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"Where am I.. ?"

Livshe looked right and left, but she saw nothing. Everything was white and empty.

She then tried to get up, encountering a particular difficulty in moving her feet.

As soon as she had succeeded, Livshe began to run, for no real reason.

A few seconds after, she started feeling a threatening presence following her, but nothing was visible in this world devoid of colors.

She could not remember her name nor her origins or purpose. Accessing these memories seemed impossible to her.

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed in her head; it was Iska's. Immediately after, the silhouettes of Shalom, Uri, Meir, Yakov and their leader appeared in front of her, being nevertheless only illusory images.

She continued her race, all the same, trying to escape the threat, but also hoping to join her traveling companions.

The closer she was to them, the more the world around her began to color itself; magnificent figures vaguely resembling spirits appeared, the vegetation resurfaced, the sky resumed its bluish tint, the sun bathed the area in a bright luminous sea.. Everything was perfect.

But the moment she thought she was safe, a loud cry of fear rang out from all around her.

The world began to crumble, and everything began to disappear, including the images of her friends. Everything came back to the point of departure, but instead of becoming white again, the dimension was swallowed by an agonizing veil of darkness, filling every corner of it.

Livshe's legs lost strength and she fell violently to the ground. Her throat tightened and an intense pain went up her pelvis to her head; it was an unbearable sensation.

Lost in the dark and subjected to this atrocious torture, Livshe resigned herself to give up something that was precious to her... And immediately after, she smiled.

_____

The young sorceress opened her eyelids, staring at the ceiling of her inn's room with her azure eyes. She then slowly turned her head to the bed on her right. Seeing that it was empty, she immediately got up, panicked, and started running to the reception as if her life depended on it. As soon as she arrived, her eyes fell on the group of mercenaries, gathered around a table in the middle of the hall, and shouted out loudly:

"Don't abandon me here!"

The four individuals stared at her for longs seconds. They did not really understand what she meant by that.

"What are you talking about Livshe? We would never abandon you... And even if we wanted to, we were paid to escort you, so..." replied Iska.

The blonde sorceress beautiful eyes sparkled while hearing these words, before she frantically ran down the stairs, jumping on Iska to hug her with all her might.

The head of each individual in the room turned to look at the source of this noise, and the eyes of the majority of them widened.

While the majority of men took delight in observing this picture that awakened in them all kinds of phantasms, Iska could feel Livshe's hot tears running down her cheeks. She passed her right hand over her glowing golden hair, trying her best to comfort her.

At that moment, Livshe seemed to be a little girl with a particularly fragile psyche, threatening to break every time a being whom she had become emotionally attached was about to leave her forever.

This deduction made her happy because she had now obtained the necessary confirmation to be able to make a certain request to Livshe, but she decided to leave that for later. For the moment, an urgent matter was in need of her full attention.

After feeling that the blond sorceress had calmed down, Iska pushed her gently in front her so she could face her.

"Livshe... Uri didn't come back last night."

"Huh?"

Livshe's immediate incomprehension was what drove her to let go of that dumb noise. She then turned her blue irises to Shalom, Yakov, and Meir, who were behind Iska, deducing from their expressions that it was really serious.

"What are you saying? I'm here!"

The familiar voice of Uri sounded like a warning bell in the head of each member of the small group, making them turn almost at the same moment their head towards the entrance of the inn, where the young fighter was watching, a satisfied smile on his lips.

"YOU!" Iska threw herself at him the following second, giving him a violent punch in the face that made him roll to the other side of the pathway. "WHY DID YOU VANISH LIKE THAT?"

"S-Sorry... I-It's just that on the way back, I met a lovely young lady who invited me to have a drink, and.. I think I drank too much." while Uri was justifying his delay, he could feel Iska seething with anger, although behind her, Shalom and Meir laughed after listening to their comrade's excuse. They had all relaxed, or almost.

Livshe turned her gaze to Yakov, who stared at Uri in a strange way. She could tell that he was on his guard just by watching his posture, something she had memorized after a hundred fights at the Coliseum.

Originally, the mercenaries had risen early on the call of Meir, who had noticed, after waking up, the absence of Uri. Taking into account the worst case scenarios, including the fact that the assassins of his father, Belaizel, found him, they had prepared to go save him before Livshe wakes up. They didn't want to involve her in this.

"Well... Now that he's back, I'll go get the carriage." added Meir before leaving the inn. He showed Uri a hint of a smile as if to wish him "good luck". He then turned his head towards the road he had to cross to get to the stable.

Uri got slowly up, dusting off his light armor before returning near his friends. As he got closer, he noticed Iska's suspicious look; she, too, felt that something was wrong.

"Pfh... It must be my imagination." she said to herself in a low voice, before turning her head to the rest of her companions. She stared at Livshe before resuming her warm smile, retorting:

"This time, we will have to cross Yeim's Forest to get to the capital, and from there, we can take the Royal Road to go safely to the Wythover Kingdom. But.."

"What's the matter?" asked Livshed, intrigued by Iska's hassle.

"It's just that.. Normally, the Yeim Forst is much less dangerous than Edoria's, but recently, the number of monster species found there has almost quadrupled."

"It's because of the Thuria and Nosogov Kingdoms.." interjected Shalom before putting his blackish irises on the map of the Houhen Coalition, which included the nations he had just mentioned. He pointed them one by one before continuing:

"From the Southwest for Nosogov and from the Southeast for Thuria.. Their warriors mass hunt monsters, which leads them to go up to Bursk and Wythover so they can escape their tormentors. It seems that the tensions between these four nations revolve around this phenomenon."

"I see.. But you're so strong, so it shouldn't be a problem, right? Yakov and Iska are very powerful sorcerers, I'm sure we have nothing to fear!" Livshe's innocent encouragement embarrassed Iska, who was uncomfortable with compliments, but it made the remaining mercenaries smile.

She was right.. What could happen to a powerful group of warriors and sorcerers?

"The carriage is here!" shouted Meir from outside the inn, while being at the front of the cab.

Each member of the group immediately regained his position, while Iska and Livshe sat inside the imperial, admiring for the last time from the window the spiritual dance of the immaterial beings near the alley. Strangely, her favorite spirit of yesterday, the flying whale, had not shown itself today.

The carriage began to advance after Iska's signal, and the group finally began their new journey to arrive at the Bursk Kingdom's capital, Yeim.

_____

In the middle of the Yeim Forest, a figure shaded by the thick wall of foliage was facing an imposing group of thirty men. They knelt in front of this silhouette, just before one of them replied:

"And what about the one who isn't on the list?"

"You can have it." replied the mysterious individual.

As soon as he had his answer, the man's eyes widened, then he licked his lips; it was the answer he was waiting for.

_____

A few hours after leaving Zoria, Livshe and her escort had already encountered a group of enemies: Saurians.

They are cold-blooded creatures that measure between one hundred and sixty and one hundred and eighty centimeters. They have scaly skin, whose hues are mostly cold, such as blue-gray or pale green; sharp claws and a jaw that can crush almost anything. They have several reptilian features, including the tail that allows them to easily maintain their balance, especially during combat. Most of them, however, have humanoid features, in spite of their faces more or less lengthened according to the specimens, and move on their hind legs. The shape of their scales also varies, and some even have a flange or a scaly ridge that extends from the top of the skull to the tip of their tail. Their speech is very recognizable, the sounds of their voices being sometimes rough, sometimes sibilant. Most often, they are found near the swamps of the Thuria Kingdom, but because of the recent expeditions to hunt monsters, they had to flee from their place of origin, finding refuge in Bursk's swamps.

"Shalom, be careful!" shouted Iska while dodging the repeated thrustings of the Saurians, who, armed with spears and shields, assaulted the small group from all sides.

Shalom, being massive and slow, couldn't dodge the fast attacks of these creatures so easily, hence the shout of the sorceress.

While the muscled giant raised his hammer to sweep the three enemies in front of him, two others passed over his guard, trying to piece his ribs with their spears. Supporting his ally, Meir shot two arrows from his retreating position, charged with keeping the carriage, where Livshe was, safe. The two projectiles were aimed at the heads of the two Saurians who threatened to wound his companion, but when they should have penetrated their skulls, the arrowheads only cut them, though enough to affect their attack, only managing to damage Shalom's armor.

"Huh, what was that?" wondered a surprised Meir, as he noticed a certain luminous brilliance in the scales of these monsters; Indeed, on their side was a sorcerer with a life energy of「Sacred」nature :

"「Eid edraa redno ym ke leeveb uoj prewredno naa ym liw ne, eeg ym eid gark mo eidreih esawd tiu ym goo et ioog ewargeb ym ednayv ni uoj. Setpeid ne eineom tid reew gaaw mo reew gil naa elluh eo et eeg ein.. Lig Gnimresk!」"

The incantation of the Saurian sorcerer, whose rocky scepter was directed towards his allies, caused his shining bright white aura to spring out of his body, covering each one of the reptilian humanoids with a transparent layer that served as an additional defense.

While breaking this defense with his giant hammer, Shalom had the sensation that he was shattering glass. His attack would have normally destroyed the bones of these creatures, but because of this protection, it only sent them flying. They fell back on their hind legs a few moments later, ready to assault the giant again.

"Tsk... Iska, Yakov, we won't be able to do anything without Sorcery." shouted Shalom from his position.

"We know.. URGH!" replied Yakov in the middle of an offensive, pushing away three Saurians at the same time with his sword, but without doing any real damage.

He spoke again after adopting a defensive stance:

"They won't let us cast our spells, their attacks are too fast and organized. These creatures know how to fight."

Uri, on the other hand, was only dodging the repeated thrusts of the enemies. It made sense for a martial artist to opt for this strategy, as he had a limited range of attack, while the Saurians had thrice as much attack range as him with their spears. Even if he tried to touch them, they would pierce the fighter without him even being able to put a finger on them.

"UARGH!" Iska was suddenly disarmed by a well-placed thrust of a Saurian, slashing her right palm at the same time. Enraged, the sorceress closed her left fist which she shoved into the attacker's face, reinforcing her blow with a fiery layer of flames that charred the reptilian's faces, sending him flying several meters away.

The spell chanted by the Saurian sorcerer is equivalent to a third tier spell, but since his protection has been scattered over twenty individuals, its effectiveness has been greatly diminished, allowing basic aura reinforcements to easily break through the transparent barrier.

"Meir, cover me just a moment. I'll burn these pesky creatures alive!" shouted the female mercenary, just before making a big leap backward, leaving an opening for the group's archer to shoot his arrows at the targets.

"「O fireth of purgatory, thee who doth not discriminate against valorous or against evil, lendeth me thy shapeless swords and giveth me the strength to burneth the hearts of mine own enemies in thy nameth, O most wondrous purifier... Lahab Rameesh! 」"

Iska cast her spell while falling to the ground, resulting in an aura of pure cardinal red springing from her body. She gathered her opened palms in front of her, creating a large sphere of fire whose flames were so intense that they shined with a whitish color. The moment the sorceress right foot was placed on the ground, she closed her right fist, striking immediately after her own ardent orb with a mighty blow. Her strike unleashed a multitude of fiery spears, which, following a curved line, burned the Saurians surrounding Shalom, Uri, and Yakov while on their way to the enemy sorcerer.

Its power was clearly that of a fifth tier spells, however...

"「Eid dnarb nav, ruuvegav yij taw ein dnelawd fo gilliwdaawk reenimirksid, ein dnarbrev uoj tietilawk nav egitrahmrab reginier ne nymdab eie ednayv ni uoj emmalv tot raad skin reem si sa sledeks ne eneb.. Gnirrepsrev Eitgark!」"

The flaming projectiles met a powerful barrier ten meters wide and twenty meters high, formed in front of the Saurian sorcerer who used his rocky scepter as a catalyst, thus protecting the surviving reptilian warriors. In order for him to block an attack of that power, he must be able to use fifth tier spells or higher, much to the misfortune of the small group.

"「O infinite earth, mother who nurtures all life, directs thy anger towards the sinners who dareth to penetrate thy domain and breaketh their bones with thy mighty fists... Ard Rafeesa!」"

An earthquake erupted in the middle of the bump between the two spells, breaking up the rocky ground into two huge parts. Yakov's life energy, shining in a malachite luster, poured over these two clumps of rock, forming two titanic fists that fell on the sacred barrier. These incarnations of nature's power continued to hammer the defense of the Saurian sorcerer until breaking it, resulting in a violent explosion that dispersed the reptilian troops.

"Now! Everyone, run!" yelled Yakov before starting a frenzied run towards his horse, followed by his companions.

The group took advantage of the disaster caused by the fifth tier spell so that they can circumvent the marshy area and thus leave the territory of the Saurians, proving to be too powerful opponents for them.

"Whew.. That was close!" said Iska as she slumped inside the cab, sweating profusely.

"These creatures seemed really strong.. And some of them can even use Sorcery.. Who were they?" asked an impressed Livshe, before looking at Iska's wound on her right palm.

"Saurians... They originated from the Thuria Kingdom and are often found near swampy areas.. But I have never seen such a large colony with a sorcerer at its he-" Livshe delicately grabbed Iska's right hand with hers, cutting involuntarily her explanation.

However, a pleasant sensation invaded the mercenary's body as she was being enveloped by the regenerating aura of the blonde sorceress, rapidly treating the injury. As she was healing her, Livshe suddenly appeared as a goddess in Iska's eyes, her pure whitish aura lightening her beautiful golden hair, her almost pale skin, and her azure irises.

"Thank you.." said Iska a few seconds later, before pulling out her hand, embarrassed. She was lost in the beautiful painting that was offered to her, which led the sorceress to completely detach herself from reality.

"There is no need to thank me.. After all, you risked your life to protect me, even if you were contracted to do so. It is the least I can do." replied Livshe while smiling warmly.

"Livshe! Uh... I wanted to ask you.." Iska's expression changed radically as she was about to talk.

"W-Would you like to join our group?"

"Huh?" Livshe's eyes widened in surprise.

"I know you want to go to the Imperial Academy of Sorcery.. But... I have the feeling that you will be much better with us! In Oryth, people are.. How to say it.. Cruel. I fear that something may happen to you. And for you to learn spells, I have a Dryad friend in Brune, her name is Chrysopelea. She is an excellent sorceress and has the same nature of aura as you, so if I ask her, I'm sure she'll teach a lot of things! And also.." Iska lowered her head, hesitant as to her last question. Her face quickly turned red and she looked from right to left, avoiding Livshe's eyes.

"I accept."

"Huh?"

"Me too.. I feel like I'll learn a lot more by staying with you... I'm having so much fun and.. I will be honored to meet Chrysopelea."

Iska's eyes widened, she didn't immediately believe what she heard. Her expression changed instantly, displaying a huge smile that showed her immense joy.

"I'm so happy you said ye-.."

The young sorceress didn't even have the time to enjoy this moment of pure happiness that the carriage was cut in two, separating the two women who were sitting on different sides. From the outside, it seemed like an invisible blade had gone past the cab, slashing it completely.

"「O holy windeth, thee who blows across eternity, cutteth through this reality and imposes thy power on the poor mortals who attendeth helplessly. Thee high-lone reigneth supreme in heaven, therefore, I asketh thee, lendeth me thy mighty strength... Rahih Fals!」"

Invoked by a fifth tier spell, a huge bubble of compressed air made its appearance in the sky, a few thousandths of a second after the separation of the cab in two parts. It dropped instantly on the small group, generating an explosion so terrible that it shaved all that part of the forest, violently ejecting Livshe and her companions in different directions.

Iska opened her eyes a few moments later, spread on the floor. Her body felt heavy, and she was stunned. A hot liquid ran through her forehead and from her nose, proving later to be blood; she was hit hard by the offensive, but if she took so much damage, then Livshe, who was a little further away from the spell's point of impact, should not be in a bad shape. That was enough to calm her down, letting her take her time to scan the area to see if the enemy sorcerer was near.

While looking up, she realized that the sky was darkening; a cumulonimbus nebula was formed, trying to give birth to a storm.

A sound rang out from one of the bushes around the sorceress, the latter immediately averting her gaze to its source.

It was Uri.

He was heading towards Meir's body, who was unconscious while holding a club in his right hand.

"Uri.. What are you doing?" Iska tried to scream, but the intense pain prevented her from speaking aloud. She tried to get up, without success, noticing that her right leg was twisted.

"Uri.." the sorceress tried to call him again, in vain.

A few moments after, she noticed a scene she would never have thought of seeing in her life.

Her friend and companion, Uri, shattered Meir's skull with the club, and thus, without an ounce of hesitation. The power of the blow scattered what was left of his cranial box, as well as small pieces of his brain, bathing his body in his own blood.

"URI!" the dark sky was suddenly illuminated by a thunderclap, the latter piercing the nebula of clouds to crash on the red-haired sorceress.

The cardinal red that usually tinted Iska's life energy changed into a deep blue, assimilating to the huge mass of lightning that enveloped her body.

In this world, it was possible for the sorcerers to use all the sub-types of life energy corresponding to the nature of their aura. Some preferred to specialize in one or two subtypes to master them fully, while others expanded their range of spells to the maximum. Iska excelled in mastering the subtype of life energy「Lightning」, corresponding to her aura that was of「Fire」nature.

"「Danceth, danceth, god of thunder. Nobody in this world liveth forever. Enjoyeth the moment and liveth for pleasure. Destroyeth everything in the blinketh of an eye. Doth not beest hath left with regrets. It is timeth to slaughter everyone. Killeth, killeth, killeth. Purge all life, enlightenment cometh easily. Alloweth me shareth with this world all mine own sorrow and envy... Barq Ileeh!」"

As soon as she had finished her incantation, she began screaming with all her strength the spell's name, resulting in the formation of a gigantic figure above her, only composed of electricity. The mighty being brandished the legendary spear of a thunder god, crushing the divine artifact at the speed of lightning on what appeared to be Uri, disrupting the entire structure of the area by generating a devastating explosion.

Indeed, she had just used her sixth tier spell, whose power could destroy mountains. Every sane person would have deduced the pure and simple result of such a powerful blow, calcining every living being touched by its impact; however, that night, the impossible became possible.

"Well done, Jie Wen." said Uri, a crisp smile on his lips.

Iska's eyes widened before what stood in front of her; a huge wall of wind that was majestically erected, having completely absorbed her spell. Their enemies also counted among their ranks an individual capable of using a sixth tier spell or higher.

"W-What.." distraught, the young woman could only lose her words.

Forthwith, a young man emerged from the dark veil offered by the forest, sporting the armorial bearings of the Shang Dynasty, currently ruling one of the southern nations forming the Narean Union. Its greenish irises seemed to twinkle in the dim light, showing a glimpse of his black hair. Iska could also see the unique dress style of the wealthy of the Tei Fong Empire, including a long traditional hat and a hanfu made of golden embroidery.

Behind him, Uri's silhouette began to change little by little, taking on a whole new shape.

It was only after a few seconds that Iska realized what happened...

Uri never returned to the inn. The one who was with them all this time was just an impostor. But, how?

"This girl could use a sixth tier spell, huh.. We should have tortured Belaizel's son a little more before killing him, don't you think so, Jie Wen? He obviously didn't tell us everything he knew." the voice that emanated from the new figure was much more feminine.

"Indeed, Princess Lianzhi." answered coldly the young man, always on his guard. He thought that Iska might still hide some powerful attack and didn't know that she could only use it once a day, exhausting almost all her aura. Unlike her, he had just used a sixth tier spell himself, 「Rahih Jidar」, without flinching. Jie Wen was clearly on a whole other level.

A new thunderclap arose from the cumulonimbus, being of natural origin this time. It briefly illuminated the area, showing the second princess of the Tei Fong Empire, Lianzhi Shang. She wore a palatial buyao in her elegant hair bun as well as a magnificent jade ruqun, the symbolic color of her nation. She was holding a stylish uchiwa in the shape of a butterfly in her right hand, but, as soon as a sorcerer would put his gaze into it, he would notice that something clearly differentiated it from a normal uchiwa.

The bamboo fan was full of life energy, illuminated by the blue denim sparkle that colored the princess aura.

"H-How.. How did you do it?" asked an agonizing Iska, having trouble keeping her eyes open; she was on the edge of unconsciousness.

"My dear.. Was that the first time in your life that you saw an illusion? Poor creature.." said Lianzhi before giving up a mocking sneer.

"You can come out." added the princess in an authoritarian tone, just before thirty men emerged from the forest. Despite the fact that they were only bandits who were subjected by the two sorcerers, they showed great discipline, largely for fear of attracting the wrath of the imperial figure.

One of the men was holding a bag, dropping its content after a sign of Lianzhi, near the motionless body of Iska.

As the sorceress' eyelids began to weigh heavily, she saw Uri's decapitated head roll in front of her. A horrifying expression of pain was written on his face, signaling that he had been tortured until death ensued.

"You monsters... I.. I.." Dropping tears of desperation, Iska's mind began to empty itself, little by little. Contrary to most people who would abandon their life in a cry of despair, the red-haired sorceress wanted to devote her last moments to hate the people who deprived her of her future.

"Iska!" shouted Shalom and Yakov in unison as they continued their run from the other side of the forest. The spell of Jie Wen had swept them a thousand meters away from their initial positions, which obliged them to start a frenzied run towards their injured companions.

"Catch her." ordered Lianzhi, a cryptic smile on her lips.

The bandits propelled themselves towards the young woman on the ground, while Shalom and Yakov tried to accelerate to get there before them. But Iska had already lost interest in her own life. She began to whisper a certain incantation while combating her dive into unconsciousness, only being kept awake by pure hatred:

"「O fireth of purgatory, thee who doth not discriminate against valorous or against evil, I offer thee mine own life, mine own soul, mine own envy... alloweth these offerings to nourish thy purifying flame so it can, in thy nameth, grant me the vengeance I seeketh... Lahab Gehenna..」"

The normally red cardinal aura of Iska began a radical change; it started to dye itself into a deep black, before taking the form of small sparks that adorned the corpse of the sorceress. These sparks quickly turned into flames, biting its invoker little by little. It was during the arrival of the bandits that the spell reached its final stage, consuming all that could constitute Iska, from the tiniest hair to the smallest ounce of life, before imploding into a real torrent of black fire. Its heat was such that it dried up the nearby trees, literally disintegrating the closest men while going up in the sky to form a gigantic column of flames. Yakov, Shalom, and the two imperial figures jumped out of reach, but they could still feel the incredible power of the spell, concentrating everything that made up an individual like emotions, desires, dreams, and fears before setting it on fire in a hellish wave.

Spells of this type were classified in a special tier by sorcerers all around the world, called tier zero. All those practicing the complex arts of sorcery know of the unspoken rule that forbids every life energy manipulator to use them. The reason behind that prohibition being that the incantations required some forms of sacrifices, including parts of the user's body.

A good example of this kind of spell would be the one that broke the barrier separating the physical and spiritual realms a thousand years ago, resulting in the appearance of spirits in this plane of reality.

"ISKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Yakov once again felt a familiar rage taking over his body as he unsheathed his sword, prepared to slaughter anyone who had survived the attack. To his great misfortune, Lianzhi and Jie Wen were still alive, their silhouettes clearly visible after the dissipation of the black flames. They were accompanied by four men who unsheathed their swords as well, being the only survivors among the bandits. Shalom left a powerful war cry before lifting his giant hammer, ready to attack.

The battle had just begun.

_____

Livshe woke up with an intense headache, realizing only a few moments later that she was bleeding from her forehead. She was propelled hundreds of meters away from her initial position by the wind spell, but she could tell that her injuries were not dangerous. From that far, she could see a giant column of black flames, followed by a hellish wave of fire that swallowed part of the forest...

Her allies were probably in danger, she needed to be there for them. Even though her abilities as a fighter were weak, she still was a sorceress who could heal her companions if it was needed.

Being determined to join the battle, she stood up while trying to fight the pain, not realizing that two shaded figures were staring at her from behind, waiting for their chance...