C6: Can Trucks Regain Lost Time?

It had been a few days since that eccentric human girl had started stopping by regularly. Normally, we would just meet up at the roof of the library. But, today I had decided to take her down to where I had been experimenting with the truck. I took the truck out of the data crystal where I had it stored, and once again she looked surprised.

"Okay, how is that light magic?"

"Photomancy."

"Whatever! You can't convince me that you are using light with that gem thing."

"Data Crystals? They're pretty simple honestly. The Demon King was able to use them and he is terrible at photomancy."

"Nono, how is that Light?"

"I convert objects into light the same way I converted us when we flew. It's actually a lot simpler than doing that with living beings. Then, you trap the light inside the crystalline structure. The more complex the structure, or the larger the crystal, the more light you can store inside it." Really, haven't I explained this all before? Eh? I explained it to myself? Now that is just silly.

"That reminds me, are you only able to manipulate light? Or can you manipulate any kind of electromagnetic radiation?"

"Electro? Whaa? I can manipulate light at different frequencies if that is what you mean, but there are very few spells that make use of that. I don't have any idea about how magnets work or anything like that."

"Well, what is the most powerful magic you can muster?"

"Well, the most powerful spell in photomancy is called 'Ray Burst.' It is a penetrating beam of light that can vaporize targets. It's normally not meant to be used except for in extreme situations though."

"That sounds terrifying, please do not do that."

"I'll try my best. I haven't really needed it this far."

"Right, so this is your truck, huh?"

"Yup. I won it in a poker game! Ah, I can still remember the look on that man's face."

"Wow, he gave you the title and everything?"

"What? No, he gave me the keys and then I took the truck and left."

The girl slapped her hand against her face. "You do realize this is stolen property, right? If you drove it anywhere inside town then the cops would probably pull you over."

"W-what! That's ridiculous. I have the keys, don't I?"

"But if you don't have the paperwork, then you can't prove you have ownership. Especially if you just took the truck and ran off immediately."

"So it was a setup after all!" I had thought that I had managed to fool that guy and get away with no worries, but I was wrong after all. Gah, that prick! "He's even worse than the demon king!"

"Now now, the important thing is that you haven't been arrested yet. Although if they have any pics of you on cameras there might already be people looking for you."

"What? That's not good." Sure, I could just go invisible again, but that would slow down the pace of my research considerably.

"Anyways, here is a cellphone for you. It isn't a smartphone, I couldn't get enough saved up for one, so I signed up one of my old ones. This one has 4G and can call and text. That way you should be able to contact me if you make any discoveries.

"Aha! Phone get!" I had finally acquired a cell phone! "Um... How do I use it."

"Geez. Alright, here. I'm only going to explain this once. Here is the button to make calls, and here is the one to look at your text messages. I already programmed my number in, so if you press this button here, you can call me. It also has a slide-out keyboard to type messages, but you probably want to practice with that before you use it a lot."

"Wow, and what does 'calling' you do again?"

"It lets us talk to each other over long distances. As long as you have a signal, you should be able to get a hold of me. I will be sure to call you as well."

"Got it!" I looked at the phone and sure enough, there was a picture of her with the name 'Carly' written next to the picture. "Eh, Carly?"

"Yes?"

"Your name is Carly?"

"Y-yes? Wait, did I forget to introduce myself? Gah, that is totes embarrassing! We've been meeting up for like a week now why am I such a scatterbrain! My name is Caroline Mustela, but I usually go by Carly."

"Carly..." That name seemed oddly familiar somehow. No, not quite. I was getting the feeling again that I had when I first saw this girl. She seemed somehow... nostalgic? Like there was a memory locked away by something that this girl was knocking on the door of. But what, or who, could it be...

"Hey, are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner, but you don't need to get so worked up, do you?"

"Eh?" I hadn't noticed, but tears had started to run down my cheeks. "W-why am I..." I reached my hand up to touch the wet spots on my face. "I feel like I should be sad about something, but... I can't remember..."

Carly wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. "There there..."

I wrapped my arms around her as well and began to sob. I couldn't remember why, but the emotion felt like grief. Had my memory gone of someone I had lost long ago? A friend? A lover? Try as hard as I could, I couldn't remember. There was no face or name other than those of the girl hugging me now. I struggled as I choked out a few words."I-I'm sorry."

"Silly Ceatha, if you're sad, then you should cry. That's all there is to it."

I sniffled and pulled myself away some. "T-thank you."

Carly shook her head and smiled at me. "What am I gonna do with you..." She placed her hand on my head and gently rubbed my hair. "If you ever need help, don't be afraid to call, okay?"

"Mhm." I wiped my face off with a cloth. Her words were strangely comforting. We had only known each other for a week, but it felt somehow like we had known each other for a long time. We stood for a moment as I looked into her eyes. Yes, even though she felt familiar, something was still off... Besides, I hadn't been to this world before.

"Gah!" The wholesome moment was interrupted as Carly screamed. "Sorry to bale, but I forgot I have a paper due tonight! I am gonna head back into town, laters!"

"What! But it was getting all emotional and stuff."

"Well, we can pick that up next time, this paper is worth like 20 percent of my grade and I haven't started! I'll meet back up with you tomorrow, call me if something comes up, okay?" In the worst timing, Carly ran off towards where she had parked her car. I had given her directions to meet me out here instead of taking her with Photogenesis. I had offered but she was against the idea since she was worried it might mess up any equipment she had with her.

"I thought I was supposed to be the impatient one..." I sighed and walked back over to the truck. I had been treating this truck as if it had been my own this whole time, but in reality I had technically, maybe, slightly, just a little bit, stolen it.

I was getting a bit more confident in my driving abilities. I managed to drive the truck in circles a couple times before deciding that was enough practice for the day. It has already started to get dark, so it was probably better to call it a night. I parked the truck and stored it back away just before I heard a strange voice.

“Ah, it’s been a while. But I finally found you.” A rather deep voice called out from the tree line behind me.

“W-who is there?” Was it someone looking for revenge from me stealing the truck?

“Just a simple clergyman.” A man dressed in rather ornate religious looking garments walked up to stand in front of me. He seemed to look me up and down. “Quite the outfit for a woman walking alone at night… Tell me, where did you come across that sword?”

“What!?” He must have meant the Holy Sword, Claidheamh Mòr, which I had strapped to my back and made invisible… how did this man notice it? Could the priests of this world have some form of photomancy ability?

“It was hard to find you for all these months… we didn’t really have any idea what you looked like or how you managed to create a breach… but that sword… I’m afraid The Church will need to confiscate that from you.” The man held out his hand towards me.

“What do you mean? Why should I hand it over to you?”

“I am afraid we cannot allow a device of such divine power to be in the hands of a sinner.”

“What do you mean a sinner? What sin have I committed?”

“Plenty.” The man pulled out a book and flipped to a page about halfway through. “Trespassing, theft, gambling, bearing false witness, blasphemy, heresy, as well as several accounts of witchcraft, a second order offense.”

“Witchcraft? How could that book tell you anything like that?”

“This book knows the sins of anyone who I appraise with it. I believe legend puts it currently into the hands of the spirit of Saint Nicholas of Myra. However, I assure you that is currently not the case.”

“Saint who? What are you talking about.”

The man sighed. “If you do not wish to hand it over reasonably, an anathema will be placed on you and your accomplice as well.”

“Accomplice?” Could he be going after Carly? I hadn’t meant to drag any innocent people into this.

“Don’t try to play innocent. We received reports of someone who looked just like you from a local police station two months ago, pointed ears and all. We had them silence the claims in case we were incorrect, but it appears that our search was indeed fruitful. Another inquisitor is on his way to her location as we speak. Now will you hand over the sword?”

So it wasn’t Carly? I breathed a sigh of relief. But who could he be talking about? Did my sister somehow get caught in the explosion and find herself here as well? Was my beacon attempt pointless after all? If someone goes after her, that could be bad… she’s still a child. Well, by elf standards she is at least. She was only around fifty years old after all.

“If I give you my sword, will you let her go free?”

“I am afraid we cannot. She caused a second breach, so we will need to question her as well.”

What? Had she attempted some escape back home? No, it couldn’t be… She was always trying to work with machina, I’m sure she would be far more interested to stay in this world studying or trying to find me.

“Then, what is in it for me if I give you the sword?”

“Ah, I shall add selfishness to your list. Regardless, the usual reward will be granted for it. You shall be absolved of all your sins and granted a seat in the promised land.”

“And should I refuse?”

He sighed. “You will burn in the fires of hell for all eternity. But alas first you will have to face the Grand Inquisitor.”

“The Grand Inquisitor?”

“Of course. Bishop Bradley, you may come out now.”

Another man appeared from the shadows as if from nowhere. He had on his back what looked to be a large pole covered in several layers of wrapping and cloth.

“Consider yourself blessed, child,” the new man spoke in a calm, slow voice. “It is not everyday that a sinner encounters two Holy Artifacts said to be lost to time.” The man slowly unraveled the cloth on his back, revealing a spear that shined a bright light, illuminating the once dark street. “Have you heard, child, of the Spear of Destiny? It is a weapon capable of piercing God, and blessed with the direct source of his holy blood. No human could dare stand up to this artifact.”

He’s kidding right? They have a weapon capable of harming deities? If that was true, I might be out of my league here… no wonder this world doesn't see the threats of monsters or dragons. I quickly gathered my thoughts.

Without hesitation, the man thrust the spear towards me. I was able to barely dodge out of the way in time, but I could smell something burning… Wait… was that my hair? I looked down to see that some had been sliced off by the spear and sizzled into dust. That man certainly hadn't been lying about the potency of the spear, but he was far more agile than I would expect a human of his age to be. Did the gods of this world offer protection like the spirits of my own would?

"Well well, you managed to dodge my attack. Still, the fact that you moved just proves your guilt."

"How does dodging prove I am guilty of whatever?"

"Because a truly devout believer would let the spear pierce directly through him without harm. Like so." The man lunged past me, digging the blade deep into the other priest who had to tome. However, like he had said, the spear did no harm and was as easily pulled out as if it had merely sliced through air.

"Even if you knew it wouldn't hurt, attacking your friend is messed up!"

"We are well trained and willing to place our lives on the line to defend God's world from evils like yourself. If you have any shred of decency left within your body, you will let yourself be run through. If you die, then the world will be a better place. If you live, well, I guess that will mean we detain you for questioning."

"How about I live and you don't do that?"

"I'm afraid that will not happen." The man readied the spear again. It didn't look like I would get out of this easily. Should I really fight with these humans? What if they send more priests after me? And if I do kill them… wouldn't that make me even more of a criminal than I already am? Wait, I'm not a criminal! It was a misunderstanding! I was cheated!

"Bwah!" I dodged out of the way of the next thrust and rolled to the edge of the forest. If I could escape into the trees, I might be able to lose them. The one said it took months to track me down, right? I would just need to flee far enough to be able to make my escape.

"You think you can run? Give up quietly and it won't be nearly as painful. I do not enjoy torturing you witches, though I do love to see you burn." The man tossed the spear at me and I barely ducked as it stabbed into the tree above my head.

"Ha, that's what you get. Now I have plenty of time before you make it over to grab this."

"Is that what you believe?" The man held out his hand, and the spear above my head shook violently before flying backwards and landing in his grasp again.

"What in Uffern…" This Holy Spear was busted! I had never heard of a thrown weapon that could return itself to the wielder.

"With the Lord, all things are possible, child. Now, submit yourself to His power."

Not good not good not good! With no other options left, I grabbed Claidheamh Mòr and drew it, still not undoing the invisibility. With it I was able to deflect the next thrust which seemed to surprise the man.

"Lord Bradley, sir. She has drawn the sword." The priest with the book somehow noticed what I had done.

"Oh? So it is invisible, is it?" The spear-wielding man spoke, "Quite a trick for a sinner to play." Crap, I was hoping they wouldn't realize so soon…

"What if it is?" I charged forth, attempting to knock the spear out of the man's hands, but he managed to swing his spear at the same time. As the two Holy weapons met, they clashed with a loud, ringing sound before a brilliant light erupted. The two men recoiled from the brightness, but my eyes were used to intense light at this point. This would be my only chance to escape.

I took off running into the woods. I wanted to gain some distance from them before using Photogenesis to escape so that they wouldn't be able to see what direction I went. The sun had fully set, but I could still make out the forest in front of me as I charged through. However, as I made a turn, I heard a whistling noise come from behind me.

Zzzzzzzzip

I barely jumped backwards in time as the spear impaled the bushes a short distance in front of me. How had they managed to find me so quickly? I had made plenty of turns, so how?

"Give it up, child. As long as you hold the holy power within that relic, there is no way that you can hide from us. If you wish to extend your sinful life for a few measly moments, then you must leave the sword behind." The man's voice bellowed through the forest as the spear flew back towards him. He was still a bit away, but I don't know how much farther I could run. Would I really have to leave the sword? No… there's no telling what men like this would do if they had such a powerful sword.

Right, only one course of action. I took a deep breath and yelled out the incantation. “Photogenesis!” I quickly tried to fade to light and escape. I had hoped to make it farther away, but I had no other choice. My body pulsated as it lit up the forest in light energy. I started to fly away, when I felt a burning sensation in my left arm.

“Gah!” I let out a cry of pain as I held what would have been my arm. Somehow, the spear had managed to hit me after I had already cast photogenesis. How? I was already made of light, and yet he managed to cut me…. These guys were going to be trouble. Before he could retrieve the spear again, I quickly burst above the tree line and made my way towards the ocean.

I had only been to the ocean in my world a few times, and the sheer size of it always managed to blow me away. As a kid, I imagined what lands across the ocean could be like. Child me would have probably marveled in wonder at the strange land I was in now. Still, I had no time to lose myself in thought. I quickly left photogenesis as I made a solid light platform to land on. The cut in my arm was deep and I was losing blood quickly. With a UV Beam I sealed the wound closed to stop the bleeding. I was beginning to regret not keeping up with my water magic, healing would have been pretty nice to have right now. But even if I could still use it, my mind was in no state to remember incantations I didn't know by heart.

Struggling, I looked at the sword in my hands. Claidheamh Mòr… how long had I been the wielder of this sword? Still, all it could do now was lead those clergyman to me. At this point I couldn't be sure that they wouldn't be able to track it inside a data crystal either. With a heavy heart, I held the sword beyond the platform, and let go. I took a quick look around to grasp where I was, but the only thing I could see was a city skyline in the distance. A colossal statue of a woman held up a torch that seemed to welcome seafarers to the city. In a way, she reminded me of the Prophet of Light. With her as my guide, I cast photogenesis again as I made my way towards that city. Was it the same city I had been in? Or a different one? I could barely remember as I made my way back to shore.

As I approached the city, I could feel my consciousness slipping. I lost control of Photogenesis as the spell released on its own. That spear had done way too much damage with a single hit… I thankfully fell into a tree that seemed to be on some sort of roof top garden. However, that was the last thing I remembered as I faded from the pain.