The Great Hero of the West
Chapter 2
Throughout the countless trials they spent together, it was a hard decision to make, leading the three to become tedious enemies toward each other.
It was just a simple request, to take his hand and follow him into the forest. But no one wanted that knowledge to be taken away from them, so they fought.
Fought not with swords but the poison that seeped from within their words; each action was just another reason to blame another, every move was flagged as a threat and criticized by the rest.
After that, two of them decided to follow the stranger into the forest, leaving the girl behind with nothing.
At least Everyone thought this was what happened, but the reality was cruel, way more cruel than anyone had imagined.
Deep inside a forest was a little hut made of stone, its walls carved as naturally as a piece of marble, illuminating the forest in a pale yellow moonlight of three moons.
One rose red, one icy blue, and one made of pale grey stone.
The man soon appeared from within the hut, greeting the girl who had followed his traces all the way from the village.
"I've been waiting for you."
...
Master spoke as she sat on a tall stone pillar that acted as a waypoint in the forest. Her ginger hair dangled from side to side behind her, like a living snake curling around the column.
Three moons hung above us like a handful of fireflies.
My lips felt numb, just like my head, which hadn't stopped pulsating with numbing pain.
"I knew you would be here," I said dryly, looking down at my hands, which were stained with my own blood, the dagger now hanging on my newly acquired belt.
She didn't wait for my explanation, just raised her brow and asked, a playful grin displayed on her spotless face.
"You found the traces of my magic scattered around the well, then, followed it all the way into the forest where everyone was taken." She mused for a moment, rubbing her chin, and she continued. "It's impressive that you actually managed to feel it, let alone trace it."
"Time flows faster than you think." Zephyr sighed, his golden eyes scanned the forest as if in search of something.
- Boom!
A cloud of dust exploded from the ground. His Master appeared in front of him, standing tall with her casual confidence and amusement.
They both looked at each other as if it were an alien creature that stood in front of them.
How strong are you?
Zephyr looked at her not as a member of a family, but as a beast that had to be calmed down. And she noticed that, retracting one of her arms, it clenched into a fist with a snap echoing across the forest.
"What are you waiting for?"
Zephyr casually said to her while spreading both of his arms out. His body was smaller than hers, his arms looked thin, maybe even starved if one had focused on them. His face had no resemblance to the Zephyr she knew; rather, it was the lack of expression that made a chill fall down her back.
Her eyes fell, hidden underneath a pale shadow of the moon, before a sigh of relief escaped through her lips.
"You won, so I'm going to teach you throughout the night."
"Just one?" Zephyr asked, his tone falling flat, almost arrogant.
"That's what I promised."
She didn't answer him, reminding him that everything important had already been said by her even before they had met. He tried to think of a way to oppose her, but after a few seconds of one-sided silence, he broke.
"Fine." A pout soon came from under the stoic persona, a gleam of life returning to his grey eyes.
He looked around the little space they stood in, his gaze drifting to the little bronze shards that lingered in the air around them.
It was the magic he had followed to find this place. To be completely honest, he wasn't even sure what it was, maybe a trick that was played in his head after Erik tried to get rid of him, or a hallucination that appeared out of nowhere like the very migraine he still felt.
I feel like... I've seen those before
It was something familiar to him, but the sensation didn't quite match. If previously he had only seen them, then now he could feel them with his body in such a way that he couldn't grasp it himself.
Like drifting in the clouds, the shards passed through his body, leaving behind a feeling of a foul aftertaste. There was nothing he could do to them either, only feel their presence faintly while trying to hold himself back from going insane.
"What would you like to learn first, then?" Master asked from the side while sitting on the ground with a loud thud.
Her heavy leather armor made it seem as if she weighed over a hundred kilograms, but with how fit her body was, that would be around eighty, maybe ninety at best. She sat there cross-legged, her hands holding onto her knees as if she were preparing for meditation.
If it can be anything, then I might as well start learning magic.
It looked hard, sure, but it was a very conventional tool for anyone who learned it, even if only a few basic spells.
He could save up on money and tools, spending it on clothing rather than expendable one-time use items. And the trick she used on the well would be a great addition to his hunting trips when he would need to bring dead animals back to the village.
Making up his mind, he pointed up with his finger, straight at the bronze line of shards that hung between the trees. They glistened under the moonlight, creating a rope of crystals that didn't touch each other, a magic rope, was what he decided to call it.
"Teach me how to use magic, like the one up there."
After she traced where he pointed with his finger, her body seemed to freeze for a moment before giving Zephyr a weird look.
"How the hell can you see them?"
His brow raised, moving his finger to another line of bronze as if he didn't hear her previous words.
"And this one too."