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ID Chapter 14: Sacred Oath and Alyssia's Past
🕑 Added 2020-10-08 09:00:52 +0000 UTCEthan pocketed his loot and went to the river. He cleaned himself and his new friends in the river. Did they qualify as his friends when they were attracted to him? This could even be called a harem. Ethan's lips formed a wry smile. Mini climbed over his shoulder and snuggled near his neck.
He returned to the spacious cavern and covered the entrance with boulders. Escaping would be easy with the shadow rabbits around.
"Mini, can't you talk to me?"
Mini darted out of the cave and returned with a little stick. She pushed the rabbits away and drew something on the ground. Some weird characters, perhaps the language of this world.
Mini stared at him as though gauging Ethan's reaction to her work.
"I can't read it."
She slammed the stick on the ground and plopped with crossed arms. Ethan comforted her anger with a few rubs.
Mini regained some energy and drew a figure of a man and squirrel. She squealed and tapped both figures. Then she connected them with two arcs.
"What does it mean?"
Mini covered her face with both hands and fell on her back. Her frustration was immeasurable.
"Idiot, she wants you to take a Sacred Oath to form the pact," A sweet voice arrived in his head.
"Who?"
No one answered Ethan this time. It must have been Phoenix, only she had the time to stalk people from her luxurious castle.
"Mini, do you know Sacred Oath?"
Mini's ears perked up. She shot at him and grabbed his collar. "Kii!"
"I don't understand your language. Should I take an oath here?"
Mini's quick nods said everything. So he was to take an Oath for Mini. Literature was never his forte since the baldy's lectures bored him to death. He thought to the best of his abilities.
"Alright, here goes nothing. Mini, form a pact with me and become my Spirit Beast."
"Kiii!" Mini answered with an enthusiastic squeal.
Ding!
[Conditions fulfilled to form a Sacred Oath. Do you want to sacrifice 32 Willpower to form a pact with the Level 4 Horned Squirrel?]
[Yes / No]
The permanent stat reduction didn't stop him from pressing the Yes. It was nothing compared to the help Mini gave him.
A red wisp flew out of his body and enveloped Mini, who also sent a green wisp to him.
Ding!
[Mini has become your Spirit Beast Partner.]
[You have acquired the 'Swift' Aspect.]
[You have acquired the 'Wind' Aspect.]
Ethan's jaw dropped at the messages.
[Your Level is insufficient to contain the Aspects.
Sealing the Aspects.]
He punched the blue window. Fuck. He couldn't use the Wind Magic for now. He calmed himself and watched Mini's fur gleaming in the dim lighting.
He plonked himself down on the ground. Mini returned to his lap.
"Master!"
A cute, childish voice rang inside his head. Ethan found Mini looking up at him.
"Mini, was that you?"
"Yes, Master! We can talk now!"
A relieved sigh escaped his lips. "Okay, now tell me who you are? Are you a reincarnated person?"
"Master, let's talk about you first. Who are you exactly? You look like a noble's son, yet you can't read the Elvish Language. You know nothing about Sacred Oath, something even a commoner knows."
"Would you believe if I say that I am not a resident of this world?"
"Absolutely! I can sense if Master tells any lies."
A Spirit Beast Partner could do that as well. Ethan nodded in admiration and retold how he got teleported here in his sleep. About what Phoenix said to him about his summon.
Mini crossed her arms with a thinking expression. "So my Master is summoned. Only a handful of individuals in Avalon can use Magic of such caliber. Mistress Azar, the last descendant of the Phoenix Clan, isn't one of them."
That obnoxious Phoenix was known as Azar. Ethan nodded his head and raised another question.
"Avalon?"
He only knew one Avalon, the legendary island in Arthurian Legends.
"Ah, forgive me for not telling this earlier. People refer to this world as Avalon."
"Okay… so now about you."
"Master, okay. I will start with my birth."
Ethan leaned his back on the hard wall and listened to her story.
Alyssia Rheona, born and raised in Rheona Family, a baron ranked noble family in Twilight City. From her childhood, Alyssia grew up hearing the legends of Lord Brilliance and Mistress Luna, the ancient gods, and a couple loving each other deeply. They protected the humans from the wild Spirit Beasts, bestowed their power upon the Overlord, and created a path for dead souls to be reborn. Those were just the tip of the iceberg.
Alyssia came to worship the Gods showering humanity with their kindness, going as far as to disregard her magic talent to become a nun in the House of Brilliance, the church of Lord Brilliance. However, the Archbishop discovered her talent and groomed her to become his successor.
Alyssia finished the given tasks with flying marks and only one trial was left—to gain Lord Brilliance's blessing from a totem in the Vanishing Forest. She wasn't allowed to get any help, or the blessing would be of inferior rank.
Alyssia almost reached the totem but a scream distracted her, leading her to a man surrounded by black chains. The soil beneath him was tainted blood-red. He only gave a look at Alyssia and faded into shadows. As Alyssia stepped on the soil, the soil enveloped her body. Anguish filled her soul and she screamed until her throat became dry of any moisture.
When she woke up again, she wasn't Alyssia anymore. Her skin became pale white, her blue eyes crimson and a layer of snow shrouded her hair.
A wild leopard pounced on her but she didn't hesitate to twist its body with her newfound strength. Compelled by a sudden urge, she sank her fangs into the leopard's throat and drank its blood.
She continued feasting on the wild Spirit Beasts and slaughtering groups of hunters, until the paladins from the church found her. A chaotic battle ensued and the well-equipped knights came out on top. She was dragged back to the church, where Saint Grant conducted a ritual to restore her condition. With her urges to drink blood cured, Alyssia searched for the families she destroyed and worked day and night to support them in any way possible.
One such night, she collapsed outside a tavern. A man took her home and assaulted her in her sleep. She woke up with a stranger's child in her womb.
Once the boy came into the world, she didn't keep him near herself in fear of her urges returning, forcing her to bare her fangs in her own blood.
She sent the child to an orphanage. Several years later, the Warlord Hall accepted the boy for his talent. He joined the Hunters Guild and participated in the Spirit Beast wave that occurred every now and then. He slew Generals in the Undead Legion. His merit grew with every war. Titles kept piling upon his name. In the end, the Ruler of Gramver Kingdom bestowed a duchy upon him.
Four decades passed by, but the age had no effect on Alyssia's body. She looked the same as the day she walked out of the Vanishing Forest. However, on the inside, she was dying. Every passing day increased her urges and Saint Grant was too busy with his marriage with the Dragon Queen. In the end, she shut herself in this very cave for several months. The urges drove her to insanity but she persisted on not taking any more lives.
Devoid of any nutrition, she took her last painful breath.
But the next moment she was alive again, in the body of a horned squirrel.
Ethan gazed at the ceiling and patted Mini, or rather Alyssia's head. A kind woman like her suffered too much. Forced to become a Vampire-like creature then getting raped by a stranger. Like Earth, this world also had no place for kind people. Her tragic past didn't reduce any of her liveliness. No one had forced her to rot in a cave alone. But she chose it herself. The title of "Saint" suited none other than her.
"Master, I am okay. It was Lord's retribution for my sins."
"You did nothing wrong. You even devoted your life to help people in need. I actually admire you for that."
"Really, Master?"
"Alyssia, can I use this name?"
"Of course, Master. I like my new name too!"
An unease passed through Ethan. He found his hands turning into purple particles.
The end of the second day in Avalon...
"Alyssia, we will meet again."
He clutched the bag and rubbed her head.
"Master, I will wait here!"
