VOLUME 1: CHAPTER – 6 : DID I MESS UP WITH THE REINCARNATION CEREMONY (PART 1)

CHAPTER – 6

DID I MESS UP WITH THE REINCARNATION CEREMONY

The last thing I remember was facing the heavenly guardian beast Fenrir. Wait what happened to it? Did I successfully escape? Did someone come for help? Is Lady Athena safe?

Wait, first of all, where the heck am I? After that, I found myself in an empty void. I was unable to perceive anything above or below me—not even my own body. The only thing I was aware of was my consciousness, floating in empty space.

I thought I had more time to spend with Lady Athena. Guess not! It was not difficult for me to come up with a conclusion that I was dead. Maybe it did eat me after all? I hope I was unconscious so I did not feel any pain.

Ughhhh….. Just the thought of it brings shiver down my spine. Wait I actually can’t feel anything, right. Well maybe I was just too weak after all, or the wolf was just that strong. I wonder how I will defend myself in the new world if I am this weak and died in the first showdown.

Thinking back, its not the first time I was dead.

But the only thing that was different from that time was that after the bus accident I had no lingering feelings or nostalgic disposition of ever returning to earth. But now, all I could say that I was sad.

Sad because I could still feel a part of myself missing in this dark empty place. Thoughts about different kind of things I wanted to do and be this time. The aspirations and goals I had perceived and decided to follow with all my heart are nothing but merged in this nothingness.

I wonder what happens to mortals when they die in heaven. Will I ever meet Her again, will I be able to find and make more friends like Her? Maybe my time spent in divine realm, even if it was brief was the happiest and well spent than the pathetic and useless life I lived on Earth.

If only once I could meet Lady Athena again, I would be relieved that she is well and thank her for everything she had done up till now for me.

“Haaaaaaaaah…… What? .......Wait…”

After a long time, I finally felt something for the first time, a warm sensation on my left arm and I think it was a bit wet. At first I considered it a fluke, but this warmth just was too consoling and to be considered unreal was out of the realm of questions.

Could it be that I am still alive and just in a state of a paranoid unpleasant unconsciousness. Wait am I in a coma. Will I be able to wake up on my own? How much time has it been I am locked up here all alone?

I need to wake up and respond to my surrounding. I tried to move around my legs and hands but there was no response or even a slight movement in this blank state. Maybe there was no air?

Stop thinking about stupid thing I need to get out of here. My mind just couldn’t settle itself. I was afraid and at the same time too excited to do anything to break out. I cannot lock myself alone ever again. I have now things to care about.

A person that I could return to.

I started making strange movements; maybe I was trying something similar to swimming. But it was to no avail. I shouted and screamed or sometimes scratched my face deeply leaving marked scratches.

Maybe I should give up and wait. I felt like my eyebrows tensed up even though there was nothing else I could feel.

No, I cannot wait any longer. There is only one thing left to try and that is MAGIC.

‘HAHAHAAHHAHA.’

But the question is will it work in my current state. I highly doubt. But it doesn’t hurt to try.

So the next step is to ask myself which spell to cast. Considering that I am trapped here then teleportation might work. But something bothers me, what if my soul actually teleports itself out of my body and dissipate in surrounding. That will be worst thing that could happen in my current condition. I tried to catch my head but there was nothing to hold.

So the other thing that strikes me is my medical condition. So healing magic can be considered a good shot. But there is something I don’t know whether the healing magic I know works on spiritual level or is only for physical injury. One would consider mine situation akin to soul trapped in its body. Since it will not hurt to try so I am going to give it a go.

[DIVINE HEAL] {Latest healing magic I recently learnt in book}

Glowing orbs of golden yellow light appeared all around me. It was warm even in this absolute zero state of mine. I continued casting my spell and visualizing myself merging with my body and being healed.

The golden magic flowing from me didn’t stop; it kept flooding out and away. It had happened so suddenly, but perhaps I could control it. Something about this golden magic flowing out of me felt so nostalgic as if I had done it before. For the first time I thought that perhaps I could change my fate by my own hands!

Just when I was about to be done with it, these golden yellow light balls went berserk and started revolving around me at a very high speed. For some reason I felt quite infatuated with these shinning balls first but things got messy when a dark black lace joined this skirmish of light balls. I soon found myself in a difficult situation where I was being sucked in by a whirlpool of light and dark strings. I raised my right hand high up in a final attempt to escape or at least with a little luck latch onto something and save myself from drowning.

“AHHHHH… ahhhhhhhh……………..huh”

‘The feeling of being flushed out is not pleasant at all.’

I was lying on a bed, with my right hand raised upwards, I was shouting like I woke up from a nightmare. Maybe it actually was a nightmare. I removed the white soft silky sheet that covered my body and was half up on the bed with my legs still stretched across and they felt a bit stiff. Maybe it was the tiredness for running all around the forest with that beast chasing me all around. It was as if I was under some kind of divine punishment, scamper all around with such a non-athletic and fragile body is really bothersome and cruel indeed.

Near me was Lady Athena sleeping while my left hand was tightly clutched between her two hands. Maybe I need to thank her again for taking care of me while I was knocked out and bringing me back to life.

With all these movements Lady Athena had already half awoken up and as if trying to take a clear view of her surrounding and while assessing the situation she rubbed her eyes and looked back at me again.

“I am back, Lady Athena.” I smiled back at her still half asleep face.

“You are all right Sachi, you are awake. I am so glad.”

“I was so worried!”

“I was so worried about you!”

While Lady Athena said these words with a face beaming with happiness and yet tears sprouting in her eyes, she tightly hugged me and started saying in a deep flattened voice about what had occurred while I was lying in bed.

Maybe I made Lady Athena worried again.

All I could conclude from her rushed confession was that I was saved by God Almighty and I was comatose for four days.

It was almost twelve in the noon.

The orange light that rained through the window made me realize that I was all this time asleep in Lady Athena’s room and with all the daily necessities like water, fruits, my clothes and some books (some may not consider them daily necessities, but they were our lifeline for me and Lady Athena) were spread all around us.

“Are you all right Sachi? Is it hurting anywhere? Are you cold or have a fever. Just look at you are sweating all over.”

I looked at myself and I was all covered in sweat, maybe because I was trapped in that whirlpool. But something really caught me by surprise when Lady Athena brought her forehead near mine to check my temperature.

My face started heating up as I blushed. She was so close to me. Is there not the concept of using a thermometer for accurate measurements? Well I don’t mind if it’s her but what about…. Wait was she doing this every time when I was out cold in bed. I had just used healing magic so I should be fine.

“Well, I am sure the temperature was fine just a second ago, but its now all high. Your face is turning all red. Do you have a fever? Should I get some blankets and a glass of water for you?”

“No. Lady Athena its fine. I think right now I need a bath. Then I will be fine. This high temperature is because of some other…reason…maybe…that is”

“Okay then I will take bath together with you.”

“No. no. you don’t have to bother yourself. I will be okay.”

“I will be there. You cannot deny me. What if you faint inside the bathroom?”

“I guess if its that. Then its okay.”

The next thing I knew was me and Lady Athena entering the bathroom after we undressed.

“Let me prepare the bath water. Maybe something cool will lower your temperature.”

Before Lady Athena could do anything, I had already filled the tub with cold water. Somehow my casting speed had increased. Also, I did not need to visualize the whole process with great concentration; just a small thought was more than enough. Also for some reason it seemed that the water was conjured in more quantity than I had ever produced. Maybe my training has paid off, at least that what I would like to think.

‘Ehhh…..Ahhhhh’

‘What, so World God, was right, she really can use magic with divine attribute. Is it one of the after affects of eating the apple of Tree of Life? I hope that she will be okay; otherwise the unthinkable…… would have already happened. What would I have done then? ….. I cannot lose her now. After we got too close and know each other better. Then that’s it, I am going to keep an eye on her from now on.” Lady Athena brought her fingers close to her lips which were somehow giving the expression of being amused.

I wonder why that is.

We got into the tub as usual, but for some reason both of us were quite for a long time.

“So, Sachi, how far have you gone with your magic practice?”

For some reason I was glad that Lady Athena had asked me the question and I was so enthusiastically ready to answer it that I forgot what I had to say.

“Well,…. It was thanks to the book you gave me that I started learning about magic. I can even cast without chanting a spell. I can even conjure fire and water, control wind and change temperature of any substance.”

Then I conjured small flame of different colours, by collecting oxygen it was your normal orange-yellow flame. In case of hydrogen it was a pale blue flame. For some reason now my hands didn’t feel the heat or the burning sensation of these high temperature flames.

Just out of fun and curiosity I made a duck out of the water from the bathtub and could even make a water bird fly around us. It was a lot of fun playing with magic. Indeed.

However something was strange, with increase in casting speed there was another factor accounted that was maintaining my concentration while performing magic. But now I didn’t need to concentrate, just the thought of perceiving the phenomena and channeling magic would do the deed for me. For some reason doing this felt so natural that I wanted to give myself a prize for my hard work and diligent training I had put myself through. Maybe if possible I could open a magic training school in Isleguard.

‘She is really great at this. Not using chants, fast casting and efficient control over magic power. Just how much has she improved herself in one day? Just how high is her mental aptitude and visualization processing? World God was right, she really can use divinity. However I can also feel the ominous black miasma leaking through her magic. It’s a miracle that the presence of a positive field energy and negative field energy could co-exist in a single entity. This Dark Matter is so weak, so it is neither detectable nor can harm someone. I have made up my mind; I am forever going to look after her and take responsibility, though it works in my favour too. I beseech the Goddess of Fortune and Gods of Destiny to bestow upon their blessings for her well-being during our tough times ahead in the future.’ Lady Athena thought to herself while her mouth was somewhat half opened, still in awe and wonder.

“I am glad for you. In a sort time you have grown a lot. Seeing you flawlessly use magic makes me happy.” Lady Athena brought her hands together to make a small applause.

I was happy and so at the same time the thing which worried me the most came to my mind.

“Thank you. Lady Athena, but I know this is nowhere good enough to match my other classmates. They must have already started learning much higher level magic and combat techniques, while I was just asleep for these four days. But I will make sure to work much harder and make up for the lost time. So you don’t need to worry.”

‘She is just over-underestimating herself. A human performing magic in the divine realm is an exceptional feat in itself. If word goes out it can create big news even in heavens. And after assimilating the apple of Tree of Life makes her stand out even among gods. Possessing soul power stronger than most of the gods can make anyone feel jealous. But I am glad that even after that accident she is the same Sachi as ever. Cheerful in every aspect. I need to somehow make her relax or she will overwork herself.’ Lady Athena while thinking came up with a plan.

“Don’t worry I am sure things will work out in the end. So just lighten up.”

“If you say so.”

“I know, since we have less than a day left let’s make full use of it and enjoy our leftover time in the divine realm before the reincarnation ceremony.”

“Really!”

At those words Sachi’s smile was brighter than ever. Her smile is so cute that Lady Athena could not stop her hands but start massaging her cheeks and get a good feel of those soft cheeks.

“HAAAAHHAA”

After a fifteen minutes bath both of us came out and after drying ourselves, Lady Athena presented me with a set of clothes from her drawer. Travelling without your own set of clothes is really bothersome. Maybe clothes can too be made with magic.

We had made plans to visit our most favourite place first – the Library. Nothing can beat reading a good book and discussing on what you think about it with your friends.

Lady Athena looked at the clock and it was almost two o’ clock.

“Sachi, all this time you had been eating porridge or some other nutritious fluid material. You must be feeling weak. Why not eat something first? So tell me do you have something specific in mind.”

“I do feel a bit hungry. But if anything I would like to cook the food myself for you as thanks.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Its fine. Maybe next time.”

“Please!”

‘If she keeps on looking at me with such an adorable face then I won’t be able to stop myself to give into the temptation.’

“Okay, fine. But I will be helping you while cooking.”

“Thank you Lady Athena. But where will be doing it. Usually I cooked my food in the room in which I am staying.”

“There is a side kitchen in my room too.”

We first together decided on the menu and distributed our work accordingly.

It seems that gods usually prefer to consume natural products than eat cooked food. Their meals usually contain items like fruits, boiled vegetables, rice, yoghurt, beans, fish, eggs and meat dishes.

Lady Athena was excited about learning to make some dishes from my home country. And I knew just by looking at her face that she too had a knack for cooking.

We had almost all the required ingredients for the dishes we had decided, and those which were not, were brought by the angels. I was able to obtain some packed spices. I wonder, do they descend back on earth to get these things or do they just call for home delivery.

We first prepped the rice and then sprinkled some salt on our hands and tried to mould it into small triangles. Then I created a small well in the centre and stocked it with different fillings like tuna, chicken and some pickles and then quickly wrapped them in nori. Usually it takes practice to do it one go for perfect synchronization but Lady Athena got it right in her first attempt.

For the next dish we started beating the eggs and then season it with sugar, mirin, soy sauce, and a pinch of salt before pouring a thin layer of this egg mixture into a pan to cook. Once the bottom of the egg mixture is set, roll it up in multiple thin layers until the egg looks like a thick log. Finally, shape the egg and slice into thick pieces for serving.

The next dish we decided upon was fried chicken karaage. I placed chicken in a large bowl and then mixed it with soy sauce, sugar, ginger and garlic. Then after leaving it to marinate for at least fifteen minutes I again combined it with egg and potato starch. Next was to deep fry it till it was golden brown.

At last we finally stopped after chopping down some fresh red glistening tomatoes, onion and cucumber as salad. For some reason onions grown in divine realm, do not make you cry after chopping them.

Egg and chicken karaage, ham rolls, dashi rolled egg, and onigiris were lined up in a row. It was not that luxurious but they all were the basic food elements that formed a bento box. Lady Athena had never tried Japanese food and so this was a new experience for her.

We sat down together to eat and Lady Athena was the first to give it a taste testing.

“Whoa, it smells good!” Lady Athena eyes were glued on the variety of dishes displayed before her.

I totally agreed with her. The smell really stimulates the appetite. By every passing minute it seemed that I could not hold myself back.

After working so hard to prep the meal, one cannot hold back himself but praise the feast laid in front of us.

The karaage were crispy and crunchy and were mildly spicy. As a matter of fact I hate spicy food. Red spicy food and my taste buds just never make a proper match. The dashi rolled eggs were sweet and juicy. Even the rice balls had a heavenly texture and taste. Maybe the aftereffects of cooking in the divine realm, I guess.

Cooking and eating something after four days had enlightened me and I was brimming with energy. I carried the plates to the basin and Lady Athena helped me to wash them.

We got ready to head to the library, since I needed to collect more information about the world in which I was going to be reincarnated. We decided that walking was the best course of action after our heavy meal. On our way Lady Athena told me about other events that had occurred during my absence.

World God came sometimes to check up on my condition. I must thank him for saving my life. Also, since there was no proof or evidence found so the culprit was not caught, however all the participant reincarnators and their respective gods were not permitted to interact with other gods and reincarnators.

Basically they were under isolation or a house – arrest.

Lady Athena was well aware of every nook and corner of the library. According to her, there were books from all the worlds and the knowledge of the Gods. The library kept on expanding itself as the knowledge gained by all the realms increases. To me it seemed as a data reservoir of the Divine System, where all the information is stored in an infinite memory space.

Lady Athena picked out a fat, thick book with round bottom corner and a peacock-blue cover was wrapped around it. According to her this book contained records of the history of the previous wars in Isleguard.

However the most massive and biggest war even among all the worlds was – The Holy Crusade that took place 200 years ago. As per the records there seemed to be another reincarnator from my world blessed by the gods as the Hero who would save the world from the clutches of evil. Then, there was the influence of the True Demon Lord, the interference of the Devils from Hell (Apostles) who wanted to take control of that world and plunder the magical core reserves of Isleguard which was an important raw energy resource even for the Divine Realm, which even the Gods cannot afford to lose, since it would topple the balance of the nature. The Gods took charge of the war and steered the course of this profound hostility into an all out war.

Isleguard is one of the oldest and largest worlds, sustaining every kind of fantasy species like elves, ogres, beastmen, demons, dwarves, fairies, spirits, dragons, mystical creatures and many more. All of these species were forced, cast or willingly participated in the war. At the end the gates of Hell were sealed and the Chaos Army of Hell vanished like they never existed before. Even though both sides suffered great losses and no clear victor was announced. However the enmity among different races had hyped up and trust was vanquished from the land where once Gods themselves placed there foot.

After reading for two hours about the pre-war political and social life in Isleguard I got bored. What really interested me was learning magic and developing my own type like the mini bombs – cubicles or combining fire with water and using opposite attributes to my advantage. Experimenting is really fun!

I picked up another book from the shelf from which I had been previously introduced to and it contained several books on magic theory and its applications. For now I was interested in magic arrays and summoning rituals.

Magic can be performed basically by two means – by chanting and the other is forming magical arrays or carving magical circle. The second method is basically used to make magical items and forge enchanted weapons. While the books basically described about specific and fixed designs of magical arrays, to me they seemed more like a computer code to perform certain actions when the set conditions are met. The same goes for summoning ritual where there are more than many ways to summon beings which includes – spirits, beasts with pacts, fairies, devils and even gods.

***

GODDESS ATHENA

She really does enjoy reading books, just like me. It had been more than four hours and she is not at all bored and one could say she grew more enthusiastic as time passed. We really form an excellent pair.

But after what had happened and watching Sachi on the brink of death just to protect me, was heart-braking. If we go further with the reincarnation ceremony, I would be just pushing her in more danger and point of no return. If something happened to her, then what will I do, I will never be able to forgive myself. After losing my parents, for the first time I was able to feel comfortable around someone.

‘Okay then, I have decided!’

“Sachi, there is a place I want to visit with you.”

‘I was surprised to see Lady Athena rose up from her seat in an abrupt manner. It was almost eight in the night. Where possibly can we go at this point of time? It doesn’t seem that she will be taking me to the star gazing point at the huge tree spot. Well it doesn’t matter. I will go wherever Lady Athena will take me.’ Sachi thought to herself as she too rose from her seat and after putting the books back in the shelves she followed her to the exit door.

After coming out of the library, it was already dark outside. There were no stars as usual and the calmness in the surrounding was making me feel nervous and my heart beat faster. I took Sachi’s hand in mine.

[TELEPORT]

We stood under a dark night sky surrounded by a dense forest made up of humongous trees towering all around us. Anyone would have thought that we had lost our way and sense of direction while we hopelessly trespassed. These types of forest reminds me of those where people keep on moving but eventually reach the starting point again as if they were caught in an inescapable loop.

A late night forest can seem eerie but it has an alien beauty of its own. Even in the starless night sky, the forest was illuminated by a special kind of flower whose petals glowed a bright pink as they lightened up a path in the most fashionable way possible.

While I was still holding Sachi’s hand, I took a notice of the amazed face she mustered as she tried to touch one of the glowing petals. I remember now, I had almost the same reaction when I here for the first time. I can’t wait to show her what lies ahead at the end of this path.

We kept on walking for about five minutes. During this time neither of us said a thing. While I was too focused to think about the thing which I had planned, other hand she must be in a bit of confusion of our sudden visit to a forest after the incident.

In front of our eyes stood the bounty and luxurious beauty of nature as the lake appeared as if by magic. It was in teardrop-silver in colour and it was shaped like a perfectly flat disc of metal. No sound rang out from the shimmering emptiness of space around it. Monastery quiet, it was lined with evergreen trees and the whiff of fresh laundry clothes like smell wafted up to us.

***

SACHI KONDO

The forest we entered was oak-brown and primitive. The grasses we stepped on were crackly beneath our feet. I was in awe of the size and majesty of the trees. Their knotted arms rose ever upwards, as far as my head could lift. They were hoary fortresses and stood proudly.

We walked in and out of shady glades. The stillness of the night was soul soothing. The forest’s smell was fresh and organic.

At a farther end I saw an opening, but the closer I reached I realized that I was drawn to a totally new place. An oval shaped depression filled with azure blue water, a kaleidoscope of colours overhanging the becalmed lake. The green leaves surrounding the perimeter of the lake had a special luster to them. Several beautiful flowers grew at the foot of these trees and all of them were glowing brightly in their own little spots.

Lady Athena beckoned to me and I saw a small wooden port at my left. We both started walking towards it and a small wooden boat came into my view. A thick rope was tied to one of the post on the port while the other was hooked onto the boat.

The boat was sturdy, small, slender and yet elegant in its own way.

Lady Athena climbed down on the boat and then gave me her hand which I gladly took and I too came overboard. I helped her untie the rope and searched for oars.

“HAAAAHHA. Don’t worry; this boat doesn’t need oars to row it. It too works on magic.”

“I see.” So I settled down on one of the seats while Lady Athena sat on the other plank facing towards me.

I could not hold my excitement. I wanted to know more about this place. For a person who preferred to stay closed inside her room for her entire life. Fantasy places like this is a dream come true.

If Gods do exist, this lake is one of theirs hidden treasure. That might seem a bit ironic, as I am just sitting in front of one.

The idyllic scene took our breath away. Unruffled by wind or rain, it was vault still and restful. The only sound was of the boat moving towards the centre of the lake.

I looked inside the lake and there were shining pebbles, glowing flickers of light, shining orbs scattered all around like elf dust in the great span of lake. It caused a penumbra of colours to illuminate the Buddha still lake. These triumvirate colours ranged from rose-petal pink, grape-green, salmon-silver, neon blue, blood red, shale grey, heather-purple and many more indescribable vibrant colours.

I noticed a huge concentric circle form on the surface of water and a further jolt on my body as I realized that we had stopped moving.

I looked at Lady Athena, and it seems that she is in some kind of dilemma. She must have something important to discuss with me.

“Sachi for a long time I wanted to ask you something. Do you really want to reincarnate yourself? The road ahead is both difficult and painful; the powers I possess might not be enough to even get us through? If you want then you can leave all this and stay together here with me forever. I am sure no one will mind and also you will be safe here.”

I had never seen such a concerned look on Lady Athena’s face.

I waited for some time, trying to figure out what to say, since both of us were slow talkers. I took a deep breath and the glucose smell of amber from the surrounding trees engulfed my nose. I felt so refreshed and at the same time motivated. I had no hesitation or a second thought in my mind of what I was about to say.

“When I was a kid I always thought it would be nice if miracles were true. When I slept alone at night, I always used to stare at the stars from the window and wished that tomorrow things would be different. Even though my parents were no more, at least my aunt or uncle would wish me good morning. I would be able to make friends at school or the delinquents would stop messing with me. I wanted something to happen without doing it myself. Miracles it would be nice if they really existed. But when I met you for the first time all my worries, bad memories, tears vaporized in thin air as if they never existed and I realized that miracles do exist for sure. There was someone who looked after me and maybe I could help them too.”

“But because of me, the other gods and your classmates plotted against us and attempted to murder us. When you alone jumped into danger, just so that you could save me, I was so happy and at the same time felt so miserable. If something were to happen to you I would never be able to forgive myself.”

“The idea of staying with you here forever is more than I could ever dream of. But after fighting that beast I realized that I had to do it…..I had to do it myself. Or I won’t be able to stand by your side. I am alive and I was able to survive because you were there to look after me. I know that you are the only non-combat goddess in the whole group and so the unique skill which I will get unlike others would also be of non-combat nature and so it will not have much use during a fight. But if I don’t do it now, if I don’t stand up for myself then I won’t be able to do it again. Even if it is painful, I am sure I will be able to become strong and keep my promise which I made to myself and I want you to witness it by yourself. So please, goddess Athena, I want you to support me and in turn I want to be of help to you.”

“I don’t think I could be any use to you. I have always been weak my entire life.”

“That is not true. You saved me in so many ways, more than I could count and ask for. When I was on earth I felt so lost. Every day I felt so helpless and unhappy but I couldn’t cry. I thought being alone was more comfortable. Love, care, friendship these are the thing that I was never given. But during the attack when I first felt something important being taken away from me, I was so sad. At the end of my awful life as a looser, I met you. If I hadn’t met you, I would have kept avoiding facing my problems. I might have ended up somewhere worse. I promise you I won’t give up. You brought colours to my degenerate world. When I am with you I am so happy and feel so alive. So that’s why… I want to prove it!”

“Prove it?”

“I want to prove that my meeting you was the best thing in my life. I want to prove it not just to myself, but in a way that anybody can see. I will find a way to get things we want. Even if I have to fight over and over, I won’t give up. So please promise me that you will stay by my side and will always look after me.”

Lady Athena lifted up her head and I could see a bright smile on her face and I could feel how sincere and heartfelt her words were.

“I PROMISE.”

Strong cool breeze had started flowing all around us, for some it tickled and at the same time felt so soothing and refreshing. For a while I had been feeling sleepy but now I was felt more energetic.

But the wind grew stronger and stronger before I and Lady Athena were trapped in a cage of encircling leaves and shining petals of the glowing flowers. The surface of water was no more the flat surface we knew but high and low waves made the boat go up and down after regular intervals. The beautiful colour palette which was engraved on bottom of lake was now vanishing as light orbs of different colours rose from water surface high up in the sky and moving in tandem with the petals.

“Its so beautiful.” Every word I knew in my vocabulary would fail to describe the beauty of nature that stood before me.

I raised my head and the surface of water sparkled with irregular reflections as I watched particles of light burst out from surface and join the dancing troupe. It was a lightning bolt moment for me.

Something cool brushed my small nose and my eyes went round only to find a small yet larger than the usual orbs flying around circling me. It was white in colour with a tint of blue in it. I tried to touch it with my fingertip and it started to revolve around me.

“This is the Spirit Lake of Heaven of the Eleanora Forest. And that Sachi is the wind spirit. It seems that it has taken a liking to you and this whole charade is her doing.”

Mild strong wind blew through every so often, setting my coattail fluttering and Lady Athena smiled whenever I fixed it back.

There was a special elegance about this lake, where the only sounds came from the gentle movement of atmosphere and waves. I approached the boat’s edge and touched the blue with my bare hand, then pirouetted away.

A blue flickering orb of light rose up from the water at a great speed and a large amount of water followed it. After the water attained some height, I could but only gasp until I was drenched all over by the sudden heavy downpour.

“Sachi are you all right. Your clothes and hair are all wet. Let’s go back and change your clothes or you will catch a cold.”

Before Lady Athena could take any action I held her hands and smiled at her.

“Don’t worry its fine. I like being here.”

I raised my palm in front and water from all parts of my clothes, hair and uncovered body slowly collected above it. Thin lines of thread-like water converged at a single point forming a small water ball. I then slowly made the water ball levitate in the sky towards the shore and sprinkle it all over the flowers of which I had become so fond of in a short amount of time.

“See, all better now.”

I was smiling at Lady Athena, but before I realized a small green orb of light sneaked behind me and placed a small crown ring of flowers over my head. I touched the crown and was surprised by the sudden treatment and looked towards Lady Athena for an explanation.

“The blue light is the water spirit and the green light is the forest spirit. It appears that they like you too.”

‘Ah, I see now. The water spirit sure is playful and the forest spirit must be thanking me for watering the plants. However the taste of water was as sweet as nectar.’ I watched the three spirits play around me when I noticed Lady Athena staring at me.

“Is something bothering you.”

“I have never seen someone from mortal realm wield magic in such a precise manner. It is incredible, you completely are dry.”

“After I have woken up, I don’t know why but just visualizing things while adding magic to my train of thoughts, the phenomena I desire naturally take place. For example-“

I levitated a small amount of water and cooled its temperature while trying to change its structure into a perfect tetrahedral crystal. Then I brought it in front of Lady Athena.

Lady Athena held the crystal and slowly rubbed her hands against it.

“Wow, you made a sturdy crystal from water. At first I thought it was ice, but it’s as smooth as an ornamental stone. Also the light just keeps on collecting inside it.”

“That’s because of total internal reflection. But there’s more….”

I took the crystal and made it float high up in the sky, and then imagined it dismantling parts by parts. Out of nowhere cracks appeared in the crystal and it shattered in a blink of an eye. Tiny yet visible blue sparkling lights surrounded us as they rained back on us and finally merged back with water.

The three spirits started jumping around me.

“It seems that they like the small trick.”

‘In such a short time she has developed overwhelming control over elemental magic attributes. She can even change molecular structure and break it, without realizing the heavy amount of magic it drains. But she is totally unaffected by it. Also, what’s with the great three Pillar Spirits appearing out of nowhere and there sudden liking towards Sachi. It all has only one explanation. Spirits are attracted towards beings with large amount of life force. But in Sachi’s case, three Great Spirits are attracted towards her. Vast amount of MP and SP (life force) are these the result of eating the apple of tree of life. But I think there’s something amiss. World God is still hiding something.’ Lady Athena sighed as she thought there was no point in worrying.

Tomorrow is the big day after all.

“Sachi, today is the last night we spend here together. I hope after we are reincarnated we will be able to meet again soon. I am sure of it.”

“Yes, don’t worry. I will find you in a blink of an eye and then we will together save the world.”

‘Thinking of the Apple, isn’t the celebration for it today in the Cardelia City. Will Sachi like to take a look at the festival, even though it would be reaching its end this late at night?’ Lady Athena thought to herself while she brought her hands near her ears, trying to focus to hear something.

It was getting late night, and we needed to head back to get our proper fill of sleep. Lady Athena insisted for me to rest more because she thought I was still injured. After seeing off the spirits, we reached back at the shore and unmounted the boat. While Lady Athena pulled the boat nearer I tied the rope around the wooden raised post and the other end to the hook of the boat.

“Those spirits were quite sad, when we said our goodbyes.”

“Don’t worry. I am sure we will come back.”

“I hope so. No, let’s do it”

[TELEPORT]

“I thought we were heading back to our rooms. Where are we.”

I was too confused to find myself on a steep cliff not far away from the walls of the Cardelia city. The view was just so breath-taking that I wanted to shout ‘YAHOO’. I could see the whole city in a single look. All the houses and mansion appeared like matchboxes lit up by special attractive yellow lights. Wait is this some kind of festive occasion…

“Today is the celebration for the Revival of the Tree Of Life. Can you hear it?” Lady Athena had closed her eyes and was enjoying the cool breeze in which her long green hairs were spread like wings.

Hear what? I looked back at the brightly lit settlement and my eyes fell on the city square where I had previously saw a huge bon-fire setup. But now a sudden bright flame was glowing on it – it was on fire…

This sound, its so soothing. Is this divine music!

What a gentle sound…. It’s almost like this music is resonating with my feelings and calling me. My hands and legs have started moving and were totally in sync with the rhythm. My ears were hooked to the melody of the heavenly musical instruments and its tune, while all the surrounding voices had ceased.

Seriously speaking, I am not a big fan of music or dance, but this tune I was so attached to it.

“Would you like to dance? Usually they perform it near the bonfire, but I think here’s still fine.”

“But I don’t know how to…” I spoke quickly as I snapped out of my own musical world.

Lady Athena brought forward her hand and said, “I am not good either, so its fine.”

It was such a tempting thing I wanted to do and the atmosphere of a dark sky night on a cliff near a city – it sounds so great.

Lady Athena sure knows the best tourist spot in Heavens.

I took her hand without any hesitation. Lady Athena held my second hand and signaled me to follow her lead, at least that’s what people actually want to say at this point, don’t they.

Even though the footwork was bad and I tripped several times. But I was enjoying myself. Also Lady Athena appears to be a good dancer.

But we were too immersed in our dance and were mesmerized by the music that in the dark we didn’t notice when each one of our foot was half in air.

We were about to fall from the cliff.

Loud screams were heard at long distances. I wrapped my hands around Lady Athena, and she did the same too.

Just during the good part, such things have to happen and destroy the mood. Well, I had already come up with a plan.

[TELEPORT]

THUMP.

We both were back in Lady Athena’s room. And were lying on our bed. I reduced the momentum using wind magic to slow our downfall.

We lay side by side and our hairs and dresses were all messed up. But what we couldn’t control was..

“HAHAHAHAHA”…..”HAHAHAHHAHA”

OUR LAUGHTER.

“That was so awesome.”

“Indeed, it was.”

After relaxing in the same state for some time, it was time to rest. The day had come to an end I would count it as one of the best days of my life, where I got to enjoy so many things my (dead) life had to offer.

I reported Lady Athena of me retiring back to my room, but she stopped me.

“Wait, let’s sleep here together; I need to keep an eye on your condition. And my bed is large enough to accommodate the both of us comfortably.”

“Okay, …..… if you say so.”

I was glad and excited about a sleep over. Well I was asleep for four days in her room. But that doesn’t count because I was unconscious. So this is my first sleepover.

We changed into our night dress and both of us fell asleep soon after.

***