A month after Allen's break to guard the village, he spent his time taking care of the twins for Lisa and Arc. He helps feed them, change their clothes, and teaches them how to talk. Lisa named her son Lenny and her daughter Sally. After a week, he noticed that Lenny, Lisa's son, always cries when Allen tries to hold him. Lisa's daughter would smile and laugh at Allen when he holds her. He mostly holds Sally while Lisa holds Lenny. After Lisa's recovery from giving birth to the twins, Allen and Lisa would take the twins to the forest to admire mother nature.
[Lisa]: Is everything packed?
[Allen]: Yeah, I packed the food and the picnic cloth for today's picnic. I'm surprised you found a pond near your home.
[Lisa]: Well, I didn't find it. Aris found it while she was exploring. I sometimes summon her to let loose once in a while.
[Allen]: Well, from what I heard, it has a nice view. If we're lucky, maybe we would find a hidden treasure.
[Lisa]: You're expecting too much Allen.
Everyday, they would visit the pond to have a picnic and just relax with the twins. Allen would practice his magic while the twins are sleeping. He would improve his spells and try to make new ones as well. In the third week of the month, he saw something in the pond underwater.
[Allen]: Hmm… what is that?
[Lisa]: Is something wrong?
[Allen]: There's something on the water. It's glowing freakishly white.
[Lisa]: A white light?
[Allen]: I'll try to grab it.
Allen dove into the water and went deeper to go to the white light. As he went in deeper, the glow could be seen brighter and brighter. He manages to grab it and hurries back to the surface to show Lisa what he found.
[Allen]: What is this? A bottle?
[Aris]: Looks like a spirit trapped in a bottle.
[Allen]: A Spirit?
Knowing that, he opened a bottle and a pale white spirit appeared before him.
[Aris]: Oho, what's a spirit like you doing in a place like this?
[???]: ...What year is it?
[Allen]: Um...it's the year 599. Why?
The Spirit stared at Allen, stricken with shock and wishful disbelief.
[???]: F-five-hundred years? I'VE BEEN TRAPPED FOR 500 YEARS!
It tries to run but is still bound to the bottle.
[???]: ARGH! Damn it! DAMN THAT BOTTLE!
Allen grabbed the bottle and looked over the Spirit.
[Allen]: Five-hundred years… that must be lonely…
Allen froze the bottle and smashed it to the ground. The spirit finally wasn't bound to the bottle anymore. It's face was marked with such joy, it thanked Allen for his kindness.
[Allen]: Oh! It's only the right thing. May I know your name?
[???]: Hela, my name is Hela. So many years have passed, I can now call myself an ancient Spirit.
[Lisa]: Hela if I may I ask, why don't I see any mana in you? Judging by your appearance, I assume you must be a wind spirit.
[Hela]: Oh… to be honest, I can't really remember. It's been so long since I've used any magic. All that I have left are my memories from so long ago.
[Allen]: Then why were you trapped in the bottle?
[Hela]: Five-hundred years ago, the humans have sealed me. They once worshiped me as their goddess despite being a spirit. I would give my blessings to them and even remove those who dare harm the humans. But one day, they learned that someone in a faraway land managed to take the power of a spirit and take them for their own. They asked me to give my power to them but I always refused. Then one day, they tried to kill me…
[Lisa]: Kill you? But the only way you can be killed is by a demon or another spirit.
[Hela]: I-- I thought so too. But a strange mage gave the humans a way to what I thought would end me; at least that's what they thought. But they've only sealed me after knowing that they can't take my power because it was sealed within me, they put me in the deepest part of the pond. I was left there to rot for 500 years until you found me.
[Allen]: Well, I'm glad I found you. But what will you do now?
[Hela]: I… I don't really know. If I travel the world now, I wouldn't remember anywhere I go.
Hela looked around her and had a moment of relief.
[Hela]: But... this forest has stayed the same. Maybe I'll stay here for a while .
[Allen]: I know what you will choose to do or where to go, I know you'll follow your heart… It's getting late. Lisa! Time to go home. It was nice meeting you Hela.
Allen and Lisa went back to the house. Hela slowly followed them to their house and hid on a tree near the house.
[Hela]: Follow my heart… The woman has a demon with her but I don't see any marks on her body. It must be a soul contract. But that man… he has a kind heat. I wished I had met him 500 years ago.
Hela went back to the pond but looked back and said,
[Hela]: I'd like to know you more, Allen.
And from then on, Lisa and Allen continued their everyday trip to the pond to have their picnic, the only thing that changed is the Hela joining in their picnic, telling them stories from many years ago. Hela tells a tale of a world ruled by one king and one queen. It has said that the king commands the spirits around the world and the queen commands the demons from below and together, they created peace across the land. The peace lasted a hundred years until one day, the queen was thirsty for power, then she created something devious that split the world in half. It was a portal to our world and The Void. A realm made from conflict and dark magic. The monsters from the void started killing thousands of lives in a matter of days. The Queen left this world to rule the void. And that's how the races divided themselves from continents.
[Allen]: The Void is always the reason for everything bad that has happened.
[Hela]: That is likely, but we can't blame everything on the void. Like how we can't blame the void for destroying a village due to a tornado. That's just natural cause.
[Aris]: Hmmm, if it's not too troublesome, I'd like to ask something to you privately.
[Hela]: That's fine.
Hela poked the cheek of Sally and Sally started to grab her finger.
[Hela]: Lisa, you have a beautiful daughter, I can see to be a great warrior one day, and this one,
She then pokes the cheek of Lenny and Lenny starts laughing.
[Hela]: This one is more comfortable with girls than boys. I can see this one being very lonesome or being accompanied with girls in his adventures.
[Allen]: Is this like a harem?
[Lisa]: What?
[Allen]: What?
They children played for a while and left except for Aris.
[Lisa]: Be right back before sundown, okay Aris?
[Aris]: Yes Lisa~
They left the pond.
[Hela]: What do you wish to talk about?
[Aris]: Are you able to use your power?
[Hela]: I tried using it since my release, but I don't know why the feeling hasn't come back.
Aris took a moment to think about Hela's problem. She then uses her ability to check any curses or seals.
[Aris]: Hmm, I see the problem. The seal of the bottle is still there.
[Hela]: Of course!
[Aris]: I sense the same magic of the bottle you're trapped in for 500 years, inside your body.
[Hela]: Then how do I remove it?
[Aris]: I can break it, but I have to ask.
[Hela]: What is it?
[Aris]: what will you do when you get your powers back?
[Hela]: ...You know… I did think of purging all of you, but when I had gotten to know you all, I saw a chance for humanity. So to answer your question, I would like to make a contract with one of the humans. One with a similar power as mine, so we can be the same.
[Aris]: That's good enough for me.
Aris holds out her hands to Hela's Chest and chants the spell.
[Aris]: (Dark Anti Seal)!
Hela heard like a chain breaking and suddenly the surrounding mana directly went to hela and her elemental power was restored. A sudden shift in temperature swept the entire pond, freezing the water and covered the trees with snow.
[Aris]: You're a blizzard spirit?!
[Hela]: I… I remember now… I am Hela-- the Spirit of The Great Blizzard...
END OF CHAPTER