THE BLURRED sight of a familiar setting made me blink a few times to
confirm that I wasn't dreaming.
Looking down at my long fingers and calloused palms, it seemed I was back
in my old body.
Getting up from the couch I was sitting on, I stared blankly at the portrait of
myself—one I'd always hated—peering down at me arrogantly from the wall.
Confused as to what was going on, I rushed out of my room inside the castle.
A young maid, who had been waiting for me just outside, greeted me
respectfully as soon as I opened the door.
"Good morning, King Grey."
I didn't even bother glancing in her direction. She followed a few paces
behind me as I walked through the immense, candle-lit hall.
Reaching the courtyard where all the trainees were lined up, swords held in
front of them, I turned my attention to the instructors, who were shouting
about proper stance and breathing. When one of the instructors saw me, he
immediately stood at attention and gave a crisp military salute, and the other instructors and trainees followed suit.
I simply motioned for them to continue, and kept walking. Passing by the
marble fountain, I finally reached the private study and pushed open the large
double doors to stand in front of an aged man with a head of thick white hair
that matched his long beard. He glanced up, his emerald eyes glimmering with cunning, wisdom, and knowledge—Marlorn, the head of the council.
I held the title of "king," but I couldn't consider myself anything more than a
glorified soldier. The ones who actually governed the country, managing the
politics and economy, were the members of the council.
So what was the significance of my position as king?
As king, I was something like a one-man army. Due to the decreasing
birthrates and increasing scarcity of natural resources, the councils of each
country had assembled. After countless months of discussion and arguments,
they finally came to the conclusion that, if mankind continued to wage wars,
we would eventually wipe ourselves out.
Eliminating war would lead to two major outcomes: fewer deaths, leading to
population growth; and a decrease in the destruction of resources and damage
to arable land. The solution they enacted was to replace wars with a different
form of combat.
This new form of 'warfare' became known as the Paragon Duels. Whenever a
dispute arose at a level that threatened to impact a country, a Paragon Duel
would be declared, with each country sending the representative they deemed
the strongest. In most countries, that representative was named king and
given the appropriate honors for the duration of his reign, basking in the
praise of the public while the council members quietly enacted policy.
Despite the seemingly deceptive nature of this, no one could doubt its
effectiveness—humans wanted the simplicity of a black-or-white, win-or-lose
situation, and the duels gave them just that.
Looking up with the insincere, unctuous smile that seemed to be an inborn
trait of politicians, Marlorn exclaimed, "King Grey! What brings you to my
humble dwelling?"
"I'm retiring."
Without even giving him the chance to react, I unclipped my badge—that
piece of metal so sought after by every practitioner—and slammed it down
on his giant oakwood desk, then walked out the door.All these years, what have I been living for? I was an orphan, brought up in a
camp designed to raise duelers. Everyone I had ever cared about had been
stolen from me by violence. At twenty-eight years of age, I'd never dated,
never loved. Until now, I'd devoted almost my whole life to being the
strongest duelist, representing my country.
And for what?
Admiration? Money? Glory?
I'd had all that, but never in a million years would I choose it over what I'd
had in the town of Ashber.
I missed Alice. I missed Reynolds. I missed Durden and Jasmine and Helen. I
missed Angela. I even missed Adam.
Mother… Father…
As I stormed back toward my room, frustrated by these memories of what I
could only see as a dream, the halls began tilting. Losing my balance, I fell to
the ground as a muffled ringing sounded in my ears. The ringing became
louder, piercing, and pulsed painfully in my head until my vision darkened.
The sound of someone coughing made my eyes snap open, and the pain I felt
told me the coughing had been my own.
I closed my eyes and opened them again to find myself lying on my back,
towering trees and dangling vines filling my vision. However, the
excruciating pain that welcomed me told me I wasn't dreaming.
Where was I? How was I alive?
I tried to get up, but my body wouldn't listen. The only thing I was able to
manage was turning my head, and even that involved a series of throbbing
pains in my neck.
Looking to my right, I spotted my knapsack. I slowly turned my head to the
left, gritting my teeth through the pain.
My eyes widened at the sight and I immediately had to fight the urge to
vomit. To my left lay what remained of the conjurer I had dragged down with
me. A pool of blood surrounded the corpse, which probably had more broken bones than ones still intact. I could see the white shards of his ribs jutting out
of the sunken cavity of the chest, and a pile of his entrails beside him. The mage's limbs were sprawled out at unnatural angles, his skull shattered in the
back, brain matter oozing out along with blood.
His face was frozen into an expression of surprise and disbelief, only
hollowed cavities remaining where his eyes used to be. A trail of dried blood
ran down his face. I couldn't turn my head away fast enough. Even in my
past life, I had never come across such a badly mangled corpse. The
nauseating stench and insects feasting on the gore were too much to take.
My already-weakened body was assaulted with both the gruesome sight and
repugnant smell, and I vomited what was left in my stomach until I was left
gagging and dry-heaving. With parts of my face and neck covered in my own
vomit, I finally managed to turn my head away from the sight of the mage's
grotesque remains.
How was I still alive?
I couldn't help wondering what had happened while I was unconscious. The
mage had been alive up until the landing… so what had happened to me? I
should look very similar to his corpse right about now, maybe even worse.
But not only was I alive, I didn't seem to have even so much as a broken
bone.
I pondered over the possible answers until I was interrupted by a strong
grumble from my stomach.
I fought through my body's protests at my attempts at movement. The only
parts of my body I could control were my right arm and my head and neck. I
willed mana into my right arm; using my fingers to claw my way, I dragged
my body across the ground until I could reach my knapsack. It couldn't have
been more than a yard away, but it felt like an hour before I finally managed
to cover the distance. Pulling the bag closer to me, I rummaged through it
with my one good hand until I found what I was looking for: the dried berries
and nuts my mother had insisted on packing.
I succeeded in pouring myself a mouthful of the snack. In my reclining
position, some of it strayed past my tongue, sending me into a choking fit,
and the coughing triggered another round of agony in my body.
Fumbling for
the water skin inside my knapsack, I slowly poured a bit of the water into my
mouth, then managed another handful of food. Tears rolled down the sides of
my face and into my ears as I continued to chew on the dried rations. Finally
I passed out again, using my knapsack as a makeshift blanket.
My eyes fluttered open as I stirred awake at the brisk bite of cold. I looked
around as best as my stiff neck would allow and realized, by the position of
the first rays of light peeking through the mountains, that it was dawn.
Using my mana, I managed to slowly get up. I carefully inspected my entire
body, making sure everything was in place before allowing myself to relax.
First things first.
I made my way to the mage's corpse, trying to avoid looking at the heinous
injuries that had caused his demise. Spotting what I was looking for, I quickly
jerked the knife out of his thigh. I wasn't sure how long I would be here, so
having a weapon was critical.
'Oh, you're awake.'
I instantly dropped into a fighting stance, gritting through the pain from the
sudden movement. With my knife in hand, I turned to face the carcass.
I swear to God if this corpse is the one that's talking…
A melodic chuckle made me look around for the source of the voice.
'Do not worry. You won't have to worry about that corpse reanimating.'
The voice, which seemed to come from nowhere, had a dignified yet gentle
quality, evincing a sense of royalty. It was powerful and resonant, yet had a
silky, soothing sound that made me want to trust it.
Still on guard, I managed to mutter a less-than-elegant response. "Who are
you? Are you the one who saved me?"
'Yes, to your second question. As for the first, you will find out soon enough,
when you arrive at my dwelling.'This voice seemed awfully sure that I would try to find it.
As if reading my thoughts, it continued, 'I am the only one who will be able
to get you home from this place, so I advise you to make haste.'
That jerked some sense into me. That's right! I have to get back home!
Mother! Father! The Twin Horns! My baby sibling! Are they all right? Did
they reach Xyrus safely?
If the voice could really take me back home, I had no choice but to find it.
Clearing my throat, I spoke again. "Dear, uh… Mr. Voice, may I humbly ask
for the directions to your location?"
The Voice let out another soft chuckle before replying.
'Don't you think it's a
little rude to call a lady "Mister"?
But yes, I'll show you the way.'
So it was a lady.
Suddenly, my vision shifted into a bird's-eye view. As if zooming out, a
location came into sight—roughly a day's trip to the east—and lit up, before
my vision shifted back to normal.
'I recommend departing immediately. It will be a lot safer traveling during
the day than when it gets dark,' the Voice chided gently.
"Yes, ma'am." I picked up my knapsack and set off at a slow trot toward my
destination.
My movements became less painful with each step and, by mid-morning, I
was left with only a few aches here and there. Whatever that lady had done
involved some powerful magic. I'd never heard of anyone casting a spell over
such a distance. Or had she cast the spell right before I landed, and then left?
But how could she have known we were falling, and why had she saved only
me? The harder I tried to solve the mystery, the more questions I seemed to
end up with.
After several more hours, my throat burning from thirst, I heard a faint
gurgling sound. I headed toward it and spotted a stream.
"Yes!" I exclaimed.
I was absolutely filthy. My face and neck still stank of vomit, and my clothes were torn and caked with grime.
I sprinted to the stream and cannon balled
into it, then vigorously scrubbed my face and body clean. After taking off my
clothes and giving them a rough wash, I laid them on a nearby rock to dry. I
had finished this refreshing bath and was walking toward my still-damp
clothes when a soft chuckle sounded in my head.
'How pleasantly carefree.'
Reflexively, both my hands shot down to cover my privates as I hunched my
back, trying to make my body as small as possible.
'Don't worry, there wasn't much to see.' I could practically feel the Voice
wink at me, and I shuddered.
How rude! My pride…
I wanted to argue that my body wasn't developed yet, but I chose to ignore
the Voice and put on my clothes.
'Aww. Don't pout. I apologize.' The Voice stifled a laugh.
Calm your mind, Arthur. A king must be calm...
The Voice remained silent after I put on my clothes, so I rummaged through
my bag and dug out the last of my rations. Water wasn't going to be a
problem for a while since I had just refilled my water skin, but I would need
food soon; hopefully the Voice would provide me with something.
I looked around, beginning to wonder where I was. Since I had fallen off the
mountain toward the east, I knew I must be near the elves' domain. I didn't
think I was in the Forest of Elshire, because I wasn't surrounded by fog.
Could I be in the Beast Glades? No. There weren't any mana beasts. I'd
spotted a few rabbits and birds, but I had yet to see anything else. But there
was a strange abundance of mana in this place. It must have been due to this
richness of mana that I had been able to recover from my initial injuries so
quickly, though that still didn't explain how I had survived in the first place.
Maybe the Voice will explain it to me. I should hurry.
It was a peaceful, uneventful trip. There was no road, but there were only
minimal obstacles in the terrain. The nearer I drew to my destination—the source of the Voice—the richer and denser the mana became.
Ignoring the
temptation to stop and absorb the surrounding mana, I pressed on. Training
wasn't important right now. I needed to get home.
Everyone probably assumed I was dead, so I couldn't help but worry about
Mother and Father—not so much for their physical well-being, but their
mental health. I was concerned they would blame themselves for my 'death.'
The only thought that comforted me was the fact that my mother was
pregnant. I knew that, at least for the sake of my unborn brother or sister,
they'd stay strong.
I finally reached the area the Voice had guided me to, but I was unable to see
anything other than a cluster of rocks shaded by a small stand of trees.
'I'm glad you made it here safely,' the Voice echoed confidently, as if it had
always known I would.
"Nice to meet you, uhh… ma'am? Miss Rocks?"
'I'm not a rock—nor a cluster of them. The two large rocks leaning against
each other on the other side form a crevice. That's where you'll find me,' the
Voice chuckled in my head.
Looking around, I managed to spot the small gap between the two larger
rocks, just large enough for an adult to squeeze through. The slight breeze
coming from the crevice told me I had found what I was looking for. If the
Voice hadn't directed me to this exact location, I would never even have
noticed the small fissure.
'Enter through the crevice, child, but strengthen yourself with mana before
you do.'
Soon I can get back to Mother and Father!
Without a second's hesitation, I easily slipped in through the gap, while
willing mana to strengthen my body.
I had expected to step onto a platform, but instead, I immediately plummeted
down into the dark hole. The Voice had failed to mention that I'd be taking a
vertical fall.I guess that's why she told me to use mana. The thought flashed through my
head as I descended, screaming at the top of my four-year-old lungs.
The fall seemed to last several minutes. Finally I began to see a faint light
below me.
I landed harshly on my feet, the impact traveled up my legs and back, jarring
my entire body before I collapsed on my bottom. Groaning, I slowly levered
myself up.
"So, child. We finally meet."
I felt the blood drain from my face as my mouth gaped open and eyes bulged.
I was suddenly lightheaded, and my legs gave out from under me once more.
I fell back onto my already-aching butt, staring at the one who had been
helping me this whole time.