It has been 5 years since I started travelling the kingdom, and I have turned 25 years old.
I now look to be 17 years old, at least by human standards.
My dark-blonde hair is long, up to my shoulders. I am wearing a dark green crop-top with a brown vest and black pants, along with brown monster leather boots.
As always, I wear my glasses and have my wand at my waist, ready at all times.
I am on my way back, back to my home village, Cilty. It's about time for me to visit my parents again. Even though I've been sending letters, I never got the opportunity to receive any from my parents, as I am constantly on the move. And because Kanari Kingdom is very big, oftentimes, it would take a few months for my letters to arrive back home, and by that time I would've arrived at my next destination.
I am currently on a dirt road, decently far away from any city or town. And I hear thunder in the distance, and dark clouds are heading towards me at a visible pace. A thunderstorm is approaching.
"Shit, gotta find shelter now, don't I."
Thunderstorms are almost always accompanied by torrential rain and strong winds. Furthermore, the temperature tends to drop, and by a lot. So, when a thunderstorm occurs, unless you are sufficiently prepared, you must find shelter.
As I was looking for shelter, in the corner of my eyes, I saw an opening on the cliffside.
"Hmmm... Ah, there's a cave over there. I think I can wait out the thunderstorm there."
And so, I went inside of the cave and started a fire. I cooked and ate some animal meat I hunted during the trip. Of course, all of this was stored inside of my spatial storage.
After eating, I set up a monster repellent barrier to keep the beasts out. After that was set and done, I leaned on the cave wall and dozed off to sleep.
"Uhmm, excuse me."
I was awoken by the voice of a woman.
I grabbed my wand and pointed it at the cave entrance, where I saw a beautiful human woman with dark brown hair and curvy figure, whose clothes are drenched in water. Coincidentally, her clothes are very similar to mine, just in different colors.
"Who are you, and what is your business with me?"
The woman raised her hand, which is usually a sign that means that they meant no harm. Not that I would lower my wand before that, anyways.
"Sorry for suddenly entering the cave. You see, I was travelling down the road when I saw a thunderstorm forming. So I was looking for shelter, and I found this cave after a long time of searching. Well, I still got drenched in the end though... Can I stay here with you until the thunderstorm ends?"
Seeing as her reasoning is sound, and I feel no malice or lies coming from her, I lowered my wand and sat back down.
"Sure, you can stay here with me. Thunderstorms are nasty, so you made the correct decision to find shelter here. Can't really fault you on it."
"Thank you."
Saying that, the woman sat down next to me and hugged her knees near the fire.
After a few minutes of silence, I spoke up.
"Miss, if I may ask, what is your name?"
The woman turned to me.
"Lia. You can call me Lia. What's yours?"
"Well that's a coincidence. My name is Julia, though people often call me Lia, too."
We both laughed at the coincidence. But then, she stared right at my eyes with her emerald-green eyes.
"Your soul... The shape is very weird... I've never seen one like yours before... Hmmm..."
Hearing her words, I tilted my head in confusion.
"What are you talki-"
"Ah, there, a part of your memories are sealed by... Something. Let me unseal it. Worst comes to worst I can reseal it myself."
Saying that, she stands up and suddenly arrives before my face. Before I could even react, she poked my forehead and chest with a finger coated in magic.
"What do you think you're do- AAARRGHHHHHHH!!!"
A splitting headache comes over me, and a flood of memories come rushing in to my mind. Soon after, I passed out from the mental burden.
When I regained my consciousness, the memories that I have gained confused me. It seemed so unreal, even though I know full well that it all happened.
When I sat up, I saw Lia standing there, staring at me with a face full of interest.
"What... I just regained my memories... What did you do to me, Lia?"
"Well, when I saw your soul, I immediately noticed that it was different than the souls of the creatures of this world. And when I saw the seal of your memories, I noticed it. That seal... That was done by Zeta, wasn't it?"
When she mentioned the name of that god, "Zeta", I widened my eyes in surprise.
"How did you know... That my memories were sealed by Zeta?"
"Uhhh... How should I explain it... Ok, so basically, the magic of each person is unique, and because of that, if I remember the magical signature of a person, I can immediately tell whose magic it is. Though in your case, I figured it was Zeta's because the magic signature is, quite literally, out of this world."
"Uhhh... I somewhat get it, I guess? Wait, in the first place, how do you know of Zeta?"
Hearing my question, Lia smiled.
"Let me ask you this, Julia. Have you ever heard of the primordial beasts?"
"Of course I have. It was taught to me when I was a chi- Wait a minute. Don't tell me..."
Upon my realization, Lia chuckled softly.
"Indeed. I am a primordial beast. Orphillia, Empress of Serpents, and the ancestor of all serpents. This is just a human form I made out of boredom, so I can explore Fanctus from a human point of view. Never did I expect to find someone like you in my travels. This is interesting!"
"..."
"..."
"Wow... Funnily enough, Zeta said that he reincarnated me into this world to make things interesting..."
"Soo... Julia... You're from another world?"
Feeling the gaze of interest from Lia- No, Orphillia, I explained how I died and met Zeta, and how I asked him to seal my memories until I am around 25 years old, as well as the reason he reincarnated me, which was supposedly to "entertain" him. After hearing my story, Orphillia laughed out loud.
"Ahahahahahah... Zeta, I don't know what you want to see, but I thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. This will stave off my boredom for a while, especially since you are a filt, Julia."
While watching the laughing Orphillia, I started to think about why Zeta sent me here, and what I did or do for his entertainment. But then it struck me. The primordial beast in front of me. The bored primordial beast. Perhaps... He wanted me to explore the world with her, and with her power as a primordial beast... More than likely, it would cause a big stir.
"Uhmmm... Your majesty... Orphillia?"
Hearing me addresing her in that way, she started laughing louder than before.
"Bwahahahahahah... Julia, my dear, you don't have to call me that. Other than a select few of my fellow primordial beasts, none of us are stuck-ups that demand respect like that. Also, while in my human form, please call me Lia, and act like you would with any other human."
"You- Lia, you do realize that the primordial beasts are creatures of legends, said to have unparalleled power, immortal, and many other things that I won't bother to say? It is difficult for me to treat you like a regular person, with all that being the case."
When I said this, her shoulders slumped down and she pouted.
"But I gave you permission to do that..."
"Well, maybe give it a little more time, okay? Wait until I get used to it."
"If you say so..."
"Anyways, back to my question earlier... Would you like to... Go travelling around Fanctus with me? I am sure it would be fun for you, right?"
The moment she heard what I said, her emerald-green eyes - quite literally - glittered, and she lunged and shouted at me.
"YES! I WANT TO TRAVEL WITH YOU!"
Of course, I was surprised that she was this enthusiastic about it, but other than that, her answer was within my expectations.
"Okay then. After I visit my hometown, let's go on a trip around the continent."
"Not just this continent. I'll take you around the whole world of Fanctus!"
"Ahahahah... Sure, lets do that. I'm sure it won't be that difficult for you, right?"
"Indeed, it is trivial for me. And would you look at that, you are already talking to me very amicably, aren't you."
"Wait a minute, I have been talking to you pretty casually just now, haven't I?"
And so, we spent the rest of the thunderstorm chatting away about random things and telling stories about each of our own lives to the other. When the thunderstorm passed by, we continued the trip towards Cilty village.
Well, in the last 2 chapters, there were a lot of terminologies and other things that I just pulled out of nowhere, so it may confuse some of you due to lack of explanation. So, I am going to start putting those things in the glossary, so if you are confused about something, check the glossary. If it isn't in the glossary, then you can comment and I will add it there.
