Avice sighed as she trudged to the other side of the field. Her heart boomed in her chest, and her stomach felt like it was going to erupt. I can’t believe I said that crap, she grumbled in her head. She dragged Dall’s sword through the dirt and briskly walked up to a larger tree on the edge of the protected area. Glancing up, the warm sunlight dancing between the trembling leaves hit her face, and she annoyingly clicked her tongue. Dammit, I’m gonna knock him out to make sure he forgets I said that. She approached a large, protruding root jutting out of the ground. Another sigh escaped her lips as she thrust Dall’s sword into the ground. Hanging her head low, she put her hands on her waist. Do I have time to rest? she thought.

She turned around and plopped herself down onto the ground. She shuffled backwards and lied her back against the hardened wood. She lowered her gaze and made eye contact with Dall, who had a terrifying, malicious glare in his eyes. 

Well, there that potential friendship goes, she thought. Why can’t shit just go right, for once? 

She tapped her finger incessantly against the ground and counted the seconds go by. The quietness of the forest slowly disappeared, and instead, a plethora of tiny, inconsequential voices started whispering in her ears. “What the hell is that?” she whispered. The voices were getting suspicious at this point. They had always seemed to come whenever there was a silence around her. She looked back to Dall and he, too, seemed to be distracted by something. “You’re probably hearing them, as well,” she said. She shut her eyes. “This sucks,” she said. 

“Hello, Milady,” a familiar voice called out to her. A green orb popped into existence next to her, its green glow bouncing against her cheek. “The Spirit in charge wanted me to inform you that you have three hours and forty minutes left to defeat the beast.”

"Really, now? A specific time, huh?" She grit her teeth and waved her hand. “You can tell him to go fuck himself,” she responded.

The Spirit floated silent for a second before saying, “I will make sure to deliver the message.”

Avice pursed her lips and shook her head. She needed to use this chance to get any and all the help she could. So she looked back up at it and said, “You got any tips, Spirit kid? Know any hints to take that freak down?”

“Apologies, Milady. I’m afraid I was banned from assisting in any way,” it said. She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Unless you force us, that is.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, please ignore me,” it said.

“So do you have nothing for me?” she asked. “Why’re you here, then?”

“Consider me your timer, please. I will inform you of the limit as the hours go by”

Avice nodded. A smile spread across her face and she said, “Okay, then. So you’ll wake me up before I need to fight?”

“Indeed.”

“Then,” she said as she crossed her legs. “I’ll take you up on that. I’m going to Meditate.” 

“Understood, then I will leave you to yourself,” the Spirit said as it disappeared.

Meditation.

A necessary practice that her father had beaten in to her at a young age. To him, it was the preparation to fight - to get your heart ready to fight and overpower your foes. He had always told her, ‘You’re going to need this in the future’, and ‘Stop crying, this is important’. At first she despised his teachings, rather focusing on doing the exact opposite of whatever he told her to.

But as time went on, and his “lessons” grew harsher and her surroundings grew more hostile, she came to appreciate meditation. She didn’t do it because she was going to ‘fight’, but because she just wanted to listen to her heart, or maybe not even listen to anything at all. Whenever the situation was rough, she would always sit quiet and do her best to bottle all of the negative emotions in to keep up her smile. And to her, after every meditation session, she would always feel better than when she started it.

The only way she could practice it, however, was in an area with absolute silence. Sitting here in the middle of the woods, with no other person aside from the one sitting a long distance away, was the ideal place. So she closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly. 

In through her nose, out through her mouth. Her racing heart calmed down, and now it beat at a regular pace. Every thought that had tried to invade her mind, she squashed. The deafening silence of the area quickly became welcome to her. The warm sun shone down on her skin. A gentle breeze blew past her, ruffling her clothes and her hair. The scents of the grass, bark, and the trees all around her tickled her nose. She breathed in, then out. 

Meditation, she thought.

Nothing else matters now.

Just focus. 

Her chest lightened up slightly, proving the effects of the meditation already were showing. Her breaths were now deeper and elongated, and it was is if she was now in a trance. This calming, relaxing, and uplifting time of peace was something that she sorely missed these past few days.

However, even as this quiet moment went by, lingering thoughts and emotions had ended up creeping up on her. The things that she hadn’t even been thinking about before appeared out of nowhere. Things that she had been trying to suppress. Things that had slipped out of her mouth once or twice, which she had never given really any thought to. Her mind started to drift, and before she knew it, all of her memories came rushing back at her. 

The White Wolves and their salivating fangs boring down at her, her imprisonment surrounded by a bunch of freaks and criminals, a burning village, with hundreds of people dead all around her. The scent of the scorched corpses and intense smoke stung her nose. The screams and screeches and the laughter of the people all around her were louder than ever. Every beat of her heart tore her chest open. 

These thoughts broke her out of her quietness and she grit her teeth. She ran her fingers through her hair and uncomfortably shifted around. “What’s wrong with me…?” she whispered.

The images of those who were killed came to mind. At that time, another strange entity had taken control of her body, and Avice was forced to watch from the sidelines. She had screamed in her head at Dall that he made a mistake and that he should’ve rescued everyone else. She couldn’t stand the fact that this random stranger would’ve chosen her over the people he declared he was fighting for.

But at that time, when her own body moved to look at Dall and at the people being slaughtered, it felt like something was off.

No, she knew something was off. She thought that watching those people suffer and die right before her would tear her apart.

It didn't.

And even then, she was just a mere onlooker. She couldn't have done anything about it. So, because of that, she felt next to nothing. Was it because she had barely known them and she felt nothing for their deaths? She was hoping that that was the reason, but even Avice couldn’t trick herself into believing that. She punched herself in the gut.

It was all simple, really.

She didn’t care.

“What the hell,” she muttered. 

Then she scoffed. 

“But it wasn’t my fault,” she said. “They could’ve died even if I weren’t there. It wasn’t because of me.”

Once Avice said that, a chill ran down her spine. She blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of what that was, but then shook her head, deciding that she needed to go back to her meditation. She started up the ritual again. 

Breathed in.

And out. 

She brought her focus back and tried to ignore those lingering thoughts. 

‘That’s right. Never your fault,’ a voice whispered gently.

She hung her head low and opened her eyes. She had expected to see a mischievous green ball floating nearby. She thought that a Spirit was chastising her and ridiculing her. She didn’t know. But when she opened her eyes to find absolutely nothing, she sat there surprised.

She glanced around to see if there wasn’t one hiding, and there was in fact nothing around. Then she thought that it must’ve been one of the many voices she was trying to block out of her head. But this one was much more clearer and more defined. And it wasn’t negative. It had agreed with her, which was something she didn’t expect from the moaning voices of the damned. I guess it was just my imagination, she thought. 

Avice closed her eyes once more, and tried to bring her focus back. 

‘You’re never going to win if you just sit here,’ 

She shot up and took a stance. Shoving a hand over her ear, she swiftly turned around and swept her gaze over her surroundings. “Is someone there?” she demanded. She withdrew Dall’s sword from the ground. The voice this time was so much clearer and defined that it felt like it was whispering in her ears. The Spirits had previously told her that no monster could penetrate their barrier and enter this field, but they had never said anything about humans. So not knowing this situation, she assumed the worst that there were enemies nearby. “Show yourself,” she said quietly, tightening her grasp on the hilt. 

She stood there, staring. Glancing between the trees before her, she never let up on her stance. 

But nothing appeared. 

“I’m going crazy,” she muttered as she rubbed her head. 

“A person such as yourself isn't allowed to go crazy.” Avice’s heart jumped and she flipped around. Her skin crawled, and her breath was taken away.

Standing before her in a beautiful transcendent glow was the figure of a woman. An elongated, intricately woven veil had covered her face. Her flowing hair reached down to her waist. The clothes she wore seemed very ancient - similar to those from Ancient Greece. They were long, silky robes layered over each other. However, none of those features were what had surprised her. This woman, in her entirety, was translucent. “Hello there.”

“Who the hell are you?” Avice demanded. 

“Please do not show such hostility,” the woman said. “It is unfitting of an Aldrian to be so brazen with her emotions.”

Avice’s brows curled and she glared at this strange figure. “Don’t call me that!” she yelled. “Answer my question!”

The woman gave her a soft smile, bowed elegantly, and spoke sweetly. “I go by the name Achnaea.”

Avice tightened her stance and pointed the sword at Achnaea. “What do you want from me?”

The woman softly said, “I’m not here to hurt you, my dear. I am here to aid you.”

“’Aid me’?” Avice scoffed. “Thanks for giving it to me straight. I get it. You can go now.” She wouldn’t bother listening to someone who was offering help. Let alone some ghost in this strange and unknown world. She was going to stand her ground. 

“I’m afraid I’m not going anywhere until I do my job.”

“And what is your job?”

“Aiding you.”

Avice swung Dall’s sword in front of her. Her blood was heating up and her muscles were tightening. “Why would I bother listening to a ghost?”

Achaea wore a simple, gentle smile on her face. All of this smiling pissed Avice off to her core. After all, she hadn’t met anyone who just stood there without a frown. Now that she was thinking about it, rather than pissing her off, it terrified her. What does this person want? 

“You’re a bit lost, aren’t you?” Achaea asked. 

Avice narrowed her eyes. “No I’m not,” she said with a grunt.

“Let’s see,” Achaea straightened her gaze and peered through Avice. “I see. It appears that you hail from a place called Earth. Oh, what’s this? Ruby, Sam, and Kale, hmm? I wonder if these people are that important to you that they’d be the first ones to come to mind,” Achaea muttered quietly. 

To an outsider, such basic facts would’ve sounded inconsequential to them. Stating mere facts as if they were nothing should’ve been part of the norm. However those mere whispers shook Avice to the core. Her breath stopped and she quivered. 

“Avice Alera. Interesting, isn’t it?” Achaea said. “I haven’t heard a name like yours in…” She paused for a moment, looked down at her fingers, and raised them one by one. “…centuries most likely,” she said matter-of-factly. Before she could react, Achaea continued on recounting Avice’s life, “It appears you underwent harsh training with your father, was verbally and physically abused by the people around you on a daily basis… When you were eight years old he took you to a forest and kept you there for days. When you were thirteen he flew you to some place called the ‘Endless Warzone’, and left you there for a week. Oh, and I see that on your back right shoulder, you bear the mark of-”

“Shut up!” Avice yelled. She slashed the sword at Achaea, however the sword just slices through her like empty air. Ignoring what she’d done, she yelled, “How do you know all of that?”

Despite Achaea giving her such specific details at what Avice had done at certain ages, she wasn’t all that surprised at that. She was, however, taken aback that her three friends were named out loud. To her knowledge, she didn’t think that she hadn’t said those names to anyone before. And, to top it all off, she knew about the mark on her back. And exactly where, as well.

Thinking that, Avice’s eyes widened, and she came to a rapid conclusion.

With a hushed voice, she whispered, “You were the one who brought me to this world, weren’t you?”

Achaea was silent for a moment, and Avice took that as a yes. But before she could say anything, Achaea said, “Please settle down Avice. I’m not your captor.” She floated closer, and Avice took a step back. “Maybe this will instill some trust in you.”

She elegantly lifted her hands and pinched the hems of the veil. Lifting them up, she revealed her face, and Avice let loose a gasp. The woman had beautiful features; pillowed lips, smoothed and round cheeks, and wide, open eyes. But, Avice wasn’t interested in any of that. The detail that Avice was most intrigued by was the color of Achaea’s pupils. 

“Your eyes are…”

“Just like yours,” Achaea finished. Indeed, Achaea had strong and bright violet eyes that shimmered brilliantly amongst the whiteness of her glow. 

Now Avice put two and two together. If this woman was so confident that Avice would put her trust in her, then the only way that would’ve been possible would be if they had something in common. And the only way that there could possibly be a connection between these two was just revealed to her. “You’re one of them. An Aldrian,” Avice whispered.

“Of course, my dear,” Achaea said. She lifted her hand, and spoke with a hushed voice, “Great Ifrit heed my call and bestow upon me the sight of your children.” Opening her palm, swirls of faint red balls appeared. Tiny and child-like voices sang as they bounced around and danced in the air. Achaea closed her eyes and put a hand to her chest. “I am an Aldrian; one who speaks with the Spirits and the Gods.” She opened them and reached her hand out. “And so are you, Avice.”

Avice gripped her fists. “What does that matter? All I’m hearing from you is a bunch more reasons why being one sounds troublesome.”

“’What does it matter’, you ask? Why Avice, I’ve read your memories.” Avice’s spine shivered. “I know of your greatest fear,” Achaea spoke with a mischievous grin, and Avice felt something tear into her heart. “And I know that now moreso than ever is when you’re experiencing the peak of that fear. But your worries can disappear now, I guarantee that.”

“What’re you saying…?” Avice asked.

“You and I. We are the same. And there are only two of us left on the face of this gods-forsaken continent.” Achaea’s voice dripped with venom, but as soon as she noticed it, she shut her mouth and put on her grand smile. “There are none others like us. Before I heard of your Awakening, I was sure that I was the only one here,” she said. “You surely must know how that feels, right? Locked away with your own feelings and thoughts, not having a single person to talk to… You know, right, Avice?”

“Umm…”

“But you’re here now. And I know of your troubles,” Achaea floated away towards the edge of the field. “If I am truthfully honest with you, dear, I am not only asking for your aid. I wish to ask for a deal.” Avice was quiet, so Achaea took that silence as the go-ahead to continue. “I will do everything I can to help you. And in return, I ask that you do the same.”

“Wait a second,” Avice said. 

“What is it, dear?”

“Your voice… I’ve heard it before…” she said inquisitively. “Were you the one that spoke to me when I first arrived to this clearing?” Avice recalled the voice that had spoken. It was a very similar way of speaking, but the one she heard was much weaker and sounded much more helpless. “And that stone thing…”

“You are correct. It was me. And that stone structure is exactly where I lay.”

“How can I know I can trust you?” Avice asked. “You say you’ve read my memories. If that's true, then you should know how stupid you sound trying to get me to go along with your plan, even if we’re like the same thing.”

“What if I told you I am knowledgeable about something you deeply wish for?” Achaea said.

Avice glared at her. “And what do you think that is?”

“There are not many things from what I saw. Too little to count, really. But at this moment, I know that there is only one thing that you want. One thing that you desperately desire.”

Achaea floated swiftly towards Avice, and now they were face to face.

“If you free me, Avice, I will give you everything, every method, every detail I know of that will get you back to your world.”