The shadowgeist's form struggles and shifts threateningly against the spell. Strangely, the chains aren't around it. Rather, the shadowgeist looks unbound entirely, but it acts as though it is for some reason. The darkness making up its shape starts to stutter and phase out of visibility. The wind is blowing hard now, and the cloud overhead is almost past.
Shreds of light are coming through. The weather and sky affect the shadowgeist in a way Aki is unfamiliar with. However, its shadows' actions aren't behaving as they should.
Similar to how her illusion spells die when she tries too hard or under bad weather, so too do these shadows behave.
Aki's fingers snap and pop as she throws the load of the spell to one hand while using the other to collect mana.
Her fingertips darken. "Purify Water."
The shadowgeist howls in pain once more before the shadowy mask vanishes. The teenage girl's form sits bound by the chains, sunken into the water and looking much different than she did originally. Her flesh is rotted and porous, her skin an ashen grey.
Blood drips from her downturned face. Instantly Aki goes on the defensive. Adrenaline fills her body as a chill runs up her spine. The previous pains she was just starting to feel dissipate instantly.
"Those liars! No wonder my spells weren't working. This isn't a shadowgeist. It's a wraith!"
With its illusion revealed the wraith makes an odd choking sound.
Laughter, Aki guesses.
It struggles against the binds, fighting the purifying spell still burning its half-submerged body. A short battle of will ensues as Aki tries to hold it down and purify it while the wraith attempts to wriggle free.
Moonlight shines down unobscured. The cloud has passed, and the wraith shrieks. Aki dares a smile as a bit of renewed confidence sparks hope of victory.
That's all it takes.
It shakes one disgusting, porous arm free and swings at her with violent gusto.
With barely a second to react, Aki manages to dodge the wraith's claw strike by mere centimetres. The effort breaks her concentration, and the binding spell snaps, breaking two of her fingers with it.
The wraith screams and tries to jump on Aki but goes wide. Instead, it latches itself around the water fountain's decorative centrepiece and crushes it.
"That looks very bad for my health." Tears stream down her cheek, her expression contorted to one of barely masked pain and fear. She holds her injured hand tightly, trying to ease her pinky and ring finger back into their proper place. "Minor Heal."
Her fingers snap into position just as the wraith turns its hideous face toward her.
Its face is twisted in an uncannily human appearance. Almost right but not quite. Flesh peels away in chunks and holes bore into its skull. The wraith's mouth is stuck between a combination of a deep frown and an insidious grin. Its eyes are beady and bloodshot. Desperate rage painting its glassy look.
Aki forces a weak smile. She can't stop her body from shaking, nor the incessant chanting in the back of her head telling her to run. No sound aside from her own mind screaming at her to escape is audible at that moment.
Or is she the one screaming? It couldn't be.
"Wraith. No way. This is game over. It's unkillable if I don't know what's keeping it here. Powerful, strong, immortal. Without its source, there's no way I can fight the very water in the air."
Her mind races. Desperate for an answer to her predicament. She just wanted to run away but it could kill her before she got far. A moment of clarity interrupts her terrified thoughts.
"The water in the air, of course!"
"ESCAPE. KILL BANISHER. KILLKILLKILLFLATS!" The wraith shouts once more before it starts to fade from view. Midway, its form resolidifies. The wraith starts in shock, looking down at its tiny foe. "No… no… NO. ESCAPE! ESCAPE!!"
Aki has her hands raised, her fingers spread wide.
Her eyes and lips are closed tightly in intense concentration. She waves her arms in short fluid motions as the very air begins to bubble. Tiny water droplets form, gathering into larger spheres, separating themselves from the air.
"Water Manipulation."
"It hurts, but I can feel it. We're on a mountain at the end of winter, it's super windy, and we're in a fountain. There should be more than enough water in the air."
Aki feels the skin of her body begin to tighten. The saliva she had pooled in her mouth rapidly sank into her cheeks and tongue. Her legs, submerged as they are, also tighten. Her eyes begin to burn from the dryness. Even the air around her dries the longer she carries on her spell.
"Just a little more. Just a little… more!"
She hears the wraith screaming. It shouts and wails with desperate abandon.
Aki can feel it struggling to move as its body tears apart and bubble together with the rest of the water molecules. She feels a sharp claw slash weakly at her nose. It cuts deep, easily breaking skin, but no blood pours out. Her body is too dehydrated for that.
Even with her eyes closed, the world begins to sway and swirl. A feeling Aki is all too acquainted with. "Not yet! Just five more seconds."
The world behind her closed eyelids darkens. Were the clouds close enough to obscure the moon already? Has the wraith broken free? Or was she about to pass out from dehydration? Aki shook her head. She couldn't think like that.
"Do you know what reverse osmosis is?" Aki wheezed out. She wasn't sure if the wraith heard her over the wind or if she even had a voice from how dry her throat was. "Dead water."
"Purify!"
The water globules Aki made light up, splitting apart and sizzling from the massive spell. A shrill shriek loud enough to shatter glass erupts from all around her, followed by a wave of pressure that rocks the stonework and busts the weaker building walls. The internal blowback from free-casting makes Aki fall face-first into the fountain.
As soon as her face was submerged, she took a desperate gulp. It doesn't matter that she smashed her face against the bottom. At this moment, the idea of drowning felt like a welcome embrace instead of an intense dryness.
Even so, Aki sits up, coughing and gasping for air while trying to suck in the water streaming down her hair, face, and her nose. Rehydration was more important than dignity at this time. Aki wets her body, splashing her arms and kicking her legs to try and get as much water on herself as possible. She scoops up frantic handfuls to drink from in such a way that it makes a rhythmic clapping sound.
She pauses. The clapping continues.
"Title switch."
Turning her head, Aki spots what looks to be the entire village standing at the edges of the square. Some are dressed in nightwear with only a coat to keep the chill away, while others are fully dressed in rough armour and weapons. Small children sleepily hold onto their parents while the older ones stand by their sides. The older villagers stare at her with a mixture of awe and fear. Others gaze on with surprise and sleepiness.
Or was it something else?
However, at the forefront of the group is someone she hadn't seen upon first arriving.
A long-haired blond wearing a thick red cloak billowing in the wind was walking towards her.
In the bright night light, Aki could see a silver rectangular insignia pinned to his chest. Thanks to the wind, she sees a militaristic black and grey uniform and a pair of swords attached at the hip. His eyes shine suddenly, and Aki feels a wave of foreign mana wash over her. A presence acting as if he was staring into her soul.
"What's a Hunter doing way out here?" Aki collects mana around herself, recalling the notes in her training books to prevent him from looking any further than he already had. "More importantly, how does he have the Analysis skill?"
He raises an eyebrow in surprise but continues onward, keeping his handsome face neutral to her.
Behind the blond hunter, hobbles the village chief. An old, balding man with a thin frame and long goatee eyes her warily.
Aki continues slurping down water until they stand two metres away.
"That was quite a match you showed us, Aki. I'm impressed that such a young girl could do what you just did." says the blond man casually. His gaze moves to the water behind Aki. "Even if you didn't finish it off entirely."
She spins in place, pain shooting through her body as she prepares to fight again. Instead of an angry wraith, however, she finds a collection of wispy air, fragments of the wraith's appearance phasing in and out of sight. A barely visible trail of moisture leads past her.
Following it with her eyes as best as possible, sees it head towards the manor.
"So you know my name, but I don't know y-yours. Did you ask around, or did you learn it with that s-skill?" Aki remarks, not bothering to hide her scrutiny. "I thou-thought it was good manners to introduce yourself f-first before pretending you know someone."
"I shoulda known not to hire a little girl for this! Rude rugrat!" barks the chief suddenly. "Barging in half-starved with not two leaf to rub together spouting nonsense about acolytes and what have you. Can't even get rid of a shadowgeist like all the other fakes that tried. Oh, sky mother, please grace us!"
The winds whip his long goatee in his face as he dramatically clasps his hands together.
"Quiet, chief. I'm trying to have a word here, and this wind is loud enough." The Hunter's tone is sharp and commanding though his expression is stoic. He then offers Aki a slight bow, pulling at the edge of his hood as he does so. "My apologies. I simply assumed you had this ability as well. My name is Julius. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Aki returns his bow with a short curtsy and resumes her drinking. Much calmer now that she doesn't feel like she's drinking sand.
Now, as I was saying. I'm impressed with you. I just… have one question."
"What is it?" Aki steps out of the fountain, trying to keep herself from shivering too much and failing drastically.
Julius stares daggers at Aki. His expression is neutral, but his eyes shine a vibrant deep blue under the moonlight. A wave of pressure washes over her and the air turns heavy as he speaks. "Are you an Otherworlder?"
Aki clenches her jaw and feigns confusion. Luckily, she's shaking from the cold enough that her acting doesn't need as much effort to hide her true feelings from him. "N-n-no. I was born here on Ts-Tsarjar. What reason makes you think that I am?"
"Oh?" He chuckles at her shaky defiance. "To be so young, mature, and on your own, surely you could see how I'd come to that conclusion. After all, it is the duty of an Old Guard officer to ensure the protection of my world from the evils of Others."
"Evils, huh? Since when do Hunters and Old Guard work together? I thought they hated each other." Aki narrows her eyes at him and turns away.
She looks around for her cloak, certain the wind hasn't blown it too far away. A small, nervous squawk by her legs draws her attention. Standing barely to her knee is a child clutching her thick green robe and struggling to raise it above their feathered head. Its feathers are short and fluffy, not yet coloured beyond a patchy grey.
"There are revalins living up here in this cold?" Aki gently takes her cloak from them and pats their head.
"Thank you," she coos.
The child chirps happily and smiles up at her before hopping back to where its parents stand, watching with worry.
Just as she goes to throw it over herself, a gloved hand grabs her by the wrist. Aki glares at Julius over her shoulder and pulls away.
"My apologies. I thought I'd offer to dry you off." Julius raises a gloved hand emanating a rich warmth. Aki hesitates but accepts once she notices the village chief eying her over Julius' shoulder.
Whatever spell Julius was casting made short work of completely drying her clothes with the added benefit of heating them.
She was nearly sweating from how hot she was now.
"To answer your question about this contrasting faction - since there were two Storms of Arrival in the past two years."
The warmth and comfort Aki was enjoying from dry clothes and body chills then. Even with her cloak securely in place, a deep cold stemming from his words gripped her.
Two Storms of Arrival.
A fear the people of Tsarjar either pretend never happened or are so vocal about their voices run hoarse. Julius was trying to get a response from her to verify his suspicions. She couldn't let him get to her. Instead, she chooses to ignore the provocation Julius puts up and addresses the village chief hiding behind him.
"You told me it was a shadowgeist when it was actually a wraith! I dunno what kind of thing is keeping it here, but you're lucky I was able to beat it, or all of you could have died!" Aki turns away again and starts the long walk back to the manor.
"If you'll excuse me, Hunter Julius. Those two Storms of yours made a mess, and now I've got to clean it up."
"How dare you! Such a foul little nalv - too scared to tell me to my face, are you? Look at all the damage you caused!" The chief stamps his cane angrily on the stonework as he shouts. "How are you going to pay us back for this, huh? Wraith my granny's bum. There's no way a wraith would be made here in Flats, I tell you! You're a swindler trying to take us for all our leafs! Well, that won't be happening, I tell you! No-"
His shouts continue, but the wuthering wind drowns out his words easily. Aki doesn't stop moving. Her attention is on the lingering trail of the wraith.
She curses herself. She could have finished it by now if she hadn't stayed there so long. Judging by the faintness of the trail, it's possible the wraith will at least be able to partially manifest to protect its source now. Aki hurries up, legs burning with effort by the time she reaches the top.
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Aki Title: Witch
LE: 50/55 HP: 75/200
MP: 37/250
SP: 50
[Lunar Devotion: 10% status recovery+10% power under moonlight]
[Warmth: 30% cold resistance for 327 sec]
[Dehydrated: Life Essence reduced by 5 until rehydrated]
More : ⟲
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"I have enough essence to use the axe if the wraith recovers faster than expected. Hopefully, I won't need to."
Behind her, she hears footsteps crunching on the frozen grass. Aki glances back to see Julius hurrying up the hill. Not bothering to wait, Aki grabs her bag and breathes a sigh of relief when she finds nothing is out of place.
"At least when I went flying, nothing in here did. It'd be pretty hard to survive without all my stuff." She pads the pockets and opens a small pouch clasped to the strap. On the side of the pouch is a small brown sword emblazoned onto it.
She taps on it thrice.
A little menu pops up and displays one thing in golden lettering.
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[Briarwood axe]
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Once she taps on the letters, a small handaxe made of rich brown wood materialises in her hand. Its blade is scratched and appears to be made of black granite but reflects the moonlight like glass when she turns it.
"A dimension pouch? How surprising for someone as young as you to have," remarks Julius. Somehow he'd snuck up on Aki in the short time it took to get her things. "More and more reasons to see you as an Otherworlder."
"Why are you so obsessed with how young I am, creep?" Aki looks at him with disgust before hurrying away from him and towards the back of the manor house, axe in hand. "And why are you following me? Shouldn't you be with the village chief or whatever?"
Rounding the corner and entering the hole in the wall, Aki steps inside the destroyed room. Broken furniture litters the floor, and the wind from outside blows the dust about in a small flurry. Just as it was left.
However, sitting undamaged and practically untouched by the wind, despite being half a metre from the hole in the wall, stands the desk vanity. Its mirror is unbroken, and its body unblemished. As pristine as it looked when Aki had first walked in.
"I am a Hunter. It is my duty to take down monsters in service to the land." Julius says, following in after her. His short sword is drawn, and a gloved hand is held at his side as if he's holding a shield. "As an officer of the Old Guard, I too must watch out for the evils an Otherworlder may bring forth to this world."
Aki can only hide her scowl.
Rather than responding, she approaches the vanity and investigates it. Brushing a finger along the surface pulls back very little dust despite the amount of wind disturbing the room. As she expected, the mirror seems to be the source.
"I will be frank, Aki. I believe you to be an otherworlder and fully intend to arrest you after this." Julius pokes around the broken furniture with a level of cautiousness that doesn't match his disinterested expression.
"You are young, have an impressive level of tactile ability, and great power for a supposed nalv. Regardless of your squared ears and black eyes, there is only so much you can pretend. Like all otherworlders, your understanding and use of mana forgo common sense in combat. No doubt you too, have misconceptions about ghosts and monsters of Tsarjar. To confuse a shadowgeist with a wraith, or any creature for that matter, is one of the easiest methods of spotting those of your ilk. Wraiths attach themselves to objects and seek vengeance. What vengeance is there to be had in this ghost town?"
Before she can respond, a strong gust of wind shakes the manor's walls and swirls the dust within the room to obscure the vision of the two.
From within the dust cloud, Aki sees the vague outline of the long-haired girl materialise within the vanity mirror.
The dust cloud shifts as the sound of sharp nails on glass screech and push out into the world. Foreign resentment and anger fill Aki, followed by a strong bloodlust pressing down upon the two.
"It seems I owe you an apology and am not above admitting it," Julius shouts over the wind. "I was mistaken and am not equipped for this fight."
"Well, at least he's willing to admit his wrongs."
Fear grips Aki as she raises her axe and swings with all her might. Her aim is true and the blade cuts deep into the vanity, shattering the glass and splitting the wood.
The oppressive energy gets sucked back into itself with a chilling screech of agony.
All is still for a moment.
The ensuing shockwave blasts away all the dust floating in the air and knocks Julius onto his back. Broken glass shoots out, embedding themselves into the walls, floor, and ceiling. Luckily for Aki, it is as if the glass purposely avoids her despite being directly in the line of fire.
She feels her shoulder and wrist pop but doesn't get flung away like Julius. A freezing cold hand had grabbed hold of her arm with a deathly grip.
The wraith, waning and waxing out of existence, stares up at her. Her terrifying features contorted to one of fear. Eyes pleading for Aki to listen.
"My diary… within. Get. Out." the wraith stares at Aki and motions with her head at the vanity desk. With that final movement, the wraith fades away.
A moment later, the desk splits in two, and a single leatherbound book with a key tied to the front falls onto the floor.
Julius walks up next to her, rubbing his arm and shaking the hair from his face. He was only knocked around a little, but side lit by the full moon before her was enough to highlight his attractive features.
Strong jaw, high cheekbones, and vibrant eyes framed by silken blond hair. His plump lips open slightly when he sees the fractured desk.
Aki tightens her jaw and narrows her eyes. "Get a grip! I look half my age here! Or do I look exactly my age? Ahhh! Why are ages in this world so confusing to understand."
She picks up the fallen book and flips through it. The words are written in a language she can't understand. Considering she can only understand the common tongue of Tsarjar, Aki isn't surprised but is a little disappointed. "Still planning to arrest me, or did you change your mind when you realised I was right?"
"Biting words for a child." chuckles Julius. "To think there truly was a wraith. What could have caused such resentment for this type of phantom to manifest itself with so much power?"
"Here." Aki tosses the diary at him and points at the door leading toward the manor interior. "This is the wraith's diary. It's not in Tsa'run, so I can't read it but I'm sure you'll be able to. Plus, there's a skeleton in the kitchen with some notes and blueprints. I think if you put those two together you'll be able to figure it out."
"Fascinating. You aren't omnilingual but are oddly mature for your age. It's been a year and two since each of the Storms, yet you were able to face off against a wraith. If you are not an Otherworlder as you claim but have no defining features tying you to this world of Tsarjar, then who are you?"
Aki walks past him, stashing her axe as she does, and stands in the opening of the wall. She puts a hand on her hip and flips her thick green cloak open on one side as she raises a hand. "My name is Aki and I am an Acolyte of Mune! I pledged to give sanctuary and protection to all good souls from the great evils of this world. I will not fall so easily!"
Julius stares at her for a stretch, eyebrows raised. His silence lingers while Aki remains posed. Feeling embarrassed by the uncomfortable silence, Aki drops the pose. Julius' face is contemplative when he nods. Concern etched on his features.
"It seems the Storms have made this world far more dangerous than we believed if the revered island of Mune is sending acolytes as young as yourself, regardless of talent." He says slowly. He stands up straight and puts a closed fist over his heart. A Hunter's salute, Aki supposes. "In that case, Aki of Mune, I personally shall believe your claims. I make no promises for my associates."
"I… guess that's fine? Whatever, I'm exhausted, so I'm gonna go. I did what I was hired to do. Hopefully, they won't kick me out of the inn after I paid for a bed." Aki mumbles the last bit and begins the short trek back to the village.