A deep slumber overtook Doric. He felt like he was floating in the void again. He could not move at all just continued floating. It felt comfortable just like last time but he wondered what happened. Was he attacked, Did he have a heart attack or something?
All he remembered is seeing the tower fall and then it went dark…"What was I doing again?" Even his objectives were a mystery. He felt a calming effect as he drifted off into slumber again.
It felt like hours had passed and he finally woke back up still floating in the void but it was not by accident he woke up. Something was poking him. Opening his eyes slowly he saw a figure next to him. Poking him with a stick.
A young girl with long white hair and purple eyes wearing a long flowing robe that seemed too big for her was poking him. Curious eyes lit up when she saw him move. "Oh, good you're awake Big Bro!" She exclaimed with a hop and a self-congratulating fist pump. "Thought you were a goner!"
Doric's eyes adjusted fully and he saw that the void had transformed into a bedroom. A large girly bedroom that was full of stuffed animals and a large ornate bed. In the center of the room was a small table that had two cups filled with what looked like tea. He fell to the floor as gravity came back.
Rubbing his back he looked around and felt even more confused. "Where am I?"
"You're in my room silly! Don't you remember?" She poked at him again with the stick giggling as she did. He waved the stick away a little irritated but quickly switched to confusion.
"What do you mean by that? Have I been here before?" He looked around again and tried to picture a time when he was in such a specific place. Nothing was ringing any bells though. "I am sorry but I don't remember any place like this before."
The young girl pouted and then pulled out a magnifying glass. Her eyes looked huge in it as she looked at him. She frowned for a moment. "You have his body and even his personality, but is it really you Big Bro?"
Doric felt even more confused, he never had a sister as far as he knew, or any friends who called him Big Bro. "I think you might have the wrong person. My name is Doric, what's yours?"
"Call me Folia! Are you serious though you don't remember me at all? I guess being reborn will have side effects like that. I need to update my book with this new information." She pulled out the grimoire that Doric had been using this entire time and began scribbling notes into it. "Alright done!"
Doric looked at the book and Folia. "Wait is that my book?" He felt in his pockets and noticed it was gone. "When did you grab it?"
Folia looked upset now. "It's my diary, not your book. Next time ask before you pry into other people's lives Big Bro." She closed the book and walked to the table with the tea. Sitting down she snaps her finger and the book demateralizes. Pointing to the seat across from her she waits patiently.
Thinking about the magic book being a diary was confusing. How could a textbook be a diary? Although now that he thought about it. It was written poorly and did not describe things as well as he would have liked. Walking to the table he sat down and looked at Folia. She took a sip of her tea and paused after setting it down.
"Why am I here?" He got to the point and did not break eye contact with her when asking. He was getting a little tired of all of this. He kinda wished he could be floating in the void again. Peacefully.
"The void is a temporary space before someone passes on. Think of it like the title screen of a game. You can either continue or go to the main menu." She commented without any pep in her voice.
"Wait you know about video games? But this is a fantasy world." he was more confused than he was when he started talking to her. She was a mystery beyond comparison and it seemed like the more he talked to her the more questions he had. "Hold on, I thought that. Can you read my mind?"
She looked at him once again with a stern slightly angry expression. "I can, and how dare you think my diary is poorly written. I spent a lot of time developing it."
"So is it a diary or a novel?" he whispered under his breath.
"Quit being so rude!" She yelled at him with the force of a young child throwing a tantrum.
"Fine, fine, so what am I supposed to do now?"
"Do you want to continue or go back to the main menu?" she sipped her tea some more. Enjoying the light taste of it. She kept her eye contact on him the entire time. Watching for any sudden movements of his face.
Enjoying on the inside all the subtle expressions he would make as he talked and thought. He was like an open book to her. Easy to read.
"Are you asking if I want to die or come back to life? But how did I die in the first place, wasn't I in the marketplace with Nyssa and the other girl?"
She took another sip and paused for a moment. "Hmmmm…I would guess that bringing you back as a wisp and then creating a body was too much work for Nyssa. Your vessel gave out. It was drained of magic power once you cast those two spells and because of that you perished…Or something like that. I don't really know myself!"
He looked irritated now. "So you're saying on a whim, a guess. That I just overextended myself and lost my vessel. My body?"
She nodded and looked over to the window in her bedroom. Outside revealed the void. "I think the main problem was the vessel was created so hastily and not enough magic power was placed inside it to maintain your form. I tried giving you more but I can only do so much in my state."
He titled his head at the action she mentioned just now. "You tried giving me more?" It dawned on him just now that the mission he was given the first time. When he completed it he heard her voice. "Oh, that was you! So you were trying to give me more life force or something?"
She nodded while staring at the widow. I don't have much time left to talk you you know. I need you to make up your mind. Do you want to keep going, I can promise you that this world is very difficult and will become even more so for you should you return now. If you choose to leave this world behind and be reborn a new one I would not judge you."
He thought about it for a moment. He was not doing much with his previous life, and his current life wasn't so bad. "If I was reborn again would I keep my memories?" curious to know before he made a decision.
"Not this time, I did everything in my power to give you your old memories back in case any of them would be helpful to you in this life. I could not do the same for Nyssa though. If you leave this world now you will not remember anything at all."
He decided on his path at that moment. He was not going to run away from anything. He wanted to give it another shot. To help Nyssa get her memories back and to make sure that the other girl was safe. He could not bear the thought of just leaving them behind after putting them in such a predicament.
"Alright, bring me back. I want to try again! But this time, please give me more info before I start blowing myself up again."
She chuckled and shook her head. "Unfortunately I can only give you small bits in between missions. Otherwise, I will lose all my powers and then you really would be on your own."
Sighing he understood what she meant for the most part and nodded. "Alright, It was nice meeting you Folia. I hope we do not meet again under these circumstances."
She smiled and jumped from the table to his arms. "I will be watching you always, Big Bro."
He could feel a bit of sadness in her voice as she said this. Everything when black and then he was back in the world of the living.
Screaming could be heard again. The crumbling of the tower was still proceeding. It was as if time had stood still for him. He looked at Nyssa who was staring at him in horror. He had never seen anyone look this scared before when looking at him.
Reaching out to try and calm her he saw that his arm was turning ashen. Looking down it was not just his arm. His whole body was covered in ash and slowly falling apart. He was disappearing before their eyes and he was not entirely sure how to stop it.
"What's happening Nyssa?" He asked as he felt the familiar grinding of bone as he spoke.