I awoke inside of a room that seemed to be made of stone. Thinking that I was somehow back in that cursed passageway I started to freak out and stood up. Before I could run out of the room I ran into the woman that had saved me from the animal. 

When I looked at her the first thing I thought of was that she was really tall and it kinda hurt my neck to look all the way up at her face. When I looked at her hair I once again thought how it resembled the night sky because it was a really dark black colour but every now and then her hair seemed to shimmer like a star.

“Oh are you finally awake little one?”

When she talked I heard a gentleness in her voice that I had only heard from my mother and it helped me to calm down. Curious on what happened I started asking a bunch of questions. “Where am I? Who are you? What happened after you killed that strange animal?” 

She chuckled to herself seemingly amused by my actions before she answered my questions. “You are in my shrine. I am known as the Great Shadow Spirit but I’d prefer if you called me Nyx. That strange animal as you call it is a bear and after I killed it you took one look at my face and passed out. Surely my face isn’t that scary looking.” 

She chuckled once again at her little joke and I wasn’t sure if I should laugh along with her or not. I never was the best at communicating with others in a friendly manner. When she introduced herself she said she was a Great Shadow Spirit but I’ve never heard of that and I wondered what it was so I decided I’ll have to ask her about it later. So I instead chose to just tell her truthfully why I passed out. “No it wasn’t that I was scared, I was just extremely tired because of everything that has happened the past few days.”

“Oh, would you mind telling me what has happened to you? After all, I doubt a girl as cute as you would normally be wandering the forest with a missing arm.” She looked at me with a pitiful expression when she looked over at my missing arm. “Oh but first let’s sit down. I imagine your story will take a while to tell.”

I was really embarrassed to be called cute by her but when she mentioned my arm it brought me back to my senses. I started off by introducing myself and then I told her everything that has happened during the past few days starting with how the soldiers burned down my village and how I found my father stabbed to death. I told her how I was locked in a burning building with my mother but I failed to help everyone escape and tears started to drip from my eyes as I recalled all my regrets. Nyx pulled me close and started to comfort me while I tried to remind myself to stop letting my regrets drag me down.

After a minute or two of crying I calmed down and told Nyx about the wolf I fought. I ended my story with how I escaped the village through an underground passageway while dying of dehydration which was why I rushed towards the lake and let the animal called a bear sneak up on me.

After I finished my story Nyx began to speak to me. “While I have heard worse stories in my life, they were usually told by adults rather than children. If you would allow me to, I would love to help you survive until you’re older. I don’t exactly want to leave you to survive on your own after hearing a story like that.”

I eagerly replied, “Could you also help me get stronger? I don't want to have to run away from anything anymore.”

“Of course I can little one. It’s nice to have company every once in a while, especially when they’re as adorable as you. But first I imagine you’re hungry so first you should eat”

She started to concentrate and in a few seconds a tiny green ball appeared in her hand. Confused on what it was, I asked her about it. “What is that supposed to be?”

She tilted her head in confusion before saying, “It’s food.” She handed it to me expectantly and waited for me to eat it.

It doesn’t look like anything I’ve eaten before but she did save me from the bear earlier so I doubt she would do anything to harm me now. Taking the risk I quickly put it in my mouth and started chewing it. I expected to taste terrible but it didn’t taste like anything at all. After I swallowed it I suddenly felt very refreshed and full of energy.

That was when Nyx started telling me what it was. “It’s a ball of Nature magic that I designed that gives you all the nutrients you need to be healthy.”

Very confused now I started asking her the questions that I was bottling up inside me. “What’s Nature magic? When you introduced yourself you called yourself a Great Shadow Spirit, are you not a mage?

She chuckled once again at my enthusiasm and she started to answer all my questions. “Nature magic is a sub-magic of Earth magic that excompasses all magic dealing with plants and animals. Your second question is a bit hard to answer without teaching how magic works and that would take all day to explain.”

Eager to know the answers to my questions I asked her to teach me, after all I have nothing else to do. Slowly she started to explain everything about magic. “Magic is a mysterious force that originates from the Spirit Monarch and it is commonly used to make the impossible possible.” I was tempted to interrupt her story so I could ask the new questions in my mind but before I could she continued talking again.

“The Spirit Monarch gives strong spirits the ability to create new spirits. These strong spirits are called Great Spirits and there are a total six of them. The Great Fire Spirit, the Great Water Spirit, the Great Earth Spirit, the Great Air Spirit, the Great Shadow Spirit, and the Great Holy Spirit. Four out of six of the Great Spirits choose from all the humans in the world and every month have to turn the babies they like into spirits with their element. Some babies even get chosen by multiple Great Spirits.”

Hearing that I just had to interrupt. “What do you mean they turn babies into spirits?!”

“Exactly what I mean child, you don’t worry though we don’t cause them any harm. Becoming a spirit just allows you to use magic.”

“So every mage in the world is a spirit?”

“Yes, that is also why mages tend to live longer than normal humans.”

With one question answered I took the opportunity to ask the rest of the questions lingering in my mind. “Who exactly is the Spirit Monarch?”

“I don’t know their name but the Spirit Monarch is always the strongest mage in the world.”

“I know you said that Great Spirits were chosen because they are the strongest but how do they determine that?”

“Any spirit who wishes to become a Great Spirit can challenge the Great Spirit to a fight where they can only use the element of the Great Spirit. If the normal spirit wins then they become the next great spirit.”

“Earlier you said only four of the great spirits create new spirits every month. What about the other two?”

“The Great Shadow Spirit and the Great Holy Spirit are special. They are the strongest of the Great Spirits and so humans have special conditions they need to meet before they can be turned into a Shadow or Holy Spirit.”

I thought to myself about how if I became a mage I’d be strong enough to protect what I want and avenge my village. So I built up my courage and asked Nyx, “Am I able to become a Shadow Spirit.” I anxiously awaited her response and I hoped that it would be a favourable one. When Nyx finally started to speak again I was scared of the possibility that it was going to be a negative response. “Of course you can become a Shadow Spirit little one. All you need to do is be in my presence and vow that you want to be a Shadow Spirit with all your heart and that you accept all consequences of being a Shadow Spirit.”

While I was ecstatic that it was a favourable response I was also nervous about the ominous sounding vow. In the end I decided to repeat the vow and when I did the room instantly became pitch black and before I could do anything I fell unconscious.