Chapter 1

Did you hear? Bernhard and all of his men were found dead just a while ago! In a cave not too far from here!"

"Do you think it could have been bandits? Or mercenaries?"

"Are you kidding? There's no way another human could've killed him! It had to have been a spirit!"

"B-But there's no way the spirits could have already made it out here! This is the eastern-most part of the country! If they've already made it out here then that means..."

Alexander pushed through the crowd of people gathered in the center of the village, picking up different conversations as he passed by. While this act of forcibly moving people out of his way garnered him dissatisfactory glances and the occasional curse, which in most days would have had him apologizing profusely with the feeling of disappointment eating away at him, today was not one of those days. Alex could care less about other's perception of him today, for today was a special day.

Today was the day that humanity's hope had died.

Bernhard Gwyn had been Alexander's inspiration for as far back as he could remember. Although there was only a thirteen year age gap between the two, Alexander looked up to Bernhard with the amount of respect that one would only show to a village elder. He remembered back to hearing stories about embellished stories of Bernhard's strength from his friends as they played together in the fields, all the children swinging sticks around at each other as they one day dreamed of being as powerful, as indestructible, as he was. For Alexander, learning of his idol's death, death coming from loss in battle no less, felt as though everything he looked up to and believed in throughout his life had been a lie. It took him almost his emotional strength to hold back the coming torrent of tears when he first heard the news, and by now he felt as though there was nothing inside of him at all.

Alexander broke through the congregation of faces in the middle of the village, before coming face to face with an old, rundown, wooden building. The building, its wood rotting and roof beginning to sink in, made it seem as though it was ready to collapse into dust at any second, yet still managed to give off a sort of welcoming feeling to any who saw it. Alexander quickly pushed open the two large rotting doors, the doors groaning in displeasure at the sudden movement.

The old rundown building was the village's only tavern, which was run by the town's only tavern keeper and alcohol provider, Fabian Eckerhard. Along with his daughter and son, Elze and Craft, who were also Alexander's childhood friends, Fabian had been able to successfully run the most popular place in the entire village - and the only place for Alexander to call home since his parents had passed almost twelve years ago.

"Hey there, Fabian,", Alexander said to the stout man cleaning the mugs behind the counter, shooting him a wry smile. A short, chubby man with curly brown hair matted down on his hair like a mop, and a thick, curly grey-ish beard that ran all the way down to the middle of his chest, Fabian gave off the air of someone that others wanted to be around - and was dubbed "Funny Chunky Grandpa" by the village children as a result.

The man - Fabian - turned around to see who called out to him before setting one of the mug he was drying down in the sink. "Heya, Alex." he replied, trying not to let his despair creep into his usually uber-cheery voice.

Of course he had no real reason to hide these feelings, as it was a natural reaction for anyone and everyone after learning of the fate of their cherished beacon of hope, however he felt as though it was his duty as the keeper for the village's only current escape mechanism from the horrors of everyday life to maintain a cheerful and vibrant atmosphere no matter the circumstance.

"How're ya holding up?" Fabian asked Alex as he watched the boy dejectedly saunter through the bar area and sit in one of the chairs in the back. Having raised the boy for most of his life, Fabian could now easily decipher Alexander's emotions through his actions, almost like a real parent could for their own child. And he could easily tell that the only emotion Alexander was sheer dread. Although given the current situation, one didn't have to be a master of reading body language to know that.

"Well, I'm doing as best as I can," Alex responded breathlessly as he sunk into a chair. He had heard the news while coming back from sword training in the forest a ways off from the village, and the physical exhaustion coupled with the emotional toll of losing both his childhood and his hope made him almost topple over in weariness. He had rushed home as quickly as he could to avoid letting anyone he knew see him in such a pitiful state, and now that he was in the comfort of his own home he finally allowed all of his stress to overtake his entire body, sinking into his chair and closing his eyes.

Fabian, utilizing his keen social skills for Alexander's sake, decided that what the boy needed the most was a distraction, something to help distance him from the events that had unfolded recently. "Oy Alex, I know that this might seem cold-hearted to ask of you now but I have a tree out back threatening to crush this place for good, wanna help Elze and Craft get rid of it? Leaving those two alone will just lead to an even bigger mess of things than there already is, and I can't afford to have this place go down on me now."

Alexander, silently recapping his best friends' illogical sibling argument throughout their childhood in his mind, exhaled deeply before flashing a big smile. "Ahhhh, you know I don't want to...but if you insist, then I guess there's no point in fighting it," he said, forcing his drained body to stand and start heading for the back door. Just as he was about to exit, he heard Fabian call out to him from behind:

"Alex, make sure to be careful out there! Those kids are having one of their damn arguments again, make sure you don't get caught in the crossfire! And tell me who wins!"

Even Alex, his whole body rife with aching pain, could not hold back his hearty laughter.

**********

"Oy, you dumbass! Don't chop it backwards, it's gonna fall on us!"

"Do you have any better ideas? Besides, it'd be better if it fell on us than if it fell on the tavern! We live there you know!"

"It would be better if it didn't fall on either! Besides, it's common sense that you chop to the sides so that the wind blows it backwards at an angle! What are you, an idiot?!"

"That doesn't even make any fucking sense! And there's no wind!"

As soon as he passed through the back door, Alex was greeted by the all-too-familiar sound of petty bickering between his closest friends, Elze and Craft. While they were both his age, 17, you wouldn't be able to tell based off their arguments alone, in which they exchanged insults and reasoning tantamount to what an enraged toddler would use. But still, regardless of their ridiculous squabbles, they were both equally as precious to Alexander and some of the only people had ever been able to call either his family or his friends in his life.

Alexander slipped between the two, raising their fists into respective battle stances, and picked up the large ax lying in the grass beside them. "You guys are looking lively as ever," Alexander said, giving the ax a few practice swings before beginning to work on the large tree in front of them.

The tree, large enough to produce shade to fit twenty or more people, looked cool and inviting to Alexander as he walked up to it, ax in hand. Damn, I wish I could take a nap under this right now, he thought, feeling his body ache and creak with every step. But Fabian asked me to do this. And although he probably asked me to do it for my own sake, he probably does actually want it gone, so it'd be best to just take care of it. After having lived with him for so long, Alexander had begun to pick up on Fabian's patterns as well, and he could practically sense the times when Fabian asked someone to do something for him that also turned out well for their sake. He was all in all just a clever, caring man like that.

Right as he was about to swing, he heard Elze call out to him. "Oy Alex, wait!" he heard her say, and turned around to face her and her brother. The two had stopped fighting - or rather, the fight was over, as behind a smiling Elze was a bruised Craft, lying facedown in the grass. Jeez, she must've been really pissed this time, Alexander thought to himself as he saw her walking over to him, huge smile on her face. The two were always polite and hospitable to everyone else around them, Alexander included, but when it came to dealing with each other it was almost as if they were two wild dogs sicced on each other who only knew how to settle things with brute force.

"Yes?" he replied, trying to focus on her instead of her brother who was still lying motionless in the grass. Is he alright? Alexander thought to himself, before eventually shaking it off with a he'll be fine for reassurance. "What is it?" he asked.

"There's some firewood I dropped in the square trying to make it through that crowd, do you think you could go back and pick it up for me? My hands are killing me right now."

Yeah, I bet they are, Alexander thought to himself, chucking one last glance at a beaten Craft beginning to slowly raise his body out of the grass. He handed the ax over to Elze, who was standing in front of him, before starting to head for the village square.

"Oh and...Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Just...be careful." she said, swivelling her face away from him in order to hide the bright shade of red it was turning.

**********

Be...careful? Careful of what? Alexander thought to himself as he walked through the now empty village square.

Even though he had only been at the tavern for at the most five minutes, the village square had completely cleared out, filling Alexander with unease. And how could all of those people have cleared out that quickly? What the hell happened here? Just as Alexander began to habitually reach for his sword on his hip, he heard a soft voice call out to him in the distance.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Startled, Alexander hopped back, drawing his blade and turning in the direction of where he heard the person speak.

At about three yards away from him stood a beautiful girl, draped in white robes and a large hood covering her head, but not large enough so that it covered her face, which was staring intently at him. The robes, a spotless shade of milky white, practically screamed I don't belong here when compared to the mud-coated brown and black rags the other villagers wore. Her hair, which was an unnaturally bright shade of pink, ran down her shoulders, chest, and back, reaching all the way down to her waist in nice neat braids.

While her appearance certainly was fascinating, and under other circumstances he would have enjoyed looking her over, right now her presence did nothing for him besides conjure extreme feelings of anxiety.

"H-How, how did you..." Get behind me, Alexander wanted to ask, before his voice trailed off. The girl stared back at him in silence for a brief moment before replying to him:

"How did I...what? Get near you so quickly? Well, spirits are significantly faster than humans, you know. I'm just surprised at how far back you jumped. Did I really spook you that badly?"

At hearing the girl call herself a spirit, Alexander felt a sharp pang of fear run down his spine. He didn't want to believe it, but the giant horn protruding out of the girl's forehead confirmed her statement for him.

Gripping his blade firmly, Alexander felt his fear transform into rage as he continued to look at the girl in front of him. "A spirit, huh?" he asked, putting as much venom as he could into his words. "You've got some fucking nerve showing your face around here right now, given all that's going on." He glared at the girl, who didn't budge, and was about to charge in and lop her head off when her heard her sigh,

"That's a rather cold reception, considering I came here for you."

Upon hearing her response, Alexander became visibly confused. "Came here...for me?" he asked, taking the utmost care not to relax his stance or ease his gaze off the girl in front of him. "The hell do you mean, 'came here for me'? Are you looking for a fight or something?" While never being entirely sure of his capabilities, Alexander had gained the confidence that no matter his opponent, be it even a spirit, he would be able to inflict damage consequential enough to them that they would never forget the struggle they had while facing him, even if the battle ended in his defeat.

A foolish belief to have, given that his idol and the world-renowned "strongest human" was defeated by a spirit without even managing to land a single blow on it.

Before giving the girl time to react, Alexander sprung forward, swiping at her with a Split Slash. His Split Slash, while nowhere near as powerful as Bernhard's, still has powerful enough to destroy large buildings. Anyone who dared to take it head on, perhaps even a spirit, would be vaporized or at least split down the middle instantly. Alexander thought this was going to be the case this time seeing as though the girl in front of him still was not moving, but was caught entirely off-guard when she suddenly leaped forward to come at him head on.

"My, I had thought you would be stronger than that."

Easily maneuvering past the Split Slash roaring towards her in midair, the girl flew past Alexander and landed in the same spot he took off from, leaving him even more dumbfounded. "Honestly, you have to think of some other attack more powerful than that one, or this will be over much sooner than either you or I want it to be."

"SHUT UP!" he roared, deciding that that girl's condescending sentence would be her last. "Blazing Split Slash!" This attack, while similar to the regular Split Slash, also contained a sizable amount of fire magic, making it many times more deadly than the original. "This time you're through!" he said aiming the destructive swing at the girl in front of him. However, instead of being received with a look of terror as he had expected, the girl only looked at the magic excitedly, licking her lips.

"Oh, you use magic too? Well now this has gotten far more interesting!"

Once again swiftly evading the attack, the girl landed directly beside Alexander so quickly that he didn't have time to react. Before he could even turn his body to fully face her, she had already stretched out her arm and begun to cast a spell towards him.

"Riptide!"

Upon hearing her say this, Alexander was blasted backwards by a powerful torrent of water strong enough to carve its way through rock. His body, having already been pushed to the limit, was cast aside helplessly as he crashed to the ground like a rag-doll. Unable to stand or even raise his sword over his head to defend himself, Alexander closed his eyes and began to mentally prepare for death as he heard the girl begin to slowly make her way over to him.

Mom, Dad, Bernhard, I'm...I'm coming soon, I guess, he thought, feeling the burning sensation of tears beginning to form in his eyes. Just as he heard the girl come to a stop in front of him, he turned his head away and closed his eyes. If you're going to do it, do it quickly. I don't want to be in pain forever when it happens. A rather fearless boy beforehand, Alexander couldn't even comprehend that these were going to be his final thoughts before his apparent death.

But that was just the level of hopelessness par for the course for when one was facing a spirit.

After closing his eyes and biting his lip in preparation for his death, it - never came. He looked up in confusion at the girl standing over him, wondering why he was not already dead or being tortured yet. The girl looked back at him with the same look of confusion before she finally realized what he was thinking.

"Did you think I came here to kill you?"

"I....I...."

"I would never do that."

"W-Wha..." he began to ask, his head feeling as though it was about to explode with bewilderment.

"On the contrary: I came here because I CHOSE you."

Before he could ask her what she meant with that statement, both of their bodies became encapsulated in a bright white glow, before vanishing into thin air.

"Teleport!"