Ice And Heart

I awoke choking on my saliva, unable to focus my eyes as I tried to regain a semblance of order in my mind, which felt like it had been jostled in a box strapped to a ship in the middle of a high storm.

Looking around, I appear to be in a dimly light room, and my body feels weaker than I have ever felt or at least remembered to have in a long time. Glancing to my left, I see the faint glowing of mana stones embedded into a grandfather clock. The date and time showed August 10th year 122, 4 am. Good, about three months before my life started to boil down into a shit show. Laying back down, I relax and manipulate the measly amount of mana I have in my body. Rolling over and facing the mirror, I look at my younger self, woed at how much of a beauty I was before I learned the hardships of life. I should be 15 I believe for a moment; I daze off, thinking about the past, fighting to regain a sense of being, and focusing on the present or should it be the past.

With the current amount of mana in my heart, I should be able to cast two spells on myself, cleanse and purify. After casting the incantation, I feel a refreshing warm air envelop my body until dark blackish-red puddles start forming on my skin, spilling onto my mattress in a pool.

"ew, gross," I whisper as I walk to the bathroom attached to the room. [STATUS] I say in my mind as I strip off my clothes. stopping I noticed that there was no water in the tub, only an embedded mana stone that heats water when added." how old fashioned," I scoff as I see if I have enough mana left to cast a simple water spell.

[STATUS]

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Marydia Graywared

race: Human

physique : none

age: 14

hp 46/210

stamina 16/116

Mana 16/230

qi 0/120

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skills

elemental manipulation

mana manipulation

qi manipulation

Appraisal

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Just enough, barely casting the spell, causes me to feel a fantastical sense of vertigo garbing the side of the tub. I catch myself and wait until I'm balanced. Around three minutes later, the water has warmed up enough. As I slip into the clear pool of water, it gets clouded by the dark liquid, but then it quickly becomes clear again. Diving my head under the water, I think inventory and see an iridescent screen appear.

Inventory

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soul storage

*sprit stones

low grade 800x

mid-grade 20x

cooper 20,000

Silver 5,000

gold 50

platinum 20

mana stones

low grade 300

mid-grade 50

high-grade 50

[restricted accesses]

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It looks like I lost many things when my soul regressed back in time. All the years I spent gathering and preparing now felt like a waste. I think with a frown on my face. And look how unbelievably weak I have become! I will have to cleanse my spirit bone and mana heart another ten times at least to unlock a physique.

Im going to need to start crafting mana potions, to supplement my mana as I only have enough to cast each spell once. As I make a mental note of all the things that must get done in the next few weeks, I hear a slamming noise coming from my bedroom door." sister, time for breakfast!" yells a young childlike voice. "I'm in the bath," I shout "ill be done soon," I say with a smile. I hadn't heard my brother's voice in so long that I almost forgot it. "Ok, I'll distract father and mother until you are done! So you can eat breakfast today but hurry!" he shouted in a nervous voice. "don't I'm done. I'm getting out now. Just wait outside my room," I respond as my eyebrows begin to twitch he hummed in agreement.

As I get out of the tub, I spot myself in a full-length mirror that reflects my image, shiny yet unkept curly thigh-length copper and white hair, limpid eyes that can't seem to decide what color they are that remind me of forget-me-nots and baby's breath. Skin that is damaged but still supple is as pale as milk, yet with slightly pinkish-yellow undertones. And the shape of my body though not fully developed, appears lengthy and pear-shaped, around 5 ft tall. Glancing at myself up and down, I see I will be a beauty in the future, especially when I finish the cleansing treatment that rids one's body and soul of impurities.

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Going to the wardrobe, I shuffle thru the dresses available in the closet, all aged and modest, with most of the pigments scrubbed out over the years. Scrambling around, I find a box with a dress in the back, pale lilac with white lace embroidered into flowers. Mother's dress, I remember; father sold it to a local pawn shop that eventually burned down before I could save up the money to repurchase it. Without thinking, I rampaged around the room, throwing anything of importance and value into my inventory until the room was almost bare except for a few dresses and worthless items before throwing on a simple blue dress and brown shoes.

Opening the door, I spot a small black-haired boy with green eyes waiting patiently; he looks up at me and smiles. "Lydia! You said you would hurry, but it's been almost 30 minutes! Mother and father are going to kill us!" he said in a nervous yet rambunctious tone. "Don't worry, they won't. I have something to talk to them about, what's very important. I need you to return to your room and put everything important to you on your bed. Ok? I'll be there after talking to mother and father, and then we'll go out to eat breakfast, ok?" I say, smiling the love I hadn't felt in years and had almost forgotten radiating off of me. "but sis-" before his words could even leave his throat, I cut him off. "Eliot, please, we need to leave," I say.

He hesitates for a moment staring into my eyes as if dazed and if I even know what I'm truly talking about before nodding and returning to the direction of his room.

Heading to the dining room, I realize how lavish the halls get the farther I get from our wing of the manor. Opening the grand doors at the end of the hall led to the main foyer instead of the dining room like I thought, stunned I remembered that I had to cross to another entrance to get there. After another few minutes of walking, I finally got to my destination.

Opening the doors, I see three people sitting together, like a happy family giggling and eating pastries. Looking in my direction, they stop and stare at me as though I have ruined their mood and appetite. A boy looking to be around 14 says, "Father, I must go study now. I hope you and mother enjoy the rest of your breakfast." before glaring at me and stomping out of the room. Ignoring him, I sit at the far end of the table.

"Lydia, your late, and where is your brother? If it doesn't come soon, breakfast will be over." said a soft womanly voice of the woman sitting on the other side of the table next to a gentleman with the same colored hair and eyes as me.

"he is packing his belongings as I came here to discuss something important today. As we all know, I turn 15 in a few months from now, making me legally an adult, and as the firstborn, though I am female, I have the right to succeed father's title as a baron." the look of shock and horror on their faces made my soul giggle. "But I don't want it; I am willing to sign a dissolvent of my right to subsection if you are willing to pay me 1000 gold and sign over guardianship of Eliot to me. We will leave imminently." confusion showed on both their faces. The man I once thought of as my father took a few seconds to process my statement before agreeing.

"come with me to my office," he said as he shuffled out of the room and down the hall not even thinking of speaking with his wife's opinion let alone looking at her for if he did he would see that her skin paled and turned a light green shade.

Following him, I notice his expression get dark as we enter the office. He told the servants to leave us before opening the painting. He pulled out a bag of gold coins, a seal, and two birth certificates. Grabbing a blank piece of paper and a pen dipped into glowing blue ink made of mana sones and holy water, he wrote the binding contract. Taking the pen, I read over the agreement before signing it. The paper glows before splitting into exact copies and going back to normal. Folding the articles, I put them in my pocket before slipping them into my inventory. Grabbing the bag of coins, I feel something is off; opening the bag, I cast [ Appraisal ]

[leather bag]

-800 gold coins

-200 copper

-20 high-grade manna stones

"This isn't the agreed-upon amount," I say in an irked voice

"I don't have enough gold as I just invested in a new business, but ill get you the gold soon," he said, looking slightly embarrassed. No, as we once had a father-daughter relationship I'll overlook it, give me a carriage and a few horses to pull it instead and grant me access to my mother's room. I want to take some of her stuff as a keepsake."

"Are you sure if you come back and ask for money in the future I won't help?" he said in a smug tone. I nodded in agreement." prepare the carriage now. We will be leaving in an hour," I said as I walked out and down the corridor to an uninhabited room. My mother used to tell me that she hid all my wedding gifts in her mirror and that when I was old enough, she would give it to me. Entering the room, I cast Appraisal.