eneath the cliff was a thick forest, between the border of Huāgōng and Krystallos. After landing, my entire body was in so much pain, I couldn't think about anything else. I had curled up into a ball, dipping in and out of consciousness. I felt my body being lifted up and moved, before I drifted off into sleep again. Somehow, I survived the fall.
With a gasp, I pushed myself up abruptly, hand shooting towards the area my core sat in, the centre of my chest. It was in more pain than anywhere else on my body. Speaking of which, I was covered from the neck down in thick bandages, which limited my range of movement vastly.
Turning my head, I was in a small room with a window. Sunlight filtered in, and through it, I could see a small garden at the back, with various crops and trees growing. Yet, whoever lived and had brought me here was nowhere to be found just yet.
My hair hung around my shoulders, and I glanced down towards my hands, attempting to flex my fingers. Taking a breath in, I attempted to channel my soul– but I was met with extreme amounts of pain in my chest.
"Those who go knocking on death's door should not be surprised when they are met with it," A woman's voice broke me out of my practice and I panted from the effort.
"Your core is fractured and unstable. You should not be utilising soul for the moment." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an old woman. Wrinkles blanketed her face, white hair tied up in a messy bun at the top of her head, piercing purple eyes staring into my very soul.
My eyes widened.
"What about the–"
"The people who fell with you? Unfortunately, the man I found you beside was already dead and unable to be saved. I suspect that the girl has been taken and is with Shuāng Xiăo, the Guardian of this forest. She will be safe with him."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Had Jasper been alive, it would have meant all was for nothing. Thankfully, that drug hadn't made him immortal– but whatever it was, I'd have to find out later. However, our plans were currently derailed. With my core fractured and Hua in another place, we'd have to regroup and find our way to the capital, as things could never be simple in this world. Still…
Tears ran down my face, and I sobbed quietly, the sheets growing wet as I mumbled apologies for that.
"...So she's alive…that's good…"
The woman made her way over and enveloped me in a hug, which only made me cry louder as my arms instinctively wrapped around her back. I had never been hugged before– and it brought me back to something I was curious about. This body had to come from somewhere, considering it wasn't my original one. So somewhere, out there… this body had a family. I had taken over the real Atlas Reyes' body. I didn't belong here.
But I didn't have a choice but to live with that guilt, knowing that this wasn't my life. So all I could do was forge ahead. Maybe in Huāgōng, I'd find my family. His family. I couldn't change the past, but I'd become stronger. To protect them in his place, as I was sure that was what he'd have wanted.
To keep safe the peaceful life I had, the life I'd never gotten in my previous one, who had nothing but strength. Strength but with no place to use it, strength but with nothing to protect.
–
The woman slowly drew away from me as I wiped my eyes with my hand, albeit with a small struggle.
"My name is Meryll Ambrose, child." She smiled kindly towards me. "However, Grandma will be just fine, considering it would be rather awkward for you. I expect your recovery will take about a year– if you follow my instructions, you may also learn some magic along the way provided you have the affinity for it."
Raising both hands, I watched as Meryl gathered wind in one, and flames in the other. She was a dual-elemental sage… and even for a dual-type, she was able to conjure both elements at the same time. Jasper had been strong, no doubt. But this old woman was on another level. Her power eclipsed his!
"As well as that," She said, dropping her hands as the spells died out, "Your Kismet isn't fully integrated with your core, causing it to act up."
When I tilted my head in response, she continued to speak.
"A Kismet can be considered a divine will of sorts… It is when a divine being, a deity chooses a human to bless with a stigmata, granting them their 'will', and therefore, their powers as well. This is generally very rare, since deities can be… picky. Those with Kismets are referred to as Incarnations, and tend to have longer lifespans than regular sages, depending on the strength of their sponsor."
I pondered on that for a moment, before she continued.
"There are two types: Inherent Incarnations, those who were born with their Kismets– due to their parents being blessed by the divine or some other reason and Acquired Incarnations, those who have gained it over their lifetime. Inherent Incarnations tend to be more in tune with their sponsors, though theirs are typically stronger and harder to control. Most people are Acquired Incarnations, however. Making divine deals isn't easy." She paused for a moment.
"For example, each country on this continent has had two Archangels, sworn to defend since ancient times, the title passed down to the strongest each generation. Each Archangel has a relic and a Kismet from the divine, in order to defend their country, granting them extraordinary power. My sponsor is the Guardian of this very forest, and the being who has your friend."
After preparing a wheelchair for me and dressing me in an ivory-coloured gown of sorts, she pushed me outside into the garden for more space– a demonstration was in order. Leaving me in a position to watch, arms resting on the armrests, she walked in front of me.
"I am an Acquired Incarnation. I was granted my Kismet when I was younger. Kismets have three stages." She took a deep breath.
"One. Passive Incarnation. This allows the Incarnation to utilise the characteristics of their sponsor passively, with greater strength, speed, and agility."
"Two. Partial Incarnation. This allows the Incarnation to utilise some of the abilities of their sponsor. Their appearance also sometimes partially changes as well. Mine is aptly dubbed 'Storm's Eye'."
Grasping her staff in one hand, she pointed it forwards. Her eyes glowed, hair escaping from the bun it had been tied in and falling across her shoulders, stigmata glowing blue, visible through her clothing. A circle with circles within, until the circles became dots.
[Storm's Eye]
In front of her, the air itself began to rotate, converging around a singular point which dragged everything in the area towards it, whilst releasing slashes of pure air that shredded everything around it. I leaned back in the chair as best I could, in the hopes I wouldn't be dragged into her attack. It died down after a few moments, and I was sure she could have made it stronger, but didn't for my sake.
"The final stage is known as Complete Incarnation. This state can be considered a stronger form of the second stage, in which the Incarnation takes upon a hybrid of their own and their sponsor's characteristics, able to use more of their abilities depending on their integration level."
Her body changed, being surrounded in a light-blue glow. Pupils slitting, hair gaining blue and black streaks, and she looked younger, almost. She started towards me, before disappearing. I was unable to hear her footsteps. I glanced behind me, and she was there– then she wasn't. A cold hand was placed on my chest and I jolted, eyes snapping towards her figure, before she resumed her normal appearance.
"I can use sound magic to conceal my presence. As you younglings would say… 'cool', isn't it?"
I shivered.
"Well, that's enough. Time to get you inside so we can begin your training. I anticipate Xiăo will not be willing to meet you. Though he must protect your friend– he swore an oath with the progenitor of the royal family– he is not keen on outsiders. He will likely be looking to test your strength, determination, and willpower– and as such, you must be ready in the year it will take your core to heal."
This was going to be a long year, I could feel it as she wheeled me back inside.
–
The year passed quite quickly, and I was soon twelve. I spent it training with Meryll, or by myself. And if I wasn't doing that, I was out running her errands– oftentimes clearing out bandits or monsters from the area that sensed our soul energy and were hungry.
I had learnt how to utilise the first and second stages of– I assumed– Isabella's Kismet, the stigmata being the star symbol on my chest, where my soul core was, and the Aevum Isabella had granted me that I was unable to use. Though I had found it difficult in the beginning, it was now quite easy, despite the fact I could only use her abilities for a few seconds at most. They tended to draw all my strength, so I didn't rely on them if I could get away with it.
As well as this, Meryll had taught me how to constantly draw soul to me from the outside and purify it along with opening my channels, so my core grew at an exponentially fast rate as I was always purifying it, even when I was sleeping– I had already hit the Light Stone Core stage thanks to it.
I had also learnt how to use the elements from Meryll. Wind and Fire had come easy to me with her guidance, whilst I had to combine the knowledge I had from my past life along with my talent in this one for the others, and I wasn't good at using them. I could switch fairly seamlessly between wind and fire, but none of the others. I had also gained a grasp on divergent Lightning, but only barely. I wasn't good at it.
I could somewhat use Ice, but I wasn't able to fully form the structures, so it ended up being more like snow than anything else. As for Gravity, Sound, and Life… Well, we didn't need to talk about those.
She insisted upon cutting my hair, to my utter dismay, stating it looked like a rat had died on my head. So, it was now ear-length, the tips white as usual. I wasn't used to it, and my neck was quite cold.
Also, Meryll had also used one of her Complete Incarnatiom Stage abilities to find out that I had a family living in Huāgōng. They weren't originally from there– rather, Krystallos, but had settled there. The original owner of this body had been sick and dying, then gone missing– that's likely when I had stepped in, and fallen through Hua's roof. They were looking for their missing child. A mother, a father, and a young daughter. All watching, waiting, hoping… not giving up on the small chance of their son's return.
"You will return, child." She had said to me. The words of encouragement soothed my doubtful heart, and I had returned to my training.
All of this was to increase my chances of seeing Hua again, and meeting my… family. I would, no matter what. I'd show that damn Guardian, whatever his name was, how strong I was. How determined I was. And I'd get her back and return her to her family, safe and sound. I would return to my family safe and sound.
No matter what it took.