The Next Morning.
Foot of the Southern Mountains.
We were back on the road early – again. It feels like every time we take a break for the night, we only do so until the very first rays of sun show themselves, before immediately continuing our road. Odale had taken up the duty of manning the horses on the front of the carriage, giving me and Avy some time alone in the carriage.
After she woke up, she had basically bombarded me with all sorts of remarks and statements – about how worried she had been about me, how I was a fool for trying too hard with a technique I was performing for the first time and so on. Honestly, I couldn't remember the last time I had received such an earful from someone else about something I had done… Maybe a few years back in my previous life? Couldn't say for sure.
After she had vented all her frustrations, she went silent on me completely, only demanding that Odale take her usual position as the one manning the carriage, to allow her and me to have some alone time to… 'discuss' a few things – as she put it.
So, here we were – the two of us inside the carriage, an awkward silence between us. Avy had her arms crossed while her gaze was fixated on me, giving off a slightly fierce glare. "It feels like she's trying to stare a hole through me…"
I commented, exhaling.
"Avy…? You've been quiet for a while now… Something wrong—?"
"Everything is fine." She cut me off before I could finish my question. Now she looked annoyed, as he averted her fierce gaze. I didn't get it…. Had I done something to make her upset…?
Other than potentially risk your life with that technique?
"Look, none of us knew that was going to happen, alright—?"
The Ancient One snickered quietly to himself.
I could tell that the bastard was enjoying himself at this moment. So much for a 'partner' laughing at me like that…
Taking in a deep breath, I exhaled heavily a moment later, before looking at Avy with a slight sweat on my face. "Maybe I should just ask her what she wanted to talk to me about… It could help 'ease' the atmosphere between us." I thought, before clearing my throat. "So, what exactly did you want to talk about? You were pretty adamant on Odale taking the reins for now, so that you could talk to me one on one in the carriage.."
Avy remained silent for a moment, before exhaling lightly.
Then she turned to face me once more, leaning slightly back, using her arms to keep herself from toppling. "While you were unconscious, both me and Odale felt this strange… Presence – inside your body. It was as if there was someone… or rather, something else inside you." As soon as she brought that up, I felt my heart sink a little.
Avy looked at me with a gaze that screamed 'worry'.
"...Faofa, is there something about you that you're not telling me and Odale?"
…She and Odale sensed another presence inside me?
…Who could have they…? Could it have been Arabor?... No, not possible. Arabor's presence inside me is so faint that it'd be hard to pick up on it. Maybe they somehow sensed the Ancient One…?
Not a probable chance.
I am technically a part of your soul. Only beings at least as strong as the Old Ones would be able to differentiate me as a separate being from you.
I guess that rules out the Ancient One as well…
But then, what could they have possibly—?
Then, it clicked. Could they have… sensed the 'root' inside me? The corruption thing that reacted when I was executing the technique – could that have been what they sensed?
Most likely.
That'd explain why she described it as something inside of you.
"I guess…" I shook my head lightly.
What was I supposed to give her as an answer? I doubt it was a good idea to tell her that I had a 'root' connected to the Evil inside of me…
It most certainly is not.
The Evil is still recognised as a very major enemy of the world, especially after the Deities allowed it entry into the Abyss, to restore its power. Those who possess 'links' to the Evil, in your case, the 'root', are usually exterminated on the spot.
…Well, I seriously doubt that Avy or Odale would do that to me, but I suppose it is better to be safe, rather than sorry. After brainstorming for a little bit, I exhaled and leaned back, crossing my arms. "No, nothing like that." I tried to play it cool, calming down my slightly racing heart and my nerves. Then, I looked down at my hand, before placing it onto my chest – pretending to be puzzled by what Avy had stated.
"You said you two sensed something else inside me…?"
Avy nodded gently. "...Yeah. And it didn't feel… right. It felt malicious."
Well, that basically confirms that what they felt most likely was the 'root' that is inside of me. Now, how do I cover this up so that she stops asking questions and being suspicious…?
May I suggest something?
"...I'm all ears."
Avy watched Faofa for a bit, as he went silent, seemingly lost in his thoughts. This made her nerves jump around a little bit – more worried now. "The way he is acting… Is he telling the truth? Is there really nothing he is keeping secret from me and Odale?" She thought, crossing her arms. Her fingers slightly dug into her upper arms as she awaited a response from Faofa.
After a bit, I shook my head and looked back at Avy.
"...Maybe what you both sensed was the curse on me?" As soon as I asked that, I could see Avy raise an eyebrow. It seemed like I had caught her off guard with that suggestion. "...Curse? You mean to say that… You're cursed?"
"...Somewhat."
I averted my gaze, looking at the rocky scenery outside the carriage – an uneven, mountainous road which led higher and higher into the mountain range we were using as an 'alternative path' to avoid going through the dense forest that had been on our original path. "It's a little difficult to explain and I myself don't exactly remember the full details of it, however, there seems to be some kind of a curse on my body. I am… unsure what it exactly does, if anything, however it always gives me this uneasy feeling." I looked down at my hand, clenching it into a fist.
"As if I was at the risk of being consumed by something."
Avy listened carefully to my explanation, all the while I was holding back my stress. I was praying to whoever the hell could hear my prayers that she would buy my explanation. After an exhale, I leaned back against the carriage wall once more. "It's nothing deadly… At least, I haven't observed anything that would threaten my life so far, but it's not pleasant either."
Once I finished, I looked at her with one eye, checking whether I had done a good job at 'lying'. After a bit of… intense atmosphere, Avy let out a heavy exhale, crossing her arms and leaning back against the carriage wall herself. "I suppose that makes sense. Curses are products of malice after all. It'd make sense that perhaps after you fall unconscious, it'd be easier to feel it." I let out a small internal sigh of relief.
Looks like she had bought it.
Of course, I had no way of fully verifying that fact, but it seemed like the Ancient Ones suggestion had worked. I looked at her once again. "Anything else you wanted to ask?"
She remained silent. Then, after crossing her legs, she shook her head. "...No, nothing else. Thanks…"
I nodded, before getting up from my seat. "I think I'll go sit with Odale. You don't mind, right?" Avy simply gestured to me, giving me the green signal to do as I wished. After a quick nod, I moved across the carriage and hopped out, sitting down next to Odale, who had been focused on the road the entire time.
Avy eyed Faofa carefully under her glasses, an expression of confusion, worry and… frustration. "...He said it was a curse, but there's no way it could have been a curse. There's no way he could be cursed. Curses have a certain feel to them." She adjusted her glasses gently, looking away. "And yet, what I felt when he was unconscious… It was something connected to somewhere else – like a single fragment of a larger hivemind or something…. And that malice, it was far stronger than any curses malice could be." She clenched her hands into tight fists, gritting her teeth slightly in frustration.
"...Why would he lie about it? Why won't he tell us the truth behind what it was that we felt inside him when he fell unconscious…? Is there…" She eyed Faofa once more, only with a more sharp gaze this time. "...some reason he won't tell the truth about it?"
After a bit of silence, simply watching Faofa, Avy shook her head, looking away once more. After closing her eyes, she pulled her legs up, resting her forehead against her knees. "Father… What would you do in my spot?"
She mumbled quietly to herself, her question quietly sitting in the air.
As the carriage continued to move further into the mountains, she remained in that position – simply thinking to herself silently.
Later…
Southern Mountains.
The carriage continued its slow move down the rocky, mountainous road of the mountains – with Odale holding the horse reins. Inside the carriage, I was sitting, legs crossed, playing with a small shadow ball – bouncing it around the carriage. A bit to the side, closer to the carriage's back, Avy was resting, blanket over her shoulders, her arms around her legs and her right cheek resting against her knees – her gaze fixated on the passing scenery.
…She seems down.
I threw a gaze over at Avy upon the Ancient One speaking up.
After a moment of silence, I exhaled and looked away again. "Yeah… I feel as though she's been a lot more down ever since we returned from the Deadmans Graveyard. Makes me wonder whether it is because of something she potentially talked to Miss Rhys and Miss Yerina about."
It's certainly a possibility.
I remained silent for a bit. Then, after catching the shadow ball, I crushed it, before letting the 'remains' absorb back into the shadows under me. Then I stood up, brushing off my clothes lightly, before carefully moving over to Avy.
Master…? What are you—
"Well, we won't find out what's up unless I ask, will we?" I cut him up, before shaking my head lightly. "Remain quiet for now." I added afterwards. Sitting down in front of Avy, she didn't even bat an eye toward me, simply continuing to watch the passing scenery outside the carriage. I remained silent for a moment, simply sitting there, observing her. After a bit, I took in a deep breath before exhaling and leaning back a little.
"Have you ever been to the mountains before?" I asked.
Avy didn't turn her attention toward me – she barely even reacted to what I had just asked. I shed a slight sweat, wondering whether I should re-ask the question or not for a moment, however before I got to decide, she suddenly lifted her head up slightly, while keeping her gaze fixated outside. "A couple of times."
She then turned slightly towards me, however did not look at me directly, diverting her gaze to the carriage's 'floor'. "Though, not these mountains specifically. Most of the time, my father took me to the mountains located on the other side of the world."
On the other side of the world?
She most likely is referring to the mountains located north-east in the world. These days, they're known as the Duerra Great Grey mountains, but in the past, they used to be referred to as the Blizzard King mountains.
That's quite a unique name… I wonder what made the name change happen.
Well, for starters—
"Save it for another time." I cut the Ancient One off once more, before he could go on rambling. While I was curious, currently, I was more focused on Avy than learning new information.
"What would your father take you to do in the mountains?"
She remained silent, before a small smile spread across her face. "A lot of things. Most often he took me there to help me practice using the powers I had inherited from him, however, there were plenty of times when he took me there for simple sight seeing or to spend time with me – as father and daughter, he used to say." She replied, lifting her head up, resting gently against the carriage's wall behind her, as she looked out back at the road behind us.
"Those times were always the ones I loved the most… They felt like the times when I didn't have to worry about any status or title and instead, I could simply be… myself." I could see an ever so slight somberness in her eyes. "Looking back on it… Maybe I should have appreciated those times more. I took them for granted at the time…" She hugged her legs a little tighter. "...Never did I think that they could be taken away from me with such ease.."
It mixed gently with what looked like feelings of nostalgia.
"I suppose it wasn't easy for her… After all, her mother is an important figure in this world, from what I've heard from her." I thought, before throwing my gaze out of the carriage as well. The way she described her time with her father, it made me reminisce a little bit about my own parents in my previous life. "...Yeah… Maybe I also should have appreciated my time with them a little more when I was younger."
As a child, it is easy to take everything for granted.
It is easy to look at the world through this zero-negativity lens — it's only after you grow older when you realise just how much you should have appreciated those times and moments that you had taken for granted at the time.
Shaking my head lightly, I kept my gaze on the road outside. "What kind of person was your father?" I asked. Avy looked at me at last, with a slightly surprised gaze, however I dared not make eye contact, keeping my gaze fixated on the world outside the carriage. After a bit of silence, she smiled once more, resting her chin onto her knees, diverting her gaze to the carriage's floor. "...He was the best I could ask for."
She started, her eyes narrowing a little bit.
"Kind, caring… slightly overprotective of me…" She let out a gentle laugh. "But… above all, he was loving. He very much loved me and my mother – so much so, that he was even ready to challenge the entirety of the Primordials just to keep us safe."
"Primordials?" My gaze moved towards Avy when I heard that word.
Primordials are one of the many creations of the Primal Dragons.
The dragons had been inspired by the Old Ones to create them. Their purpose was to help the dragons upkeep the balance of the entire world, ensuring that nothing occurs that would bring about havoc.
I see…
So in a sense, they were demi-gods?
No, I would classify them more as 'Greater Gods'.
A little footnote Master, the title or word 'God' can be a little more loose in this world compared to your previous one.
Noted.
I turned my attention towards Avy fully, looking at her. "Sounds like a great man." Avy nodded gently. "He was…. Between him and my mother, he was the one I liked more. Unlike him, my mother was a lot more strict with me, always emphasising my status and position in the world."
I see… So even before her mother cast her into that seal and created that beast to guard it, her relationship with her mother wasn't the best. "Sounds like you had it tough…"
"Yeah…. It certainly wasn't easy." She replied, looking up at me.
"What about you? I know you're a monster… But even monsters have parents, right?"
That question made me freeze in place. I don't know why – but something about it hit me differently. Of course, I had parents in my previous life, no different from Avy, but… Well, I couldn't exactly go and tell her that I was some reincarnator from another world. After all, the only one I've told so far is Arabor.
Ahem…
"You don't count, you've seen my memories."
…Touché.
I shook my head lightly, looking out of the carriage.
Now that she had brought it up, I did wonder… When I made it out of that egg after reincarnating, there had been other egg shells in the nest around me, though they looked very old. Did I have… siblings in this world? Like, siblings that were related to me bloodwise and had hatched before me? What about a mother? Or a father? Did… Did I have any of those in this life?
It was a question that hung in the air for me. While it felt weird to think about, technically speaking the family I knew in my previous life was no longer my actual family. After all, with this new body I reincarnated into, I was a complete stranger in terms of biology. The only thing that remained from the previous me was my memories, my 'soul' – according to Arabor – and my appearance, which even then, was just something I was achieving using 'Mimic'. I sat there in silence, my gaze fixated on the road outside. After a bit, I looked at my right hand.
"...Could I have snake siblings in this world…?"
Most certainly plausible.
Although, considering that the other egg shells in that nest were at the very least a couple of years old, I would bet on the fact that those 'siblings' had long ventured into the Abyssal woods and finding them would be nigh impossible.
After all, you're an outlier. Not every snake is born like you – with higher intellect, that is.
I suppose… that did make sense.
In fact, looking back on it – the nest did look like it had been abandoned for a long time when I hatched. Clearly I was the late hatcher among my 'siblings', but the question was, how on earth did my egg manage to survive long enough for me to hatch? How did it not get eaten or crushed by any other wandering monster or animal?
That is a mystery, not worth searching for answers for.
I sighed. "I suppose so…"
Avy's hand then suddenly waved in front of me, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Is everything alright? You seemed to zone out for a moment." I stared at her emptily for a moment, before throwing my gaze back down at my hand for a bit. After clenching my hand into a fist, I exhaled and shook my head gently, slapping my cheeks a little. "I'm fine. Sorry, I was just thinking about the question you asked."
"About whether you had parents…?"
I nodded.
"Yeah… Truth be told, I don't know. When I hatched out of the egg, the nest I was in was empty and seemingly, long abandoned. There certainly wasn't any sign of other snakes nearby." I explained, looking back out of the carriage once again, before leaning against the carriage's wall more firmly. "But… I must have parents somewhere out there. Though, I doubt that I could find them if I tried."
Avy remained silent, simply watching me. After a bit, she exhaled and then suddenly got up. I looked at her with confusion, as she shuffled over to my side, sitting down next to me and then resting lightly against my side. I stared at her in pure bemusement, unsure what to say.
"...Avy?"
"Shh… Just stay like this."
I went quiet. I was unsure of what to say to her or how to respond to this… 'gesture' of hers. Seeing a small smile across her face, I eventually sighed before shaking my head lightly, somewhat understanding her intentions with this action. "You know, I'm not some child that needs comforting…"
"I know." She replied, closing her eyes as she pressed her head against my shoulder. "Doesn't matter." She stated, without elaborating any further. An awkward silence took place between us for a bit, before I broke it with a gentle exhale. "How am I supposed to now ask her about what has been keeping her in such a down mood these last few days…?" I laughed to myself.
Looking back out – once again – I watched the scenery pass by for a bit, before eventually closing my eyes. "This is… kind of nice. It reminds me of her…" I thought, a slight flash of some… painful memories echoing in my head for a moment. I quickly erased that echo from my mind, before leaning against Avy a bit, deciding to simply focus on this gentle moment. There was no point in worrying about anything right now – I had plenty of time for that later. For now… I'd much rather enjoy this moment.
From the front of the carriage, Odale observed Faofa and Avy, gently chuckling to himself. "Those two… They really are close, aren't they?" He thought, before refocusing back onto the road once more.
From the top of a nearby cliff, a person perched on the cliff at its edge, cloaked by shadows, observed the carriage move up the mountainous road. Their eyes were sharp, shining slightly blue as they let out a small growl. Then, after a moment, they stood up, before leaping up higher onto another cliff, before quickly maneuvering across the side of the other mountains around the path, disappearing from sight – however causing a small pile of pebbles to roll down onto the mountainous road.
Odale turned his head slightly towards the direction in which the shadowed individual had gone, sharpening his gaze. "...Hmm."He let out a low grumble, before moving his right hand to the space next to him on the seat, tapping it lightly with his index finger. A small black puddle formed where he had tapped, before a small skeletal crow rose out of it, looking up at Odale.
"Go and tail the one that disappeared into the mountain scape. Make sure to stay out of sight." The crow let out a slight 'caw' noise, before expanding its wings and taking off, flying off roughly in the same direction as the shadowed individual had gone. Within moments, the crow disappeared from sight.
Odale refocused on the road once more, a little more serious under his hood and mask. "It would appear that we'll need to be careful as we move further into the mountains."