I sat alone with lockless shackles, fastened tightly upon my wrists and ankles.
It was a cold night outside.
I curled my body into a ball, tucking my knees into my chest in order to stay as warm as possible.
A man in a dark cloak, who stood just a couple meters away, soon approached me with a limp, letting out quiet groans with each step he took.
At a close enough distance, he stood still, letting his shadow loom over me while filling the immense space between me and the bright moon.
He appeared to be severely injured, but whatever wounds he had were not visible to me; I could only assume that the hand he pressed against his cloak was hiding some kind of fatal injury.
A long silence followed as we stared at each other.
If not for his eyes, it would've been impossible for me to tell whether or not he was human.
My masters always told me never to speak unless I am granted permission to do so, so I waited only to listen.
"You don't know who I am, do you?" His voice was ominously deep and muffled behind a face mask that failed to cover his sharp eyes. "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter anymore. I already know exactly who you are, and why you're here."
Although I could hear what he was saying, I couldn't understand his words very well, or what they meant.
He continued to look at me with eyes that seemed to question something, like he was making a decision internally.
I remained silent as he did so.
"... A good slave. It appears your masters have disciplined you well." He took a moment to examine the scars all over my body that were barely covered by my torn clothes. "... Perhaps a little too well in fact."
In that moment, he slowly reached his hand out toward me and I felt a tingling sensation arise from deep within until it reached the surface of my skin.
I instinctively checked my scars and noticed that they had all disappeared: the ones on my legs, arms, face, and even my back.
My mouth slightly gaped open, but an overwhelming fear froze my words in place.
"You may speak, young one," the man said while crouching down to my level.
I watched as a steady stream of blood continued to flow out of his wound, painting the cold snow a warm crimson.
"A-are you… Are you a Wizard, sir?"
The frailness of my voice barely permitted my breath any visibility, and I watched his eyes widen as though he were surprised.
"... It appears you are not familiar with any Card Holders either."
I shook my head, fighting against the stiffness of my neck.
The man then opened his palm, and from it, he summoned a card that remained suspended over his hand.
I began to stare at it in fascination, examining a colorful mist that exuded from it. I had heard a few stories about the many wizards and witches of this world, who possessed extraordinary powers, gifted to them by the gods. But, until now, I had never seen such a thing in person.
"I do not have much time left so listen closely." My ears twitched as the man's eyes seemed to darken, his expression turning more serious. "I will give you my soul and the remaining power that comes with it. However, in exchange, you must rid this world of a certain evil, and restore the balance once again. Will you do that for me?"
His words only left me with more confusion.
"I-I don't understand…"
"You will eventually, and with my soul in your possession, you will have all the requirements to fulfill this destiny. However, it appears my own has finally come to an end." We both looked down at the large pool of blood that glistened mystically under the moonlight.
Suddenly, the blood began to move frantically on its own, forming a circle of glowing incantations around me.
"M-mister, what's happening?"
Partially blinded by the bright beams of light that were now radiating from the surrounding blood, I could barely see the man pull down his face-covering as his lips moved for the very last time.
Suddenly, the light erupted around us and formed a large beacon that engulfed the whole world as far as I knew.
...
Where am I?
I awoke with a strong sense of comfort that felt very foreign to me. It seemed I was laying on a bed somewhere unknown, with a warm light projecting from a single lantern beside me.
There was a strong smell that I could perceive from outside the room's entrance.
As I began to sit up, the wooden door creaked open, and a girl with short ginger hair carefully walked through, holding a tray containing a plate of bread and a bowl of soup.
She stopped beside me and moved the tray onto my lap before our eyes met. She glared and smiled at me in anticipation and I began to feel my sense of comfort rapidly diminishing.
Who is this strange girl? I thought, And how exactly did I end up here?
She tilted her head as if puzzled by my silence.
"What, aren't you hungry?" she asked.
I turned to look at the food, and before I knew it, I could hear the sound of my own stomach growling at me in frustration.
"Woah! Forget hungry, you must be starving! Don't worry, this one's on the house so just enjoy it while it lasts."
I continued to stare at the food and allowed my hands to gravitate toward the plate.
Huh?
That's when I noticed the chains on my shackles had been broken, which made me pause in shock.
"Hey, do you need me to feed you or something?"
"What?"
The girl picked up the bowl and held a spoonful of broth in front of my lips.
The smell was too strong. I couldn't back down.
Hesitantly, I opened my mouth to let the spoon enter along with its liquid passenger.
The warmth of the soup melted through me as I gulped it down, and my tongue tingled with rich flavors that I never had the luxury of tasting until now.
It felt wrong to devour something so delicious, and yet I felt my face boiling with delight in response.
"Thank you… It's delicious," I said quietly.
"I'm glad you like it," she replied cheerfully, her smile growing much wider.
She continued to feed me spoonful's and even tore chunks of bread for me to eat until the tray was completely cleared.
"Well, I hope I managed to soothe your appetite for now." She lifted the tray away from me. "I'll take this back down for you, so you can continue to rest if you want."
As I watched her walk toward the door, I felt the urge to stop her and ask something that'd been on my mind since I woke up.
"W-wait, Miss…"
"Hmm?" She paused and turned to face me. "You can call me Amber. Do you have something you'd like to ask me?"
"Umm, Miss Amber–"
"Just Amber would be great." She smiled again.
"Right… Amber…" I grasped the white covers tightly before I continued. "Do you know what happened to the tall man wearing a dark cloak?"
"Tall man wearing a dark cloak? I don't think I…" At first she didn't seem to have a clue who I was referring to, but then she scrunched her brow as if she started to develop some sort of idea in her mind, "Wait a sec!"
Her sudden change in tone frightened me quite a bit.
"You saw a tall man wearing a dark cloak?!"
"... Yes?"
"A-are you sure?"
She seemed like she wanted to know the full details of my encounter, so I began a thorough description.
"Well, I remember seeing an injured man in a dark hood that covered his face as he approached me. He casted a spell that healed my scars, and then he opened his palm, showing me a card that appeared from thin air. After that, a circle of blood formed around me and there was a bright light. That's the last thing I remember before waking up here. It all seemed so strange, but I think it felt far too real to be a dream–"
SMASH!
The sound of the tray hitting the floor stunned me into silence. For some reason, the expression of the girl standing before me was painted with sheer terror and utter shock.
"The man in the cloak… D-did he say anything… like, when the light appeared?" she asked, seemingly petrified.
"I could barely hear it, but... it almost sounded like he said: 'Complete Soul Sacrifice'."
"Y-you…!" The girl's skin was so pale, I thought she would pass out at any moment. "You're a Bestowed?!"
I raised my eyebrow, unable to understand exactly why that strange title was worth yelling over.
"Umm... I'm sorry, Amber, but I'm not sure what any of this means. Do you know if that man is alright?"
"If what you've just told me is true then… he should be dead by now."
My eyes widened in confusion and disbelief.
"Dead? How can that–"
"W-wait, your card… Show me your birth card!"
"My what?"
"Oh shoot, you don't have a CCU," she muttered, disturbed by that realization. "This probably won't work, but maybe try and open up your palm just like how you said that man did."
"Alright."
I stretched out my fingers to reveal my naked palm, and a foreign sensation concentrated itself in the center of my hand as it began to glow.
A card suddenly appeared, casually floating above it. However, its appearance was slightly different from the one the man showed me.
"No… No way… This can't be real…" the girl muttered.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No, but... I didn't actually think you'd be able to do it... You actually summoned the card using Vision! And not only that, your card's the exact same one as his!"
"Really? But it looks quite different." I remembered the cloaked man having a colorful mist that surrounded his card.
Amber's expression darkened, and she could no longer look me in the eye.
"I'm really sorry, but I think you need to leave..."
"What?"
At that moment, a corpulent old woman with a purple hair bun walked into the room, her eyes fixed in my direction.
"What's all the commotion for?! The other guests are trying to slee... I-Is that what I think it is?!" Noticing the card I projected from my palm, the woman faced me with the same petrified gaze that Amber had.
"It gets worse, Marn," Amber added while speaking to the woman, "that card belongs to the world's most famous Collector: Ganes Gouldsworth."
"WHAT?!" The woman known as Marn nearly collapsed in her moment of panic. "But that could only mean–!"
"Yes… He performed a Soul Sacrifice on him."
"AND YOU BROUGHT HIM HERE?! A CARD HOLDER?!"
"I DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL JUST NOW, YOU OLD HAG!"
As they continued yelling at each other, I felt the urge to escape, thinking they might eventually start fighting.
"I found him just outside the inn, buried in the snow. He was unconscious and alone. You didn't expect me to just leave him there, did you?"
"No, but you certainly shouldn't have brought him here, Amber. Now it's your responsibility to make sure he leaves this place as soon as possible. I don't want to see him around here ever again!" She then looked down at the fallen tray. "And clean up this mess while you're at it!"
The woman made her dramatic exit by slamming the door, leaving the two of us alone again.
Although I didn't understand what exactly was causing them such anguish, I figured that I was the one responsible.
Amber turned to me with a tired expression.
"You have no idea what I've just risked by bringing you here."
"I'm sorry." I made the card disappear before getting myself out of bed. "It seems my presence has caused you nothing but trouble. I think it's probably best that I see myself out."
I bent down in front of her, picking up the broken pieces of ceramic that covered the floor, and carefully placed them on the tray. I picked it up and handed it to her as she remained silent.
"Thank you for everything." I walked past her and exited the room.
As I moved down the hallway of accommodations and descended the wooden staircase, I aimlessly examined my surroundings. There were many empty chairs and tables as well as a bar protruding from the far wall, shelving drinks of various kinds.
It appeared I had been taken to an inn just like Amber stated. It was completely empty though, and there wasn't much sign of high visitation.
Before I could exit, I heard a voice calling from the stairs behind me.
"Hey, wait up!" It was Amber who so urgently approached. "It's extremely cold outside, so…"
She politely handed me a hooded beige robe, which I accepted with utmost gratitude.
"Thank you, Amber… for everything. I'll be leaving now." I put on the robe, bowed, and proceeded toward the exit.
"Wait!" she called once more. "Where do you plan on going?"
I paused, turning my head back slightly.
"To be honest… I'm not entirely sure."
Amber looked at me in disbelief.
"Seriously?" she sighed. "I can't let you go like this. Wait here a minute…"
I remained at the center of the room as I watched Amber scurry behind the bar, seemingly in search of something.
Afterwards, she quickly returned, handing me a pair of fingerless gloves and a small scabbard, which she meticulously fastened around my waist.
"Inside the sheath is a dagger," she said.
"I don't understand."
Amber gave another short sigh. "It's a dangerous world out there… You're gonna need a way to defend yourself, especially since you're now a Card Holder. Try and head somewhere East, away from the storm."
I nodded, thanking Amber once more for her advice and hospitality before turning away a final time.
But as I began exiting the inn, I managed to catch her final whispers.
"Please be safe."