of the room. It appeared she was overwhelmed by the situation unfolding in front of her.


    It was up to the Saint-Sage to handle the soldiers.