ã€ŠStorm of Kingsã€‹


 Chapter 1: Steal my wife you damn brat

    The boy watched with disdain in his eyes as the ebony carriage pulled up beside him and opened it¡¯s doors to reveal a young, lithe girl. A pure white shawl covered her body and complimented the purple robes that hugged against her still developing body. Stitched over her left breast was the symbol of a black dragon, matching the one boldly set onto the carriage doors. Behind the girl the silhouette of a man appeared. His face was partially obscured by the darkness of the carriage interior and further hidden behind the window curtain but the boy could sense waves of invisible power coming off of his body.

    ''At last you¡¯ve arrived.¡¯ Mark mused with glee and rubbed the ring on his finger as the pair descended onto the ground.

    The man took stock of his surroundings and Mark could see his eyes glitter as they passed over his body, ¡°Marie, why did you stop here?¡±

    The girl shuddered as a cool breeze passed by and brought the shawl closer to her body. Her eyes passed by Mark curiously but he was immediately forgotten as she spotted a brightly coloured shop a few meters away.

    ¡°Uncle told me about a dessert shop I need to visit...¡± She pointed at the shop and began sprinting towards it as her robe billowed around her, ¡°Here it is!¡±

    The man watched her with amusement, ¡°Your uncle huh? I should have known if I didn¡¯t do it someone would.¡±

    ¡®So this is the guy whose life I¡¯ll be ruining¡¯ Mark turned to look at the man and was surprised to see the man staring back at him.

    ¡°Hello there.¡± The man greeted Mark amicably and lifted his hand in a wave.

    Mark waved back, feeling a small tremor run across his spine as waves of pressure seemed to roll off the man and smother him.

    The man walked over to Mark and shifted his attention towards the figure disappearing through the dessert shop door, ¡°Do you know who that girl is?¡±

    ¡°No sir.¡± Mark replied diligently, but a hint of suspicion crossed his features as the man began to speak.

    ¡®What is this guy doing?¡¯

    ¡°She¡¯s the young lady of the Black Dragon Clan. A mysterious and powerful clan that rules this land from the shadows. She¡¯s renowned as a genius in magic studies that is only seen once in a thousand years and from her features she will grow up to be an incredible beauty.¡± The man gestured wildly to emphasize his point but his eyes were calmly scanning Mark from head to toe, ¡°Thousands of boys chase her for her hand in marriage but it has been decided by our families that she will be my bride come this spring.¡±

    The man stopped and Mark nodded along with his words.

    ¡°That is very good sir." He made sure to put emphasis one every word, "I hope your marriage is a happy one.¡± Mark grinned at the man and lifted his thumbs up in a gesture of friendliness.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± A look of shock crossed the man¡¯s face, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    Mark flashed the man a grin, ¡°I mean no sarcasm good sir. I sincerely wish you and your bride a happy marriage. From what you¡¯ve said you are getting a one in a million girl. I can hardly imagine the power of your good self and the family behind you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t feel the least bit resentful against me?¡± The man¡¯s arms flopped to his side and he looked lost, ¡°Or do you feel angry? Clearly I¡¯m too old for this girl. She probably deserves someone much better and younger, like you.¡±

    Mark slapped his hands together and the man jumped up, ¡°Why I wouldn¡¯t dare think something like that. In fact, I admire you sir. Love knows no boundaries and to proceed with this wedding even while acknowledging that your ages are so far apart and that it may cause resentment is a testament to your great strength of character.¡±

    ¡°What? No it¡¯s not.¡± The man shook his head and took a step back, ¡°Even without looking at how young and pretty she is, a genius that comes every thousand years is clearly too good for me. Don¡¯t you feel like she would be better suited for someone more powerful than me. She is destined for prodigious heights after all. Only a genius that could transcend the heavens might come close to being a proper husband for her.¡± The man¡¯s eyes pierced through Mark as though hinting at something.

    Mark looked around himself and then at the sky and the ground, ¡°I see no such genius around here good sir.¡± He innocently remarked, ¡°and I again find myself awed with your humility. I can feel your power from here and as an ordinary person I am unable to resist even your presence. I am sure you are a genius of similar talents to your future wife. A truly humble man like you shouldn¡¯t worry about what others might think. Ultimately it is about her happiness as well as yours and I¡¯m sure your hearts will make the right decision.¡±

    The man resisted the urge to slap himself in the head and Mark could see beads of sweat running down his head, ¡°You¡¯re right. I am truly talented, some would even call me a genius. Did I mention I¡¯m the young lord of the nearby manor? I have treated many young ladies cruelly in the past. Doesn¡¯t that make you angry? Or maybe make you want to overthrow me and my family? And then take this girl from my evil clutches and go off merrily into the sunset? Hell, we don¡¯t even have to fight. I¡¯ve already made all the preparations to break off the marriage. If a person, any person, came into the scene at the wrong time it¡¯s possible that the entire marriage may be called off.¡±

    ¡°Look sir,¡± Mark shrugged his shoulders, ¡°I don¡¯t want to marry your fiance. Deal with it.¡±

    ****

    ¡°Look sir,¡± The boy shrugged his shoulders, ¡°I don¡¯t want to marry your fiance. Deal with it.¡±

    ¡®What the hell is this kids problem. Take the damn girl.¡¯

    Ryan almost chocked on his own spit as waves of emotion threatened to break out onto his face. Waves of perspiration trickled down his neck and back and took a step back into the carriage, sparing a single glance at the dessert house where Marie was no doubt gorging herself on sweet delicacies. The boy was snickering as he watched Ryan sit down and close the door behind him.

    ¡®Relax. Gather your thoughts.¡¯ Ryan rubbed his fingers on his temple as he attempted to make sense of the situation, ¡®Start from the beginning.¡¯

    The world of Cognoscenti was a wonderful place. Filled with magic, monsters and adventures as far as the eye could see. It was a place where the strong ruled and the powerful benefited. That wasn¡¯t the only thing that Ryan had discovered since his arrival. Unfair and unjust, these words were synonymous with being weak. Those without power were oppressed and those that were weak were playthings of the beings that ruled over them. It was a common sight in the world and nobody within it questioned this way of life at all.

    But Ryan wasn¡¯t from this world.

    Ryan Oswald, the son of a lord in Cognoscenti that abused his power to get women, kill off enemies and inflict hatred wherever he walked. That despicable person had died drunk off his face and in his place Ryan Oswald, son of an accountant and serial daydreamer that had died at the same time on the planet Earth had taken over his body. It was a pleasant life although Ryan had only discovered the life his body''s previous owner had lived afterward and tried hard to correct it by being as nice as possible while hiding the fact that he was not the same man that everything thought he was.

    Then a seer his father had hired to tell his fortune had told him a ¡®protagonist¡¯ was coming to get him.

    His father had immediately ordered the seer executed for speaking in gibberish but Ryan had pleaded with him to spare her and let her go back to her home. That was because the prophecy had been in English. His native tongue. But none of the others in the world could understand the words.

    It was at this moment that Ryan realized he was in a lot of danger. In the stories he¡¯d read on Earth it was a common trope that when a protagonist arrived they would immediately encounter a young lord and astonishingly talented and beautiful girl and then proceed to completely destroy that young lords life. If he was lucky then in the best case scenario his family would die and he would be crippled for life, lamenting how he had thought himself so talented only to not see the powerful genius that he had insulted.

    So Ryan had devised a plan to avoid all that mess and live a happy and fruitful life as a young lord.

    First of all he had alienated himself from his future wife by admitting to his and her family that he was clearly too incompetent to match his talents. Surprisingly this had been the easiest part of the entire plan because the girl was simply too talented in controlling magic. She was a prodigy not only to her own clan but to this entire country. It also helped a lot that she was only fourteen and he had zero interest in her physically. He had seen that age wasn¡¯t considered much of a barrier in this world but considering the fact that his bodies previous owner had murdered people in cold blood and been praised for it he didn¡¯t consider this much of a consolation. He had long ago decided that no matter what the rules of this world he would follow his own principles and values forged by his time on Earth. It was simply in his nature to be kind to people and avoid harm.

    So in accordance with what he remembered from stories he had proceeded to be incredibly nice to his future fiance. He had already made it clear to her that he intended not to marry her because of their age difference and due to his lack of talent. In fact, he even intended to stay her friend once the protagonist came onto the scene because if they stayed on good terms this would benefit him greatly and nobody would be harmed or have their clans annihilated in the process. If his plan worked correctly then eventually an instigating event would begin where the young lord and lady meet the protagonist, causing the protagonist to meet his future wife and develop a hatred for the young lord that was courting her.

    Ryan was a simple man. He intended to shove the wife onto the protagonist and avoid the hatred that came with being the young lord.

    Whenever he asked himself if this was a cowardly thing to do he simply shook his head and thought that it was just good sense.

    He would continue to live a happy life and Marie would marry the most powerful being in the universe and the person who was destined to be her true love.

    ¡®So why the hell isn¡¯t he taking the bait?¡¯ Ryan scowled.

    He had known from the moment that Marie had requested the carriage to be stopped in the middle of a poor town¡¯s market place that this was probably the event where they would meet the protagonist. Sure enough there was a young boy that some would consider handsome standing in the middle of the street staring at them and rubbing a ring on his finger. The ring was a dead giveaway to Ryan, the boy probably had a senior magician or equally powerful entity¡¯s consciousness and memories in there.

    Ryan clapped his hands as an idea floated into his head, ¡®Oh, he probably just hasn¡¯t seen enough of her yet. Love isn¡¯t a rushed thing after all. Even protagonists probably don¡¯t fall in love at first sight.¡¯

    He laughed at himself and immediately exited the carriage to face the bemused young boy again.

    ¡°You have cleared a great many worries I¡¯ve had about my fiance and life. I should introduce myself, my name is Ryan. Ryan Oswald.¡± Ryan cleared his throat as he thought about what to say next, and decided to stroke the boy¡¯s ego a bit, if the boy was hiding his powers then it would feel good to him if he was praised, ¡°I sense that you are very powerful on the inside. It is so rare to meet a young person talented in magic like you are, and so wise too. Would you like to come to my father¡¯s mansion and dine with my fianceand I? I am sure if you get to know us better it would benefit us all.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡®Ryan one, protagonist zero.¡¯ Ryan smiled at his own genius.

    It was obvious that once the protagonist and Marie became acquainted that love would blossom between them and he would immediately try to confront Ryan to take away Marie to live a better life as his wife.

    And instead of fighting Ryan intended with his full might to push her away and live his life in peace, wishing them a happy marriage.

    ¡°No thank you. I have to work at my family''s dessert shopand won¡¯t have time to attend a diner with sir and his future wife. Thank you for the praise, however, I am quite content with my life of being a powerless being in the grand scheme of things.¡±

    ¡®Say what?¡¯

    ****

    ¡°No thank you. I have to work at the bakery and won¡¯t have time to attend a diner with sir and his wife. Thank you for the praise, however, I am quite content with my life of being a powerless being in the grand scheme of things.¡±

    ¡®Haa, so that¡¯s your angle is it?¡¯ Mark glowered at the sky with anger but kept a smile on his face while facing Ryan.

    He wasn¡¯t a person that had been born in this world.

    Mark had been an ordinary citizen in his previous life on another world called Earth. Reading books and going through his studies had been the highlight of his life and it had been a good one, with loving parents that provided everything for him but still bred in him a good moral compass, the need for self-discipline and common sense.

    So he had been incredibly shocked when he was hit by a car in front of his parents and died.

    He wasn¡¯t resentful at this development. He had lived a good life and even felt that being spoiled so badly by his parents had caused himself to be a burden to them. They would definitely be sad at his passing but he knew they still had his brother and they were strong willed enough that he hoped they could overcome this tragedy to live good lives. But instead of going to heaven he had ended up inside this strange world where people were rumored to practice magic.

    He had been reborn as the son of a dessert shop owner.

    He had taken to his new life easily enough. After the initial shock of dying and discovering he was in another world he had decided to live a peaceful life like he had in his previous life. He had no real ambitions and in a town where a dessert shop was considered a place of luxury it wasn¡¯t a bad thing to learn the trade and inherit this shop from his new parents.

    ¡®Then you had to turn up.¡¯ Mark unconsciously rubbed the ring that had stuck itself onto his finger years ago.

    When he was four years old he had been playing in the nearby field with some of the other kids and enjoying life in general when he had tripped over and fell onto the grass. In front of him was a ring glowing bright red with magical symbols spinning around it in beautiful patterns.

    He had immediately walked past it and gone onto playing with the children. He had determined from the moment he arrived to live a normal life and because he had already experienced childhood once he knew this would be the only time he could throw sand at people, dig up dirt and act like a kid before he grew up and enjoying life naively became a shameful act.

    It wasn¡¯t that he hadn¡¯t recognized the ring. He had read enough stories to know that it probably had some old man inside it that could make him an amazing magician or something equally powerful. He simply didn¡¯t want to live that kind of life. He knew that if he took up the ring it would probably lead to him getting into a lot of fights. He might even lose his family and the friends he had grown up with because destiny decided that he needed motivation to continue his quest. He wasn¡¯t willing to endanger the lives of toddlers and adults who would have otherwise led a good life if he didn¡¯t pick up the ring.

    Then the ring had slammed into his back and flew onto his finger, adjusting itself so that he couldn¡¯t take it off.

    ¡®So this is he. I sense no magics manipulating our actions or being enacted nearby. And yet it has all occurred as you have said.¡¯ A kind elderly voice transmitted into Mark¡¯s mind.

    When the ring had attached itself to Mark¡¯s finger all those years ago the old man within it had promised him all the power he could ever want if he promised in return to destroy the enemies that had ambushed him and caused his physical body to be destroyed.

    Why live your life with hatred? If I kill your enemies there will simply be even more people hurting within their hearts and this will cause more death, destruction and misery in an endless cycle. You were a crotchety and lonely old man that pursued power selfishly but look how far it has gotten you. I will show you true happiness, live with me a few years and I will how you what it feels like to have a friend.

    Mark had decided to negotiate with him instead.

    It had taken years but Mark had finally convinced the old man to see the beauty that he had missed in his quest for power. Seven years ago the elderly man had broken down crying inside his ring and admitted that his entire life had been empty, but Mark had assured him that by simply realizing this fact his life would now improve and continue to. The old man had even chastised his old self¡¯s dream of vengeance when the town had been rocked by a murder. The old man had seen first hand how deeply a small and tight-knit community could be affected and how he had helped spread fear, anger and hate during his life without realizing it.

    Mark had even recounted to the man how he was from another world and what possible scenarios would occur to try and draw him into the world and away from his peaceful life.

    The classic scenario of the young lord and beautiful lady appearing had of course come up in conversation from time to time. Mark had long ago heard of the young lord and his antics and had guessed that at some point they might meet each other. But Mark had no intention to ruin some young persons life and kill his entire family. Even if the young lord was snarky or involved in illegal activities it was simply an unfortunate fact that in this world these things were commonplace. He could try to be a hero but he was not the kind of person that liked to fight, instead, he was a firm advocate of reformation and rehabilitation. He also believed in proportionate response and felt no immediate urge to completely cripple this man or steal his wife simply because he had been insulted at some point in time.

    ¡®He¡¯s acting a lot weirder than I thought he would,¡¯ Mark sent a thought back into the ring in response to the old man, ¡®if the world really is manipulating him to appear here and insult me, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s trying a little too hard? The man has done more explaining as to why he deserves to be punished than actually doing anything bad.¡¯

    ¡°Well¡­ Wait a second¡± Ryan turned his head towards the dessert shop and frowned, ¡°Hasn¡¯t Marie been in there for a long time?¡±

    As soon as he spoke a crash resounded in the air.

    It had originated from the dessert shop.

    ¡°Stop struggling little missy. Come and play with your uncles over here.¡±

    ****

    ¡°Stop struggling little missy. Come and play with your uncles over here.¡±

    A gruff voice wafted out of the dessert shop and Ryan¡¯s smile turned into a grimace.

    ¡®This is the perfect time to let the hero go in and save the day.¡¯ Ryan looked Mark.

    This was the typical protagonist saves the day scene. A group of belligerent men surround a young lady in a shop and try to force her to do unseemly things in an alleyway. Even though she was a talent that was only seen once in a thousand years that didn¡¯t mean that Marie was completely safe. She wasn¡¯t used to confrontation and had led a sheltered life. She could be panicking and unable to properly concentrate on casting a spell or the thugs could have hurt her, or held her arms down so that she couldn¡¯t access the magic materials hidden on her person necessary to cast magic.

    It was essentially the protagonists dream scenario.

    ¡®Damn it. I don¡¯t want to take the risk that Marie will get hurt.¡¯

    Ryan immediately ran towards the store and took out a small pouch from underneath his robe and undid the top string.

    A kitten¡¯s head popped up from the opening and mewled at him with big round eyes.

    Ryan ignored the kitten¡¯s adorable figure and took out a small vial of white liquid that had been placed in the pouch and took off the cork, ¡°Freya, answer my summons. Detain those that would harm my friends and family.¡±

    Magical energy swirled around his hands and he poured the milk into the kittens mouth. This caused it to cough vigorously and shoot him a dirty look.

    ¡°Mortal.¡± The kitten spoke with a deep voice, ¡°I do not appreciate you choking my minions with your offerings. They are my servants and you will treat them with the respect they deserve.¡±

    Ryan didn¡¯t respond as he rushed into the dessert shop and was immediately met with the sight of three old men surrounding Marie from all sides. It wasn¡¯t close enough to present a physical threat yet but it was clear that the panicked young girl had no way to exit the formation.

    The kitten purred and licked the pouch that covered it¡¯s body, ¡°You called me to fight those things? You insult me wizard.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give your cat some extra food and let it sleep on my bed tonight. Now do it. And remember, no killing.¡±

    ¡°A cat is not given a bed. It takes the bed.¡± The kitten¡¯s eyes glowed red as it spoke and then it jumped out of the pouch, landing on the floor.

    The man closest to Ryan turned as Ryan spoke and grinned, ¡°Well, well, well, looks like we have an onlooker. I¡¯m sure we¡¯re both reasonable men. This is none of your business. Leave- AH¡±

    The man let out a pained scream as a long lines of blood appeared on his legs, his shoddy pants shredded with claw marks. Behind him the kitten licked its paws. Without a single sound it had slashed the man¡¯s legs and penetrated the formation, resting down next to Marie. The man fell down and Ryan winced as he saw that the damage in the man¡¯s leg was a lot more than superficial.

    ¡°Damn it Freya. No crippling.¡± Ryan chastised the kitten.

    It looked up at him with a disgusted expression on its face, ¡°I tire of your constant orders. But very well.¡±

    The kitten disappeared and the other two men fell with screams as cuts appeared over their faces, arms and legs. None of them were deep enough to cripple the men but they were clearly in incredible pain.

    Ryan winces, ¡®Poor guys.¡¯

    Then he remembered what they were trying to do and his heart solidified.

    ¡®It appears that the protagonists presence is a lot more harmful than I thought.¡¯ Ryan shuddered.

    To see it in person was a lot different from imagining it. Simply being near the protagonist had caused him to experience an event that a person only ever saw in movies or books. It was Marie¡¯s first time in this place or without an entourage accompanying her and she had been assaulted in a dessert shop.

    He hadn¡¯t even sensed or seen the old men going into the shop.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Marie looked in shock at the screaming men around her and cried out, ¡°Ryan! Freya!¡±

    She ran into Ryan¡¯s arm and began sobbing and he gazed at her uncomfortably.

    He wasn¡¯t used to comforting a crying girl.

    ¡°Hoo. A wife truly misses her husband in times of need.¡± Freya licked her paws that were dripping with blood, ¡°My task is done wizard. I have informed the guards of the young mistresses situation and they will be along shortly to apprehend these hooligans.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Freya.¡± Ryan said sincerely, ¡°Now get back into your pouch.¡±

    ¡°Pweh.¡± Freya made a gargled noise but shook her head and jumped into the pouch, disappearing into its depths.

    ¡°That was a good thing to do. Your reputation doesn¡¯t do you justice.¡±

    ****

    ¡°That was a good thing to do. Your reputation doesn¡¯t do you justice.¡± By the time Mark reached the doorway the entire event was already over.

    Ryan gazed at him with emotion and shrugged as he held the crying girl in his arms, ¡°She¡¯s still my friend.¡±

    ¡°Your fiance.¡± Mark corrected him, then frowned at the downed men, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen these people before.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t? Isn¡¯t this a small town.¡± Ryan disentangled himself from Marie but clasped her hand in his, ¡°That means they aren¡¯t locals? Or are you not from around here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my family''s shop. Of course I¡¯m from around here.¡± Mark replied sarcastically, ¡°And I¡¯ll leave this to the authorities to handle. I think you¡¯ve got this covered.¡±

    ¡®Wait a second.¡¯ A voice called out to Mark and he perked his head up.

    ¡®What¡¯s up old man?¡¯

    ¡®Old man? How many times do I have to tell you that it''s Bruno.¡¯ The voice replied gruffly but then his voice turned more serious, ¡®I can sense traces of magical energy emanating from these men. This wasn¡¯t a simple daylight attack. These men could only pass by the young lord and I because they were disguising themselves with magic.¡¯

    ¡®Magicians? But they were taken out in an instant.¡¯ Mark shifted his gaze towards the men that had already blacked out due to the pain they were experiencing.

    ¡®They were strong. The young lord and his spirit were far stronger.¡¯ Bruno spoke with certainty, ¡®If you had fought them at your current level of power then you would have lost. However I think that even a distraction would have provided the girl enough time to fight them off herself. She is too young and naive and was caught up in her emotions.¡¯

    Mark turned to Ryan, ¡°They are magicians.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ryan looked at Mark cautiously and then back at the men, ¡°I won¡¯t ask how you knew that. I don¡¯t particularly care. But that¡¯s quite the accusation. Magicians don¡¯t grow in trees.¡±

    ¡°Which means what?¡± Mark turned around and walked out of the shop, ¡°Never mind, I need to go to the neighbours to get a mop and bucket. This is your problem, not mine.¡±

    Ryan watched Mark walking away until he had completely disappeared and then turned to two shadows that had appeared inside the shop.

    ¡°Young master.¡± The shadows solidified and formed two figures, one man and one woman.

    The shadow guard.

    He may have been a young lord but even his family couldn¡¯t afford to found or hire their own cadre of magic soldiers. These shadow soldiers had been sent to guard Marie on her travels by her clan. There were far more than just these two lurking in the shadows of the town.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you respond when Marie was attacked?¡± Ryan pointed a finger at the men lying on the floor, ¡°This is unacceptable.¡±

    The pair faced each other with pained expressions, ¡°The shadow guard sensed nothing. These men were hidden by powerful enchantments.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that crap.¡± Ryan snapped at them, ¡°If they were that powerful then they wouldn¡¯t have fallen so easily.¡±

    ¡®They also could have killed Marie long before I could get there.¡¯ Ryan thought, but he was afraid that saying this out loud would scare the already shaken Marie.

    The shadow guard knew that as well as he did.

    ¡°They were not assassins.¡± The pair said in synchronization.

    The woman knelt down next to one of the men and reached into his pockets where slight shimmers of magical energy were spurting from. She withdrew her hand with fingers clutching a piece of paper.

    ¡°They were messengers.¡±

    Ryan shuddered. These old men probably hadn¡¯t even realized they were being used as mere sacrifices to pass on a message. Someone powerful was responsible for this.

    ¡°What does it say?¡±

    The woman unfurled the parchment to reveal delicate and beautiful handwriting.

    The shadow guards frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t understand. What is this script?¡±

    They glanced at Ryan but he had frozen in place.

    Dear protagonist. I¡¯ve found you. Ps: Nice ring but mine is better.

    The shadow guards hadn¡¯t recognized the letters because they were written in English.

    Ryan glanced behind him towards the area Mark had left for with a dark expression on his face, ¡®A new player has entered the game. And they know about Marie.¡¯

    He sighed.

    Damn protagonists.

 Chapter 2: Old Crone

    ¡®You seemed to take that in stride.¡¯ Bruno¡¯s kind voice floated into Mark¡¯s mind.

    Mark shrugged as he carried the mob and bucket he¡¯d borrowed from his neighbours, the Vatheks, towards the shop. No doubt his parents would be panicking over the amount of blood on the floor left by those goons. He hadn¡¯t encountered blood or fighting in this world with the exception of cuts and scrapes suffered by childish antics, but he could still remember the sight of his broken body lying on the road after his soul had been yanked out of it. It had been the only real violence he¡¯d seen in his life and it haunted him even in the next.

    A dark look simmered across Mark¡¯s face and disappeared behind a calm smile, ¡®It¡¯s not my first time seeing blood.¡¯

    ¡®And perhaps it wont be your last.¡¯ Bruno remarked simply.

    Mark sighed as he walked through the shop door and saw Ryan waiting inside with his arms crossed, ¡®What do you mean by that?¡¯

    Ryan scanned Mark with an almost cold expression, ¡°You have a letter.¡±

    Mark looked helpless as Ryan tried to pass him the piece of paper, ¡°Sorry buddy. My hands are full.¡±

    Mark swept past Ryan and placed the bucket full of soapy water onto the ground. He turned around into the counter and grabbed the spare paper towels that they kept underneath it and used them to clean up the more congested areas.

    ¡°Listen. This is going to be a full day for me.¡± Mark motioned at the blood on the floor, ¡°Do you mind going back to your place with the girl and never coming back.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that.¡± Ryan flipped open the letter and showed the words to Mark, ¡°Recognize these words?¡±

    Mark squinted and then gave a short snort, ¡°Never seen them before in my life. They look like squiggles to me.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Ryan looked doubtful, ¡°Because it looks like someone was trying to send you a message. And they sent it in English. Which means you¡¯re not from this world.¡±

    Mark looked at the letter closely. He could make out the words clearly but he couldn¡¯t see any particular reason as to why they should bother him. Someone was calling him out, and he simply intended not to respond.

    ¡°Oh? Is that English? I had no idea.¡±

    ¡°You seem awfully nonchalant about this. Your acting skills aren¡¯t up to par if you think I¡¯d actually believe you don¡¯t understand it after seeing your reaction.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m German. Not everyone is English.¡±

    Ryan made a sound of disgust, ¡°Damn it. This isn¡¯t a joke.¡±

    Mark rolled his eyes, ¡°How do you know you¡¯re not the protagonist?¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°The three old men ambushed your fiance and it was you that picked up the letter and was able to read it. Clearly you aren¡¯t from Cognoscenti either.¡±

    Ryan looked pensive for a moment and then shook his head, tapping at his fingers, ¡°It was addressed to the person with a ring.¡±

    ¡°What about your wedding ring?¡±

    Ryan wiggled his fingers, ring free, ¡°Sorry, they don¡¯t do those in this world.¡±

    ¡®The man has a point.¡¯ Bruno¡¯s voice interrupted Mark¡¯s thoughts, ¡®You have been directly called to action. It does not appear that you can avoid your destiny any longer. You have long ago told me of your suspicions of something conspiring against you, and now it has made its presence known. You have long ago convinced me not to take revenge and to turn to a path of peace, but you should not mistake my civility for lack of knowledge. Heed my warnings and the warnings of this man wisely, you cannot avoid the inevitable, this incident occurred today because of you, and others will follow as long as there is a manipulator behind the scenes that intends to drag you into their games. That is not the path of a ¡®protagonist¡¯ as you call it, but simply a path of life. From the smallest child to the grandest sage all beings encounter conflict because others seek to drag them into it. It is the mark of character that you pass through it alive and able to continue on in life.¡¯

    Mark sighed, ¡°Listen. I¡¯m going to tell you something.¡± Mark spread his hands across the dessert shop and used the tip of the mop to point at different areas, ¡°Do you know why I like this place? Rhetorical question by the way. I¡¯m going to tell you why right now. It¡¯s because I¡¯m content with my life. Oh, I know it could be better, hell, I have a magic ring that promises to give me enough power to stand at the top of this world. But that doesn¡¯t mean I want to, or even feel like wanting to. I just don¡¯t have that kind of ambition. I¡¯ve read the stories of how people go to magical worlds and become strong and you know how those end? The main character gets into so many fights that it begins to define their existence. You know what they don¡¯t write stories about? The look on a child¡¯s face when they¡¯ve finally saved up enough money to buy a dessert for the first time.¡± Mark picked up a cupcake with his free hand and smiled, ¡°They don¡¯t mention it when you live in a town so small that you know everybody and every fight that goes on between them. They don¡¯t praise the look on someone¡¯s face after you visit their house with a basket full of muffins because you know they¡¯ve had a rough day with the missus or mister. I¡¯ll admit it, its not the best life a person could lead. I¡¯m not rich, I¡¯m not powerful, and I¡¯m not famous. But I¡¯m happy. I live a peaceful life with my parents and friends and I have a guaranteed job that I can do for the rest of my life. I actually like it too. So what gives you the right to come into my life and tell me I have to go fight a bunch of people in a battle that we both know will probably end up with higher stakes than I can handle.¡±

    ****

    ¡°So what gives you the right to come into my life and tell me I have to go fight a bunch of people in a battle that we both know will probably end up with higher stakes than I can handle.¡±

    Ryan could feel his nails biting into his palms as Mark talked. Everything the boy was saying was correct. He didn¡¯t choose to have Marie and Ryan drop into his life, and he certainly didn¡¯t choose for them to be attacked in the shop. These were all just coincidences that had piled onto each other at the right place and right time. But Ryan knew better than that.

    Mark was a protagonist, and whether he liked it or not these events would force themselves onto him and cause destruction around him. If it wasn¡¯t Marie now then it might be his town later, and if it wasn¡¯t his town then maybe his family. Inevitably something would come along to drag this protagonist into his role as a hero, saving people and the world and gaining power and fortune.

    ¡°So why do I care?¡± Ryan remarked out loud, ¡°You¡¯re right of course. I don¡¯t have any right to drag you into a battle, and I don¡¯t even want to be near you. We¡¯re both intelligent people, we all know how the story goes when the main character meets the young lord, either you kill me and my family or you ruin us so disastrously due to our insults that it leads to a total collapse of power. Then you also steal my wife.¡±

    ¡°So why don¡¯t I walk away right now and leave you behind.¡± He continued, ¡°I¡¯ll life a happy life now that you know I exist and we both know that I¡¯m probably from the same world you are. If any troubles occur then we can sort them out by avoiding them and hell, I¡¯ll probably fade out of your life like a side character that was never meant to be written in.¡±

    Ryan thought about it carefully and looked at the door.

    He could leave right now.

    ¡°But Marie almost got hurt today.¡± Ryan sighed, ¡°And I¡¯m not blaming you, but it probably is your fault even if you didn¡¯t have any control over it. They always talk about the young lord in the novels and he¡¯s crass and vulgar and probably deserves at least a punishment of some kind. The guy that used to own this body certainly did before he died. But they don¡¯t really go into the feelings he has for his friends now do they? His history, his background. I may not want to marry Marie but she¡¯s been a hell of a close friend to me the four years I¡¯ve been here. You always imagine the guy from another world to not develop friendships and feelings towards the new world¡¯s denizens because, hey, they¡¯re not even from Earth. But you know what? it doesn¡¯t work that way. Marie is a hell of a girl and any guy would be lucky to have her. She¡¯s sweet, kind, and she¡¯s never hurt a fly in her life. But five seconds spent in your presence and she¡¯s been assaulted, scared, and cried her eyes out because of this situation she¡¯s never encountered before and damn it, that makes me angry.¡± Ryan¡¯s voice started rising, ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like much to you because you¡¯ve lived in this town and who knows where else in your previous life but Marie is a spoiled, innocent little kid that doesn¡¯t deserve to have something horrible happen to her because she¡¯s standing next to you.¡± Ryan walked up to Mark and placed the letter in his hand, refusing to let the boy decline it, ¡°You and I will probably never see each other again. I intend to make sure of that. But if you have any consideration for anyone but yourself you will take this destiny thing seriously. I¡¯m not saying you have to kill, maim or wreck lives. I¡¯m just saying that you have to become strong enough to make sure that if crap like this happens the people around you don¡¯t get hurt. They aren¡¯t machines, they¡¯re innocents that could be dragged into conflict at any time. Even I was smart enough to learn some magic when I woke up in this world and I know you have the resources.¡± Ryan looked pointedly at the magic ring, ¡°I¡¯m just saying, think of the people around you. Or else others could get hurt.¡±

    Mark scowled, ¡°So why don¡¯t you kill me?¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Ryan took his hand away and moved back a step, ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    ¡°I said why don¡¯t you kill me? Clearly you think I¡¯m a threat to the people around me. And you have enough power in that kitten to kill me a thousand times over before I could blink. Even if I was fighting against one of those guys earlier alone I don¡¯t think I would have come out on top. I¡¯m just an ordinary guy. So why don¡¯t you kill me if I¡¯m going to be such a threat to people¡¯s happiness and safety.¡±

    Ryan crossed his arms, ¡°What do you think I am? I¡¯m a man that¡¯s angry that his friend got scared, not a cold blooded murderer. This isn¡¯t a book, and not every guy that has a difference of opinions with you is out to kill you. Sure, you might end up doing horrible things to me. We don¡¯t know for sure. But in no way does that mean I will suddenly have the balls to kill someone because they¡¯re a threat to me. I¡¯ve never killed anyone in my life. And I don¡¯t intend to. I¡¯m not telling you to become a cold blooded murderer either, or a hero that charges into a thousand enemies alone. I¡¯m just asking you to try and become strong enough that you can protect the people close to you.¡±

    ¡°Well I don¡¯t want to.¡± Mark shifted his gaze towards the floor, ¡°How do you even know I¡¯m a protagonist? I¡¯m from another world and have a fancy magical ring, but that doesn¡¯t mean anything. You have a beautiful and talented fiance and are from another world. For all we know we¡¯re both protagonists and more likely, neither of us are.¡±

    Ryan rolled his eyes, ¡°Now that¡¯s just denying reality.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Mark opened his hands to reveal the crumpled parchment, ¡°Because some letter used the word ¡®protagonist¡¯? Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re overreacting a bit.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± Ryan thought back on this, ¡°You don¡¯t know about the seer. Right. That¡¯s my bad.¡±

    ¡°Seer?¡±

    ¡°Future tellers, oracles, they can see the destiny of the world. One of them came to me and told me that a protagonist was coming for me. So I prepared for your arrival. The events now simply confirmed for me that you were the protagonist but I suppose you had only considered it a possibility, whereas I was looking out for you specifically.¡±

    Ryan¡¯s face hardened, ¡°But that doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s clear to me now that even when you were doing nothing you were affecting the world. If the seers predicted your arrival years ago then I¡¯m scared to know how many other beings know about you, and what they¡¯ll try to do to get to you. I¡¯ll say this once and once only. Now that you¡¯ve met me leave me and Marie alone. I want to live a peaceful life and I don¡¯t intend to get dragged into whatever storm is brewing your way.¡± Ryan pointed at the letter, ¡°Someone is after you already. Don¡¯t take my words lightly, they will come again.¡±

    ****

    ¡®I¡¯m so happy.¡¯

    Marie twirled happily in front of her mirror with a blue dress in her hands swaying from side to side. She hummed a tune as she switched the dress with another and tried to see which would look best for tonights dinner. As a guest of the Oswald family she wanted to act proper in front of her hosts.

    ¡®And I want to look good in front of him.¡¯ She blushed faintly as the thought crossed her mind.

    She had been truly terrified today when those three men had surrounded her and didn¡¯t know what to do. She had enough magical power in her pinky to fight them off but all the magical power in the world couldn¡¯t help her with her inability to cope with the sudden and novel situation. Then Ryan had rushed in and saved her. It had been amazing.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    She loved him.

    She switched to another dress as she hummed happily. It wasn¡¯t a novel feeling that stemmed from todays events. No. She had grown to love him over the four years they had known each other. The moment they had been introduced she was only ten and had been terrified to meet a man over double her age being introduced as her future husband. But then he had immediately rejected her. She¡¯d been incredibly happy as well as insulted, and she didn¡¯t know how to feel about that. She wanted to know why he had rejected her when she had been brought up being told she was unequaled in talent and standing. She pestered him day in and day out while he was staying in her clan and he had treated her respectfully and playfully but when she asked him why he had rejected her he had given her a blunt and simply answer.

    He wasn¡¯t interested in her because she was too young.

    Perhaps it was the rejection, his kindness, or just a natural attraction but as she had grown up in his presence and had been groomed by both families as his future bride her feelings had grown for him. Of course, he had insisted over the years that he wouldn¡¯t marry her and he would find someone who was both younger and suitably talented. But that was silly.

    Ryan was the most talented young man in the country.

    If she hadn¡¯t been born it was possible that he would be considered an unparalleled genius, a rising star that couldn¡¯t be outshone by anyone else. Part of the reason she had been terrified to meet him was because she had heard of his bad reputation, abusing his power and scaring the populace. She hadn¡¯t seen that in him though. He was a kind gentleman that refused to touch a child. She had seen the looks of the people that had tried to become her suitors, some had been older than Ryan by a fair bit. Ryan may have been old, but when it came to magicians that could live for hundreds of years he was still considered a child and young lord by all people in higher society. Those people hadn¡¯t wanted her for who she was, they lusted after her powers. Or worse.

    ¡°Princess!¡± A man laughed heartily, ¡°I heard you got into a spot of trouble today?¡±

    Marie felt a huge grin spread across her face as she turned around, ¡°Papa Reece!¡±

    She leapt into the mans arms and he swept her into a giant hug, grabbing her arms and spinning her across the room with his titanic strength.

    ¡°Whee.¡± Marie laughed heartily as she was put down.

    ¡°Now, now, Marie.¡± Reece put on a scowling face but his eyes were smiling, ¡°I won¡¯t be your papa until you marry that stubborn son of mine.¡±

    ¡°Hehe.¡± Marie tilted her head and giggled.

    Reece¡¯s face turned serious and he patted Marie¡¯s head, ¡°I assure you that you will be safe the rest of your stay. The shadow guard and my own men are investigating this incident thoroughly. Your clan has already sped up your return date.¡±

    ¡°Pweh.¡± Marie made a spitting sound, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back to that boring place. I want to stay here.¡±

    ¡°Marie,¡± Reece smiled but kept his tone neutral, ¡°the world is a dangerous place. A girl like you is too precious to be kept in such a place but since you were born here it is only right that you be protected and stay in the safest locations possible. Your clan is one of the strongest in the world and can provide that protection for you.¡±

    ¡°The clan is a bunch of old men that want to sell me off for political reasons.¡± Marie rolled her eyes as a more mature expression came onto her features, ¡°The only people that treat me as human beings are here in this mansion. Why can¡¯t I stay here?¡±

    Reece put his fingers to his face as though thinking, ¡°Then I guess it would be fine if I managed to convince the clan to accept Ryan as a guest? Of course, as your esteemed fiance I am sure they will have no objections.¡±

    Marie giggled and grinned, ¡°You¡¯re so smart papa! Okay, I¡¯ll go back then. Only if Ryan comes too.¡±

    ¡°Very good! Now I¡¯ll leave you alone. Ryan should be coming back any minute now and I intend to greet that stubborn headed son of mine with full vigor and force. Leaving you alone is a mistake he won¡¯t make twice.¡±

    Reece briskly left the room and closed the door behind him. The moment he stepped outside the shadows in the room congregated into a single form, that of an elderly woman appearing from thin air.

    Matilda, leader of the shadow guard.

    If there was a single name spoken in whispers it would be the name Ronald, the captain of the shadow guard, but nobody spoke of his wife, the little seen Matilda. That was because the only people that knew of Matilda¡¯s existence were either her charges or dead. Five different cloaks of gold and silver overlapped over her body in a protective manner.

    Each one was the robe of a senior magician.

    Senior magicians were considered the most powerful beings in the continent. Those that had reached the pinnacle of power in their respective fields of magic. To have a single one protecting you was better than having an army at your side. Seniority among magicians was not gained by age, but by talent and hard work. Though the title was simple and drab it was not one to be underestimated. There were only ten senior magicians alive in the world.

    To get one of their robes you would have to pry it from their cold dead hands.

    ¡°Protagonist.¡± Matilda murmured to herself and Marie, pronouncing the word in English as Ryan had, ¡°I do not know the meaning of this term. But I suppose it is a title of some sort. I shall have to ask the young master.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Marie looked at Matilda curiously.

    It was rare for the old woman to show herself. Of course, she always accompanied Matilda or was stationed nearby, had those thugs gotten anywhere near harming Marie they would have found themselves sliced into pieces before laying a finger on her.

    But she didn¡¯t want to coddle Marie.

    The girl was destined to be a genius that transcended all other geniuses. She would have to face trials far more difficult than a simple attack like the one at the dessert shop and in Matilda¡¯s opinion these experiences helped to build character.

    ¡°It appears that the boy you encountered in that town is also from another world.¡± Matilda stated simply.

    ¡°Other boy?¡± Marie tilted her head in confusion.

    She vaguely recalled passing a figure as she rushed into the dessert shop. She hadn¡¯t been paying much attention to her surroundings.

    Marie dismissed the memory, ¡°Do they know each other?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Matilda shook her head, ¡°It is apparent that he was aware of the others presence but it appears to be their first meeting. Young master blames the incident on the other boy and has made it clear that this should be the last time they see each other. From what I have gathered it appears that the boy is destined to bring trouble to those around him, I fear this is a force other than magic. I cannot prevent it so you must avoid this boy if you are to avoid these kinds of dangerous incidents again.¡±

    ¡°Done.¡± Marie nodded.

    The Black Dragon Clan was a clan that boasted thousands of years of history. They had tendrils of power spread throughout the land and spies around every corner. If something occurred that was unnatural then they would investigate it thoroughly.

    Four years they had discovered that the young lord of the Oswald family had started acting in strange ways different from the norm.

    He had stopped murdering and stealing women from people.

    Even though the clan had scant connections to the Oswald family they were still a powerful entity that needed watching. If the man touted as a genius since birth had been compromised then this could have been a security issue. The spies of the Black Dragon Clan had discovered a peculiarity when listening to his discussions with the spirits that he summoned during training, when practicing magic and just when he was bored.

    The original Ryan Oswald had died and been replaced by a much kinder Ryan Oswald from another world.

    Of course it was not unprecedented to have something like this happen. Magicians often had their souls consumed by malevolent otherworldly spirits or possessed by powerful ghosts seeking a suitable body to take over.

    But this was a normal soul entering the body of a genius.

    They had monitored him and established that he wished to live a peaceful life, but unlike his predecessor he had immediately delved into the books of magic and sought to strengthen himself. He had retained the genius of the previous Ryan Oswald without the callous and lazy nature. It was the birth of a true genius. Only a month after being reborn into this world Ryan had summoned the goddess Freya through his kitten familiar and she had sensed the shadow guard members that were reporting on his every move. She had confirmed to them that Ryan was both from another world and extremely talented, and also that he was not hiding a darker persona underneath his kindness.

    So the clan had made the decision to push ahead with the old marriage promise that had once been drunkenly made by Marie¡¯s father before her talent had been discovered.

    A genius that would have been heralded as a star was not only trying hard but would treat people kindly.

    In this world that was a rarity.

    His origins were of no trouble to the clan. With their backing even if he had been a common orphan he could grow to become a magnificent dragon. He was the only one suitable for their heiress in the country. Perhaps even in the world.

    Then he had rejected her.

    ¡°The foolish boy is trying to protect you from harm.¡± Matilda frowned, ¡°His intentions are in the right place, however you should not be shielded from these things if you are to learn.¡±

    ¡°Hehe.¡± Marie smiled, ¡°He¡¯s like that.¡±

    Matilda snorted but smiled at the girl. She had watched over her for so long that Marie was like a granddaughter to her. When Ryan had rejected the marriage arrangements both families had been incredibly angry and confused. This was a talented girl that people could see would grow up as an unparalleled beauty in a few years. There was no man that wouldn¡¯t accept such a bride, and there were thousands who would get on their knees and beg to become her husband. But the clan had made a mistake, they hadn¡¯t taken into consideration the values of the world that Ryan had come from. To think that there was such a world where age was considered a constraint. Ryan was fifteen years Marie¡¯s senior. When she was ten he was twenty five. For magicians whose natural lifespan was several times this number it seemed like a tiny gap. To Ryan who had a completely different view of time and what was socially acceptable hadn¡¯t even considered the marriage in the first place.

    ¡°But he will be mine.¡± Marie¡¯s eyes glowed as she spoke.

    She could see what Matilda had been thinking. But while she wasn¡¯t used to being placed in dangerous scenarios like the one in the town she was more than used to facing suitors and the intricacies of relationships. Her clan had raised her to be a prodigy in both magic and dealing with people.

    And she had long ago decided that Ryan was the only one suitable to become her husband.

    Social customs could be overcome by the passage of time. Like she often said to him, when he¡¯s three hundred years old a mere fifteen years difference will seem less than insignificant.

    Then he would pat her head and laugh, telling her she was thinking far too ahead in the future.

    She finally settled on a white dress that emphasized her daintiness.

    Matilda nodded in agreement of the choice and then snapped her head up.

    ¡°It appears that young master has arrived.¡±

    ****

    ¡°Son!¡±

    Reece swept up Ryan in a bear hug, smothering him with his gigantic body.

    ¡°Ah, Lord.¡± Ryan gave the man a muffled reply, ¡°You¡¯re hurting me.¡±

    Reece grinned but didn¡¯t stop, ¡°You¡¯re damn right I am. How could you allow your precious little wife to get into such a situation. Her clan has already told her to return to the clan and I¡¯m ordering you to accompany her. No rejections possible. You leave in a few days with Marie and the shadow guard.¡±

    Reece finally let go and Ryan staggered back onto the ground, making sure to keep out of hugging distance.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Ryan nodded.

    ¡°Fine?¡± Reece smacked his ears in astonishment, ¡°I thought you hated the clan. Bunch of stuffy old fools that don¡¯t know their heads from their as-¡±

    ¡°Ahem¡± An elderly voice coughed out from behind them.

    Reece turned around with a grin on his face, ¡°Old crone!¡±

    Matilda stood with her arms crossed. She wouldn¡¯t have shown up had there been any other people present but she had seen Ryan signaling to her while he was trapped in his father¡¯s death hug.

    ¡°You called, young master?¡± Matilda ignored Reece and turned to face Ryan respectfully.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s better that we talk in private.¡± Ryan signaled at Reece who huffed as though hurt but then the buff man grinned.

    ¡°Very well.¡± Matilda waved her hand and she disappeared into the shadows.

    Ryan disappeared with her.

    When he reappeared he was in a dark space. Completely black and devoid of light.

    But he could still see Matilda and her body as well as his own.

    ¡°What does the young master want from me?¡±

    ¡°Protagonist.¡± Ryan spoke slowly, ¡°I know you spy on my every move. Freya doesn¡¯t just talk to you. However I feel as though you are in over your heads here.¡±

    Matilda felt angry but she easily contained her emotions. ¡°We are the Black Dragon Clan. We do not fear any threat or enemy. We could kill a dozen boys like that with a look.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t matter.¡± Ryan frowned, ¡°A protagonist isn¡¯t a title, it isn¡¯t a type of magic. It simply is. It is hard to explain. He is not the enemy, he is destined to fight against the enemy whoever that may be. Our best chance of survival in the coming conflict now that he has appeared is to run away as far as we can or at least stay out of trouble. It is not the boy we should fear, it is his enemies. The protagonist will grow and learn. It should be impossible to kill him even if you think you can. We simply have to escape the path of destruction that will inevitably occur when he finally accepts his role.¡±

    ¡°And what is his role?¡±

    Ryan sighed, ¡°To save the world from whatever threatens to destroy it.¡±

    Matilda gave him a mocking look, ¡°There is no such threat. Nothing escapes the eyes of the Black Dragon.¡±

    ¡°And yet the moment you encountered the protagonist three ordinary old men escaped your notice and managed to surround the most heavily guarded member of your clan. You have no idea who sent them and how they got past you. Do not underestimate this threat, it is not one you can face. It is designed so that only the protagonist can face it and win, all others will fail.¡±

    ¡°That is a rather bleak view of things,¡± Matilda spoke mildly but did not disagree with him, ¡°So your first choice is to flee?¡±

    ¡°No. That is my best option.¡± Ryan shook his head, ¡°But we have already encountered the protagonist. I was shoved into a world of magic and you think I¡¯m stupid enough not to think over all possibilities no matter how unlikely at some point? By simply meeting with this boy we have been pushed into the story. So we can only hope that we don¡¯t get dragged in further, but until then you must do one thing.¡±

    Matilda gestured impatiently, ¡°And what is that?¡±

    ¡°Teach me magic.¡± Ryan stated.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Matilda gave him a small look of surprise, ¡°You have never delved into the elemental arts before. You are a genius in the summoning of spirits but do you take that to mean you are genius in everything? Besides, I have offered before. I see no change this time.¡±

    ¡°This time I will die.¡± Ryan stated simply.

    ¡°Die?¡±

    ¡°Yes. That is most likely the destiny in place for me. The seer spoke gibberish but it was actually language from my world. She stated that the protagonist was coming for me. It does not mean that he will be an ally, it does not mean he will pass by me. It simply means that he will come for me. And nobody can stand against him, not even a genius.¡±

    ¡°So then, he is an enemy.¡± Matilda¡¯s eyes flashed.

    Ryan shook his head vigorously, ¡°No. And it is an order from me that you are not allowed to make a single move on him. The protagonist may come for me in a day, a year or a thousand years. But under no circumstances are you to go against him. He will save this world and I will not allow the entire world to die because we accidentally killed him while trying to save our own skins.¡±

    ¡°It does seem a rather bland pay off.¡± Matilda jested, ¡°Very interesting. So you can see the future? Or do you simply know these things as fact.¡±

    ¡°I can see that learning magic from you will give me another card under my sleeve should I encounter any trouble.¡±

    ¡°Very well. I will teach you magic under one condition.¡±

    Ryan frowned, ¡°What condition is that?¡±

    ¡°You will immediately agree to marry the Black Dragon Clans young mistress, Marie Dragonheart.¡±

    ****

    Mark blinked as he found himself standing on a grassy plain and staring at an enormous mountain.

    He scanned his surroundings and frowned, ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°A dream. A reality.¡± A voice called out from above him, ¡°The only place I can speak the words¡±

    ¡°What words? What is this?¡±

    ¡°The legacy you were to inherit upon gaining my ring but refused. Well, it has been put off for too long, our hand is being forced and I must pass the torch. Listen closely to my words Mark for I will only speak them once.¡±

    ¡°This is the legacy I have held onto for all my life. ¡°

 Chapter 3: Hidden Secrets, Hidden Intentions

    ¡®In the beginning¡­¡¯

    Mark was confused. Only moments earlier he had gone to sleep after spending the rest of the day tending shop and now he had woken up to a grassy field and starry sky. He stood in the middle of the field surrounded by an ocean on one side and on the other a mountain so high and steep that he had to bend his neck back to see it breaking through the clouds.

    Mark tugged at his skin and his hand went straight through his body, it was like he was a ghost, ¡°What? Bruno, what is this?¡±

    ¡®there were twelve Gods of Darkness.¡¯

    In the air an old man, cast in white and sporting a luxurious white beard, was floating meters off the ground with his legs crossed and eyes closed. A gentle power emanating from his body caused the land around him to tremble. Every word the he spoke caused the world to shake and the stars to darken. It was as though the very world fought against the words that were being spoken. When the final word was spoken the entire scene shattered. Mark couldn¡¯t let out a single sound before his body was ripped to pieces and the blades underneath his feet gave way to a stark darkness.

    The entire world had been destroyed.

    Then a speck of light appeared.

    It wasn¡¯t a sun, or a star, or even a planet. It was a small gold and black disk. It floated through the darkness as though it had been thrown, spinning as it traveled. On the surface of the disk hieroglyphics were etched from gold but were too blurry to make out. Hovering behind the disk and watching was the transparent figure of Bruno. He didn¡¯t look human, although he kept the basic shape. It was as though he had turned into a mighty god, his very stare seemed to pierce through this impregnable darkness and his figure covered and unknown distance with its incorporeal body.

    ¡®This is my secret. Knowledge forbidden from the world since time immemorial. To merely utter it causes the energy of the world to seek to destroy you. To see it means that you will be forever sought by powers beyond your understanding.¡¯

    Mark was startled as the scene before him disappeared and the world returned as it was, an utterly normal green field between a mountain and the ocean.

    Bruno lifted his eyebrow speculatively, ¡®And yet it is a secret that must be passed on from keeper to keeper. Lest the knowledge be forgotten and the world risk destruction.¡¯

    Mark looked around him and tried to get a grip on what was happening, ¡°But all I saw was a plate.¡±

    ¡®Indeed.¡¯ Bruno chuckled, ¡®A mere plate that was created at the beginning of creation, and the words. You must not forget the words.¡¯

    Mark thought back to before the world had shattered, ¡°In the beginning¡­¡±

    The moment that Mark spoke he instinctively knew something had gone wrong. The mountain crumbled to pieces, pieces of it¡¯s enormous frame falling from the heaven. The sea churned and in the distance tidal waves began to form.

    Bruno breathed deeply, ¡®You must never speak those words again. Only remember. Remember until the time is right to speak them.¡¯

    Bruno waved his hand and the world once again returned to equilibrium. One moment the entire mountain was crumbling, the next, it was restored. The sea did not calm down, it simply returned to the state it had been before.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t real.¡± Mark realized, ¡°I¡¯m so confused Bruno. What is this?¡±

    ¡®This is your trump card.¡¯

    Bruno floated down to the ground until he was in front of Mark.

    ¡®Years ago I was gifted this knowledge and tasked with keeping it safe. Many years after that my soul was trapped inside this ring and I encountered you.¡¯

    Mark groaned, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you buy into this protagonist thing too.¡±

    Bruno growled, ¡®This is no story boy. Some one or some thing is manipulating us through forces that even I was unaware of in life. To think you are destined for greatness is foolish, because if you continue as you are you will only be destined to die.¡¯

    ¡®In the past there were twelve Gods of Darkness and they still exist to this day. During the creation of the universe they lost their most prized object.¡¯

    Mark thought of the never ending darkness, ¡°The plate.¡±

    ¡®A weapon. One so strong that the universe could not destroy it, only separate it from the gods in the hope that they would not find it. Lest they destroy the universe itself with it¡¯

    ¡°I¡­ Why can you tell me about it without the shaking and destruction?¡± Mark looked around at the tranquil area around him.

    ¡®There is no intent behind my actions. Should you attempt to tell anyone of this secret you will instantly be destroyed by the universe. Only once you are strong enough to resist its energies will you be able to utter the secret.¡¯

    ¡°And why would I do that.¡±

    Bruno opened his eyes and Mark could see a brilliant light glowing within them, ¡®because when the universe is going to be destroyed you need not fear a weapon with the potential to do just that. To merely utter this secret will alert the Gods to its existence and to yours. It is the final resort when no hope remains. A call to arms that will cause Gods and the universe to fight amongst each other, but first, they will owe you a single favor for telling them the secret.¡¯

    Mark tried to sit down and was surprised to see that he didn¡¯t float straight through the grass or his own body, ¡°That sounds ridiculous. Why can you even tell me the secret then? Shouldn¡¯t you have called through these ¡®gods¡¯ and ended the universe.¡±

    ¡®You know so little young Mark,¡¯ Bruno¡¯s eyes shone brighter and the wind picked up around him as though under his command, ¡®Death is no finite thing. I have died yet I still remain. I have yet to experience a true death with no hope of revival. And yet only one being may hold this secret. I am not gone yet, but now I have guaranteed that I shall never return. That is the price I pay for speaking this secret and remaining unheard.¡¯

    Mark tilted his head and Bruno chuckled.

    ¡®It is not something you should worry yourself over. You are too young to understand the intricacies of what I speak. Needless to know, from now on you must never mention this secret to anyone else. Even those people you encounter in my soul, or those you hold dear to your heart. You will only hurt them, and yourself.¡¯

    Bruno looked over his shoulder, towards the infinitely large mountain that towered into the sky, ¡®A mountain. A sea. You are in a dream, yet you are in reality. If we were to speak the words out loud, I would state that you are in my soul.¡¯

    ¡°Your soul?¡± Mark looked around, ¡°It looks nice.¡±

    ¡®Thank you.¡¯ Bruno nodded his head, ¡®Of course, the mountain is not a mountain, and the sea is not a sea. These are simply visual representations to make it far easier for you to understand them. They say that to reach the pinnacle of magical technique and skill is like climbing an unclimbable mountain. Only those designated as senior magicians have done so, and even so they have only mastered one such mountain. What you see behind you is a complete mountain, the lessons of my life¡¯s work of study and hardships. Magical energy. When enough is gathered it will be as though a deep and mysterious ocean has poured into your soul. Behind you is the entirety of my life¡¯s magical energy, as it once was during my prime and as it remained until after my death.¡¯

    ¡°This is magic?¡± Mark looked around in wonder.

    He had never tried to learn magic. He had thought about it of course, especially once he had encountered the ring Bruno resided in. Ultimately he had decided it wouldn¡¯t be worth it because it was easy to sense magical power and any sort of energy waves being emanated by him in a dessert shop would probably lead to a lot of troubles for relatively few gains.

    You don¡¯t need magic to bake cookies.

    ¡®This is the path of magic. Magic itself is different. Perhaps no words can explain what magic is, but I am willing to teach you, and you must learn.¡¯ Mark shivered as Bruno spoke.

    The old man was angry.

    ¡°Why are you doing this? Why are you teaching me this now, by force. I made it clear that I didn¡¯t want to learn magic and you were fine with it until now.

    Bruno turned his head from the mountain to the sea, and then back to Mark, ¡®A lifetime of effort. A lifetime of practice. A lifetime of perfection. And some two bit magicians get by my into the building I¡¯ve been residing in for years to assault a young girl. This was no mistake, and this was no simple feat. Magic and powers far beyond my reckoning were present that day and according to that man from another world it has been a long time coming, even my presence here is caused by it.¡¯

    Bruno¡¯s anger could no longer be contained as his features contorted in rage, ¡®I have long ago forsaken revenge, I have turned from my path of vengeance and I have discovered peace. But that does not mean I have forgotten my pride. I who stood on the top of this world, I who held secrets even the universe fears to know¡­ have been manipulated by an external force.¡¯ Bruno¡¯s voice rocked the mountain and sea and Mark felt his head aching as though it was going to burst any second, ¡®This. Is. Unacceptable.¡¯

    ¡°Bruno! Bruno!¡± Mark shouted, ¡°You¡¯re hurting me.¡±

    ¡®Ah, young Mark.¡¯ Bruno looked at him kindly and in an instant the agonizing pressure was gone, ¡®Do you know why my ring attached itself to you?¡¯

    ¡°No. You never told me. It wasn¡¯t a coincidence?¡±

    ¡®I don¡¯t believe anything is a coincidence anymore.¡¯ Bruno snorted coldly, ¡®No, it came to you because it could only be wielded by a being who is capable of holding my entirety within their soul. The bonds between us are far deeper than you realize, and to even be considered as a being capable of forming those connections you must have talent and potential that surpasses mine by immeasurable amounts.¡¯

    ¡°Stop.¡±

    Bruno stared deeply at Mark as the boy interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

    ¡°Bruno, I told you from the moment we met that I don¡¯t want to get into this. I¡¯m going to live a peaceful life in town and inherit my parent¡¯s dessert shop. Is that so hard to understand.¡±

    Bruno looked at Mark with a pensive expression, ¡®Why do you resist so much. It is clear you are being manipulated as much as I am, perhaps more so. Do you not feel anger? Do you not feel rage? Nobody is that much of a saint Mark. I do not believe that when the evidence is in front of your eyes you are too dense to see it for what it is. With your potential and practice you could grow strong enough to fight this. You can find out what is manipulating you and grasp your life back into your own hands. This is no coincidence that we have come into each others lives but even if we wish to live peacefully this is no longer possible. The incident today is simply the first of many, surely you can see this, an invisible hand is revealing itself and we must rush to stop it now before it is too late. The young man said it himself, this has been progressing for years. Whatever forces are at work here will not wait for you. They will continue on and we must strengthen ourselves to survive whatever is coming.¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡±

    Bruno looked at Mark without moving or speaking.

    Mark hesitated as he tried to bring his thoughts together, ¡°I wasn¡¯t exactly an amazing person in my previous life. I was a normal one. Then I died and I was still a normal person. You¡¯re speaking of things far beyond what I can handle. Do you expect me to rise up in arms just because you say a few words? I was a student and then a dessert maker! I¡¯m basically a glorified baker. Now you¡¯re telling me things about the universe that I¡¯m not even sure I¡¯ll ever understand, mountains and seas and plates. So yes, I¡¯m not angry, I¡¯m not full of rage, I¡¯m just scared. Its been fourteen years since I died and I¡¯m still not fully convinced I¡¯m over that. I¡¯ve got a family, I have friends and I have a new life. One girl gets attacked in my shop and suddenly everyone is telling me I¡¯ll have to leave my life behind for this new and fantastic one that will probably lead to me dying the first time I encounter something dangerous. I mean¡­ where do I even start? I¡¯m being thrust into this.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°You start with me.¡± A lithe voice caused Mark and Bruno to tremble.

    Mark turned around and was surprised to see himself coming face to face with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

    ¡®We are not the only ones that are being manipulated Mark.¡¯ Bruno¡¯s eyes grew somber as he gazed upon the woman, ¡®She approached me after the incident in the shop. She has agreed to teach you magic but even I do not know her motivations beyond her anger. She is a far more capable teacher than you can imagine, any creature with an inkling of magic would kill to be her student and any genius¡¯ would gladly lay themselves at her feet in prayer for a fraction of her knowledge.¡¯

    ¡°Who is she.¡± Mark felt breathless at her mere presence.

    Bruno¡¯s eyes twinkled, ¡®She is a Goddess.¡¯

    ¡°But you may call me Freya.¡±

    ****

    ¡°Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Traditionally males will hold an affinity towards the elements of Fire and Air, and females will typically hold one towards Earth and Water. Magic power requires a harmonious balance of these elements, each of which is unique, specific and alive. Air for transmission and messages. Earth for growth and solidarity. Fire for cleansing and purifying. Water for creating life. These are the foundations of all elemental magic.¡±

    Matilda¡¯s voice echoed through the garden. Their group had stopped on the outskirts of the major city of Trei on their way back to the clan. They were currently resting in one of the Black Dragon Clan¡¯s many estates. This garden had been hand crafted by Matilda in order to teach Ryan magic and prepare him for any situation. It also doubled as a magical defense in the situation that they were attacked. Flowers and plants of all varieties had been planted in precise locations that provoked the greatest flow of elemental magic energies whilst also providing the necessary balance.

    In front of Matilda sat an impatient Ryan.

    ¡°Much like your summoning magics there is a requirement that the magician in question carry the necessary materials required for spells. You mainly rely on your kitten and an offering of milk to call forth the Goddess Freya. That will not be sufficient for spells involving the elements. The elements are not as fickle as a Goddess, but you would not attempt to control a Goddess either. To dominate the elements or to be their friend, it is a debate that has continued for countless years without answer. The most powerful spells will require the rarest of materials.¡±

    Matilda lifted a pouch and pile of grey sticks bundled together and tied with rope, ¡°Earth spells are perhaps the most well known for their ability to provide protection, although all elements contain various methods of protection. In my hands I hold two materials, graveyard dirt from a saint¡¯s shrine and branches from the Elder tree.¡±

    ¡®The Elder tree.¡¯ Ryan looked pensively at the branches in Matilda¡¯s hand.

    The Elder tree. A sacred tree which a powerful spirit of love and magic, Hulda, had raised from birth and had gained magical powers that rivaled that of an elder spirit. Hulda had practiced witchcraft extensively during her life and as a result the Elder tree had developed powers of protection within its body against hexes and other witchcraft. To cast a spell of protection using a branch from the Elder tree would almost guarantee that one couldn¡¯t be harmed by an entire branch of magic.

    They would have cost a lost of effort to gain.

    The dirt could be used in any old Earth protection type spell. However, it was dirt from a saint¡¯s shrine, a sacred place. It was unknown how many times stronger this magically charged magic material would strengthen a spell. Most dark spirits and evil creatures would be unable to break through a protection spell cast using it as a base.

    Matilda saw the glimmer in Ryan¡¯s eyes and frowned, ¡°You would be crazy to think that I would give you such precious materials. You have hardly touched even the basics of elemental magic and you think you can control two such powerful objects? In your dreams perhaps.¡± She dropped the materials on the ground and Ryan winced as they fell, such precious materials were being treated like common objects, ¡°You will use the dirt from this garden. It is of high quality and will probably not kill you if you screw up. Though I make no guarantees. The branches from the Elder tree and the dirt taken from a saints grave will serve as rewards for when you are qualified to use them.¡± She shifted her head up as though listening, ¡°A messenger has arrived requesting my person attention. Interesting.¡±

    Her gold and silver robes shimmered in the daylight as she began to walk away, a shadow appearing at her side running toward Ryan.

    ¡°Ryan!¡± Marie called out excitedly.

    ¡°Marie? What are you doing here?¡± Ryan looked at her in confusion and at Matilda¡¯s walking form.

    Marie stopped in front of Ryan and put her hands on her hips, bending her back so that she looked like Matilda did, ¡°Your level is far too low for me to teach you how to spell cast personally. You can learn from Marie, who is by far your better in this area and superior to you in every way.¡±

    Ryan looked at her bemused, ¡°I want to say you made up that last part but it sounds something the old crone would say.¡±

    ¡°Hehe.¡± Marie giggled, ¡°We¡¯ll start with the most important thing, collecting and preparing ingredients.¡±

    Marie lifted her hand to reveal an empty palm, ¡°The most common situation of danger a magician will find themselves in is when they are stripped of their magical materials by enemy attacks and schemes. In order to counterattack this we magicians have to know how to collect materials from the world around us. For example, if you lose your cat you will lose the ability to contact Freya, this is common sense, however you cannot simply find another cat nearby in most situations. Well, if an elementalist magician loses their pouches of magically charged dirt, embers or water then they must be replenished immediately. Because fire is not a regular occurrence in nature and the Air element has no common natural resources which contain its elemental energies, we will concentrate on the materials of Earth and Water. Namely, dirt and water.¡±

    Ryan listened intently. Although Marie was a child she was still a genius that had been absorbing knowledge about magic since she was a young. He couldn¡¯t imagine how much magical power was hidden within this little girl. Her words contained wisdom and clarity which others would never attain in their lives.

    ¡°There are many rituals to prepare dirt and water and imbue them with magical energy, however we will concentrate on the most common that can be done in any place and location, the holy enchantment. The holy enchantment will provide a decent amount of magical energy to a lot if it is done properly. It can also be done quickly for moderate effects or a prolonged method may be used to fully charge the dirt or water in question.¡±

    The holy enchantment. This was not a spell in itself but a formula, also known as a ritual, used to create magical materials. It was uncommon as far as formulas went but similar to its rarity was its power. A magician with a proper magical formula could charge materials in life threatening situations and then cast the spells necessary to survive to live for another day.

    As such, having proper and powerful magical formulas for all possible situations was a must.

    But they were equally as rare and often belonged to powerful clans that guarded them jealously.

    ¡®Only a clan as powerful as the Black Dragon Clan could pull out a high class formula such as this one.¡¯

    Marie continued as though in a trance, ¡°First, you must collect rainwater or dirt, ideally in a stone vessel for maximum effect though any vessel will do. Second, you must prepare yourself prior to working with the materials, bathe in the ¡®fiery Wall of Protection¡¯, Dragon¡¯s blood and lots of salt. If none of these materials are available you may still proceed although your bodies ability to channel elemental energy will be negatively affected. Third, for clothing the best results will come if you prepare the water while sky-clad, or in clean ritual clothing. Where neither is available use fresh, clean clothing or clothing made from natural resources such as grass or bark.¡±

    Ryan lifted his hand and interrupted, ¡°Sky-clad? Isn¡¯t that a little immodest for the heiress of the Black Dragon Clan?¡±

    Marie didn¡¯t waver in her serious expression at his jest, ¡°Modesty must be foregone when your survival is at stake. To produce the best results for survival one must not concentrate on emotions but rely on what will save them.¡±

    Ryan shivered as he viewed Marie¡¯s cold expression.

    ¡°Fourth, pour the water or dirt into a glass or crystal bowl, though if these are unavailable then any container which can contain the amount of material you wish to empower can be used. Fifth, place it between two white candles, sixth, light incense of any kind and light the candles, and seventh pass the bowl of material through the incense smoke. Steps five through seven can be skipped if these material are unavailable. Eight, visualize why you are preparing the materials, the result will vary depending on your visualization however if you wish to charge it with magical energy then this will provide the conduit from which it can enter the materials. Lastly, contain the water or dirt within a pouch or other container until it is needed to be used.¡±

    Marie fell silent and Ryan looked at her thoughtfully.

    This formula was indeed incredibly powerful. It was not uncommon to see or learn a technique which could empower materials. However, those techniques were usually incredibly strict in their preparation and the slightest variation could ruin the entire process. A formula like the holy enchantment which was incredibly flexible in its use and allowed survivability in various situations including when one contained nothing, not even clothes, but could still be used to empower materials was incredibly useful and indescribably rare.

    ¡°Now then.¡± Marie looked at Ryan with a smile on her face, ¡°Earth Protection Spell. It is perhaps the simplest of the Earth spells of protection. Though when used with earth materials charged by the holy enchantment it will become the Holy Earth Protection Spell. Simply gather the necessary dirt, and then sprinkle it across the area you wish to protect. State the words ¡®Earth Protection Spell¡¯ and visualize your intent to be protected and the spell will be complete. In order to properly train you, you will make your own materials to use. You will cast the Earth Protection Spell until the dirt in the area has been drained of magical power, then you will use the holy enchantment formula to create your own materials for use.¡±

    Ryan looked around the garden and noted that they were lacking all the materials necessary to enact the most powerful version of the formula, ¡°Ah, and I have nothing to use so I will have to learn to do the formula like I would in combat situations with little preparation time.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, what are you talking about silly.¡± Marie giggled, ¡°We¡¯re doing this the proper way.¡±

    Marie reached into her robes and brought out all of the materials needed for the formula to work from one of her pouches. Her eyes shone as she scanned Ryan¡¯s body, causing him to shiver.

    ¡°Now strip off your clothes and start throwing dirt around.¡±

    ****

    ¡°Gah, that bastard!¡± Marie shouted into the air.

    The moment she had spoken Ryan¡¯s eyes had flashed and he¡¯d agreed that in order to practice the formula properly he would have to go sky-clad.

    Then he had come to the conclusion he didn¡¯t need her there and had ordered the shadow guard that always lurked around her to escort her to her room and make sure she didn¡¯t go near the garden for the rest of the day. She had spent the last hour pouting in her room and resting on the bed. She wasn¡¯t used to so much traveling.

    ¡°It was a worthy try, if a bit juvenile.¡±

    Matilda¡¯s voice floated out from thin air but the old lady didn¡¯t appear personally. Inside her shadow dimension she was gazing pensively at a glowing white envelope that had been given to her on behalf of the governor of Trei. It had been delivered by someone she would consider a decent match for herself, at least for a few seconds, and more importantly contained a gold and silver medal within it. The emblem of a senior magician. An old friend.

    ¡°Hehe,¡± Marie poked her tongue out at the room, ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t approve.¡±

    ¡°If the young master is unwilling to be proactive then the young mistress must take up the mantle of responsibility.¡± Matilda sounded jovial.

    ¡°Now, about that other matter,¡± Marie¡¯s face scrunched up, ¡°This ¡®protagonist¡¯ will kill Ryan you say? And then I will become his wife.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡±

    Matilda had informed Marie of the entire conversation she¡¯d had with Ryan under the young mistresses orders. Naturally Marie had also been informed of Ryan rejecting Matilda¡¯s condition of marrying her in return for learning elemental magic. That bastard. Matilda had allowed her bluff to be called because she knew that if the young master was not prepared in the ways of elemental magic this would leave a potential gap in their defenses for enemies to exploit in crucial moments.

    ¡°What a joke.¡± Marie shouted into the air, ¡°It¡¯s obvious what this is of course.¡±

    ¡°Is it, young mistress?¡± Matilda asked curiously.

    ¡®How far has the young mistresses intelligence grown?¡¯ Matilda was genuinely curious.

    ¡°Well it¡¯s clear we are being manipulated. We don¡¯t know how but we do know what the end objective will be,¡± Marie twirled her finger in the air, making an invisible list and chart of connections in her mind, ¡°it makes no sense to tell us of these things now when I clearly love Ryan and would do anything to protect him. This information was leaked to us through Ryan himself without his knowledge of being manipulated in order to provoke a response. In the best case scenario I attempt to launch a secret attack on the protagonist behind Ryan¡¯s back to assassinate him and succeed, causing the destruction of the world. Though I sincerely doubt this creative tale and that such a destructive force exists without grandfather having discovered its presence. If I fail in the killing attempt then the protagonist will turn against our clan and Ryan himself, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy where the protagonist turns his attention towards us, killing Ryan because we tried to preemptively protect him and also turning the protagonists attention towards our clan¡¯s destruction instead of the destruction of the enemy. If the protagonist truly was meant to end up with myself as his wife then he would also lose a valuable asset in my talent and resources and be further weakened.¡±

    Matilda made a sound of praise, ¡°I had similar thoughts young mistress.¡±

    Marie frowned as she made more and more connections, ¡°This presents a new problem however.¡± She pictured Ryan¡¯s face in her mind, ¡°There is the possibility that this force can use anyone, including Ryan and perhaps even yourself and myself, to relay information that will manipulate us into certain actions. It cannot force us, or it would have done so already, but if it manipulated Ryan then it can clearly bypass our defenses in such a way we did not think possible previously. However this seems illogical since then there would be no need to fight in the first place, we would have been defeated simply by existing. Besides, there is a simpler conclusion.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Matilda did not try to interrupt Marie¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°Instead of manipulating Ryan when we were there it did it through a proxy that appeared before we arrived on the scene. The seer. Ryan would not have come to the conclusion he did if the seer did not inform him of the protagonists arrival in the way that they did. This is a plan that was set in motion a long time ago, designed to pit us against this protagonist for a third party¡¯s gain.¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡± Matilda smiled inside her shadow dimension, ¡°The seers are merely the mouth pieces of the gods. Any lessor being would be unable to manipulate their words without grave repercussions. Which can only mean one thing.¡±

    Marie nodded gravely.

    ¡°The enemies have a god on their side.¡±

 Chapter 4: Senior Magician, Gregor

    ¡°So this is magic.¡±

    Mark watched with amazement as veils of water swirled in the air around him, forming shapes of creatures one second and breaking into seamless walls the next. In the middle of the swarm of water streams was a beautiful woman waving her hands gently. With each wriggle of her fingers the water shimmered and changed, controlled as though held by the strings of a master puppeteer. There were twelve streams in all. Each one held the shape of a different creature as they moved through the air; A dragon, a tiger, a phoenix. Mark found the rest unrecognisable before they once again shifted out of shape.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    Freya gave him a small smile in response but continued to concentrate on manipulating the water. This maneuver of shaping water and then dissolving the thing made was what the Goddess Freya had designated the best technique in teaching Mark one of the fundamental concepts of magic; magic control.

    Bruno sighed from the side, ¡°Beautiful, indeed. But this cannot be considered magic. This is a fundamental exercise in harmonizing magic that you must learn before you can cast spells. If you do not have complete control over the balance of magical energy, if you develop a single blockage which builds up energy or allow a disruption in the flow of magic then any spell you attempt to cast will fail, or worse, backlash and cause you harm.¡±

    Mark turned to Bruno who held up three fingers to him, ¡°Magic sensing, magic control and magic spell casting. These are the three fundamentals which apply to every branch of magic. Some magician¡¯s talents lay in one or two, others in all three. It is said that if you can master a single one of these fundamentals you will be as close to being a god as is possible in this world. However to do so is nearly unheard of. It would require prodigious talent, a teacher exceptional beyond measure, unrelenting hard work and most important of all, time. You current have three. Though we shall see how dedicated you become under our tutelage. It will be no simple task of that I assure you.¡±

    At Bruno¡¯s words Freya¡¯s eyes opened and the streams converged into a cocoon around her body, ¡°Now, mortal. In order to begin your training you must first awaken your ability to sense magic. Senior Bruno, you have made the appropriate preparations?¡±

    Her final words held a hint of doubt and Bruno¡¯s eyes flashed with derision.

    Mark could see that he was a clearly a prideful person underneath his kind persona.

    Bruno placed his hand on the ground and the nearby grass drained of its colour, turning into a grey mass. A candle erupted from the grey area and Mark¡¯s eyes widened as he saw that in the middle of the candle was a skull. Carved into it was his name and a single word.

    ¡°Unawakened.¡± Mark murmured.

    ¡°This is the title given to those that have not yet awakened their ability to sense magic.¡± Bruno lifted the candle into the air and even Freya gave a purr of approval, ¡°This candle was created using the powers of my soul. The moment it burns the spell to unblock a persons mind will activate, causing you to experience things you have never before experienced. You will be gaining a sixth sense above and beyond your current senses. You must not fight it, you must only accept it and explore it.¡±

    Bruno snapped his fingers together and a bright white flame appeared. He placed the candle gently on the ground and Mark watched in anticipation as Bruno moved his fingers towards the flame and lit the candle.

    ¡°Ah.¡±

    Formless, untouchable, without scent and yet profound and undeniable. These words are the closest Mark thinks of to describe what he is sensing. Because that is the ability he gained at that moment. In a sense, it was tapping into a different energy, a thing so powerful in its presence that all aspects of life seemed to flow through it and out of it. To try and measure it would be impossible, because that would be like trying to restrict infinity. The mere presence of it, the ability to connect with what had previously been disjointed gave him a feeling of invigoration and empowerment. Continually shifting it seemed to offer him possibilities, where joy was missing it could be found, where deficiency existed it could be expunged. Contagious, intoxicating, there was no power exchange, no mutual benefit. There was only a force which transcends imagination, worldwide because it was the world, timeless because it formed time, beyond art and natural, beyond technology and any manufactured marvel. There was no coincidence in its movements, there was nothing like it, everything unusual yet familiar. Everything in harmony.

    This was magic.

    To his side was a guardian spirit, radiating pure magical power, and to his front¡­ to his front¡­

    An unruly being, fluid, dream-like and yet all too terribly real. Invisible in nature yet an amalgamation of positive and negative forces, a radiant being that seemed to exist above and beyond the physical plane and the magical planes of energy that surrounded it in stream of water. It exuded defiance of all things, it wanted to dominate, and it wanted to control.

    This was the true form of the Goddess Freya.

    Mark heard a chuckle echo out from in front of him, vibrant with power, ¡°It is not often that a being gains the ability to sense even the true form of a god. I have never seen or heard of a being capable of doing so when they have only just awakened.¡±

    Mark looked at her with fear in his eyes, ¡°What are you?¡±

    He had assumed that the term Goddess was simply a title. That she was still human, simply proficient in magic beyond understanding.

    He had been wrong.

    ¡°I am a god child. A concept. A being which has crossed the boundary between what is and what isn¡¯t. I see your confusion. It is a problem and a solution which few are graced with the wisdom to grasp. Perhaps you too shall one day become my peer. Though I do not foresee that happening in the near future.¡± Freya gave him a wry smile.

    ¡°Now you are ready.¡±

    ****

    ¡°In the name of Kabikaj stop pestering me.¡±

    Ryan held out a book in front of him as he spoke and it glowed bright blue, causing the nearby insects and vermin that swarmed the woods at night to run away from him.

    His magical tool, the book of shadows. Tools are similar to spells in that they are created as ways to manipulate and control magic for a beings own ends. This particular tool was a book which had fallen into his care after the previous Ryan Oswald passed away. Books could serve as magical sources for spells, be a spell in physical form or even serve as an amulet or charm which could draw good fortune towards the owner. Ryan knew of two major types of book tools in this world, sacred texts and books of shadows. Sacred texts were magical tools gifted their power by a belief in them. Essentially the belief itself would transform the book into serving the purposes of the believer and as the believers belief grew, so too would the books power. Books of shadow were the most common type of book tools used by magicians, they were simply a record of spells written by magicians which could also be inscribed by magical symbols and the like. Once enough magical knowledge and power had been written and inscribed in the book then it would become highly charged with magical power. A book of shadows would increase in magical power as more and more knowledge was kept inside its pages.

    Kabikaj the djinn. A magical entity with dominion over insects. If his name is written within a book of shadows the book may be used to temporarily ward off bugs and other vermin around the user.

    One simply had to utter his name with the intention to use his powers in order to initiate the spell.

    When their party had stopped in the estate outside the major city of Trei the governor of Trei had somehow gotten word of their arrival. He had naturally sent an invite to the young heiress of the clan to attend a banquet and she had gleefully agreed, much to the chagrin of Matilda and Ryan. Naturally she had been curious about how life in a city was. Although the Oswald family was a major power they did not govern a city, preferring to remain anonymous to the general public and well known to those who had the right to know. Because Marie was only allowed to stay in the Oswald family mansion and nearby area and the Black Dragon Clan mountain this was naturally an opportunity that was rare and exciting to come across.

    Matilda had been suspicious as to how they had known of Marie¡¯s location but she was hesitant to outright reject the invitation due to the true power lying behind Trei city. One of the ten still living senior magicians within the world.

    Gregor Idritch.

    It was as of yet unclear how Gregor was involved in the activities surrounding Mark but Marie had determined that it would be beneficial to scout out the city and determine where its allegiances lay. Though Ryan suspected that she was simply looking for excuses to play around. Matilda had mobilized the entire shadow guard to protect Marie. It was safe to say that Marie was more heavily guarded than an emperor might be when expecting an attack on his palace. However even then she had deemed Ryan an unnecessary addition and had sent him into the nearby forest to follow up a rumor involving this location. The rumor was that the area was cursed so that any traveler that slept within its inner confines would experience nightmares most terrible, and even wake up with injuries identical to those suffered in their dreams.

    It was possible that the rumor was simply a myth made up to scare newcomers to the city. But if it was real then it might present a rare opportunity.

    The forest may house a spirit from the realm of dreams.

    Regarding the nature of spirits it is difficult to say what they are. The general consensus is that spirits are beings of pure magical energy similar to gods. Others state that gods are concepts that occupy their own realm and spirits are the beings that split off as a by-product of their existence. What is certain however is that there are several realms of magic above and beyond the physical one that this world occupies. Some, such as the light realm, the realm of darkness and the realms of fire, wind, water and earth are easy to access as their realm entrances connect to corresponding elements in the physical realm. But dreams are elusive and immaterial, pure thought brought about by something beyond wakeful consciousness.

    Entrances to the realm of dreams are rare, and when opened usually only one spirit passes through before the realm entrance disappears.

    Ryan muttered curses as leaves smacked against his face and the thick bushes and branches attempted to halt his progress as best they could. He had already entered the inner sanctum of the forest and was searching for a suitable clearing.

    A spirit from the realm of dreams could only be communicated with when a person was dreaming.

    Ryan whacked a bush out of his path and breathed a sigh of relief as he came across a clearing that gave him enough room to sit down and meditate without suffocating him in foliage. After a few minutes of clearing and adding protection Ryan brought out three different incense ingredients from his pouches, acacia leaves, myrrh and star anise. By mashing them into a powder and burning them he could activate a spell which would send him into the dream realm, or at least the section which the dream spirit had brought through with it.

    ¡°Dream Incense Spell; Next Realm.¡±

    ****

    ¡°We are going to be attacked, young mistress.¡±

    Matilda¡¯s elderly voice carried a tone that left no doubt that the words being spoken were true. She had exited the shadow dimension she occupied in order to accompany Marie personally through Trei¡¯s capital. Her gold and silver senior magicians robes were replaced by somewhat expensive clothing that left no doubt she was a maidservant or nanny to the rich mistress she accompanied. It was a minor disguise but a necessary one that could lower the guard of potential attackers watching them. In the darkest corners of their surroundings the entire shadow guard had been deployed and lay in wait with orders to attack first and ask questions later if suspicious activity was seen.

    Marie skipped along the stone corridor happily. They had entered the capital hours ago and she had explored every nook and cranny she could access. She had gazed in wonder at shops and sighed in awe at the fashion sense of the people walking the streets. She had even begun to feel self-conscious about her own robes, purple seemed so drab compared to the rainbow she had seen. But it was a necessary sacrifice to make in return for protection.

    Marie smirked at the old woman¡¯s words, ¡°I plan on it. However we must find out if Gregor Idritch is an enemy or an ally, and if he is even still alive.¡±

    ¡°Willing to put your body on the line for the clan¡¯s interests. Your father would be proud.¡± Matilda wriggled her nose coyly, ¡°And yet you had me send out Ryan on some fools errand when his abilities could have been crucial in turning the tides of a battle. I am well aware of his pacifistic tendencies but he shall have to grow up sooner or later. You yourself have a less than stunning track record of freezing in place when a minor event occurred.¡±

    Marie¡¯s face reddened, ¡°Ryan¡¯s safety is no concern of yours Matilda. I am more than capable of defending myself given any unforeseen events. Besides, I trust in your abilities.¡±

    Marie and Matilda passed by a series of large tapestries and pillars engraved with carvings of magnificent beasts and ferocious warriors. They were currently walking in a castle located in the middle of Trei. Officially it was known as the governors main base for his office of affairs and other faculties belonging to those that ran the city. Unofficially it was the residence of the senior magician Gregor. In front of the two was a guide bringing them to the banquet hall where the governor had prepared a feast for their arrival. As was the custom in this world for guides of such esteemed guests, his tongue had been cut out, and his mind shattered so that there was no possible way for him to reveal anything that he heard. He had only been gifted the use of his ears so that he would be capable of listening to basic instructions, his duties so engraved in his mind that they could be understood even through the damage done to his psyche.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The stories depicted by the paintings, murals and tapestries were not random in any sense of the word. Each one was a testament to Gregor¡¯s accomplishments, from his beginnings as an orphan living in the slums of Trei, to his discovery of a self-made form of magic practice, body strengthening magic. It was said that during his journey of magical discovery and practice Gregor had used a means to magically charge his very flesh and bones with magic, allowing it to become his magic tool. As for the means to accomplish such a feat, only he knew what was needed to be done. As a senior magician his powers could not be underestimated, unbreakable skin, instantaneous casting and it was impossible to separate him from the materials and energy he needed to cast magic.

    Marie ran her fingers through the woven works with admiration. By the time they had reached the end of the corridor there were three major stories being told. The first was of Gregor finding and killing an ancient dragon, plunging his hands into its heart and bathing in its blood. The second was a village of people cut off from civilization by a blizzard beyond anything they had experienced before. Although Gregor had been unable to escort the villagers out he had cut off and burnt his own flesh to provide food and warmth to the villagers that were weeping in joy. The third and final tale was of Gregor sitting at a pond and meeting a group of beings that lacked any features, yet looked vaguely humanoid in shape. It was said that he had commissioned this one and oversaw its creation personally, and nobody knew its origins or the reason behind it.

    ¡°Gregor Idritch is a great man with little patience for politics or subtleties.¡± Matilda nodded around her in acknowledgment, ¡°It is more than likely that if someone moves against us he has already been eliminated. We must remain cautious. If he is present then it is possible he has been possessed or replaced by an impostor.¡±

    Marie nodded, ¡°Understood.¡±

    Neither of them harbored any doubts that the person that called them to Trei was maliciously aligned against them. They knew that something was occurring in the world, the events in the dessert shop had proved that, but if there was someone deploying magics which could baffle even the shadow guard being used by three minor minions then they had to determine who their leaders were before they could move forward. The protagonist theory, although still held in their minds, was mostly rejected in favour of a more practical answer. The young mistress and the Black Dragon Clan was being challenged by someone. But they were a clan with thousands of years of history and even in the heart of an enemies territories they held the utmost confidence that they could escape if needed. In the clan¡¯s eyes only Marie and maybe Matilda needed to survive.

    The rest were expendable.

    The guide let out a gurgle and stopped just before a large arched set of doors. Marie swept up her white shawl in her hands with an air of majesty and strode through the doors, flicking them open easily with the palm of her hand. Inside was a large room with numerous people sitting around a dining table and chattering excitedly. The moment the door opened the talking and laughter died and not even a murmur could be heard. At the very end of the table a sturdy and proud looking man with long hair stood up with a grand smile on his face.

    He was draped in a luxurious gold and silver robe.

    ¡°Matilda! I was hoping you would be able to join us in our little soiree.¡±

    The guests at the dinner table looked at Marie in confusion and then widened their eyes in surprise as the unremarkable old maid next to her stepped forward in response the the man¡¯s words and inspected him. Marie had never seen the governor before but the man standing next to Gregor was draped in ceremonial robes that denoted his status as the appointed leader of Trei. The short man narrowed his eyes at Marie and Matilda as Gregor spoke and he waved his hand at one of his attendants to approach him.

    Matilda visibly relaxed as she spotted Gregor and returned a small smile, ¡°Gregor. I had wondered why you would reach out to the Black Dragon Clans young mistress to come and visit you. You had only to mention that it was a personal request and I would have visited you.¡±

    Gregor¡¯s eyes sparkled and he flicked his hair behind his broad shoulders, ¡°Oh, ho. I invited you did I?¡±

    He paused and his eyes shifted to his side towards the governor, whose eye¡¯s widened when he noticed the gesture and hastily whispered a sentence to his attendant in response, it was only a second of movement but in that moment Matilda let out a sharp screech and in the entire room filled with purple armoured men and women armed to the teeth. The shadow guard moved as one unit to attack the dinner guests. Each guest let out a disjointed smile and their outer bodies exploded, dark creatures that seemed more liquid than solid bursting out of their skin husks and meeting the shadow guard head on. The governor himself let out a nervous little chuckle and immediately moved behind Gregor, sprinting for a small door at the side of the room.

    Gregor¡¯s black eyes glowed white and he raised his head to face the roof and bellowed, ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t notice you? You DARE underestimate me?!¡±

    More creatures dropped from the parapets when Gregor shouted and his body shimmered with two lights, one white and one black. The liquid creatures completely ignored him as they fell towards the shadow guard and several others exploded into black goo as Matilda appeared in mid air and ran them through with a pair of short swords. Each one emitted a purple smoke that increased with each creature they passed through. She jumped by several more creatures and flew directly towards Gregor who was visibly trembling as the brilliant lights seemed to fight each other for control of his body.

    Marie was instantly surrounded by five of the strongest members of the shadow guard that forced her into a shadow in the ground. From inside the shadow dimension she could see the entire proceedings occurring within the banquet hall as though looking through a hundred different mirrors. Each shadow was a screen that gave her a different perspective of the field.

    Aside from Matilda who was able to kill the creatures with a single swing of her swords the shadow guard were struggling to finish off their enemies who could twist and morph their body into any shape. If they stabbed towards the creatures then they would meet the air as the creatures shifted their liquid bodies to avoid it and any magic seemed to be absorbed, doing minimal damage. But these were the shadow guards of the Black Dragon Clan, each one a formidable magician or swordsman hand picked and raised by the Black Dragon Clan. If a creature avoided one attack from the front it was instantly killed by an attack from behind, the shadow guards making sure to act in duos so that if one member was overwhelmed other would be able to bring them out and reposition for a better chance to both survive and kill the enemy.

    ¡°Interesting¡± Marie muttered, ¡°There appears to be no end to them. Though I sense the source of their origin within that man.¡±

    She looked through the nearest mirror that reflected Gregor¡¯s struggling figure. Strong energy fluctuations indicated that the man was fighting an internal battle though over what she couldn¡¯t tell. Nor could she sense the source of this invading force in his body. But she could sense that it was it that was calling these creatures from some external area to fight against her forces. The invading magic was serving the dual purpose of a beacon and a means of attack on the most powerful being on the battlefield.

    The shadow guard were no fools, the clan had sent a hundred to secure her safe passage to the Oswald mansion and the moment the fight began fifty of them had rushed out towards Gregor Idritch, ignoring the hostiles in favour of eliminating the thing calling them. As though sensing their intentions the steadily growing supply of creatures flocked towards the shadow guard trying to cut them off from Gregor. Several found themselves swiftly destroyed as Matilda cut a path for the swarm of guards to break through. Sensing that Matilda was the greater threat most of the creatures combined into a sea of black that enveloped her entire figure.

    The shadow guard surrounded Gregor from all sides in an attack formation, with swordsmen in the front and magicians at the back. In synchronized movements the shadow guard let out their most powerful attacks. Gregor¡¯s eyes hazed as the attacks reached and his body swayed in an arch, lifting his hands into the air and then smashing them to the ground. The moment they hit the cold stone the floor exploded and magical energy spiraled maliciously in a circle, the shadow guard soldiers were blasted away like insects in the face of a tornado. The attack didn¡¯t discriminate as it smashed against the creatures and even the black sea was swept away, a single shadow leaping out from within it.

    Matilda landed in front of Gregor and stabbed her swords towards him, leaving after-images in her wake, ¡°What has happened to you Gregor? What has gotten to you?¡±

    As though moving by instinct Gregor grabbed the sword blades that were aiming to bisect him and he yanked them out of Matilda¡¯s hands, throwing them into the air.

    Gregor¡¯s eyes shone black as he viewed the defenseless Matilda, ¡°Dearest Matilda I do hope you can do your old friend a favour. Die for me.¡±

    Matilda grinned, ¡°I refuse.¡±

    Matilda pointed her fingers down and the swords that were swirling in the air immediately flew down and stabbed into the ground on both sides of Gregor, covering him in layers of purple smoke.

    Gregor watched the proceedings with an air of superiority, ¡°Mere parlor tricks. A few seconds and my body will adjust and eliminate the poison. Is this the best plan you could think of?¡±

    ¡°No¡±

    Marie¡¯s spoke calmly as she stepped out from behind Gregor through a shadow and his eyes widened as he felt a hand place itself on his back, a bright light enveloping his body.

    ¡°I am.¡±

    ****

    Mark sighed coolly, ¡°Amazing.¡±

    He was staring intently at a pitcher of water in his hand. There was only enough water to fill up a tea cup inside but this little pool amounted to hours of hard work on Mark¡¯s part. Freya¡¯s lessons in control had pitched him against her. She had given him the task of learning to control water via sensing and attempting to actually manipulate magic, but there was no real water inside the soul of Bruno. The only water present were the twelve streams Freya had brought with her. So in order to learn magic control he¡¯d had to contend with her own magical control in a clash that had led to many severe headaches. Slowly he had managed to steal drops of water away from her, and steadily he had controlled it inside the pitcher to form a constantly swirling whirlpool while he continued to pit himself against Freya.

    Bruno had stared at him wide eyed since he had managed to steal the first drop away from her control.

    Freya smiled as another three drops of water fell out of her control and into Marks. Although it didn¡¯t seem like much of an improvement, it spoke volumes that he was able to contend with a god¡¯s control of magic in the first place. Had this been a true contest she would never have relinquished control of a drop so easily, but for training she had made her magical control akin to a wall, if he broke through then whatever he found he could keep. The wall itself was self-repairing, but the insides contained no magical control to contend with Marks so this was merely an exercise in brute force, increasing his magic control without refining it through intricate battles for control.

    Of course, this is only how it looks like on the outside. Within their magical senses it looked to mark as though they were fighting a battle of wills. There was no random actions in this sequence of battle, there was only their intentions, their goals and desires. What Mark was accomplishing is a harmonization of these things in such a way that his very being in its totality existed at this moment to steal yet more drops of water from Freya, to dominate them and manipulate them. Magic control is the conscious attempt to enact this manipulation. To be able to harmonize your thoughts in such a way requires more than talent and hard work. Though what this thing required is has been the subject of many debates in the magical community.

    Freya tilted her head and Mark was surprised as she suddenly conceded an entire pitchers worth of water which immediately splashed onto his body as the lack of resistance caused his magic control to completely dominate the magically charged substance. Mark waited patiently instead of stealing more water. It was clear that something had distracted the Goddess.

    Freya frowned, ¡°My apologies, it appears that my charge, the man you met before in the town, is in need of my services.¡±

    Mark snorted, ¡°Ryan? That crazy guy that thinks I¡¯m a protagonist from some story?¡±

    Freya chuckled calmly as though the thought of Ryan being called crazy amused her. She wrapped her shoulders with waves of water and nodded appreciatively.

    ¡°Yes. Though do not think of your intelligence as the know all, end all. The mysteries of the universe are limitless. There are such things as protagonists, although they are known by a different name on this world.¡±

    Mark looked at her in surprise,¡±What?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, and you, my dear little Mark¡­ are most definitely a protagonist.¡±

    ****

    Ryan could sense its presence from the moment he fell asleep. The dream spirit was restless, scared, because someone had intruded on its realm with it as the sole desire in his mind. Very few spirits were as ephemeral in nature as dream spirits, and fewer still required so heavily ones desire to meet with them. The desire held in Ryan¡¯s heart was the only thing keeping him in contact with the spirit. It was like a homing beacon, if he swayed for a moment in his beliefs then the spirit would be able to disappear within the dream and he may never come into contact with it again. Even as he walked through the dream his surroundings began to twist and change, manifesting into a defense that the spirit was using to stir his desires and distract him. The fog surrounding him became a series of buildings, people and cars filling a long street and the sounds of a busy day manifested themselves onto the picturesque scene. It was the dream that the spirit had conjured from a desire deep within his heart, brought to the forefront of his mind in order to disturb him and upset him.

    It was Earth.

    Ryan ignored the blurred yet familiar images surrounding him, concentrating all his thoughts and will towards finding the spirit.

    Ryan felt a touch disturbed, but he kept on walking, ¡®Did you really think I wouldn¡¯t notice you?¡¯

    This spirit could manifest a dream out of desires that he had held long ago in his heart. That simply meant that it was extremely powerful, yet it had been unable to conjure his family, his pets or his old home. This was not normal for a dream spirit that was concentrating on solely distracting him. It should have been able to full give life to these Earth world it was morphing the dream into, instead of the blurred faces and foggy buildings that appeared. If it was unable to do so that could only mean one thing.

    It was fighting more than one person at once.

    Ryan tossed the possibility around in his head that someone had coincidentally entered the dream realm at the exact same time he had.

    ¡®Yeah right.¡¯

    The entrance to the dream realm was not a simple as casting a spell and falling asleep, there was a need to place a desire in your heart and intent in your mind as you entered, or else you would simply enter one of your own dreams. For someone to enter at the exact same time he had simply meant that they had been hovering between being awake and asleep, with their intent being to fall asleep the moment he stepped into the dream realm so that they too could enter without having the spirit manifest a proper defense against them. It was as though they were waiting for him to open the door and then followed him into the realm before the door closed. With Marie staying at the estate it would be impossible for this to be a coincidence.

    ¡®This forest is too close to the Black Dragon Clan¡¯s estate.¡¯ Ryan frowned, ¡®They clearly had time to prepare, so who could have possibly entered and set up such a trap without them noticing.¡¯

    The Black Dragon Clan¡¯s young mistress was heavily guarded. Even if someone had wanted to enter the forest to follow up a rumor on a dream spirit they would have been chased away or killed without much care. To have successfully stayed in this forest for a period of time showed that they had both power and a means of entering the nearby territory without alerting the guards.

    Ryan recalled the words that Matilda had spoken to him yesterday before leaving his training to Marie, ¡®Ah, the messenger, of course.¡¯

    A messenger had arrived for Matilda and the next day she and Marie had left for Trei despite the obvious dangers they would face. That alone spoke volumes for the power of the messenger. No weakling would have been trusted with a message addressed to the young mistress of the Black Dragon Clan, and clearly the messenger was strong enough to hide in the forest without notice until Ryan had plodded along. By entering the dream spirit¡¯s territory first the enemy had ensured it would waste most of its concentration on him, distracting him enough that he wouldn¡¯t notice that someone else had entered with him. In terms of doors the dream realm was just like any other, the entrance would stay fixed and could be located by using magic sense.

    ¡®But if they entered after me then they should be¡­ behind me¡¯

    The moment the thought crossed through Ryan¡¯s mind he felt a tingle on the side of his face and moved his head to the side, narrowly avoiding a dagger that would have struck the back of his head.

    Ryan¡¯s eyes narrowed as he spotted the very real looking weapon, ¡®Spirit weapon.¡¯

    He jumped forward and turned around, coming face to face with his enemy. The person was draped in a thick black robe engraved with magical symbol, covering their entire body and hiding their features and gender. A white mask in the shape of a dog covered their face. They had prepared well for this fight, armed with a weapon capable of manifesting itself within dreams and armour that no doubt provided a fair amount of protection. The dog masked assassin brought back the dagger and leapt forward, moving so fast that afterimages were created and holding the blade in front of them like a spring loaded nail.

    Ryan took a look at the fully equipped speeding assassin and then down at himself.

    ¡®Well, crap.¡¯

 Chapter 5: Conflict Escalates

    ¡°I¡¯m a protagonist?¡±

    Mark looked at Freya in confusion.

    What does that mean?¡±

    Freya blinked and when they opened Mark felt as though the entire world around him had been plunged into night.

    ¡°Well we¡¯re definitely not in a story if that¡¯s what you think I mean,¡± Freya chided, ¡°Cognoscenti has experienced many of your kind, people touched by the forces of destiny. Of course destiny has a fickle personality. Those whom she designates her warriors will be titled ¡®Unbeatable¡¯ in our world¡­¡± She raised her hand and the twelve streams of water subsided, ¡°Enough of that. You have a decent magic sense and your talent clearly lies in magical control. But you must learn how to use the magic which you can control. You are not yet prepared to know about these things.¡±

    ¡®I¡­ I think this is something I should ask more about.¡¯ Mark sent a thought towards Bruno.

    Bruno turned to look at him with his eyes shining bright, ¡®To waste the time of a Goddess is a crime beyond measure. As is talking to her behind her back when she can clearly hear and understand you.¡¯

    Mark turned his eyes back towards Freya and caught her bemused expression as she crossed her arms.

    Mark hastily backtracked through their conversation in his mind, ¡°Oh, so how do you cast a magic spell. Abracadabra?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. A magic spell is not solely a magic word. Magic spells come in a variety of forms, too many to count. Dramatic, shocking, and most definitely quiet as well. In a way magic control and magic spells are both a matter of will. Your desires, your actions, your goals and your beliefs. All of these things will shape your magic spells. If I were to use a few words to define a magic spell then a magic spell is a conscious, formal attempt to manipulate magic power and energy in order to achieve your own personal goals. It is the next step of using your magic control, utilizing the magical ingredients and materials of the world. Each different magic spell will change depending on your intents, and your materials, but there is only one thing which makes a magic spell unique to your person. That is of course the binding energy which provides you with the spark of life. You mortals call it a soul. The soul is unchangeable, immutable, and is what transforms your actions, words and thoughts into magic spells. The properties of your soul will also provide your potential in the magical arts. Those who are blessed by destiny and luck will find their souls easily accepting all types of magics, those who are unlucky will find that no matter their talent with magic sense or control they will fall into extreme pain when attempting to use the magic they manipulate to cast a magic spell. That is not to say that these people cannot cast magic spells. There are certain objects in the world which inherently possess this type of magic power, the ability to achieve your goals and most secret desires. If you magically charge these objects then you will find they perform most of the work for you. Some of these are naturally occurring, others are crafted by people. Though of course these tools are limited in which spells they will cast for you. You will be lucky if its more than two.¡±

    Mark groaned as the information came pouring into his head. A special property of learning while inside Bruno¡¯s soul was that due to their connection all the information learned was being branded into his very being. What Freya explained was being constantly analyzed. Freya paused for a moment to give him time to digest the lecture then brought a single tendril of water into her palm.

    ¡°Now then, there are types of spell casting. We will begin with the one Ryan uses, spell-casting in conjunction with the power and assistance of the spirits.¡±

    ****

    Marie¡¯s palms glowed bright, green on the left and blue on the right. Over her sleeves her purple robe morphed and the symbols woven into its fabric began to twist and writhe as though alive. The symbols broke up and flew into different parts of her clothing. On her sleeves ten teeth began to form from the remnants and when placed side by side they formed the shape of a dragon opening its mouth.

    ¡°Dragon Summoning; Dragon Flame.¡±

    Gregor¡¯s clouded irises widened and swiveled to the corner of his eyes, and by turning his neck he could barely glimpse the dark form of Marie placing her hands on his back. He shook his arms and the purple smoke surrounding him dissipated. He turned around with a powerful kick and the form of a little girl blurred and disappeared as his shin connected to it. His eyes stared vacantly as Marie reappeared a few steps away, a large red symbol of a dragon floating in the air in front of her. This was spell-casting which used the powers of animals. The etched symbols of dragons of the Black Dragon Clan carved into her robes were close enough in similarity to a real dragon that any of them by them could be used to unlock magic which utilized a dragon¡¯s power.

    Gregor¡¯s mouth parted, ¡°What a powerful little girl.¡±

    The symbol flew towards him and he could only watch helplessly as it caused the air to shimmer with waves of heat. He could feel the stone floor shatter under its pressure and its chips smoldered against his skin. Even then he could only feel himself falling in front of the dominating symbol and he put his hands to his sides in resignation.

    Marie frowned at his actions.

    Gregor allowed the full force of the dragon¡¯s flame to hit him in the chest, flowing alongside the attack as though he were made of water, causing it to pass through him. The remaining power released by the symbol smashed him across the room and straight into the banquet table, causing it to shatter. Marie lowered her head cautiously and ran towards Gregor, pointing her two dragon toothed sleeves towards him menacingly and stabbing down at him. Gregor let out a faint smile and raised his hand, tendrils of darkness rising from his fingers in the shape of a blade and stabbing at the claw-like teeth, shattering one and causing three others to crack. Marie flinched in surprise and Gregor slithered at her feet, grabbing onto one and throwing her into the air.

    Marie¡¯s back glimmered as she rose higher and higher and two symbols in the shape of wings appeared behind her, ¡°Dragon Summoning; Dragon Glide.¡±

    The symbols glowed bright blue and green, solidifying into two ebony scaled wings. The spell slowed her falling speed but she could still see Gregor underneath her. The bulky man had raised his hand calmly and positioned the blade of darkness directly underneath her so that when she fell her stomach would be pierced through.

    Marie looked at him unwaveringly and her eyes flashed red, her wings shifting upward, allowing her to drift past the dark blade. She pushed her feet off against the air and somersaulted; landing cleanly and immediately leaping back into the fray. She raised her clawed sleeve from the ground and hurled it towards him in an arc advancing into his face. Gregor was expressionless as he swung his blade to block her but to his surprise she added the force of her free hand to push against his attack and she wasn¡¯t knocked back. Instead, he was forced to disengage and his hand and blade bounced behind him, leaving him open to attack. Marie immediately took the opportunity and swung her claws towards him. Gregor¡¯s eyes flashed and he brought the blade back over his head in an arc, forcing Marie to change her trajectory and raise both her sleeves to defend against his blow.

    She sidestepped him and used the momentum of his attack to spin around, the teeth flying wildly through the air towards Gregor only to meet with his blade again inches away from his face. Marie gritted her teeth and pushed herself forward, slashing wildly and using her sleeves as claws. From the top, from underneath and stabbing towards the middle. Gregor moved like a fish in water as he bobbed and weaved his blade to counter her attacks. He finally sliced his blade from a swing near the ground and forced Marie to jump back as she was partially knocked into the air from the force of the blow.

    The moment she landed on the ground she snarled and her eyes turned red. She leapt through the air like a wild animal into the watching form of Gregor and lifted her arms to smash against him with full force. Her claws sparked with energy as she clashed against his raised blade and she whipped her body back into a mid-air spin, waving her hands in a crescent and slugging his blade with the strength gained from the maneuver. Gregor shuffled back but instead of disengaging he allowed the toothed sleeves to latch onto his blade, raising his free hand and smashed it against Marie¡¯s side, causing her to cry out in pain and shock as she was swatted from the air like a fly and was driven into a chair that splintered into pieces.

    Marie growled. She could feel a severe bruise forming underneath her robes. But she was mostly unharmed.

    Gregor leapt into the air at the winded girl and plunged his blade at her head. Marie rolled out of the way of the attack as the floor around her cracked and broke under the strain of the blade puncturing the stone ground. Marie raised her head at her enemy and her eyes widened as she spotted him running towards her, his foot kicking towards her. She raised her sleeves in a defensive posture and felt a powerful blow overwhelm her. She was sent flying through the air and stone broke around her as she was pounded into the wall on the other side of the room. She had made a girl-shaped imprint in the stone that was inches deep.

    Gregor raised his blade towards her but before he could begin his charge a purple flash of light blinded him.

    Gregor blinked, ¡°Why Matilda, I thought you were using me as a means to initiate your protege in the art of battle.¡±

    Matilda let a faint smile touch her lips at the man¡¯s words, ¡°Less talking. I have never been good at banter.¡±

    Gregor charged at Matilda, crossing the hall with ease, and stabbed at her with his blade. Matilda ducked her head out of the way the moment the sword was about to sink into her eye and took a step back, leaping into the air. Unlike Marie she had no wings to allow her to fly, she only possessed the force of her own two feet. With a blur she was already on top of him in the air and crashing down with her two swords. He blocked them both and knocked her back with his blade, grabbing one of them with his fingers and using it to swing her down onto the ground. She pursed her back as it smacked against the stones and her body bounced back, almost as light as air. Gregor didn¡¯t hesitate as he leapt after he. The moment she bounced into the air helplessly he spun with his full momentum to round house kick her in the stomach. Matilda grinned as she intercepted the kick with a blade and Gregor¡¯s foot was sliced in two. Her body was sent flying once again into the air while Gregor dug the sword out of his foot and stabbed it deep into the ground.

    ¡°Not bad for an old crone.¡± Gregor murmured.

    His figure shimmered as he disappeared and reappeared in front of Matilda with his blade arching towards her face. She grimaced and picked herself up, exchanging a dozen moves with him. Every blow from Gregor felt as though she was being hit by a boulder and she grunted as he knocked her arms back and slashed her chest. A dark liquid spurted from the deep wound. Gregor immediately used the opportunity to slash into her with both blade and fist, cutting into her left leg and laughing as he raised his hand to smash against her, flinging her back and giving him the opportunity to grab onto her leg and swing her from side to side into the ground. Matilda felt herself brushing in and out of consciousness as she was swung in the air and smacked into the ground more times.

    Gregor dropped the near-lifeless woman onto the ground and lifted his damaged foot, smashing it against her head and cracking the ground underneath it. By now the liquid seeping out of her wounds had covered his body and the floor. Gregor frowned as his eyes shimmered with light, but then he shook his head and the light was replaced with with clouds as though he was harboring a fog. He stepped back and lifted his blade to deliver the final stab into Matilda¡¯s heart but as he lifted his arm to plunge the blade he was shocked as his entire body stiffened and refused to move.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s about time.¡±

    Matilda¡¯s eyes flashed and she blurred, reappearing behind Gregor with her blades swiveling through the air. The air whistled behind her and a thump resounded as one of Gregor¡¯s arms fell to the floor, severed clean from his body. Matilda looked back and blurred again, her still form appearing in front of Gregor and another thump resounding across the hall as his second arm fell to the ground.

    Matilda turned calmly to face her paralyzed foe, ¡°So it appears that you do not have full control over Gregor yet.¡±

    She tore open the section of clothing that had been near her damaged leg to reveal a purple substance bleeding out of her wound.

    ¡°They always did call me heartless. But when your body has no blood what need is there for a heart?¡±

    Gregor hissed, ¡°Poison.¡±

    Matilda flicked her tongue in and out of her teeth, ¡°It looks like he was prepared for your takeover. Unable to cast a single spell, failing to unlock even the slightest margin of Gregor¡¯s speed and power, activating not one of his defensive spells that make his body indestructible, unable to access his memories and having to rely on external magics to attack. You have made a truly terrible attempt at possession.¡±

    Matilda looked behind Gregor.

    Marie had freed herself from the wall with the help of the shadow guard and while they defended her from the liquid creatures she calmly walking towards Gregor with her sleeves lifted.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Very good Matilda. An entertaining fight.¡±

    She pointed at Gregor¡¯s prone body.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s get this damn thing out of his body.¡±

    ****

    ¡°Woah there buddy.¡±

    Ryan jumped back as the assassins dagger sliced at the empty space he¡¯d just been in. The assassin stared at him emotionless and brought his weapon back to his front, stabbing it towards Ryan. Ryan looked at him with a slight smile as he jumped back again. The assassin was well equipped but there was one clear difference in their skill sets.

    Talent.

    Ryan was a magician that used spirit-type spell casting. He was well versed in conversing with spirits and crossing elemental realms with his real and astral bodies. No matter how well trained an assassin was in the real world inside this spirit realm they were bound to find themselves feeling sluggish and their reactions halved. Ryan was naturally at a disadvantage when it came to weapons but this gap in movement ability was a difficult one to close in a short amount of time. He had spent four years of effort honing his abilities in order to catch up to the most agile of spirits and moved like a lion across the Savannah.

    The assassin¡¯s eyes narrowed from behind their mask. They had already figured out what was happening and stood still watching Ryan. It was a true testament to their skill and ability that they had already pinpointed their main weakness after a few seconds of fighting in the dream realm.

    Ryan waved his robed magnanimously, ¡°Hello friend, we don¡¯t have to fight. I¡¯m peaceful guy and I am perfectly willing to let this entire incident go without a single hesitation. If you return to the outside world and I never see you again I¡¯ll be happy.¡± He coughed lightly into his robe and peeked at the assassin coyly, ¡°If you wish to continue fighting then I am afraid I can and will only run away. It¡¯s probably going to be a lot easier for you if you pick the second option.¡±

    The assassin made a retching motion in disgust, ¡°Ryan Oswald? A man of peace? You will die today murderer.¡±

    ¡®Murderer.¡¯ Ryan¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as the assassins voice floated towards him, ¡®A woman?¡¯

    The assassins eyes glazed over and she leapt towards Ryan, growling when she found he had already moved out of her reach.

    ¡°Woah, woah. Listen to me. I don¡¯t want to fight.¡± Ryan held out his arms in front of him in a gesture of peace.

    The assassin blurred in response and they continued their game of cat and mouse. The half-formed buildings and faceless civilians blurred as the two moved through the Earthen town. If he looked closely Ryan could make out faint reminders of his previous life, the one he had left behind when he¡¯d died. It gave him a nostalgic feeling, like finding an old video of a childhood home. By now he had completely lost the dream spirit¡¯s trail as his concentration was drawn towards the mobile assassin and he sighed in regret as the buildings started to disintegrate, their purpose having been served. Suddenly the assassin hesitated in her chase and stood motionless.

    Her voice was as cold as ice, ¡°You¡¯re stalling.¡±

    Ryan flashed her a smile, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    The assassin¡¯s eyes darted back and forth and she made a dash towards the entrance to the dream realm they had both entered from.

    ¡°It¡¯s too late for that.¡± Ryan called after her, ¡°But if it¡¯s any consolation I did tell her not to cripple anyone.¡±

    ¡°Who-¡± The assassin let out a sharp hiss.

    Blood spurted from the assassin¡¯s body as criss crossed scratches formed long lines across her. In an instant she had gone from a mid-air leap to a tumble and fall onto the ground, groaning in pain. Freya may have been occupying a kitten but she could cut an enemies body in such a way that they would be paralyzed from the pain for hours. The fact that the assassin was still conscious and hadn¡¯t dissipated from the dream realm naturally as a result already amazed Ryan. He moved towards her and kicked the dagger out of her hands before lifting her in his arms and carrying the incapacitated girl to the entrance. Of course he had set Freya and numerous other beings loose in the real world to guard his body before arriving in the dream realm. If something had gone wrong or something living in the woods attacked him then Freya was his main defense for them to bypass, and he had full confidence that she could hold off almost any being until he could get back into his body.

    An unconscious assassin that was asleep was almost no effort to the kitten.

    ¡°Cheh. You¡¯re pretty heavy.¡± Ryan mused out loud as he finally crossed the door into Cognoscenti, ¡°See you on the other side.¡±

    ¡°Mortal.¡± A deep throated voice called out to him in greeting.

    Freya was lying down across an unconscious body laid across a stray patch of grass and licking herself.The assassin looked much like she had in the dream world, except her dog mask had been torn off from the side and her black robes were shredded until the magical symbols engraved in them had been rendered powerless. Underneath the robes the assassin had equipped a tight-fitting black uniform.

    Ryan couldn¡¯t help but whistle, ¡°You can get up by the way. I know you¡¯re conscious.¡±

    In response to his words the assassin lifted her face off the ground and Freya jumped off of her body. The assassin threw back her long hair and Ryan stifled a gasp as he saw she had a long scar running from the bridge of her nose to her forehead. The poor girl had been mutilated. Ryan felt a throbbing in his heart at the sight. He wasn¡¯t the kind of guy that could simply throw off his feeling of chivalry in the face of an enemy, that wasn¡¯t how he had been raised on Earth and it wasn¡¯t how he intended to live his life in this new world. He¡¯d been raised by a single mother and appreciated everything she had done for him in his life. He tried very hard not to think of his father. The sight of this girl with scars across her body from Freya¡¯s attacks and now this one on her face made him feel a myriad of feelings.

    None of them made him feel particularly good about himself.

    Ryan turned to the kitten, ¡°Heal her Freya.¡±

    ¡°Sentimental fool.¡± Freya eyed him coolly but did as he said, the scars on the girls body disappearing.

    The scar on her face remained and Freya pawed at it to the bemusement of Ryan, ¡°She does not want me to get rid of this one.¡±

    ¡°It serves as a reminder.¡± The girl picked herself up and sat down calmly, ¡°Of the man who gave it to me. The man I must kill.¡±

    ¡®I think I know where this is going.¡¯ Ryan felt his stomach quease.

    She stared into his eyes and he could see the fury within them, ¡°That man is you.¡±

    Ryan frowned. He knew what was happening here. This assassin had clearly encountered the previous Ryan Oswald, the one that had inhabited this body before him and he had mutilated her face. He knew all about the track record left behind by his predecessor, the violence and atrocities the owner of this body had committed. For a genius that should know no bounds that man had been remarkably petty beyond redemption. Ryan had covered his face in shame and hardly left the mansion after having his inquiries into the crimes answered by the finest information gatherers the Black Dragon Clan could command. Even the staff still gave him glances from the corners of their eyes after four years of being nice to them. With the exception of his father the rest of the family had found his activities during his criminal period rather mundane.

    He tried to avoid those members when he could.

    ¡°Ryan Oswald is dead.¡± Ryan stated calmly.

    He had seen this situation in stories and television a hundred times. A misunderstanding occurred, a person seeks revenge and then somebody ends up dead or being hunted for life because the one being chased didn¡¯t explain that it was all a misunderstanding.

    ¡®Well I don¡¯t intend to make that mistake.¡¯

    The girl spat on the ground in front of him, ¡°Ryan Oswald is standing in front of me.¡±

    ¡®Ah, I am a bit threatening.¡¯ Ryan hastily sat down on the ground in front of the girl, making sure to stay a small distance away from her hands.

    He had no doubt she could use them to kill him with ease.

    ¡°Ryan Oswald is dead.¡± He repeated, ¡°That son of a bitch died after getting himself so drunk that he didn¡¯t even notice the concrete his head was smashing against when he tumbled and fell. I am a different person, one that took over his body after he died.¡±

    ¡°An awfully callous way to refer to his mother. She is technically your mother now, as well you know.¡± Freya remarked from the side.

    Ryan made a shooing motion at her with his hands, ¡°I¡¯ve met her and I stand by my statement.¡±

    The assassin looked at him with rage in her eyes, and a hint of confusion.

    ¡°You lie.¡± She stated simply, ¡°Ryan Oswald cannot be possessed, he is a genius beyond measure.¡±

    ¡°Ryan Oswald was an alcoholic murderer that just happened to have enough talent to make others call him a genius. He never realized his potential or unlocked magics strong enough to make sure he couldn¡¯t be possessed, though I doubt they would have helped in my case. I¡¯m not exactly a malevolent entity, I just got stuck in here without meaning to. However you can probably see that I wasn¡¯t so stupid. I¡¯ve done my best to practice and train my magical abilities. I hold more power in my pinky than he did in his entire body.¡± Ryan wriggled his fingers to emphasize the point, ¡°And I would never use them to harm a living being.¡±

    The girl watched his fingers motionlessly, although her tensed shoulders seemed to lower a fraction.

    ¡°This proves nothing. You cannot simply say a few words and expect me to believe you. You are my most hated enemy.¡±

    Ryan nodded his head and sniffed the air, the faint aroma of incense still wafting in the clearing, ¡°Okay. Then let¡¯s fight.¡±

    The girl looked surprised, ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    Ryan lifted his hands out in a gesture of openness, ¡°I said let¡¯s fight. You came here to kill me, and now I want to fight you. Is that so hard to believe?¡±

    Ryan¡¯s body blurred and he smashed his fist against the girl¡¯s nose before she could move a muscle. He watched her slump into unconsciousness and sighed deeply. Freya jumped on top of the girls¡¯ body and he laid himself down a few meters away.

    And then he drifted off into sleep.

    ¡°You son of a bitch.¡± A furious voice called out to him.

    Ryan turned around with an apologetic smile, ¡°Sorry about that. I thought you¡¯d say no if I asked you.¡±

    The assassin had reappeared but because her black robes had been ruined the only outfit which had transferred over to the dream realm was her tight fitting black battle clothing. Ryan lifted his hands defensively and pounced out of the way of a fist and then a follow up kick.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey.¡± He tried to calm her down, ¡°I said let¡¯s fight. I didn¡¯t mean a physical fight.¡±

    The girl raised her eyebrow at him and her scar twitched over her left eyelid, ¡°Despicable. You sucker punch me and then have the nerve to add rules onto our bout?¡±

    ¡°May I please remind you that you were attempting to assassinate me only minutes earlier.¡±

    The girl rolled her eyes and made a sound of disgust.

    Ryan waved his hand at the dream realm, ¡°Look around us. This is my battle.¡±

    The girls eyes shifted around from side to side as buildings rose from the foggy mist that encompassed the area and slowly the sound of people chattering began to fill the area. The spirit being had felt his presence in its home and was once again attempting to distract him by showing him images of Earth. Instead of fighting against it he allowed his defenses to fall so that the spirit could reach deeper into his heart. He wouldn¡¯t allow it to actually harm his body or mind but he would give it limited access to his memories, his desires.

    Ryan looked on proudly as the world around him solidified until each individual detail looked as though it was the real thing, ¡°This is my world. Nobody could make up this kind of place without experiencing it beforehand. You know as well as I do that the dream spirit is making these from my memories, it can¡¯t lie and has no reason to lie about my innermost desire to see my home again. This is proof that I am not the Ryan Oswald that you have a vendetta against.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ see.¡± The girl looked stunned at the imagery that was appearing around her.

    The cars roared noisily, a place crossed over in the air and a myriad of sounds and even smells foreign to her began to overwhelm her senses. To Ryan this was his home world, to the assassin it was as though a whole new experience had opened up to her. A doorway to a universe she had never imagined. Slowly the scene shifted, and Ryan and the girl found themselves inside a small house, a single woman and three young boys sitting around a table eating quietly.

    Ryan could feel his eyes moistening as he gazed upon the scene, ¡°My mother, my two brothers and I. We lived a simple life, little to no conflict except when we plotted to murder each other behind each others backs. As most brothers do.¡± Ryan chuckled at the thought, ¡°But as you can see, clearly I wasn¡¯t in this world. The Ryan Oswald you knew grew up in Cognoscenti. I did not. This is perhaps the most obvious way of showing you the truth. Though I¡¯ll admit I am also enjoying going through a nostalgia trip at the moment.¡±

    The scene once again shifted and Ryan frowned. The images in front of him were not ones he had expected. The sounds of screams resounded through the air and sirens wailed.

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°My death. My greatest regret to this day. Though I suppose since I feel that I¡¯ve gotten over it that speaks volumes for the lack of regrets I have in this world. I suppose this will help confirm that I¡¯m not lying about dying.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Now, I¡¯ve shown you mine.¡± Ryan looked at her solemnly, ¡°Will you show me yours?¡±

    The girl raised her eyebrow at him and the hint of a smile floated across her features, ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    Ryan didn¡¯t grin in return as he sat down, crossed his legs and lifted his hands into a pose of meditation. Slowly the images around them disappeared into the mist and the dream realm became a veil of fog once again. Ryan had stabilized his heart and was preventing the spirit from making any intrusions into it. The girl shivered as she realized this meant that Ryan was far stronger than the spirit in terms of magic control and magic sense. A rare feat.

    ¡°Your greatest desire is to see Ryan Oswald dead.¡± Ryan kept his eyes closed as he spoke, almost as though he was casting a spell, ¡°The Ryan Oswald you wanted to kill has passed on to the next life, but your desires are not so shallow as to disappear into nothingness after a few minutes. Within your heart lies the reason for your revenge, the origin of your desires. Show me the crimes that have been committed against you.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± The girl took a step back and looked with fear as her eyes darted across the fog surrounding her, ¡°You have proven to me that you are not the same Ryan Oswald that I seek. That man is dead. What reason do you have to relive such things. What right do you have to ask me to relive my most horrid memories.¡±

    Ryan etched a symbol into the air, carving out his family emblem, ¡°There are many evils in this world, many of which I do not care to confront. I am not a killer, and yet this world seems to demand that of its citizens. I am not a hero, yet it appears sacrifices must be made to right the horrible wrongs. I do not have the courage to make such sacrifices, and I definitely don¡¯t have the resolve to kill anyone. But there is one thing I do not run from, and those are the sins of my past. ¡± Ryan grabbed the symbol in his hand and caressed it carefully, ¡°I was not born in this world, but I was brought into it. I can¡¯t deny that the guy before me that lived in this body and the man that I am are connected in a way that is beyond my understanding. I know I shouldn¡¯t consider his actions my actions, his wrongs my wrongs. But I cannot help but feel as though I should do something right by the people he has harmed. So many people view this body with hate and loathing. Before I¡¯d come into this world I only knew love and kindness, and it really hurts me to see so little of it present here. The memories you saw before really are a precious gift that I have come to appreciate.¡± He let go of the symbol and it faded into nothingness with a shimmer of lights, ¡°To put it simply, you are one of the people that has been wronged and I feel the need to help you. That is all there is to it. Your hate and thirst for vengeance is so deep. I can feel it seeping from your soul towards me. I¡¯ve never known that there could be such feelings that they could only be resolved with death. Do not get me wrong, I usually run away from fights. But a person like you, a young girl yet that has been deeply affected by that horrible man, only a person like you has the qualifications to make me fight them. This is how I choose my battles, by only fighting those I feel I need to help. I do not fight with weapons, or with words, I fight by healing, and I do not consider it a win until my opponent has come out better than they entered into the fight. That is why I wish for you to show me what has happened to you. So that I may help to heal you, and I will talk to you emotionally until you agree.¡±

    ¡°Then you are a sentimental fool.¡±

    Ryan chuckled, ¡°So I¡¯ve been told.¡±

    The girl gave him a penetrating look and seemed to be deep in thought.

    ¡°My name is Deira.¡± She waved her hand and a swirl of mist instantly encompassed her, ¡°Bare your eyes upon me my opponent, for this is the moment that defined my life. View the sins Ryan Oswald has committed against me. The blood spilled, my family torn apart, and the man that instigated it all.¡±

    Images began to form in the fog that touched Deira¡¯s hands and then it spread further and further until the surroundings had filled with the same scene viewed from the same angle, that of the view of a little girl gazing lovingly upon an older woman.

    ¡°This is the story of my sister¡¯s murder.¡±