“Please, come join me.” someone said with a gentle voice.
In the middle was a woman sitting on a table, looking towards the ocean. Her hair was a beautiful amethyst purple, and she was wearing a white dress.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“You are in a pocket dimension with me… we can speak better here, but we don’t have much time. So please, take a seat.”
She gestured to a chair beside her, which also looked towards the sea. Although I questioned if I should, I sat down.
“Do you want some tea?”
She waved her hand and two cups appeared on the table.
But they were crystal clear, although warm by the steam that was coming out.
“T-this is just water…”
“Oh! I’m sorry, I… I am losing control of this place.”
She waved her hand once more, the water was replaced by tea. I thanked her and gave it a taste after putting in some sugar. It tasted good. She was smiling while I tasted it.
“Wait! I have hands!”
I looked at myself. I had my body, and I was on a white robe. Hands, face, everything!
“It is in the meantime. I thought you might want to be comfortable before I depart.”
“S-sorry… but who are you?”
“You may call me Ella. And this place is… sadly… my prison.”
Normally, someone that is in a prison was dangerous. But… this was not a common prison, and she seemed to be really nice.
Her eyes were also purple, and appeared to shine. Yet, I could see something behind them. They were turned off, like someone in their last moments contemplating life, with so much to say and not enough time to do it. She had a beautiful face, but had bags under her eyes. She seemed tired.
Although, there was something familiar about her that I could not put my finger on.
“Can you tell me your name, traveler from another world?”
“Ah, sorry… Alice. Do you know how I ended up here?”
“Sorry, but I don’t know. I was imprisoned here. By, I believe, the same people that put you in your predicament. All I can imagine is that you most likely found your way inside that sword you are part of.”
“Is that even possible?”
She nodded.
“I have seen more impressive things happen.”
Before I could answer or ask any question, everything ‘glitched’ or something similar. It was like all around disappeared, we went into a void, and then we came back.
“Ah!” she screamed and held her head, “I cannot… sorry…”
“What is happening?”
“It is getting difficult… to keep this place together…”
“Are you okay?”
“Y-yes… no… I am not… Alice… sorry… but I need to ask you a favor. I won’t hold it against you if you say no… we are total strangers, after all…”
She sat straight, and looked me directly in the eyes. I could tell there was some form of pain.
“I am dying, Alice. The people that left me here, they wanted to kill me off by draining me of my energy. I am finally on my last moments.”
“That… then they must have held you for a good while!”
“Yes… long enough I am not sure how much time has passed.”
“I cannot imagine that… alone for all that time…”
“Yes I don’t even know if you are really here… I want to believe you are really here… like the voices that speak to me, asking me to give them names… I don’t really know what is real anymore… so I want to believe you are real too.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Then, how do I help you? Maybe I can do something to pull you out! A monster or something that must be holding you inside!”
I was about to stand up, and she placed her hand on my arm to stop me.
“You are an interesting person, Alice. You just arrived from your world and you are already wanting to kill monsters for someone you just met.”
“Ah… Well, I really don’t know what got to me, but you need my help, right?”
It was really a weird thing to say and do, actually. I had been in that world for just a few hours, and I had already fought a few monsters.
Maybe I got too into the act of the heroine, but I felt the drive to want to help her.
“Why did they trap you here?” I decided to move the conversation, I was feeling embarrassed.
“They deemed me… dangerous. Before I was placed in here, the two goddesses that now rule this world decided I should not be allowed to be free, and decided to trap me.”
“In the past, I was known as the Sword Maiden, a powerful warrior who fought in order to keep peace in this place. I was like you… summoned from another world.”
“Wait, are you from Earth?!”
She nodded.
“Yes. Just like you, I come from Earth.”
“I didn’t expect to meet someone from Earth!” I placed my hand on my chest, “ I… I don’t even know where I am or what is happening.”
“And yet here you are, having fun killing monsters.”
“H-hey! I almost died, it's not like I was having fun…” I lied, I did have fun fighting monsters and gaining levels. “I mean, it is like in videogames and RPGs…”
She tilted her head.
“Videogames?”
“Ah! Maybe they did not exist yet when you lived on earth… I can tell you when we come out of here, and tell you how much Earth has changed since then! You said you needed my help? Is it to leave this place, right?”
“Miss Alice… when we leave this place… I won’t be alive anymore.”
I was afraid of that, but the idea to have meeting someone from Earth was making me excited. I was not the only one that got summoned!
“I need your help, but not to save me. There is nothing you can do, not in your current condition.”
“T-then what is it?”
“I don’t want them to have the last laugh… I wish I could fight back… become strong again… but I won’t make it…”
The room glitched again, and this time it stood longer. When the room returned, the beach was gone, replaced by a dark void.
Her expression soured.
“Then, tell me what you need.”
“Take my soul with you.”
“Your soul?”
“Yes. I will make a pact with you, and it will say that you will have my soul. I won’t allow myself to be consumed into the Ether of the world like this, because I know they will come and collect it for themselves. No, I want to be gone by the time they arrive.”
“Okay… but I don’t… what do you want me to do with your soul?”
“Keep it close… and let me see that world out of this abandoned factory once more… and travel like I did when I was a simple low level adventurer… that is all I ask.”
It was a simple dream.
“Okay, I will take you with me… but we are not in an abandoned factory, we are in a series of caverns.”
“I… what?”
She seemed confused, like she couldn’t believe me. But then she smiled, like hope just came into her all of a sudden.
“That idiot… he did it!” She placed her hand on her mouth. “How is it that I did not notice? Maybe it was when… this is… I cannot believe this! My heart is much more calm now!”
“Is it good that we are not in the factory?”
She turned towards me, smiling and took my hands.
“Yes! It means we…”
The smile turned off, and she fell forward to the ground. The whole room disappeared.
“Ella!” I screamed and got close to check on her. Her look was off, looking into the distance, “Are you okay?”
“Alice… I cannot hold myself anymore…” she extended her hand, “please, make the pact with me… on this day… I, Alice, give my Soul to rest with you… just to see the world.”
“Yes! Of course!” I took her hand, “I will take you to see the world once more! I promise!”
She smiled with her eyes closed once more.
“I wish I could have been the one that gave you the tour of this world… you seemed to have been fun to have around… friend.”
Ella was covered in light, and I got engulfed by it.
The next thing I knew was that I was back in the dark cavern.
|Ugh… again… [Soul Sense]|
It was the cavern, the same I was in before I met Ella.
I pondered about what just happened. Was it an illusion or a dream?
I could feel something inside of me was different. I checked my stats screen.
[Name: Alice - Class: None - Race: Human Soul - Body: Copper Sword]
[Level: 04/10 EXP: 388/590]
[HP: 16/16 MP: 16/16]
[STR: 8]
[DEX: 11]
[INT: 7]
[WIS: 3]
[CHA: 1]
[LCK: -2]
[New title obtained]
Nothing was different from before… except for…
[Miss Alice. You recovered consciousness after a while. The Ether Source disappeared right before you woke up]
I forgot the System spoke to me.
[Analysing… There is something in your inventory and your soul seem to have gone through some changes, but I cannot tell what is the difference right now]
[Inventory]
-1x Greater Holy Sacred Soul Stone
[Greater Holy Sacred Soul Stone]
A stone of a powerful being. It is filled with Ether, too much for you to consume without damage or waste. Seems warm to the touch.
Was she inside of there? Or was there something else?
[Titles are power boosters gained through actions and feats. You seem to have unlocked one while you were unconscious, and I made sure you got a couple that were missing]
[Systems are unlocked in two ways. I can try to make one based on what you want and use Ether stones, or you gain enough Ether for one to take form]
[Titles]
-Kenjutsu Expert
You are an expert using Katanas from practice. You cause 20% more damage with any longsword, and an additional 20% if it is a Katana.
-Soul Analysis
Study your enemies after you defeat them. You can gain skills and even information about enemies you defeat when you consume their Ether.
-Sword Maiden
Legendary Augmented Unique title. You create a small aura of awe around you. You can easily translate any Sword practice to any Sword Type Weapon.
These were useful! One of them was working already, and the two were going to give me a big advantage during combat! That is great.
I did not get any answer. Yet I felt like something stirred inside of me.
Yeah, something changed other than on the System, but it was hard to say what it was.
There was an odd sensation. Like a pile of emotions suddenly reached me.
Sorrow, sadness, regret… too much regret.
But there was one inside that was quite important compared with the rest.
Hope.
I wished that my presence there gave Ella hope in her last moments..