"I am Norma and I have been waiting for you," her icy voice surrounded them.
"He is just a little kid. What the heck do you want from him?" Riley asked pushing Osmond to his back.
"To release me from the shackles that bind me to this world," Norma replied.
Osmond and Riley looked confused at Norma.
"Well, it was stupid of me something like that without context. Allow me to say my story,"
Norma came to them, shining like a thousand stars and they were covered in a veil of light. The two heard echoes of her voice coming from around them.
"I was a maiden once; young, beautiful and most of all naive. When a man came to me and proclaimed his love, I believed him. If only I knew, he was after the money."
"The man was a poor priest and I was a girl from a high caste. I went to the temple once and he came to me. With his chiselled body, smooth skin and muscles. He said he wanted to marry me and so we started meeting at places. One day, he said he wanted to marry me but he knew that my parents will not let that happen. He asked me to take the money that I can carry and come to this river."
"But when I got here, he showed his true colours. He came to me, embraced me and then stabbed me. He pushed my bleeding body into this pond and ran off with what I brought."
The light dimmed and the two found themselves back near the lake. Norma was sitting in the water, hugging herself. Her face was solemn.
"Don't cry, I will help you if I can," Osmond said walking to the edge of the pond.
Norma stood up and he saw golden drops of tears rolling down to the water. "You are thoughtful, my child. On the day I died, I rose high into the sky to merge with the beyond. But I couldn't do it. When I looked at the water, It told me that I was still needed in this world and that I would have to wait. It told me that one day, a boy and a green-haired man would come into these woods and walk to this pond. Only after the boy has taken the dagger will I be able to leave."
Osmond now knew what he had to do but he didn't know if he could do it. Riley looked at Osmond and then at Norma.
"Can I do it?" He asked.
"This task is placed upon the boy. No one else may do it," Norma said shaking his head.
"Come on kid. You don't have to do this," Riley said pulling on Osmond's shoulders.
Osmond clenched his fists and looked down. He looked at Norma and into the pond. He removed his gloves, shoes, armour, chainmail, shirt and pants. "She needs my help," Osmond resolved himself.
His father had taught him how to swim but he was still scared. He went to the bank and saw his face in the reflection. He took a deep breath and jumped into it.
He felt his body freezing. He couldn't see anything clearly but he decided to go down. Water pushed him down and beyond the murkiness, he saw something glimmer. He felt himself choking, so he went up to take another breath.
He went back to where he saw the light. He felt his hands on the bed and felt something. It was a handle. Osmond grabbed on it and pulled as hard as he could. He felt his lungs being squeezed and his vision getting blurred. He let out a gasp and a chain of bubbles raced to the surface.
'Norma needs my help,' Osmond thought and pulled with all his might. The dagger came from the bed and Osmond rolled on the water aimlessly. He steadied himself and swam up. He felt his strength fading and the last of the air escaped his lungs.
Osmond fell on the bank and gasped for his dear life. He dropped the dagger on his left side and Riley came to him.
"You did it kid," Riley said laughing.
Norma came and saw Osmond. "Thank you, my child."
Osmond steadied his breath and sat up. He took the blade in his hands and looked at it.
Black. The whole blade was black. Black like the night sky. Black like obsidian. Only one thing was of a different colour on it.
It's the edge. It was white. White like Norma, white like the moonlight that showered over them.
Osmond stood up grasping his knee and went to Norma. He gave the blade to her with both his hands.
Osmond thought he saw a smile coming from her face. "I don't need it, my child. The blade is yours," she said.
Her hands started turning to grains and her body started to fade. "Finally, my time has come," she said looking to the sky.
"I thought I saved you," Osmond said weeping.
"You have, my child. My saviour. And for that, you will have my eternal gratitude. I will always be with you," Norma came down and kissed Osmond. Her lips were cold but her love was warm.
Norma moved back and her body broke into a million shards of light. They floated and flew high up to the sky.
Riley came to Osmond and placed his hand on him. "You did good, kid."
Riley glanced at the blade. "Can I have a look," he said pointing to the blade.
Osmond looked at Riley and gave him the blade. Riley took the blade and checked it, from edge to its hilt and finally the handle.
"This is no ordinary blade," he said touching the edge.
"What do you mean?" Osmond was confused.
"What sort of blade doesn't lose its edge after lying in the bottom of a pond? This thing is special. Could it be a Channel blade?" Riley pondered.
"What's a Channel blade?" Osmond asked.
"Well, Channel blades does exactly what it says. It channels your zest and converts it into your element of affinity. Well, I think you don't know anything about that," Riley looked at Osmond.
Osmond took the blade back. He didn't have a sheath for it, so he decided to put it in his bag for the time being.
He saw Riley's hand placed on Blaze. "Well, I guess you found yourself a new blade," he said.