First Encounter

Lawrence looked to his left and attempted to visualize the otherworldly creature that had appeared before him in the black void.

Its words echoed in his mind. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

It was definitely talking to me in the present. But why? Why did I have to come back later? What game is it playing at?

He wasn’t sure what any of it meant, and nothing in the original Lawrence’s memories answered his questions about the shadow or what it was referring to. It seemed he could do nothing else but explore and understand this new world that he, without a doubt in his mind, had been transmigrated to.

Despite it sitting high in the sky, the sun’s rays that beamed down into the scattered holes of splintered and burnt wood were dimmer than usual.

Lawrence made his way to the jagged glass window and peered out to take in the visible outside world. Traces of the ruined village buildings were scattered around his peripheral view. There was a dark, almost malicious aura that seemed to fill the area, like a dark shadow looming over the world.

Suddenly, Lawrence heard wood creak outside the front door, which put him on high alert as he clenched the kukri tightly. His heart beat heavily with adrenaline pumping hard through his veins. The sound of his heartbeat was so loud it almost blocked out his hearing. Sweat formed on his palms as whoever was outside treaded closer.

Someone fidgeted with the door handle for a second before it finally opened. A scruffy, white-bearded older man revealed himself as he swung the door open fully. He wore a black suit with stripes, as if he were a businessman, and carried a sheathed longsword at his hip.

“Oh! A survivor!” He called out in surprise, seeing Lawrence standing there, a bit dumbfounded.

“Who are you?” Lawrence asked cautiously, careful not to reveal his nervousness to the middle-aged stranger.

“Yes, apologies, I am Bernard Sogard, retired Exaltan Royal Knight.” The man held his hand over his chest, bowing slightly. “You must be Lawrence Blackwood.”

“I’m not entirely sure…” Lawrence played dumb, wary of Bernard, eying him up and down, despite the retired knight’s amiable demeanor.

The man was remarkably well-built physically for his age. A few scars were visible on his face, particularly on his left cheek and right eye. Based on his facial expression, he seemed to be the person he claimed to be.

“I see. You must have amnesia, then. We should have you visit a doctor in the Capital.”

Lawrence was hesitant to follow, but he had no other choice. He wouldn’t get anywhere to figure out what was happening if he didn’t take this chance. And he would have a bodyguard in case that thing ever comes back.

Nodding slowly, however reluctantly, he followed Bernard out of the house. There was no point in bringing anything other than the kukri, since most of the rest was ash.

As they stepped outside, Lawrence sheathed the kukri and shoved it into his pants out of sight. Looking up, he saw that they were on a now grayish-brown hill overlooking the burnt ruins of the village razed to the ground.

The sky wasn’t blue or gray like Lawrence was accustomed to, but rather a dark green with accents of gold covered in a blanket of thick clouds.

The flames I felt in that void were, without a doubt, a simulation of what happened here. There’s no way that thing wasn’t involved. Whatever it is…He gulped slightly, feeling the tense atmosphere of sorrow and agony.

Lawrence shook when he thought he heard the screams of the dead as he stared down at the wreckage and the remains of their homes. It made him sick thinking about what could have taken place before he transmigrated.

A night of terror, for sure.

As he followed Bernard, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He quickly turned and saw a man staring at him from the forest's tree line nearby. The man looked nothing like Lawrence’s alleged murderer, but he was still uneasy.

Several black bandages covered parts of the man’s head, but not completely. A mask concealed his face, but it seemed damaged, as half of it was missing, covering only his left eye, nose, and mouth. He also wore a pure white robe and sandals.

A crow perched on the edge of the house cawed loudly, which startled Lawrence. In the split second it took him to look away from the man, he was gone when Lawrence searched for him.

“Is something the matter?” Bernard asked, looking back as they carefully descended the creaky wooden remains of the porch.

Lawrence shook his head.

As the two made their way down the hill, Lawrence peered off in the direction of the blacksmith shop, but only scorched stone bricks and splintered wooden beams with black ends remained, which brought Lawrence a feeling of despondency.

“Come on then, it’s only an hour's walk to the Capital from here.”

----

Langworth Palace, Aerostorm District

“Now’s my time to sneak out…” Eva Van Wagner, Third Princess and youngest of the Wagner Royal Family of Exalta, spoke in a tone that suggested she was about to commit grand larceny.

She opened her bedroom door a tiny crack and peered into the hallway to see if any guards were around. She kept turning her head very few seconds, waiting for any sign of human life within the shadowy halls lit dimly by hanging magic stone-powered lamps.

It was so quiet that Eva could hear every breath she took. After assuring herself the coast was clear, she quietly crept into the open, observing only the assorted paintings of previous family members hanging on the tan stone and gravel walls of the royal palace’s interior.

Not long after, she snuck into an empty training yard in a desolate part of the palace undetected.

Since the construction of a more modern yard, the workers have abandoned the princess’s now-personal training area. It was littered with stacks of haybales and straw dummies with targets on them used for bow target practice.

Eva approached a haybale stack as her feet crunched underneath the loose hay on the artificial dirt ground and reached into the tight crevices between the bales and took out a thick book with a steel cover with a tree design on it.

The book was a grimoire written by one of the great heroes of the last war, Silvain. A treasured family heirloom that the princess now used as a personal studying textbook.

Despite having seen it many times before, the third princess couldn’t help but brush her hand against the cold steel cover before flipping it open to a page with the corner folded.

“The only sure way to cast a spell is to create a strong mental image of what spell you want to cast. An incantation further strengthens that image enough to cast it, as long as you have the required mana and affinity to the Trace…”

She nodded contently and set the grimoire down briefly. After inhaling softly, she focused on one of the target dummies in front of her and held her hand out.

“Loch of Tranquility, allow the tide to sing and wash away all that is evil!”

Over the course of several seconds, a small bubble of water manifested where her palm was, shaking violently before the shape dispersed and splashed the ground, which made her sigh despondently.

Eva stared at the family heirloom on the ground that had specks of dirt on it and tightened her grip on it. I’ve read this thing over a dozen times, and that’s all I can manage still…?

Her eyes glanced at the attempt at a beginning spell of one of the five main Elemental Traces. She could only manifest Aero and Aquaiem Traces, but even then, they were poor and laughable attempts.

She balled up one hand into a fist. I won’t give up. Even if my father has discarded many of the magic books in the palace, I’ll never stop as long as I have Silvain’s grimoire…!

Her hand held the grimoire high in the air, visualizing the starry night sky above her through the quartz ceiling of the royal palace.

“Princess Eva! What are you doing?”

Startled, the young royal quickly turned around and attempted to hide the grimoire behind her back as Malakai Pericles, governor of the state and her father's close advisor, approached.

“Ahh, Lord Pericles…a pleasure…” She replied sheepishly, trying to appear calm as her grip on the grimoire tightened once more.

Pericles stood tall in his dark navy blue suit, his demeanor distinct and noble as he looked at the princess. His dark gray hair could not conceal his receding hairline, but despite that, his appearance was more squared away than even most nobles.

From his personality to his manner of speaking, Lord Pericles was essentially a mirror of her father. Eva often saw him more than King Eraindale himself, who was locked away speaking with his generals and ministers.

The Lord of the State noticed the princess’s odd behavior and leaned to the side slightly to find a bit of the grimoire sticking out from behind Eva. He raised one eyebrow in response.

“What is that behind you?”

“J-just a book for studying…”

“Hmm…” He quickly approached her, grabbed the book, and held it in the air as she tried to take it back. However, due to their height difference, her attempts were futile.

“What are you doing with such a priceless artifact? Not to mention an important heirloom? Are you practicing magic again?” He asked sternly while he examined the state of the grimoire.

She felt herself become increasingly overwrought. Unable to speak, she fidgeted with her hands behind her back and averted her eyes.

“You know how your father doesn’t want you to do such reckless things, especially when things are so tense with the people now, Princess Eva.”

She had no rebuttal and took the scolding head-on, quite accustomed to it throughout her entire life. Shame ran through her, causing her face to flush slightly.

“I’m putting this back in the library where it belongs and telling the guards to keep you away from it. Don’t do extreme things that’ll hurt your family’s legacy by misbehaving.”

The Lord of the State began to walk away before stopping briefly. Almost to add salt in the wound, he said, “Set aside these buffoonish ideals and be who you were born to be, a member of the distinguished Wagners.”

He resumed his leave and disappeared into the darkness. Eventually, his footsteps became too soft to hear as the princess stood alone in the training yard.