Chapter 12 - Justice

As we marched through the woods I began to wonder what the marking on his hand was, it seemed to gove him power of some sort.

"So hey, what's with that mark on your hand? I've never seen one before."

"Oh this? It's called a Blessing, it's a gift given to me by the Goddess of Frost Glacia. Its a form of power given to very few in this world, especially from a Major God like Glacia."

Major God? What does that mean?

Answer: There are Major and Minor Gods, and as the names suggest Major Gods are more powerful than Minor Gods and thus have more influence. The Goddess of Frost Glacia is an Elemental God, therefore being classified as Major. In contrast the God of Song Cantio is a Minor God, as he is the embodiment of song, whereas Glacia is the embodiment of frost, cold, and ice.

That's a lot of info to dump on me right now, but its good to know I suppose.

"I've heard of Magic and Skills up to this point, but how are Blessings different? They seem to be quite similar."

"That's simple really, those are the three forms of power in this world. Blessings are the most powerful as they are a direct connection to the God or Goddess who gave it. Next are Skills, which is power you can accumulate and strengthen. They are a more diluted form of power than Blessings, but in some cases can be just as powerful. Lastly is Magic which is by far the weakest. Instead of drawing on the power of a God like Blessings or latent power inside yourself like skills, Magic manipulates the mana in the surrounding atmosphere to create spells. However if there is no mana nearby, tough luck."

My power lies mainly in skills, but that is good to know. If I go against a magic user, all I have to do is soak up all the surrounding mana and they can no longer fight.

"So, how did you get your blessing? A blessing from an Elemental God has got to be rare right?"

"That's a funny story actually, and you're not wrong. Some elemental gods hand out more blessings than others, but Glacia rarely does so. I wasn't born in Cina, honestly I have no idea where I come from. Twenty-one years ago there was a horrible blizzard around here, so cold that no one could stay outside for more than ten minutes before freezing to death. I was a newborn at the time, and my mother had died carrying me through the storm towards Cina. I sat in her arms, near death when the Goddess of Frost stepped in. While Glacia can control frost and ice, she can't influence the weather so she did what she could do. She gave me a blessing so I would be able to resist the cold and left me on the doorstep of the village chief Danik, who took me in and raised me as his own. He taught me everything I know about fighting and had acted as the village protector for a long time, but eventually he died and the job was left up to me. While I wasn't born here, I love this village. It shaped me into the man I am today, and Danik's will lives through me. He was the strongest warrior in this region in the last couple centuries, and I hope to fill those shoes someday."

"It sounds like you really looked up to this Danik guy, he must've been a good example to follow."

"He protected Cina for decades until eventually old age took him. This glaive was his instrument of justice, and is now the embodiment of his will to protect the innocent. I've inherited his will to protect the innocent and judge those who would bring harm to them. We may not have been related by blood, but he was my father."

"He sounds like he was a great man, I wish I'd had the chance to meet him."

"He was the best man I've ever known. We're getting close now, so we should try to sneak up on them"

I nodded and put on my mask, completely eliminating my aura. Once I had, I used Magic Sight to see my surroundings in much clearer detail. Nix had a faint cyan glow to him, and I could sense two bandits up ahead. The closer I got, the more I could make out what we were going up against. Stationed outside the entrance to the cave were two guards, who both had a faint red aura around them.

Clearly they aren't very strong but I should still be careful, I don't want them alerting the rest of the camp. I can't tell how many there are in the cave and I don't want us to get overwhelmed. This should be a good opportunity to use Shadow Movement so I can sneak closer without being seen.

I walked over to the shadow of a tree and turned to Nix.

"On my signal take out the one on the left, I'll handle the one on the right"

After he nodded, I activated my skill and fell into the shadow under my feet like diving into a pool. Once I was through, I looked around to see how the skill worked. I was standing in a copy of the forest I was just in, but in complete greyscale. Black puddles were scattered around my feet, and I could see everything that was going on. Nix was looking around confused as to where I had went, so I walked up to him. I tried to put my palm on his shoulder in an attempt to freak him out, but my hand phased right through him.

Magic Guide, what's going on here? I think I know how this skill works for the most part, but where am I right now? Why can't I interact with anything?

Answer: You are in the Shadow World, also known as the Land of Shadows. It is a seperate plane of existence that overlaps with the physical realm, yet cannot interact with it. Most ghost stories come from Shadow Beings who roam the Land of Shadows, as some people are more sensitive to their presence than others. However, due to the mask's effects you are unable to be detected even by such people.

This seems super useful, a different plane of existence might be a good place to hide if a fight becomes too much. But now, time to take out these bandits.

I walked towards the cave's opening and walked right up to the guards. My target on the right held a sword and wooden shield, while the other rested a large claymore over one shoulder. The puddles of darkness at their feet appeared to be my way back to the physical world, so I jumped in the one behind the shielded bandit. It felt as if I was underwater but I could see light up ahead, so I swam through the darkness towards it. When I reached the light I reached through and pulled myself out, shadows dripping off me like water. I drew my sword and plunged it into the bandit's back while covering his mouth with my hand to keep him from alerting the rest of the group. As the other guard realized what was going on, Nix's glaive flew through the air and hit him in the chest, sending him flying backwards and pinning him to the rocks. Nix approached and retrieved his blade as I wiped the blood off of my sword and re-sheathed it.

"That was crazy how you popped up behind him like that, you're really a master of stealth huh?"

"Honestly that was the first time I used that skill, I was just making it up as I went along." I chuckled towards the end.

"That seems super useful, but now... for the rest of them."

"Yeah" I said in a solemn tone, we had no idea what we were going into.

As we walked deeper into the cave crates of random goods lines the walls, lit by lanterns hanging from spikes hammered into the walls. Ranging from food to jewlery, these bandits took anything and everything they could get their hands on. I turned to Nix and saw the disgusted look on his face, seeing the spoils of their thievery. Behind my mask I'm sure I wore a similar expression, seeing all the stolen goods from the innocent made my blood boil.

We reached the end of the cave and noticed a couple tents set up, with a larger one in the center. It was clear the leader's tent was the large one, but it seemed we had already taken care of the main force when we defended the village.

"Your men are dead, come out and face judgement for your crimes!" Nix's rage couldn't be contained any longer as he shouted to the leader.

"You know, I was having a really good nap too. You brats have no manners do you?"

A large man stepped out of the tent, with an odachi mounted on his hip. While all the swords and weapons I had seen so far had been European in design, this was the first Japanese style sword I had seen. Even my own sword resembled a broadsword in design yet his was different, he clearly wasn't from around here.

"So you're from the South, I can tell by your blade that you're not from around here. So which country, Kirizawa?"

"Spot on, y'know for a kid from the boonies you know your weapons. I might enjoy this more than I thought!"

He pulled a leather glove off of his right hand revealing a marking that resembled an eye. This man was also a Blessing holder, making this fight a lot harder than I had initially thought.

Hey Magic Guide, what god gave him that Blessing? Can you tell?

Answer: That appears to be the Blessing of the God of Envy Invidere. It causes extreme jealousy in all who are "blessed" by this god, it is seen as more of a curse than a Blessing by others.

"You're not the only one here with a Blessing you know..." Nix rotated his hand to show off his own Blessing, and the bandit's face contorted into a crazed grin.

"It's been far too long since I last fought a Blessing holder, I'm going to enjoy killing you here and now!" As he drew his blade and prepared to fight, so did we. However Nix put his arm in front of me, stopping me from getting involved.

"This is my fight, theyre my people who he slaughtered ans stole from so justice must come from my blade. Only get involved if it looks like I am going to die."

I nodded and stepped back, sheathing my blade in the process.

He needs this, to avenge his people. If I get in the way I'll steal this from him, and honestly I want to get a better gauge on his power level.

They both prepared to fight, their auras flaring up in anticipation. Nix began to glow in a cyan color while his opponent emitted a green aura.

I guess it really is a Blessing from the God of Envy, poor guy. He can't control his jealousy, stealing must be instinctual to him. However the same can't be said about his comrades, they had no such Blessing and yet they were still vile human beings.

Nix wasted no time, leaping forward and blitzing the enemy. Just before the tip of his glaive reached the bandit's face it was deflected, and Nix flew past and spun around swiftly as his feet touched the ground. He slid across the dirt floor and planted the base of his glaive in the dirt to halt his movements. The bandit wasted no time, leaping forward and beginning to clash with Nix. Clanging metal and strained grunts filled the air as their blades met time and time again, neither side yeilding to the other. Nix's Blessing began to glow and a shard of ice shot out from the ground around his right foot, forcing the bandit to dodge backwards to avoid being impaled. Nix followed up with a feint with the blade end of his glaive and smashing the pole into the bandit's side, knocking the air out of him and sending him flying.

The bandit landed on one knee, clearly feeling exhaustion from Nix's unrelenting assault. Just then Nix raised his hand and clenched his fist, and spears of ice shot out of the ground around the bandit. He didn't have time to dodge so he instead slashed through the ice, shattering them one at a time before they could reach his chest. However Nix took this opportunity to strike, his glaive making contact with the bandit's left shoulder and piercing him. He let out a pained yell, ripping the glaive from

his shoulder and jumping back. Blood ran down his arm and dripped onto the floor, it had been rendered unusable from a single strike. Now crippled, the bandit attempted to resist another onslaught of ice spikes yet he couldn't cut them down fast enough. For every ice spike he smashed through, another would pierce his body. First his legs were struck, then his chest and finally his throat. Nix had turned him into a pin cushion using his Blessing, and the fight was finally over. The bandit's Blessing faded from

his hand as the life left his body, now nothing more than a lifeless husk being suspended in air by spikes of ice. His weapon clattered to the floor as one last breath escaped his lungs, signaling the end of this fight. Nix had defeated the leader of the bandits, and regained his honor as Cina's protector.

That was impressive, he barely even struggled despite facing off with another Blessing holder. I suppose they aren't all equal in terms of power then, although this was a good way to see what Nix is capable of.

"I guess that's that then." I said as I removed my mask and slid it to the side of my head. "We should head back now and give the people the good news."

"Yeah, I guess it is that time now. My fallen comrades have been avenged, their souls can settle now in the afterlife knowing that their killers have been punished."

I wonder if there's actually an afterlife in this world, that would be cool to see.

We left the cave victorious with the bandit issue resolved, and walked back to Cina Village. When we arrived, there were soldiers from Altanvia in the village taking care of the wounded villagers and giving them medical attention.

"You guys finally got my message it seems." Nix approached the man in charge and shook his hand. "Dentes I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. This is Andrei, Captain of the Tsar's Rapid Response Team and a very good friend of mine."

"Good to meet you Andrei, I'm Dentes. I hate to deprive you guys of a good fight but the bandits are already handled, Nix and I took care of them."

"I appreciate you stepping up in our absense, the people here are indebted to both of you now."

"HEY! Don't forget about me now! Those two weren't the only ones who helped out here!"

Even before I turned around I knew the voice from behind me was Silvia, her childlike demeanor sticking out like a sore thumb.

"Oh great she's yelling now. Wonderful." My sarcastic side began show for the first time since my reincarnation.

"And what's that supposed to mean huh!?!? You couldn't have done this without me y'know!"

"I know, I know. It's just funny to see you get all upset." I said chuckling, turning back to Nix and Andrei to see them holding in laughs at the interaction between Silvia and I.

"Well I should get going, I'm going to Altanvia to petition the Tsar for a permanent guard to be stationed here. As a representative of Cina Village I will request an audience with Altan himself."

The Tsar? Wasn't he called "King Altan?"

Answer: To outsiders, Altan is known as a King as that is the traditional power structure of this world. However to the citizens of his nation the official name for him is Tsar Altan.

Ah, I guess that makes sense then. It's a cultural thing.

"Hey Nix, Silvia and I were going to head to Altanvia as well to check out the Adventurer's Guild. Do you mind if we tag along? Traveling is no fun to do alone after all."

He appeared to be shocked at my words, but the emotion quickly dissapeared from his face replaced by a friendly smile.

"You're right, traveling is much more fun with company! Alright, let me gather my things and we can head out."

Nix disappeared into a small cabin for a few moments and came back out with his things. He wore a fur coat and hat, and carried a leather bag over one shoulder. On his ither shoulder rested his glaive, ready for battle at a moments notice. He wore boots as well, as if he was preparing to travel through the snow.

"I grabbed both of you some coats as well, Altanvia is always cold because the snow from the mountains gets blown down by strong winds." Nix said as he tossed two fur coats at us.

"I thought you couldn't feel cold Nix, what's with the warm clothing?" I was curious about why someone immune to cold would dress so warm.

"Oh this? It's Danik's, I wear it because it makes me feel close to him still, even though he's no longer here. And to be honest I just like the hat. But now, it's time to leave for Altanvia!"

We waved goodbye to the villagers, and started on our walk to Altanvia, the Gateway Between Worlds. However in La Eterna, the Land of the Gods, conflict was stirring and no mortal soul would be unaffected.