17 It all changes here Part 3
"Wh-what are you?" I barely heard Art stammering out that fatal question over my own breathing.
The creature in front of us seemed to be the embodiment of evil. Smooth obsidian armour akin to armour of the most foul warrior. The creature towered far above us, well over 10 metres in height. It sat cross legged on a jagged stone throne that was carved out of the wall behind it. Its arm lazily supporting its head as this monster burned through us with its petrifying red eyes. Menacing horns that arched forward and upward was similar to the horns of a Minotaur, resembling a crown. Bladed fangs slipped between the gap of its lips. The monster before us radiated an obsidian light from its armour, making it appear to be a priceless treasure.
I took a breath. A deep one.
It was pointless for this creature, sentient or not, to save us just to kill us later. Unless it derived some sick and twisted pleasure from giving us false hope.
Even still, this behaviour is unfitting for someone of my stature, and I soon found myself grasping the hand my brother had offered me to pull me to my feet. Yet even despite my previous life's status, it was a rather cruel and pathetic joke to try and flaunt that before this being.
I streamed mana into my eyes as our apparent saviour started talking, straining my eyes to find any form of detail that could be fatal to us. We were in its territory, and no matter how grateful I was, I know I can't trust her so suddenly. That was until I noticed a worrisome gash on her chest, garnering a little sympathy as well as fear from me.
'What in the world could hurt this thing.' I thought to myself.
"We finally meet, young ones." She repeated with a lazy smile, revealing a fence of shark-like teeth.
I continued to shake with nervousness. Something about her shot my nerves, or maybe it was due to the amount of adrenaline circulating my body from the fall. Or maybe...
It was the feeling she could rip me in two without batting an eye.
"Bugs will fly into your mouth if you keep it open that wide."
Quite a mild sense of humour, despite her aura.
"As for what I am, I won't say anything more than what you can see from looking." our horned saviour answered, all the while its crimson eyes peering into my soul.
I couldn't find it within me to say anything in response. The answer was too vague to warrant a response anyways.
"It is going to take a while for me to open a dimensional rift that will transport the both of you to your family, so until then, be patient and wait here. There are special roots and fruits that grow here. You will be able to live off those until I finish." It stated with an exasperated sigh.
That's right. This creature brought us here to take us home. How utterly unfitting of me to cower before someone who is extending their hospitality to me in such a way.
Regaining some semblance of composure, I approached the creature in tandem with Arthur, and bowed in gratitude.
"We are deeply sorry for our earlier rudeness. Please excuse our unsightly behaviour, it was appalling to show such behaviour in front of our benefactor. " I apologised respectfully.
"Thank you for everything you have done for us, and for everything you will proceed to do. If there is anyway we can repay you, we shall do everything in our power to complete the request." My brother stated, expressing our gratitude.
"Such good manners for children. Do not worry; I am expecting neither a favour nor your gratitude. I am simply doing this for my own amusement. And as for your earlier behaviour, I am aware of my unwelcoming appearance, so take no mind, it is not your fault and I took no offense. Come! Sit here, closer to me, and keep me company. I haven't talked to anyone in a while." The being laughed peacefully, brushing off our heartfelt remarks as if the being had already experienced all it needed in this world.
It was a content kind of laugh.
I climbed up the throne in a stiff manner, sitting to her left as Art sat on her right, glad to finally rest my aching body.
"Uhh... excuse me for being rude, but you don't exactly look like a lady. How exactly should I address you?"
'You're right Art, that is rude. If I wasn't so sore right now you would have gotten a slap already.' I thought to myself.
"You're right. I don't exactly look like a lady, now do I? I wonder why I said that. My name is Sylvia." she replied, along side a light laugh.
I made sure to send a slight glare at Art for the rude comment. Although he wasn't exactly wrong, it most certainly didn't hurt not to mention it.
He noticed my glare and gave both me and Sylvia an apologetic smile.
"Elder Sylvia, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Art asked tentatively.
"Go ahead young one, although I may not be able to answer everything."
Art then proceeded to ramble on with the basic, yet necessary, questions of:
"Where is this place? Why are you here all alone? Where did you come from? Why do you have that huge wound?... Why did you save us?"
She waited patiently for his interrogation to die down before answering.
"You must have had a lot on your mind. The first question is easy to answer. This place is a narrow zone between the Beast Glades and the Forest of Elshire. No one else knows about this place because I have been warding off any who came close, although the cases are rare in the first place. You two, are the first to enter this domain." She explained in a relaxed manner, seemingly enjoying the conversation.
"You can call me Art! My name is Arthur Leywin and that is my brother Andrew, but you can just call him Andy, everyone else does. So you can too!" My brother blurted out.
Sylvia turned to me for confirmation, to which I just nodded. It wouldn't make a difference what she called me anyway.
"Kukuku... Very well, henceforth I shall call you Art, and you Andy." She responded happily.
"Moving on to your second question. I am here alone because I simply have no one else to be with. While I do not think tell the both of you everything would be wise, I will tell you that I have many enemies that desperately wish for something I have; My last battle with my enemies left me this wound. As for where I came from... very far away, haha." That answer stuck and chord in me. Alone because she has no one else to be with sounds far too familiar for my liking.
She took a brief pause, running her eyes slowly over the two of us. Despite that, I didn't feel afraid, or well at least nearly not as much. I would have to get over the alarm bell of danger later.
"As for why I saved the two of you... Even I do not fully know the answer to that question. Perhaps I have been alone for too long and simply wished to have someone to talk to. I first noticed you when your party was engaged with the bandits. When you fell off the cliff to save your mother, and when you fell off the cliff in an attempt to save and shield your brother, I felt compelled to save you, as it would be a waste to let such good people die. You both are very brave, even an adult would struggle to do that."
I saw Arthur shake his head before answering.
"I was scared too, and didn't have much of an option. I just wanted to save my mother and my baby sibling inside of her."
"Me as well, I was horrified. When I saw him falling my heart dropped and my body acted on instinct. When I got pulled off the edge I was hit by a spell meant to catch me, hurting me badly. I thought I would die either way and tried to stop Art from dying as well."
This being. Sat beside her, I turned into a child. Her comforting power and warm way of speaking seemed to shield me from the predicament I was in. Even if only for a moment. Its more accurate to say I was a child, combining both lives I would still probably be far younger than her.
"I see... Your mother was pregnant. You must miss them dearly. Rest assured, your family and party are safe. As for where they have gone, my sight cannot reach far enough to tell anymore."
I felt as if a weight was removed from my shoulders, as a smile leaked onto my usually bleak face. Even I couldn't stop myself from breaking into a grin at this news.
"Th-thank god. They're alive... they're okay..." Art said between sobs, as I was struggling to contain my own tears. Due to my own emotional turmoil, I hummed in agreement.
Sylvia's enormous hand descended, as she used a finger to stroke our heads.
The days passed by, quickly blending into weeks. I finally asked the questions that were on my mind.
"Sylvia, what kind of creature could hurt you? And how come you can't heal yourself like you healed us?" I asked tentatively, hoping that the subject wouldn't be a sore spot.
"My wound is not a simple one, child. It would take far too much energy to heal, energy that I cannot spare. As for who could hurt me like this... to put it simply it was one of my own, although I cannot tell you why just yet." She responded kindly, leaving me to brood over her answer.
Later she spoke of her own queries.
"I was under the impression that amongst humans, the earliest mage to awaken so far was the age of ten, and even then, because the child couldn't grasp how to use it, there was very little he could do with it. Yet not only have you fully formed your mana core, but, by the way you use mana, you seem to be more efficient than most full-fledged mages." She spoke inquisitively.
It felt pleasant to be complimented in such a way.
"We are a little special." I responded
"Yeah, we can even read really well and get what the pictures and words in books are saying." Art continued in childish innocence, and I couldn't help but nod in agreement.
More days trickled by as Sylvia was preparing the portal.
"The spell will take some time in order for it to be completely safe. I do not wish for you to land in a destination you are not familiar with. Even one inconsistency can lead to you being teleported a few hundred metres off the ground. Please be patient; you will be able to see your loved ones soon." she explained in a regretful tone.
I hummed in response, as Art expressed he didn't mind waiting. The knowledge that they were alive was comforting enough. Waiting here would certainly be better than attempting to scale the mountain again.
