Entangled Fate Part 1

 

"Hmm, I am sure I heard it around here.”

 

A gentle voice flows in the wind. Emanated from a woman who appears to be in her late teens. Walking alone in a dark forest, pacing back and forth, seemingly looking for something.

 

“Uwaaaaa!!!”

 

A high-pitched cry reverberates in her surroundings, reaching her ears that are a bit pointy at the end.

 

"That's!!! Is the child in danger?!" She was flabbergasted and in panic at the same time. "I can't locate the source of the cry when it echoes in every place."

 

I wouldn’t get anywhere if this continued. Should I ask for help?

 

She made up her mind and made a call in the air. In her words, her eyes gleamed for a certain second.

 

"Spirits…Heeds me."

 

Several green lights revealed themselves. Unlike Cilestia, liveliness is visible in those lights. As those lights approach their caller, the clouds in the sky clear up, showing two big moons that couldn't be seen on Earth. One was blue, accompanied by a greenish one. The sky becomes brighter, illuminating her.

 

Her appearance is unveiled. Long, shimmering silver hair that shines in the darkness, with its end turned green. As well as a well-developed body and a beautiful face with a hint of calmness. Above all, she has captivating, nature-like eyes. She is wearing a fluttering white dress lined with gold and embroidery that suits her, as though it were made for her specifically.

 

She turns toward the spirits. "Have you seen a child around here?"

 

Seconds passed, though her eyes shimmered with meaning, as though a communication had just taken place. 

 

"None, huh? I'm sure I heard a crying child somewhere here; maybe since it's dark I can't find it?" she rests her slender hand on her cheeks as if to think.

 

"Huh? That's!!!"

 

Suddenly, the lady flinched, turning towards the spirits. "Have you felt that?"

 

"Guide me there right now!"

 

The spirit obeys and flies somewhere in a hurry. She follows them in a rushed manner. This is bad; I need to get there this instant. That child is in danger! They proceed while she's wearing an uneasy expression.

 

                                                                ***

 

In a deep part of the forest where lights wouldn't reach, a place full of darkness. An infant is placed beside the tree, illuminated by bluish lights. A very silent place, but something breaks that.

 

Three wolves appear out of the bush, growling while leaking some saliva into their mouths. Approaching the sleeping infant with a gaping mouth, they jump in unison towards the infant.

 

But…

 

“Ahgkkk!!! " Deafening screech was all that filled the air. Looking at their bodies, several vines pierced their bodies, spurting some blood. Soon the wolves stopped breathing, falling down lifelessly.

 

“Sigh, I made it in time.”

 

A woman sighs in relief, emerging in the darkness accompanied by several green lights.

 

                                                                ***

 

Checking the vicinity, she exhales. "I made it in time," then turned towards the spirits. "You're all free to go now."

 

However, unlike earlier, the spirits didn’t obey her. As if captivated by something, they're focusing in one direction.

 

She realizes that and turns in that direction. She saw a newborn child wrapped in a thin cloth. She turns toward the spirit again, seemingly grasping why the spirit is like that.

 

An amazing sight was displayed in front of them. She can't help but be astonished. The child was surrounded by abundant dots of lights, and some flowed in the air like water.

 

“Mana, so I'm right; he's manifesting his mana."

 

What she and the spirits felt earlier was the mana being released by the child.

 

“That’s quite dangerous; monsters in this forest can detect mana," she continues. "If we were a second late, things might turn unsavory."

 

If she and her spirits can, there's no reason the wolves of this world can't.

 

But this is quite amazing; I wonder if that's the reason spirits act like that. Thinking such a thing, she once again cast her eyes toward the child.

 

The little child was covered by blue light. As if protecting the infant, the child has a comfortable face as it is illuminated by the lights.

 

“An infant releasing mana is not rare, but that’s not the case right now," said the lady while examining the child’s whole body and the lights surrounding him that lay beside the tree.

 

When an infant releases mana, it's not visible to the naked eye, but it emits light because of that power. Thinking that, she opens her mouth.

 

“But this child materialized his mana. It’s not a lot of mana; no, it’s quite little compared to normal. But it’s dense enough to be seen with naked eyes.”

 

Normally, infants only emit light when releasing mana, which already shows that they have a lot of mana. When a child emits light at birth, it's already proven that they have talent.

Then how about an infant that literally releases condensed and concentrated mana without impurities? That's also the question floating in her head.

 

Density, concentration, and purity are things that make the mana powerful, not just the amount.

 

Gazing at the child again, she realized that the spirits were already gone at her side and already shrouding the child. The spirit is simply fascinated by the beautiful mana that envelops the infant. Spirits like beautiful mana without impurities, so they want to get a closer look, but...

 

As if protecting the child, the dot-size light blocks the spirits. The spirits try to force through, but the biggest light, the most condensed and concentrated mana, emits strong light, warding off the spirit.

 

She widens her eyes in awe. “What?! Is that auto-defense?"

 

However, the spirits relentlessly pushed forward. Heaving sigh, the lady promptly asked them in mild tone.

 

“All of you stop bothering the child.”

 

The spirits turns towards her in sync. But the next second, they pestered the child again, pushing forward through the barricade of light. 

 

A creepy gust of wind blows over the surroundings. Lady, who seems to be like an emboidment of nature, shot a sharp glare towards the spirits. The cold glow from her eyes was enough for the spirits to disappear in an instant.

Once they have gone, she approaches the infant. As she got close, the dot-size mana light stood in her way, but something like that couldn't stop a person. When she lowered her body, reaching out her hands to pick up the infant, likewise, for the spirits, the biggest mana stood between her and the infant. It can't stop her, but she decides to stop, and with a gentle voice, she opens her mouth.

 

"You might be really scared at a dark place like this; that's why you become desperate and materialize your mana for lights and protection.” With a warm look on her face, she slowly reaches for the child. "But don't worry, I'm going to protect you."

 

At those words, all the lights blew, including the biggest one, letting her pass.

 

As she picks the child up, she feels the stares from the spirits peeking behind the trees. Letting the spirits get closer, she shows them the child.

 

The spirits enthusiastically run over the child to get a closer look.

 

All those mana lights earlier were reduced to one. The one that tried to protect the child the most is now resting on the child's chest, as the child wears a pleasant expression.

 

As if enjoying the view, the spirits spun around.

 

The woman gives a warm smile. “Everything’s fine now.”

 

As if understanding her words, the children smile. And the mana was completely banished.

 

Seeing that, she introduced herself with a gentle smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lhifhina, and the lights around me are the spirits."

 

As if to make themselves noticed, the spirits enthusiastically spin. But there’s no point in it, as the child is sleeping.

 

"The sun is already rising; let's head back," said Lhifhina, looking upwards and starting to stride in a certain direction.

 

The spirits follow as they want to spend more time with the child.

 

It's already dawn when Lhifhina, the infant, and the spirits arrive at a place that looks similar to a school. A few buildings are rising to two to three stories. Looking around, you can find a playground and a garden in the establishment, and some kids are playing in them. A place that is bordered by tall fences.

 

Lhifina reaches the gate, the two guards, who are clad in a vest and a chest plate, greet her. "Good morning, Vice Head Lhifhina," the guards said at the same time.

 

One of the guards inquires about Lhifhina. “Ma’am Lhifhina, may I ask you? Why are you gone the whole night?"

 

When Lhifhina heard that, she showed them the baby in her arms. "You see, I heard this crying child, so I went looking for it. And it's also dark in the forest; that's why it takes time to search for this little boy.”

 

The other guard on the right exclaimed. “As expected of Vice Head Lhifhina looking for a whole night to find the child in the forest! He really is a good person.”

 

Realizing something, the other guard talks. "Little boy? So it's a baby boy; another boy will be joining us at the 'peace orphanage' again.”

 

"Yes," Lhifhina answers with a smile as she continues. "I'm going to raise him up personally for the time being, so I'm planning to bring him to my home."

"Getting raised by the vice head personally, I'm sure he will grow up to be a fine man," the guard at right stated.

 

“Hm, that’s right.” And the other guard agrees to it.

 

With a gentle look at Lhifhina, she looks at the infant in her arms. "I wonder what this life will lead to."