She had almost missed the difference.

The day began as any other had so far. Wake up, let door fall from dresser, get towel, eat meat/veggies and fruit, drink jug of water, take itchy bath in the green pool then go outside to dance with the wind.

That was the routine. Nothing had changed in the time she had been in this grey hellscape. At first she had tried giving up. Just staying in bed for an entire day, but then her bed had frozen. She knew the rooms could lower their temperature, but her bed turned into literal blocks of ice.

Whenever she had thoughts of giving up, of slacking off, or of doing anything outside of her routine, the rooms themselves would turn inhospitable.

She had long since grown used to the cold, dancing the days away under the perpetual storm, but the cold that would suffuse the room, still chilled her to the bone.

So she was forced to do the same thing day in day out. On alternating days she danced with the spear, or barehanded. Every time she looked up to the storm, she still entered the same trance. Sometimes she could feel the storm communicating with her. Apart from the slight differences in the weather, every day was the same. She had no idea how many days had passed, but she knew it had to be more than a year, on account of her growth.

She prepared to do the same things she did every time, but before opening the door to the hallway, she noticed it for the first time. The slightest tingling all over her skin. The tiny prickles everytime she took a breath. The almost imperceptible tug at her attention.

As she focused on the tug, something appeared in her vision.

[Congratulations! You have survived until your soul and vessel have fully fused. Now your soul may influence your body, and vice versa.]

[Now that you are of an appropriate age, you may choose the path you wish to walk. Be warned: the longer one walks their path, the harder it gets to turn back.]

[Choose one:

1. Path of the Warrior
2. Path of the Mage
3. Path of the Rogue
4. Path of the Scholar
5. Path of the Labourer
6. Path of the Artisan
7. Path of the Artist

From now until your maturity, you will find it easier to learn the skills needed for your path. The more skills and the higher your skill levels, the more classes will be available for you to choose, once the system unlocks.]

It took a moment to fully sink in. She was ten years old now.

She had dreamt of this day, back when she had still lived in the mansion. Choosing the path of the warrior, even though her father would have disapproved. Training with all the weapons in the mansion. Sparring with the guardsmen. 

Now it came crashing down on her. In the monotony of the grey rooms, the hallway and the perpetual storm, she had spent almost 3 years in this place.

She had just had her seventh birthday when her life had abruptly changed. She had of course noticed the passage of time, she had grown taller, her hair was longer, her old clothes no longer fit. But that almost 3 years had passed came as a shock.

The tingling in her skin, and in her breath could now be explained. She was feeling mana for the first time. Now that her body and soul were fused, her soul began attracting minute amounts of mana, and she was feeling it diffuse her body.

Refocusing on the system prompt, she examined it. One of the maids told her a bit about the system once. Apparently it looked slightly different for everyone. As she could read, it took the form of nearly written cursive letters. For people that were illiterate, they would hear a voice, or other such things.

After a tiny bit of hesitation, she focused on the entry for [Path of the Warrior] .

The notice disappeared and left nothing behind. Yet she could feel the shift within her soul. She knew from the beginning that she would be a warrior, yet now she had made the choice. Her entire being sang. It felt as if she could breathe for the first time after a nasty cold. As if she had tasted life for the first time. 

With renewed vigor she looked at the door to the hallway. Maybe her dancing would feel different today.

She opened the door, only to loose her balance as she missed a step. Where before there was a seemingly endless hallway, now was a staircase, going down into the ground. And she was falling.

She hated this staircase. The seemingly endless corridor was bad enough, but by her estimation, she had been going down this staircase for over an hour and she had yet to see the end. The corridor, despite its lack of torches, was at least bright enough to see. The stairwell was pitch black. On the way down she had tripped at least another 3 times. It wasn't just the lack of sight that hindered her, the individual steps were uneven as well. Oftentimes she would get into a rythm, and then one step was seemingly missing. Other steps were very narrow, just enough for one foot, while others were wider. 

Just as she was debating turning around and going up again, she saw a dim light a slight distance below. 

After another unfortunate slipup, she arrived at the bottom of the staircase. In front of her was a massive cave. The room in which she arrived, was at least a kilometer in each direction, and she could not discern its height. Neither could she make out its ceiling, for the sight was obscured by stormclouds. All along the ceiling, a mix of clouds from white to dark gray undulated. The clouds moved as if time was slowed for them. The cave was very dimly lit, and she could make out a single path among the loose grey rocks that made up the ground.

The cavern was eerily quiet, and the air itself was unnaturally still. It reminded her of the time pravda's eye had manifested.

Through the dim lighting, she could make out a bunch of pillars in the distance. Nervousness and expectations fought for attention at the back of her mind. For whoever was monitoring her, was likely to be here.

Suddenly the cavern lit up, as countless lightning bolts snaked themselves through the clouds. They moved with the same unnatural slowness as the clouds themselves, and lit up the cavern in a mix of blue and purple light. Just as suddenly as the lightning bolts came, another sensation made itself known.

The last time she had felt it, was shortly before pravda's eye opened. Divine attention was gathering in this cave, and panic rushed to the forefront of her mind.

The clouds on the ceiling bulged and writhed, as a single eye formed. Where pravda's had been golden and white, oozing disdain, this one felt entirely different. The sclera was made up of rotating white clouds, and the slitted pupil was a single blue lightning bolt. Where pravda's had been recognizably human, this one looked like a predators.

"WUX RE KRATHIN. FINALLY YOU ARE HERE"

The first part of the sentence was made up of the crackling of electricity and the clap of thunder. The voice was deafening, and Aliyah was sure her eardrums would be blown out. The second part, spoken in common, felt like a whisper on the wind.

Aliyah knew she was being adressed, yet she could squeeze out a reply. The fact that she had not used her voice in over two years played a small part, the significantly bigger part holding her back, was fear. Pure unadulterated terror. She had nightmares about pravda's eye, yet this situation was entirely different.

"DOUT OMINAK VRAK? YOUR NAME LITTLE ONE? "

As before, the first sentence was lightning an thunder, the second a gentle breeze on the wind. The whisper sounded almost concerned.

Trying to get her breathing under control, Aliyah used the method she had come to know over the past two years. She took slow and deliberate breaths. With the first lungfull of air, she felt the burn of mana in her chest. Yet she exhaled and took another. The second breath burned just as bad, yet the feeling of mana suffusing her being calmed her down enough to answer.

"My name is Aliyah " Despite her nervousness the answer came more steady than she had expected. 

"Aliyah is it. Thank you for the answer little one."

The wind once again whispered to her. This time the voice of lightning was silent.

"Now you must be wondering why you are here. Though first I must apologize for my hospitality. The temple is not built to house a fragile thing such as yourself. And now that you have hatched we may finally converse without your vessel shattering." 

Aliyah was confused, not only was the being apologizing to her, it even extended its hospitality to her. Even the youngest of children knew the basics of the rules of hospitality. If they invite you to their place of residence, they can do you no intentional harm without suffering serious magical backlash. For normal humans that was not much of an issue, but the stronger a being was, the more disastrous the effect of a broken oath would be. Every child knew of vampires and their need to be invited. This was not some arbitrary curse, but the possible magical backlash, would kill any vampire. The fae were reportedly creatures that put heavy weight on the rules and any perceived disrespect while in their care was met with violence.

For such a being to offer her it's hospitality, meant that it truly wanted her no harm. Despite this her nervousness stayed at the back of her mind.

"Thank you for granting me you shelter. May I know with who I am speaking?" she asked. 

"Most would recognize me under the name of Audur. Though from now on you may call me odassa "