《The Other Side》


 Prologue - The Other Side

    The Other Side ¨C Prologue


    I think I will always be seen as the weird one, the one person that no one seems to understand. I was born a girl on my world with snow white hair and icy blue eyes, a human being no one will ever understand in this world. I have lived my life from place to place, wandering without friends or family, always searching for one thing. Then one night when I drifted off into sleep, I met the one person who could actually understand me. She was the only one to understand my feelings, and hell, she was the first girl I had feelings for. It was so wonderful, I felt as if I had finally found the one person who would never look down on my life and who I was. Every night I would eagerly fall asleep and meet her in that dream world, and we would go explore whatever we wanted to, always hand in hand. One night when I fell asleep and met up with her again in a dream, she took me by the hand and brought my ear to her mouth as she whispered softly into it with her sweet voice.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°One day, I will bring you beyond this fake dream world and show you my real world Hana.¡±


    I was about to question her, wondering what she had meant by her world. But she just simply smiled in her usual angelic way and placed a finger on my lips, hushing my thoughts. At that moment, I had a feeling of dread, a feeling that it would be ages before we could meet again. Rather than waste time, I took ahold of her hand and brought my face to hers, softly kissing her lips. I knew something was about to happen, and so I made sure to share one last moment with her, letting her know how I felt for her. She didn¡¯t flinch once at my action of kissing her, in fact she whole heartedly embraced me in an elegant manner.


    ¡°I love you Sakura.¡± I said to her between kisses, and she replied to me in a happy tone.


    ¡°And I love you as well Hana. Even after this, when we wake up, always remember I will be here for you.¡±


    As soon as she had uttered the words, I woke up in my bed, alone. I never saw her again in my dreams and it made me deeply sad when I thought of the time we had spent together. But eventually time flowed and I grew a few years older and wiser, but never less lonely. But Sakura did keep her word, for somehow I did end up traveling to her and her world after one day at college¡­..


    End Prologue

 Chapter 1 - The Other Side Part 1

    Chapter 1 ¨C The Other Side Part 1


    After a normal boring day of the usual college work, I had finally found the time to just go home and breathe in the air. I had only been attending the college for a few months, and it was an amazing wonder that what family I had left was able to pay for it. My old grandparents on my mother¡¯s side were kind enough to pay for the college tuition as well as the single room studio I inhabited by myself. I didn¡¯t have much family, but what I did have made me cherish it more than anything, much like my old past with Sakura. ¡°I still love her.¡± I murmured to myself as I changed into some more comfortable clothing, much more comfortable then the school issued uniforms. ¡°It may only have been a couple years, but I keep waiting for the time I get to see her once again. I just was to have another moments wi-¡° I cut myself off as something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Walking into my incredibly small bathroom, I stood in front of the mirror as I tried to see what I saw. As I searched for whatever the thing was, I couldn¡¯t help but look at my figure on the reflective surface.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t changed a day Hana, your just the same as ever.¡± I told myself as I ran my hand through my shoulder length white hair, the one thing on me that made me stand out from the crowd. Most people asked me if it was even real or if I just dyed it that way, but I just normally told them it¡¯s always been that way. Back in high school I got the nickname ¡°ice queen¡± simply because of my white hair and blue eyes, and the very fact that I kept to myself. Even thought I was finally twenty. It felt like years since I was that inner sheltered teenager that always turned friendships down and being a normal person. ¡°Whatever, the past is the past. No matter who or what I am, I will prove I have life inside of me.¡± I was about to turn and leave when I saw what looked like a ripple on the surface of the mirror, almost like a bulging. ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± I said aloud as I placed the palm of my hand to feel the smooth surface. Feeling just regular old mirror, I began to lift my hand away from it, but no sooner that I had, the mirror¡¯s surface melted to grab my wrist. ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± I shouted aloud as I was being pulled into the mirror against my will. I tried to struggle, bit it was in vain. The mirror fully sucked me up and I closed my eyes tightly, fearing what lay ahead for my future. Feeling whatever had taken ahold of me disappear, I opened my eyes and gasped.


    ¡°What in the world?!¡± I shouted at what lay before me. In front of my very eyes was a massive gothic city, with endless buildings of various sizes sprawled out. ¡°Where am I?!¡± I shouted loudly into the air, afraid of where I was and what had just happened. ¡°You are in my world Hana.¡±


    I turned slightly to the sound of a familiar voice, a voice I hadn¡¯t heard in years. I had fully turned and saw a girl with black hair and violet eyes smiling at me with an angelic look. She wore a long gray trench coat and some tightfitting clothes underneath. I instantly recognized who she was, as the one person who was closest to me. Running to her, she fully embraced me softly as I began to cry tears of joy. ¡°Is¡­is it really you Sakura?!¡±


    ¡°Yes Hana, it really is me. It¡¯s been a long time huh?¡± She said as she stroked my hair with a loving hand. I looked up into her eyes as I cried, overjoyed by seeing her face. ¡°It¡¯s been so long¡­why you were never-¡°


    ¡°Because terrible things had begun to happen here, and I didn¡¯t want to get you hurt¡­.¡±


    ¡°What happened? What was so terrible that we could never see each other?¡±


    ¡°Well Hana¡­¡± She began, trying to find the right words to tell what had happened. She was about to continue when the voices of men interrupted her. ¡®There she is! Get her!¡± I broke away from Sakura¡¯s loving embrace to see a small group of men clad in full body armor charge their way to us. Looking back at Sakura, I gave her a puzzled look. ¡°Friends of yours?¡± I asked, to which she shook her head. ¡°We have to get out of here, it¡¯s not safe with them after me¡­us Hana!¡± She instantly grabbed my arm and began to run away from the armored men with me.


    ¡°What do they want?¡± I shouted at her as we ran, not getting a single thing that was going on anymore. ¡°I may have stolen something from them before you got here Hana. But we better evade them before we discuss what I stole!¡± We ran down a street and made a quick turn down into a side ally as the men following us picked the pace up. I was about to complain about what we were running for when she genteelly placed a finger over my lips.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°Shush. We¡¯re about to disappear now.¡± I thought she was insane, thinking it was impossible to just disappear as we stood by an ally wall. She just smiled and pulled a smallish object out of her jacket, an object that looked like an oblong ring with red wires running through it. She held it up to me and I stared in wonder at it, amazed at what it could possibly be. ¡°This,¡± She started as she pulled it down from my eyes, ¡°Is a little device I made with a mix of magic and technical skills.¡± I looked back at the end of the ally and saw the group of armored men begin to stream into the ally, their swords pointed at us. Sakura roped an arm around my neck and held me close, making me blush as I felt her bodies warmth. With the other arm, she threw the small object with a silent grin. The men rushed towards us now, not knowing what had just been thrown. Just as they were about to reach us, the ring like thing clicked onto the ground loudly. The men skidded in their tracks and looked around the ally as they yelled loudly. ¡°Where the hell did they go?!¡± One of the other men yelled even louder, not amused at what happened. ¡°Fan out and find those bitches, or it¡¯s our heads!¡±


    I was hurriedly forced to move as Sakura held my arm tightly again. We ran out of the ally and into the main street, speaking no words until we had made it much farther away from the men with the swords. Finally as we came to a stop, I pulled away from her grip and shouted, clueless over what had transpired. ¡°What was that back there?! First I get sucked into a mirror, land here, and now we just vanished without them noticing?! What¡¯s going on Sakura?!¡± She leaned her head back and slightly growled into the air, sounding slightly annoyed, but none the less returned with a smile.


    ¡°Calm down hon that was only a small device I made, nothing special. Not like how I got you here¡­.¡± She looked at me happily as she spoke in her unmoved voice, the voice I had always heard in the past. ¡°You see Hana, you and I share something in common. You and I both have a certain magical power within us.¡±


    ¡°What? I don¡¯t have any such powers¡­.¡± I said slowly, as it was true, I never had one instant of magical powers. Sakura brought a hand to stroke her chin as she spoke to explain. ¡°You remember when we met in dreams, right?¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, but how is that relevant to magic?¡±


    ¡°Because that was a very basic magical power that allowed us to meet. It¡¯s called ¡°dream seeing¡± and only dream seers can meet other dream seers, like,¡± She looked at me with her angelic smile and continued. ¡°Like you Hana.¡± I responded to her first by taking ahold of her hand and smiled. ¡°So that¡¯s how we were able to meet all of the time we slept? But why am I here now? How is that possible?¡± She just started to walk again with me and turned it into a brisk jog. ¡°I will tell you that once we make it to my makeshift home Hana!¡±


    xXx


    We had finally stopped running and were now standing in front of an old iron door. Reaching into her tank top breast, Sakura fished out a key and inserted it into the doors lock. With a loud click, the door swung opened and she gestured for me to enter. As I walked inside, I was greeted by the sight of a room not to unlike my old home, furnished with just a single bed and a few books strewn about. Walking in behind me, Sakura loudly shut and locked the door. She ushered me over to the bed and I sat down on it. She stood in front of me and pulled her coat of, revealing her slender clothed body. As she came to sit next to mem she spoke. ¡°Welcome to my temporary housing unit honey.¡± She brought a hand around my body and lowered her face to meet mine. With a soft and delicate kiss, I cried in happiness, overjoyed to touch her again. ¡°I¡¯m so happy that I¡¯m with you again Sakura!¡±


    ¡°I am pleased too, but now¡­¡± She moved away and looked at the ground. ¡°You need to know how you got here, right? Well it¡¯s really simple, I may have wished and used something stolen to get you here¡­¡±


    ¡°That thing the men were yelling over?¡± I inquired, just guessing that may be the very reason we were chased by a bunch of armored men. ¡°Yeah, that thing they wanted back from me. But it was never theirs to begin with¡­¡±


    ¡°What is this thing?¡± She bent over and pulled something out of the acted she previously wore outside. What she pulled out was an incredibly old and broken down sword, rusted from the ages of being left alone. I raised an eyebrow at her, and the notion of how this blade got me here. Sensing that I was still confused, she dropped the blade in my lap. ¡°This blade is a very old relic of an equally old legend. It was your blade from an untold millennia ago Hana.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I exclaimed at hearing those words, sounding impossible. ¡°How can a sword that¡¯s older than me be mine?


    ¡°Because someone called the Princess God told me so. And we need to take you to her before we get caught here.¡±


    I was about to ask what she meant about a Princess God, but my thoughts were interrupted by pounding at the iron door and the shouts of men from outside¡­¡­


    End Chapter 1

 Chapter 2 - The Other Side Part 2

    Chapter 2 ¨C The Other Side Part 2


    My head was swimming from everything that had already happened to me today, but now the pounding and shouting on the other side of the door frightened me. Sakura must have been worried too, for she instantly sprang up and grabbed her coat. ¡°Shit! I should have figured that an item like this would be hard to hide¡­.¡± She snatched another coat up and tossed it to me, making me put it on. She grabbed the old sword in my lap and wrapped it back up, somehow making it fit inside her trench coat. ¡°What do we do Sakura? There¡¯s only one way out of this room¡­.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you think. You really think I would be lame enough to forget to have a backup escape route? Heh¡±


    The pounding was beginning to grow louder and it sounded like the door was about to give way from all the pressure from the outside. Sakura knelt to the floor and picked a large floor tile up with a few fingers. Lifting it up, she exposed a hole under the room, and she pointed at me and it. ¡°Okay Hana, jump down here. And make it quick!¡± Doing as she told me, I went to the edge and peered over, afraid of how deep it really was. Annoyed at my waste of time, Sakura pushed me on the back and I fell into the darkness below. The fall wasn¡¯t as long as I had thought it would be, and my feet eventually met the dusty ground below. Sakura quickly dropped down next to me and held her hand up, snapping her fingers. Under her breath, she said a few words and a tiny pin prick of light floated from her hand, illuminating the darkness. Pointing at the appearance of a long corridor, she moved me along. ¡°C¡¯mon Hana, we have to hurry and make it out of here and the capital!¡±


    ¡°Why are we running like this?¡± I asked as we ran, not knowing what was truly after us. ¡°Well, it seems that old sword is really more of a pain than it looks. The same goes for you too, since you and it are connected to each other.¡±


    ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t make sense to me! I¡¯m from another world and-¡° I cut myself off as Sakura¡¯s light diminished and a door was in front of us, which Sakura responded to by kicking it open with a loud gruff. ¡°I don¡¯t really care if you get it or not. If that twerp of a Princess God says it¡¯s so, you better bet your life it¡¯s so! Now just go!¡± We ran out of the door and landed in the middle of a dead street, with no signs of life other than the puffs of steam floating from the roof tops of buildings. It was getting later now and the sun had fully set, leaving only the flicker of gaslights in the old iron lamps that dotted the street sides. Catching up to me, Sakura grabbed my arm and yanked me to the left, dragging me with her as she ran down the street. ¡°C¡¯mon, we gotta find ourselves a horse, and get out of town, we should be alright if we can pull that off. But if we run into that thing¡­.¡±


    I saw Sakura¡¯s violet eyes grow wide as she suddenly jerked me with her to an area full of heaping trash. I was about to open my mouth to complain about all the yanking and jerking around, but she had instantly covered my lips with her hand. As she did, something like the clatter of horse¡¯s hooves jolted me to a startle. The sounds echoed louder and louder as they loomed closer to us, making my heart beat faster with every clack. I was afraid of what the sound carried, of what might be riding down the street towards where we were. My questions were quickly answered when was looked like and old and rotting horse trotted slowly down the street, sniffing at the air. The horse alone was frightening enough, but the rider drove the nightmarish image home for me more. On top of the evil steed sat what looked like a human form cloaked in a tattered shroud, with old black armor underneath. Bits of white bone could be seen between the bits of armor and as if the ride could sense something in the vicinity of it, it turned its head to look around. Catching a glimpse of its face was enough to give a small child nightmares for years, as the remnants of old flesh and skin could still be seen clinging to the bone of the riders skull. The eyes in the sockets of the skull swished around, searching for Sakura and me no doubt. A new sound was suddenly hears and the horse lifted up into the air on its two back legs, forcing the rider to move with it. A figure wearing armor with no helmet appeared before the rotting horse and the rider spoke up to the man in a voice that almost sounded more like whispers and hisses.


    ¡°So you seem to have lost our prey captain.¡±


    ¡°Y-yes general¡­.we¡­.we got into the single room dwelling, but they seemed to have slipped out through a back way¡­underneath the¡­the floor¡­¡± The captain shivered and shook were he stood, afraid of the rider in the cloak. The rider slowly got down from its steed, speaking aloud as it did. ¡°And you were unable to follow them through their escape route?¡± The rider¡¯s armored boots hit the ground with a loud noise and it began to slowly stalk its way towards the shivering captain. ¡°Then the blame rests on you back?¡±


    ¡°B-but¡­I can find them this time for sure¡­and¡­and get the stolen object back!¡±


    ¡°And what if they slip away from you weak pathetic fingers again? Will you say the same thing as you just did now? Do you wish to continually displease me and the High Priestess?¡±


    As we listened and watched the eerie conversation, I saw Sakura¡¯s face react to the mentioning of some sort of priestess. Just as the rider had mentioned it, the captain began to quake and shiver more in his armor, deeply afraid. ¡°N-No sir, I just want to..¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°You wish to keep your life?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes sir¡­.¡± The rider hissed in laughter, and the very sound of the laughter made my ears feel like they would explode and bleed. Acting amused by the captain¡¯s fear, the rider raised a gauntlet enclosed hand and pointed at him. ¡°Your life is very valuable to you, yes? However, you make no wish to protect it..¡± The rider pointed the palm if its hand out and the captain began to float to the rider, against his will. ¡°You are just a pawn, just like this entire city¡­no, this entire world is. And pawns can be traded off at any time the chess master wishes, and so.¡± The rider fully grasped the captain¡¯s neck in its hand, squeezing tightly and making the man choke. The skeleton reached into the depths of its tattered cloak and pulled something out. Pulling it out quickly, the rider somehow managed to stab the captain through the armor and out the other side of his body with a wicked looking longsword, causing a massive stream of blood to erupt from the wound. I cringed to the horrible sight, the sight of a man being murdered just for his mistakes. The captain had died instantly, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the end of it. The rider sheathed its blade back within the confines of its ragged cloak and now hoovered its free hand over the man¡¯s face, speaking as it did so.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry captain, your flesh will prove to be helpful¡­..for a minimal amount of time¡­..¡±


    I watched in horror as the former captains skins melted off his face and began to swirl like a cloud of dust into the cloak of the rider. Within moments, the dead captain¡¯s body dropped to the ground, nothing more but a skeleton rattling in the armor. The rider now turned his head and scanned its surrounding, and I could see more of its hellish face. More skin entwined the face of the skull, but much of the white bone could still be seen in patches. Not sensing us, the rider stalked back towards the demonic looking horse and spoke in tis chilling tone. ¡°It seems that I will have some nice flesh for a while, until it begins to rot once more. Perhaps I should punish the other men for failing me?¡±


    The rider got back into the saddle of the steed and slowly trotted down the street as it mused to itself. After a few minutes when it had fully vanished into the night, I gasped loudly for air. ¡°What¡­what the hell was that thing?!¡± I shouted loudly at Sakura, after the horror of the rider I had saw. Looking at me slowly with anger in her eyes, she spoke softly. ¡°That rider was General Tarvis¡­One of the rulers under the Priestess that rules Hygar¡­.¡±


    ¡°Can he just do that?! Kill that man over a simple mistake?!¡±


    Sakura looked at me quite sullen, and I worried that I had made her upset. Grabbing my arm, she pulled me with her as we began to run again. ¡°They can do anything they wish to Hana. They are the rulers of the nightmare of a world now, and their High Priestess makes whatever laws she wishes, and the people always suffer the worst¡­.¡±


    ¡°Have they always been in control of your world?¡±


    Sakura bit her lip, not responding to my question as we kept running down the dark streets in the night. ¡°What is going on in this world? Something must have gone wrong somewhere¡­.¡± I thought to myself as we finally came to a stop in front of a small stable. ¡°Wait here for me in the shadows.¡± Sakura commanded me as she snuck her way into the building. Alone, I looked up at the stars in the sky and whispered to myself. ¡°What evil had befallen this world? And how do I fit in, with that sword nonetheless! Is it possible that¡­¡± I lowered my head and looked at my hands, opening and closing them as I did. ¡°Is it possible to be reincarnated on another world, and know nothing of other life¡¯s¡­.¡± I was broken from my questions when Sakura walked up to me with a saddled horse. I walked over to her and she boosted me up into the saddle, then she herself climbed up. Sitting in front of her, I could hear her whisper into my ears softly. ¡°Okay love, now we¡¯re getting out of this shitty city. Hold on tight!¡±


    She spurred the horse forward and galloped behind, leaving the stench of death and decay far behind. Now that we were moving along faster, I spoke to Sakura with another of my usual questions. ¡°Where is the Princess God you spoke of?¡±


    ¡°She lives in a forest not too far from the western side of the capital.¡± ¡±A forest? Is she the only one there? Sakura lightly chuckled, amused at my questions. ¡°Of course not love. She¡¯s and elf, and she lives with her people in the forest. We will be safe there.¡± I was amazed to hear that we were going to see an elf, a creature that had only ever existed in fantasy books back in my world. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to meet an elf¡­¡± I whispered silently to her, which made her smile.


    xXx


    It took about an hour, but Sakura, me and the horse had finally made it to the edge of the capital with no trouble. The city was massive, but no matter where we went, the streets were always deserted and the homes and stores bolted shut. Trotting to the gate, Sakura made the horse stop in front of the open iron gate. Speaking to me, she laid a hand on my shoulder as I held my cloak closer to me for warmth. ¡°Alright Hana, we only have so much farther to go.


    ¡°Will they be able to find us in the forest?¡± I asked her, which was a wise question, seeing as how we were easily tracked to the makeshift home that Sakura had lived in. ¡°No, the Elves have powerful wards around the forest, and as such, the Priestess makes no moves to challenge them. Which is a very good thing, for it means we can stay there for a time.¡±


    Kicking the horse into gear again, we quickly galloped out of the gate and into the cool nighttime air of the country side. We were unstopped and had made it another good five to six miles down the road and the forest began to loom closer and closer. As I joyed to myself over the thought of not having to run much longer, Sakura leaned to me and spoke. ¡°Love¡­.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes Sakura?¡±


    ¡°I need you to hold on a little tighter now.¡±


    Doing what she asked, I held onto the horn of the saddle tighter and gulped loudly. Turning my head, I looked over my shoulder and saw something in the distance following. Something wearing a tattered and ragged black cloak was following in hot pursuit of us as we neared the forest.


    End Chapter 2

 Chapter 3 - Into the Trees

    Chapter 3 - Into the Trees


    I glanced over my shoulder and saw the familiar shape of the rider, general tarvis, hot in pursuit of us down the road from the capital city. Sakura paid no heed to him and sent the horse into higher gear, with the spires of the forest trees looming closer to us. As I looked forward again, I could see something huge and black on the path ahead of us, and I shouted loudly to Sakura. ¡°There¡¯s someone on the road!¡± Whatever the person was, it was so huge that it made the horse come to a screeching halt, flinging us from the saddle. As we hit the dirt with resounding speed, the horse we had ridden on had begun to bolt back towards the capitol in fear. I looked up silently from the ground as a new pair of hooves trotted towards where I lay, each hoof fall making my spine shiver with dread. Moving my eyes upward, I met the face of the rider with rotting flesh, making my blood run cold when I met his icy gaze. Sensing my fear, the rider, General Tarvis, smiled in a chilling way, the bits of skull making the smile look menacing. ¡°So you are one of the women that stole the old swords, or at least, your companion did. But you, you come from a very far off place¡­.¡±


    My eyes grew wide over how the general could know that I came from far away, so far away that it was another world. My voice slightly choked in fear as I spoke to him. ¡°You know that?¡± The general let his smile slip and scowled at me with his rotting face, perhaps trying to intimidate me in some way. ¡°The High Priestess foresaw a girl would fall into Hygar from very far, and that the girl would try to shake the world''s balance, and¡­.¡± He fixed his eyes on me, staring deep into my very soul with them. ¡°She said that the one with hair as white as snow would try to usurp the laws of this land and place her as the savior. As such,¡± He drew his long black longsword and pointed it at me with his menacing stare. ¡°You must die before that dream becomes reality.¡± Just as he was bringing the vile blade down upon my head, a booming voice shouted.


    ¡°Hey, aren''t you forgetting someone General?¡±


    Tarvis withdrew his blade and looked over to his right, speaking with a deadly hiss. ¡°Ah, you are the other female that the late incompetent captain was unable to catch. What business do I have with a child like you?¡±


    Sakura walked up next to me and I could see a large gash under her left eye, causing her to have blood roll down her cheek. Speaking without respect to the general, Sakura spat at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what your Priestess thinks, but the girl is the least of your worries. Don¡¯t you want this?¡± She held out the old rusted sword and swung it back in forth in her hand, like a bit of candy in front of a child. Tarvis reacted a bit to the sword and looked down at Sakura with disdain. ¡°The old sword of legend, yes, we require to have that back with us.¡± Walking away from me now, Sakura led the sight of the General with her. As I watched her taunt him with the sword, I felt a finger tap me on my shoulder.


    ¡°So you want this sword and the girl dead, yes?¡±


    ¡°That is the general plan, yes.¡±


    ¡°Then,¡± Sakura lead him along, baiting him with the sword to follow. ¡°Then how about we make a trade. I give you the blade and the girl lives? She won¡¯t be able to bother anyone without that sword, certainly not enough to bug your Priestess.¡±


    Tarvis stayed silent for a moment, thinking over the proposition in his mind, calculating what was the best option for him. Making up his mind, he spoke again to Sakura with a hint of pleasure in his voice. ¡°Very well, the girl may live. So give me the blade woman.¡± He held out his left arm and opened his palm to Sakura , who in turn dropped the blade in it. Laughing in content, the dark general rapidly pulled his longsword out again and stabbed Sakura point blank in the chest, causing her to lie lifelessly on it as the blood spluttered from the wound.


    ¡°Foolish woman, you really think I would make a deal with you?¡±


    The sword in the General¡¯s hand suddenly vanished and he reacted a bit when another voice spoke up to answer him.


    ¡°No,¡± Said Sakura, the real Sakura that had tapped my shoulder earlier as her copy baited the General away long enough as we made it to the edge of the treelines. Tarvis angrily spat over being tricked and pulled his blade out of the lifeless copy as he hissed. ¡°You are quite the little tactician. I should have killed that girl when I had the chance, but I am a greedy man¡­¡±


    Sakura pulled me into the trees and gracefully flicked her hand to the side. ¡°I just don¡¯t like getting killed by rotting men, sorry. But now that we are within the confines of the forest, you are unable to give chase.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    General tarvis made his nightmarish steed move forward towards the treeline, making me fear that Sakura was wrong. Suddenly stopping a few inches away from us, the general looked down on us with his horrific eyes. ¡°I am unable to come after you because of the ward placed on the edge of the forest, a ward the keeps beings such as I out. But I wouldn''t feel too safe inside that forest of yours,¡± The general¡¯s horse began to slowly trotting away, but not before he could let his last words sink into our hearts. ¡°The Priestess¡¯s magics are strong, and before long that ward will be destroyed. You have only endangered the Elves that dwell deep in the forest. As such, prepare yourself for my return women.¡±


    General Tarvis proceeded to vanish into the night, leaving us alone at the edge of the dark and quiet forest. Sakura was about to say something, but I stopped her by quickly hugging her tightly.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I whispered, glad that we were both alive after the encounter with the rotting general. ¡°You saved us from that...that rotting general!¡±


    Sakura was happy to hear me thank her, but she pulled away from the hug. ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet Hana, we still have a very long way to go before we reach the city in the tree¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°How much farther is it?¡± I inquired, hoping the city of Elves wasn''t too far away from where we stood. ¡°The forest is very large, and on horseback it would have taken half a day, but now.¡± She snapped her fingers and brought a magical pin prick of light, making the dark forest seem a little more inviting. ¡°It could take us about eithteen hours of walking, maybe more depending if something tries to stop us in the process.¡± She looked over at me with her usual friendly smile and pointed her hand forward. ¡°We should try to walk a few hours, then find a place to sleep, okay?¡±


    Nodding my head, I followed her as we plunged into the giant forest, with nothing but the light Sakura had created as a guide. Looking up to her as we walked side by side, I could still see the wound under her eye leaking blood. ¡°Does it hurt?


    ¡°Hm? What hurts?¡±


    ¡°Your wound on your cheek, does it hurt?¡±


    Looking down slightly, she muttered to herself. ¡°Yeah¡­.just a little. Being thrown from a speeding horse can sure do a lot to wreck a perfect face¡­¡±


    She stopped walking when I brought a hand up to wipe the blood away carefully. Blushing, Sakura quietly gruffed at me in annoyance. ¡°W-What do you think you''re doing?¡±


    ¡°Getting the blood off of your perfect face. Unless you like old blood sitting on your face¡­.I thought it would be nice to wipe it away for you.¡±


    She annoyingly spoke to me as her face turned red. ¡°I-I can do that by myself! You don¡¯t have to do that for me!¡±


    I just smiled and brought my hand to pat her shoulder.


    ¡°Whatever you say.¡±


    She just huffed at me and picked up her speed, forcing me to run after her into the dark of the forest.


    ¡°Ah! Wait up!¡¯


    xXx


    It seemed like it had been hours, or maybe just minutes, but we were still walking the dark forest to make it to the city of the Elves. I knew all of that, but my stomach decided to be the first to complain over the long overdue food it needed.Hearing my growl and subsequently making me feel ashamed, Sakura stopped her walk and looked at me.


    ¡°I should have guessed one of us would get hunger pangs at some point.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Nothing to be sorry about, I feel a few hunger pangs myself.¡± Sakura spoke to me with sympathy, not upset over the want for food. ¡°You''re only human after all, so it''s natural to need some food sooner or later. We can stop for the night I suppose¡­¡± She guided to me to a smaller area of grass off of the side of the road and made me sit down. ¡°You take it easy here for a bit and I will go find some food to force feed you.¡±


    I looked at her a little bit puzzled and confused over why she would want to force feed me. ¡°Why...why do you need to do that?¡±


    Sakura laughed as she split the small light and left it, leaving as she did. ¡°Because I doubt anybody has done that to you¡­¡±


    She got to far away for me to hear the rest and respond ,so I layed back on the grass and peered at the trees above me. ¡°So we have made it to this forest, but now we have to keep walking to make it to these Elves¡­.¡± I thought to myself as I clung to my cloak for warmth, trying to keep the cool air of the forest out.


    ¡°That rotting man said he would be back soon¡­..but how soon? Was he telling the truth or lying to us? And who is this priestess that rules the land? How come she has not touched to forest the Elves live in? He said she has magic¡­.¡±


    It seems strange to me that with the aid of a rotting general, that an all powerful priestess could simply not lay a finger on the forest. But more than that, the title ¡°High Priestess¡± for a ruler of the lans made me think harder. From what I had seen and heard in my old world where I came from, someone with that title belonged to a religion or cult. ¡°Could this woman have some deity she worships? There has to be some reason to be called a High Priestess after all!¡±


    If there were deities in the land I had fallen, then that means that something more was at hand than what I had seen with my eyes. After seeing a man on top of a rotting horse, something that rotted like him, anything seemed possible. As I pondered on the world I was in now, a old and haggard voice of laughing broke my thoughts. Lifting my body up, I locked my eyes with an old looking woman in tattered clothing, her finger pointing to me as she laughed and called my name.


    ¡°Come to me Hana¡­¡­Everything will be alright¡­¡­..I will take you to the Elves...¡±


    End Chapter 3

 Chapter 4 – Learning of the Forest and World Part 1

    Chapter 4 ¨C Learning of the Forest and World Part 1


    I stood up as a haggard old woman pointed out for me to follow her to the Elves that lived in the forest. ¡°You know where the Elves are?¡± I asked quickly, a little worried behind who this person was. The old woman simply nodded her head up and down as she laughed at me. Feeling insecure over her sudden appearance from out of nowhere, I stayed where I stood. Looking angered at my refusal to follow her, the old woman began to come closer to me, with her long ratty black hair floating upwards behind her head. With her eyes beginning to glow in multiple different colors, my body began to respond without my own will and walk towards her. ¡°What¡¯s going on?! My legs¡­.they¡¯re moving on their own!¡± The old woman began smiling at me now, and I could see her rotten teeth grinding together in anticipation over me. As I got closer and closer to her, a blast of blinding white light erupted in the forest, causing me to drop to my knees on the ground. As the light began to die down, I looked up to see Sakura standing over me with her fingers pointed at the old woman.


    ¡°Be gone wicked spirit of the night!¡±


    The old woman snarled at Sakura, angry to have been interrupted from snatching me. But instead of wishing to fight Sakura, she back stepped into the dark trees of the forest and vanished in the air. Alone with each other once again, Sakura bent down and held out a hand to me. Grabbing it firmly, I heard her speak to me as I got up. ¡°Lucky I hadn¡¯t gotten away too far, any farther and that old bat would have done you in. It¡¯s a shame the ward has no effect of the evil things that dwell in the forest.¡± Now standing up next to her, I looked at Sakura with a bit of a frown over what she said. ¡°What does that ward even do, and what the hell was that woman?¡± Sakura put a hand on my shoulder and guided me back to the spot where I had sat previous to the event. Only once I was seated did she respond to my questions. ¡°That old bat was a murderous spirit that wanders her days in this forest, and she has a thing for young people. She like to, well, eat them and all.¡± As I cringed at the thought of being eaten by an old woman, Sakura quickly went to answer my next question. ¡°The ward on the forest was created in part by the Elves of the forest and their spirit tree, and that ward, and that ward stops anything connected with the Priestess from entering the forest. And as such, the General would have been slightly hurt if he attempted to enter.¡± I looked over at Sakura¡¯s eyes and saw them slightly light up with anger over mentioning the priestess. ¡°How come she doesn¡¯t bother to lift a finger at this forest then? Certainly she could do something to effect this place if she had magic like that general said. ¡°Well,¡± Sakura started as she reached into her coat and took out some berries. Dropping them into my hands, she sat down and continued. ¡°The ward has only been in effect for two years ago when the uprising in the capitol began, the very uprising that brought the High Priestess to power over us all. The Elves of the forest used to d trade with the residents of the capital, but they grew worried when the people began to grow darker ever since the Priestess came to power. The council of the High Elves here got together and made a new decree that stated no Elf would ever leave the confines of the forest or bother with the politics and rule of the Priestess. They sent the decree and terms to the High Priestess by messenger, who in turn agreed to the terms.¡±


    Leaning forward in interest as I ate the berries, I was highly intrigued by the history of the forest and stayed silent. Sensing my interest, Sakura continued the tale. ¡°The terms of the decree and deal with it was very simple. The Elves would never leave their forest and bother to stop anything that happened outside, and in turn for that, the High Priestess would never attempt to force the forest to her knees. Once she agreed to the terms, she sent the messenger back¡­.and had the general kill and cut the body up, informing them that if they went against their terms or did anything she didn¡¯t like, she would use force against them.¡± Ending the tale, she ate a few of the berries and contemplated over the past. To me, it pretty much sounded like the Elves where held prisoner in their own forest, a prison the insured their own survival as a people. Speaking up, I spoke to Sakura in a low voice. ¡°That general said that we had endangered the Elves within this forest¡­.does that mean he will come back with¡­force?¡± Sakura thumbed her chin, thinking my worried question over in her mind. ¡°¡­.I don¡¯t know, all we can do is hope they don¡¯t do anything over us. But knowing that damn Priestess, she will do anything to raise havoc¡­¡± Sakura clenched her hand into a fist and shook it, letting her anger show. Putting my hand over her clenched fist, I tried to calm her down. ¡°Sakura¡­.¡±


    Not wanting me to see her upset, she let her anger slide away and opened her hand to meet mine and spoke more. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Hana, I don¡¯t mean to let you see me like this. I just kind of hate that woman for all the pain she has caused.¡± She slide up next to me in the dark forest, with only the light she had created with magic to help us see. Wrapping her arm around my waist, I laid my head on her shoulder. The feeling of being so close to her was intoxicating for me. But to make that feeling go to the back of my head, I looked up at her face and asked her more about the land I was in. ¡°Does that woman really rule this world from the capital?¡± Lightly laughing to herself, Sakura ran a few fingers through my hair. ¡°She only rules so much of Hygar, and what she has isn¡¯t enough to sait her hunger for more. There are a few other very small factions in the land. These smaller city states are here and there, but they wholly oppose the High Priestess with a vengeance. Some of these factions include the vampires in the old capital to the south and the humans to the far west, not to mention the other clans of Elves around.¡± It was interesting to hear about the other different factions, no matter how they small they may be. It all sounded interesting, but I wanted to know more about the human side. ¡°There are other human rulers here in the land?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Yeah, quite a few, small and large. The biggest is the one in the west, which unfortunately is at war with itself¡­curtesy of you know who. The Priestess had the good king of that land assassinated and had the two young princes of the country turn on each other, each thinking the other had taken in part of the murder. While they bicker, the priestess supplies each with fresh batches of warriors as a friendly ¡°ally¡±, yet the two brothers are so blinded by hate, they are unable to see themselves being played. That woman does have mighty magical powers, even more so than anyone I have seen in my lifetime. She¡¯s pretty much the one who rules from the shadows, with her underlings doing the dirty work. ¡°


    ¡°So she essentially rules without ever being seen publicly?¡± Sakura nodded her head, signaling that I right in my assumption. ¡°Yeah. You only see her rules enforced by the General or some of the other higher ups. She never leaves the old royal palace in the center of town, and all the locals say that weird shit goes down inside, but they¡¯re too afraid to find out what it is.¡± Moving away from Sakura and resting my head on the ground, I looked up at the trees above as I talked to Sakura. ¡°Are the other towns all the same too?


    ¡°No, only to a much lesser extent are they weird. In fact, the towns are the best on the western shores, even with that brotherly rivalry going on. I can¡¯t guarantee that it will last for long, but at least it¡¯s slightly better than the capital.¡±


    ¡°Will we have to go to one of those western towns?¡± I asked, wanting to know what we would have to do. I was prepared to go anywhere just as long as I had Sakura by my side. ¡°That¡¯s up to the Princess God and what she thinks is right for your future. Any place is better than the capital Hana.¡± I nodded my head as I slightly yawned from being tired and she looked at me. ¡°Tomorrow you and I will find out what¡¯s really going on with you, okay? Until then, just get some rest.¡± Muttering an okay, I tried to fall asleep but found it a little hard. I wanted to badly meet the Princess God, but the wait was killing me to no ends. I had learned a lot for my first day in Hygar, but I was still needing to know more about this strange land I now lived in. Everything came down to the meeting I was to have with the Elves, and that meeting would no doubt prove to be the thing that would drive me forward, for better or for worse. The world I lived in now was a very dangerous place, and that meant I would have to start protecting myself to stay alive. Thinking about that, I spoke up to Sakura, who as sitting up and keeping the watch. ¡°Sakura?¡±


    ¡°Yeah Hana?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing from this point on I will need to protect myself from the dangers of your world.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but what about it?¡±


    Lightly smiling to myself, I told her what I was trying to say. ¡°Well, could you teach me how to use magic, assuming that I have it. Would you?¡± Looking at me with a gentle face, Sakura nodded. ¡°Sure, I can do that if you really wish it. But until then, sleep.¡± Happy with her answer I said one last thing as I finally fell back into the world asleep. ¡°Thank you¡­and Sakura¡­.I love you always¡­.¡±


    I heard her mumble to me under her breath as I began to sleep. ¡°You know I love you too.¡±


    xXx


    Sakura waked me up an hour before the break of dawn and tried to force feed me more of the berries from last night. After that small event, we picked up our route on the dusty trail and adventured along our way in the forest. The forest seemed so much bigger than it did during the night, and the size of it really made me wonder how the Elves survived alone out here without trade to the capital. By what Sakura said was high noon, we took a break and sat under the shade of a tree, tired from the walking we had to do. ¡°Awwwwww what a pain! If that stupid horse hadn¡¯t bolts when the General showed up, we would have been there by now!¡± Laughing it off with a slight chuckle, I patted her on the shoulder playfully. ¡°Well at least we haven¡¯t had any more weird interruptions like last night. That¡¯s a relief to say the least.¡±


    ¡°It would be a relief having some of that Godly Elvish brandy those tree hugging Elves brew. Now that would make me walk ten times faster!¡± As I watched her lick her lips over the thought of booze, I turned my head to the sound of horse hooves falling into the distant scrub of the forest floor. Springing up, Sakura grabbed me by the arm and drug me out to the main path at a high speed. ¡°What is it? Is it that general¡±? I asked, still la bit traumatized by him and his steed from the previous night. Sakura came to a dead halt and pointed out as she answered me. ¡°No, in fact it¡¯s the opposite of evil. Look!¡± I squinted my eyes as two figures on horseback came towards up in blinding speed. My eyes grew wide when I saw the familiar pointed ears of a creature I had only ever seen on book covers and in film.


    ¡°Are those¡­..Elves?!"


    End Chapter 4

 Chapter 5 – Learning of the Forest and World Part 2

    Chapter 5 ¨C Learning of the Forest and World Part 2


    I marveled at the sight as two Elves rode up to us in the forest on their steeds. Standing in front of me, Sakura waved as they came to a stop in front of us. ¡°Well it took you guys long enough to get here!¡± One of the Elves got down from his horse and crossed his arms as he judged Sakura with a stern look. ¡°We only came at the behest of the Princess God and the spirit tree, otherwise you would find yourself still walking.¡± It was amazing for me to see an Elf speak to us, and I couldn¡¯t help myself from speaking up to him. ¡°Are you really an Elf?¡± Looking at me with a funny face, he laughed at my innocent question. ¡°I was one the last time I checked. Is this your first time seeing my kind white hair?¡± Before I could answer, Sakura slightly glared up at him with disapproving eyes. ¡°Her names Hana and she¡¯s with me, okay? Now we have to see the Princess God urgently!¡± The Elf shrugged off Sakura¡¯s blatant rudeness and got back on top of his horse, pointing at us. ¡°Then I will take your ¡°Hana¡± with me, and Maki will take you.¡± The younger looking Elf waved to Sakura with a gentle smile as she gruffly went over to him. Taking the Elves hand, I got up and sat behind him on the horse. Nodding to his companion once Sakura was seated, the horse I sat on took off in blinding speed. I shook my head bac and forth as the trees seemed to speed by us at top speed, making me utterly confused at how we were going so fast. ¡°H-How is this-¡°


    ¡°How can out steeds do this?¡± The Elf said to me as we rode with Sakura nearby, not looking all too healthy as she rode on the other horse. ¡°Our horses are of a special breed that could run faster than a shooting star.¡±


    ¡°Amazing.¡± Was all I could say in response, so taken by the horses and their speed. The Elf didn¡¯t say anything else to me during the trip, so I was able to clear my mind and breathe in the fresh forest air as we rode. ¡°I wonder what this Princess God is like. Is she just a normal girl like me¡­Or¡­no,¡± I thought to myself, realizing her and I were truly two complete opposite when it came to race and worlds. ¡°She¡¯s an Elf from another worlds, and I suppose it¡¯s only natural she and I would be different from me or even Sakura for that matter. I look forward to asking her many questions of this world¡­and myself.¡± I let my thoughts slip away as I rode behind the Elf on the horse, just making my mind clear and eager for the meeting.


    xXx


    It seemed like only a short while, but suddenly the trees that had been speeding by began to slow down somewhat until the horse came to a slow trot in the forest. Looking back at Sakura and seeing her looking ahead, I turned forward to the Elf and spoke to him. ¡°Have we arrived already?¡± The elf nodded his head as we rode underneath a giant tree root, making my mind explode in wonder. ¡°Yes, this is the city in the trees.¡± As we came out from under the tree root, my mind was fully blown by what I saw, an area with multiple tree¡¯s that rose hundreds of stories tall into the canopy. All around on the forest ground were all sorts of Elves of varying ages, and all of the trees seemed to have large wooden stairs climbing upwards as they wound their way around the trunks of the trees. Once we came to a stop in front of one such stairway, the Elf in front of me spoke suddenly again. ¡°This is where you need to be.¡± Getting off of his horse, I watched as Sakura got off of hers and walked to me in a slightly dizzy manner. Once she shook it off and stood next to me, the Elf looked at us with a kind face and wished us luck with the meeting. Once he and his companion rod off, Sakura held out her hand holding the old sword. Taking it from her, she put her now free hand on my shoulder and we began to ascend the stairs to above in the tree.


    ¡°This is amazing Sakura! They really do live with the trees!¡± Sakura laughed when she heard the tone of amazement in my voice. ¡°You really are amazed all right Hana, I¡¯ve never seen anyone else react before with such wide eyes, teehee.¡± Laughing with her, we came to a stop on top of an extended like balcony, with a clothed entrance into the tree being guarded by Elves in bright shining silver armor. Speaking up to them, Sakura pointed thumb at me. ¡°I brought the girl just like the Princess God asked, now if you would be so kind as to let me through, I ne-¡° Before she could finish her statement, a figure walked out from behind the cloth and looked down at us with green Elven eyes. ¡°So you have brought the white haired one as my sister asked Sakura? It seems you weren¡¯t full of hot air after all.¡± I looked up as a male Elf in front of us looked at Sakura with a thing wry smile, pleased to see her upset. I was too shy to speak up, but Sakura was all too annoyed to not answer him. ¡°Why would I lie about her Kambal?! I said I knew how to get her here and that I knew her, right?!¡± Before Kambal could give his reply to Sakura¡¯s sudden anger, a soft female voice spoke from within the tree. ¡°That¡¯s enough brother, stop you¡¯re teasing and let the white haired one in.¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    Moving out of the way of the door, Kambal pointed an arms at the door and motioned for me to enter. As I went in, he put a leg out to stop Sakura from following me in. Utterly pissed off by his refusal to let her come with me, Sakura spat at him. ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing bastard?! I¡¯m wanted too!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that my sister only wishes to speak with the white haired girl at the moment Sakura, so it looks like you have to keep waiting.¡± Looking back at her with a worried look, she waved a hand at me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Hana, just go. I guess I will just have to sit out here and deal with this bastard for a while!¡± Not sticking around to hear anymore of her insults to the Elf, I stepped inside the tree fully and looked with a slightly open mouth as a long eared woman sat on a pillow on the floor of the room. She looked a bit more exotic to me than the previous Elves, her skin being slightly tanner and she had many bracelets and earrings on. Gesturing for me to be seated, I sat down in front of her and she finally spoke to me in an equally exotic accent. ¡°So you are the one Sakura cares for deeply hm? I am glad to have been able to finally been able to see you with open eyes and a clear mind.¡± The Princess God leaned her head on a hand and some of the bracelets she wore jangled down her arm as she did so. ¡°Speaking up to her quickly, I nodded my head up and down. ¡°Y-Yes I am¡­..but how do you know me or¡­¡±


    ¡°I foresaw that you would be able to help this world, and that sword you have with you would be the key to it all Hana.¡± She kept her gaze fixed on me with her gentle jade green eyes, not looking away once as she spoke of me and the sword. ¡°And above all, I saw that you were connected with the sword of legend. Your connection goes all the way to your, how should I say it, unique white hair and blue eyes. For Hana, the hero of the legend that wielded that sword also had hair as white as snow and eyes as blue as the sky on a cloudless day. I believe you are his reincarnation, here to help once again and set the word straight.¡± Shocked by the mention of the word ¡°he¡± for the hero of their legend, I spoke with an uncertainty. ¡°But I¡¯m a woman, not a man. Doesn¡¯t a reincarnation retain the same gender as the previous life?¡± The Princess God nodded her head to my question. ¡°In most cases yes, but only when the spirit and soul of the person identifies itself as a set gender. Your spirit and soul was made very differently, and as such, you have no gender Hana. You live in the body that you choose before coming into life. Last time you came as a man, but now it seems for some reason you have chosen to come as a woman.¡± Her statement was mind boggling for me, hearing that I may have been a man at one point, and above all genderless. I was still very uncertain of anything, and I replied once again in a skeptical voice. ¡°But I was born on another world, far from your world of Hygar. I only got here because of-¡°


    ¡°Because of the sword and Hana¡¯s wish for you to be here with her. That sword is deeply connected with your spirit and soul, and it could have summoned you by itself alone. There are many ways to travel to this land, and once such way is by wish. The wishes added with the power of the old blade brought you to us, but now you have other questions for me, yes?¡± I nodded me head again with a nervous sweat, trying to sort out the right questions to ask her. ¡°Y-Yes,¡± I said as I started to speak, with her only smiling to me kindly. ¡°I have many questions, but my first one is about the High Priestess of the land. Who is she?¡±


    ¡°She,¡± The Princess God started to say to as she kept her green eyes glued to me, making sure I payed attention to her. ¡°The High Priestess is a follower of Kamui, the Demon God of death and decay. Or to put it in a straighter manner, she is the one who is his High Priestess and wishes to bring him back to the land.¡± I grew a little cold knowing that the ruler of the land wanted to bring a demon back to life, but I did my best to not let it show. ¡°Why would she want to make this Kamui live again?¡± I asked in a hushed voice, afraid of the answer I may hear. ¡°A millennia ago, Kamui was a living breathing man that once ruled all of Hygar with an iron fist. He ruled the land with unjust power and slaughtered millions for the sake of a balanced world, a world where evil reigned supreme over Hygar, with Kamui in the seat of power.¡±


    ¡°What happened to him then? Did he destroy the world with his power?¡± I asked the Princess God, still nervous over the story. Replying to me, she looked at me seriously. ¡°The good Gods of Hygar grew tired of seeing the land they had created get destroyed by one man, and so they created the sword you have before you. Kamui needed to keep killing to bring an ancient power back from the dark past of the Gods, and the Gods wished to keep that power hidden from such a man.¡±


    ¡°What was the power?¡±


    Looking at me with a silent, almost emotionless face, the Princess God uttered the words I never thought I would hear.


    ¡°It is the power to control time and space, the power to rule over all of the different worlds and dimensions that exist in the universe, with Hygar as the seat of that power.¡±


    End Chapter 5

 Chapter 6 - The Sad Truth Part 1

    In the deepest darkest corridors of the High Priestesses temple, and ancient evil stalked his way with loud boot falls echoing about. The tall dark for of General tarvis reached his destination and placed a gauntlet clad hand of the stone door in front of him, walking as he pushed the door open. As he did so, a sweet and subtle voice called out to the undead man, making him stop and slowly bow his head forward.


    "So, I see you let them escape General."


    The General''s rotting lips twitched into a half annoyed smile at hearing that he had let them escape. Bringing his head back up and locking his eyes into the darkness before him, he simply replied in a very calm tone. "They only escaped because of the forest in which those dreaded Elves reside in your majesty. Had there been no magical boundry, I would have brought their crippled and broken bodies before your feet."


    As he spoke into the darkness before him, two piercing green eyes could now be seen, studying him as he stood stoney faced. The woman in the shadows was unpleased about the current situation on her hands, for now she had only one option left. Closing her green eyes, the woman softly spoke in the same tone to her undead minion.


    "Yes the boundry that prevents us from entering their holy forest, however I allowed them to set such a ward of protection. Those fools think they can keep one such as I out and for years have they lived in peace. Their Princess God should know that they are not as safe as they would think, for I have gained a certain old power...." The high priestess opened her eyes once more and a dark pulsating energy could be seen iluminating the darkness, lighting up her smooth face. "I lived once long ago and Lord Kamui gifted this power to me then and with it millions fell before me, however I soon died by the hands of one with white hair. Since I have been reborn, this power has slowly been growing inside of me, growing to point where I can now destroy the Elves ward on their forest. Kneel before me General."


    The old undead General did as he was commanded, although not without a slight grunt of annoyance. As he kneeled before the High Priestess, she extended her hand and placed it on his rotting scalp. The dark energy quickly spread inside him, filling him with a new and very dark power. Removing her hand, the Priestess spoke again. "I have given you a bit of my power for you to use general. With it you will be able to destroy the ward on the forest and everything that live within."


    General Tarvis rose once more and bowed his head towards the one who controled his fate, slowly turning as he spoke up. "With this power I will cripple all who oppose you and your right to rule them all. Tonight I will feast on Elven flesh, keh-heh -heh." The hissing laughter was enough to make the strongest warrior want to kill himself, for the sounf was terrible to hear. As he exited the room, the High priestess spoke up one last time to him. "Kill them all, but bring the girl with white hair to me."


    "Keh-heh-heh" Was all that could be heard as he stalked his way out to gather his men.


    xXx


    "Wait, he wants to control other worlds? Like my homeworld?" The Princess God simply nodded her head as I began to grow more fearful of this world where I now seemed to live. "He very much wanted to and still lusts for that power now. But the hero of old sealed him away with that very ancient blade you now hold onto Hana. That blade is one of two keys to unlocking him from his long slumber, the other key is," The Princess God came and placed a hand on my forhead, making me slightly blush at the feeling of her soft skin. Not noticing, she continued, "The other key is you I am afraid hana, for the only way that he can be unsealed is by using you and the blade of old. You and that blade are connected and bound to each other, and the High Priestess also knows of this as well. But the blade is broken and old, it is something that cannot be weilded yet. That means it must be fixed."


    "But how can it be fixed? I can''t do it and I highly doubt Sakura could either..." The Princess God said nothing as I worried too much over an old sword I could never possibly fix on my own. She brought her hand over my eyes and before I knew it I was falling backwards, my eyes closing suddenly as I did so. Just before I hit solid ground, I seemed to be standing before a largw congregation of men on horses. One by one they were lined up on gallant horses and before them sat a man on a dark black horse with, his sword extended out towards them in a salute. As I watched, I heard the man saluting raise his voice. "My brothers! We have finally made it to the end of this great war that embroils our world, the end of the dark lord! The end of Lord Kamui, the living demon that plagues us!"


    The men before him raised their spears and swords, yelling loudly in agreement. "Who is this and where am I? I was just with the Princess God and now suddenly....."


    "You are in the realms of dreams now Hana, the place where the past, present and future come together. What you see before you is one such past, from during the time of the hero of old." I turned my head and saw the Elven Princess God standing next to me, watching the events unfold. Looking back at the men, I saw their leader move his horse and point his sword before him. Charging with a loud battle cry, he lead them in a thunderous roar as they ran towards a lone figure. "Who is that?"I thought to myself as I watched an entire mob of men rush towards one dark lone figure standing on the horizon. Surely on person couldn''t stand the might of what was coming towards them. We seemed to move along with the horde of riders and I saw the lone figure swiftly bring a hand up and pointed towards them. One moment I saw all the men on horseback closing in on what looked like a young man in black clothes and his jet black hair covering most of his face, and the next, nothing."What the hell?!" I yelled in mind, just seeing the impossible. The Elf next to me just kept her same straight face and we watched as the dust began to clear. My eyes jumped as I saw the the carnage of dead men and horses on the ground. The dark man just crouched as he watched the lone survivor of the attack try to crawl to his fallen sword and all I could think was how bad I felt for him. The crouching man tilted his head and a vicious smile grew on his face and he began to talk down to the man.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    "Such a shame, I truly thought I would at least have a scar from this pathetic display you call a fight." From my distance I could see he was talking to the man that had elad all of the other warriors to their deathes moments earlier. Grunting slowy, the man angerly spat in pain at the man looking down at him. "How could you.....wipe us all out.......that should be im-"


    "Impossible? You call yourself the General of Hygar, and yet you don''t underestimate my name. How selfish, I ought to teach you a lesson."


    Bringing his hand to his lips, he blew what looked like a dark cloud from his lips, the bubble growing in size slowly. When it reached a size larger then him, he swung his hand in a forward motion and it began to enclose the crawling man on the ground, still trying to reach his sword. As it did, the man spoke again. "Yes general, you must face the crimes for the murder of all these yound men. They may have willingly gone with you, but you killed them the moment you carged on the one from the darkness. Yes, I am Kamui, your "Living Demon" who plagues you so much. But I think you will begin to change your views on me very shortly hmm?"


    I looked over at the Princess God and saw her frown at the scene unfolding before us, most likely having seen this before. "So all of this is in the past, yet somehow she can see it in her dreams. And this Kamui.....he looks young and humam...."My thoughts were interurrupted when the bubble around the man began to pulsate with a dark looking energy and seem to stab the man within. I cringed as I watched the man who had so gallently rode to defeat kamui dissapear in the pitch blackness pulsating from the bubble. Just as they had started, the screams turned into high pitch hisses and whispers, a sound I knew all to well. "Oh no, it can''t be..." I whispered to myself as I watched what stood up before kamui. Nodding her head at what I feared, she spoke up. "Yes Hana, you''ve met this man last night. He is General Tarvis, the undead man on the horse that chased you and Sakura to this very forest. And also..." She looked at me with her gentle green eyes and I could feel at least a bit of calmness as I looked at them. "He was the hero of old''s elder brother, someone who was closest to to him like no one else. Hana, no matter what form you may have now, he is still you flesh and blood. Kamui knew this and was glad to take him from.....you. He is not the same man he once was...he died here at the hands of the Demon King you see."


    I watched as the once flesh and blood man now stood before Kamui, ragged and flesh rotting from his face. "Oh my God..." I thought to myself as I looked on at Tarvis, now seeing him as I had the previous night. "He once was a good guy?....."


    Tarvis looked down at his body and I could almost see a slight tear form in one ragged eye. "What did you do to me?!" He rasped in pain, his transformation making him slightly scared of his ownself. Kamui shrugged with no care to what he had just done to Tarvis, because he never cared for other anyways. "I have placed a curse on you, a curse that will affect and prolong your life far into the undead. You will never know true beauty again, never know what a real body feels like. You will only know pain and suffering for as long as you continue to exist, a being who must hurt those he sought to save. But dont fear Tarvis, I didnt kill you...." Kamui placed his hands on Tarvis'' shoulders and smiled softly now, pleased with what he was saying. "No, the one who brought this upon you was your own dear brother. He told you to wait, to not rush into battle without him, but he ws wrong. He has always been wrong, but you never listened, for he was your younger brother. Why should you listen to a pint sized white hair kid who knows nothing at all? Now you can do something to him for me....for us."


    "What...is it you want?"


    "I want you to kill all those he feels close to. His friends, his family, even his lover. Murder them all and you may even feel them become apart of you, their magic and power growing within yourself. Give him the pain you had to feel, the scars you now bear. Use everything to your advantage Tarvis."


    Tarvis said nothing in response and turned around, walking over to one of the dead horses on the ground. In response to seeing him, the dead animal began to twitch and move, eager to get on its feet. When it did, the ragged man got in its saddle and began to ride off in an almost hypnotic state. As he vanished, so did the scene before my eyes. But just before it did, I heard Kamui utter a few last words.


    "What a fool,just like you said mother. However he will prove to be a very useful ally in taking control of the hero now, for who can dare to see their dear brother they always looked up to dead?"


    End Chapter 6

 This is still a thing, I assure you. And other New story on here as well.

    Ahhh getting busy sucks, but fear no more my readers, this is coming back in just a bit! I have the last chapter I meant to get up a long time ago ready fro later today I think perhaps. But I would also like to say I will be still going full time on this story and slowly in the background working on another Cyberpunk-ish story as well that may get heavy here and there. But I am by no means dropping this project, as I like the basic idea I had a while ago as well as the characters. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    So look out for the next chapter later as well as my codenamed new series called "The Phantoms Net" coming soon as long as I get a few chapters fully written so I have bulk all done.


    Thank you for the support so far, it means a lot to a budding writer like me, I do my best to write as good stories as I can possibly can.

 Chapter 7 - The Sad Truth Part 2

    ¡°Such a fool¡­.¡±


    I could barely stand as I stood on quaking legs, the shock of all the information I had been told and seen so far making me dizzy. I had just seen a living man turned into a walking nightmare, a once honorable and noble person now led astray by a single person. I could tell that the Elven girl next to me sensed what I felt, and looking at me she spoke.


    ¡°Tarvis who is also your brother, felt that dealing with the problem of Kamui face on would make the world right again. And he wasent wrong with that idea, in fact the world needed to be cleansed of the dark force born unto it. However without the blade of evils bane, nothing can be done to stop Kamui and his dark designs. The hero himself knew of this and urged his older brother to listen and wait for him to do it himself.¡± The Princess Goddess sighed loudly, the tale of old making her sad. ¡°But Tarvis never would listen, no matter how much the hero begged of him, no plead could reach him. He summoned his men together and marched onto the old capital and in one fell swoop were wiped out by Kamui. But¡­..¡±


    ¡°But Tarvis was one lone survivor and regreted not listening to his brother¡­.to me back then. And after that he was turned into a puppet to be used by Kamui, a puppet with no hope of ever having a shred of peace in his life¡­¡±


    I could only feel terrible for Tarvis, knowing that he would never be the same man again. The Elf looked at me with her bright green eyes and frowned as she began to finish the cruel tale. ¡°Tarvis turned into a dark shell of a man, a creature who was hellbent on revenge. As he cursed Tarvis, Kamui had also placed a spell the would insure that his new puppet would do as he pleased and above all, forget who is brother was. He went and killed all of the family and friends he had at the request of Kamui, not even thinking of the guilt he now placed on his soul. Everyone knew that the hero, you Hana, were very different from everyone else. You could speak to the dead and they would help you through everything. But when the phantoms of you family came to you about Tarvis¡­..¡± She took a breath and chewed her lower lip as she told me the story. ¡°About how he had changed from what he once was, you cried for the first time in your life. With the blade, you rused to the old capital and fought Kamui head on, fully sealing him away forever. But just as you had, your brother came and¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°He¡­.he killed me?¡± I asked nervousy, somehow being able to guess that. The Elf nodded her head at my guess. ¡°Yes, he stabbed you in the back as you fully sealed kamui away. But you did not die right away, instead you lay there on the ground and stared at him. Stared at what he had become, at becoming the very evil he sought to vanguish. As you did that, you spoke to him one last time. You said, ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t know if you are still there, but I want to know that I forgive you. I forgive you for everything you have and will do. And never forget, we will meet again one day and I will free you. No matter how long it takes, I will save you from your nightmare. I just¡­.can¡¯t do it this time around and in this body.¡±


    I took these words in and felt an almost dejavu after hearing them, which would make sense since I was that person who spoke them. Still speaking, the Princess Goddess ended the tale. ¡°The hero died and the darkness had begun to lift from the land. But Tarvis still remained, his dead brothers body in his arm. Although he had changed, a little bit of him was sad and angered at what he had done. He shed one tear and then left, taking the body with him. In one last act of kindness, he buried the body somewhere, but he left the blade where it had been used to fight Kamui. Nobody knows where the hero was buried, no one but Tarvis alone.¡±


    Now having heard the full tale, I absorbed it as the scenery changed back to that of the room where I sat with the Elven princess Goddess. Looking at me, she spoke simply as she always did. ¡°Now as to how you are able to fix that blade, I saw a person in my dreams who passed though this forest a few days ago. He was on his was south from here, heading towards the old capital. Im sure he could help you.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    I stood up and looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, wondering about everything now. ¡°What do I do now, with all of this?¡±


    The Princess Goddess just smiled at me very kindly and tilted her head. ¡°That Hana, is up to you. There is much to do in this world and just as much to learn. You once may have been able to do a lot, but now you have to relearn everything.¡± Standing up, I noticed her smile vanish quickly. Her eyes alarmed, she looked at me. ¡°I¡¯m afraid there is no time left now¡­...he is here, at the border from which you escaped him.¡±


    I knew instantly what she was talking about, it was Tarvis. He had come finally, somehow here to get me and Sakura. ¡°Hes here for me, but what will happen to the Elves?!¡± That really was the biggest question, what would happen to everyone else now that I had come here.


    ¡°You two have to leave at once before he is able to catch you here. You must travel to th south, for that is where the beginning of your destiny lays.¡± Ushering me out, I stood atop the tree platform outside of where we had been and I could see Elves rushing about below. I saw Sakura leaning on the tree and she gave me a silent eyebrow raise as I came back towards her. Looking over to the Princess Goddess as I stood next to her, Sakura spoke without much respect. ¡°So now we gotta leave already, just because some undead general is coming to ruin a good day? Come on!¡±


    Shaking her head, the Princess Goddess sighed as she spoke to Sakura, knowing full well that there was no easy way of saying what she had to. ¡°I know you have just arrived to the city, but I cannot risk you being seen here with us. The consequences are high for both of us Sakura, you should know yourself what will happen when Tarvis gets here. He has a way with dealing with traitors and those who harbor enemies of the High Priestess. I don¡¯t want any bloodshed to happen within the sacred forest.¡±


    Huffing a bit, Sakura just shrugged off everything that the Princess Goddess said and glared. ¡°You can pray all you want for a peaceful ending to this situation, but I think you should repare yourself for the loses. The general does anything when he please, no matter what pain he causes on the survivors. Thats just how the general acts.¡± I could sense from Sakura that there was more to why she hated Tarvis, almost as if she may have seen something happen close to her. And to be honest, I really wouldn¡¯t blame her for the anger she felt towards him. ¡°I just hope she dosent kill me one day when she finds out how he and I are connected. I doubt she knows much about the ancient past, and more so if the hero ever had a brother in the first place.¡± Snaking my hand to hold hers, I tried to cal her down asI gave her a half twitching smile. As I did, I could feel her loosen up and speak a little nicer to the woman who had just helped me learn a little about my past. ¡°Okay fine, we will leave the big bad general to you, as much as it pisses me off.¡±


    ¡°No, shes going with you two.¡±


    The voice of Kambal, the Princess Goddesses brother spoke up to us and I saw him walking with a stern look on his face. ¡°Sakura is right about General Tarvis, there is no telling what he will do to us. The High Priestess most likely knows you two are here with us now and thats enough information to tell me that she wants him to kill most of us¡­¡± Looking to his younger sister, he spoke to her alone. ¡°We are in process of getting the women and children to safety, but I need you to go with them. It is no longer safe here, and I would never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you.¡± Before anyone else could answer, Sakura took a deep breath and spoke loudly. ¡°As much as I dont want to babysit royalty and be in charge of keeping two girls alive, I will drag them both with me. Now can we get going for once?¡± Nodding his head, he whispered something into his sisters ear and then left us alone together. Still not all that happy, Sakura grabbed the old sword from me and hid it in her coat. ¡°Okay Princess, where do we go? We obviously can¡¯t go back towards the capital, so what else is there?¡±


    Bowing her head towards us, she spoke with a polite voice. I was taken with how she was acting, so humble to us when it should be the other way around. ¡°I am sorry about this, Sakura, Hana. And I would like you to address me by my born name, not my title. My name is Sayu, and I ask you to treat me like anybody else.¡± Looking back at us with her green eyes, Sayu smiled kindly. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to be a burden to any of you. And we have to go to the south, towards the old capital.¡±


    Raising an eybrow, Sakura looked interested. ¡°So we are going to the old capital, that should prove to be¡­.irritating¡­..¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that Sakura?¡± I asked innocently, worried about what I would hear. Looking at me with an almost nervous smile, Sakura rubbed the back of her neck as she told me. ¡°Well, lets just say this Vampire really wants me dead for leaking info on how he¡¯s been ripping off all the other Vampire nobles, and well¡­.you get the picture.¡±


    Blinking rapidly at the sound of a bloodthirsty Vampire wanting Sakura dead, I was almost not too surprised at all. Because after all, Sakura is Sakura¡­.

 New Series up as well as Sched for this story!

    First lets get to this story business! This story will be updated a tad slower because of the new story I have a lot more interest in at ths moment. That does not mean I will give up, no no no, not at all. I feel like there should be a new chapter soon for this story. Thats all I can say for now.


    However I have a new story called The Phantom''s Net here on RRL, and I would love if you guys could give it a check for me and maybe read it. So far there are two chapters up for it and more on the way to be posted over time. This story is a cyberpunk story that is inspired by such works as the original Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, Evangelion and even a bit of World trigger. Its has a lot of things planned for it and I think you will like it a lot guys! I leave the link now here in the post chapter note below.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.