“Y-You can get me home?” Avice’s voice quivered.
“As long as you free me, the opportunity is yours,” Achaea said sweetly.
Avice smiled widely, her heart racing in her chest. “Then…” Avice began to speak when she cut herself off. She slapped herself in the face and bit her lip. Looking down at her hands, she cursed under her breath. She was disgusted with herself.
The choice given to her was mesmerizing, so she had let her guard down for a split second. She didn't even bother to think about everything else behind such simple words. Why would she bother taking this chance from some nobody she met minutes ago? Why would she put her trust into something from this hostile and foreign world when the only thing that she could do was believe in herself?
Avice tightened her muscles and glared at Achaea, that terrifying smile still spread across her lips. “Forget it. I’m not doing it.”
“And why is that? Why deny this chance to go home?”
“You have no proof. I’d rather break my leg than believe in strangers. Especially someone like you.”
“Avice, my dear. You’ll have to believe me and only accept my words for now.”
“Your ’words’ are nothing but bullshit,” Avice scoffed and crossed her arms. She spat on the ground. “They’re empty. They’re nothing. Contracts, deals, vows, oaths, promises… Every single person in this world and the next is a liar. You, Dall, all of those people back home… not a single person will ever tell the truth. I’m sure of it.”
“What about your friends?”
Avice grit her teeth and stomped her foot. “Don’t you dare accuse them of that bull,” she growled. “They’re the people I put my trust in. The only people.” Her breath was heavy. “And besides, I don’t care if they’re liars. At least they have stuck with me. They actually care about me,” Avice said. “I will never believe in someone who only has their words. You either give me proof that you can get me home, or our deal is off.”
Achaea pursed her lips. She was silent, and she backed off.
For a small moment, Avice believed she had won this battle. She stood her ground and spoke her mind against her foe. She thought that this conversation was done.
Because if this ghost had really read her memories, then it should know that everything she’s saying is true. That no matter how hard she had tried in the past, nothing had ever worked out for her. All of the empty words, lies, and half-truths that had pierced through her guard and stabbed her in the heart.
However, to her chagrin, Achaea fixed her smile and floated closer to Avice. “Our deal will never be off until the moment you die,” she said. Avice glared at her. “Because as far as I know, if you do not take my offer, you will be dead within a few hours.” Avice dug her fingernails into her palms, small traces of blood trickling down her fingers. “Would you much rather die than receive a chance to return home?”
She kept quiet.
“Open your heart to me, Avice. At least just a little.”
“Don’t say those words,” she grumbled. She held a hand to her chest.
Avice sighed and glanced at the ground. There was no other option. Avice was planning on fighting that Spider monster with brute force. She wanted to win of course, and she was planning on using the time leading up to it to formulate her plan to take it down. But every scenario she thought of ended with her loss and her death. So she now realized that two great opportunities were being offered to her. She was torn on both sides. It was her life’s motto and creed that she would never allow herself to put her life in the hands of a stranger. And years since she first made that vow, she had never broken it. And she didn’t want to.
However, if she took the deal, she’d at least be given a chance to fight in a battle that she originally had no prospect of winning. She’d be at least given a guarantee that there could be a chance that she’d end up beating the nightmare crawling before her.
Her options were to stand her ground and do everything on her own, ultimately leading to her death, or to swallow her pride and be given a chance to win.
It tore her inside to decide between the two. To crash and die, or to give herself up to win. Avice bit her lip, grit her teeth, scratched her head, and tapped her foot. She didn’t know how much time had passed while she was in her head. But no matter how long it was, Achaea still floated there with a smile. Avice stared at her and felt something in her stomach and heart churn.
Why is this lady so desperate to get me to help? And… why do I feel so weird…
After a few silent minutes, Avice glanced up and opened her mouth. “You’re certain you can help me win?”
Achaea laughed, her voice resounding around the field. It was a soft chuckle, barely even noticeable if Avice hadn’t been paying attention.
But she was.
An overwhelming surge of warmth and delight coursed through her body. Her muscles loosened, and her guard dropped. Her heart dropped down to her stomach and shattered into a million pieces.
W-What was that?
Tears swirled beneath her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.
Why am I crying? She asked herself. Why does it hurt?!
Blood rushed to her head, and everything around her went white.
Her surroundings had changed.
A field of grass combing over the hills was stretched before her eyes, and a soft breeze blew past her, catching her hair and ruffling it up. A woman stood in front of her.
Achaea?
She seemed different than how Avice had seen her until now. Rather than her ghostly appearance, she seemed much more human - much more alive. Her skin was darkened and tanned, and her flowing white hair reached down to her waist. She stepped a few feet in front and turned back to face Avice. Her cheeks were flushed red, and she had a wide and gentle smile on her lips. She said something in a hushed whisper, and Avice couldn’t make anything out of it.
Then she snapped back into reality. She was back in the forest, back in the field, staring at the person floating in front of her.
Avice trembled. Her hands shook and her lips quivered. She couldn’t tell what she had just seen. A vision. Was it from the past? Was it from the future? Why did she see what she saw? She knew for sure, for certain, that Avice had never been in a field like that. She had never met Achaea or a woman who looked similar to her...
But it was all too familiar. So familiar that it terrified her.
Avice stared into Achaea’s eyes, and then it appeared.
A word. A single word had formed in her head.
A word that was so foreign to her that she couldn’t believe that it had popped in her head:
Sister.
“W-Who are you…?” Avice whispered.
Achaea floated towards Avice and cupped her cheek. Avice tried to force her body to retreat, to get away from this ghost, but it wouldn’t listen. It was as if it was telling her to embrace Achaea’s invitation. “I’m afraid I can’t answer that right now,” Achaea said. “It would be cheating. But trust in me, Avice.” Achaea smiled. “Believe in me, dear. I will not betray you. I am here to aid you. I am here for you. There is nothing to fear.”
Avice’s knees buckled and she fell to the floor, her heart racing and her fingertips cold. There was an incessant and nagging feeling that she had heard those words before, but she could’ve sworn to herself that she hadn’t. Not even her closest friends had used such powerful words. And hearing them now coming out of her mouth, she trembled.
“This is the only way, my dear. Will you accept my offer?”
Avice, still dumbfounded, looked up. It was all or nothing at this point. There were no other options. So Avice steeled herself.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do it.”
Achaea grinned. “Excellent. Now prepare yourself, and allow me to teach you something.”
Avice was on her knees, looking up at Achaea floating before her. “Now, then, you know about these Spirits, right?”
“Barely,” Avice responded. “They’re the little orbs floating around right?”
“Indeed,” Achaea said. She raised an arm, her palm open, and pointed upwards. “Can you tell me what colors you’ve seen them in?”
“Green, mostly. Red and blue at some points maybe…”
“So you can see all of them. Good,” Achaea said. She lifted her other arm and raised both of them to the sky. “These Spirits are everywhere on this continent. They are, in simple terms, descendants of the Elemental Gods themselves,” she said with a grin. “Us Aldrians were all capable of using them. By asking or forcing them to do our bidding, we could manipulate all aspects of nature itself. The Aldrians of the past were gifted with the blessings of the gods,” she said.
Avice watched her with wide eyes.
“Be it to stop rushing waters, to using gusts of wind to fly, or to even decimate and raise mountain ranges… We were gifted with all of these powers,” she said with a longing voice. “Unlike those damned, Crimson bastards,” Achaea whispered under her breath. She took a peek at Avice to see if she had caught those words, but she looked too preoccupied in her head.
“Gods… they exist?” Avice asked.
“Absolutely. Without them, this world would’ve fallen apart,” Achaea said. “They were the anchors for this world. For if the Goddess of Water were not here, the seas would’ve dried and disappeared. Without the God of Fire, we all would’ve frozen to death and the world would have turned into a vast and unforgiving tundra.” She paused. “And these powerful and almighty gods were generous enough to bless us with the existence of Spirits. And because of these Spirits, we were at the height of civilization.”
Avice narrowed her eyes and bit her lip. She didn’t find the tone Achaea was using to describe the past friendly. To her, it all sounded like someone from back home who would never shut up about how great their country was. And those people had always pissed her off to her core. She was worried that Achaea would spill into a whole rant about the entire history of the ancient race.
Thankfully, Achaea concluded her brief history lesson and said, “But that’s not important. I’ll teach you how Aldrians managed to put these magnificent and powerful creatures under our control. And the way that we were able to utilize these Spirits was by utilizing a skill that only we are capable of using. And that skill is called The Pull.”
“The Pull? Like stringing stuff with ropes or something?”
Achaea pursed her lips. Her eyebrows rose and said, “Here, allow me to demonstrate.”
She snapped her fingers, and a small green ball of light appeared in the distance. The Spirit stopped glowing for a second and didn’t move. Then, in a loud childish scream, it yelled, “Hey! What do you want?! You can’t just do that!”
“Come now, dear. There’s no need to hide. Look into my eyes.” She approached the Spirit.
It seemed visibly upset, but as she got closer, it took an interest in her appearance. It floated and circled her, over and over again until it started to bounce up and down. Then, within the blink of an eye, around a dozen of green balls appeared out of nowhere and floated around her. Avice gasped as she watched Achaea move her hands through the crowd of Spirits before her.
She sneaked a glance at Avice and winked at her. She turned back to the Spirits and said, “My darlings, if you may, heed my words. Please create a chair for me.”
As the words left her lips, she tapped her foot twice, and the ground beneath her shimmered with a faint green glow. Then, a large chunk of the earth rose from the ground. At first, it was just a square, but within a second it cut itself into refined shapes and carved itself out. The Spirits’ voices were completely hushed as the chunk of earth morphed and changed. Eventually, that block of dirt turned into a simple, yet detailed throne. Achaea chuckled and sat down on it. Avice inched back in surprise, still trying to get over the fact that the earth was seemingly moving on its own.
Achaea smirked at Avice’s surprise. “This is one of the many things you can do with the help of Spirits. This pales in comparison to what they are truly capable of. I believe that you young ones think that this is boring too, don’t you?” she said as she turned to the floating Spirits nearby. All of the Spirits around her bounced around, thousands of childish voices singing in their ears. At this point, Avice’s vision was blurred with more and more green balls. And their voices were getting louder and louder.
“How can you see through all of that?!” Avice yelled through the noise.
“Just focus on me, Avice. Focus past these little children, and they’ll soon leave your vision.” Avice strained her eyes, but no matter how hard she tried, they wouldn’t disappear. Seeing her frustration, she just asked the Spirits to move behind the throne. She returned her gaze to Avice and said, “As I was saying, lifting things from the ground and making something as trivial as this isn’t the only thing you can do. You can do something more; something greater. Something that I’m sure your world would’ve surely coveted.”
“And what’s that? Some superweapon or something?”
Achaea smiled and turned to the Spirits. “My dear darlings of Mother Gaea.” With those words, the Spirits stopped moving and glowed brighter than ever. Achaea stood and motioned Avice to move a bit away. After confirming that she had, Achaea slowly inhaled and exhaled. She circled and stood behind her throne. Then, she threw her hand out and declared, “Swarm before me and become my spear.”
The Spirits flew past her and threw themselves onto the chair. The throne was ripped to pieces and shreds and were thrown into the air. As the ripped pieces floated in the air, they eventually smashed themselves together and stretched into an elongated, sharpened rock. Soon enough, the throne was gone, and in its place was a floating, jagged spear. It glowed with a bright green energy, and even from where she was, Avice could feel the energy in the weapon.
“Destroy the enemy before me.” She extended her finger and pointed at a nearby tree. The Spear zoomed past her and chucked itself at the tree. Avice half-expected it to just pierce the tree and poke a hole through it, but her expectations were shattered. Shattered just like the tree was. For as the Spear made contact with it, the entire tree exploded into splinters.
Avice’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t even see the Spear soar by. She turned excitedly to Achaea, but was surprised to see that she had a disgruntled look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Avice asked.
“Such weak power…” Achaea muttered.
“Huh?! That was weak?!” Avice yelled.
Achaea nodded. “Indeed. I’m sorry you had to see such an unsightly appearance,” she said wistfully. Noting Avice’s gaped expression, she continued saying, “I used to be so much more powerful in the past. So, so much more powerful…” Achaea’s shoulders dropped and she clenched her fists. “I was once a military official for Alder. I was praised for my abilities, even by our king…” The air chilled around them, and Avice’s hairs stood on end. She stared warily at Achaea, who had a displeased expression on her face. But she shook it away and returned to her smile. “Anyways, you can do this, too, Avice.”
A tiny grin appeared on Avice’s face. “How do… How do I do that?”
Despite her reluctance and outward disdain for deciding to trust Achaea, she couldn’t have felt more thrilled. What she had just seen was something so fantastical and amazing that her heart skipped a beat. Avice had various moments as a kid where she had wished for either superpowers or the ability to use magic.
Unlike any normal child, however, she didn't wish for them because they were simply 'cool'. She wanted powers to get revenge. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d wished she’d be able to make her bullies pay. The desire to make them bow down to her and apologize while crying was something that she had been dreaming of ever since she was young.
If only I was more special, she’d think. If only I was something more. Then I could live in peace.
“Steady your heart, dear, and listen to me,” Achaea said. “You’ve already accomplished the hardest part. You can see the Spirits.” Avice raised an eyebrow. “Even a few of the Aldrians were unable to fully grasp and open their eyes to the Spirits around them. Those useless ones would take years or decades to get up to par with us who were perfect since birth.”
“Useless…?” Avice asked.
Achaea smiled softly. “Don’t mind me. Old habit,” she said as she lifted a hand to cover her lips. “Anyways, the only thing you need to do is to be strong enough to draw the Spirits to you.”
“That still doesn’t change my question. How?”
“Open your hands, dear.” Avice looked down at them. They were dirty and bruised. Her fingertips were callused and her nails were chipped and broken. She bit her lip and huffed. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing…” she responded. Her heart sunk. “Just figuring out that I took my life for granted.” She shook her head. “No, no. Enough. Forget about that. Let’s just do this.”
And so, Avice followed her instructions and opened them, her palms faced upwards. “Good. Calm your mind. Just as you did before,” Achaea said. “Beckon the Spirits to come to you. Call them to your hands.”
“Closed eyes or no?”
“It’s up to you. Whichever helps you relax.”
She nodded, and Avice shut her eyes. She focused on her breathing, her chest rising and falling at a steady, rhythmic pace. She twitched her fingers, and smoothly moved her hands.
Come on, Spirits, she chanted in her head. Come to me.
She swayed her body side to side, trying to keep her focus and mind still. However, she couldn’t tell what was happening.
Then it does matter, Achaea, Avice grunted.
She waited a couple of minutes, but nothing seemed to happen.
Getting fed up with waiting, she opened her eyes slowly and saw that there were a couple of Spirits floating nearby. She smiled, but then frowned when she realized that they weren’t hovering over her hands. All of them were a distance away from her, and none of them seemed willing to get closer to her. “Come on, get over here…” she muttered. Avice stepped forward slightly, excited to succeed, and get these Spirits to accept her. However, as her foot touched the ground, the Spirits instantaneously disappeared.
“Children, don’t be too afraid now, come back out,” Achaea said sweetly. Some returned, following her gentle words of encouragement, but there was less than before. Avice turned to her with a tired look, but Achaea merely smiled. “You can do this. It’s in your blood.”
“G-Got it,” Avice said. She readied herself again and opened her palms. “Come to me Spirits. Come to me.”
She decided to switch strategy. Instead of swaying, she thought she would need to be rock solid. For if these green ones are the Spirits that manipulate the earth, then she needs to be someone who can be as solid as the earth. She forced herself to stand as still as possible, not even allowing herself to loosen up even once.
She kept a watchful eye on the Spirits around her, and some of them were floating closer to her.
A brief glint of excitement rose in her stomach. Sweat dripped down her cheeks and her hands grew shakier.
The minutes went by, and gradually her body grew tired. Without a warning, her arms just dropped and fell to her sides. Her eyes widened and her heart raced. “W-What…?” That moment of hesitation and surprise turned the Spirits away from her, and they were back at the same distance as before. A dark feeling swirled inside of her, but she shook her head. “I got this. I’ll just try again…”
Avice tried everything that she could.
From trying to be as still as possible to trying to be as free.
She tried to close her eyes to beckon the Spirits to come, and she also tried to make as much eye contact as possible.
She’d tried to talk to them in a gentle and kind voice, and she’d also keep her mouth shut and try to communicate with pure intent.
She tried to express as much emotion as she could, and then steeled herself and locked everything inside of her.
None of it worked.
“Dammit!” she yelled.
“Calm down, dear,” Achaea whispered. But Avice didn’t hear her.
“If I can use these things, I can win. I’m sure of it,” Avice muttered.
“Draw them in, Avice. Ask them to obey you. Command them.”
Avice grunted and said, “Spirits. Help me. Help me get this shit done.” Alas, none came to her side. She glared at Achaea and growled, “They’re not listening.”
“Calm your voice,” Achaea said disapprovingly. “These Spirits are docile and quiet. They do not respond well to brazen hostility and force. Try once… ah.” A surprised voice escaped her lips. Avice turned over to see Achaea in a trance of deep thought. She tilted her head side to side and floated back and forth. Avice wondered what she was doing when Achaea suddenly sighed and snapped her fingers.
“And another thing! What right do you have coming in here and taking control over my territory?! Hah!? What do you have to say for yourself you stupid ghost!?” The larger green Spirit appeared out of nowhere. Avice recognized the voice to be the Boss Spirit - the one that gave her the tasks to save Dall in the first place. “Answer me, you fake!”
“’Fake’? My, my, dear Overseer. Do you really not know who I am?”
“No! And I don’t really care! Get out of my forest before I- huh?” the Spirit stopped talking and fluttered around. It turned its attention to Avice, who had her palm facing towards it. She had a roughened and exasperated look on her face. The Boss Spirit chuckled. “You really think you can Pull me in? Even after you’ve failed so many times with my younger ones? You absolute idiot, you’re utterly hopel-” Just as quickly as it showed up, it disappeared.
Both Avice and Achaea were quite surprised when another Spirit appeared in place of the Boss.
Up until this point, Avice wouldn’t be able to differentiate any of the Spirits she’d met before, even if she tried to pull the same one twice in a row.
However, this was different.
A small, quiet voice in her head was nagging at her, and she knew she had recognized it. This time, unlike the many times before where she was sure she hadn’t heard that voice, she was confident that she recognized this one. Because this one had the same voice as the one she had heard when she was trapped in that white space. The one that had first told her that she was an Aldrian.
And now, it whispered a single word in her head: Elyu.
“What does that mean…?” Avice whispered. “Elyu?”
“M-Milady?” Elyu stuttered. “My name…? How…?”
“What did I just…”
“No, never mind that,” Elyu said, fixing itself to sound clear and firm. It floated in front of Avice and glowed brightly. Her body, which was aching and stiff from trying to get Spirits to listen to her, felt refreshed and energized now. “The Boss demands you go now, Milady.”
“Huh? I have more time don’t I?!”
“It’s been three hours. You have one left to defeat the monster.”
Avice’s jaw dropped. “It’s been three hours!?” she yelled. “You told me you would tell me the time limit!”
“I would have, but,” It went quiet. “Some… thing… was blocking me.”
“I don’t know if I can do it,” Avice said, her fingers and legs trembling greatly.
Before Achaea had arrived, Avice thought that she'd be ready either way. Even if she was hopeful, she wasn't stupid. No matter how many strategies she came up with, no matter how much she wanted to brute force her way through her opponent, she knew there was always the possibility of death.
Avice prided herself on her tenacity - how she'd stay strong, no matter the circumstance she'd been put in. But this strange, unfamiliar, and hostile world took a beating on that part of her. The people she usually had to depend on were gone. She was alone.
At that point, she had nearly let herself go. She nearly decided to forfeit everything and just give up. Battling against one of her fears and dying? Even if it sounded delirious and insane, she couldn't help it.
Defeat after defeat after defeat.
Fight against a terrifying rabbit monster and win? That doesn't matter, the people she tried to help will turn on you.
Run away from another horrifying creature and manage to get away from a life-threatening fight? Another monster was there to hunt her down.
Arrive safely to the clearing with your body relatively safe and sound? She had to face her fears within a few hours and come out on top, otherwise, it'll all be for nothing.
Ever since she was young, and even now, the world beat into her that she'll never win. There will never be a victory for her.
And then Achaea appeared. She offered her a chance to win. She offered her something she was never given before. There was a chance now. And now, more than ever, Avice was scared of failing. For if at this point, when something so powerful and useful was presented before her, she fails, it would tear her apart.
“I’m not ready," her voice squeaked.
“You’re fine, dear.” Achaea floated next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. A wave of relief rushed over her. “I will be with you. There is nothing to fear.” A comforting sense of warmth enveloped her heart, and she nodded.
“O-Okay… It’s all or nothing now...” Avice muttered. "I can do this," she said, trying to clear her mind. "I can do this, I got this."
Avice picked up Dall’s sword and marched to the edge of the clearing. Either she dies, or she succeeds. She took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding in her stomach, her body was unbearably numb and cold, and her head was filled with doubt and worry.
But there was no choice.
She flared her nose and prepared herself as she marched into the blackness.
Elyu floated there, Achaea a few feet in front of it. It circled and hovered in front of her. “You,” its voice was deep and hollow. “Who are you?” it asked. “No, let me rephrase that. What are you…?”
Achaea grinned. “You know what I am, dear,” she responded. “You know everything.”
“What do you want with Milady?” Elyu demanded. Its green body grew larger and darker. “If you dare to harm her in any way, then I won’t-”
“You won’t what, Elyu?” Achaea interrupted him. She lifted her hand and clasped it into a fist. Elyu groaned and it shrunk back down into a smaller state. It stopped floating and it fell to the ground. She floated downwards and looked at Elyu face to face. A wide and bright smile was on her face. “Even if you found out, even if you knew what I was planning…” She snapped her fingers, and Elyu disappeared. “You wouldn’t be capable of stopping me.”
