(A/N: Life Force/Essence: The energy that keeps one alive.
AI- Artificial Intelligence.)
*****
Nefari's P. O. V.
It was a long conversation with Mr. Martel- Naiyah's tribe elder whose native name is Astragal. And I was told about his numerous stories concerning his search for me.
"I could not believe it when I was told by the other elders that you were killed by a level two demon. It was simply too much. And so I decided to search for you until I found proof of your death."
He paused for a moment before he continued,
"The fate of my clan depends on you so your death was a predestined death for us all and I refused to let that happen. They told me to give up but I did not. I kept searching until I found a clue one-day and it was your spear; buried in a sea of corpses but it was still brimming with light. It showed me you were alive.
Generally, It is basic knowledge that when a master of a divine relic dies, it goes into self-destruction or transfers to a suitable wielder but your spear remained active. And so I kept it. Years later, I met the famous sorceress- Beatrice and she gave me a hint of where I could find you but at the price of your spear. So although I gave your spear to her, she gave me a location of where your arrival would be at. And it was in this small town so I settled here with my two clan princesses giving me the chance to protect them and search for you."
"And how did you know it was me?" I asked.
"The sorceress gave me a detailed description of what you'd look like. And your eyes- purple. Reminds me of Nazia. There's no mistaking it."
Ah... Nazia. The past ruler of the Naza continent. Was named after her. My mother.
I took a glass of water from the table by my side and drank a mouthful to quench my taste also hoping it will calm my nerves down, but it did nothing to stop the cold sweat and goosebumps.
Can I retire, please? I don't want to fight anymore.... No need for vengeance, I just want a peaceful life.
I sighed and said, "What do you want me to do, now?"
"I can see that you want nothing to do with the ongoing battles, but please grant me my selfish desire."
"And that is...?"
"Protect my two princesses; Naiyah and Iris. Let them die by nature and not by the hands of poison or demons or by the evil hearts of men."
And I thought about his words, is this a request that I could fulfil? I pondered over the question before I answered.
"I will protect them. But with my conditions. One, they obey my rules and never betray me. Two, I live under your roof for the time being till I get my own house and three, you will assist me to regain my full powers back."
Honestly, I kind of feel as if I'm the one with the most gain, but, well, it's working fine for me and will most likely not causes harm to either one of us so all is fine.
"I agree." Mr. Martel replied.
And then I told him, "Okay, then. All is settled. And I would like to rest."
"As you wish." Said Mr. Martel and he went out of the room, leaving me to my company.
I laid on the bed and thought,
I can't stay like this... I need to recover fast and gain my complete powers back. Who knows how many more is aware of my presence. Should've asked him that...! Argh, too late. I'll ask him later.
*
It's been a few days and I have yet to see Mr. Martel. And even Naiyah has no idea of where he is. Anyways, it seems to be a usual situation. So far, Naiyah has been taking good care of me by his orders while Iris kept me entertained talking about her multiple topics ranging from why red is better than blue to why I should buy her an AI* robot even if I don't have money.
And stating the obvious, I've gotten a lot of information from Naiyah to know my way in this century. I should go out sometime and explore my new environment.
And while I was thinking, the little chipmunk- Iris barged into my room.
"Nefari! quick, come! Grandpa is back and he's bleeding!"
Before I could utter a word, the little girl grabbed my hand and brought me to the sitting room where I saw Mr. Martel sprawled on the floor with fresh open wounds looking like deep cuts and there he laid in a pool of blood.
"What happened?" I asked Naiyah who was by his side healing him with her powers.
Pale blue light emitted from her palms as it covered the areas where he was wounded.
"He got poisoned. I am not sure what it is but it is very grave! His life force* is dropping by an alarming rate and I have no way to stop-"
Just before she could finish her sentence, Mr. Martel spat out a huge amount of blood and Naiyah became more panicked than she already was.
I moved over, knelt down and touched his heart examining his body. I spread my consciousness into every part of his body, healing and destroying whatever powers were eating up his life force and in few seconds later, he was back to normal. His wounds were closed up and I had restored a bit of his life force. Though he still needed rest to cover the inner damages on his life essence*.
Naiyah looked at me in surprise. "How did you do that?"
"Simple, it's a basic skill." Was the reply I gave to her.
And while we were locked in a stare, both of us refusing to back down, Mr. Martel opened his eyes.
"Grandpa!" Iris shouted as she ran to hug him.
And Mr. Martel embraced her happily.
He then addressed our presence after a long hug with Iris.
"I'm sorry if I made either one of you worried but I was very unfortunate to have encountered a miasma on my way back home. I was poisoned by it and I did not realize until it got severe but then, it was too late which is why I arrived like this."
And Naiyah replied, "You should've been more careful, grandpa! If miss was not here, you would've been dead and there was nothing I could do!"
The first time I had seen such anger on Naiyah's face... It was cute.
Then looking at me, Mr. Martel thanked me. "Thank you, Asura. I am honestly very grateful."
"You're welcome. But if I may ask... Where were you to encounter a miasma?"
It was too suspicious...
Miasmas were deadly demonic energies which feeds on extreme demonic activities. Like if a massacre were to happen, they would appear in the air after the death of the people and they will attach themselves and feed on the life force of those in or surrounding the area. So where was Mr. Martel?
He looked at me with hesitation before replying, "My ancestral tomb. My people were murdered."
And with that, I got my answer.
"Well, I'll be going to my room, now. And Naiyah, no need to prepare food for me this evening. I'll be gone and back tomorrow morning." I said.
"Where are you going?" Mr. Martel asked.
"To explore a bit. No need to worry." And with that, I left to my room.
****
A few minutes later, I had changed into a baggy blue long-sleeved gown given to me by Naiyah. Naiyah was a huge fan of blue. A contrast to her sister's opposition for blue and love for red.
I was preparing to go out.
I weaved my hair together and turned it into a bun while I used mana to create a pair of slippers to fit my size. Naiyah's shoe size was too small for me and Mr. Martel's was too big for me and Iris was out of the list.
Now, time to head out and see what I can find.
Hopefully, trouble stays hidden away from me.
I jumped out through the window when it was evening time. I could not stress myself to follow the stairs and walk out to a place behind my window. And maybe it was because I had an affinity towards darkness that I found it much better to walk in the night than during the day. Even if it was an unwise decision, yet I couldn't help it.
I landed on the ground in a graceful way- thanks to my training these past few days of absorbing mana and I moved into the forest.
Mr. Martel's house was one built near the river in the forest and I was given a map to Identify my way out of this place and into the city.
I brought out the map and looked at the red, yellow and green dots. Red representing the danger zones, yellow representing highly populated areas with people and animals while green representing the safe zones.
And I decided to follow the path of the green zones. Obviously.
*
I walked for quite a while in the forest and I have not seen signs of any life-form. Not that I expected much seeing as how I kept track on the green zones only and avoided all other areas.
And then I saw someone walk from behind the trees in front of me.
Can I avoid my past for once?
My first day of resurrection, I met Astragal's little princess. Second day, I met him and his other princess and on the sixth day...
There he stands.
"Nefari. I've found you."
I know, and I need help. To run away.
____________
A/n: I love the mysterious dramatic endings that leaves more to the imagination. Makes everything fun! Unexpected and intriguing. So expect that. After all, this book has mystery in It's tag.
So... Who is the mystery guy?
A. Friend.
B. Husband.
C. Butler.
D. Rival.
And the plot starts from chapter 6 and above. Endure if it was boring or confusing. This is the beginning.
The plot will be about cultivation, action, fantasy, war and who knows? maybe love may bloom.
Thank you, readers!
-Queen out!
-Have a nice day and be blessed.