One Root of a Start

“Hurry up! You're gonna be late,” his mother shouted.

“I know, I know,” he answered from his room.

After a few seconds, a young boy rushed down from upstairs. His silver-gray hair and pure, bluish eyes gave him an angelic look. Good-looking, athletic, and a Magica prodigy. That was Maxwell Bastion, the reincarnated hero.

”Go, my pawn, do not disappoint me and save this world. Remember, you are of no use to me dead.” Those were the last words he heard before being sent to that world.

He wasn’t sure of his mission, but he felt ready. With tears in his eyes, he said goodbye to his parents and stepped into a new and unknown world that awaited him.

“Don’t forget to visit Alysia before you leave!” his mother called out before losing sight of him.

Bastion knocked on the door. A beautiful girl came out, with dull lavender hair and eyes that shone vividly like amethysts. She was wearing a long two-piece white dress with blue symbols.

“Hello, I came to say goodbye,” the boy said.

“I see,” she replied.

“Won’t you miss me?”

“You ain’t forgettin’ something?” the girl asked.

“What do you mean?”

His childhood friend took a big step in front of him and smacked him hard on the head.

“OUCH!” he screamed. “What was that for?”

“I was also accepted into the academy, you idiot,” she said, somewhat annoyed.

“I know, I was messing with you.”

“Not funny at all.”

“Alright, I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad.”

“Fine, whatever, just behave until I get there.”

“I promise I will,” he said with a quirky smile.

“I still can’t believe it. You of all people were ranked F.”

“Maybe I was just unlucky.”

“Unlucky? But—” she was interrupted.

“Hey Max, your carriage is here,” a nearby neighbour told him.

“That’s my call.”

After a short farewell to his friend, the boy ran towards the town entrance, where some people were cheering for him. He waved goodbye to the crowd and boarded his carriage.

Inside, there was a beautiful girl. She had short, soft blonde hair with some light bluish strands. Her eyes complemented her hair, even though they were darker. She was wearing old, tattered clothes with pieces of armor over them that looked as though they could break apart. Beside her was an old wooden sword.

“Hello, I didn't expect someone else here.” Bastion was very polite.

“Hello there!” Her voice was a bit loud and overexcited. “My name is Charlotte Armelier.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Armelier. My name is Maxwell Bastion.”

“The pleasure is mine!” she said with a big smile. “I’m glad you’re here. I really thought I was gonna be alone the whole journey.”

“Well, I’m also glad I’m not the only one.”

“So…you’re also ranked F?” She lowered her voice.

“Yeah, it looks like it.” He avoided her gaze while lying.

“Don’t feel ashamed. I’m also ranked F.” The girl was proud. “But I’ll show everyone how powerful I am.”

“I trust you will, Miss Armelier,” he said, a little bit surprised. “I can see you’re a paladin.”

“I sure am! And this has been my partner since I was young.” She took her old wooden sword. “I’ll become the best heroine in this world.” Her expression became more serious.

“You’re really funny, Miss Armelier.” He let out a soft chuckle. 

“Huh? Are you laughing at me?”

“Not at all, I just wish I had your confidence”

“You just need to believe in yourself”

“That’s true. Thanks for the advice, Miss. You seem fearless.”

“I need to be…”

“What do you mean?”

“I need to be strong…I-I need to show everyone that I’m really special, that I’m…” She interrupted herself.

For a few seconds, the room fell into complete silence.

“Anyway, what’s your class, Mr Bastion?” she quickly changed the subject.

“I’m a fire mage, and please just call me Bastion.” Again, he avoided her gaze.

“Really? That’s so awesome.” Her eyes sparkled.

“Thank you, Miss Armelier.”

“Please, you can call me by my name.”

“Alright, Miss Charlotte, what if we make a promise?”

“A promise?”

“Yeah, what if, when we finally graduate, we build a party of our own?”

“Really? That would be amazing!” she was almost shouting.

“I’m glad you like the idea.”

“Thanks, Bastion. I believe I can call you my very first friend.”

He noticed a hint of sadness on her face.

“Yeah, we’re friends. I'll introduce you to a friend of mine. I believe you'll get along.”

“I’d love that, thank you, Bastion!” She couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Then it’s a deal.”

They sealed the promise with a strong handshake.

After a long and calm conversation, Charlotte fell asleep. The sun was turning the scene orange.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped abruptly. The commotion woke up Charlotte. The two young students got off the carriage quickly.

“Is everything alright?” Bastion asked.

“Yes, everything is fine. Please return to the carriage,” said one of the guards.

“Then why did we stop?” asked the girl, still half-asleep.

“We encountered one of those dreadful roots, but we already informed the royal academy.”

“Roots?” she was confused.

“Must be from the Buried Tree,” Bastion answered, intrigued. “But how did it manage to go this far…?” Bastion thought to himself.

Bastion ignored the warnings and approached cautiously. Charlotte followed him. They were trying to cut the root with a metal sword.

“Hello, may I help?”

“Do not get near this thing,” one of the guards warned. “Please, return to the carriage. Help is also on the way.”

“Please, allow me.”

Seeing Bastion’s determination, both guards stepped back.

“Pure Fire Magica! Flame,” he shouted.

Immediately, the spell burned the roots, turning them into ashes.

“Wow! That was amazing!” Charlotte praised him.

“Not bad, young boy. I’ve never seen someone using Pure Magica.” The guards were also impressed.

Without time to react, a group of roots emerged from the ground and tangled directly into their legs. With a quick and violent movement, the four were dragged underground.

The place was completely dark, and all the dirt made it almost impossible to breathe. That place was empty, only roots and dirt all around. It was as if the ground had swallowed them up.

“Is everyone alright?” asked one of the guards. “Please, remain calm. We’ll get you out of—” A strange noise came from the darkness. “Quiet, everyone.”

Something was crawling awkwardly in the shadows. That thing had deep, labored breathing. Its howls were muffled by a strange gagging sound, as if that thing was choking.

“Light Magica. Firefly,” Bastion mumbled.

A soft and circular light appeared on his hand. Finally, in front of their eyes, an enormous beast. It had a long tail made of roots and bark, and its head looked like a reptile. It only had two arms made of pure roots that made it difficult for it to move.

In a second, two claws on its arms extended directly to the group. They moved so quickly that nobody could react. The two guards were tangled from the waist and dragged down into the darkness.

Bastion was completely paralyzed.

“F-found…you!” The beast howled and threw another attack directly at Bastion.

By pure instinct, Charlotte jumped on Bastion, knocking him down and managing to avoid the attack.

“Please, I don’t want to die again,” he mumbled on the verge of tears.

For a moment, the girl felt deeply sorry for her friend. She was also afraid. Her legs were trembling, but something inside her made her move unconsciously.

“Bastion, we need to try something.” She got up and extended her arm to him. “I can’t do this on my own.”

He looked at her from the floor. She truly looked like a heroine. “You’re right, I’m sorry about that.” He took her hand and stood up beside her.

They ran towards the end of the cave. The beast stayed on the other side, but followed them with one eye.

“What should we do?” Her voice was shaky.

“Fighting isn’t an option.”

“We need to get out. Can’t you use your Magica to create an upward exit?”

“Maybe, but I need time.”

“Then I’ll get you time.”

“No, Charlotte.”

“We don’t have a choice. Just do it.”

The beast turned around and started slowly crawling in front of them.

“There’s no time. Just trust me.”

“WAIT!” he was ignored.

Charlotte ran towards the right side of the beast. She drew the old wooden sword with her left arm and struck the legs directly. It was so hard that the sword bounced.

Far from that scene, Bastion started casting a powerful spell.

The beast focused on Charlotte and started throwing attacks at her that she could barely evade. In an instant, one of the roots entangled around her arm. She tried everything she could to free herself, but in the end her arm was gone.

She couldn’t help but scream in pain.

“CHARLOTTE!” Bastion interrupted his spell and cast a protective barrier on Charlotte.

Without even moving, that thing raised its arms, and a bunch of roots shot off towards Bastion, slamming him into a dirt wall. He couldn’t move anymore.

The beast started crawling towards Bastion. With her last bit of strength, Charlotte also tried to reach Bastion. She was still willing to protect someone. With a lot of effort, she managed to get next to her friend.

“It was a pleasure. Miss Charlotte, you’re truly a heroine,” said the boy.

Finally, Charlotte fell to the ground.

Everything went numb. For a moment, she heard a soft, hypnotizing voice. “You, my new pawn, go. Do not disappoint me and save this world. Remember, you are of no use to me dead.”

Charlotte woke up. She was still in that cave. A stabbing pain came from her arm. Her vision was blurry, but she still managed to see the beast. Something inside snapped. Her jaw and fist clenched tightly.

She turned to the left. A voice called her, now to the right, then again to the left. Her mind was filled with a million indistinguishable voices that came from nowhere. “Kill it!” She heard. Everything was spinning around her, but she managed to stay on her feet. She could hear her heart beating in her chest.

Her left arm lifted on its own and pointed directly at the beast. Suddenly, her own arm turned into a bunch of roots and pierced the beast so easily. 

“Pure Magica. Nullify You.”

The beast was gone, and the girl finally collapsed.

Charlotte woke up. She was shaking and covered in sweat. Everything she saw was just gray and cold concrete. The faint light of the moon entered through the window with metal bars.

She tried to get up, but her left arm was chained. She took a closer look. It wasn't human anymore, just a bunch of bark and roots trying to look like an arm.

“Finally awake,” said a nearby guard.

“Excuse me, where am I?” she asked.

“Don’t play the innocent.”

“W-what? What do you mean?”

“You’re accused of murdering two royal guards and an innocent student, aside from having a curse on your arm.”

“What? T-that's not true…I-I…can explain.”

“Your trial will be tomorrow. Anything you say might be used against you.”

“B-but…”

The guard ignored her and left the room. A sea of tears streamed from her eyes. She was all alone.

“I’m sorry, Bastion,” she said to herself.

“That doesn't matter now. You need to rest.”

The voice came from the corner of the room. There was a wooden staff leaning against the wall. She’d never seen it before.