33. Journey to the Past

After hearing Freyja is his aunt, Victor shakes his head.

"How is that even possible? My mother never told me anything about you. How do I know you're not trying to trick me?"

"Relax, child of my sister. Allow me to show you."

She places her hand on his cheek, and Victor is shown a memory of her past. In it, he sees his mom, who is very young and her sister next to her side. Both of them received a necklace from their parents, and it is the same one he is wearing. The memory fades, and Victor is left in tears.

"You must be exhausted after your long journey. Please rest up for today so we can discuss matters tomorrow."

She leaves the room, and they are shown to their chambers. Victor changes his clothes and lies on the bed before drifting to sleep. When he opens his eyes, Shadow appears in front of him.

"Shadow? What are you doing here?"

Shadow just floats in the air, saying nothing.

"What have you come to tell me?"

After a long silence, Shadow finally speaks.

"Be careful who you trust."

He dissappears, leaving Victor confused and worried as he drifts back to the real world and opens his eyes. The morning has come already, and he hears a knock followed by a woman's voice.

"Excuse me, Mr. Bloodgrave. Breakfast is being served in the hall."

With a groan, he gets out of bed and changes into new clothes before heading to the hall. When he opens the door, a vast crowd of people stand up and bow towards him, making him feel uncomfortable. He doesn't let it bother him as he walks to the table where Gizel, Gwennith, and Freyja are sitting and takes the open spot between Gizel and Freyja. Freyja stands up and prepares to give a speech.

"People of Regnum, today is worthy of celebration as one of our own, decended of royalty graces our presence. Let's treat them with utmost respect and train them in our ways."

Everyone claps as she sits down, and the servers bring out the meals for everyone. A vast array of meats, cheeses, breads, and sweats are placed before them. Gizel and Gwennith start eating as soon as the food is placed on the table, while Victor continues to wonder about what Shadow told him. Freyja taps Victor on his arm and begins discussing personal matters.

"I believe you are here to learn how to summon and control our magic. What would someone like you need to learn of such power?"

"Let's just say I couldn't protect someone I really loved from dying. That's why I want to learn to control the magic my mother could so it doesn't happen again."

"That's great and all, but no matter how powerful you become, you will not be able to protect everyone you care about. We will all die eventually, and we must welcome it with open arms."

"Quite the statement for someone of your standing. But let's get one thing straight, Auntie, no matter what you try and tell me, I will still learn to use these powers. If you've got a problem with that, then I'll go to someone else who's willing to help."

"I understand. Very well, if you want to learn how to harness and control our power, you will need to go back to the beginning of the Divine Mages and learn from there. It will not be easy to learn the spells as they are written in a different language that few understand its translation. Do you still want to continue?"

"Yes."

Freyja closes her eyes and smiles.

"If your resolve is this strong, I have no right to refuse your request. Meet me in the temple later today that we may proceed with the spell."

"What about them?"

He looks towards Gizel and Gwennith.

"What will they be doing while I travel back to the past?"

"Fear not, they will be trained and treated like one of the citizens. Both of them have potential that is locked away. We might be able to discover it, but it will take time."

They finish breakfast and are shown around the palace by Tristia and Bladyen. They move to an open field surrounded by a tall wall. Victor takes one look and asks.

"You don't really want to show us around, do you? You've wanted to fight me for a while now and saw this as an opportunity to force it."

"Impressive. I underestimated your ability to assess, given your age. Yes, I have wanted to fight you since yesterday. Now you have no way to back out."

Victor looks over his shoulder and sees Bladyen erect a barrier around them. Preventing anyone else from interfering. Gizel and Gwennith look on with worry as Victor faces down Tristia. Both draw their swords and prepare to attack. Bladyen lights a signal to start the battle, Tristia immediately moves to attack Victor, but before she can swing her sword, Victor appears behind her and hits her so hard, she goes crashing into the barrier.

"Your technique it beautiful, but your defense doesn't exist. If you had focused on defense, I would not have been able to land my attack. I hope you are satisfied now."

After hearing those words again, Tristia is taken back to a memory she has of her master.

"Remember Tristia, while you are deadly with attacking, you leave your defenses wide open."

"But father. If my attack is so strong, why would I need to learn defense?"

"Strength is not everything in battle. One day, you might come across someone who is skilled at reading their opponents movements, and you will be defeated."

"What do I do if that happens?"

With a smile, her father says,

"Follow them. They will teach you how to defend yourself while attacking."

Tristia lies on the ground and starts laughing. Victor and the others proceed to the temple when Victor feels an immense power traveling towards them. He turns around and blocks it with his hand.

"I hope you didn't think I wouldn't notice. Your control is minimal, and your attacks are like a gentle breeze. Making them easy to detect and counter."

"What about yourself? If you have so much to say about Mt magic, then fire off one of your own. I will face it head-on."

Victor closes his eyes and lets out a sigh. Gizel and Gwennith step away from Victor and find cover.

"Winds fury."

Victor sends a small ball towards Bladyen, which makes him laugh.

"HAHAHA. Do you really expect that to do something?"

When it gets within striking range, Bladyen tries to cut the ball, but that causes it to explode, sending Bladyen crashing into the wall. After a while, they arrive at the temple and are ushered inside. When they arrived at the altar, a big circle had been drawn, and Freyja was standing on the outside.

"Once you step into this circle, I will begin the chant to send you back to the past. If you are not able to learn what you need, you will be trapped there forever."

Before Victor steps into the circle, he places an item in Gizel and Gwenniths hands before whispering.

"Be careful who you trust."

He stands in the center, and Freyja begins her chant. The circle glows in a blueish-red light before creating a portal and sucking Victor in. He is surrounded by darkness as he enters and opens his eyes to find himself in a very different place.

"I wonder where I am?"

Suddenly, a giant monster jumps out of the bush and lands in front of him. Its teeth are the size of rocks, skin like dragon scale, and taller than all the trees around them. It lets out a spine chilling roar that echoes throughout the forest.

"Not the welcoming I was expecting."

Victor says this as he prepares to defend himself.