Moving to leave, the Spirit King and I walk towards the stairs when a panicked voice shouts out from behind us.

“Waaaaaaiiiit!!! You can’t just leave this place here! What about all these treasures? Are you really going to leave them all behind?!?”

“Well, even if someone does get here, they won’t be able to use them. If someone who hasn’t been assigned the blade by either me or the previous wielder, it would just teleport back here anyways. And if nobody took anything after 1,000 years, it’ll be fine, right?”

Looking around flustered, the mage manages to stammer out a more relevant question.

“Won’t you need to take at least one? Its suicide to go on a journey without a weapon. Wait, nevermind, taking any of these is bad news, they are all radiating ‘I am a divine artifact’. Also, you can’t just set off on your own right now, we look identical! People will think you’re me!”

What? I take a detailed lookover of her. Ya it may be rude, but I needed to affirm something. Brown hair cropped to shoulder length with a pair of bright young eyes, dressed in a blue robe meant for travel over looks. Carrying what looks to be a shortsword, the mage girl is fit but not rugged. Yup, I never looked as dainty as her, and I certainly am a lot older than her. Though what can be expected from working as a smith my entire life.

“What do you mean miss- oh I am sorry, I forgot to introduce myself.” 

I give a bow.

“My name is Robin, former Royal Magic Blacksmith of the Empire. And you are?”

She looks at me with puzzled eyes and replies,

“I am Claire, an adventurer mage from the town of Kierta. And uh, my lady, currently you look like my twin. We will need to get you registered with the guild so they don’t think you’re me trying to avoid things.”

Confused, I look to my contracted spirit.

“Mistress, Claire is correct. The mirror is in the same spot, so please affirm your new look for yourself.”

Shocked, I make my way back to the middle of the room where I had kept a mirror for those nobles who wanted to pose and admire themselves with my creations. My reflection shows a mirror image of Claire, though my eyes are blue and purple, and my hair is a pure white. 

“You know how the crystal coffin works, mistress. It lets a spiritual being take the corporeal form by giving the soul a memory blueprint of the body of a mage with a compatible mana wavelength to the spirits, then the crystals magic uses that blueprint and the mana of both the mage and spirit to create and bind the spirit to a proper corporal form. Since we spirits had no physical form to begin with, just a compatible mana was enough for us. But for you, your soul already has the memory of an ideal physical form, so for the coffin to assign you a new one, we five guessed that your soul rejected compatible wavelengths and would only settle for a near identical one. Do not worry about losing your strength though, since you are now a spiritual being like us, your strength is solely based on your mana now, and not your physical appearance.”

Hmmm, putting aside the concerning announcement that I am a spirit like existence, this does present a problem. I don’t want to be mistaken for someone else, and I also don’t want whatever I do to affect her. I could make a mask, but that type of outfit just tends to make people more curious. Interrupting my thoughts, Claire pleadingly asks me,

“Uhm, if it’s alright with you my lady, would you mind making a trip to my house first? I would rather get explaining this to my mother over with. Not that it's necessary of course! We could just head to the guild and get you registered!”

Meeting her family right away? What am I supposed to tell them? I basically stole their daughter’s appearance. I look to the spirit king, and she gives me words of salvation with a gentle smile.

“Don’t worry Master, we have guessed that this would happen, and we have a flawless story to cover for you. Now, both of you follow me, I will lead us back to the village.”

We ascend the stairs to the exit of my home cum prison. I hesitate upon seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This is almost too good to be true. This will be my first time stepping outdoors in ages. The truth hits me hard. It has been ages. It has been around 1,000 years. With both fear and excitement, I step out and view an ancient forest. The trees are taller than any garden or city tree, and their canopy is a dense sea of leaves. Since the entrance to my workshop is against a cliff wall, I can see straight above me a clear, cloudless night, with countless stars in the sky. I knew the world was big, but I never cared since I would never be allowed to leave the control of the royals. Now though, with no tyrannical empire to enslave me, I am free to actually wonder at the vastness of the world. 

“Lady Robin! Catch up! We need to get back to the village before my family falls asleep!”

Up ahead already in the midst of the trees are my contracted spirit and Claire, waiting on me. As I walk towards them I hear the grinding of the earth behind me. Quickly glancing back,  I see the opening to my former prison disappear into the mountainside. 

“Don’t worry Master, the door will always be open to you if you decide to come back, and the spirits of the mountain will keep your workshop safe.”

With a grin, I bound towards them. Truth be told, I am glad we are going to visit a presumably small mountain village with an acquaintance. Though I said I want to explore the world, even leaving my workshop makes me nervous, not to mention traveling to whole new towns and cities. Yet even though it is scary, I am happy. Catching up to them, we set upon a moonlit forest path surrounded by a retinue of cheerful spirits.