Eyes closed, Loraleigh stretched her body before she opened them one by one. She brushed an eye and yawned. When she regained the sensibility of her surroundings, she examined her 'world'.
All remained the same. The former blank white field greeted her upon waking in her deep slumber. Her eyes landed on the branches sticking under her wooden bed. The buds on them were yet to bloom and turn into lovely flowers — just like how she remembered their condition during the last full moon before she went down to sleep.
Loraleigh listened to her heart pounding; it was waiting to hop from her chest like a bull at a gate. The corner of her lips coiled up into a smile, reaching her ears in her excitement. "Settle down," she said to her chest as she placed a hand above it.
Loraleigh took a deep breath and exhaled. First, she had to check if her friend came to visit her again this full moon. It wasn't because he had a choice to begin with. He needed to follow the condition she gave in exchange for his wish.
"It's great to know that he will visit me again," Loraleigh mumbled outwardly. She felt the warm fuzzies in her stomach.
She ran a hand in the air. In a second, vast trees floated in midair like a picture displaying in a motion picture projector. The trees rattled wildly as the strong wind blew them. The ground softened to muck because of the savage rainstorm.
Loraleigh searched for a human through the viewer. The one who would consistently wake her from her deep sleep, the one she was expecting: Leo.
But to her grief, she saw an unfamiliar man running from the monsters hounding him down. He had a sharp look in his eyes as he lunged deeper into the forest. He showed no cowardice, unlike Leo.
...
When Leofric caught the rundown temple standing in front of him, it was only then he noticed the scratches on his body after dashing through shrubs and trees in the chase.
But Leofric brushed those off.
Step after step, he headed to the temple. The wood that built the old roof was falling into pieces, so was the state of the decaying floor. Everything was wood, and they had gone to rack and ruin.
Even when he needed a couple more steps to reach the temple's staircase, he instantly noticed the thick layer of dust from his distance. Soon as he took a step to ascend, the sole of his shoe created a mark on the entrance.
"So, you're awake." Leofric heard the voice when he was by the gate.
"...Are you the fox spirit?" he asked, whirling his head all over the area to search where the voice was coming from.
"Isn't that obvious?" The moment the voice answered, Leofric sensed an enormous amount of mana. Much larger than anything he ever encountered before. It was the first one that made him feel powerless.
He shifted his head toward the direction. His eyes caught a small red light sitting on a raised foundation at the opposite side of the entrance. "Stop moving around, human. You look like a fool," the voice added.
The red light grew quickly from the size of a pea to a fist until it took the form of a human with a tail of a fox. He watched the magical manifestation unfold before his eyes.
A lady wearing unusual white thin clothing appeared. She relaxed a side of her body on the foundation; her cheek rested on her palm while she observed Leofric.
Behind her was her tails stirring freely. Leofric counted them in his mind: she had nine tails in total.
"I can see," she paused, "your deepest desire so clear. This is a first. You must be enthusiastic to find me."
"I am." Leofric sounded confident when he answered. But it was the opposite. Anything she saw would change the direction of his plans. A sweat forming on his forehead, he asked worriedly, "What can you see in me?"
Two pairs of red eyes shared gazes. One was discerning, while the other one had successfully hidden his anxiety. Her eyes fumed in excitement; his eyes remained fiery as he tried his hardest to stare straight.
"Victory. I can see your empire's victory." The fox spirit grinned from ear to ear, which displayed her sharp and long fangs. Leofric flinched a little when he saw her run a hand in the air. A second later, their whole surroundings changed: she put an illusion spell on him. "Can you see it?"
In a blink of an eye, Leofric found himself in the middle of the war ground. The land trembled as thousands of men advanced with their weapons in hand. Some were running while others were riding their horses. The battle chants of each force were ringing behind his ears like he was on a real battlefield.
The moment the battle forces collided, the hot wind roaming free pulled the smell of fresh blood and slapped it on his face. Leofric's nose inhaled the scent of war. His eyes moved to the side where he caught his empire's flag, where he could see how they were slowly winning over the enemy.
Horrifying; the cast spell of illusion was too convincing. All events seemed real. Even Leofric, known to be the first mage knight, could not survive the spell.
Leofric closed his eyes. He tried to escape from the unusual mind-affecting spell by picturing his prior surroundings, the old temple. "Fox spirit, I am asking on behalf of the Emperor," he said as he slowly opened his eyes and regained sensation. "Help us win the war."
The fox spirit retreated her hand. As she did so, the oozing red light on her palm disappeared. "Emperor, you say. Who's your monarch?" she asked, still grinning mischievously.
"Emperor Leovic Eadwig Sigeberht of Zephania. His Majesty is waiting for you, fox spirit."
The fox spirit suddenly rose from her position. She stood on her feet with her white showing prominently. Her voice quivered a bit when she repeated the name of the monarch. "Leovic? Did you mean Leo?"